Where do kids go after elementary?

[Anonymous]

Hi there - I have been posting lots of questions about schools in Alexandria as I am just beginning the process of trying to understand options for our three kids.

I am seeing some private schools that are just k-5 (for example Grace Episcopal) or k-8 (Alexandria Country Day School). Where do kids go from here? I know there are HS only options like Ireton, though that is Catholic. But what about middle school, etc? Does a child coming from Grace or Alexandria Country Day have a disadvantage applying to somewhere else where kids have been in that system for years, etc?

Thanks for any guidance.

[Anonymous]

For schools that end before 8th, most kids are going into k-12 schools. Some go to k-8 but then you need to transfer again in 2-3 years and many families don’t want to deal with that.

All of the k-12 schools can take kids at any grade, but some have built-in expansion years that mean there are more spots. In VA, schools like Potomac (very competitive) and SSSAS or Flint Hill (moderately competitive) are common choices, or heading into DC for NCS/STA, etc.

[Anonymous]

When I toured Grace, they said most of their 5th graders end up at SSSAS. At that time they only had 5 or so kids in the 5th grade. It gets super tiny.

For K-8 schools, the Catholic schools will send most of their kids to one of the Catholic high schools. ACDS says they generally have no issues getting their kids into their choice high schools. They send kids to SSSAS, Episcopal, Ireton, Visitation, Gonzaga, Madeira, etc. Burgundy Farm and Browne are also options that end at 8th. They'll generally send their kids to the same as above or public. Kids in Fairfax County often have better public high school options, including TJ.

[Anonymous]

Hi- Grace parent now at SSSAS. Class size for 5th grade has been 8-10 the last few years.

The size of the SSSAS Lower School class increases from ~70 to ~100 in Middle School. (and again bigger in the HS).

I think the last three or four years have averaged about a third to SSSAS. Otherwise, good distribution to public, ACDS, Burgundy Farms, one of the Washington international schools, St. Rita, Holton Arms, Trinity, and a few out of state.

We loved Grace and were excited for the bigger school at a time the child was socially ready for it.