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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We were lucky enough to transfer into a better ACPS public, but we applied to St. Stephens and St.  Agnes, Burgundy Farm, St. Mary's, St. Rita's, and Blessed Sacrament, just in case (DC was accepted at all). Otherwise we would have moved.

FWIW, we did not apply to Alexandria Country Day. It costs the same as SSSAS and Burgundy but has neither the facilities nor academics of either. Plus ACDS is always trolling the Del Ray and Old Town Moms list servers trying to seek out applicants. They clearly are not competitive and need students. So it might be a good fit for a wealthy family who can afford $30k/year for private, but whose kids didn't get accepted to SSSAS or Burgundy. That was the vibe we got. Would not select ACDS over a good public like Lyles-Crouch or Maury, unless I had money to burn and insisted that my child be in "private" for whatever reason. It's a nice school but not academically better than public and certainly not worth the price. I would take it over Jefferson Houston but not after SSSAS, Burgundy, Browne, the Catholics, or good public. [/quote]

PP, it seems you're confusing the physical structures and size of a school with its academics.

I find it amusing that you would characterize it ACDS as a back-up school to SSSAS or Burgundy.  Your assessment is so off the mark that I can only conclude that you have no education background.  We also looked at SSSAS, Burgundy, and Brown.  In terms of academics, I'd rank the. Local privates as follows:  ACDS, Burgundy, Grace, SSSAS, Brown.

Burgundy, SSSAS, and Brown have more impressive physical spaces, but that does not mean the teaching is better -- and definitely better than any of the publics in Alexandria City.

As for "trolling" on the listservs, ACDS has a lovely PTA whose members reach out to the community to announce open houses.  That's hardly "trolling," and the fact that you would call it that suggests you have a rather mean spirited turn of mind.  Actually, the way you describe the school and your overall tone suggests a grudge.  Rejected were you?[/quote]

OK, we get it. You have a child at ACDS who probably didn't get accepted at Burgundy or SSSAS. No shame in that. But let's not inflate ACDS as being better academically than SSSAS, Burgundy, or Grace for that matter. Browne, perhaps, but i would say tie. I agree with the PP who said it's probably not any better academically than a highly ranked public. Even Lyles-Crouch has more of an identity with its curriculum and academics than ACDS, and Lyles-Crouch and Maury have small classes, too. We don't know anyone who went the private school route and chose ACDS over SSSAS. We do know families who chose Maury or Lyles-Crouch over ACDS and St. Marys.

And I am a well informed and well educated parent who went to Exeter and Cornell afterward. And my children are not at ACDS though they were accepted. [/quote]

Nice try -- DCs were accepted at all schools they applied to, including SSSAS, Burgundy, Grace (we did not bother to apply to Brown), as well as  Sidwell and Potomac.  I've just been surprised and bemused at the number of people who are taken in by a school's physical qualities, rather than the actual academics.  As I stated, we decided not to go private school in the end.  We ended up moving out of Alexandria City.  I have no dog in the fight, but it seems you definitely do.

However well-informed you are as a parent, unless you have an education Ph.D., you're less well-informed regarding what constitutes teaching quality.   [/quote]

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