Transferring to an Alexandria high school?
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Anonymous
| Potomac also has a bus |
Anonymous
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A few private DC schools offer buses to and from Alexandria. Potomac, Field, St Anselms all come to mind. I had a kid go to St Anselms and they do take later transfers—if your son can manage the workload.
The Blue and Yellow lines make transit easy if you’re on that side of Alexandria. |
Anonymous
| Ireton had a waitlist for all grades this year, but it’s definitely worth a call and applying for next year. I don’t think they have any issue filling their classes these days, but it’s a transient area so there’s always movement. I would think SSSAS is worth an application at least as well for the same reason. O’Connell runs a bus from Old Town so could be an option if the other two don’t work out. O’Connell seems to have more openings—I’ve had kids at both. |
Anonymous
FYI, OP, while the total enrollment of ACPS is ridiculous (4Kish), each of the 2 campuses is roughly half that size. As you may have read, the problem comes when kids have to go back-and-forth between the two buildings for classes. It might be worth investigating how likely that is, and whether your kids’ interest and concentration could result in all classes in one building. |
Anonymous
| If kids are in a private elsewhere, ask your current school if they could reach out to SSSAS as a referral on your behalf. Privates often cooperate in situations as OP describes. |
Anonymous
This. Our DC private was incredibly helpful when we moved to the Twin Cities. Since we didn't make the decision to move until late spring, we missed the admission deadlines. School called several Twin Cities privates on our behalf to see who might have space and be willing to consider a late application. I truly believe that school-to-school communication facilitated being able to find a spot at a private in another city. |
Anonymous
| I didn’t see if OP wrote whether the kids are girls or boys but if they’re boys Gonzaga could be an option at least from a transportation aspect. There is a large group of Gonzaga boys who commute to Union station via the VRE (plus VRE is free for students) plus there is also metro. VRE ride is 20 min max. Then it’s a 4 block walk to campus. Very easy for my kid. |
Anonymous
It really depends on where you're moving to, exactly. Big difference between Alexandria city and FFX County in terms of getting to JPG or DJO. Both could be very good fits, even if the commute is longer than BI. |
Anonymous
Gonzaga takes transfers if they have space. The current 9th grade class (class of 2029) is oversubscribed and the largest class they’ve ever had so odds are for that grade there won’t be room next year. Can’t speak for other grades. |
Anonymous
I would call both schools. Whether they have spots for transfers depends on whether the current class is overenrolled and if anyone leaves. They could tell you the former now (e.g. x number need to leave for there to be spots available). I’m not familiar with BI but the admissions director at SSSAS is very responsive. |
Anonymous
| Why don’t you just move to Arlington and go to public school? Neither of those privates are that strong. |
Anonymous
Because the public schools are awful, even in N. Arlington, relative to what you get at any half decent private. |
Anonymous
A lot of people disagree. The Arlington public schools are fine and students go on to the best universities (both U.S. and abroad). As an alternative, I'd only consider a top private like STA, NCS, GDS, Sidwell or a respectable boarding school like Deerfield, NMH, Andover, Choate, etc. |
Anonymous
| BI and SSSAS and if they are closed, Bishop OConnell with the bus from Old Town. |
Anonymous
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While we are in private, I agree that N. Arlington schools in APS are fine. Academically minded students have good course options and good college placements.
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