Potomac lower school?

[Anonymous]

We are considering Potomac for our youngest (entering K). Anyone up for sharing their experience?

Especially interested in:
- culture
- outdoor time
- academics / building a solid foundation for learning

[Anonymous]

It’s truly magical! They have 90 acres and really use it. The best part is that continues on through the high school. They have outdoor classroom, woodland recess, Morton science deck, Pimmit run, etc.
For academics, my kids would come home and say they played, but then we would learn about what they were learning (parent communication is excellent) and laugh bc everything is taught in a way to make them curious and love learning. In the LS they do a great job of integrating the curriculum into all of the classes, so art and music are tied into what they are learning in social studies, etc.
I am not sure what you mean about culture? It’s a friendly group of families and nice kids. We switched from another school that was very materialistic, and Potomac is not. There are a lot of very successful families, but the culture is not flashy. As my kids have gotten older I appreciate that they are able to play sports and enjoy them, even if they are not sports stars.

[Anonymous]

Potomac K-8 is fantastic, and LS is exactly what we wanted at that age. People tend to be frustrated if they expected something Potomac doesn’t advertise (ie a Nysmith or Basis type acceleration of math and reading, tons of homework, etc). The education provided is research informed, focuses on a love of learning, and the faculty is excellent and kind.

[Anonymous]

For academics, as with any school, look closely into their curriculum. When you tour, look at what is written by teachers on the white boards, which books they are using, and so on. Ask how they teach reading, math, or whatever is important to you.

[Anonymous]

Outdoor time is a strong point for Potomac, both in a good amount of recess time as well as using their campus, particularly for Science.

If culture is referring to parent community, there are very nice families there. We got the impression most people already had their groups from siblings or coming from the same preschool, but did develop connections over time. Depending on the class/grade, there are very flashy families. We have one good grade and one not.

I am sure you will get differing opinions on this but our opinion is that academics has been deteriorating in lower school over the last couple years. It is not similar to the level of the older grades. Lower School has shifted to focusing on non-academic areas - not limited to this but examples are financial literacy and cultural competency. We received very little information on curriculum or how they are building on foundations each year in actual subjects (grammar, writing, science, social studies, etc.), with math being the only exception. We feel the math program has improved and has a clearly defined curriculum that has worked well.

With that said, we have had good experiences with teachers in lower school at Potomac. Ultimately, we think lower school is good, because of the teachers, and is good to use to get to the better programs in middle and intermediate.

[Anonymous]

It is really hard to get your child into Potomac if you are from Va and are coming from nursery from Country Day School or Langley. Those kids tend to be siblings etc. It is a great school FYI and so much easier to enter from DC or MD esp for K. Good luck

[Anonymous]

No foreign language instruction until later. Huge miss, especially when all other comparable schools offer foreign language at K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No foreign language instruction until later. Huge miss, especially when all other comparable schools offer foreign language at K.

I disagree with this. My kids are all lifers, and it’s been interesting to see kids from other schools join at 7th and 9th with many more years of language and see them actually places in lower classes than the Potomac kids.

[Anonymous]

Agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Potomac K-8 is fantastic, and LS is exactly what we wanted at that age. People tend to be frustrated if they expected something Potomac doesn’t advertise (ie a Nysmith or Basis type acceleration of math and reading, tons of homework, etc). The education provided is research informed, focuses on a love of learning, and the faculty is excellent and kind.

This is how it used to be. Not anymore.

[Anonymous]

OP here: Could you you say more about why it’s not anymore?

[Anonymous]

What about the perception that the lifers are bottom of the barrel by the time the middle and upper school kids are brought in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about the perception that the lifers are bottom of the barrel by the time the middle and upper school kids are brought in?

This is natural and happens at every K-12. It’s not like the smart, high achieving lifers are any less successful in middle and upper school. It’s just that your average intelligence kid who was admitted in 1st is going to be behind the hand-picked super smart ones that enter in 6th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the perception that the lifers are bottom of the barrel by the time the middle and upper school kids are brought in?

This is natural and happens at every K-12. It’s not like the smart, high achieving lifers are any less successful in middle and upper school. It’s just that your average intelligence kid who was admitted in 1st is going to be behind the hand-picked super smart ones that enter in 6th.

+1

[Anonymous]

I found the school tours really helpful for getting a sense of place - if you haven’t yet, would definitely tour and ask questions!