Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington itself doesn't have a ton of options. You can commute into DC for the myriad of options there. In VA, you have Potomac and SSSAS (religious but not Catholic). Potentially Flint Hill as well. There are also some micro schools in Arlington if you have an interest in those.

I don't think we're limited to Arlington or NoVA. We'd be open to considering DC options, particularly if on a metro line.

The big goals would be to find a more personalized school than WL, which is huge, with stronger writing instruction and strong college prospects. From what I can tell, it seems pretty hard to stand out at WL and to build relationships that result in outstanding recommendation letters.

TJ is also an option, but at that point you're commuting so it's worth considering other local options too.

Look into Arlington Tech which is a STEM option HS in APS. It is not vocational. It is a hidden gem.

The new Arlington Tech campus should be finished and open for full enrollment capacity next fall. It will be beautiful, and will bring the facilities up to par w/ W-L, et al. AT students can still play sports at their home high school (W-L in your case). A more AP/STEM oriented track at W-L is also possible and college results are also impressive for those non-IB students.

I posted above and always recommend boarding school for those who are interested. We're in Arlington and open to New England boarding school options at the high school age, when that time comes. Note that people on this forum tend to look down on boarding schools for various reasons.

For Metro convenient schools, the commute would be quite long. From Clarendon to Van Ness UDC for example, a train ride of about 35 minutes would probably extend to 60 minutes total which includes time spent walking to/from the station to the school, and time spent walking to/from home.

Of the schools mentioned above, Sidwell and GDS are convenient to Metro. Washington International School (WIS) is a private IB school near the Cleveland Park Metro, but I wouldn't apply to WIS since W-L already has a highly regarded IB Programme. Burke is near the Van Ness UDC Metro. Sidwell and GDS are near the Tenleytown Metro.

NCS is convenient to Metrobus, but would require a bus transfer at Wisconsin and M Streets. The A58 (former 38B) runs from Ballston and W-L through Clarendon and Rosslyn to Georgetown. From there, there are multiple bus lines up Wisconsin Ave to the National Cathedral Schools, including NCS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington itself doesn't have a ton of options. You can commute into DC for the myriad of options there. In VA, you have Potomac and SSSAS (religious but not Catholic). Potentially Flint Hill as well. There are also some micro schools in Arlington if you have an interest in those.

I don't think we're limited to Arlington or NoVA. We'd be open to considering DC options, particularly if on a metro line.

The big goals would be to find a more personalized school than WL, which is huge, with stronger writing instruction and strong college prospects. From what I can tell, it seems pretty hard to stand out at WL and to build relationships that result in outstanding recommendation letters.

TJ is also an option, but at that point you're commuting so it's worth considering other local options too.

Look into Arlington Tech which is a STEM option HS in APS. It is not vocational. It is a hidden gem.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington itself doesn't have a ton of options. You can commute into DC for the myriad of options there. In VA, you have Potomac and SSSAS (religious but not Catholic). Potentially Flint Hill as well. There are also some micro schools in Arlington if you have an interest in those.

I don't think we're limited to Arlington or NoVA. We'd be open to considering DC options, particularly if on a metro line.

The big goals would be to find a more personalized school than WL, which is huge, with stronger writing instruction and strong college prospects. From what I can tell, it seems pretty hard to stand out at WL and to build relationships that result in outstanding recommendation letters.

TJ is also an option, but at that point you're commuting so it's worth considering other local options too.

The IB Diploma Programme at W-L always has a uniquely high achieving cohort and there is a focus on nurturing strong writing skills. Students also develop strong relationships with teachers within IB. The college outcomes are good, so recommendation letters should not be hard to come by. That program may better suit her over a more typical AP / advanced course of study at W-L; although there are high level AP classes as well. (Under the new principal, more AP electives and other advanced classes were added.) For private I’d set the bar high and there are some decent options like NCS (all girls, Episcopal), Sidwell, and GDS. I wouldn’t apply to more than a few that jibe with your daughter’s interests. Maybe look at quality boarding school options as well: Deerfield, Choate, NMH, St. Paul’s (Episcopal)

We're in Arlington and until they were old enough to drive, it was an easy metro to many of the NW DC schools. Burke, Maret, GDS, SFS and WIS are an easy walk from metro. Potomac and Field have a bus from Arlington.

NCS/STA are not bad either.

Anonymous wrote:Arlington itself doesn't have a ton of options. You can commute into DC for the myriad of options there. In VA, you have Potomac and SSSAS (religious but not Catholic). Potentially Flint Hill as well. There are also some micro schools in Arlington if you have an interest in those.

I don't think we're limited to Arlington or NoVA. We'd be open to considering DC options, particularly if on a metro line.

The big goals would be to find a more personalized school than WL, which is huge, with stronger writing instruction and strong college prospects. From what I can tell, it seems pretty hard to stand out at WL and to build relationships that result in outstanding recommendation letters.

TJ is also an option, but at that point you're commuting so it's worth considering other local options too.

If middle school in Arlington is "going great" then why not just stick with the neighborhood high school? They're all good in Arlington, and most kids and families are happier with the high schools than the middle schools.

Arlington itself doesn't have a ton of options. You can commute into DC for the myriad of options there. In VA, you have Potomac and SSSAS (religious but not Catholic). Potentially Flint Hill as well. There are also some micro schools in Arlington if you have an interest in those.

We have a 7th grader in APS and we're just vaguely starting to think about high school options. Middle school in APS is going great and she is very happy. We'll certainly consider WL IB, TJ and Arl Tech as public high school options. Are there private options we should also consider?

Any suggestions for private schools that we should consider? I don't think we want all girls, it needs to have a reasonable commute from Arlington, and we won't do a Catholic school. I'm not sure where to start or if it's a waste of time to even try for admission as a 9th grader at certain schools. What's the best way to get info on local options?