I'm not so sure the "top 3" are actually the top 3....

[Anonymous]

Specifics on specific schools:

I can only speak to one school somewhat knowledgably, since that is where my kid goes (in K, so these are the impressions of a new mom who recently went through admissions). I'll also comment on why we did or did not apply to some others:

So here it is, Norwood pros and cons:

Pro:
The art space, and program, are amazing. Since that speaks to my kid, I really paid attention to that. We looked at a lot of schools and the space and program really stood out. St. Pat's has a pretty nice space, too, but not like Norwood's.
Music is pretty heavily emphasized from K on (I think they have it twice per week, and they play instruments, not just singing).
PE 4x week (important to hubby)
Reading is split into 5 groups to better focus on it.
Kids get to know everybody in grade because not everything is home room based.
Teachers seem really strong. And they use e-mail!!! (Our preschool did not do that; drove me crazy.)
Seems like "real school" and strong academically. I have my rebellions with this because it seems like a lot of structure, but we are definitely not in Kansas (preschool) anymore. It's kind of funny to have chosen a school for non-academic reasons and then have friends who are in other schools (including the much-discussed top 3) tell you that the school is considered a very serious academic school.
Amazing campus
Head of school and Lower School Principal are very nice people and I feel like they are genuine.
Nice group of down-to-earth parents, at least so far. BTW, during the play visit there were some really strange ultra-competitve parents there. They are not in the class - phew! The one mom I really liked during the play visit (the parents ole up in the library) has a daughter attending this year.
The kid loooooooooves it. Seriously.
Strong sibling policy.

General info:
Math is Every Day Math.
Handwriting is Handwriting Without Tears.
Norwood was getting knocked around here last Spring/Summer for going to its wait list. My understanding is that this was a weird year where 30% of the spots saved for sibs went unused. but, they did not lower their standards and instead made a smaller class. I don't know what "normal" looks like for them in terms of wait list. The only school I was told by our preschool director that never goes to its wait list is Maret.

Cons:
Not sure I like worksheets as free time choice work, but this may be my "why can't everything be preschool" rebellion mentioned above.
Some of the communications seemed a little disorganized.
If you live in DC, it's a haul. A haul worth making, but a haul. Takes me sometimes as long as 1.5 hours to get downtown if traffic is atrocious and I hit it at exactly the wrong time. My average is probably 45 minutes to an hour.
You have to pack lunch until middle school

Other schools:

Applied:

Maret - really fine program. Small, which is good for some personalities. It's "in" right now, so hard to get in. Seems to have good emphasis on arts and PE. They have some really impressive teachers. Nice food program.

Beauvoir - they do a really great job of making you want to go there on admissions tours/open houses. Liked the PK - 3 focus, teachers seemed good, art program fine, liked the social studies units. Hate the food choices in the cafeteria. Have often joked that if you could put Sidwell's organic cafeteria into Beauvoir, you would have the perfect school.

St. Patricks - last year they had no space; lots of kids/sibs coming in. They have a nice facility. Seemed a little too structured.

Sheridan - even though we applied, I didn't love it. A little run down, the philosophy did not always seem to be borne out in the classroom. The head of school is amazing, though. I felt very cofnlicted about it. Loved him, not wild about some of what I saw in the school.

Didn't apply:

GDS - Seemed like mass chaos for my quiet little kid. Plus I hated the Admissions Director.

Sidwell - was worried about the pressure cooker atmosphere, especially at the upper school. Also wasn't sure the Quaker self-reflection thing was the best for my little kid. Kid almost does too much self-reflection and is a perfectionist. Have friends whose kids attend that love it, though.

Also didn't apply based on gut reaction - just not our scene:
Lowell
WES

I hope this helps somebody. Apologies for the typos.

[Anonymous]

15:27 - I found your post and the OP's post tremendously helpful. Thanks, both of you!

I would love to hear more in-depth feedback like this.

[Anonymous]

My child is at Norwood, and I agree with almost everything the PPP said. In no particular order:

PROs
The campus is beautiful, especially when you're coming from the city.
I was really impressed by how articulate and creative the teachers all seemed at back-to-school night.
Music four times a week in K, and children have the opportunity to learn strings and piano as well as wind instruments. (I think this is the only school we toured where they offered strings.)
Absolutely fabulous arts program, teachers, and studio space. (Art once a week in K.)
PE four times a week, and this is not the PE I suffered through. They do lots of imaginative, cooperative games that emphasize teamwork as well as fitness.
Spanish twice a week in K.
No homework in kindergarten.
Reading in small groups differentiated by ability--AND nobody other than the teachers, not the students, not the parents, knows which groups are more or less advanced.
Size of the class and cohort--16 in the homeroom with two full-time teachers and 42 students overall. They mix up the kids for different classes (art, PE, reading, etc.), so they have a chance to get to know the whole cohort, and it's harder for cliques to form. The main downside here is that I don't get to know all the kids and families, unlike in preschool, but it's not my school! Also I foresee some potential birthday party angst given the numbers.
Parents we've met are pleasant and low-key.
Head of the lower school is friendly and seems open-minded.
Administrators teach regularly; head of the lower school taught first-grade math last year.
Head of the lower school greets each child by name in the morning and shakes his/her hand.
Chapel--as an atheist I was prepared to hate this. They do routinely say the Lord's Prayer and a blessing, which I don't love. They also say the pledge of allegiance, which I like even less. But on balance I see this as a "pro" because I like the fact that the lower school comes together every morning and starts the day by singing and talking about values, as well as a variety of religious traditions. Could still do without the Nativity pageant, though...
I like the K-8 model--middle schoolers leading the school, not squished in the middle as jhuber said.
Kindergarteners have 4th and 8th grade buddies.

CONs
Differentiation by ability in math does not begin until 2nd grade.
The vibe of the school is a bit more conservative than my ideal. Some traditions don't sit well with me--e.g., "Fathers Visiting Day."
You have to pack lunch--but I have mixed feelings about this. I'd rather pack lunch than have mediocre cafeteria food as the only option. (Echoing PPP, if only all schools could have Sidwell's LS menu.)
The commute from DC makes us less likely to attend evening activities at the school, and DC's new friends live farther away from us than the old ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sheridan is getting more and more competitive every year.

Given the baby boom in NW DC, I'd think all the DC schools had been getting more and more competitive every year--until, possibly, this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Applied:

Maret - really fine program. Small, which is good for some personalities. It's "in" right now, so hard to get in. Seems to have good emphasis on arts and PE. They have some really impressive teachers. Nice food program.

Beauvoir - they do a really great job of making you want to go there on admissions tours/open houses. Liked the PK - 3 focus, teachers seemed good, art program fine, liked the social studies units. Hate the food choices in the cafeteria. Have often joked that if you could put Sidwell's organic cafeteria into Beauvoir, you would have the perfect school.

St. Patricks - last year they had no space; lots of kids/sibs coming in. They have a nice facility. Seemed a little too structured.

Sheridan - even though we applied, I didn't love it. A little run down, the philosophy did not always seem to be borne out in the classroom. The head of school is amazing, though. I felt very cofnlicted about it. Loved him, not wild about some of what I saw in the school.

Was Norwood your first choice, or did it just shake out that way with the admissions acceptance/waitlist/rejection?

[Anonymous]

8:03 again

A couple comments only about other schools I particularly liked:

GDS: I think we would have been happiest as a family in the GDS community. We really enjoyed talking to the other parents during the playdate. Everyone seemed much more relaxed than at other schools. GDS felt like a very openhearted, happy place. The drama program was great. But DC does better with more structure (which didn't stop us from applying and getting waitlisted).

Maret: The teachers, in the brief time I saw them, seemed fabulous. Most beautiful school I've seen. Main drawback in my mind was the small size of the school--could be either great or a disaster, depending on the mix of kids.

[Anonymous]

I can't speak for 15:27, but I think I can safely say that due to the commute, Norwood is highly unlikely to be the top choice for any family in NW DC. Given the choice, we would have sent our child to a DC school that we had more doubts about just to avoid the drive.

[Anonymous]

P.S. That might not have been the right decision, but that's what we would have done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was Norwood your first choice, or did it just shake out that way with the admissions acceptance/waitlist/rejection?

Hi. I'm 15:27, and I also agree with what the other Norwood parent said (s/he also said it much better than I did).

To answer the question, here was our "ranking."

1 - Maret
2 - Norwood
3- Beauvoir

The rest were "safety schools" in our minds, not because we thought we would necessarily get in, but because we were playing the odds we would get in somewhere. We did not get into Maret (wait list).

The drive does stink, so I am trying to figure out how to deal with it. We may have the nanny do the morning drop off as well. We're still thinking about it. Incidentally, we asked for input from our DC after all the playdates. DC said all the schools were good, but Norwood was the favorite. We kind of feel like it was meant to be, so I can get over my own inconvenience.

[Anonymous]

I found the following website to be very informative when analyzing the DC area private schools. You can find college acceptances, average SAT score and the make-up of the faculty.

http://www.petersons.com/pschools/code/psector.asp?sponsor=1&err=333

The above link will allow you to search schools by state. Once you find the school you can click on "student snapshot" and "school details" for more information. For some reason, Sidwell is not listed.

This website: http://www.prepreview.com/ also had some interesting analysis in comparing the privates. They actually do some rankings. I found the info. concerning faculty with advanced degrees, endowments, AP classes offered very valuable. On this listing Sidwell is present, but for some reason Visitation is not. They also have a neat "Compare Schools" function where you can select for different schools and see how they size up in different areas against each other.