Anonymous wrote:St. Andrew's seems like the perfect place for my daughter. Does anyone know the acceptance rate for 9th? I know they about double the class size from 8th to 9th, adding over 40 kids, but do they turn very many away? (Not sure if I've ever heard of anyone that was not accepted.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is not a school for LD. As an alum of SAES, I can tell you that the vast majority of students do not have LD and I was among them. I am a private school parent now and having toured many schools, the majority of schools today expect to accommodate some level of learning issues because it is much better diagnosed today and because it is known that there are many bright kids who have mild learning issues. More teachers are trained in how to help mild LD. In fact, to say it the other way, I cannot think of a single school that we visited (here in DC) that didn't provide assistance to some level of LD. We do not live near SAES now otherwise it is where I would have wanted to send both of my kids and both are not-LD and according to their WISCs are gifted.

So yes, you will find some LD kids at St. Andrew's as you will almost anywhere. But for more challenging issues, St. Andrew's will not be the best place and doesn't try to be.

It is more traditional than Field or Burke and thus attracts more traditional children and families. That said, it has an incredible arts program. It has good sports but does not have football. Football is a size driver because schools need more kids to field a football team. St. Andrew's keeps its high school classes to about 75. That is not big enough to field football and soccer. But it was plenty big enough for a decent social scene. It has fantastic teachers, many of whom have been there since the 1980s and 1990s.

I think of it is a liberal version of the Cathedral Close schools. It is Episcopal like those schools but it is Co-ed, mostly no uniform and generally less aggressively competitive. It has always enrolled the children of elite families but flew under the radar because, being only 40 years old, had less cache. For years, it was the Episcopal high school option for families who lived in Maryland or McLean/Great Falls and did not want to deal with driving into DC.

I cannot speak highly enough of the school and as I toured schools for my children, I knew I was comparing the schools to SAES.

Our daughter is a senior at St. Andrew's and this post captures so much of what we love about the school. I would only add that the school's inclusive culture, emphasis on respect for the individual, and excellent faculty make it a true gem among the many schools in this area. We have an older child who graduated from Sidwell, and I would compare St. Andrew's favorably to Sidwell in many respects. St. Andrew's offers students of a wide range of academic abilities plentiful opportunities to stretch themselves without the anxious, hypercompetitive atmosphere that we see too much of in this area. For our child, that has been a gift.

Anonymous wrote:It is not a school for LD. As an alum of SAES, I can tell you that the vast majority of students do not have LD and I was among them. I am a private school parent now and having toured many schools, the majority of schools today expect to accommodate some level of learning issues because it is much better diagnosed today and because it is known that there are many bright kids who have mild learning issues. More teachers are trained in how to help mild LD. In fact, to say it the other way, I cannot think of a single school that we visited (here in DC) that didn't provide assistance to some level of LD. We do not live near SAES now otherwise it is where I would have wanted to send both of my kids and both are not-LD and according to their WISCs are gifted.

So yes, you will find some LD kids at St. Andrew's as you will almost anywhere. But for more challenging issues, St. Andrew's will not be the best place and doesn't try to be.

It is more traditional than Field or Burke and thus attracts more traditional children and families. That said, it has an incredible arts program. It has good sports but does not have football. Football is a size driver because schools need more kids to field a football team. St. Andrew's keeps its high school classes to about 75. That is not big enough to field football and soccer. But it was plenty big enough for a decent social scene. It has fantastic teachers, many of whom have been there since the 1980s and 1990s.

I think of it is a liberal version of the Cathedral Close schools. It is Episcopal like those schools but it is Co-ed, mostly no uniform and generally less aggressively competitive. It has always enrolled the children of elite families but flew under the radar because, being only 40 years old, had less cache. For years, it was the Episcopal high school option for families who lived in Maryland or McLean/Great Falls and did not want to deal with driving into DC.

I cannot speak highly enough of the school and as I toured schools for my children, I knew I was comparing the schools to SAES.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter recently asked if we could look in to St. Andrew's for high school. We know a few families whose children are there now and a few that have graduated. Most of them loved it, commenting that it is a warm community and the teachers are wonderful. Multiple of them also commented that it was a pretty small school that did feel limited socially. They seem to have pretty good college placements, so there is that, but there also seem to be a large number of students that are seen as awkward and viewed as non-traditional learners. While I do love that there isn't a homogeneous crowd, I'm concerned that the relatively small size of the school mixed with the greater number of awkward kids might make it feel as if it is a special needs school and that my more traditional kid will be frustrated in that situation. I will say that when I mention she may apply there, about half of the people I tell are surprised because she is incredibly bright and they believe it to be for children with learning issues, similar to Burke or Field. Is this all completely off base?

There is so much wrong with this post.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter recently asked if we could look in to St. Andrew's for high school. We know a few families whose children are there now and a few that have graduated. Most of them loved it, commenting that it is a warm community and the teachers are wonderful. Multiple of them also commented that it was a pretty small school that did feel limited socially. They seem to have pretty good college placements, so there is that, but there also seem to be a large number of students that are seen as awkward and viewed as non-traditional learners. While I do love that there isn't a homogeneous crowd, I'm concerned that the relatively small size of the school mixed with the greater number of awkward kids might make it feel as if it is a special needs school and that my more traditional kid will be frustrated in that situation. I will say that when I mention she may apply there, about half of the people I tell are surprised because she is incredibly bright and they believe it to be for children with learning issues, similar to Burke or Field. Is this all completely off base?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Burke is not a school for kids with LDs. It can accommodate kids with some minor LDs, but no more than any other independent. I've had kids at both SAES and Burke and they are night and day academically and socially.
- Current Burke parent

Was your experience at St Andrews not good academically or socially? - Curious bcse I too am looking for HS.

Anonymous wrote:Burke is not a school for kids with LDs. It can accommodate kids with some minor LDs, but no more than any other independent. I've had kids at both SAES and Burke and they are night and day academically and socially.
- Current Burke parent