Rank these K6/8 schools..... Sheridan, NPS, Lowell, Norwood, St. Pats, & WES

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't rank these. We are Jewish- didn't even consider NPS, St. Pats, or WES. So for US, those three are the least desirable.

A huge portion of the NPS community is Jewish or interfaith.

Huge?

I am not PP, but I agree there are definitely more than you would maybe expect at an expressly Presbyterian school. There are many celebrations of other faiths and opportunities to share and explore your personal faith throughout the school experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we do rankings by category?
1. academics
2. high school placement
3. facility
4. location
5. extracurriculars
6. soft skill development
7. diversity

1. All schools have great academics. If you're looking for more traditional: NPS, St. Pats. For progressive, Lowell, Sheridan and Norwood
2. Depends on what you're looking for Lowell and Sheridan have a great track record at GDS and SFS. St. Pat's and NPS for more traditional and cathedral schools. Not sure about Norwood and WES.
3. St. Pat's = Lowell
4. This depends on where you live so I'm not ranking
5. Lowell for the pool and sports that start in K and theater program for middle school, St.Pats for arts and music, Sheridan for Mountain Campus and Affinity Groups
6. Soft skills? Not sure what you mean by this but if you're referring to developing empathy and social skill development, Lowell = Sheridan
7. I'm looking at both students and staff. Lowell then Norwood and Sheridan.

NPS and st. Pats are not very traditional any more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not factoring in a persons commute, how would you rank these?

I know this will shock the DC elite, but if commute isn’t an issue:

NPS
St Pats
Nysmith
... (others)

Nysmith is #1 feeder to TJ and sends strong contingent each year for HS/upper school to St. Albans, GDS, Potomac and Sidwell, plus a smattering at the lower tier DMV schools and various New England / Mid-Atlantic boarding schools. The any Smith kids typically are way ahead of the DC private kids in math and science, but maybe a bit behind in now STEM areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't rank these. We are Jewish- didn't even consider NPS, St. Pats, or WES. So for US, those three are the least desirable.

A huge portion of the NPS community is Jewish or interfaith.

Huge?

We are an incoming Jewish family and are very excited about the curriculum at NPS. From a religious perspective, they teach Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. We are thrilled by the focus on world religions. Why would a Jewish family not want their kid to learn about multiple religions?

[Anonymous]

Bumping this thread for 2026

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not factoring in a persons commute, how would you rank these?

Whatever you do, put Norwood last!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not factoring in a persons commute, how would you rank these?

Whatever you do, put Norwood last!

Why? I hear great things about it.

[Anonymous]

We toured all these schools except Lowell and NPS was our favorite but we would have been happy at most of the others. I have friends who also looked at these schools and had other preferences. There is no accurate ranking- it comes down entirely to preference and most grads from these schools will have strong choices when it comes to exmissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not factoring in a persons commute, how would you rank these?

Whatever you do, put Norwood last!

Why? I hear great things about it.

It is wonderful! Likely a disgruntled parent. We have nothing but positive things to say about both the lower and upper schools at Norwood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not factoring in a persons commute, how would you rank these?

Whatever you do, put Norwood last!

+1

[Anonymous]

St Pat’s
Norwood
Sheridan-NPS
Lowell
WES

[Anonymous]

Put Lowell at the bottom.

[Anonymous]

Curious as to why WES is at or towards the bottom of many of these lists - can anyone share why?

[Anonymous]

Sheridan
St Pats/Norwood
NPS/WES
Lowell

[Anonymous]

Any more specifics to offer on why one would pick St. Patrick's or Sheridan (or others listed), specifically re enrichment, after school programming, sports/music?