There is only one poster disparaging the school. She frequently posts on this topic and as far as I can tell is pulling numbers out of thin air.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another McLean parent here. I agree with the pp who said that McLean has openings if your child is the right fit. They won't change their requirements in order to increase enrollment. The prior pp was wrong about the number of classes too. Yes, there is one class of students in grades K-2. There are 3 homerooms in grades 3 and 3 homerooms in grade 4 (34 kids and 37 kids, respectively -- I just checked the directory). We have not been at the school long but it is my understanding that the numbers increase starting in grade 3 due to the fact that kids may be counseled out of other privates or parents realizing public isn't a good fit. I have also heard that grade 6 is a big entry year (current grade 6 has 52 kids). As has been explained by many on other threads, the upper school is about 10 years old and is small. Some kids leave after middle school because they want a bigger school. The kids who stay for upper school like the small close-knit class.

The class numbers are for next year. One 3rd grade teacher and one 4th grade teacher were let go. Both had been there for a number of years.

I'm 8:48. The numbers I posted are for the current year. I am looking at the directory and it shows how many kids are in each grade. I don't know anything about next year -- I don't work at the school. I am just a parent. I don't have any information about layoffs. I'm not sure why people are trying to disparage the school and why they are quibbling about class sizes. Yes, the lower school is smaller than it was several years ago. I'm sure that has resulted in difficult staffing decisions (but I do not have any concrete info). I know that our local MCPS elementary is bursting at the seams and a lot of kids have transferred from private to public due to cost. I imagine that is a bigger indicator of what is happening at McLean than anything the pp is trying to imply.

What is the student-teacher ratio in K?

PP, how do you have access to that kind of information? Do you work at McLean? Or are you just making it up?

Anonymous wrote:Another McLean parent here. I agree with the pp who said that McLean has openings if your child is the right fit. They won't change their requirements in order to increase enrollment. The prior pp was wrong about the number of classes too. Yes, there is one class of students in grades K-2. There are 3 homerooms in grades 3 and 3 homerooms in grade 4 (34 kids and 37 kids, respectively -- I just checked the directory). We have not been at the school long but it is my understanding that the numbers increase starting in grade 3 due to the fact that kids may be counseled out of other privates or parents realizing public isn't a good fit. I have also heard that grade 6 is a big entry year (current grade 6 has 52 kids). As has been explained by many on other threads, the upper school is about 10 years old and is small. Some kids leave after middle school because they want a bigger school. The kids who stay for upper school like the small close-knit class.

The class numbers are for next year. One 3rd grade teacher and one 4th grade teacher were let go. Both had been there for a number of years.

6:11 posted those numbers before and was called on it before.

Another McLean parent here. I agree with the pp who said that McLean has openings if your child is the right fit. They won't change their requirements in order to increase enrollment. The prior pp was wrong about the number of classes too. Yes, there is one class of students in grades K-2. There are 3 homerooms in grades 3 and 3 homerooms in grade 4 (34 kids and 37 kids, respectively -- I just checked the directory). We have not been at the school long but it is my understanding that the numbers increase starting in grade 3 due to the fact that kids may be counseled out of other privates or parents realizing public isn't a good fit. I have also heard that grade 6 is a big entry year (current grade 6 has 52 kids). As has been explained by many on other threads, the upper school is about 10 years old and is small. Some kids leave after middle school because they want a bigger school. The kids who stay for upper school like the small close-knit class.

There is an anti-McLean poster who has been posting about this for some time. Its really not clear to me why she scrutinizes a school her child doesn't attend. Mclean is a niche school and therefore isn't right for every child. It wasn't right for her child and she seems bitter about it and always comes on to trash the school when anyone asks a question about it. My DC has been there for years and we love it.

McLean has never been difficult to get into if your child is the right fit. They will not take a child who has behavior problems or serious ld issues no matter what their enrollment numbers are. It isn't unusual for parents of kids who need more than McLean can offer to apply because they prefer the fact that it is more mainstream and their children will not get in. However, they've always had spaces for the kids in their niche, who benefit from the attention and small classes but don't need a full blown special needs school. This has also always been the case. I have a middle schooler who has been there since kindergarten and I have not seen any difference in the students they accept.

If this is the right school for your child they will have space for him.

Enrollment is down at the school. The LS and MS is not at full enrollment. Teachers have been let go in the LS due to lack of enrollment. US are also under enrolled.

Unless your child has serious learning disabilities or major behavioral issues (both of which they don't handle) you won't have too much trouble being accepted.

The LS used to have 2 classes per grade for 1& 2 and 3 classes per grade for 3 & 4. MS used to avg 60 kids per grade.

LS now has 1 class per grade for k-3 and 2 classes for 4.

Anonymous wrote:They have plenty of openings so it is not an issue,

do you mind elaborating and explaining your source of info? I was under the impression that the school is tough on acceptances ...

They have plenty of openings so it is not an issue,

Yes. And sometimes they admit kids mid-year.

Does McLean accept applications for any grade, or just the typical entry years (i.e., K, 3rd, 7th, etc?)