Anonymous wrote:Not a single school mentioned in this thread recognizes the science of reading. They bleed Lucy Calkins and Fountes & Pinell in reading and writing. So if you are concerned about paying for curriculum and teaching styles proven to harm children then don’t waste your money or time at these schools.

NPS uses Orton Gillingham.

Anonymous wrote:Not a single school mentioned in this thread recognizes the science of reading. They bleed Lucy Calkins and Fountes & Pinell in reading and writing. So if you are concerned about paying for curriculum and teaching styles proven to harm children then don’t waste your money or time at these schools.

Kids at Beauvoir and I have no idea what reading practice they use. All kids learn how to read and in second grade my daughter reads Harry Potter and scored 99% in reading comprehension on the ERB (9 stanine). Whatever they do, works!

Try looking at Harbor School.

Not a single school mentioned in this thread recognizes the science of reading. They bleed Lucy Calkins and Fountes & Pinell in reading and writing. So if you are concerned about paying for curriculum and teaching styles proven to harm children then don’t waste your money or time at these schools.

Anonymous wrote:In Bethesda I’d recommend Chevy Chase- Bethesda Community (CCBC) for Pre-K, Oneness Family School (Pre-K and Higher), Concord Hill (Pre-k & Up) and maybe Washington Episcopal or Stone Ridge (which is co-Ed in the early years).

I would add Grace Episcopal Day School to that list.

Anonymous wrote:In Bethesda I’d recommend Chevy Chase- Bethesda Community (CCBC) for Pre-K, Oneness Family School (Pre-K and Higher), Concord Hill (Pre-k & Up) and maybe Washington Episcopal or Stone Ridge (which is co-Ed in the early years).

None of this is a top school though… as long as OP knows, that’s great! We heard great things about WES

In Bethesda I’d recommend Chevy Chase- Bethesda Community (CCBC) for Pre-K, Oneness Family School (Pre-K and Higher), Concord Hill (Pre-k & Up) and maybe Washington Episcopal or Stone Ridge (which is co-Ed in the early years).

If you are looking for good early elementary schools, look at Primary Day and Beauvoir. Primary Day is academic but so much fun. They do a great job of joyful learning but have high standards for reading, writing, and math.

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Anonymous wrote:Best private schools in the DMV for academics:

1) Sidwell: K-12 Coed
2) Cathedral schools: (Beauvoir for elementary coed, NCS 4th-12th girls only, St Albans 4th-12th boys only)
3) GDS: K-12 Coed (most liberal/alternative with strong academics)

Probably in this order.

These 3 if you are looking for the strongest academics… otherwise there are many other good schools that are less intense.

GDS starts PreK but does expand in K

Intense?! Do not conflate an academic upper school perceived reputation with how that same place may run its lower school.

GdS and Beauvoir are quite play based in Pk-3. No graded word, no grades, no testing. GdS doesn’t even having reading groups in K, they wait until 1st, and even then nothing level appropriate comes home from class or library. It also has massively changed its student/teacher ratio with the new building change. It went from 2 teachers and 20-22 students to 1 teacher and 15-19 students per homeroom. They say specialists come in to help but that never happened unless you kid has a Dx and pullout.

Ok, you are right. My kids are at BVR and it’s not super academic either. I guess I meant that those schools become very academic in middle school. So if OP Is planning to stay in DC, I would choose one of those schools for academics.

Is it true that there are no grades and/or tests at BVR from K through 3?

No grades, but kids take the ERB at least twice

Norwood is PK-8th. Great school! But not intense in lower grades, so it depends what you consider "great." We think it's great, and good well rounded education.

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Anonymous wrote:Best private schools in the DMV for academics:

1) Sidwell: K-12 Coed
2) Cathedral schools: (Beauvoir for elementary coed, NCS 4th-12th girls only, St Albans 4th-12th boys only)
3) GDS: K-12 Coed (most liberal/alternative with strong academics)

Probably in this order.

These 3 if you are looking for the strongest academics… otherwise there are many other good schools that are less intense.

GDS starts PreK but does expand in K

Intense?! Do not conflate an academic upper school perceived reputation with how that same place may run its lower school.

GdS and Beauvoir are quite play based in Pk-3. No graded word, no grades, no testing. GdS doesn’t even having reading groups in K, they wait until 1st, and even then nothing level appropriate comes home from class or library. It also has massively changed its student/teacher ratio with the new building change. It went from 2 teachers and 20-22 students to 1 teacher and 15-19 students per homeroom. They say specialists come in to help but that never happened unless you kid has a Dx and pullout.

Ok, you are right. My kids are at BVR and it’s not super academic either. I guess I meant that those schools become very academic in middle school. So if OP Is planning to stay in DC, I would choose one of those schools for academics.

Is it true that there are no grades and/or tests at BVR from K through 3?

That is correct

Interesting…how is the transition to STA and NCS for 4th grade. Everything I hear on here about those schools is that they are really focused on academics. Do the BVR kids start a bit behind others coming from schools with more traditional testing and grading systems or are there so many BVR kids in the 4th grade classes that it doesn’t matter much? Clearly BVR must do a good job getting kids ready for STA and NCS given the close connection but I’m surprised to hear how different the approaches are.

It’s called the Rude Awakening. 4th grade. At GDS it happens even later so if you need remedial work you’re a really in a bad position as a 7th or 8th grader.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best private schools in the DMV for academics:

1) Sidwell: K-12 Coed
2) Cathedral schools: (Beauvoir for elementary coed, NCS 4th-12th girls only, St Albans 4th-12th boys only)
3) GDS: K-12 Coed (most liberal/alternative with strong academics)

Probably in this order.

These 3 if you are looking for the strongest academics… otherwise there are many other good schools that are less intense.

OP: Can someone provide a similar list but with only lower school/elementary schools? No K-12s?

Primary Day School is the most academic Pk-2 in the area. And the good public schools all teach 1-3 grade levels ahead of national averages in elementary school. Ask anyone.
After a solid elementary school (ie few gaps, solid foundation in reading/math/science/writing, insightful teachers on what kind of learner your have) you can better choose the next school pedagogy. You may even know by then if you want coed or not, artsy or sporty, well rounded or narrow curriculum. Then pick.

That said, you can always leave a Pk-12, many people do. It’s not easy since making new friends may look daunting but that feeling won’t last if moving to a better fit school.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best private schools in the DMV for academics:

1) Sidwell: K-12 Coed
2) Cathedral schools: (Beauvoir for elementary coed, NCS 4th-12th girls only, St Albans 4th-12th boys only)
3) GDS: K-12 Coed (most liberal/alternative with strong academics)

Probably in this order.

These 3 if you are looking for the strongest academics… otherwise there are many other good schools that are less intense.

GDS starts PreK but does expand in K

Intense?! Do not conflate an academic upper school perceived reputation with how that same place may run its lower school.

GdS and Beauvoir are quite play based in Pk-3. No graded word, no grades, no testing. GdS doesn’t even having reading groups in K, they wait until 1st, and even then nothing level appropriate comes home from class or library. It also has massively changed its student/teacher ratio with the new building change. It went from 2 teachers and 20-22 students to 1 teacher and 15-19 students per homeroom. They say specialists come in to help but that never happened unless you kid has a Dx and pullout.

Ok, you are right. My kids are at BVR and it’s not super academic either. I guess I meant that those schools become very academic in middle school. So if OP Is planning to stay in DC, I would choose one of those schools for academics.

Is it true that there are no grades and/or tests at BVR from K through 3?

That is correct

Interesting…how is the transition to STA and NCS for 4th grade. Everything I hear on here about those schools is that they are really focused on academics. Do the BVR kids start a bit behind others coming from schools with more traditional testing and grading systems or are there so many BVR kids in the 4th grade classes that it doesn’t matter much? Clearly BVR must do a good job getting kids ready for STA and NCS given the close connection but I’m surprised to hear how different the approaches are.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best private schools in the DMV for academics:

1) Sidwell: K-12 Coed
2) Cathedral schools: (Beauvoir for elementary coed, NCS 4th-12th girls only, St Albans 4th-12th boys only)
3) GDS: K-12 Coed (most liberal/alternative with strong academics)

Probably in this order.

These 3 if you are looking for the strongest academics… otherwise there are many other good schools that are less intense.

GDS starts PreK but does expand in K

Intense?! Do not conflate an academic upper school perceived reputation with how that same place may run its lower school.

GdS and Beauvoir are quite play based in Pk-3. No graded word, no grades, no testing. GdS doesn’t even having reading groups in K, they wait until 1st, and even then nothing level appropriate comes home from class or library. It also has massively changed its student/teacher ratio with the new building change. It went from 2 teachers and 20-22 students to 1 teacher and 15-19 students per homeroom. They say specialists come in to help but that never happened unless you kid has a Dx and pullout.

Ok, you are right. My kids are at BVR and it’s not super academic either. I guess I meant that those schools become very academic in middle school. So if OP Is planning to stay in DC, I would choose one of those schools for academics.

Is it true that there are no grades and/or tests at BVR from K through 3?

That is correct

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Best private schools in the DMV for academics:

1) Sidwell: K-12 Coed
2) Cathedral schools: (Beauvoir for elementary coed, NCS 4th-12th girls only, St Albans 4th-12th boys only)
3) GDS: K-12 Coed (most liberal/alternative with strong academics)

Probably in this order.

These 3 if you are looking for the strongest academics… otherwise there are many other good schools that are less intense.

OP: Can someone provide a similar list but with only lower school/elementary schools? No K-12s?

You know you can go to these schools only for elementary, right?

That still wasn’t the OP question. Some people don’t prefer K-12