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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Country Day is an expensive, mediocre alternative. But if I were facing J-H, I'd find the $30,000 tuition somewhere.[/quote]

As an education expert who looked at Alexandria Country Day for her own children, I have to disagree with your characterization of the school as "mediocre."  Pedagogically, they are very strong, and there is no other private in Alexandria  that is as good at differentiation.

We chose not to attend for other reasons, but if we had decided to go private, we would have chosen ACDS.  [/quote]

Interesting. As a parent who researched the Alexandria privates I found ACDS to be the one who lacked any clear understanding of the type of education they were offering. It seemed like a public school with a private school label.  The Country Day is supposed to imply a progressive type attitude but the school is more traditional but not traditional in the way Grace Episcopal or Immanuel  Lutheran are.  It seems they just have a mix and it depends on what teacher is assigned and what teaching style they have.  [/quote]

PP, the fact that ACDS did not label itself "traditional" or "progressive" confused you?  While the progressive education is tied to a specific movement and core values, the label "traditional" carries no standard meaning.

[b]ACDS is child-centered and offers more structure than a progressive, but still responds to individual children's needs and preferences in a way that many "traditional schools," such as SSSAS and Brown do not. Perhaps that blend is why you're confused.  Burgundy also outperforms SSSAS and Brown on individualizing instruction.  [/b]

As for being a public school with a private school label, you're radically mistaken if you think ACDS is similar to a public school.  There is no way that you would get the level of individualized instruction in any Alexandria City public school.  That's what ACDS parents pay for -- the quality of teaching.  Aside from individualized, caring instruction based on each child's needs, the teachers and administration are on top of academic research.  ACDS is the ONLY private in the area that has switched to Singapore math.

I admit their physical space is not as impressive as SSSAS, Brown, or Burgundy's, but the actual education the kids receive is hands down better. 
[/quote]

I am the PP you were replying to and I bolded your statement because that doesn't clarify anything.  Every single school is going to be "child centered" so that language is meaningless.  And "responds to individual children's needs and preferences"  -   Again, that doesn't tell me anything. Every school will say they are responsive to a child's individual needs.

It's that lack of clear guiding philosophy that hurts them.  If they clearly defined it and then practiced it, more parents might give it more serious consideration.

[/quote]

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