Browne Academy - I’ve seen some older post but....

[Anonymous]

I was supposed to go to their open house today. Of course it was cancelled because of the snow. Can any provide insight? I have a choose going in PreK4 and Kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

Browne's preschool is superior and an excellent well rounded start to school!
I cannot say better things about it.

As the kids progress the classes get smaller and many choose public over Browne for the upper grades.
If you want a small school for your child where they are known by everyone, then its a good choice.
Sometimes its too small for some kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Browne's preschool is superior and an excellent well rounded start to school!
I cannot say better things about it.

As the kids progress the classes get smaller and many choose public over Browne for the upper grades.
If you want a small school for your child where they are known by everyone, then its a good choice.
Sometimes its too small for some kids.

Thank you for your feedback.

[Anonymous]

Have a friend with kids there and they love it. Her kids are thriving.

[Anonymous]

I here good things about K3, K4, Kindergarten and 1st grade. After that, not so much.

[Anonymous]

Here's my take on Browne:

Browne Academy is okay. The kids in the older grades (7th/8th) can be extremely exclusive and exclude newer kids. This is very common. Browne, being a small school, has cliques. The cliques are pretty bad. The reality is, if you haven't been there since Pre-K/K, then you probably won't be accepted socially. There was a girl (about 2 years ago) who was sexually assaulted, but Browne didn't do anything. There is also a very big socioeconomic divide. If you pay a bunch of money in donations, your child can get away w/ anything.

Academics wise, it really depends on the teacher. Browne had a English teacher fiasco, and are notorious for hiring bad teachers because some teachers suddenly leave. I think the academics are good enough to get you into a very good school, as Browne has sent kids from 8th grade to schools like Georgetown Visitation, Maret, and even TJHSST. I believe someone else said this, but Browne is just a very good public school, except you're paying 30k for it.

My favorite part, though, is how serious Browne is in getting their kids into high school. I've heard good things about the lower school, especially the pre-k/k classes.

Does Browne have bullying issues? Depends on the grade. There are some really mean kids at Browne, but there are also bright, wonderful kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here's my take on Browne:

Browne Academy is okay. The kids in the older grades (7th/8th) can be extremely exclusive and exclude newer kids. This is very common. Browne, being a small school, has cliques. The cliques are pretty bad. The reality is, if you haven't been there since Pre-K/K, then you probably won't be accepted socially. There was a girl (about 2 years ago) who was sexually assaulted, but Browne didn't do anything. There is also a very big socioeconomic divide. If you pay a bunch of money in donations, your child can get away w/ anything.

Academics wise, it really depends on the teacher. Browne had a English teacher fiasco, and are notorious for hiring bad teachers because some teachers suddenly leave. I think the academics are good enough to get you into a very good school, as Browne has sent kids from 8th grade to schools like Georgetown Visitation, Maret, and even TJHSST. I believe someone else said this, but Browne is just a very good public school, except you're paying 30k for it.

My favorite part, though, is how serious Browne is in getting their kids into high school. I've heard good things about the lower school, especially the pre-k/k classes.

Does Browne have bullying issues? Depends on the grade. There are some really mean kids at Browne, but there are also bright, wonderful kids.

**EDIT: You should send your kids to Browne for Pre-k/k, but definitely take them out and put them somewhere else for middle school.

[Anonymous]

Are you a current parent at Browne? You say you "heard" good things about the Pk/K? Does that mean you did not experience personally. Just trying to gauge the validity of your statements.

[Anonymous]

My son went to Pre-K at Browne 10 years ago and it was amazing. Coincidentally, I was speaking to a parent recently whose son is there now and she could not say enough great things about the Pre-K.

[Anonymous]

So you did not continue after PreK? I have heard great things about the PreK/K too, not sure how it is after K in the lower school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So you did not continue after PreK? I have heard great things about the PreK/K too, not sure how it is after K in the lower school.

No, we did not. We moved him to SSSAS for K where his older brother was attending. To us, SSSAS had the better lower school rep, was a little larger and was more convenient for us to have both kids in one place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you a current parent at Browne? You say you "heard" good things about the Pk/K? Does that mean you did not experience personally. Just trying to gauge the validity of your statements.

I am a current parent at browne. We did not experience the browne pk/k, but we heard great things about it.

[Anonymous]

My DS went to the preschool and we loved it. The teachers are warm and loving. The class size is relatively small. Kids learn a foreign language. The field trips are great and well thought out. The teachers really care for each other and the kids. We have no regrets. My kid was reading by kindergarten and loved going to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS went to the preschool and we loved it. The teachers are warm and loving. The class size is relatively small. Kids learn a foreign language. The field trips are great and well thought out. The teachers really care for each other and the kids. We have no regrets. My kid was reading by kindergarten and loved going to school.

Did you stay for kindergarten?

[Anonymous]

We have been at the school for the past 5 years and our kids were there for K. So far our experience has been pretty good. I would agree that the school is basically the best public school with really small class sizes so they are able to achieve better outcomes, which explains the great high school placement. I have not heard about a sexual assault at the school, but find it hard to believe the current head of school did nothing. She expelled a student over social media abuse and is very open about her no nonsense policy. As far as donor kids getting away with things, that again has not been our experience. I’ve seen the administration and teachers treat everyone with dignity regardless of socioeconomic background. Whether the school is a good fit for your child really depends on the specific entry year as each class is really different. Some of them are really tight and it would be hard to break in to the social circle, but other classes are starving for new students to befriend. Visit and ask lots of questions. Good luck!