Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the responses.

I need public transportation to get to work downtown.

Are any of the DC suburban schools known for smaller classroom sizes at least? My kid is bright but very good at getting distracted in large classes and generally lost in the crowd. He isn’t rowdy or anything; he is very quiet, gets intimidated easily, and just can’t learn like that.

In MCPS, classes are often 35 kids. So, no, not really. You will need private for smaller classes.

Anonymous wrote:If you want a small high school that isn't private, I think the only real option is Falls Church City. FCPS has some great high schools, but none of them are small. I think the same is true of MCPS.

+1 or APS and apply for the lottery to HB Woodlawn (highly unlikely to get in) or Arlington Tech (better chance). But you'd need to move to Arlington before 8th grade.

OP here. Thanks for the responses.

I need public transportation to get to work downtown.

Are any of the DC suburban schools known for smaller classroom sizes at least? My kid is bright but very good at getting distracted in large classes and generally lost in the crowd. He isn’t rowdy or anything; he is very quiet, gets intimidated easily, and just can’t learn like that.

MCPS doesn't have small high schools. Damascus and Poolesville are the smallest and both have over 1,300 students (and aren't near transit).

If you want a small high school that isn't private, I think the only real option is Falls Church City. FCPS has some great high schools, but none of them are small. I think the same is true of MCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The orange line. FCC or Vienna or Fairfax county near the WFC metro.

You didn't say what grade for the oldest child that needs a smaller school, so not perfectly easy to narrow down. You also didn't give a budget which makes it hard for us.

I am unfamiliar with MD so I'll leave that to someone else.

Thank you.

High school, will be a freshman. We are apartment renters with a semi flexible budget.

Are you going to continue to rent? What are you dependent on public transportation for?

You might consider looking inbounds for MacArthur. The public transit piece to/from MacArthur is less than ideal, but depending on where you work, Glover Park has great bus lines….

Anonymous wrote:The orange line. FCC or Vienna or Fairfax county near the WFC metro.

You didn't say what grade for the oldest child that needs a smaller school, so not perfectly easy to narrow down. You also didn't give a budget which makes it hard for us.

I am unfamiliar with MD so I'll leave that to someone else.

Thank you.

High school, will be a freshman. We are apartment renters with a semi flexible budget.

Don't rule out private if your income is under 300K. Some are very generous with aid.

I don't think Montgomery County has any high schools with under 1000 students, so probably not there. And not Alexandria, which also has a giant high school.

Not sure where you need public transit to, but most places with small schools aren't going to have it. Maybe Baltimore city?

If it were me, I'd try to find a place with public transit where the cost of living is low enough that I could do private or homeschool. I would also decide whether the school itself needs to be small, or if there are ways to get into a special program or something else that makes a big school work. And if there's a disability, I'd try to get the school district to provide services (including self-contained class or private placement) to make school work without moving.

We chose MCPS, southwest corner (Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac) - that's where the best schools are. If proximity to metro is essential, then downtown Bethesda, or close to NIH metro one stop further. But some FCPS schools are a valid choice too. Not sure which neighborhoods.

North Arlington, Dorothy Hamm or Williamsburg middle schools. They're not small but are well run, much better than DCPS or DCPC. They offer honors classes across the board in 7th and 8th grades, good music, languages, sports, art, drama etc. If you can't afford N Arlington, Thomas Jefferson middle school on Glebe Road is fine, good for languages. These schools feed into good high schools, Yorktown, Washington-Liberty, Wakefield (just OK).

If you’re moving, I would choose Va. I live in Md and the college choices aren’t as good as in Va.

Suburban publics are huge, so are you looking for something like a Catholic school?

The orange line. FCC or Vienna or Fairfax county near the WFC metro.

You didn't say what grade for the oldest child that needs a smaller school, so not perfectly easy to narrow down. You also didn't give a budget which makes it hard for us.

I am unfamiliar with MD so I'll leave that to someone else.

…which VA or MD suburb and school would you consider?

We are stuck with crappy inbound and I have no confidence lottery will work out, so genuinely considering this.

My eldest needs a smaller school, and we can’t do private.

Proximity to good public transportation is an absolute must for us.