New to the private school discussion - nova family

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re in Arlington and getting into the city is really not a big deal. Further, many schools have busses from Arlington (Bullis, GDS, Landon, Field just to name a few) or are very accessible by public transit (as they get into middle/high school) (Maret, WIS, GDS, Burke).

Is the school bus free for these above private schools?Or need to pay any additional fee?

Bus transportation is usually an additional expense ($1-3K).

We were able to drive my child most days, and when we could not, they used Uber. Many students take the metro, and this is a great life skill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Congressional School in Falls church (close to Arlington) is a great place. Have a kid graduating from there this year (who started in pre-school). It meets all the priorities you list below. Focus on studying and learning, hands on, great teachers, very warm atmosphere with emphasis on kindness and social values.

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been looking through the forums and past posts as I try to get a general idea of the private school landscape for our Northern Virginia family. We’re in Arlington and thought the kids would go to public schools because ‘the schools were great’. At some point in time we learned that the high schools were not as great and we might want to consider private for that. We made ourselves to the idea that we would apply private for middle school or high school. And then the last two years happened and now we’re wondering if we should consider private sooner since it sounds like admissions have gotten much more competitive. I’m trying to come up to speed on this earlier than I expected.

My questions:
a) I kept reading about going to school close to where you live. Obviously there is Potomac. What are other options in this area? Madeira is all girls so that’s not an option for one of our kids. Langley sounds great, but I’m weary about doing the application again in HS especially for my kid who is not super social - seems rough to pull them out of public, then Langley, then somewhere else for HS but maybe people do It and it’s fine. We like where we live and moving for a school seems daunting
b) Are there set “entry years” when more spots open up usually or does it vary at all schools? Does it make more sense to apply for K (missed that boat), 6th, or 9th grade?
c) We’re Catholic but I hadn’t really considered Catholic schools - I’m not sure why. I think maybe I inadvertently ranked schools in my head as public, then Catholic and then independents like Potomac and if we’re gonna pull them out of public then try to go all the way. But I’m open to suggestions if there are exceptional ones to consider. Is it common that catholic school families would apply / get into Potomac type schools for HS?

We want solid academics with less emphasis on devices and more emphasis on textbooks. Child loves learning and is not an athlete. We’re big on social Justice values (I feel a little guilty about potentially going private) and educating the whole child / inculcating values. And we’re minorities so a bit concerned about that as well, though I’ve mostly come to terms that private schools will not have the level of diversity I would prefer in an ideal world.

All suggestions welcome but please be kind to this newbie

Congressional does seem wonderful.
The teachers there seem to have a lot of job satisfaction.

Someone transferred from our K-8 (SMALL) there and found their people. They wound up at a top HS.

Not in our budget, but great place, and also, horses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish there were just 1-2 more options reasonable from Arlington/McLean/FC for HS.

Potomac, Flint Hill, DJO and Madeira are the only reasonable commutes IMO.

The new paul VI is too far out to be an option. Same for Saint Paul the Great. It’s a shame too - both have the best facilities in the area IMO.

From Arlington Holton/Landon and NCS/St. Albans would be easier commutes than Flint Hill!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congressional School in Falls church (close to Arlington) is a great place. Have a kid graduating from there this year (who started in pre-school). It meets all the priorities you list below. Focus on studying and learning, hands on, great teachers, very warm atmosphere with emphasis on kindness and social values.

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been looking through the forums and past posts as I try to get a general idea of the private school landscape for our Northern Virginia family. We’re in Arlington and thought the kids would go to public schools because ‘the schools were great’. At some point in time we learned that the high schools were not as great and we might want to consider private for that. We made ourselves to the idea that we would apply private for middle school or high school. And then the last two years happened and now we’re wondering if we should consider private sooner since it sounds like admissions have gotten much more competitive. I’m trying to come up to speed on this earlier than I expected.

My questions:
a) I kept reading about going to school close to where you live. Obviously there is Potomac. What are other options in this area? Madeira is all girls so that’s not an option for one of our kids. Langley sounds great, but I’m weary about doing the application again in HS especially for my kid who is not super social - seems rough to pull them out of public, then Langley, then somewhere else for HS but maybe people do It and it’s fine. We like where we live and moving for a school seems daunting
b) Are there set “entry years” when more spots open up usually or does it vary at all schools? Does it make more sense to apply for K (missed that boat), 6th, or 9th grade?
c) We’re Catholic but I hadn’t really considered Catholic schools - I’m not sure why. I think maybe I inadvertently ranked schools in my head as public, then Catholic and then independents like Potomac and if we’re gonna pull them out of public then try to go all the way. But I’m open to suggestions if there are exceptional ones to consider. Is it common that catholic school families would apply / get into Potomac type schools for HS?

We want solid academics with less emphasis on devices and more emphasis on textbooks. Child loves learning and is not an athlete. We’re big on social Justice values (I feel a little guilty about potentially going private) and educating the whole child / inculcating values. And we’re minorities so a bit concerned about that as well, though I’ve mostly come to terms that private schools will not have the level of diversity I would prefer in an ideal world.

All suggestions welcome but please be kind to this newbie

Congressional does seem wonderful.
The teachers there seem to have a lot of job satisfaction.

Someone transferred from our K-8 (SMALL) there and found their people. They wound up at a top HS.

Not in our budget, but great place, and also, horses.

They had some really odd administration issues last year. A lonnnnngggggggg thread here about a video with a principal in an odd cultural reference video and a teacher who had girls dress in antebellum garb for some project. Back to back faux pas and my recollection was that the school did a horrible job navigating or even acknowledging both. It gave enough odd vibes on how they’d handle other situations that we decided to look elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Congressional School in Falls church (close to Arlington) is a great place. Have a kid graduating from there this year (who started in pre-school). It meets all the priorities you list below. Focus on studying and learning, hands on, great teachers, very warm atmosphere with emphasis on kindness and social values.

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been looking through the forums and past posts as I try to get a general idea of the private school landscape for our Northern Virginia family. We’re in Arlington and thought the kids would go to public schools because ‘the schools were great’. At some point in time we learned that the high schools were not as great and we might want to consider private for that. We made ourselves to the idea that we would apply private for middle school or high school. And then the last two years happened and now we’re wondering if we should consider private sooner since it sounds like admissions have gotten much more competitive. I’m trying to come up to speed on this earlier than I expected.

My questions:
a) I kept reading about going to school close to where you live. Obviously there is Potomac. What are other options in this area? Madeira is all girls so that’s not an option for one of our kids. Langley sounds great, but I’m weary about doing the application again in HS especially for my kid who is not super social - seems rough to pull them out of public, then Langley, then somewhere else for HS but maybe people do It and it’s fine. We like where we live and moving for a school seems daunting
b) Are there set “entry years” when more spots open up usually or does it vary at all schools? Does it make more sense to apply for K (missed that boat), 6th, or 9th grade?
c) We’re Catholic but I hadn’t really considered Catholic schools - I’m not sure why. I think maybe I inadvertently ranked schools in my head as public, then Catholic and then

independents like Potomac and if we’re gonna pull them out of public then try to go all the way. But I’m open to suggestions if there are exceptional ones to consider. Is it common that catholic school families would apply / get into Potomac type schools for HS?

We want solid academics with less emphasis on devices and more emphasis on textbooks. Child loves learning and is not an athlete. We’re big on social Justice values (I feel a little guilty about potentially going private) and educating the whole child / inculcating values. And we’re minorities so a bit concerned about that as well, though I’ve mostly come to terms that private schools will not have the level of diversity I would prefer in an ideal world.

All suggestions welcome but please be kind to this newbie

Congressional does seem wonderful.
The teachers there seem to have a lot of job satisfaction.

Someone transferred from our K-8 (SMALL) there and found their people. They wound up at a top HS.

Not in our budget, but great place, and also, horses.

They had some really odd administration issues last year. A lonnnnngggggggg thread here about a video with a principal in an odd cultural reference video and a teacher who had girls dress in antebellum garb for some project. Back to back faux pas and my recollection was that the school did a horrible job navigating or even acknowledging both. It gave enough odd vibes on how they’d handle other situations that we decided to look elsewhere.

I rember that story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you think other private schools are better than Catholic schools? Don't listen to the anti-Catholic trolls on here - just the word Catholic send them for the salts.

OP here: Admittedly I have no basis for this, except that I see neighbors driving to Catholic schools that are in DC (HTS) when there are Catholic schools in Arlington much closer to us. I suppose not all Catholic schools are created equal - as with independent schools. What are considered the “best” Catholic options in this area?

OP. I’m Catholic and attended a parochial school and an independent school. My kids did the same. I think you’ll find that the strong independent schools far exceed every aspect of your typical parochial school. That being said, I think the typical parochial school is better in many ways to most publics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish there were just 1-2 more options reasonable from Arlington/McLean/FC for HS.

Potomac, Flint Hill, DJO and Madeira are the only reasonable commutes IMO.

The new paul VI is too far out to be an option. Same for Saint Paul the Great. It’s a shame too - both have the best facilities in the area IMO.

Add SSSAS k-12 in Alexandria. Lots of Arlington families and they run a bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to clarify, do you want textbooks specifically, or just something other than devices? A lot of independent schools don’t use textbooks in the lower school years, but also don’t use devices much. I have a third grader, and, for example, this week in science they were learning about magnetism through a variety of inquiry-based activities and experiments with magnets. For social studies they’ve been learning about native peoples using a range of primary source material including documents, guest speakers, and artifacts. They’re learning to do research in the library. They don’t have textbooks not because they’re on devices but because it’s much more hands-on.

Thank you for the distinction. I want hands on learning, reading, writing. I know school has changed a lot since I was there so it’s hard to say what I want specifically if not textbooks. I do not want a bunch of apps and worksheets from teachers paying teachers or whatever that have not been reviewed and validated as a curriculum would be

I think generally teachers in private have more autonomy with curriculum (so it varies more depending on teacher)--something to keep in mind.

They might have more autonomy in the classroom, but one thing I value most about private is that the entire staff/faculty is guided by the same philosophy. Not so in publics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you think other private schools are better than Catholic schools? Don't listen to the anti-Catholic trolls on here - just the word Catholic send them for the salts.

OP here: Admittedly I have no basis for this, except that I see neighbors driving to Catholic schools that are in DC (HTS) when there are Catholic schools in Arlington much closer to us. I suppose not all Catholic schools are created equal - as with independent schools. What are considered the “best” Catholic options in this area?

OP. I’m Catholic and attended a parochial school and an independent school. My kids did the same. I think you’ll find that the strong independent schools far exceed every aspect of your typical parochial school. That being said, I think the typical parochial school is better in many ways to most publics.

Thank you for this. It’s hard to figure out how schools rank. One neighbor makes the daily drive to
holy trinity in Georgetown even though St Agnes and St Anne are so much closer. I have to assume there is a big difference to be willing to make that drive. My colleague lives very close to bishop o Connell but her son at Gonzaga, so those schools are probably not comparable? And not sure where St Thomas Moore fits in there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’re in Arlington and getting into the city is really not a big deal. Further, many schools have busses from Arlington (Bullis, GDS, Landon, Field just to name a few) or are very accessible by public transit (as they get into middle/high school) (Maret, WIS, GDS, Burke).

Is the school bus free for these above private schools?Or need to pay any additional fee?

Bus transportation is usually an additional expense ($1-3K).

We were able to drive my child most days, and when we could [b]not, they used Uber. Many students take the metro, and this is a great life skill.

The terms of service don’t apply to you and your kid, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you think other private schools are better than Catholic schools? Don't listen to the anti-Catholic trolls on here - just the word Catholic send them for the salts.

OP here: Admittedly I have no basis for this, except that I see neighbors driving to Catholic schools that are in DC (HTS) when there are Catholic schools in Arlington much closer to us. I suppose not all Catholic schools are created equal - as with independent schools. What are considered the “best” Catholic options in this area?

OP. I’m Catholic and attended a parochial school and an independent school. My kids did the same. I think you’ll find that the strong independent schools far exceed every aspect of your typical parochial school. That being said, I think the typical parochial school is better in many ways to most publics.

Thank you for this. It’s hard to figure out how schools rank. One neighbor makes the daily drive to
holy trinity in Georgetown even though St Agnes and St Anne are so much closer. I have to assume there is a big difference to be willing to make that drive. My colleague lives very close to bishop o Connell but her son at Gonzaga, so those schools are probably not comparable? And not sure where St Thomas Moore fits in there

Well, my DS applied to both DJO and GCHS last year. Accepted to both. I wouldn’t say its so much that there is a big difference in terms of quality. GCHS is more *selective* in its applications because it draws area wide. Something like 40% of its boys live in VA and many in MD. DJO is more of a neighborhood Falls Church, Arlington, McLean school. Much like Bishop Ireton in Alexandria and Paul VI in Chantilly. We really did like DJO though. Much more than I thought I would. Their buildout is looking great. GCHS is really known for its strong brotherhood and the Jesuit tradition appeals to many. DJO does not have those attributes. Plus GCHS is near Capitol Hill and has a soup kitchen adjacent to school so there are volunteer opportunities aplenty. But you can get a solid or even terrific education at either place. And they are Catholic so they cater to a wider set of students than, say, the Big 3.

St. Thomas More is a parish school, whereas DJO and Gonzaga are HS only.

St. Stephens and St. Agnes is different since it’s (a) Episcopalian, not Catholic, (b) PreK-12, and (c) about 2x as expensive as the others. There is some inertia in terms of applying out, so if you wanted to do a Catholic HS, you’d need to go to the effort of applying out of SSSAS after 8th grade. Holy Trinity in G’Town is a Catholic k8 that tends to feed a lot into St. John’s and Gonzaga, which many think of as among the most desirable Catholic HS, along with G’town Prep in MD.

[Anonymous]

South Arlington resident here. Why does nobody ever mention Alexandria County Day School in these discussions? The location is fantastic from S Arlington (not as much from N) and it seems like a great school to me that we’re considering for the future (we’ll be applying to private in 2 years). But it never comes up on this board. Is there something “wrong” with it or is just relatively small/unknown?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish there were just 1-2 more options reasonable from Arlington/McLean/FC for HS.

Potomac, Flint Hill, DJO and Madeira are the only reasonable commutes IMO.

The new paul VI is too far out to be an option. Same for Saint Paul the Great. It’s a shame too - both have the best facilities in the area IMO.

Add SSSAS k-12 in Alexandria. Lots of Arlington families and they run a bus.

There is a separate thread about families being unhappy with SSSAS on this board and not thinking it’s worth the money. A family member was unhappy with their public school experience during covid and thinks their child could benefit from a private school but isn’t sure they can get into a “good one” with the increased demand, and is not about to pay $40k for a “not good one”. Which made me wonder - are there schools that cost that much but are not worth it?

[Anonymous]

We are in Arlington, too. Kids started in public but moved to Potomac in lower elementary (now in upper school). We did not consider schools in DC because we both work in VA and it just didn't seem reasonable to not only get the kids to school in DC (and then us to offices, back in the day) but also be able to get to school for events, meetings, and volunteering. I value proximity to school for many reasons -- wish we lived even closer so kids could walk and their friends could be at our house more easily. You wind up being at your kids' school more often than you think you will be (in a good way) and longer trips can get old. Also, while schools like to have some geographic "diversity" the reality is that many families do choose close schools, so many of your kids' friends might live reasonably close to school. That's true for our kids friends and I appreciate that we don't have to make huge trips (or cross any bridges) to get to most of their houses/events.

Potomac requires (most) kids to take buses, no matter where you live. They have quite a few free shuttle stops in the close-in (to McLean) area (usually in shopping center parking lots and the like) OR you can pay for the neighborhood bus service. We've always done the free version (because tuition is bad enough).

Finally, Langley is a great place to start. Everyone I know who sent kids there have been very happy with the education, teachers, families, and culture.

[Anonymous]

Saint Stephens Saint Agnes is an option. Several Maryland schools have buses that pick up in Virginia.