Grace Episcopal in Alexandria, VA

[Anonymous]

12:52 here- the philosophy seems to vary from teacher to teacher a bit. We have observed rewarding positive behavior and monitoring behavior through a color code system. There are small consequences to yellow behavior and parents are notified if their child moves to red. The teachers work closely with parents when necessary to come up with a plan for any issues that might be going on in the classroom, and because of the small size I feel like they do a really good job of working with the needs of various types of children. They do teach individual responsibility and self-regulation, but over all find it a very warm environment for my child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12:52 here- the philosophy seems to vary from teacher to teacher a bit. We have observed rewarding positive behavior and monitoring behavior through a color code system. There are small consequences to yellow behavior and parents are notified if their child moves to red. The teachers work closely with parents when necessary to come up with a plan for any issues that might be going on in the classroom, and because of the small size I feel like they do a really good job of working with the needs of various types of children. They do teach individual responsibility and self-regulation, but over all find it a very warm environment for my child.

Thanks so much for answering my question about discipline. Do you know if it's possible for an accepted parent to observe the classrooms?

[Anonymous]

NP, also interested in the school. My concern is not knowing if the academics are rigorous compared to Alexandria/Arlington Catholic parochial schools, for example St. Mary's. Does anyone know? It looks like the teachers have been there a long time so I'm wondering if they are still bringing the latest best practices in teaching to the classroom and constantly refreshing the curriculum. Perhaps that's not the thing at this school.

Also, does anyone know exmissions patterns and alumni information - where are the kids going for middle school and later on high school (and college)? Usually alumni newsletters share that type of information but I was unable to find that on Grace's website.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP, also interested in the school. My concern is not knowing if the academics are rigorous compared to Alexandria/Arlington Catholic parochial schools, for example St. Mary's. Does anyone know? It looks like the teachers have been there a long time so I'm wondering if they are still bringing the latest best practices in teaching to the classroom and constantly refreshing the curriculum. Perhaps that's not the thing at this school.

Also, does anyone know exmissions patterns and alumni information - where are the kids going for middle school and later on high school (and college)? Usually alumni newsletters share that type of information but I was unable to find that on Grace's website.

We went through the process at Grace a couple years ago so my information is the most up to date. We really liked the school. The expectations (in terms of behavior) and curriculum seemed fairly traditional, but they also seemed to understand that little kids (especially boys) need a lot of outside time. They had a wonderful AD when we went through the process, though she isn't there any more. Aside from smaller class sizes and less religious focus, I didn't see a big difference in academics between Grace and St. Mary's. We chose St. Mary's as it was our first choice--we just weren't sure we would get in because we are out of parish. According to the AD when we went through the process, a fair number of students go on to SSSAS and some move over to public in 3rd grade when G&T becomes more available. She also mentioned a few boys have gone to St. Anselms. I'm not sure how often, but I think a few students move on to St. Mary's for middle school as well. One thing that stood out for us is that she mentioned that they don't necessarily try to fill a class as natural attrition happens and that by 5th grade the class can be quite small. About a year after we went through the process, the new AD called and asked if we were happy with the school we chose and whether we might be interested in moving our child to Grace for 1st grade. I'm not sure if that indicates enrollment issues or if it's common for them to check in on those that passed on the school previously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, also interested in the school. My concern is not knowing if the academics are rigorous compared to Alexandria/Arlington Catholic parochial schools, for example St. Mary's. Does anyone know? It looks like the teachers have been there a long time so I'm wondering if they are still bringing the latest best practices in teaching to the classroom and constantly refreshing the curriculum. Perhaps that's not the thing at this school.

Also, does anyone know exmissions patterns and alumni information - where are the kids going for middle school and later on high school (and college)? Usually alumni newsletters share that type of information but I was unable to find that on Grace's website.

We went through the process at Grace a couple years ago so my information is the most up to date. We really liked the school. The expectations (in terms of behavior) and curriculum seemed fairly traditional, but they also seemed to understand that little kids (especially boys) need a lot of outside time. They had a wonderful AD when we went through the process, though she isn't there any more. Aside from smaller class sizes and less religious focus, I didn't see a big difference in academics between Grace and St. Mary's. We chose St. Mary's as it was our first choice--we just weren't sure we would get in because we are out of parish. According to the AD when we went through the process, a fair number of students go on to SSSAS and some move over to public in 3rd grade when G&T becomes more available. She also mentioned a few boys have gone to St. Anselms. I'm not sure how often, but I think a few students move on to St. Mary's for middle school as well. One thing that stood out for us is that she mentioned that they don't necessarily try to fill a class as natural attrition happens and that by 5th grade the class can be quite small. About a year after we went through the process, the new AD called and asked if we were happy with the school we chose and whether we might be interested in moving our child to Grace for 1st grade. I'm not sure if that indicates enrollment issues or if it's common for them to check in on those that passed on the school previously.

information is *not* the most up to date

[Anonymous]

Grace School is a wonderful blend of welcoming and encouraging, with high expectations for student behavior. Two negative observations:

1. Fr. Malm is an awful religion instructor, and teaches at a level appropriate to college, not elementary school.

2. The long-standing dispute between Malm and a former parishioner, which includes accusations by the church of “domestic terrorism,” is a huge negative and a seriously unhealthy situation for children. The fact that the church hasn’t done anything to resolve the mess sets a bad example for children of how not to deal with conflict.

Until I see a healthier relationship between Fr. Malm and the membership, I’m going to vote no on Grace.