Reply to Field School: what questions should we be asking?

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[quote=Anonymous]It is expensive because there are a more teachers per student and not as many rich/influential alumni to make huge donations.  Yet :)

Seriously -- (these are more about your older child -- I know nothing about the middle school -- but some of the answers will apply to both)

In general --

[list]I think every freshman English class in the area reads pretty much the same books and stories,  everyone takes biology, and everyone takes either Alg 1, geometry, or Alg 2 (and which is already determined by what math your child is taking THIS year).  So comparing on the freshman coursework doesn't really work.  
Facilities -- you will see bigger facilities than Field elsewhere, esp for athletics and arts.  They do have the best view in town, though :).
It is small for a high school.  This may or may not be a good thing from your perspective.  We came from a smaller school, so for us this was no big change, but if your current school is much bigger or smaller than Field, you should ask about that.  They do seem to work hard (the students even more than the administration) to avoid getting too cliquish/inbred.  
I am not seeing as much party behavior there as at suburban public schools (now or when I was in high school) -- or they could just be better at hiding it.  It does occur but does not seem to be celebrated.
[/list]

Questions:
1 -- ask why and how they screen/select the new teachers each year -- and how (since they don't hire education majors) they give them the basics of teaching in the classroom.
2 -- ask about transportation logistics if that's a potential issue.  Foxhall Rd is not easy to get to in rush hour and so you will likely need to rely on the shuttles, which in turn generally rely on the ever-so-reliable (NOT!) Red Line 
3 -- ask about the arts and athletic options (courses). 
4 -- ask about the annual internship requirement.  This was unique to Field among the schools where we applied.  They treat the entire process like a job hunt.  Which could prove very useful down the line.
5 -- ask about the senior college week and college admissions process.  Yes it is too soon to ask if asking for a freshman.  Nevertheless, there are folks on this board for whom [u]6th [/u]grade is not too soon to start worrying about college admissions, and if you are one of those, Field may not be for you.  The college week is where all the seniors get the same week off (October) for campus visits, interviews, etc etc.  Having seen how disruptive HS visits were to DC's 8th grade class last year, I really liked this idea, but again you may not resonate with it.
6 -- Lastly, be honest, pull the teacher or admissions person aside, and ask in private exactly how they will challenge your high achiever.  See if you and your children are comfortable with the answer.  We were, but some parents may not want to put that much trust in their kid...

Good luck --
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