Anonymous wrote:There are big differences in schools that end in 3rd grade v 6th grade in terms of what your kid is exposed to. A 3rd grader at NPS is hanging out with 10-12 year olds in After Care. A 3rd grader at Beauvoir is only exposed to 8 and 9 year olds. They see and hear different things in the halls. You may not think this is important but I promise you it is a difference that I have experience with. For some, it’s not a big deal but it is different.

Not that this matters, but at NPS the 3rd graders are not grouped with the 5th and 6th graders in aftercare.

Anonymous wrote:Obviously we all attempt to choose a school best suited to our own families. That’s the whole point—This year especially, many of us don’t know enough about these communities to make a match. Goes double for recent arrivals. It’s not as if a virtual open house specifies how many kids’ social lives revolve around the CCC, what percentage are legacies or the prevalence of sahm’s with nannies. We’re all trying to read between the lines but also not rule out places that may be great for our young kids

Look at the governing boards and committees and event chairs. That is a good way to get an idea about a community IMO. That goes for all schools.

CCC is a different club

In my child’s class the CCC moms go out of their way to not be exclusionary. They never host birthdays at the club and frankly try to avoid mentioning their memberships and interconnectedness. In a way this makes it worse because it takes awhile to realize why your kid is always asking about the mysterious play dates and classes at “the pool” and “the rink”. Not sure if this will shift as kids get older.

Anonymous wrote:There are big differences in schools that end in 3rd grade v 6th grade in terms of what your kid is exposed to. A 3rd grader at NPS is hanging out with 10-12 year olds in After Care. A 3rd grader at Beauvoir is only exposed to 8 and 9 year olds. They see and hear different things in the halls. You may not think this is important but I promise you it is a difference that I have experience with. For some, it’s not a big deal but it is different.

Sure, but if your kid goes on to NCS/St. Albans, they'll be a 4th grader "hanging out" with 12th graders! Or at the very least, 8th graders.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are struggling to compare the vibe/warmth of these two schools. Which is closer knit? More meal trains and the like? Which has more kids having play dates at country clubs? More legacies? Trying to assess how welcome we will feel and any insights are appreciated!

Beauvoir is more diverse for sure no doubt. That being said within the school a large percentage belong to the same club and they tend to not be the nicest or most inclusive people. Plus 1/2 of the board belongs to the same club.

The school is big enough that the exclusionary subset of the ccc subset (no not all ccc members act exclusionary) hasn’t really impacted us. Yes there are a couple of board seats that pass from one ccc mom to the next ccc mom. One ccc mom unofficially “picks” the next to replace her, and on and on. Everyone can tell you who will occupy that seat next time,, because it’s just this tiny tiny subset of a subset of ccc members who are often big donors who “put up” the person who then magically gets a seat. (By the way, not all all big donors are ccc members, the point is that there is a board-seat selection that has a through-line in this way. Honestly it’s kind of comical). Anyway.

Also, the school is much more diverse than nps. As parents of a mixed race child, that mattered to us. We’ve been very happy at BVR. I could care less who gets the board seat next and then has to host events for the board and the big donors. :shrug:

We loved NPS. My kids are older now and I miss the community a lot!

Obviously we all attempt to choose a school best suited to our own families. That’s the whole point—This year especially, many of us don’t know enough about these communities to make a match. Goes double for recent arrivals. It’s not as if a virtual open house specifies how many kids’ social lives revolve around the CCC, what percentage are legacies or the prevalence of sahm’s with nannies. We’re all trying to read between the lines but also not rule out places that may be great for our young kids

Doesn’t it fundamentally depend on who YOU are? My kids went to a preschool where all the adults were friends except me (or as it felt…) for them, it was meal train central but our family never really fit it.

Just find the right fit for YOUR FAMILY and your KID. period. the feedback from the list serve is not going to help you

NPS curriculum is a bit more religious with a yearlong study of “Christian life” (in addition to global religions, Hebrew Bible etc), but not sure if the community is more devout?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are struggling to compare the vibe/warmth of these two schools. Which is closer knit? More meal trains and the like? Which has more kids having play dates at country clubs? More legacies? Trying to assess how welcome we will feel and any insights are appreciated!

Beauvoir is more diverse for sure no doubt. That being said within the school a large percentage belong to the same club and they tend to not be the nicest or most inclusive people. Plus 1/2 of the board belongs to the same club.

Definitely untrue

What does it mean that “everything” at NPS feels small? Facilities…worldview?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re looking for a community with a “vibe” and meal trains, OP, maybe you would feel more comfortable if you sent your child to public school?

There would certainly be fewer families with country club memberships.

I say this as a public school parent, so I honestly don’t mean to be snarky. Why wouldn’t you send your child to public school? At least for the first few years. (That’s a rhetorical question, really none of my business.)

This 100% OP. My kids went to the other snotty private elementary in town and if I had to do it over, I would have sent them to public. Meal trains exist for those who know you through Chevy Chase Club, maybe...And this will sound rude, too, OP, but if you don't know anybody there, then I wonder if you're on track to have your child admitted anyway. It's tough. With that said, to answer your question, at the very smallest margin, NPS probably has a slightly warmer vibe--though everything about that school feels "small" for the good and the bad.

Interesting. Do you not get into schools if you don’t have existing families batting for you? Sounds like a country club?

OP back and very grateful for the responses (after those first few 😂). And, yes, it’s a major financial decision made during a strange time and I want as much info as possible. I am not someone who agonizes about differences in shoes or cars but schools, yes. We majorly deliberated over our preschool choice (in another area) and it was absolutely worth the effort despite what others may think.

To the PP’s who asked, DH and I would prefer a public school community but the class sizes are high in our zoned school and there is a lot of flux. It also draws from many neighborhoods and isn’t as “local” as many.

One thing I like about Nps is that they start tech later, but that’s a small point. The auction at bvr and general pta jockeying sounds intimidating. Does anyone know if that’s different at NPS.

I haven’t been concerned with exmissions but you have made interesting points about aftercare age groupings and not paying NCS prices for 4th-6th…

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are struggling to compare the vibe/warmth of these two schools. Which is closer knit? More meal trains and the like? Which has more kids having play dates at country clubs? More legacies? Trying to assess how welcome we will feel and any insights are appreciated!

Beauvoir is more diverse for sure no doubt. That being said within the school a large percentage belong to the same club and they tend to not be the nicest or most inclusive people. Plus 1/2 of the board belongs to the same club.