What schools were not what you expected when you visited them in person?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WOW! I was thinking of touring Sidwell for next year but “dark lower school classrooms”, no thank you.

Kids did not look happy.

This last point would be what would concern me.

Tour the school

[Anonymous]

At Sidwell’s Lower school every single classroom is outward facing with a wall of windows. There is only ONE internal classroom and that is the music room. I’m assuming that it’s because it’s also sound protected so it doesn’t disturb the science and art rooms. It is patently false to say they are dark when half of them also open directly into gardens and playrooms. Silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At Sidwell’s Lower school every single classroom is outward facing with a wall of windows. There is only ONE internal classroom and that is the music room. I’m assuming that it’s because it’s also sound protected so it doesn’t disturb the science and art rooms. It is patently false to say they are dark when half of them also open directly into gardens and playrooms. Silly.

Probably not what the PP meant when saying classrooms are too "dark".

[Anonymous]

As far as facilities go, Holy Cross could use a bit of spit and polish. The driveway needs to be repaved and the original part of the building needs a little TLC, but overall it's in pretty good shape. The original building is actually quite a good example of Mid-Century Modern architecture, which if you think about it was pretty bold for an order of nuns in the 50's.

Other than that, I think Holy Cross is quietly one of the best in MoCo. The girls are happy, intelligent and confident, and the staff are excellent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Montessori - forget which one but one on Old Georgetown Road. They told us to sit in a chair and observe and not interact with the kids. Teachers were cold, uncaring and not attentive to the kids. They walked around the classroom strangely and some of the kids were walking around wild, not engaged.


Holy Cross (K-8) - Surprised how much we liked it but after the other experiences very turned off by a religious school. Staff were very warm and welcoming, had no issue with different viewpoints, kids friendly and seemed happy.

(I'm surprised at the posts on the facilities being old. These schools have been around for years so its not surprising but for the price they charge they should be well maintained).

We had the same experience with that Montessori on Old Georgetown. Sitting on a chair just watching was very weird and the teacher seemed not too excited that I was there.

Holy Cross in Kensington (K-8, not Academy) was an immediate no. Went to an open house and the school seemed shabby and dated. I got the name of a family there from a friend to find out about their experience. Turns out they had already moved their child out of the school because they were not happy. Apparently for such a small school they have a serious bullying problem. Parents were unable to get anyone to take their concerns seriously, so they left. The child apparently came home from school in tears 3 days a week from the bullying. For that price, there are lots of other options.

[Anonymous]

Flint Hill. We were planning on sending our DC there until we toured the school. The academics were a grade level below his current school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:St. Andrews was not what we expected. Great vibe and gorgeous facilities.

I agree that the vibe was much more down to earth than I expected, but I did expect that with that price tag, the campus would be lovely (and it is).

We had the same take - didn’t know a lot about the school but was told by DC’s prior HOS to add it to consideration. So glad he did - remarkable facility, amazing community, positive student culture, and stellar teachers. They had by far the most authentic admissions team and the welcome process was remarkable. We will be there next year and genuinely can’t wait.

[Anonymous]

We popped by Maret the other day to drop something off- our DC is starting in the upper school next year- and the whole place reeked of exhaust fumes. Not a good look.

[Anonymous]

We expected to be impressed by GDS, but we were blown away when we visited. The school is amazing, and we now have 2 happy kids enrolled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Flint Hill. We were planning on sending our DC there until we toured the school. The academics were a grade level below his current school.

I do t know anything about that, but they sure seem to have a successful Latin program.

[Anonymous]

I agree that their Latin program is very strong, but they were a grade level behind in every other subject. We ended up sending our DS to Potomac, when we were planning on Flint Hill.

[Anonymous]

Burke was a pleasant surprise. It had a lot of positive energy, most of the students seemed enthusiastic, happy and welcoming, and the curriculum was more robust than I expected. On the other hand, it was also more compact than I expected. The facilities are adequate but not impressive. Physically, the school is so small that you might not even notice it when you drive by on Connecticut Avenue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell lower school was not impressive for the amount that they charge. I felt like GDS was a close second. The facilities appeared dated and not as well kept as others. St. Andrew's, W.I.S., and W.E.S. were positively surprising.

Meaning the facilities at St. Andrew’s, WIS and WES were well maintained? Having been to two of the schools, I assume that’s what you mean.

Yep, the facilities were maintained very well. W.E.S. is even looking at expanding their current space.

Agree. WES was really nice and kept up very well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Burke was a pleasant surprise. It had a lot of positive energy, most of the students seemed enthusiastic, happy and welcoming, and the curriculum was more robust than I expected. On the other hand, it was also more compact than I expected. The facilities are adequate but not impressive. Physically, the school is so small that you might not even notice it when you drive by on Connecticut Avenue.

+1 We were pleasantly surprised and impressed by Burke. My DC ended up choosing a more traditional, single sex school, but we all really liked Burke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WOW! I was thinking of touring Sidwell for next year but “dark lower school classrooms”, no thank you.

Kids did not look happy.

How does "dark lower school classrooms" become a thing in a building that is less than 10 years old that is nothing but windows?

Only on DCUM.

Are you getting mixed up with the middle school?

The Lower School building is newer than the Middle School building.

All of which makes me ask what Sidwell is thinking in planning to move the lower school into the current upper school building. The upper school building is multistory with tall staircases, is in a constrained location on the campus, and has little surrounding space that could become a playground.