St Stephen & St Agnes? & other Alexandria schools?

[Anonymous]

A PP here. The PP probably realizes this, but for clarity for others reading this string, there are two "Alexandrias." One is Alexandria City, which includes Old Town and some other areas. The other Alexandria is the part of Fairfax County called "Alexandria," which includes areas such as Belle Haven and the areas toward Mt. Vernon. I think , but am not sure, that St. Stephen's, at least the upper school (which is a mile or so from the lower school) is in the Fairfax County "Alexandria." People in the Fairfax County "Alexandria" are eligible to apply to Thomas Jefferson, while people who are in the City of Alexandria are not. Hope this clarifies rather than confuses.

[Anonymous]

All three of the St. Stephens' campuses are in the city of Alexandria. And I sincerely doubt that 25% of the students got into UVA, the Ivies, or Stanford.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is a new Kindergarten student at SSSAS and we couldn't be happier with the school. We had heard rumors that the school had a "snobby" reputation but we decided to form our own opinions based on visits to the school, talking to families, and visiting a number of schools in the area before making any decisions based on rumors. During all our visits/conversations with the school, we never encountered anything but welcoming, thoughtful, and down-to-earth people. We ultimately chose the school for a number of reasons, but most of all, because it "fit" our family. I'll admit I was apprehensive when starting a new school and joining a new community, but I have been incredibly happy with the warm reception and welcoming administraton, teachers, and parents. And best of all, my daughter is thrilled with her new school, her new friends, and she is so excited about learning. We couldn't be happier and I am so glad we didn't rely on rumors and innuendos to make our decision. And yes, according to SSSAS, one quarter of this year's graduating class will be enrolling in an Ivy League School, Stanford or UVA. Ivy League acceptance, however, wasn't the reason why we chose the school.

[Anonymous]

For clarity, I'm the PP who posted about at least 25% of last year's St. Stephen's and St. Agnes school graduates being accepted to UVA, an Ivy or Stanford, which a later poster seems to doubt. The source that I heard that from was actually Joan Holden, the Head of St. Stephen's and St. Agnes Schools, during a speech she gave at an event last week. I have no reason to doubt her truthfulness on this point, though I'd certainly like to know if there are reasons that the PP or others would doubt this figure.

[Anonymous]

we have been at browne for 3 years now and could not be happier. the parent and student populations are very diverse and at least in the lower grades, there is no social rank among kids or parents and everyone feels a part of the community. it may be different in the upper grades - no personal experience. the new head of school has rewarded the top faculty with raises/responsibility/continuing education etc, removed any sense of entitlement that tenured faculty may have thought they automatically deserved and started running the school in a fiscally prudent manner without the winks/nods that characterized the school in the past - everything is objective and above board now - this is not an old boys network. Browne's facilities are far better than ACDS but no do not hold a candle to the 3 SSSA campuses obviously. Unlike many area schools, enrollment is up at browne despite the economy and nearly every other private school in the region reporting dropping enrollment. browne also just completed its virginia private school certification and passed with flying colors. teachers and administrators from other area private schools who did the two week long evaluation raved about many aspects of the school including great teachers who care and a very active student body. the biggest criticisms were no cafeteria and weak fundraising. apparently acds and burgundy know how to suck more cash out of you than browne!

the biggest issue at browne is shrinking class sizes in the upper grades as kids move away or go on to other schools.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, Browne is snobby and its facilities are not so great. It is also more of a traditional curriculum.

[Anonymous]

We ended up applying to Burgundy only and not applying to SSSA, but we seriously considered it. While I was put off by the rich-kid reputation, we have a friend who teaches there and she said that the school really goes above and beyond in tailoring approaches to each individual child. She really left me feeling that SSSA has a great staff and faculty and I thought very seriously about applying there. In the end we chose Burgundy but SSSA would have been our 2nd choice.

[Anonymous]

ACDS is about to undergo a big expansion to the school including a new gym and performing arts center. But, you can't go wrong with this school even w/o the new addition. It is by far the best independent school community (kids, parents, teachers) in the Alexandria area. The education is top notch. Check out their website which has a list of where their 8th graders are off to next year... including Sidwell, Gonzaga, SSSAS, Potomac and a number of other excellent VA/MD/DC area high schools. Classes are small and the teachers truly to care about each child and his/her success.

[Anonymous]

although i think highly of ACDS, I would not agree that it is "by far" the best in the Alexandria area. for schools only two blocks away from each other, ACDS and SSSAS are certainly very different - the biggest being that ACDS is K-8, of course - but also, SSSAS has resources that ADCS just doesn't, given its age, its size, etc. ACDS is much smaller, and likely good for a kid who would thrive in a small, caring, artistic community. But if your kid is an active child who is into sports, SSSAS may be a better match. (And I'd recommend that readers don't believe the hype about the snottiness of SSSAS.)

[Anonymous]

Take a look at Browne. We were very impressed. The teachers just all seemed so engaged and enthusiastic and it is appeared to be quite a diverse community. We much preferred it over ACDS.

[Anonymous]

This is a bit off topic, but OP - do you mind sharing what Alexandria City school you aren't too happy with? We are in the Lyles-Crouch district but our kids aren't in K yet. Just wondering if this is the school you are unhappy about...

[Anonymous]

I'm not OP - but we have two kids at Lyles Crouch and one in private - Lyles is awesome for many reasons. If you are lucky enough to be in the district - give it a try. You will not be sorry - it compares (or outshines) any private in Alexandria. If you attend LCTA for lower grades, and then move to private, your child will be more than prepared (and so much more) - it provides a wonderful foundation and parent community. Don't miss out.

[Anonymous]

I am currently a parent of a graduating senior at SSSAS, and I just wanted to share that the reason they are able to boast about a quarter of their grade going to Ivies or UVA is purely because of the legacies they have in attendance and their lacrosse players. Their lacrosse girls are some of the best in the country and always get into fantastic schools. Also, a lot of children at SSSAS have family connections to good schools and get in off of that. If you're not a lacrosse star or a legacy, however, SSSAS really is not going to be able to help you.

[Anonymous]

PP - can you elaborate on your post a little more. Why would only the athletes and legacy kids be considered by top schools and not a top SSSA student with non-athletic talents?

[Anonymous]

My neighbor has 2 daughters going to St. Agnes. The daughters are sweet, but the neighbor is snooty and likes to name drop. Other than that, she is friendly/sociable.

[Anonymous]

Like any other successful exec, Joan Holden is a politician. She caters to the families who have the power to affect her job. Therefore, kids from involved families with a ton of money (SSSAS legacy all the better), magically get the most out of the school--go figure!

Certainly bright SSSAS students with great grades and good SAT scores will be accepted by UVA as they would be by other schools.

I would ask to see a chart of SAT scores for the entire class before I sent my child here--that would probably illuminate the reasons for a high UVA acceptance rate either way. The 2009 graduating class had more than 50% with a B+ or better average.

The school actually tells students that getting a C at year end in any subject in High School will ruin their chances of getting into a good college and they have a chapel service each quarter to honor the students who have no Cs. Interestingly, many of the students honored each quarter are from very wealthy families and SSSAS legacy families!

Even though SSSAS teachers are loathe to ever recommend tutors for students, be sure to budget lots of tutor money on top of tuition because your child will be competing with kids who see tutors multiple times a week, receive private PSAT and SAT tutoring, and workout with paid athletic trainers from a very early age. Do not believe it if anyone tells you differently. So think very carefully whether the return on your education dollar is maximized by that model.

Also, be aware that students who are lifers also will be placed ahead of those who are not when a choice has to made between students.

All that being said, many of the teachers are truly wonderful and I often wonder what many of them think about the morality of the SSSAS system. If you really have no other choice, and if you have a very thick skin and just want to be sure your child gets an actual education (including the one about it's not what you know but who you know) they can get it here--but at a very high price.