It’s not a very diverse school or city.
The school is 60%+ white and Falls Church is 70%+ white.

Came here to say this. All of the other posters are correct. -1st grade parent

Short answer: It doesn't get any better than Mt. Daniel in NoVa

Also, as you probably know OP, there are many state dept families because there are several state dept housing options in the city of FC. Also FCCPS has a great reputation among state dept families, especially for sped needs.

My kids are in K and 2nd at MD. It’s a great school. Very warm and welcoming, and just a really special place for kids. Both of my kids have special needs that you probably wouldn’t notice including neurodifference and struggle with understanding social cues. My kids haven’t experienced issues with bullying and I’m on high alert for it. There’s a huge social emotional focus at MD. They have 2 guidance counselors for 3 grades and they are very engaged and spend time on building social skills in each class each week.

I can’t compare to ASF or Pinecrest but I do feel like MD has a private quality with a public school system. I know a lot of families at APS and they deal with a lot of issues we just don’t have in such a small system. Most of the staff live in FCC and they are our neighbors. It is a small, warm community and people really like that here. There are also a ton of state dept families (maybe bc of the IB focus) and others so there is a lot of moving in and out — for me it never gets too parochial and there is always new blood.


Teaching quality is the best I’ve seen but it’s all I’ve seen ha! It’s an IB curriculum and it’s infused in everything. My spouse is an educator and very discerning and so we chose FCCPS for the academics and teaching quality. The academics are strong but maybe because of my kids challenges this isn’t as much my focus at the moment! At this age I’m more focused on them building confidence and growing their skills, making progress and being excited about school. That said I think they do a great job of teaching to kids with challenges and to kids who are advanced. My child was in 1st last year and I can’t say enough about the first grade team. Because we were virtual I feel like I was in the class a lot last year and all of the teachers were so impressive.

My kids classes have all been between 16-20. They all start off like 16-18 and have always added some as the year goes on.

All classes have a teacher and a paraprofessional. Two of the paras my kids have had are licensed teachers who will probably end up as teachers at MD. A couple of the teachers we had started as paras. One of my kids is in a combined Gen Ed/special Ed class so there are 3 - a Gen Ed, special Ed and a para in the class.

We’re moving to the area this summer and looking at schools. We will have a child going into first grade, coming from a very (very) small, private, half day kindergarten. Hoping someone with recent experience can provide insights on the following.

1) Community/social aspect. DC has some struggles with introversion, shyness, and needing to be pulled out of the proverbial shell in a warm, loving manner. DC has some speech issues and I am concerned it might be a target for not necessarily bullying, but comments and question from other kids. DC is obviously sensitive about said speech issue. We will also only be in the area for the length of the school year and I am hoping that even though it’s just one year, they can make some friendships and continue to work on social skills

2) Academics. Does the school do use a phonics based approach to reading? What about math curriculum? How much time is spent focusing on the core academic areas vs specials vs whatever else?

3) How would you rate the quality of the teachers and the quality of the school compared to others such as Arlington Science Focus or even some of the private schools like Pinecrest?

4) what are class sizes in first grade? Do they have full time aides?