I agree about Edmund Burke.

Would also add Burgundy Farm.

Saint Andrews Episcopal school. The parents are polished, upscale, sophisticated, friendly, and there is a strong sense of community.

My kids are older now, but the parent group when we were at NPS was amazing.

Second St. Anselm’s. Really nice, normal, involved parent community.

Burke- very down to earth. I don’t even know what half the parents do for a living, it doesn’t come up in conversation.

Saint Anselm's Abbey school. Down to earth, friendly, not as conservative as you'd think (most we know are quite liberal in fact). Wonderful community.

We have found the Sheridan parent community to be wonderful. Kind, engaged, lovely people. I don’t think it’s just a matter of a specific cohort but a general sense of the values and priorities of those drawn to that school.

I think it comes down to finding your tribe. If you share similar interests, concerns, and energy levels, then interaction is less likely to be competitive.

I have had the poorest luck at Catholic schools where I was not a member of a parish near the school. Others weren't necessarily trying to be exclusive, but they had long-established social groups formed over years living in the same neighborhoods, worshipping together, volunteering together, having kids on the same sports teams, etc. They weren't necessarily feeling a need to invite a new person into their social circle.

I also find that some parents have a level of anxiety about achievement. They worry, for example, that a child struggling in one uit of middle school math will miss out on high school opportunities for STEM advancement and then be disadvantaged in college applications, thus starting adulthood on poor footing. This level of spiraling worry tends to contribute to less positive experience in the parent community.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post is incredibly vague. For starters, where do you live? Va? Dc? Md? The moon? How old are your kids? 2? 8? 17? 99? My goodness, ask a detailed question and provide context if you expect to get any helpful replies!

That's because it's a troll post.

I think a queen bee found the thread!

every cohort is different

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post is incredibly vague. For starters, where do you live? Va? Dc? Md? The moon? How old are your kids? 2? 8? 17? 99? My goodness, ask a detailed question and provide context if you expect to get any helpful replies!

That's because it's a troll post.

... and if it isn't a troll post, it's incredibly stupid. Can't imagine being so fragile as a parent
Shouldn't school choice be about the kid?

Honestly, it really varies by class. you can have a nice group or you can have a mean group.

I have 3 (now older) kids who have attended DPCS and two different Big3 schools and we've had great parent groups and bad parent groups. One of the most toxic parent cohorts I've been part of was in a DCPS. There were a few moms in the grade who were over-the-top and manipulated social gatherings for years. This kid is now at a Cathedral school (so the parent group is far wealthier and fancier) but the parents are lovely.

Anonymous wrote:This post is incredibly vague. For starters, where do you live? Va? Dc? Md? The moon? How old are your kids? 2? 8? 17? 99? My goodness, ask a detailed question and provide context if you expect to get any helpful replies!

That's because it's a troll post.

This post is incredibly vague. For starters, where do you live? Va? Dc? Md? The moon? How old are your kids? 2? 8? 17? 99? My goodness, ask a detailed question and provide context if you expect to get any helpful replies!

Which schools have the nicest parent communities and which schools to avoid? I’ve heard some real horror stories about queen bee moms that run certain schools and we would like to avoid that.