Anonymous wrote:Sheridan also really piles on the homework. Just too much. When moms complained that the homework assignments were brutal even when the kids were prepping for the PSAT and SAT the teachers' responsed: "We don't care - your kid will do the homework project or flunk". There are a lot of Sheridan threads on DCUM. Just google DCUM Sheridan School and you can read more.

Troll. Kids at Sheridan are too young for these standardized tests.

What are you talking about? Sheridan only goes through 8th grade. No one is prepping for SAT or PSAT then! Kind of calls into question any of your opinions about the schools, which are clearly not actually based on personal experience.

Sheridan also really piles on the homework. Just too much. When moms complained that the homework assignments were brutal even when the kids were prepping for the PSAT and SAT the teachers' responsed: "We don't care - your kid will do the homework project or flunk". There are a lot of Sheridan threads on DCUM. Just google DCUM Sheridan School and you can read more.

Commonwealth Academy! I have a shy, gifted daughter there. http://www.commonwealthacademy.org/. I don't know how selective it is (but we felt very fortunate to get in) but the entire school has only about 150 students so it has got to be pretty selective. When we first interviewed, they did not have a slot for our daughter because they have pledged parents that classes will not go over a certain number (very low) of students per class, and they wouldn't make an exception for even one child. But we got a call a month later. Someone's dad had transferred out of state so we got the slot mid-year.. Call the director of admissions, Josh Gwilliam at 703 548-6912 and ask him. Tell him the Cook family is sending you. It's a very small, caring and nurturing environment. Our daughter is a new person compared to how she felt about herself in her previous school. The school is a college prep school for average to superior children with mild learning disabilities or ADHD. Absolutely no bullying allowed. The entire school is carpeted so it gives you a very quiet welcoming feel just to walk in. Very caring teachers and administrators. They also respond immediately by email or call It is in a weird private section of Alexandria, but the YMCA is directly across the street so the school uses that daily for athletics, running, rock climbing, and even weight lifting (kids select). And there's also a Giant and a CVS a block away so I can always pick up dinner or those oddball things, like T.P., that you need almost without turning off the motor. Our daughter went from hating to go to school to making honor roll twice already at CA. We couldn't be more pleased.

McLean School is a good one, too, but we felt it was just too big and jarring for our daughter. Classes at McLean were also larger than at CA.

As the mother of a Sheridan student, I can say DC gets all the individual attention he needs, not just from the teachers, but from everyone who works there.

My dc needed a lot of attention and was fragile emotionally. Going to Sheridan was the best possible solution.

It looks like a large class from the outside. On the inside, it is a completely different story.

As the friend of a mother who had her daughter at Sheridan all the way through, 15:45 is right. The single class is large and you get very very tired of those same kids for 9 years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sheridan

Sheridan is a lovely school but with large classes.

Sheridan has classes typically have 22-24 kids with two full time TEACHERS, not aides, but real teachers. Almost every thing is done in half groups (11-12 students to one teacher ratio). Foreign language, math, science, PE art are all done in half classes.

The two home room teachers teach language arts and social studies, again in half groups.

While the class may appear large, the students are NOT taught in large groups.

Do your homework before you make such pronouncements.

I have done my homework. As I said, Sheridan is a lovely school with a lot going for it. The 22 to 24 may be the average, and may be your DC's grade, but it has gone as high as 30. And whether or not they are taught in small groups, this is a large class. I think you are being way too defensive here. Its the right school for a lot of kids, but not for kids who need the kind of attention that OP is looking for.

11-12 per one teacher is still a lot. Most schools have breakout groups that are smaller than that. I have one child who went to a school with 20 to 22 kids in a class and did well. I have another for whom it would have been a disaster. Calm down and don't take it so personally.

I can't imagine anyone recommending the Heights for someone who says they have an emotionally fragile child. It's sink or swim. One day in carpool (which is also not organized and is dog eat dog) for someone else's boy I saw a teacher bring a class of very young boys, 3rd or 4th grade, marching in a line presumably to go to chapel. Three kids had done something the teacher didn't like and he made them do push-ups right there in front of the other boys and the entire car pool line. Thank heavens my son isn't there - I don't even know if he can DO a push-up. Extremely punitive and embarrassing. The OP hadn't even indicated they were Catholic and notwithstanding what others have posted, you WILL be uncomfortable if you are not REALLY Catholic in that environment..

Potomac School scholarships

Anonymous wrote:The Heights is NOT the place to go if you want your son to get social/emotional/nurturing environment. Couldn't be more opposite. It's boot camp for boys. Think Lord of the Flies.

Not true. It's a very accommodating program for kids. Sorry that you had a rough experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sheridan

Sheridan is a lovely school but with large classes.

Sheridan has classes typically have 22-24 kids with two full time TEACHERS, not aides, but real teachers. Almost every thing is done in half groups (11-12 students to one teacher ratio). Foreign language, math, science, PE art are all done in half classes.

The two home room teachers teach language arts and social studies, again in half groups.

While the class may appear large, the students are NOT taught in large groups.

Do your homework before you make such pronouncements.

The Heights is NOT the place to go if you want your son to get social/emotional/nurturing environment. Couldn't be more opposite. It's boot camp for boys. Think Lord of the Flies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This wouldn't help you for next year, but come 6th grade look at St. Anselm's Abbey. It sounds like it would be a wonderful fit for your son. We've known a couple of boys who also fit this description who have thrived there.

I'm surprised by the Heights recommendation, unless it was meant to be sarcastic. It is a good school, but I think not a great fit for a very sensitive GT kid.

Not the PP that recommended the Heights but my sons started at the Heights in the lower grades and it is in no way sarcastic. It is part of the mission of the school and the job of the teacher to ensure that a childs emotional development is addressed.

They have done wonders with both my boys in every aspect.

I sometimes don't mention Heights on this board since the religious/conservative views are not everybody's cup of tea but I am very liberal and very happy that my children go to school there.

I really wasn't knocking the Heights - sorry if it came across that way, it genuinely surprised me as a recommendation. I've just heard it described as boisterous which seems like a tough fit for a very sensitive boy. The Heights is a good school. The boys from our parish that have attended have turned into impressive young men. None of them would have been described as sensitive though and one was a bit on the rowdy side for our parish school but found the Heights a great fit in terms of giving him more outdoor time to burn energy which let him concentrate better in class (per his mom).

Sorry - I was probably being overly sensitive since people often bash the school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This wouldn't help you for next year, but come 6th grade look at St. Anselm's Abbey. It sounds like it would be a wonderful fit for your son. We've known a couple of boys who also fit this description who have thrived there.

I'm surprised by the Heights recommendation, unless it was meant to be sarcastic. It is a good school, but I think not a great fit for a very sensitive GT kid.

Not the PP that recommended the Heights but my sons started at the Heights in the lower grades and it is in no way sarcastic. It is part of the mission of the school and the job of the teacher to ensure that a childs emotional development is addressed.

They have done wonders with both my boys in every aspect.

I sometimes don't mention Heights on this board since the religious/conservative views are not everybody's cup of tea but I am very liberal and very happy that my children go to school there.

I really wasn't knocking the Heights - sorry if it came across that way, it genuinely surprised me as a recommendation. I've just heard it described as boisterous which seems like a tough fit for a very sensitive boy. The Heights is a good school. The boys from our parish that have attended have turned into impressive young men. None of them would have been described as sensitive though and one was a bit on the rowdy side for our parish school but found the Heights a great fit in terms of giving him more outdoor time to burn energy which let him concentrate better in class (per his mom).

Anonymous wrote:This wouldn't help you for next year, but come 6th grade look at St. Anselm's Abbey. It sounds like it would be a wonderful fit for your son. We've known a couple of boys who also fit this description who have thrived there.

I'm surprised by the Heights recommendation, unless it was meant to be sarcastic. It is a good school, but I think not a great fit for a very sensitive GT kid.

Not the PP that recommended the Heights but my sons started at the Heights in the lower grades and it is in no way sarcastic. It is part of the mission of the school and the job of the teacher to ensure that a childs emotional development is addressed.

They have done wonders with both my boys in every aspect.

I sometimes don't mention Heights on this board since the religious/conservative views are not everybody's cup of tea but I am very liberal and very happy that my children go to school there.