NoVa private high school that's strong academically but not a pressure cooker?

[Anonymous]

FWIW, if you need to get to the Dulles Corridor, I really discourage you from living in Montgomery County, MD. I worked in that area 15+ years ago and folks who lived in Montgomery County faced a 75 minute commute home, and I'm sure it has stayed the same or gotten worse since. The American Legion Bridge is a mess - just stay in VA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, if you need to get to the Dulles Corridor, I really discourage you from living in Montgomery County, MD. I worked in that area 15+ years ago and folks who lived in Montgomery County faced a 75 minute commute home, and I'm sure it has stayed the same or gotten worse since. The American Legion Bridge is a mess - just stay in VA.

+1 million. Crossing any Potomac River bridge twice each workday is worth avoiding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think there are any true pressure cookers in the counties you name. The pressure cookers here are all in DC proper. Struggling to think of 1 outside the beltway.

Potomac can be pressure cookery in the advanced sequences. Although I guess that’s technically inside the Beltway.

Potomac is a pressure cooker period. No ifs ands or buts. It’s the equivalent of Sidwell GDS Cathedral Schools. I had kids graduate from more than one of these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Saint John Paul the Great

One of the better answers. Plenty of places to live that are roughly between the school and the Dulles Corridor.

[Anonymous]

Consider a small public school - Meridian. Total size is 850 students, IB programming

[Anonymous]

Loudoun School for Advanced Studies in Ashburn

small, very nice location and facility, a little less expensive than some of the bigger private schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depending on where you are the commute might be long, but St Stephens and St Agnes (SSSAS) in Alexandria is a very strong school but not a pressure cooker. My kid loves it. It’s Episcopalian, not Catholic, and the religious aspect is very mild.

There’s also Flint Hill in Oakton. It was DC’s close second choice for HS, but it’s a longer commute for us and DC liked SSSAS more after both shadow days.

+1 for SSSAS in Alexandria if the location works for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:We're moving to the area next year for work in the tech sector and are considering private school for DD for 11th and 12th grades. She's very academically minded and highly motivated, but we want to avoid a pressure cooker atmosphere, because she's already putting more than enough pressure on herself. She's interested in humanities rather than STEM.

Any recommendations in Fairfax, Loudoun or Prince William Counties for a private high school that's not obsessed with academic achievement or social status, yet has a strong academic program and might admit someone in those grades? She's sociable and well rounded, so a healthy social scene would be a plus, but the sports programs won't matter because she's not interested in playing sports.

You are seeking a unicorn. All rigorous local schools - public (e.g., TJ) or private - are pressure cookers.

I disagree. I think the Catholic schools here offer opportunities for rigorous classes without being real pressure cookers.

The heavy load of homework and weekend deadlines mean pressure cooking. Kids have sleep deprivation, some teachers are unqualified, MAGAs are all around, and adm deny the existing array of problems. That’s what happens in a well known Catholic HS in Loudoun.

At PVI, I would expect that. And the same probably at 90% of the local Catholic schools.

Pls tell me about the 10% of the local Catholic schools that have the least MAGAs and the most qualified staff willing to solve problems without retaliating against students and families.

[Anonymous]

What problems do they need to solve? They teach language, arts, math, science, etc. When you choose a Catholic school, you also have Catholic history, doctrine, philosophy. Service is a component of every Catholic school.

Catholics tend to be 49%- 51% split politically. Most would be considered fairly moderate in their respective party, esp in the DMV. If you are worried about DC mixing with people outside of your echo chamber, a Catholic school is probably not for you. I love that DC are exposed to different perspectives and can respectfully disagree but still work together on projects and teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What problems do they need to solve? They teach language, arts, math, science, etc. When you choose a Catholic school, you also have Catholic history, doctrine, philosophy. Service is a component of every Catholic school.

Catholics tend to be 49%- 51% split politically. Most would be considered fairly moderate in their respective party, esp in the DMV. If you are worried about DC mixing with people outside of your echo chamber, a Catholic school is probably not for you. I love that DC are exposed to different perspectives and can respectfully disagree but still work together on projects and teams.

They know the problems they have, but don’t do anything to solve them. We know how things turn to be with deniers, right?