Norwood feedback

[Anonymous]

We’re trying to finalize the list of schools to consider for our rising kindergartener.

I had been planning to include Norwood on our list, but now I’ve been hearing that its academics are waning and class sizes are large (> 20 kids). Everyone has said the community is great and welcoming.

For families who’ve been there or are there, what do you like and not like about it? If you could do it over, what schools would you have sent your kids to for K-8?

[Anonymous]

Had two kids go through Norwood and both were exceptionally well prepared for their Big 3 high schools so I wouldn't agree that the academics are weak.

I've never heard that class sizes are big. My 2025 grad's classes ranged from 7 to 15.

Both of my kids loved the community and take every opportunity to go back and see their teachers. We thought the parent community was extremely warm.

We'd 100% send our kids there again. When my son was asked in an interview for Sidwell what he would change about his current school, he responded, "I would add a high school." I think that says it all. They both loved their experience there and we were very happy with the school.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure where you've heard that the academics are waning but that is anything but our experience. We have two kids at Norwood and could not be happier with the academics and the welcoming community. If anything, my kids complain that the classes are too small because they can't get away with not being prepared. I don't think either of my kids has ever had a class that even comes close to 20; more like 7-10. We have experience with both the lower and middle schools at Norwood, and both have been great.

[Anonymous]

+1

Academics is rigorous and the school is small. This can be a problem if there's a problem student in the cohort which happened in my DC's grade. But I think you received inaccurate info about class sizes and academics.

[Anonymous]

OP here: THANK YOU! It sounds like the swelling class size feedback was completely incorrect, and we'll add Norwood back onto our list. I appreciate you all.

[Anonymous]

We love Norwood! I have two kids there and small class size is a big part of why we chose it. My child in lower school is in a homeroom with 20 kids with 2 head teachers. But, in practice, learning is done in much smaller groups. They are split into smaller groups for specials (art, PE, music, spanish etc) as well as reading and math, so it's a ton of attention from teachers. But I do like that he has the opportunity to play with the full class at recess--a much smaller homeroom can be a bit stifling socially.

My middle schooler is in classes of 12ish most of the day (they switch between teachers for different subjects) and we've been thrilled with the balance of support/pushing him to be more independent.

Both of my kids are very advanced in math but needed extra support in reading. They will throw as much challenge as you want and do it on a very individual level in our experience. My middle schooler really enjoys reading now in a way I couldn't have imagined when he was in 1st/2nd grade.

[Anonymous]

We considered Norwood in prior years but decided against it due to the class sizes. 20+, IMO, was a large class size for the younger kids, even with 2 teachers in the room. The community, however, seemed warm and most people seemed to be happy, as noted above. The classroom we visited on the day of was loud, rowdy, and unstructured, which mirrored our local public school. It depends on what you are looking for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We love Norwood! I have two kids there and small class size is a big part of why we chose it. My child in lower school is in a homeroom with 20 kids with 2 head teachers. But, in practice, learning is done in much smaller groups. They are split into smaller groups for specials (art, PE, music, spanish etc) as well as reading and math, so it's a ton of attention from teachers. But I do like that he has the opportunity to play with the full class at recess--a much smaller homeroom can be a bit stifling socially.

My middle schooler is in classes of 12ish most of the day (they switch between teachers for different subjects) and we've been thrilled with the balance of support/pushing him to be more independent.

Both of my kids are very advanced in math but needed extra support in reading. They will throw as much challenge as you want and do it on a very individual level in our experience. My middle schooler really enjoys reading now in a way I couldn't have imagined when he was in 1st/2nd grade.

This! We love Norwood. In K-2 there will be about 20 kids with two teachers in a homeroom. However, some kids will get pulled for more support, sometimes half the class will go to a special while the other half remains with two teachers or half in another special. So for example, science or art could be a group of 10 with the science teacher. Also, sometimes the reading or math specialist will push in for a third adult in the classroom. The reason this is great is it allows for more social opportunities and connections that you would have in a smaller class, and more opportunities to group kids in reading and math with others on their same level within the classroom. The class size has never felt too big to us!

Once you get to 3rd-4th grade you will have around 14ish in a class. In middle school (5-8) the class sizes get really small. Around 12 is typical, but my children have been in classes as small as 6-8. However, the grade size is larger for a K-8, so a graduating class will be in the high 50s, allowing for more social options. Norwood is a wonderful school, and the academics are certainly not weak. Middle school really prepares you for any high school around the DMV.

[Anonymous]

As a private school teacher, I have visited Norwood and really loved the vibe. The staff were all friendly, the LS buildings are plastered with student work (loved that!), and I felt like the kids were generally all well behaved. There may be a "bad seed" here and there, but overall I was impressed.

[Anonymous]

Would definitely encourage you to apply. While we ended up elsewhere, it was a REALLY tough choice that we agonized over. We loved everything we saw at Norwood and the community was exceptionally welcoming. I'm sure it would have been a fantastic choice for our child.
(We didn't pick it based on basic issues like geography and scheduling, not because we didn't like something about the school.)

[Anonymous]

We liked it but opted for a K-12; 9th grade entry is becoming extremely competitive, even at schools that used to be fairly straightforward for admission.

[Anonymous]

Love it great school

[Anonymous]

OP: thanks all!

[Anonymous]

This year: 14 each in three 3rd grade classes, 12 each in four 4th grade classes.

Exceptional education

[Anonymous]

K was great - very small class sizes with two lead teachers per class, plus extra support as needed with literacy and math for even smaller groups. They do a lot of specials (Spanish, art, science, library, and music) plus daily PE in addition to recess and fresh air time. The teachers are all very experiences and they have great after-school enrichment classes and a lot of transportation options if needed.