My kid is going into a very small high school next year, one of a class of 20, so I'm going to be talking generally here from what I've heard from staff, upperclassmen, and their parents. There are a limited number of electives and clubs, and they are careful to not add too many because they want to ensure they hit critical mass. There are limits to the ability to offer differentiated classes.


However, there's a lot of encouragement to mix grades together socially and at activities, so the social pool is a lot closer to ~80 than 20 -- maybe a bit more, because lunch and some activities include junior high kids. Even the competitive sports are pretty much open, so if you have a hopelessly unathletic kid, he can still be on the team. He might not get much playing time, but he'd be there.

Everyone knows everyone else - you can't hide in the shadows. This means that sometimes kids more-or-less will get drafted by the rest -- my junior high kid was is helping with the student paper, which is something that does not meet his natural inclinations, but other people pushed him to join, because they needed help, and now he likes it.

How much of a social life that is tied to school does your kid need? We have gone through this and it can be tricky because if the school is too small and your kid does not mesh well with the other kids, they end up isolated and miserable and this could lead to other problems. This happened with our kid. It was unfortunate because academically, the school was the right fit and they were thriving. But the social piece was a disaster and this undid all the good. I think if our kid had already had well-developed outside interests/extracurriculars that provided the social connections, it may have ended differently.

Burke's small size and community have been fantastic. The teachers know the students well and are generally responsive. DC's class is especially close-knit, with a bunch of really great kids and parents.

Anonymous wrote:How small are the high schools you are considering? Field and Burke are small and I’ve not heard of issues with the size. Saint Anselms super small as well and it seems to have no problems with culture or accepting of new students.

We left Burke due to the small size. Not all kids thrive in that type of environment. This is not the fault of the school; just wasn’t a great match and despite all the hard work they put in to make cohorts balanced (however they do it; I don’t know the formula), it just wasn’t good for my kid.

Anonymous wrote:How small are the high schools you are considering? Field and Burke are small and I’ve not heard of issues with the size. Saint Anselms super small as well and it seems to have no problems with culture or accepting of new students.

Field and Burke are much larger than the schools the OP mentioned.

How small are the high schools you are considering? Field and Burke are small and I’ve not heard of issues with the size. Saint Anselms super small as well and it seems to have no problems with culture or accepting of new students.

This is why we were happy with McLean for high school. They could still do competitive sports, they could still do drama, they could still do music, and still get the specialized support they needed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nora is friendly and inclusive -- my autistic kid there has friends for the first time. Almost everyone is neurodivergent and many are gender nonconforming. There are very few extracurriculars, so it works best for students who do an activity outside school. If you leave a dummy email, I'm happy to talk offline. We love it, but it's not for everyone.

"Almost everyone" is neurodivergent? That's not my understanding of Nora. Please explain further or clarify.

I'm the person you're quoting. My child is autistic, many others are autistic, it's not unusual for kids to take a semester away because they need residential treatment for anxiety or depression.

What is your understanding? Are you a member of the Nora community?

Anonymous wrote:Nora is friendly and inclusive -- my autistic kid there has friends for the first time. Almost everyone is neurodivergent and many are gender nonconforming. There are very few extracurriculars, so it works best for students who do an activity outside school. If you leave a dummy email, I'm happy to talk offline. We love it, but it's not for everyone.

"Almost everyone" is neurodivergent? That's not my understanding of Nora. Please explain further or clarify.

The main reason I see for students coming to our small school is getting away from larger schools that are too noisy, intimidating, full of bullies, unable to support individuals needs, "lets a student slip through the cracks," etc.

That's followed closely by different learning styles for neurodivergent students and teachers who understand how to support them. They also get lots of attention and can't just hide in the back of a class of 25-30.

But the social scene is limited to the kids there. That seems to work for most but not all.

So it's a tradeoff that doesn't suit a lot of students. Sometimes we have students who need a refuge for a couple of years to get back on track, then they return to larger schools. Others stay here for the duration because they wouldn't cope well elsewhere.

I would be hesitant to enroll my kid in a very small school unless they specifically need or really want a very small school. It can be quite limiting socially.

We have a quirkie neurodivergent son who does not struggle academically. We moved to a small school in late elementary. The kids are nice and accepting but there just aren’t enough kids to “find your people.” At least for DC. We’re moving to a larger private high school to find a bigger cohort and extracurriculars that will allow for more social opportunities

It's hard to talk specifically because these schools are so small, just about anything in a post can ID a kid/family. I'm also happy to chat more if you leave an email or way to contact.

For Barrie, classes are very small (only ~15 per grade level) and the majority of the students have been together for a some time and have a social circle.

I would also consider this for Barrie...there have been several administration changes in the past two years that have negatively impacted consistency/communications at the school.

Overall, I would say the education is adequate but the social scene can be a challenge for some. Size also impacts the quality of the extracurriculars- the teams aren't as competitive and clubs/groups are just meeting with the same kids from your classes. The theater program seems to have a good reputation, but the theater teacher is leaving after this year.

Again, keeping this all sanitized but I also don't think Barrie (or any small HS) is for every student. Make sure to ask to shadow before making any final decisions.

Nora is friendly and inclusive -- my autistic kid there has friends for the first time. Almost everyone is neurodivergent and many are gender nonconforming. There are very few extracurriculars, so it works best for students who do an activity outside school. If you leave a dummy email, I'm happy to talk offline. We love it, but it's not for everyone.

Can anyone comment about the student culture at some of the smaller private high schools in the Silver Spring area? We've looked at Nora and Barrie (seem to be about the same size). We also considered Oneness (even smaller than these). While they all seem to have their positives, we just aren't sure that our kid can really have a healthy social experience in such a small environment. Any current families that can comment? We would be joining mid-HS, not with a 9th grade class.