Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Prospective parent here- this is interesting to read! So am I hearing that students have until the end of 3 months to complete the assignment?!!.....This is concerning as I don't know a single college that allows that....nor any employer. I think students who might struggle with executive functioning might need more structure than less....... Will need to check on this. Question do you think your child passes because of the supports and capacity building or because it is in the schools interest to catch and give many chances so that they pass? My child is very funny and kind but needs firm boundaries and consequences....seems a little too lax...

Also come as you are sports.....someone in another post called sports at this school "a self-help therapy group".......I am seeing some similarities.......

Oooof.

All assignments have due dates. It is much, much better for students to complete assignments by the due dates. That's the expectation for all students. But if you don't, the question becomes what then? At Nora, you can't escape doing it. You'll be assigned to daily study hall after school until it's done. You can't hand it in after the end of the quarter.

I don't understand your question about sports. Emphasis is on fitness, fun, and teamwork. There's one coed sport each season. If that makes you go "oof," probably not the right fit school.

One more thing. My autistic child graduated from Nora and is now having a hard time in college. Her autism makes it really hard to do school work rather than engage in her special interest. I don't know that there's anything different Nora could have done to make college easier, but I do know that Nora made her feel loved and accepted and valued, when that hadn't been her experience at other schools.

Anonymous wrote:Prospective parent here- this is interesting to read! So am I hearing that students have until the end of 3 months to complete the assignment?!!.....This is concerning as I don't know a single college that allows that....nor any employer. I think students who might struggle with executive functioning might need more structure than less....... Will need to check on this. Question do you think your child passes because of the supports and capacity building or because it is in the schools interest to catch and give many chances so that they pass? My child is very funny and kind but needs firm boundaries and consequences....seems a little too lax...

Also come as you are sports.....someone in another post called sports at this school "a self-help therapy group".......I am seeing some similarities.......

Oooof.

All assignments have due dates. It is much, much better for students to complete assignments by the due dates. That's the expectation for all students. But if you don't, the question becomes what then? At Nora, you can't escape doing it. You'll be assigned to daily study hall after school until it's done. You can't hand it in after the end of the quarter.

I don't understand your question about sports. Emphasis is on fitness, fun, and teamwork. There's one coed sport each season. If that makes you go "oof," probably not the right fit school.

Prospective parent here- this is interesting to read! So am I hearing that students have until the end of 3 months to complete the assignment?!!.....This is concerning as I don't know a single college that allows that....nor any employer. I think students who might struggle with executive functioning might need more structure than less....... Will need to check on this. Question do you think your child passes because of the supports and capacity building or because it is in the schools interest to catch and give many chances so that they pass? My child is very funny and kind but needs firm boundaries and consequences....seems a little too lax...

Also come as you are sports.....someone in another post called sports at this school "a self-help therapy group".......I am seeing some similarities.......

Oooof.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As a parent who sent their child to TNS for four years, here are my take aways. The problem with the Nora School is that though it takes in many students who are on the spectrum, or as others like to say "spectrum adjacent"/ ADHD, they are not equipped in programming or staff to take on the targeted instruction/teaching and interventions to meet students needs. Their staff is not qualified to take on such students. They are a small school for students who need extra support, but lack in structure and accountability. This in my opinion creates a false sense of security and accomplishment for students who pass no matter what. I only saw the impact of this when my son graduated and went on to college. He had no tangible skills, and needed even more support in college than in high school. It is a grave regret that I continued to send my child here. Out of the class of 18 that my son graduated, 6 did not make it through the first year of college, and 6 did not graduate. How can you justify 132k dollars for such results? Point being, that TNS will get your child to college, but will they thrive once they are there?[/quote]

We toured this fall, and in hindsight I wish I had found this information earlier because it closely reflects the impression we had. I was able to observe several classes and interactions. I was pleasantly surprised by how aligned staff seemed on expectations and how polite and open the students were. However, the level of rigor and classroom culture varied significantly from class to class.

I heard students make comments suggesting that deadlines were flexible and that work could always be made up or offset with extra credit. That raised concerns about whether there may be an unintentional “pass-anyway” culture that weakens accountability. I was also struck by what felt like a limited emphasis on professionalism and preparation for life beyond school. Student dress and overall presentation felt quite casual, and when I asked about college interview preparation, internships, etiquette, or professional expectations, the responses seemed surprised or dismissive.

Having not lived in DC very long, the overall culture felt to me like a more liberal version of St. Andrew’s — a “pay and we’ll make it work” environment — rather than a school centered on structured preparation and high expectations. Additionally, athletics did not appear to be a significant institutional priority, which may matter to some families seeking a more robust sports program. While I value the supportive and safe environment the school offers, it ultimately did not feel like the right fit for our family. Our child is now at O’Connell in their LD program and is doing very well there.[/quote]

Athletics -- as in, winning games -- is absolutely not a priority. But getting as many people as possible to participate is: sports are no-cut, come as you are. If a student wants high level sports, they will need to do it outside of school.

Deadlines are reasonably flexible (always due by the end of the quarter and some teachers impose penalties for late work). Students with missing assignments at the end of the week are required to go to after school study hall until it's done. This is very deliberate: they want students to do the work and learn the content, not just take the F and move on.

Student dress did not seem to me to be any different from public schools or mainstream secular schools, although if you are used to uniforms, I can see why it would be jarring.

There was a lot of individualized support for college applications, including interviews when appropriate (although most schools don't have interviews).

[quote=Anonymous]As a parent who sent their child to TNS for four years, here are my take aways. The problem with the Nora School is that though it takes in many students who are on the spectrum, or as others like to say "spectrum adjacent"/ ADHD, they are not equipped in programming or staff to take on the targeted instruction/teaching and interventions to meet students needs. Their staff is not qualified to take on such students. They are a small school for students who need extra support, but lack in structure and accountability. This in my opinion creates a false sense of security and accomplishment for students who pass no matter what. I only saw the impact of this when my son graduated and went on to college. He had no tangible skills, and needed even more support in college than in high school. It is a grave regret that I continued to send my child here. Out of the class of 18 that my son graduated, 6 did not make it through the first year of college, and 6 did not graduate. How can you justify 132k dollars for such results? Point being, that TNS will get your child to college, but will they thrive once they are there?[/quote]

We toured this fall, and in hindsight I wish I had found this information earlier because it closely reflects the impression we had. I was able to observe several classes and interactions. I was pleasantly surprised by how aligned staff seemed on expectations and how polite and open the students were. However, the level of rigor and classroom culture varied significantly from class to class.

I heard students make comments suggesting that deadlines were flexible and that work could always be made up or offset with extra credit. That raised concerns about whether there may be an unintentional “pass-anyway” culture that weakens accountability. I was also struck by what felt like a limited emphasis on professionalism and preparation for life beyond school. Student dress and overall presentation felt quite casual, and when I asked about college interview preparation, internships, etiquette, or professional expectations, the responses seemed surprised or dismissive.

Having not lived in DC very long, the overall culture felt to me like a more liberal version of St. Andrew’s — a “pay and we’ll make it work” environment — rather than a school centered on structured preparation and high expectations. Additionally, athletics did not appear to be a significant institutional priority, which may matter to some families seeking a more robust sports program. While I value the supportive and safe environment the school offers, it ultimately did not feel like the right fit for our family. Our child is now at O’Connell in their LD program and is doing very well there.

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at Nora currently. I don’t know if my DC can be successful in college. I do know that DC would not be able to graduate from high school without a supportive setting like Nora, and without a high school diploma, there’s no chance college will be in the picture.

I am sorry OP that your DC was not well served at Nora. It is a collection of kids who have unique issues and it’s so hard to know if you are doing the right thing at each stage.

This has been our experience too. I don't know if my child's academics would be appreciably different at a specialized SN school -- our experience with SN schools is that their expectations are significantly below grade level, so I doubt it. But I do know that the confidence my child is developing at Nora -- that she wasn't able to develop at either public school or mainstream private -- will make her more likely to succeed at college. If she struggled academically at college, it will be because of her profile/learning disabilities, not because of Nora.

PPs are correct. It is not reasonable to hold the school responsible for your child’s ability or inability to graduate college. Judge Nora on your child’s experience during their time at Nora.

We are a current Nora School family. Our daughter will get into college because of the support she has received from Nora. Whether she is successful in college will be more a function of her own issues and struggles. Nora is a warm and supportive school, but it’s not a therapeutic school, nor does it claim to be. And take it from me, they do allow students to fail classes. It is not a pass no matter what type of place. It sounds like the recent commenter had a child graduate at least four or five years ago. There’s a new head of school and several new teachers since then.