Lowell, Green Acres, Burgundy Farms

[Anonymous]

We were accepted at one of the best schools in MC. But I do feel that GA has a cliquish feel. We are into progressive, but we were reluctant to show it. Complicated.

[Anonymous]

PP, I'd appreciate you sharing more about the "cliquish" feel at GA. And too why you didn't want to express that you were interested in progressive schools. My child was accepted at GA, we made no overtures about being pro-progressive. I'm on the fence. The one thing going for GA was that I thought it wasn't "cliquish" so I'm interested in your perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were accepted at one of the best schools in MC. But I do feel that GA has a cliquish feel. We are into progressive, but we were reluctant to show it. Complicated.

How in the world would you know or even feel that the school was cliquish if you don't even go to it?

[Anonymous]

21:22 We were asked specifically if we agreed with their progressive approach. I said, not with everything. Some subjects are better taught by direct instruction. I think that did it.
They say in their admissions packet that they want families that support the progressive ideas.
The parents seem to think it is the only way to teach. I am more open minded.
We would not have been able to afford it anyway, the tuition tips us over the edge.

[Anonymous]

I know each of these schools is non-denominational but wonder if anyone has insight on whether there is religious diversity. There has been much talk on the board about racial, socioeconomic, and skills diversity, so we were just curious as to whether there seems to be diversity in religion, as well. Even if it is not in the spotlight kids/families know because some students will miss school because of certain holidays, or celebrate different holidays, etc. Does anyone have any input to share? And do the schools discuss different religions at all in the context of increasing understanding among students or is the topic off-limits?

PS Just so no one misinterprets: We think diversity of ALL kinds is a positive thing! We are just curious whether there is a great deal of diversity or little and how the schools deal with religion in general (if at all).

[Anonymous]

I didn't like how GA was interested in the other schools that you applied to.

[Anonymous]

Reply to 15:58 on religious diversity. Can only share info on Burgundy--they really embrace religious diversity, although they do not use it as a selection consideration. For the winter holidays, they have a special program that includes every child in the school where each class does a song, skit, or some form of presentation on posadas (spanish manger scene), St. Lucia, Islam, the Raven (native american story), Chanukkah, and even Jingle Bell rock and the Grinch! It is a really lovely program. The school is also careful not to schedule evening events on any religious holiday of any faith.

[Anonymous]

Burgundy seems so ideal. And their campus is just so amazing w/ all the land, trees, pond, etc. Can it really be as fabulous as it seems?!?

[Anonymous]

Burgundy really is fantastic -- but it is expensive and not all that convenient to many. It also does not provide hot lunch (children must pack) and it does not offer as much music as I would like in terms of instrumental training. I still think it is fantastic. Did you know that they have a second 300 acre campus on the top of a mountain in West Virginia, and that starting in second grade, the kids get to go there twice a year (included in price of tuition) to study wildlife, stream ecology, birds, colonial life, and many other topics?!! So cool! The first trip is a one night stay for first graders in the spring.

[Anonymous]

i currently live in ny but my daughter attended burgundy. a friend of mine who still lives in dc gave me this link because she knew that i would want to post after reading some of the comments. we were thrilled with burgundy farm - all of us, and of course especially our daughter. she received an excellent education and had no trouble at all transitioning to a more traditional and much, much bigger high school here. her current teachers have commented on her ability to problem solve, her leadership, and on her joy of learning. she is, knock on wood, doing wonderfully and is an honors student. she is starting to look at colleges like columbia and cornell.

i can't speak about lowell or green acres, but it is absolutely not the case that burgundy is some sort of 'safety school'. the parents we got to know through the school were very much supportive of the type of progressive education, they weren't there just because their child wasn't accepted to some other school like st. albans. as the other poster wrote it is very sought out by arlington and alexandria parents. i am not sure about dc parents because it would be long commute, although when my daughter was there i seem to remember a few families from the capitol hill area. the children at burgundy were bright, engaged, and not at all pretentious or snobby. my daughter often comments on how she misses the down-to-earth feeling and classmates of burgundy farm. if we had to do it all over again, we would absolutely choose the same path (even though we like ny better, but that's for a different posting!)

[Anonymous]

I've never posted anything on this forum before, but I have to add my views on Burgundy. We currently have two children at Burgundy, one in the middle school. They both entered in kindergarten. I can't tell how much Burgundy has added to their lives. They truly love school, and love learning! They have been given the freedom to pursue their own interests within a framework devised by caring, supportive teachers. Most of the parents at Burgundy are very interested in education; I am pursuing my master's in elementary education and am impressed on a regular basis by the quality of learning experiences provided by both Burgundy's elementary and middle school teachers. Most of the lessons involve active, hands-on, cooperative learning, and the West Virginia campus (called the Cove) enhances lessons learned in Alexandria. The 1st graders, for example, follow the "Underground Railroad" at night through the woods, accompanied by parents and teachers. It is an experience that both children and parents never forget!

We are thrilled that we were able to send our children to Burgundy. I encourage you to visit!

[Anonymous]

op here. We are sending dd to GA! We are so thrilled. Difficult choice between ga and burgundy but we think ga is better for our dd. Burgundy is just too far from silver spring and we just moved here after our second child. Don't want to move again. Lowell was not impressive even though we are only 5 min by car. We really wanted to like Lowell but always left feeling flat. Good luck with your decisions everyone.

[Anonymous]

Can you say a bit more about what didn't click for you with Lowell? We may be looking at schools a year from now and will probably be looking at more progressive schools so I've been following this thread with interest. Also does anyone from MD deal with the commute for Burgundy Farms or is it really for VA kids?

[Anonymous]

Quite a few families from Maryland send their children to Burgundy. I'm flipping through the directory now and see families from Ft. Washington, Oxon Hill, Temple Hills, Cabin John, Bryans Road, Accokeek, Upper Marlboro and Capitol Heights.

[Anonymous]

To the previous poster-Burgundy Farm is just over the VA/MD border over the Wilson Bridge so depending on where you live in MD it is either very close or very far.