Thoughts on Burgundy Farm Country Day?

[Anonymous]

Burgundy is a mixed bag. Both my kids went through all years, youngest graduated recently. Pros: most of the teachers are truly decent people who actually like kids. Lovely campus. Lots of outdoor time. Lots of unstructured time, which (I believe) is important for kids - they need to play, not just be supervised in organized recreational activities. Some fabulous lower school and early childhood teachers. In lower school, no grades, so no pressure.

Cons: nice but ineffectual head. Progressive in ethos but this is not consistently matched by a coherent education philosophy. Teachers uneven. Advising/Counseling dithery; school did not handle problem kids well; always wanted to "talk it out" in community meetings with all the kids, never seemed willing to say to some kids: sorry, enough is enough. Judg-y and virtue signalling but no actual boundaries. MS math teachers sucked except for Charlene.

All in all not sorry we sent our kids there- gave them lots of good things, especially in the early years. In hindsight wish we had left after 5th though. New MS head gets good reviews so maybe changing....

[Anonymous]

New Middle school math teacher Lee is amazing. He also runs a math club once a week for lower school kids that are interested, my son loved it. New head of MS is awesome.

Schools are always changing, its good to visit them close to the time you are considering them. If you start at pre-k its to early to know which environment your child will learn best in later. Its something that needs to be constantly reassessed.

If you are looking for a place where your young child will have lots of outdoor time year round, have science experiences that really stick with them, that will learn how things are interconnected as a whole, Burgundy is a great place to look into.

In any school with small class sizes, social dynamics can be tricky and is something that the children will need to work through. In our experience, the teacher did a great job in guiding that. Some things are allowed that seemed extreme at times, some impulse control issues, some more serious, but this can happen at other schools too.

No school is a utopia, and when you are paying for private you may feel that you want things to be as close to perfect as possible. Our children will need to learn to negotiate, plan, and overcome these issues in life at work and at home.

We loved Burgundy, you need to really look into it yourself in accordance with what you believe is the best learning environment for your child.

[Anonymous]

How many students are in each grade? “Small classes” is a subjective term. Is it 12? 20?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many students are in each grade? “Small classes” is a subjective term. Is it 12? 20?

I can only speak to sixth grade. There are 32 students total in homeroom, and they divide into groups for various classes. Math classes have from nine to 12 students; there are 13 in my kid's French class; I think there are 11 or 12 in his humanities (social studies / English hybrid) class.

We're new to Burgundy, and so far our experience has been very positive, btw, fwiw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many students are in each grade? “Small classes” is a subjective term. Is it 12? 20?

When people talk about small class sizes, they are likely referring to the disaster that Burgundy has created with the elementary school classes. The class sizes feel way too small during elementary school, especially in the 2/3 and 4/5 classes. The kids are in the same class for 2 year cycles! Assume there are 28 kids in 4th grade (which is about average for Burgundy). This class will be split up into two separate classes of 14 kids each. So, for example, your daughter will be in a class with 6 other girls and 7 boys. They stay in the same class for 2 years (4th and 5th). So your daughter is with the same 6 girls for 2 years. It is pretty stifling, and very strong cliques develop. Kindergarten and 1st grade are fabulous, but 2nd through 5th is a train wreck. Middle school is pretty great these days, so no complaints from our family. Lots to love about Burgundy, but the mixed grade classes in the lower school is a HUGE negative.

[Anonymous]

I don't have any experience with this school directly but the children who I know who have attended are topnotch academically and kind.

[Anonymous]

Kids are graduating from Burgundy and attending top schools. The class of 2019 sent kids to GDS (multiple) Maret, Potomac, NCS, etc. Also, someone always brings up the kids who go on to public schools from Burgundy. This is almost always by choice, and often is to programs like the Stem Academy at TC Williams. Can things improve, sure - and they are as with the middle school. But I can tell you, it was overall pretty terrific for our family and has thus far proven to be excellent preparation for one of the top private high schools in the region.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many students are in each grade? “Small classes” is a subjective term. Is it 12? 20?

When people talk about small class sizes, they are likely referring to the disaster that Burgundy has created with the elementary school classes. The class sizes feel way too small during elementary school, especially in the 2/3 and 4/5 classes. The kids are in the same class for 2 year cycles! Assume there are 28 kids in 4th grade (which is about average for Burgundy). This class will be split up into two separate classes of 14 kids each. So, for example, your daughter will be in a class with 6 other girls and 7 boys. They stay in the same class for 2 years (4th and 5th). So your daughter is with the same 6 girls for 2 years. It is pretty stifling, and very strong cliques develop. Kindergarten and 1st grade are fabulous, but 2nd through 5th is a train wreck. Middle school is pretty great these days, so no complaints from our family. Lots to love about Burgundy, but the mixed grade classes in the lower school is a HUGE negative.

I have a different perspective. The small classes and mixed-age groups were great for both my kids. We love everything about Burgundy through middle school, when things really declined. (I hear the new MS head has made that much better though.) My kids loved having friends who were a year older and younger, and both my kids are still friends with many of the kids they became close to in 2/3 and 4/5, though they are all now at difference high schools.