Nysmith School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have two children at Nysmith as well. Please ask us anything you would like.

How did you find out about Nysmith. Did you look at other private schools in the area? Did you select Nysmith over other private schools in the area your child was accepted to, and if so, why? We appreciate your help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school hasn't been good for students of color and kids with ADHD.

The school is unbelievably diverse (from a culture perspective) ... not African American diverse but neither is that part of Fairfax county which is where the school draws from... I know many many kids with adhd at Nysmith ... many.

"Not African American diverse" Let me guess, not Latinx diverse either, huh?

[Anonymous]

Both our DD and DS were accepted to Flint Hill and Potomac. After touring all three schools, middle school curriculum was stronger at Nysmith. When my DD graduates from Nysmith, we would like her to go to Holton or Madeira; when our son graduates, we are looking at Potomac or Saint Albans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You forgot the "for the Gifted" tag. This is very important.

Why does this bother you so much? Do you feel anger that you can't send your DC to Nysmith?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You forgot the "for the Gifted" tag. This is very important.

Why does this bother you so much? Do you feel anger that you can't send your DC to Nysmith?

DP. It's pretty funny. You don't think so?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school hasn't been good for students of color and kids with ADHD.

The school is unbelievably diverse (from a culture perspective) ... not African American diverse but neither is that part of Fairfax county which is where the school draws from... I know many many kids with adhd at Nysmith ... many.

"Not African American diverse" Let me guess, not Latinx diverse either, huh?

Try South Eastern Indian and Asian diverse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school hasn't been good for students of color and kids with ADHD.

The school is unbelievably diverse (from a culture perspective) ... not African American diverse but neither is that part of Fairfax county which is where the school draws from... I know many many kids with adhd at Nysmith ... many.

"Not African American diverse" Let me guess, not Latinx diverse either, huh?

Try South Eastern Indian and Asian diverse.

It's diverse from an international perspective - definitely south eastern indian and asian but also middle eastern. The part of Fairfax County that Nysmith is in (Herndon) has a significiant population of international diversity that the school draws from. . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have two children at Nysmith as well. Please ask us anything you would like.

How did you find out about Nysmith. Did you look at other private schools in the area? Did you select Nysmith over other private schools in the area your child was accepted to, and if so, why? We appreciate your help.

Where we live in NOVA, it's on the short list for most of the families we know. Everyone seems to look at Potomac, Langley, Nysmith, Flint Hill. We applied to all but Flint Hill - got into all 3 and chose Nysmith.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have two children at Nysmith as well. Please ask us anything you would like.

How did you find out about Nysmith. Did you look at other private schools in the area? Did you select Nysmith over other private schools in the area your child was accepted to, and if so, why? We appreciate your help.

Where we live in NOVA, it's on the short list for most of the families we know. Everyone seems to look at Potomac, Langley, Nysmith, Flint Hill. We applied to all but Flint Hill - got into all 3 and chose Nysmith.

Good luck with that. Probably would have been better off going to Langley or Potomac. I would recommend applying to Flint Hill for HS as Nysmith sends a lot of their graduates there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have two children at Nysmith as well. Please ask us anything you would like.

How did you find out about Nysmith. Did you look at other private schools in the area? Did you select Nysmith over other private schools in the area your child was accepted to, and if so, why? We appreciate your help.

Where we live in NOVA, it's on the short list for most of the families we know. Everyone seems to look at Potomac, Langley, Nysmith, Flint Hill. We applied to all but Flint Hill - got into all 3 and chose Nysmith.

Good luck with that. Probably would have been better off going to Langley or Potomac. I would recommend applying to Flint Hill for HS as Nysmith sends a lot of their graduates there.

Applying for 9th grade is tough out of all K-8s (including Langley), not just Nysmith. Some Nysmith grads do choose to go to Flint Hill (even over schools that this board might consider more prestigious) for various reasons, including proximity, considering where many Nysmith families live in NOVA. Flint Hill does seem to like Nysmith grads and vice versa, but going to Nysmith doesn't mean that is your only option. Last year's class had 8th graders who ended up attending Sidwell, Holton, Madeira, Potomac, NCS, Exeter, and other great schools, in addition to Flint Hill. Some went to public schools - including TJ, AOS, and other public schools with great programs or offerings the families wanted. Everyone I know of found the right fit for them. The graduating 8th graders had good choices because they had a fantastic education at Nysmith and were well prepared to move to the next stage of their journey. Going to a K-12 early on is no guarantee that you will make it all the way through to that school's high school/upper school, and there is no guarantee that it will be the right fit by high school anyway. Instead of trying to game out your child's entire education in Kindergarten and guess at the best fit for them 9 years later, one may be better off choosing what is the best fit for their child at the time, which for many is a K-8, such as Nysmith. That does come with some added stress in applying to 9th, if you choose to stay private. We viewed it as an opportunity for our DC to tour and shadow at many schools (including our public school), which gave DC choices and some say as to where they wanted to go to high school. But I am guessing that you are not really debating K-12 vs. K-8; but rather trying to be funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have two children at Nysmith as well. Please ask us anything you would like.

How did you find out about Nysmith. Did you look at other private schools in the area? Did you select Nysmith over other private schools in the area your child was accepted to, and if so, why? We appreciate your help.

Where we live in NOVA, it's on the short list for most of the families we know. Everyone seems to look at Potomac, Langley, Nysmith, Flint Hill. We applied to all but Flint Hill - got into all 3 and chose Nysmith.

Good luck with that. Probably would have been better off going to Langley or Potomac. I would recommend applying to Flint Hill for HS as Nysmith sends a lot of their graduates there.

We weren't choosing elementary school based on prestige, so we are happy with our choice (now!). . we can always re-evaluate at entry years to other schools. Honestly, we chose the school for the social environment as much as for the academics. They acknowledge that smart kids are sometimes not as sophisticated socially and they give them a wider berth to grow. Whether the kids are actually gifted or not, a school approaching and thinking about children with that mindset is a gift for those of us with kids that need more time to ripen socially. In the younger years, there is virtually zero social pressure. I gather it does build, but later than at other schools. Our preschool was socially competitive by the threes class and definitely by pre-k. At Nysmith, the kids are pretty nerdy and I see no cliques in the younger years. When we play sports in our community, I am surprised by how sophisticated socially the kids are - definitely cliquey and socially more with it.

[Anonymous]

Another happy Nysmith parent here with multiple kids. Love the academic and low stress environment. My kids happily go to school everyday. Only wish that Nysmith offer high school! Talking to admission directors in many top private schools make me appreciate Nysmith even more !!

[Anonymous]

Only Nysmith family I know went there because they were given an excellent financial aid package. But then they left after a few years because of excessive discipline problems with the class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only Nysmith family I know went there because they were given an excellent financial aid package. But then they left after a few years because of excessive discipline problems with the class

My child has been at nysmith for five years, and we have never seen any discipline problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have two children at Nysmith as well. Please ask us anything you would like.

How did you find out about Nysmith. Did you look at other private schools in the area? Did you select Nysmith over other private schools in the area your child was accepted to, and if so, why? We appreciate your help.

Where we live in NOVA, it's on the short list for most of the families we know. Everyone seems to look at Potomac, Langley, Nysmith, Flint Hill. We applied to all but Flint Hill - got into all 3 and chose Nysmith.

Good luck with that. Probably would have been better off going to Langley or Potomac. I would recommend applying to Flint Hill for HS as Nysmith sends a lot of their graduates there.

We weren't choosing elementary school based on prestige, so we are happy with our choice (now!). . we can always re-evaluate at entry years to other schools. Honestly, we chose the school for the social environment as much as for the academics. They acknowledge that smart kids are sometimes not as sophisticated socially and they give them a wider berth to grow. Whether the kids are actually gifted or not, a school approaching and thinking about children with that mindset is a gift for those of us with kids that need more time to ripen socially. In the younger years, there is virtually zero social pressure. I gather it does build, but later than at other schools. Our preschool was socially competitive by the threes class and definitely by pre-k. At Nysmith, the kids are pretty nerdy and I see no cliques in the younger years. When we play sports in our community, I am surprised by how sophisticated socially the kids are - definitely cliquey and socially more with it.

No need to re-evaluate your choice, Nysmith has the strongest K-8 program. You can send your child to Potomac for high school. is our plan.