Private School for Ordinary Middle Class Family

[Anonymous]

I am looking for advice on which private schools might be the best fit for my son and our family.

My son is 3 y.o. and we are just starting to look. We had thought we would send him to our neighborhood public school which is in the Walter Johnson/North Bethesda cluster but are concerned that he would not do well in such a huge overcrowded elementary school. My gut tells me he needs a smaller more nurturing environment to succeed - somewhere where they can really work with each child as an individual. Of course I am bias but I think he’s quite smart - not a genius but smart. I also think he gets easily frustrated and that he’s going to need more attention and flexibility in teaching method then is possible in a large class.

I have been doing a lot of preliminary research on these forums and looking at the schools websites. It is a bit disheartening to see how crazy and ultra-competitive this area has become regarding private schools - much more so than when I was growing up in the 70s & 80s. My concern is finding a private school that my son can get into for pre-K or K and that has a community we will feel comfortable in - don’t want to get into a situation where we will fill like outsiders for not being able to keep up with the Joneses. We are just an ordinary middle class family. Our annual HHI is about $120K, I work full time downtown and DH works PT in Bethesda. We have a small to medium size SF home in a nice neighborhood. We drive Toyotas. We go on a beach vacation once a year and every few years a bigger vacation. We live a nice life and stay within our means. Education is very important to us and with a little help from grandparents and careful planning we will be able to afford tuition so won’t need financial aid.

I would appreciate input on which schools where we would feel most comfortable. We prefer a coed school in lower Mont. Cnty or NW DC that includes at least K-5th. We are not interested in Catholic parochial schools as although we are Catholic we find them too conservative for our values and most seem to have class sizes as large as public schools but without the resources and many just don’t seem to have as strong academics as we would like.

I have already ruled out the following schools as just too competitive to bother with:
-Beauvoir
-GDS
-Maret
-Sidwell

I am particularly interested in hearing more about the following schools:
-Grace Episcopal Day School
-Green Acres School
-Lowell School
-National Presbyterian School
-Sheridan School
-Washington Episcopal School
-Woods Academy

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Private school tuition is very expensive. Can you really afford it? Your quality of life will take a big hit.

I think you should send him to public school with your HHI. And if he/you hate it, then think about private.

What are the class sizes in the elementary school--K and 1st grade especially? That's the info you should be after, not the overall size of the school.

[Anonymous]

Def catholic private or public school on that HHI.

[Anonymous]

I don't think normal middle class families send their kids to private schools. They are designed for the elite.

Every school has its problems.

Your options are either to have DH homeschool or to get very involved with the school your child attends. Many parents volunteer in the classroom and get involved in the PTA. I am in the middle of sending thank you notes to the amazing teachers my kids have had in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

relax, do catholic or public, you're a good school system

[Anonymous]

She didn't ask if she could afford it. She asked for information about specific private schools.

[Anonymous]

This is pp. Sorry, I missed your point about the grandparents helping.

That has its own ramifications - are you sure you want to be indebted to them? If so, Episcopal schools might be a good choice for you, but I'm really not convinced that the academics are better than MCPS. Read through the forums here - you can spend days doing so - and you'll learn an awful lot that may change your mind about MCPS.

[Anonymous]

I would not assume that catholic is school has large class sizes or is not flexible enough for you. Our catholic is about 20 per class.

[Anonymous]

Question - do the grandparents realize that private school in DC is 30k +? I might try for catholic school. You also may be shocked to find out that your child does just fine in private school. Don't sink your future retirement and ability to pay for college on k - 5 private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am looking for advice on which private schools might be the best fit for my son and our family.

My son is 3 y.o. and we are just starting to look. We had thought we would send him to our neighborhood public school which is in the Walter Johnson/North Bethesda cluster but are concerned that he would not do well in such a huge overcrowded elementary school. My gut tells me he needs a smaller more nurturing environment to succeed - somewhere where they can really work with each child as an individual. Of course I am bias but I think he’s quite smart - not a genius but smart. I also think he gets easily frustrated and that he’s going to need more attention and flexibility in teaching method then is possible in a large class.

I have been doing a lot of preliminary research on these forums and looking at the schools websites. It is a bit disheartening to see how crazy and ultra-competitive this area has become regarding private schools - much more so than when I was growing up in the 70s & 80s. My concern is finding a private school that my son can get into for pre-K or K and that has a community we will feel comfortable in - don’t want to get into a situation where we will fill like outsiders for not being able to keep up with the Joneses. We are just an ordinary middle class family. Our annual HHI is about $120K, I work full time downtown and DH works PT in Bethesda. We have a small to medium size SF home in a nice neighborhood. We drive Toyotas. We go on a beach vacation once a year and every few years a bigger vacation. We live a nice life and stay within our means. Education is very important to us and with a little help from grandparents and careful planning we will be able to afford tuition so won’t need financial aid.

I would appreciate input on which schools where we would feel most comfortable. We prefer a coed school in lower Mont. Cnty or NW DC that includes at least K-5th. We are not interested in Catholic parochial schools as although we are Catholic we find them too conservative for our values and most seem to have class sizes as large as public schools but without the resources and many just don’t seem to have as strong academics as we would like.

I have already ruled out the following schools as just too competitive to bother with:
-Beauvoir
-GDS
-Maret
-Sidwell

I am particularly interested in hearing more about the following schools:
-Grace Episcopal Day School
-Green Acres School
-Lowell School
-National Presbyterian School
-Sheridan School
-Washington Episcopal School
-Woods Academy

Thanks.

Looks like posters, excluding a couple, are only interested in your income. I recommend that you contact the schools for more info and see if they have any opportunities for summer visits. And don't forget to inquire about financial aid. It won't hurt.

[Anonymous]

FWIW OP we go to a Catholic School that is under 10k per year. Our HHI is 220k and we feel poor by comparsion. If you try most privates, you are going to feel poor. Lots of folks in the 300k to 500k range and if you don't feel comfortable socializing with them you aren't goung to feel comfortable at the school. I have a friend in your income bracket and she fits in well. She has a very inexpensive townhouse but she is extremely polished.

[Anonymous]

OP there are lengthy threads on all of these schools. Use the search function.

[Anonymous]

Don't forget to include Christ Episcopal School in Rockville. PK - 8.

[Anonymous]

I would put short commute/close to home high on the list.

What about after school care? That can get expensive, unless your DH can always do pick up.

As someone else said - there are pros and cons of all schools. If you're looking for the ones with most middle income families, then probably the cheaper ones and the more progressive ones (possibly). But, if you decide you want small classes first, I'd go for cost and commute second and third.

We're a middle class family going to private (we get employer support for private school) and I don't worry too much about other families being just like us. If the kids have rich friends, then that's fine - I can get along with anyone and don't feel embarrassed about having a smaller house, less stuff, etc. So, perhaps try to go into it with that attitude.

[Anonymous]

OP -- I have two kids at an elementary school in the WJ cluster. They had 21 and 23 kids in their classes this year and had great teachers. I have one child with ADHD and a 504, and our experience with MCPS so far has been great.
If you want to go the private route, I would focus on the episcopal schools -- Grace, Christ, and St. Andrews. You might also consider the McLean School.