*sigh* I went to Sidwell in the early 80's--it was then what your Park school sounds like now. How times have changed at Sidwell. Now it is just NCS/StA without uniforms...very sad. Would not send my kids there.

Out of the k-12, Friends is probably the most diverse in the Baltimore area especially in the lower school.

7:04 I'm curious which school you switched to for the better math program. Friends has Singapore math in the lower school. I really thought that this differented them from the other schools who are doing everyday math.

PP where did you go to for more diversity? Most of the private schools in the area diverse, they have may 2 or 3 at the most AA per class, 1 Asian - 2 at the most. Most of the diversity is in the upper school. Personally I do not find them racially or economically diverse.

As a minority I will have to agree that Friends is not a diverse environment.

I was never impressed with the "Quaker" aspect of the school and the claims about multicultural and racial diversity. I would always recommend ways to improve the school's diversity but found the administration didn't really want suggestions. I think they assumed they were doing a great job.

We had a difficult time at Friends School securing financial aid as well. We were told that since we were not AA they would not provide aid for my family. This forced me to seek out other private school options that were.

At least at the current school my children attend they are honest in that they don't think it is diverse enough and want input on how to change that. I feel this is a much better attitude then just assuming your have diverse school.

If you really want diversity, send your kids to public school! Of course in Baltimore we all know that's not an option!

You should not have a problem getting kids into Friends on an off year. Park may be closer to full, but if it thinks your family is a fit, they will also likely find a way.
Re: Friends - I had a kid there and have to disagree with PP on a number of points. Certainly in lower school it is far more diverse than most other area schools, except for maybe Wilkes School at Grace and St Peter, which I beleive is 40%+ AA. There is more economic diversity as well. By upper school, I think this tends to even out. I thought that the school was fairly "Quaker," but then my DC had teachers who were Friends' graduates and they fully embraced the Quaker aspect of the school.
I don't think the school is very interested in challenging the very advanced, though it's pretty good at bringing along kids who need extra help. The math program is not great. We did, in fact, move to a more challenging school, but there is much to like about Friends.

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...oops, my iPad cut me off....Anyway, MSW is an excellent option if you are the forward thinking type. The tuition is half that of other nearby private schools and their outcomes are impressive. The kids are gracious, creative, independent and amazingly happy. The teachers and staff are kind, highly capable and very committed to the kids. Our son will be starting in the primary program this Fall. Looking ahead, thanks to info in this thread, we will be applying to Park and Friends for high school.

Our daughter just finished her kindergarten year at Montessori School of Westminster in Westminster, MD, not far from Baltimore. The school serves children from two years of age through 9th grade. I am stunned by the transformation of our daughter in just one school year. She can now read chapter books at about a 2nd grade level. Her penmanship is excellent. She made and filled in her own multiplication table all the way up to 9x9. She can identify flowers and birds that I've never even heard of. She has become thoughtful and considerate. She takes great joy in planning what she will do in school the next day as well as the next week and month. She loves school and does not want to break for summer.

I am from Baltimore and went to Friends in the mid-90's - my brother went there as well and had a learning disability (dyslexia) and did terrible (despite the fact that he is a smarter and more successful adult than I am). Friends moves right along and if you can't keep up, too bad. If your child has learning problems (son?) please consider either Boys Latin or Calvert Hall - my brother should have gone there in hind sight, as they specialize in working with children w/learning disabilities. Not sure what to suggest if you have a daughter - probably Garrison?

On the bright side, Friends does not stress sports and does stress academics and the arts (plus or minus depending on your child). It is a very nurturing community and is somewhat progressive (as is Park).

Our children attended private school in DC and transferred to Park when we moved to Baltimore a few years ago. From day 1 we have had excellent teachers and a great administration (head of school is from Potomac School, upper school principal just came from Trinity in NYC).

Anonymous wrote:I went to Park in the '80's. I loved it and think I got an excellent education. The faculty was extremely dedicated to the students, and most everyone went above and beyond. Can't say about now, but back then, they were more than willing to work with kids with different learning styles, including doing one on one independent study in certain subjects instead of certain classes. Having said that, most of the kids I went to school with were very upper-crusty entitled types, with a good handful of oddballs thrown in. Now, 20+ years later, my best friends are still some of my Park School classmates.

Really, if it's anything like it used to be, it's pretty fantastic. I wish we lived closer so I could send my kids there.

ME TOO!!!! And you live in DC? Hmmmm......

I loved it - but I can't tell you anything about it now.

I've lived in Baltimore for a long time. Both Park and Friends have a liberal, progressive reputation. A neighbor of mine did pull his kids out of Friends recently because he was not satisfied with their math program.

If your kids are athletically gifted, neither school is a good fit. They compete in the B levels in sports.

Moved here from Arlington. Have DC in preschool at Grace and St Peter and DC starting at Friends this year. It's been frustrating not to have a site like this specifically for Baltimore - thanks to everyone who took the time to post!

Not a DC transplant, but a Boston transplant. I stumbled across this thread by accident while trying to Google the Park listserve I thought I'd bookmarked!

The simple answer to "Why Waldorf over Friends or Park": admissions. My child wasn't accepted at Friends or at Park, but was at Waldorf. (Things are easier at both Friends and Park now than they were then, but there are still no guarantees either place; I know of a very gifted child this year who was admitted to Friends but not to Park).

But I think it worked out better than I could possibly have anticipated. My DC is quite gifted academically (not socially!) and wouldn't have been challenged in terms of reading, math, etc. at either Park or Friends. That didn't matter; he wasn't bored to tears (the way he had been at a more conventional school) because the curriculum was so engaging, it retained his interest even when the precise material was familiar or easily mastered. Moreover, he encountered challenges at Waldorf. Maybe not academically, but in other ways: in being expected to draw. To pursue a musical instrument. To act in plays. To learn both German and Spanish. Music and arts were not things he'd ever enjoyed before, he was the kid who never drew or sang, and he didn't enjoy playing an instrument in preschool. Hated being the center of attention, so I was sure he'd hate acting. Didn't matter, EVERY one participated in these things. Much to everyone's surprise, he discovered a talent in these things. (He's now very active in the performing arts in high school). It never would have happened in an environment where kids self-select for different pursuits depending on what they perceive as their talents.

I found Waldorf an incredibly nurturing environment. I loved the sense of wonder they help instill in the children. I also value how they're protected from a lot of the toxic aspects of our society - very few kids watch much if any TV, and it's just not part of the culture. So you won't see any 9-year-old girls fretting that they need to go on a diet, or 9-year-old boys acting out roles from action movies. Instead you'll see kids digging in the sand box imagining that the rock they've found covers the tunnel to a magical kingdom beneath the earth...

Were I to do things over again, I'd have sent both my children there from preschool on.

Just curious: Are most of the posters in this thread DC-transplants who wound up in Baltimore (that's my story). I have yet to find a Baltimore equivalent to this board!!