Advice on Good Fit Private for K with Good Amount of Outdoor and Play

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you may want to consider, too, entry points and continuation. The private school population in the area has grown, and competition for spots at the best schools are fierce.

I absolutely loved Lowell and Sheridan is great, too, from many of the friends I’ve talked to who’ve sent kids there. But, entry to the elite high schools at grade 9 is tough. About 10% or under admissions rates.

It’s easier to get in at younger ages, so if you’re sure you want a private HS, you may want to get your kids into a school by grade 3 or 4, rather than waiting until grade 7 or grade 9.

Good luck! You sound like a thoughtful, caring parent and that is actually one of the most important factors for a child’s long-term success.

The thing I love about K-8 is that the school choice is primarily about what the kid wants, rather than the parent making the decision when the child is young. Plus, is gives them a trial run at applying for college, which doesn’t have the option of getting in a few years early.

[Anonymous]

My kid is at the River School, and while the playgrounds are relatively small (responding to PP 8/28 19:29), the younger kids' playground is sufficiently covered and that they usually use it rain or shine. They spend plenty of time outdoors, especially since they don't only go outdoors for playground times.

River has a lot of the things that you want, OP, although the facilities aren't luxurious. They do zero standardized testing (though they administer the WRAT every couple of years for benchmarking where a kid is at, it's done one-on-one with each kid) It's screen-free until 4th grade where they start to teach keyboarding skills and typed papers, and even then, they don't depend on screens for any instruction.

Classes cap at 14 kids, and there are a minimum of two teachers per class (both with master's degrees) and there's often also a teaching assistant and.or an intern, as well. Kids get a lot of individual attention as a result. Classrooms are busy with activity, but they aren't chaotic, and the teachers do a very good job of classroom management.

The way subjects are taught at River is often very creative. The preschool is wonderful, with play-based learning rooted in dramatic play. That goes away bit by bit in the elementary school, but since the curriculum is progressive there's still a lot of fun hands-on projects built into the day. They do a great job of disguising the "learning" part in the activities that the kids participate in.

The commute from Bethesda to the Palisades (where River is located) is relatively easy, though it does depend on where in Bethesda you live -- some parts of Bethesda border the Palisades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you may want to consider, too, entry points and continuation. The private school population in the area has grown, and competition for spots at the best schools are fierce.

I absolutely loved Lowell and Sheridan is great, too, from many of the friends I’ve talked to who’ve sent kids there. But, entry to the elite high schools at grade 9 is tough. About 10% or under admissions rates.

It’s easier to get in at younger ages, so if you’re sure you want a private HS, you may want to get your kids into a school by grade 3 or 4, rather than waiting until grade 7 or grade 9.

Good luck! You sound like a thoughtful, caring parent and that is actually one of the most important factors for a child’s long-term success.

The thing I love about K-8 is that the school choice is primarily about what the kid wants, rather than the parent making the decision when the child is young. Plus, is gives them a trial run at applying for college, which doesn’t have the option of getting in a few years early.

That's a good point - I get there is a balance in trying to get into your forever school early when it's easier vs. finding the best fit for elementary ages and then letting the kids choose and try later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you may want to consider, too, entry points and continuation. The private school population in the area has grown, and competition for spots at the best schools are fierce.

I absolutely loved Lowell and Sheridan is great, too, from many of the friends I’ve talked to who’ve sent kids there. But, entry to the elite high schools at grade 9 is tough. About 10% or under admissions rates.

It’s easier to get in at younger ages, so if you’re sure you want a private HS, you may want to get your kids into a school by grade 3 or 4, rather than waiting until grade 7 or grade 9.

Good luck! You sound like a thoughtful, caring parent and that is actually one of the most important factors for a child’s long-term success.

Thank you very much! Yes, we are well aware of the competition aspect and that nothing is a sure bet, but are not super concerned about which exact private they will end up at for HS - just want to make sure they are in a great environment that engenders a love of learning and self confidence. We will likely start out private rather than wait until later grades.

[Anonymous]

If you’re looking for a really nice supportive school, consider Grace Episcopal. The teachers are great. The faculty greet every child by name every day and there is a huge focus on being outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re looking for a really nice supportive school, consider Grace Episcopal. The teachers are great. The faculty greet every child by name every day and there is a huge focus on being outside.

Thank you - I will take a look. How would this school be for non-religious or minority religion families? I will look up more online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is at the River School, and while the playgrounds are relatively small (responding to PP 8/28 19:29), the younger kids' playground is sufficiently covered and that they usually use it rain or shine. They spend plenty of time outdoors, especially since they don't only go outdoors for playground times.

River has a lot of the things that you want, OP, although the facilities aren't luxurious. They do zero standardized testing (though they administer the WRAT every couple of years for benchmarking where a kid is at, it's done one-on-one with each kid) It's screen-free until 4th grade where they start to teach keyboarding skills and typed papers, and even then, they don't depend on screens for any instruction.

Classes cap at 14 kids, and there are a minimum of two teachers per class (both with master's degrees) and there's often also a teaching assistant and.or an intern, as well. Kids get a lot of individual attention as a result. Classrooms are busy with activity, but they aren't chaotic, and the teachers do a very good job of classroom management.

The way subjects are taught at River is often very creative. The preschool is wonderful, with play-based learning rooted in dramatic play. That goes away bit by bit in the elementary school, but since the curriculum is progressive there's still a lot of fun hands-on projects built into the day. They do a great job of disguising the "learning" part in the activities that the kids participate in.

The commute from Bethesda to the Palisades (where River is located) is relatively easy, though it does depend on where in Bethesda you live -- some parts of Bethesda border the Palisades.

Thanks for this - will check it out. We live really close to the palisades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I say this with kindness OP, since you appear to be a new parent: all independent K-3s in MoCo and NWDC near you will offer a whole lot of outdoor play and creative, hands-on, project-based learning. All of them. Every single one. Concord, Primary Day, Green Acres, Sheridan, Lowell, Beauvoir, GDS, Sidwell, Sandy Spring Friends, Bullis, St. Pat's, Norwood, NPS, Maret, and Washington Waldorf.

They will all *say* they have those things. Not every school is strong in all of those.

I would look to the Progressive Education schools on this list that aren't far from Bethesda: Sheridan, Lowell, Green Acrew.

No, I stand by what I said. I have a bias toward Sheridan myself, as a parent of recent alum.

But progressive K-8s don’t have a lockout on outside and free play at the earliest grades. Even soul-killing Sidwell for example has tons of minutes of outside time for the littlest kids.

[Anonymous]

If you live in Bethesda, I would strongly consider Norwood--it has a educating the "whole child" philosophy, good amount of outdoor and artistic space and will have many families living in Bethesda which is great especially in the younger grades. Also as a k-8 doesn't have to be focused on HS issues. They do also have solid matriculation to area HSs as well.

In your shoes, I'd apply to Norwood, Bullis, GDS, Sidwell, maybe Primary Day but you'd have to apply out again so soon that would be a pain...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you live in Bethesda, I would strongly consider Norwood--it has a educating the "whole child" philosophy, good amount of outdoor and artistic space and will have many families living in Bethesda which is great especially in the younger grades. Also as a k-8 doesn't have to be focused on HS issues. They do also have solid matriculation to area HSs as well.

In your shoes, I'd apply to Norwood, Bullis, GDS, Sidwell, maybe Primary Day but you'd have to apply out again so soon that would be a pain...

This is almost exactly the list I was thinking, though I do not know as much about Bullis - may be worth a visit.

[Anonymous]

Couldn't say enough good things about the parent community at Norwood. Down-to-earth, kind, involved. Our family has been so happy there. We had a lot of the same criteria as you when we looked at schools and it has checked all of those boxes and more. Our kids have thrived on the outdoor time, exposure to music, art and performance, physical education and gradual increase in academic loads. They also have very different learning styles and the Bridges math curriculum and Orton-Gillingham reading curriculums have been excellent. Good luck OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Concord Hill sounds like a great fit too, and it’s close to you.

Oh thank you - this wasn't on our radar and sounds great.

+1 to Concord Hill! It’s Regio-inspired and has such a joyful culture. They graduate well-adjusted and intellectually-curious students in our family’s experience. One of our gradates went on to Holton and we are thinking about GDS or WES for the younger one when she graduates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:K seems like it’s the time to focus on play and outdoor time, but the elementary years go quickly. You really need to be picking a school for long term goals. Are you asking questions like these: Is the reading instruction whole language or phonics based? Does the ELA program explicitly teach. Spelling and grammar? When are screens introduced and how often are they used? Is the Social Studies curriculum content-based or skills based? When does the math program introduce variables, abstract thinking, and how does it handle math fact memorization? There are many more that you can find yourself by doing a little reading on current debates in curriculum.

Honestly, finding a good fit for your family on academic style matters a lot more than outdoor time. All these schools have plenty of outdoor time, but they vary wildly on these other questions.

Wait, which is better/worse?

[Anonymous]

Nps

[Anonymous]

Good advice in this thread. Fwiw, we've been pleased with Primary Day. Really like the "small school" feel and welcoming community.

The commute (<10 min) was also a big plus compared to other options, especially in these early elementary years with so many opportunities to participate / visit the school (assemblies, etc.)