When I attended for grades 9-12, the teachers were, on the whole, outstanding. My one knock -- and this is personal preference -- was what I considered to be an over-emphasis on football and football "stars." The pep rallys reminded me a little of Revenge of the Nerds.

Upper school facilities are fine, but definitely not on par with SFS, for example.

Anonymous wrote:I imagine that SSSAS administrators would be upfront about why they have invested in things other then facilities. I can’t imagine having three campuses helps, but I also think they probably believe other things matter more.

Honestly, I don’t know that constant investment in impressive buildings is necessary.

As the aforementioned example about Bullis suggests, the best facilities do not mean the best academics.

SSSAS has excellent, if slightly dated, facilities. I’m sure if the parents wanted to spearhead a capital campaign, the school would be open to it.

I imagine that SSSAS administrators would be upfront about why they have invested in things other then facilities. I can’t imagine having three campuses helps, but I also think they probably believe other things matter more.

^^^^ and the "Um, yes" referred to the fact that I spend a great deal of time on the Close.

Funny how you interpreted that as "snobby" and assumed that I was an SSSAS parent.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh? SSSAS' facilities are on par with any of the Big 3s (GDS, NCS/STA, Sidwell) at least for the lower and upper schools.

+ 1

The lower school is beautiful. Has OP actually seen SSSAS, and other DC privates??

The SSSAS facilities are not equivalent to at the Cathedral Schools. Have you been inside the athletic center, library and chapel at NCS?

Um, yes. Have you been inside the athletic fields and centers at SSSAS?

Yes, I have numerous times. Your snide response (“Um, yes”) is exactly why SSSAS parents have a reputation around Alexandria for being rude and snobby.

That's very funny, as I'm a Cathedral parent.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh? SSSAS' facilities are on par with any of the Big 3s (GDS, NCS/STA, Sidwell) at least for the lower and upper schools.

+ 1

The lower school is beautiful. Has OP actually seen SSSAS, and other DC privates??

The SSSAS facilities are not equivalent to at the Cathedral Schools. Have you been inside the athletic center, library and chapel at NCS?

Um, yes. Have you been inside the athletic fields and centers at SSSAS?

Yes, I have numerous times. Your snide response (“Um, yes”) is exactly why SSSAS parents have a reputation around Alexandria for being rude and snobby.

I'm an SSSAS parent and an alum of an IAC/ISL school. SSSAS's athletic facilities and academic facilities (not faculty here, but physical plant) are, objectively, inferior to most if not all of the IAC schools and many, if not most of the ISL-only schools. IMO, from a physical facilities perspective, the Close, Bullis and Landon/Holton far outstrip SSSAS. But, a school is more than just bricks, mortar and grass (or turf). I'm happy to discuss why SSSAS was the right decision for us, but the justification wouldn't be based on the quality of the campus. If this board were honest with itself and ranked schools based on that, Bullis would no doubt be in the Big 3 -- and I think it would only take a minute or two on the Bullis thread to realize that no one (not even those connected with the school) would rank it overall ahead of the Cathedral Schools, Sidwell, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of families who work and live in Alexandria that don't want their kids commuting out of this area to go to school, so it isn't really competing with other DC area private high schools.

Especially for lower school. Time on the playground is better than time in the car.

+1. I work in Old Town and I live right outside Old Town. It just doesn't make sense to force a long commute.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is very expensive but they give out a lot of aid. I think the average income of families receiving aid is like $170k so there are many families making good money on aid. Full pay families subsidize this.

Same with Oakcrest! It seems A LOT of families do not pay full freight at Oakcrest either.

Oakcrest? Is that comparable with St Stephens? Never heard of it

Oakcrest is the female version of The Heights.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh? SSSAS' facilities are on par with any of the Big 3s (GDS, NCS/STA, Sidwell) at least for the lower and upper schools.

+ 1

The lower school is beautiful. Has OP actually seen SSSAS, and other DC privates??

The SSSAS facilities are not equivalent to at the Cathedral Schools. Have you been inside the athletic center, library and chapel at NCS?

Um, yes. Have you been inside the athletic fields and centers at SSSAS?

Yes, I have numerous times. Your snide response (“Um, yes”) is exactly why SSSAS parents have a reputation around Alexandria for being rude and snobby.

SSSAS is perennially voted among the best places to work in DC. They have very good teacher retention. My guess is that they pay their teachers a very competitive salary, and I know that they provide other benefits (summer stipends for teachers to do research, faculty/staff dinners on Monday nights, etc). There is typically a high correlation between tuition and faculty/staff compensation. Our son went to SSSAS for high school, and I was incredibly impressed by the quality of the teachers he had (have had kids at other schools). So perhaps facilities weren’t amazing but the instruction really was, at least in our experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh? SSSAS' facilities are on par with any of the Big 3s (GDS, NCS/STA, Sidwell) at least for the lower and upper schools.

+ 1

The lower school is beautiful. Has OP actually seen SSSAS, and other DC privates??

The SSSAS facilities are not equivalent to at the Cathedral Schools. Have you been inside the athletic center, library and chapel at NCS?

Um, yes. Have you been inside the athletic fields and centers at SSSAS?

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of families who work and live in Alexandria that don't want their kids commuting out of this area to go to school, so it isn't really competing with other DC area private high schools.

Especially for lower school. Time on the playground is better than time in the car.

There is not a difficult thing to figure out, OP. If the families at SSSAS did not think it was worth it, they wouldn't be there. It's simple supply and demand. Economics 101. They are not hurting to get students in the door, so clearly people think whatever they are paying is worth it.

And I know that in this area, it's hard to believe, but some families look for things other than where the graduates matriculate when choosing a high school. Perhaps they live nearby, perhaps they are alums, perhaps they are Episcopalian, perhaps they don't want to commute far, perhaps they were recruited for a sport, and perhaps they didn't get in anywhere else, which you were likely hinting at. Who knows, who cares. If you don't think it's worth it, go elsewhere.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is more to a school’s quality and value than the physical facilities. Have you spoken to current parents or students? Have you visited?

When my kid started the search and included Saints in the list, I was skeptical of the facilities. I’ve found that it has been a great community and for us, my child is thriving academically and socially. They have very much lived up to their mission of pursuing goodness as well as knowledge. The PP’s note about generosity with financial aid means a diverse student body. Count me as a very satisfied full-pay parent.

TC has a very diverse student body.....and you don’t have to pay 45k to go there.

That assumes you can go to TC. Not all SSSAS parents live in Alexandria. (there's that whole diversity thing again)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh? SSSAS' facilities are on par with any of the Big 3s (GDS, NCS/STA, Sidwell) at least for the lower and upper schools.

+ 1

The lower school is beautiful. Has OP actually seen SSSAS, and other DC privates??

The SSSAS facilities are not equivalent to at the Cathedral Schools. Have you been inside the athletic center, library and chapel at NCS?