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Private School Accreditations
There is a lot of discussion in this online community about private schools, comparing firsthand experiences and general opinions. Those impressions are helpful but I want to suggest that parents consider the accreditations earned by the schools they are investigating.
Independent accreditations are bestowed by recognized agencies and professional organizations who study and compare area private schools with each other and with best practices. Before deciding on a private school consider the school's qualifications and determine which accreditation organizations align with your goals (academic, child welfare, safety, etc). All this information is online and each independent accrediting entity's website details the requirements for awarding their seal. Additionally schools that have received accreditation by their state's Department of Education meet the robust requirements of the DOE in addition to comparative reviews among private schools.
Note that not all schools include all their accreditations but the most important organizations will be listed. Also, there are membership organizations like NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) that do not evaluate and accredit schools. Ask if you have questions and before you enroll your child and invest money into what you hope is a healthy and enriching school environment, take a moment and click on the website link to learn about your considered schools from professional independent sources whose business is to inform the parent community about the area's private schools.
Accrediting organizations common in our area:
AIMS - Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools
MSA-CESS - Middle State Association Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools
SACS - Southern Association of Colleges and schools
VAIS - Virginia Association of Independent Schools (authorized by the Virginia State Board of Education)
Here's a small sampling of schools in the DMV and their accreditations as listed on their websites:
Bullis - Maryland DOE, MSA-CESS, AIMS
Episcopal High School - VAIS, SACS
Flint Hill - VAIS
Georgetown Prep - Maryland DOE, MSA-CESS
Georgetown Visitation - Maryland DOE, MSA-CESS
Holton-Arms School - MSA-CESS, AIMS
Landon - AIMS
National Cathedral School - MSA-CESS, AIMS
St. Albans - MSA, AIMS
St Andrew's - AIMS
St. Stephen's - St. Agness - VAIS
Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart - MSA-CESS, AIMS
The Madeira School - VAIS
The Potomac School - VAIS
I hope this is helpful to parents and please note this is not a complete list of schools and some school information may not have been available through search.
There is a lot of discussion in this online community about private schools, comparing firsthand experiences and general opinions. Those impressions are helpful but I want to suggest that parents consider the accreditations earned by the schools they are investigating.
Independent accreditations are bestowed by recognized agencies and professional organizations who study and compare area private schools with each other and with best practices. Before deciding on a private school consider the school's qualifications and determine which accreditation organizations align with your goals (academic, child welfare, safety, etc). All this information is online and each independent accrediting entity's website details the requirements for awarding their seal. Additionally schools that have received accreditation by their state's Department of Education meet the robust requirements of the DOE in addition to comparative reviews among private schools.
Note that not all schools include all their accreditations but the most important organizations will be listed. Also, there are membership organizations like NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) that do not evaluate and accredit schools. Ask if you have questions and before you enroll your child and invest money into what you hope is a healthy and enriching school environment, take a moment and click on the website link to learn about your considered schools from professional independent sources whose business is to inform the parent community about the area's private schools.
Accrediting organizations common in our area:
AIMS - Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools
MSA-CESS - Middle State Association Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools
SACS - Southern Association of Colleges and schools
VAIS - Virginia Association of Independent Schools (authorized by the Virginia State Board of Education)
Here's a small sampling of schools in the DMV and their accreditations as listed on their websites:
Bullis - Maryland DOE, MSA-CESS, AIMS
Episcopal High School - VAIS, SACS
Flint Hill - VAIS
Georgetown Prep - Maryland DOE, MSA-CESS
Georgetown Visitation - Maryland DOE, MSA-CESS
Holton-Arms School - MSA-CESS, AIMS
Landon - AIMS
National Cathedral School - MSA-CESS, AIMS
St. Albans - MSA, AIMS
St Andrew's - AIMS
St. Stephen's - St. Agness - VAIS
Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart - MSA-CESS, AIMS
The Madeira School - VAIS
The Potomac School - VAIS
I hope this is helpful to parents and please note this is not a complete list of schools and some school information may not have been available through search.
AP testing is a good point of difference. Having kids go through the college application process, I'll say that many universities and colleges do not accept AP units or if they do, they count as non-specific credit hours. Schools have had too many issues with kids scoring well on an AP exam but not really being prepared for the next level class. GDS curriculum and quality of teaching prepared our daughter so well. She attends Reed and is on par with her peers and then some.
Our daughter attended GDS and loved it. She is now a junior in college. She was initially very interested in Maret but in comparison Maret is much smaller in class size. By the end of four years, our daughter wished GDS had even more students. Our take-away is that both schools are amazing for kids who enjoy academics. Our daughter was also very appreciative of the open campus policy and treatment of students based on trust and respect. She said the students weren't treated as kids, in all the right ways which raised the bar on mature actions, all around. An amazing lacrosse coach left Landon and is now at Maret so if your child is interested in that sport, Maret would have an edge. Hope this helps.
No, we would not ever recommend Landon. As an earlier comment said, the toxicity runs deep and out of 60 kids in a high school class which includes Mr. Neill's own son, he doesn't know the boys names, save a few. Just want to get my son out and on to college.
How is it possible that Landon does not have an anti-bullying policy that provides anonymous reporting and parental notification? All research says it is necessary to have these systems to protect kids. The public schools have this.