Edlin School vs LCDS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LCDS would be my choice. The Hill school, a little bit up the road is great too.

Yes Hill School was our number one choice but unfortunately they mentioned they do not have space!

[classof25]

Anonymous wrote:

classof25 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have no idea about Edlin, but can answer about LCDS. Are you looking for any particular info?

Yes how is LCDS in general in terms of the curriculum and how they teach the classes?

The rigor is sufficient, and like many schools (even the most commonly discussed here), it is what the student makes of it. Students learn well in most subjects, have hands on projects and trips, etc. The language program needs (or needed if they're working on it) improvement in my opinion and they need to find consistent faculty there, but it seems to be getting better. They have had pretty good faculty in most subjects thus far, some are very good and not just grasp and teach the subject matter but really get the kids involved and excited. A few are leaving or moving positions. I don't think it is necessarily anything out of the ordinary or means that they will have new faculty that is worse by any means- it just means I would not be able to comment on anyone with whom I am not familiar (or know anyone that is).
As students get older they have multiple mathematics classes so that they can be in different levels depending on their ability/mastery, as well as a separate STEM class. Students are for the most part well behaved. I do not think they do enough to support high achieving students so if you have a smart kid be prepared to chart your own course, find your own way, and supplement according to the needs of your child. This is not necessarily unique to this school. While I can understand why this can happen, it can nevertheless be frustrating. That being said I will leave open the possibility that perhaps my expectations were just too high.
It is a K-8 so you will need to apply to HS if you are not planning on switching to public at this point. You have a very good likelihood of admission to a couple of schools (so much so I would almost consider it a feeder), but if you want anything else they do not at all seem to reach out and build relationships with other privates in the DC/nova metro region beyond those two schools. This is another area where you need to do your own homework, research, and legwork. They do have HS fairs and some previous parents come and speak/answer questions. The classes and community is pretty close knit, however, and this does give your child the opportunity to create good, respectful relationships with teachers and faculty- this helps with not just the learning process but also potentially when it comes to recommendations.

All this comes with a caveat: their longtime HOS recently retired, though the last year he has been a temporary MS director. The new HOS I think came from Flint Hill (don't quote me on that, maybe she was there at one point? some history there at least, not sure what). There have been a number of changes already. They are really enhancing security, etc. next year and this seems to have taken the main focus. You can decide whether some of these measures are important to you. A few other minor academic changes as well. I am not sure what else could be in the works, though I have not heard of any negative impacts to the curriculum. In fact I think they're starting a few clubs I wish were available when we were there, restarting spelling and geography bee, etc. I do not know enough about made or potential changes to really comment, but it may be a good question to ask when touring.

Overall it is a good option and the only k-8 alternative in the area I would consider would be Nysmith, but at the higher cost I would then also start looking at k-12s if I was considering staying with private through HS. I went to school at a K-12 that is often discussed on these boards and I felt that LCDS was relatively comparable overall academically, with allowances for time passing. I had never heard of the other school you mentioned, but looking at it briefly I would be significantly more hesitant and would need to know a lot more about it before going that route. But this is just one person's opinion.
I hope you find the option that best fits the needs of your student and family.

Wow thank you so much for the detailed feedback! I agree when we did the tour in LCDS it seemed like if a kid is high achieving they would not have much to offer, but on the other side I think with my son I do not want to push him to be 1 or 2 grade levels above if he is not ready (this is what I got out of the tour in Edlin that all their kids are 1 or 2 grade level above).

Which 2 HS are you pointing to? Yes I am not sure which HS are good in this area since I feel like there isn't much nearby. Interesting that you mention that they do not have much relationships in the area with other privates HS, because in Edlin the current parent has mentioned that they have a lot of acceptance to TJ. I personally have heard a lot about TJ but have not really spent a lot of time thinking about HS yet.

Enhanced security is always good! Definitely that is an important feature. We had toured last year since we were looking for last year as well but then decided not to change his school at that point. Great point about asking a question with respect to the change.

To clarify, it isn't so much that high achieving students will not be engaged, it is more that there seem to be resources but up to a point and then the kid is on their own. They would still find rigor, but will need to push themselves to learn beyond the classroom or research topics and subjects that are not yet taught (or may just generally not be taught until later grades). Most schools will be what you make of them, however, and students will need to learn to push themselves and advocate for themselves. This is common. But they did have a pretty good faculty support network during our time there. Lack of a drama department also was a negative for us.

TJ is a good school (though of course your child needs to be very math/stem oriented), but since the Loudoun Academy of Science opened, most kids from this area apply to that program instead because TJ is significantly further away. Most of the kids go on to one of a few common options. The Academy of Science route with the county is a frequent choice, but requires an application process and some specific levels in math by the end of 8th grade (similar to TJ I believe but I may be misremembering), and additional testing. They have a few different tracks depending on the child's interest (engineering, technical program, etc.).
Many students go to PVI (I don't know anything about it), many more to Flint Hill (this one I know, ish). One or two from each year choose a boarding option- Madeira, Mercersburg, Lawrenceville. At least from what I can recall in the last few years.

[Anonymous]

Edlin is a great option. New ownership and Principal have been in place for almost 3 years now and all the changes are positive. I mean the school wasn’t even accredited until they got there. We have been there since our son started Kindergarten and he is now in 4th grade and cannot say how wonderful it has been since the transition. From someone that had experience with the teachers that “left” trust me that was a good thing. All the new staff is fabulous!

[Anonymous]

Hey Edlin booster, quit bumping old threads for no reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Edlin is a great option. New ownership and Principal have been in place for almost 3 years now and all the changes are positive. I mean the school wasn’t even accredited until they got there. We have been there since our son started Kindergarten and he is now in 4th grade and cannot say how wonderful it has been since the transition. From someone that had experience with the teachers that “left” trust me that was a good thing. All the new staff is fabulous!

Never heard of Edlin, though LCDS has been around for a while. Just got accredited after functioning without it and considering that ok? Yeah, no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey Edlin booster, quit bumping old threads for no reason.

Lol! they did! good catch!

[Anonymous]

I have two kids at Edlin. We are happy with your school. All the teachers we had very very good to excellent. It is a small school with a tight knit community. No more than 10 kids in the classroom. They differentiate in math and English (starting 4th grade, I believe) so your child can study at the level appropriate for him/her.
They have a big backyard and spend a lot of time outside, which was very important to me.
To sum things up: we came to Edlin from Montessori environment and we love it here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey Edlin booster, quit bumping old threads for no reason.

This is public forum and not your living room. Why can't PP bump a thread for any reason?

To the never heard of this or that school posters, there are too many persons or businesses that you have never heard of. Do they all deserve going to hell because YOU never knew them?

I personally know two Edlin families and more BASIS and Flint Hill families. There are us out here in Virginia that go to these schools and are happy