Friends Community School College Park

[Anonymous]

We have one child who still has a little while before reaching K... but I was wondering if there were any parents of children on here who attend Friends Community School in College Park? Thoughts? What are admissions like? What about financial aid- any information there? We really love everything about the school- although we are not "friends" affiliated.

Much appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Try posting on the PG County thread. My kids don't attend the school but we live near it. We know kids who go there and they're happy.

[Anonymous]

I meant to say the PG County forum, not thread.

[Anonymous]

I did and it was moved here.

[Anonymous]

Also very interested to hear more about this school, especially for grades 6-8. We would try to start our child there for grade six and if we are happy, would consider moving younger children there as well. My child is a pretty strong student but unlikely to be accepted to MS magnets in MoCo (was rejected for the HGC for next year). I'm particularly interested in FCS if its strengths include really caring teachers, a supportive peer environment, creative and innovative ways of teaching math and science, and a strong arts/music/environment program.

[Anonymous]

We've been really really happy there, with a younger child and a middle schooler. Like every school not everything is perfect, but neither are we!

Teacher, peers, arts/music/environment really are strong. I don't know how innovative the math/science is as I don't have a huge amount to compare. A dedicated lower school science teacher a few years back made a very positive difference. There's a few new hires for this year but they look to be really strong - and the couple of people hired in the last few years have turned out great.

There's always stuff, but the kids and the teachers really do make an effort for everyone to get along, which I didn't think was that unusual, but apparently it is, especially in this county. I think especially for middle school where most people are really unhappy with their choices, this is a good place.

For kids who need a huge amount of acceleration or a lot of remediation, it's probably not the best choice - you would probably not be satisfied. They can handle a little bit to either end, just not a huge amount. It is a wonderful community.

We're a very secular family and find quaker values very compatible with our values. I appreciate the emphasis on finding the common ground between people.

[Anonymous]

oh, op - admissions are not as cut throat as the big schools, though some years kindergarten fills faster than others. grades 1/2 and 3/4 are often full with few openings, but as some kids transfer to middle schools that are larger or feed to their chosen high school, there's more middle school spots. It's probably always worth a call to inquire about the grade you are interested in, sometimes odd things happen! There is financial aid, but as the tuition is so much less than the big schools your aid is often not as much as at big schools. Some people find they pay about the same at a big school who can give more aid, as they do at fcs, so it might be a wash? The admissions office would probably be more helpful there, that's second hand.