WTH! Why is Burke the only independent high school left in DC that still requires the SSAT??? The admissions website even acknowledges that it is difficult to get the test done in the middle of a pandemic, but then says go find a way to take it.

I have a kid who graduated and a kid now in high school at Burke. Neither has special needs or behavior issues -- though I know the school can handle some and will work with parents to figure it out. Both are academically exceedingly strong, the older is thriving at an Ivy-ish university. They have friends from Burke who were also stellar students - now at big name colleges. They also have friends whose tremendous talents lay elsewhere -- arts, music, computer science. The school knows each kid really, really well.

We chose Burke for the community and values -- bringing many different kinds of kids together in an environment that is more collaborative and less crazy-competitive. A focus on social justice and service.

It's hard to find a place like Burke. Read the mission statement - they live it.

I heard great things about Burke. Since your kid has a very mild disability, make sure to call the schools and openly discuss your situation and needs and take it from there. Fit and strong school support is very important. Just make sure you realize that specialized support (speech therapy, specialized psicologists) may not be available at school. As such, depending on the situation you will need to bring your team of experts to develop the best strategies in collaboration with the school.

We know several kids who went to Burke and who are now college students/recent grads. All loved the school culture and found wonderful friends among their classmates and teachers. All felt accepted there, including one LGBTQ kid. All found outlets and support for their talents, including one who is a gifted singer. The most academically adept child did find it not sufficiently challenging, but was able to take a semester of study abroad, which was a terrific experience. She then returned to Burke and was quite happy there. When my kids, who played sports at their schools, had meets that included Burke, I was always struck by how supportive Burke kids were of one another. (BTW, one of our kids went to St. Andrew's and we loved what the school did for her . . . but that's for another thread).

Good luck with your school search, OP!

We know several kids who went to Burke and who are now college students/recent grads. All loved the school culture and found wonderful friends among their classmates and teachers. All felt accepted there, including one LGBTQ kid. All found outlets and support for their talents, including one who is a gifted singer. The most academically adept child did find it not sufficiently challenging, but was able to take a semester of study abroad, which was a terrific experience. She then returned to Burke and was quite happy there. When my kids, who played sports at their schools, had meets that included Burke, I was always struck by how supportive Burke kids were of one another. (BTW, one of our kids went to St. Andrew's and we loved what the school did for her . . . but that's for another thread).

Good luck with your school search, OP!

Here are some of Burke's strengths:

1. Burke empowers kids to experiment inside and outside the classroom. Burke students are strongly encouraged to try new things. While Burke's high school offers many advanced classes, it also offers versions of most classes that are pretty easy. So if you want to dip your toe in the water without diving into the deep end of the pool, you can, but if you want to be a very hard core student, you can do that too, and you can do some of each depending on your academic strengths and weaknesses. The same pretty much goes for after school activities. You can play on sports teams, act in plays, perform in bands, make movies, etc., even if you have little experience or talent, but some Burke artists, musicians, and athletes end up being good enough to enroll in art schools and conservatories, and some athletes end up playing on college teams (not many, but a few).

2. Burke students tend to be very friendly, diverse, and welcoming. You don't see many cliques. There's a lot of school spirit.

3. The Burke faculty is very strong. Teachers spend a lot of time with students and prepare their classes very well. They try hard to "meet students where they are" and help them improve.

4. Students receive a lot of individual attention from counselors and teachers.

5. Showing off your wealth is not cool at Burke.

Anonymous wrote:Agreed it's a great school for children with learning disabilities. Most of my sons class has some sort of issues

Most of my kids' classes did not have "some sort of issues," but several did, and the other kids are nice to them. That's one of the great things about Burke. While it seems hard to commit social suicide at Burke, since it is a very open minded place, being mean to classmates with dyslexia or Asperger syndrome or ADHD would be pretty close to social suicide.

The workload varies a lot by student and by course. Students who load up on advanced courses end up with many hours of homework a night, but very few students end up with the huge amount of homework assigned at the DMV's most demanding private and public schools.

As for "girl cliques" and "popular kids," they are barely perceptible to me. They probably exist (at least in some grades) but, to be honest, one of the most noticeable things about Burke is how much less of the "popular kids" dynamic there is at Burke compared to other schools I've seen.

Most students enjoy Burke, even in middle school, which says a lot.

Agreed it's a great school for children with learning disabilities. Most of my sons class has some sort of issues

NP. Can someone say more about what Burke’s strengths are?

A little OT perhaps, but Edmund Burke was a famous Conservative in England's parliament. A principled conservative to be sure, but if people want to change the name of Churchill HS, surprised there's no clamor over the name of this school?

I can’t believe someone revived this old thread to make a false point. Do your research and you will see that this is not at all true. My Burke alum had no issues and most kids at Burke are just normal kids.

Anonymous wrote:Great school for special need children. .. Most students there have some sort of learning DIFFERENCE

Not every child thrives in the public school system that was created to address the masses. For those who do not, Burke is a great choice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great school for special need children. .. Most students there have some sort of learning disability

They’re going to hate that you said this.

They'll hate it because it is patently false. People should be far more careful on here about these sorts of statements.

Anonymous wrote:Great school for special need children. .. Most students there have some sort of learning disability

They’re going to hate that you said this.

Great school for special need children. .. Most students there have some sort of learning disability