Congressional Middle School?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This board really loves to trash Congressional. I have a kid in middle school there who transferred from public, and we are very happy with the school. Things my kid really likes are smaller classes but larger physical space. Teachers really take advantage of the whole campus, like using the physical space for science experiments. There are many more opportunities for electives. They didn't have to decide on just one elective for the whole year. Sports are available to everyone. The teachers know my kid really well and have provided a supportive environment for them to thrive. The homework isn't insane so there's plenty of time for after-school activities. The classes are only 50 minutes long except for occasional longer blocks and I find my kid retaining a lot more information compared to the 80 minute block classes in the previous school. The grades are small, but my kid found their people and is really happy there.

+1 This has been our experience as well. DC is now in 7th, and there are longer learning blocks so that kids can do science labs, have longer math sessions, etc. I also like that they require the kids to take financial literacy each year and public speaking. The small class sizes really are wonderful from an academic perspective, as the teachers have more latitude to teach to the child's individual level. The school does a very good job of preparing the kids for high school by teaching executive functioning skills, note-taking, etc.

We also have been very pleased with the COVID precautions and keeping the school open all last year through the pandemic when most public schools were online. The new HOS is wonderful - the Post article is about the prior administration.

Actually same person who ran the show is still there and in charge of these same grade levels/issue. Head of School is new but everyone knows the person really in charge at these schools are the Deans/Assistant Heads for each division.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two questions: how big is each MS class and any thoughts on how it compares to Burgundy Farms? They seem similar as far as campus.

DD's class has 36 kids total. There are 3 home rooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two questions: how big is each MS class and any thoughts on how it compares to Burgundy Farms? They seem similar as far as campus.

Burgundy Farm parent here. I just checked the online directory, and there are 32 students in 6th grade, 31 in 7th grade, and 32 in 8th grade. 6th is divided into three advisory groups (like homerooms), and 7th and 8th are each divided into four advisory groups.

Burgundy stayed open for most of the pandemic; they went remote after spring break 2020 and came back on campus in (I think) October 2020. My kid did not adapt well to remote learning, so I was very glad to have him at Burgundy rather than in public school. My family's not one of the wealthy ones, the price of tuition has been a concern -- but the pandemic really showed us that we'd make the right choice at the time.

[Anonymous]

*that we'd made the right choice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two questions: how big is each MS class and any thoughts on how it compares to Burgundy Farms? They seem similar as far as campus.

Burgundy is more progressive and less traditional than Congressional—no uniforms, students call teachers by first names, focus on social justice in the curriculum, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have friends with kids there....they love it but the rep of the school isn't the best among the heresay crowd. I've seen some of their 8th graders in HS interviews and they are quite impressive

Also not considered a great school by people who can spell hearsay.

Are you sure they weren’t going for heresy?