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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I suggest having DC attend the "shadow day" and your family attend ALL "prospective student/parent" events at the private.  If they have not yet offered a shadow day at the private, then ask Admissions Office if a Spring shadow day is possible soon for your DC.

I think this is more about which school will be the "best fit" for your DC.  Either should have tolerable academics.  Get as much information about both options, talk it over with DC, and choose the school which is the best fit for DC.

Privates generally have smaller class sizes which helps many kids.  Most privates have few behavior problems (not zero, just fewer) simply because they can "counsel out" the behavior problem students.    Privates like the one you describe generally will differentiate academics, but also generally do not have a "remedial" track (instead, students are "counseled out" from a private school if they can't keep up with the main track).  Homework loads at a good private on the rigorous track will be several hours every night.  While many local privates talk up STEM, as that is stylish right now, the truth is that many of the local private school graduates are more Arts & Letters oriented and end up taking a pre-Law undergraduate degree or get a business-oriented undergraduate degree.  If going private, do NOT leave the course placement to chance.  If there are "placement tests" then make sure DC studies a bit before taking those (the other new students also will be prepping).  Actively engage with the private school about which specific classes DC will take AND at which level (regular, Honors, AP, or whatever).   Privates are smaller, so often (not always) it is easier to be on a Varsity sports team, although playing time will vary with how good DC really is compared with others on the team.

Publics need to educate everyone, so they just don't have as much flexibility in handling behavior problems.  Similarly, publics unavoidably have much larger typical class sizes.  [b]Because public schools are so much larger, one usually has to be a much better athlete to make the Varsity team for a particular sport. I am not sure what is typical nightly homework load at WL on the top track.  Someone here might know.[/b][/quote]

Are sports, unlike many DC area private schools, public schools do not recruit. So neighborhood kids can play on competitive sports like Basketball from the freshman teams through varsity. Of course there are limited spots on competitive sports teams so talent is a huge factor. But there are many other varsity sports at a large public high school with no cuts. At W-L, among the no cut sports options there’s rifle team, crew (rowing), ultimate frisbee, track and cross country, swim/dive, wrestling, football, tennis etc. The competitive ice hockey team is a club (not varsity) sport and another option. Ice hockey is a growing sport in this region but not yet sanctioned by the Virginia High School League. APS has been pretty good about expanding sports options to all interested students.

W-L has traditionally had the highest homework load of the three Arlington high schools. Post covid that may have changed a little, but the AP and IB students are typically busy most nights with homework and extracurriculars. A current parent might know about the hours per night.

Yorktown made a huge effort about a decade ago to reduce and/or eliminate homework. So for a homework-lite option, Yorktown might be the better choice? Wakefield is overcrowded and I don’t believe is accepting neighborhood transfers.

As an aside, the new W-L addition “the annex” is stunning, both inside and outside. It must be an inspiring place to learn.

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Yorktown is NOT homework-lite today. [/quote]

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