If you live in McLean, would you send your child to Potomac school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Lots of McLean people go to Potomac. But first you must get in. Not easy! They take 1/3 md, 1/3 DC and 1/3 va.
Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.

Not even close to the geographic distribution

That's what admissions told me for K.
And 50/50 boys girls.

Then they are lying

[Anonymous]

Yes. We chose Potomac over the McLean public schools and are still happy several years in. We wanted a more progressive educational approach, and the class size and extras have been wonderful as well.

[Anonymous]

It depends on how tight money would be. In my opinion, there's no question that it's a better school than any of the publics-- the only issue is the cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Lots of McLean people go to Potomac. But first you must get in. Not easy! They take 1/3 md, 1/3 DC and 1/3 va.
Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.

Not even close to the geographic distribution

That's what admissions told me for K.
And 50/50 boys girls.

That may be what they aim for or accept. There's no way that is the geographic makeup of the student body

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ltitle Langley is for those who can't get into Potomac.

And for those who don't care about academics.

I am always puzzled by such statements. My daughter attended Little Langley and is now at Holton. (Never applied to Potomac, and we care deeply about academics.)

[Anonymous]

Of course OP. You want the best for your child. Good luck with the application process...it can be very stressful

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We chose Potomac over the McLean public schools and are still happy several years in. We wanted a more progressive educational approach, and the class size and extras have been wonderful as well.

The pedagogy may be more progressive, but the families and student body give off a snooty vibe. We felt like McLean was enough of a bubble already so we wanted schools that were more diverse, at least in the upper grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ltitle Langley is for those who can't get into Potomac.

And for those who don't care about academics.

I am always puzzled by such statements. My daughter attended Little Langley and is now at Holton. (Never applied to Potomac, and we care deeply about academics.)

And don't you see a HUGE difference between the quality of education at Holton than at Langley?
And yes my kids have been to both schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We chose Potomac over the McLean public schools and are still happy several years in. We wanted a more progressive educational approach, and the class size and extras have been wonderful as well.

The pedagogy may be more progressive, but the families and student body give off a snooty vibe. We felt like McLean was enough of a bubble already so we wanted schools that were more diverse, at least in the upper grades.

Do you truly not realize what you are saying here? If McLean is a bubble, then the PS in McLean are going to be a bubble as well. Potomac School works to create diversity in its student body, as do all the elite privates, because they have the means and opportunity to do so. Public schools cannot. They have to accept the resident population. Private schools can ensure the student population represents diversity of economic backgrounds, cultural backgrounds and race/color/creed. Its one of the benefits of private school. You have more homogenity of intellegence and behavior but not of anything else because they pull from a much, much larger geographical area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ltitle Langley is for those who can't get into Potomac.

And for those who don't care about academics.

I am always puzzled by such statements. My daughter attended Little Langley and is now at Holton. (Never applied to Potomac, and we care deeply about academics.)

And don't you see a HUGE difference between the quality of education at Holton than at Langley?
And yes my kids have been to both schools.

PP here. My daughter was at Langley until 2nd grade. I thought she got excellent education there. Her kindergarten teacher was outstanding, the music teacher was fabulous, and DD gained lots of confidence. When applying to Holton, she got excellent scores on the ERB, which tests school-acquired knowledge. So overall, I don't know what more I could have expected from Langley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ltitle Langley is for those who can't get into Potomac.

And for those who don't care about academics.

I am always puzzled by such statements. My daughter attended Little Langley and is now at Holton. (Never applied to Potomac, and we care deeply about academics.)

And don't you see a HUGE difference between the quality of education at Holton than at Langley?
And yes my kids have been to both schools.

PP here. My daughter was at Langley until 2nd grade. I thought she got excellent education there. Her kindergarten teacher was outstanding, the music teacher was fabulous, and DD gained lots of confidence. When applying to Holton, she got excellent scores on the ERB, which tests school-acquired knowledge. So overall, I don't know what more I could have expected from Langley.

Then you left at the right time. Your daughter is one of the lucky ones.

[Anonymous]

To the Langley-hater, you really don't know what you are talking about. My DC is in middle school and on the ERBs has consistently gotten 9 stanines vs. independent school cohort and I attribute some of that to Langley. DC is in 7th grade and is already being contacted by some of the NE boarding schools (unsolicited). While Potomac is a wonderful school, we turned it down for K because we felt the math and science programs were better in the Lower School at Langley and my DC is very math and science focused. Dig deeper and you will find that there have been mixed reviews of Potomac's Lower School math program, albeit it is a terrific school overall, too. Additionally, Potomac is probably better for the more sports focused child. To the PP, remember that these are kids -- please control yourself when it comes to using language like "rejects". Take your personal baggage elsewhere. We are fortunate to have a lot of great educational choices in the metro DC area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ltitle Langley is for those who can't get into Potomac.

And for those who don't care about academics.

I am always puzzled by such statements. My daughter attended Little Langley and is now at Holton. (Never applied to Potomac, and we care deeply about academics.)

And don't you see a HUGE difference between the quality of education at Holton than at Langley?
And yes my kids have been to both schools.

PP here. My daughter was at Langley until 2nd grade. I thought she got excellent education there. Her kindergarten teacher was outstanding, the music teacher was fabulous, and DD gained lots of confidence. When applying to Holton, she got excellent scores on the ERB, which tests school-acquired knowledge. So overall, I don't know what more I could have expected from Langley.

If that is the case, why did you change schools in 2nd? Typically people vote with their feet....especially in lower school. Just curious especially since going to an all girls school in 3rd (vs. middle) isn't really as critical. Genuinely interested in why you moved if you were happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We chose Potomac over the McLean public schools and are still happy several years in. We wanted a more progressive educational approach, and the class size and extras have been wonderful as well.

The pedagogy may be more progressive, but the families and student body give off a snooty vibe. We felt like McLean was enough of a bubble already so we wanted schools that were more diverse, at least in the upper grades.

Do you truly not realize what you are saying here? If McLean is a bubble, then the PS in McLean are going to be a bubble as well. Potomac School works to create diversity in its student body, as do all the elite privates, because they have the means and opportunity to do so. Public schools cannot. They have to accept the resident population. Private schools can ensure the student population represents diversity of economic backgrounds, cultural backgrounds and race/color/creed. Its one of the benefits of private school. You have more homogenity of intellegence and behavior but not of anything else because they pull from a much, much larger geographical area.

Not really. The McLean HS boundaries (unlike those at Langley) were drawn to pull in some lower-income areas in Falls Church near Lee Highway, as well as other areas in McLean, Falls Church and Vienna that have more diversity. It felt more organic to us than a prep school full of mostly rich kids with a handful of low-income kids getting financial aid.

But I'll admit that my perceptions of Potomac are shaped mostly by those in the immediate area who send their kids there. Lots of talk about getting in if you know the "right people," charity auctions, and kids who wear Vineyard Vines most of the year. For us, those negatives outweighed the potential advantages of more individualized instruction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ltitle Langley is for those who can't get into Potomac.

And for those who don't care about academics.

I am always puzzled by such statements. My daughter attended Little Langley and is now at Holton. (Never applied to Potomac, and we care deeply about academics.)

And don't you see a HUGE difference between the quality of education at Holton than at Langley?
And yes my kids have been to both schools.

PP here. My daughter was at Langley until 2nd grade. I thought she got excellent education there. Her kindergarten teacher was outstanding, the music teacher was fabulous, and DD gained lots of confidence. When applying to Holton, she got excellent scores on the ERB, which tests school-acquired knowledge. So overall, I don't know what more I could have expected from Langley.

If that is the case, why did you change schools in 2nd? Typically people vote with their feet....especially in lower school. Just curious especially since going to an all girls school in 3rd (vs. middle) isn't really as critical. Genuinely interested in why you moved if you were happy.

PP again. I am a big fan of all-girl education and Holton's focus on STEM was very appealing. FWIW, our younger child is still at Langley.