Arlington Option Schools and Independent Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Worth pointing our the generally speaking, the later you wait to apply to private the harder it gets (culminating with the incredibly difficult 9th grade entry).

If you’re inclined to go private, go for it. Depending on where you live in Arlington, most DC schools are either easily accessible by Metro or have shuttle stops (or both).

This is one of those things that over-analysis is kind of the ante for participation. Any way you slice it, the application process requires effort and if you don’t go visit the many schools, you’ll have no idea what you like and what you don’t. Considering the timing, I’m assuming that you are thinking about this for Fall of 2024. If so, start doing a bit of homework now so you can visit schools after the summer and be ready to roll with applications in the Fall.

This is a good point and the reason why we left our N. Arlington public, where we were very happy. We knew that MS would be very competitive so we decided to apply private fairly early so we would get a spot somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went through this decision six years ago with our DS when he was in 3rd grade. We were in a neighborhood school in North Arlington. Our DS is a bright child but was not being challenged in his classes. We felt that the teachers were not giving him much attention as he was doing well but instead were more focused on kids who had IEPs or otherwise needed help. Which if you have a class of 25 kids or more, is understandable. He even said he did not like school. That was heartbreaking.

We chose the independent school route (The Langley School) and could not be happier. My son went from not liking school to loving going to school each day. And the class sizes of 15-17 enable the teachers to work closely with your kids and you get the sense that they know your child well.

Good luck on your decision.

Fully agree with this poster. The fundamental problem with APS elementary schools is the class size. If the teacher spends a mere extra 5 minutes with each kid then that is two extra hours. No away that’s going to happen. As a result, teachers end assisting only some kids and the rest just meet the state standard.

[Anonymous]

It’s a mediocre-plus school system, it seems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please forgive the platitudes, but in our view:

No school is perfect. Each will have strengths and weaknesses. These vary from school to school. Separately, different kids have different aptitudes and different interests. Most schools spend any extra resources bringing up the bottom students, subject by subject, so the more advanced students often are bored. (I am not a genius but was bored throughout lower elementary school.). Most USA elementary schools are not really great at teaching math.

We found a school where DC fits in, is learning a lot, and is happy. Overall, it is a good fit. We also supplement with math, because DC’s school is hit or miss on that. Our DC is an advanced reader and likes to read, so we want to support that. Many folks supplement with music lessons or sports outside of school or with museum trips or in other ways.

I think it is unrealistic to think that any school will be 100% sufficient for all of its students. I wish reality were different.

Thank you for this. How do you supplement with math?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It all depends on what you want. We chose private because I wasn’t thrilled with the amount of screen time I saw in APS - even at ATS which surprised me.

Can you tell me more about this? I was surprised to hear that even at ATS they are using screens. Maybe this happened after the pandemic and they just never gave it up? I heard some parents complain that the new ATS (whatever that means, Im new to Arlington) is not the same as the old ATS, and that makes me want to apply to independent even more. Because if people are complaining about what is supposedly the most rigorous school in the system there is something wrong