I have searched this site, but wanting more info on Grace Episcopal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1603 here. I hated it because it was a ruin down, shabby place. They said they renovated, but you couldn't tell from the way it looked. It looked worse than the local public MC school.

Well if all that matters to you is flash facilities and a huge gym, then Grace is not the place for you. I doubt the other parents would miss you....


Something for the rest of you to think about: the lack of fancy facilities means lower costs. Grace is a great bargain compared to some of the other privates.

Totally agree PP. I think that one of the reasons that the parent community is so down to earth is that most of us prioritize the quality of the teachers and curriculum over state-of-the-art facilities. Climbing wall and olympic-sized pool? No. Shabby? Absolutely not. Top-notch educators? YES!

And hey, I love the old graveyard and church. It is historic, and feels very quaint and real to me.

[Anonymous]

I'm a current Grace parent still chuckling over the graveyard poster. I'm with the PP, I don't mind the graveyard. I usually take the opportunity for a prayer for the family of the former student who is buried there.

But all this graveyard stuff did raise a point of clarification. The Grace Silver Spring campus (nursery thru K) is on the grounds of Grace Church and adjacent to the previously mentioned graveyard, which certainly predates the school building and probably also predates the current church building. You have to walk through the graveyard to get to the door by the office but you don't have to walk through it to use the usual arrival and dismissal door by the ramp.

The Grace Kensington campus (1 thru 8) is in a former public school that Grace purchased years ago. Perhaps this should go without saying, but there is no graveyard at Kensington. So if you're opposed to graveyards, you need have no contact with them for first grade and up.

[Anonymous]

LOL PP!

[Anonymous]

Current parent who loves the graveyard (and the school). My child is so matter of fact about it, it's cute!

Said-- don't step there, the dead people are buried under the stones. It's not nice to step on them!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thin the value depends on where you live. For us, it's really worth paying for, because we live in SS. Many parents come from SS and PG, where the schools are not Somerset elementary, if you know what I mean!

That's not a very nice statement.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, that was my statement, and I wasn't trying to offend. Not sure if you read it as offensive to Chevy Chase or to Silver Spring?

My point was that Eastern Montgomery county has more challenges than Western (as is pointed out repeatedly on other threads in this forum). Most private schools are in the west, where the top public schools also are located. But Grace is further East, where more parents opt for private because they aren't comfortable with their local public. It may not seem like a value to spend 17K if you live in a top 10 elementary district, but it sure can if your home school is 75% Farms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, that was my statement, and I wasn't trying to offend. Not sure if you read it as offensive to Chevy Chase or to Silver Spring?

My point was that Eastern Montgomery county has more challenges than Western (as is pointed out repeatedly on other threads in this forum). Most private schools are in the west, where the top public schools also are located. But Grace is further East, where more parents opt for private because they aren't comfortable with their local public. It may not seem like a value to spend 17K if you live in a top 10 elementary district, but it sure can if your home school is 75% Farms.

offensive to certain parts of Silver Spring

I am not putting down Grace. I know it's a good institution, and I've known people who have sent their children there.

I simply believe we have to be careful in how we make these comparisons between public and private schools. The term FARMs (free and reduced meals) often has a negative connotation associated with it - poverty, language barriers, transience and behavioral issues. These are children we're talking about who have no choice in where they attend school. Furthermore, these schools are filled with dedicated staff members who devote a lot of emotional energy into leveling out the playing field.

If you have the means, then find the best spot for your children, but keep in mind that by pulling your children out of the local elementary schools, you're helping to maintain the FARMs rate of 75% - which translates into widening the divide between The Haves and The Have Nots.

[Anonymous]

A few years ago, we turned down acceptance to Grace for our child. Got caught up in the luxurious facilities and competitiveness of the big 3. Don't know a lot about Grace, but it definitely felt nurturing for kids, welcoming for parents, and the academics seemed fine. We SERIOUSLY REGRET TURNING DOWN GRACE. Child attended a big 3 and we are certain child would have been better at Grace. A previous poster actually mentions that maybe the academics at Grace are not as rigorous as (blank)...trust me you would be surprised. We have been quite disappointed with the lack of rigor at this big 3 school. Please do focus on the academics and social climate (for kids) at the school, DO NOT be fooled by the facilities and big name families at these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A few years ago, we turned down acceptance to Grace for our child. Got caught up in the luxurious facilities and competitiveness of the big 3. Don't know a lot about Grace, but it definitely felt nurturing for kids, welcoming for parents, and the academics seemed fine. We SERIOUSLY REGRET TURNING DOWN GRACE. Child attended a big 3 and we are certain child would have been better at Grace. A previous poster actually mentions that maybe the academics at Grace are not as rigorous as (blank)...trust me you would be surprised. We have been quite disappointed with the lack of rigor at this big 3 school. Please do focus on the academics and social climate (for kids) at the school, DO NOT be fooled by the facilities and big name families at these schools.

Well said, PP. I absolutely agree. As a former teacher at one of the "Big 3" I feel that the academics at Grace are no less than (blank). My child is thriving in her class of 10 -- yes, 10 (other classes have a few more) -- where she enjoys lots of on-to-one work with the teacher.

[Anonymous]

We too were offered a spot at Grace but turned it down in favor of a higher-profile school that runs through high school. I always felt that Grace would have been very strong academically for our dc, and I loved the art program and all the wonderful artwork in the corridors. While we are happy, academically, with the school we picked, I really think that socially we would have had a much better fit at Grace.

[Anonymous]

Also considering Grace for next year. Have very mixed feelings. We like the coziness of the place, and the parents seemed very 'down to earth'. With that said, we have neighbors who sent kids there for K,1, and 2. They liked K a lot for their kids, but found grades 1 and above inconsistent from class to class. I have heard this over and over--that the preschool/kindergarten is fine, later grades not so great. We want a school that continues at least through eighth grade, so with the not so great reputation for the upper grades, we will most likely not send dd there. We are by no means looking for flashy gymnasium and country club campuses. But we do want consistent teaching and academics. We do not seek 'rigor', just at the least grade level and above work loads. The parents we know, found this was not offered at Grace.

And yes, the little school (preschool) is smack in the middle of a graveyard. That did kind of turn us off some too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, that was my statement, and I wasn't trying to offend. Not sure if you read it as offensive to Chevy Chase or to Silver Spring?

My point was that Eastern Montgomery county has more challenges than Western (as is pointed out repeatedly on other threads in this forum). Most private schools are in the west, where the top public schools also are located. But Grace is further East, where more parents opt for private because they aren't comfortable with their local public. It may not seem like a value to spend 17K if you live in a top 10 elementary district, but it sure can if your home school is 75% Farms.

offensive to certain parts of Silver Spring

I am not putting down Grace. I know it's a good institution, and I've known people who have sent their children there.

I simply believe we have to be careful in how we make these comparisons between public and private schools. The term FARMs (free and reduced meals) often has a negative connotation associated with it - poverty, language barriers, transience and behavioral issues. These are children we're talking about who have no choice in where they attend school. Furthermore, these schools are filled with dedicated staff members who devote a lot of emotional energy into leveling out the playing field.

If you have the means, then find the best spot for your children, but keep in mind that by pulling your children out of the local elementary schools, you're helping to maintain the FARMs rate of 75% - which translates into widening the divide between The Haves and The Have Nots.

Apologies for hijacking the thread, but I just wanted to quickly respond to this poster's comment. The reason FARMS has those negative connotations are because, factually, all those issues you brought up in your own words ("poverty, language barriers, transience and behavioral issues") DO exist in high-FARMS schools, and are of concern. Tsk-tsking people for speaking of such matters honestly doesn't help anyone. As you yourself say, people with the means should find the best fit for their children. Personally, I am not at all ashamed of not wanting my children to be in a high-FARMS school, and honestly, while I may feel fleeting discomfort at "widening the divide between the Haves and Have Nots," there is no way I would base a school decision for my children on a political issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We do not seek 'rigor', just at the least grade level and above work loads.

Isn't that rigor? Funny how this has become a bad word in some circles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, that was my statement, and I wasn't trying to offend. Not sure if you read it as offensive to Chevy Chase or to Silver Spring?

My point was that Eastern Montgomery county has more challenges than Western (as is pointed out repeatedly on other threads in this forum). Most private schools are in the west, where the top public schools also are located. But Grace is further East, where more parents opt for private because they aren't comfortable with their local public. It may not seem like a value to spend 17K if you live in a top 10 elementary district, but it sure can if your home school is 75% Farms.

offensive to certain parts of Silver Spring

I am not putting down Grace. I know it's a good institution, and I've known people who have sent their children there.

I simply believe we have to be careful in how we make these comparisons between public and private schools. The term FARMs (free and reduced meals) often has a negative connotation associated with it - poverty, language barriers, transience and behavioral issues. These are children we're talking about who have no choice in where they attend school. Furthermore, these schools are filled with dedicated staff members who devote a lot of emotional energy into leveling out the playing field.

If you have the means, then find the best spot for your children, but keep in mind that by pulling your children out of the local elementary schools, you're helping to maintain the FARMs rate of 75% - which translates into widening the divide between The Haves and The Have Nots.

Apologies for hijacking the thread, but I just wanted to quickly respond to this poster's comment. The reason FARMS has those negative connotations are because, factually, all those issues you brought up in your own words ("poverty, language barriers, transience and behavioral issues") DO exist in high-FARMS schools, and are of concern. Tsk-tsking people for speaking of such matters honestly doesn't help anyone. As you yourself say, people with the means should find the best fit for their children. Personally, I am not at all ashamed of not wanting my children to be in a high-FARMS school, and honestly, while I may feel fleeting discomfort at "widening the divide between the Haves and Have Nots," there is no way I would base a school decision for my children on a political issue.

I am not "tsk-tsking" people. I am simply pointing out that with a balanced population, these "problems" I mentioned above (poverty, language barriers, transience and behavioral issues) would not be as prominent. However, if you're pulling your children from the local schools (and I'm assuming the children discussed in this thread are some of the "best and brightest."), the majority of the remaining children are at the low socioeconomic end, which does indeed translate into more behavioral issues. You say, "Personally, I am not at all ashamed of not wanting my children to be in a high-FARMS school. . ." So rather than working to help a societal issue, you choose to run from it. In my opinion, you run b/c of fear (fear of surrounding your child with poor students or students for whom English is not a first language). Fear is not a political issue. It has more to do with ignorance. FARMs is a political issue only in the sense that it allows schools to receive Title I funding in order to ATTEMPT to level the playing field.

I see from Grace's website that "approximately one-third of Grace students are non-Caucasian or foreign nationals." Race aside, what is the socioeconomic breakdown of the student body? Obviously, considering the tuition, the students come from families for whom money is not an issue. (Let's face it; $17,000 is college tuition for many.) And if financial aid is available, what is the percentage of students who are needy?

So who's really to blame for widening the divide? the families of children who cannot afford to pay a high tuition or the families who choose private institutions over public schools?

In reference to my original statement that "If you have the means, then find the best spot for your children," do some self-reflection and think about what motivates you to run from your local school. If your Christian faith draws you to the school, then that's an acceptable reason to pays such a high tuition to enrich your child's life. If it's fear of poverty and children of immigrants, then there are deeper issues that you will transfer to your child, thus creating a larger societal problem.

[Anonymous]

correction - "to pays"

to pay