Have you attended any OPEN HOUSES yet?

[Anonymous]

This is our second year of tours. (Last year we were waitlisted at Beauvoir and GDS and rejected at Sidwell.) We were so sure that we wanted to send our kid to one of those schools but over the year we had time to talk to more families and reassess. To give you more information than you asked for, we will probably apply to Sidwell again this year because despite the cattle call during the play visit we really liked the lower school a lot.

We are at NCRC now and there are many parents with siblings who have given us great advice so we looked at Green Acres today and plan to look at a few more over the next month. What blew us away about Green Acres compared to the other schools we visited last year? I guess it was the feel of the place. I loved the calm feel of each classroom. I loved the library and thought it was as nice if not nicer than Beauvoir's which in retrospect might be a bit much for 5 to 8 year olds. The kids all looked so happy and engaged. There was a very orderly chaos feel about some of the classrooms which is what I thought about Sidwell when we toured. At both schools I felt the kids were engaged in an activity with a purpose but they didn't know because they were having so much fun and all the teachers knew exactly where each child was. Finally I was impressed with all the teachers and staff. They seemed very bright and genuine. What sealed my love, at least for now, is when we were told they stopped teaching Everyday Math. Oh and the playground. My kid would die for that playground.

I don't know what consistent impression anyone is looking for from grade to grade. I never find any of the brochures all that informative. Beauvoir has a curriculum guide taped to their walls in the hallway in 11pt font. Who reads them in the hallway? I remember at our tour last year at GDS I was underwhelmed when our tour guide went on and on about how the keyboards are so great because they are made for kids. We applied because of the reputation and in truth we got sucked into the name game. We are still going to look at Lowell, Norwood, Maret, and maybe Sheridan soon but for now, I loved the feel of Green Acres. Their web site blows though.

We did take a peek at Lowell over the summer when they had a summer camp open house just to check out their campus. It's nice but I think in comparison Green Acres and Beauvoir are the two nicest I've seen so far. I have no claim to say this because they waitlisted us but I think Beauvoir had too much of a nice fancy restaurant feel too it. I think I was taken by it last year but now I realize that that’s probably not what a kid wants and not what my kid wants. So we’ll check out the other schools and see what happens. At dinner my husband and I talked at length about all the schools we’ve seen (we also toured St. Patricks, WIS, WES) so far and we concluded that our top choices so far are Sidwell and Green Acres, in that order. I guess by the length of this post I have just proved to myself that I feel the same way about Green Acres as I did about Sidwell last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is our second year of tours. (Last year we were waitlisted at Beauvoir and GDS and rejected at Sidwell.) We were so sure that we wanted to send our kid to one of those schools but over the year we had time to talk to more families and reassess. To give you more information than you asked for, we will probably apply to Sidwell again this year because despite the cattle call during the play visit we really liked the lower school a lot.

We are at NCRC now and there are many parents with siblings who have given us great advice so we looked at Green Acres today and plan to look at a few more over the next month. What blew us away about Green Acres compared to the other schools we visited last year? I guess it was the feel of the place. I loved the calm feel of each classroom. I loved the library and thought it was as nice if not nicer than Beauvoir's which in retrospect might be a bit much for 5 to 8 year olds. The kids all looked so happy and engaged. There was a very orderly chaos feel about some of the classrooms which is what I thought about Sidwell when we toured. At both schools I felt the kids were engaged in an activity with a purpose but they didn't know because they were having so much fun and all the teachers knew exactly where each child was. Finally I was impressed with all the teachers and staff. They seemed very bright and genuine. What sealed my love, at least for now, is when we were told they stopped teaching Everyday Math. Oh and the playground. My kid would die for that playground.

I don't know what consistent impression anyone is looking for from grade to grade. I never find any of the brochures all that informative. Beauvoir has a curriculum guide taped to their walls in the hallway in 11pt font. Who reads them in the hallway? I remember at our tour last year at GDS I was underwhelmed when our tour guide went on and on about how the keyboards are so great because they are made for kids. We applied because of the reputation and in truth we got sucked into the name game. We are still going to look at Lowell, Norwood, Maret, and maybe Sheridan soon but for now, I loved the feel of Green Acres. Their web site blows though.

We did take a peek at Lowell over the summer when they had a summer camp open house just to check out their campus. It's nice but I think in comparison Green Acres and Beauvoir are the two nicest I've seen so far. I have no claim to say this because they waitlisted us but I think Beauvoir had too much of a nice fancy restaurant feel too it. I think I was taken by it last year but now I realize that that’s probably not what a kid wants and not what my kid wants. So we’ll check out the other schools and see what happens. At dinner my husband and I talked at length about all the schools we’ve seen (we also toured St. Patricks, WIS, WES) so far and we concluded that our top choices so far are Sidwell and Green Acres, in that order. I guess by the length of this post I have just proved to myself that I feel the same way about Green Acres as I did about Sidwell last year.

Wow. Thank you for your post. Can I ask: will your child be in kindergarten next year? And were you already at NCRC?

I'm only asking because my child will be in pre-k next year, and I am overwhelmed wondering if I should apply like mad for pre-k programs, or try to wait for different schools the following K year. And if so, I will need to find a place for my child for pre-k. She would be the oldest if she stayed at her current school.

I've wondered if it would be possible for her to go to NCRC next year - she would be exactly 4 1/2 in Sept.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your through out explanation! really helpful. I will sure go to Green Acres to check it out. Sidwell is on our list as well. I knew GA stopped everyday math, I am glad too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've wondered if it would be possible for her to go to NCRC next year - she would be exactly 4 1/2 in Sept.

Yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've wondered if it would be possible for her to go to NCRC next year - she would be exactly 4 1/2 in Sept.

Yes.

Thank you. Do you think it would be hard for her to start there with children who have been there for several years?

[Anonymous]

Long poster here. Yes, we were already at NCRC so we knew we had that option. I would suggest you apply, maybe not like mad, but to several pre-k programs this year. You can also look at Sheridan, Norwood and Maret, which all start at K and think about where they rank on your list compared to the pre-K schools. Then in March if you get accepted somewhere that was not your very first choice you can say should we go there or wait another year and try for the school that starts in K. The only word of caution is not to fall too hard for Maret. It's no doubt a great school whose reputation has skyrocketed in the last 10 years and as a result extremely hard to get into. We knew that our chances at Sidwell were really low but I fell hard for it. We know that our chances this year continue to be low for all the reasons that have been discussed ad nauseum on this board already.

It just occured to me that another aspect of the school that really appealed to me today was the racial and ethnic diversity. For a school in the woods I was very impressed with the benetton feel of the place.

Good luck with the upcoming tours and hope you find a school you love.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've wondered if it would be possible for her to go to NCRC next year - she would be exactly 4 1/2 in Sept.

Yes.

Thank you. Do you think it would be hard for her to start there with children who have been there for several years?

No, not at all. At what is the PK year (Treetop and Explorer classes), they mix the kids up so that half the kids are new classmates for any one student. Because the kids aren't moving up in lockstep, they are not really conscious of who is new to the school. I also imagine it is easier to get in in that year, since a good number of kids go on to PK elsewhere (especially if they have older siblings at, say, Sidwell or Beauvoir.)

[Anonymous]

It sounds like the facilities and physical amenities are really important to you, long poster. I haven't thought as much about the physical beauty of the campuses. Food for thought, though. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Long poster here. Yes, we were already at NCRC so we knew we had that option. I would suggest you apply, maybe not like mad, but to several pre-k programs this year. You can also look at Sheridan, Norwood and Maret, which all start at K and think about where they rank on your list compared to the pre-K schools. Then in March if you get accepted somewhere that was not your very first choice you can say should we go there or wait another year and try for the school that starts in K. The only word of caution is not to fall too hard for Maret. It's no doubt a great school whose reputation has skyrocketed in the last 10 years and as a result extremely hard to get into. We knew that our chances at Sidwell were really low but I fell hard for it. We know that our chances this year continue to be low for all the reasons that have been discussed ad nauseum on this board already.

It just occured to me that another aspect of the school that really appealed to me today was the racial and ethnic diversity. For a school in the woods I was very impressed with the benetton feel of the place.

Good luck with the upcoming tours and hope you find a school you love.

Thank you. I'll start taking a look at the schools that start in K. And good luck to you too!

[Anonymous]

I'm another poster who was at Green Acres yesterday. I didn't think the chaos was "orderly" at all, as a PP did. Rather, I thought it was jarring. And I agree with another PP that consistency in approach seemed to be lacking. Say what you will about Lowell, but at least it has a consistent point of view throughout.

[Anonymous]

So far we have toured GDS, Maret and Potomac. GDS is probably the best fit for our DC, and we also loved Maret (of course). I had a harder time getting excited about Potomac. If you've toured Potomac and like it, what did you find special about it?

[Anonymous]

PP: What did you love about Maret? I like the fact that it is academically rigourous in high school and they have a good college placement record but I found the energy level of the school to be rather blah like if my DD actually got in she would come back a bundle of energy ready to explode. Did you not get this feeling? I thought the K cottage was really cute, but almost too small for 18 kids.

[Anonymous]

Maret has a very nice PowerPoint presentation. They market themselves very well from website to the AD's tour. I had to think did I love the school or the presentation of the school. Maybe the two are one and the same.

[Anonymous]

Lack of consistency is the problem with many 'progressive' schools. Depends a lot on the teacher and how well they are educated in this way of teaching.

[Anonymous]

I don't think Maret's college placement is all that good.