New to this - seems like everything is in upper NW?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington schools are usually wonderful as well and the class sizes are or were around 20.

In private schools class size will most likely max out at 16. This make a signifiant difference particularly in the lower grades.

Not true about private schools. You're looking at 18-20 in a class at many of the schools.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the school, the grade, and whether it's an independent school (12-17) or a Catholic school (20+). BUT almost all independent schools (unless they're Montessori) are under 17 and there are many small Catholic schools with fewer than 20.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I guess I'm a bit biased in that I had a really terrible experience in public school and DH had an awful education in one. We both transitioned over to extremely good private schools and it made all the difference in the world to us.

Private schools are a huge financial stretch it's true, but we'll shoot for scholarships (we're in good range financially to receive them) and keep living in small townhomes and apartments instead of SFHs to afford it.

The good public schools on the Hill don't lead to good middle schools or high schools. And there are literally zero rentals in our price range that are in bounds for the great schools on the Hill (of which there are only a couple). We're just not willing to risk it on the OOB/charter lottery. I know too many people who got the shaft and we're left panicking. Plus class sizes, philosophy, etc are really important to us and we feel like we have more of a chance of finding the right "fit" will be to keep the private options open.

Our reason for moving is that the families I know who take their kids to the upper NW schools leave at 6am every morning. Or at least the ones on my block do. I don't think we have that in us. I assume that would be even worse in NOVA unless we send DS to some of the schools mentioned, which was a very helpful list, thank you.

Also, I've heard not great things from my neighbors about CHDS but maybe I should look and decide for myself. I have to be honest that I've pretty much written it off... but I could be wrong there.

Thanks for the recs in VA. I looked at them and they look nice, I've just never heard of any except Potomac. Really nice to know about the Potomac bus.

[Anonymous]

Also take a look at Congressional. Also has a bus (FWIW) and our DS is very happy there. Doing very well, challenged, great teachers. Exmissions to the same HS that others mention. It's K-8 so I think some people don't think of it, but we chose it b/c of that. Focus is on younger DC through MS instead of on HS and trying to get there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I guess I'm a bit biased in that I had a really terrible experience in public school and DH had an awful education in one. We both transitioned over to extremely good private schools and it made all the difference in the world to us.

Private schools are a huge financial stretch it's true, but we'll shoot for scholarships (we're in good range financially to receive them) and keep living in small townhomes and apartments instead of SFHs to afford it.

The good public schools on the Hill don't lead to good middle schools or high schools. And there are literally zero rentals in our price range that are in bounds for the great schools on the Hill (of which there are only a couple). We're just not willing to risk it on the OOB/charter lottery. I know too many people who got the shaft and we're left panicking. Plus class sizes, philosophy, etc are really important to us and we feel like we have more of a chance of finding the right "fit" will be to keep the private options open.

Our reason for moving is that the families I know who take their kids to the upper NW schools leave at 6am every morning. Or at least the ones on my block do. I don't think we have that in us. I assume that would be even worse in NOVA unless we send DS to some of the schools mentioned, which was a very helpful list, thank you.

Also, I've heard not great things from my neighbors about CHDS but maybe I should look and decide for myself. I have to be honest that I've pretty much written it off... but I could be wrong there.

Thanks for the recs in VA. I looked at them and they look nice, I've just never heard of any except Potomac. Really nice to know about the Potomac bus.

I would NOT base your opinion of NoVa public schools based upon your own limited, personal experiences--especially since they were, presumably, a while ago and you are not local. You need to do some actual research and visit the schools yourself.

From what you are saying, unless you can get significant financial aid, you won't be able to afford private schools AND you are talking about a long commute. When you have some of the nation's best public schools nearby, there is no reason for such struggle. You also need to think about summer camp tuition, afterschool activities, and the additional cost of commute (both time and money).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I guess I'm a bit biased in that I had a really terrible experience in public school and DH had an awful education in one. We both transitioned over to extremely good private schools and it made all the difference in the world to us.

Private schools are a huge financial stretch it's true, but we'll shoot for scholarships (we're in good range financially to receive them) and keep living in small townhomes and apartments instead of SFHs to afford it.

The good public schools on the Hill don't lead to good middle schools or high schools. And there are literally zero rentals in our price range that are in bounds for the great schools on the Hill (of which there are only a couple). We're just not willing to risk it on the OOB/charter lottery. I know too many people who got the shaft and we're left panicking. Plus class sizes, philosophy, etc are really important to us and we feel like we have more of a chance of finding the right "fit" will be to keep the private options open.

Our reason for moving is that the families I know who take their kids to the upper NW schools leave at 6am every morning. Or at least the ones on my block do. I don't think we have that in us. I assume that would be even worse in NOVA unless we send DS to some of the schools mentioned, which was a very helpful list, thank you.

Also, I've heard not great things from my neighbors about CHDS but maybe I should look and decide for myself. I have to be honest that I've pretty much written it off... but I could be wrong there.

Thanks for the recs in VA. I looked at them and they look nice, I've just never heard of any except Potomac. Really nice to know about the Potomac bus.

I would NOT base your opinion of NoVa public schools based upon your own limited, personal experiences--especially since they were, presumably, a while ago and you are not local. You need to do some actual research and visit the schools yourself.

From what you are saying, unless you can get significant financial aid, you won't be able to afford private schools AND you are talking about a long commute. When you have some of the nation's best public schools nearby, there is no reason for such struggle. You also need to think about summer camp tuition, afterschool activities, and the additional cost of commute (both time and money).

We did try NOVA schools, to be specific FCPS. We found the curriculum to be weak, the system itself woefully mismanaged, the class sizes too large, and the quality of teaching unpredictable. When we left for private, during the search process we did run into other families who were also leaving Arlington and Falls Church City public schools. What I heard repeatedly from these families was Falls Church City is not what it used to be and that Arlington was fine for elementary, but middle and high school options were pretty lacking.

[Anonymous]

I would recommend looking into CHDS for yourself. If its a good fit for your family and your child -- and I should say I have neighbors, friends and work colleagues who are all happy with it -- the convenience factor would be significant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BUT almost all independent schools (unless they're Montessori) are under 17 and there are many small Catholic schools with fewer than 20.

We looked at a number of schools for K, including Beauvoir, Sidwell, GDS, and Maret, and they all had classes of 20 or more. At some schools (Maret, e.g.), class size did decrease in later years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BUT almost all independent schools (unless they're Montessori) are under 17 and there are many small Catholic schools with fewer than 20.

We looked at a number of schools for K, including Beauvoir, Sidwell, GDS, and Maret, and they all had classes of 20 or more. At some schools (Maret, e.g.), class size did decrease in later years.

My kids are at SSSAS, and their classes are 16-17 people each.

[Anonymous]

Why are you moving to NoVA if you're not interested in the public schools? It seems the commute to any of the privates in NW would be easier from Capitol Hill than NoVa. Another option is to consider moving to MoCo, which has more private school options than NoVa and is closer to the NW privates. No way would I live in NoVa and commute into a private school in NW. It's too much time wasted for both you and your child. Not to mention, no one will want to drive all the way to your house for a playdate as most of the students at these schools live in NWDC or close in MoCo. I'd either move to NoVa and stick with their excellent public schools or stay in DC or move to MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BUT almost all independent schools (unless they're Montessori) are under 17 and there are many small Catholic schools with fewer than 20.

We looked at a number of schools for K, including Beauvoir, Sidwell, GDS, and Maret, and they all had classes of 20 or more. At some schools (Maret, e.g.), class size did decrease in later years.

You can't look at numbers alone. You need to determine the ratio of students to teachers. DC is at GDS and last year was in a class of 20 with two co-teachers of equal stature (not one teacher and one assistant; or one teacher plus parent volunteers).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are you moving to NoVA if you're not interested in the public schools? It seems the commute to any of the privates in NW would be easier from Capitol Hill than NoVa. Another option is to consider moving to MoCo, which has more private school options than NoVa and is closer to the NW privates. No way would I live in NoVa and commute into a private school in NW. It's too much time wasted for both you and your child. Not to mention, no one will want to drive all the way to your house for a playdate as most of the students at these schools live in NWDC or close in MoCo. I'd either move to NoVa and stick with their excellent public schools or stay in DC or move to MoCo.

As has been pointed out several times on this board, this is not true for many areas of North Arlington. I live less than one mile from Chain Bridge. My kid's commute to St. Patrick's takes less than 10 minutes. I am back in my own driveway another 10 minutes after I leave the school. GDS is also right there on MacArthur.

I also enroll my son at the Zoo Camp every summer, which requires going farther into the city than NCS/STA. Driving to the Zoo takes us only 25 minutes during rush hour. I would guess the Cathedral schools are about 20 minutes away.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Just to clarify, we are not set on moving to NoVA, and that's why I was asking whether all the schools were in upper NW or whether there were good schools in NoVA (private) that we could consider. The reason to move to NoVA is that there are cheaper townhouses - around Alexandria - than we could easily find in upper NW. However, if it seems like we would be dooming ourselves to that commute, then we would just move to upper NW with whatever we could find.

I think the deal though is that it sounds like there are some great options from around Alexandria. We will probably go ahead and tour some of those schools to see. We are also going to look at CHDS - I'm convinced that I shouldn't judge without visiting (just heard some rough stuff I guess) - but again, not sure we can afford the townhouse in the areas we love here (we need a bigger place than where we live).

The problem with public schools is that there is a serious cost of living issue to be in bounds for the best public schools. We did a lot of the math and realized that it would be about the same whether we bought a very modest townhouse in a modest neighborhood and sent our son to whatever private school we got into and got scholarships for than buying a home in the best school districts, which can't really be found in our price range.

Plus again, a lot more control about schools when you go private and we like that. The best of both worlds would be to get a home in the lower end of what we could afford in a great school district, try it out, and have the flexibility to be able to leave. But we're pretty sure we want to set up our living situation to support the commute to private school.

It's kind of a tough call.

[Anonymous]

Def tour the schools. It's really the only way to get a good feel for each of them. Another thing you might want to do is get Irving's Guide to Independent Schools for the DC/VA area. You can get it on line (I'm sorry, I can't remember the exact title, but typing that in the search engine will pull it up.) I found it very helpful in giving me an idea in terms of size, location, cost, basic school info, and contact info. It helped me narrow my search before I even hit the web or started making actual calls to schools. Good luck in your search!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Just to clarify, we are not set on moving to NoVA, and that's why I was asking whether all the schools were in upper NW or whether there were good schools in NoVA (private) that we could consider. The reason to move to NoVA is that there are cheaper townhouses - around Alexandria - than we could easily find in upper NW. However, if it seems like we would be dooming ourselves to that commute, then we would just move to upper NW with whatever we could find.

I think the deal though is that it sounds like there are some great options from around Alexandria. We will probably go ahead and tour some of those schools to see. We are also going to look at CHDS - I'm convinced that I shouldn't judge without visiting (just heard some rough stuff I guess) - but again, not sure we can afford the townhouse in the areas we love here (we need a bigger place than where we live).

The problem with public schools is that there is a serious cost of living issue to be in bounds for the best public schools. We did a lot of the math and realized that it would be about the same whether we bought a very modest townhouse in a modest neighborhood and sent our son to whatever private school we got into and got scholarships for than buying a home in the best school districts, which can't really be found in our price range.

Plus again, a lot more control about schools when you go private and we like that. The best of both worlds would be to get a home in the lower end of what we could afford in a great school district, try it out, and have the flexibility to be able to leave. But we're pretty sure we want to set up our living situation to support the commute to private school.

It's kind of a tough call.

I'm curious about the math, especially since you haven't received financial aid info yet. There is a standard FA form, but no standard FA award. So one school could give you a full ride while another would only give you $10K (off of $30K). In other words, I would not count on FA. The math almost always works out for buying a small home/TH in NoVA (not Alexandria) rather than relying on FA. You also have to think of summer camps ($2k/mo for full time care), as well as the cost of aftercare during the school year.