Hardy ms continues its excellent arts focus. You're in au park so probably zoned for deal. You can switch to hardy. Academics not yet as strong but improving rapidly!

We did a Reggio Emilia preschool and are sending our son to Kensington Parkwood Elementary this fall but it is a public school in Maryland not a private school.

Any Lowell parent out there that can talk a bit more about Arts at Lowell? My child is in a Reggio inspired program right now and would love for him to continue having that style of exposure to art and art expression.

Regarding the ? about Arlington arts...

Art classes are done in minutes, so the # of x/week may vary by school but not the minutes/week. Let me see if I can remember what my 1st grader had last year....

art 90 min (2x45 min)
music 90 min (2x45 min)

Plus PE (2x45) and Spanish (3x45)

These are to the best of my recollection (ha!) so don't quote me. But more than the amount of time, which is great, I've been impressed with the quality of the work. It's true art ed, not arts & craft time, from what I've seen. Also integrated nicely with the curriculum.

I didn't know Kensington parkwood has a strong art program and I am all for arts integration if done properly. As an artist I can tell you Norwood doesn't have a strong program. Just look at the work online! It seems like the students were following a recipe on how to do things: no problem solving, very product oriented etc. For me a strong program will let children learn techniques and handle materials in open ended activities and become more specific and formal as they grow. Developmentally is the best approach for young students. I observed Lowell last year and I was impressed by the work of the students. projects were truly investigations not just end products were kids follow step by step directions. Some clay work (horses) made by 3rd grade students was amazing. Each horse had character and each was very unique it showed the level of engagement of each child and their abilities to make careful representations.
In the ECU classes kids have studio time very much like a Reggio Emilia inspired Program. That is what I would call a strong foundation in Art.

What about Bailey's Arts & Science in FCPS?