Do most of your families live very close? We are in south county Fairfax, very interested, but if the parent community is all neighborhood folks, we wouldn't want to be left out.

It's great school. My DD attends.

Anonymous wrote:Is it possible to make this program work if you aren't a stay at home mom?

Hi, thanks for your question. Yes, it is possible. We are currently discussing several options to try and make our program even more accessible to parents who work full time and who have less flexible schedules. For now, though, I would say that your best option would be to contact admissions and talk with them more just to find out if it feels like it could be a great fit for your child. If it sounds like a go, ask them to help put you in contact with a family or two that live near you. Perhaps carpooling might be an option that could help, i.e. if getting there for pickup at 3 pm is not possible. In terms of family jobs, there are some that can mainly be done at home/ on a computer / in your own time that could work better for you. And finally, in terms of co-oping days as it currently stands, each family must co-op 2-3 afternoons per month (noon-3:30 pm), but you can also work one field trip Friday/month (all day) to get in your hours for that month. So I'd say as long as you can take off 1 day/month or 2 afternoons/month, I feel good that the rest could be worked out and the community could chip in to help out where you need it. It's definitely worth at least asking about, and seeing what could get worked out!

Is it possible to make this program work if you aren't a stay at home mom?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the vibe at the school? Crunchy? Religious? Attachment parenting? Etc?

God, I sincerely hope parents of 10 year-olds aren't still identifying at attachment parents.

I have three kids under the age of 6 and we are looking at early education options. Just curious about the parenting styles. We are at another co-op for preschool and there are some strong opinions there. Just wondering what it's like at River Farm.

Hi - thanks for your message. I would say that all schools have a range of parents with varying parenting styles, and River Farm is no exception to that. There are parents with strong opinions, but honestly, people are very open to discussing new ideas and ways of doing things as far as I've experienced. We also have a handbook with guidelines for parents to try and be on the same page when co-oping at school precisely so the kids are not confused by the different parenting styles. The teachers are great about helping us out with that as well, and leading by example. They are also very accessible to parents with questions about how to handle certain situations. Honestly, I've learned a lot from my co-oping days there, and I now apply much of what I've learned there at home as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not go to Burgundy Farm? Lots of outdoor time and a progressive education philosophy.

Burgundy Farm is our first choice, but I know several parents who are looking at both because they have to be realistic. They would love to be at Burgundy, but can't be sure they'll be admitted and/or aren't sure if it's financially feasible (River Farm Co-op tuition is less than $6K).

Hi - We have never toured Burgundy Farm but have heard great things about it. The philosophy and the location are similar to River Farm, so I can see why many families are interested in both of these schools. Burgundy Farm started in the 1940s, and is therefore very established. River Farm is still a young school - it is only going into its 4th year. The price tags are also very different - River Farm is just under 6K/year while Burgundy Farm is almost 30K.

Anonymous wrote:Hey ,

I have heard the school kids are way behind in academics.
If u want your kids to go to TJ or Ivly schools than this is not for u..
If u want happy kids having fun at school. Than this is the school to go.

I can completely understand why some parents would think that less time in the traditional academic environment and more time outside would correlate to lower test scores. This is just simply not the case, as counter intuitive as it seems. The kids have all tested above grade level (an average of 1.8 above grade level actually). My daughter, a first grader, just tested at year 3, month 7 (grade 3.7) cumulative. Please see the following links for more info - the first is from our FAQ page, and the second is from a Washington Post article on this subject.

http://www.riverfarmcooperative.com/faqs/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/08/21/why-young-kids-need-less-class-time-and-more-play-time-at-school/?utm_term=.b150b9eb9b90

We also have several Ivy League-educated parents in our community. I completely understand the hesitation if you are within bounds to a fantastic public elementary school. RFC might not feel right for you, and that's absolutely fine. It is a completely different approach to learning (at least in our country), and some parents are just not comfortable with that. But I will say from firsthand experience that the kids are thriving academically, socially, and emotionally.

I don't understand why anyone in that neighborhood would send their kids to what is basically a home school type setting like this when Waynewood is such an excellent local school - free and public and highly rated. I could see maybe if the local public was subpar or something.

Hey ,

I have heard the school kids are way behind in academics.
If u want your kids to go to TJ or Ivly schools than this is not for u..
If u want happy kids having fun at school. Than this is the school to go.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Another parent here considering exploring this school. The vaccination question concerns me a bit...does anyone have any insight as to if there are a large number of religious or personal exemptions used at this school? As it is a cooperative, I take in to account the parents who will be in the school on a regular basis with my child. If a large percentage of the parents at the school can't accept the basic science behind vaccinations I don't want them anywhere near my child's education. (I am obcoously 100% fine with medical exemptions.)

+1

+2. I am also intrigued by this school but this gives me pause.

But you realize that public schools and all other private schools allows the same exemption.

Public schools have professional teachers, not parents who may not believe in science acting as teachers.

Regarding the comment above about public schools having professional teachers, I just wanted to clarify that RFC does as well. I'm not sure where the belief came from that our parents are "acting as teachers", but our teachers are highly qualified teachers. Please read about them if you'd like more information: http://www.riverfarmcooperative.com/our-team/ I'm thinking that comment might stem from a misunderstanding about how our cooperative is structured. Our teachers are our only paid employees, and this is how we keep our tuition so low. Every family has a job, and that job is crucial to the overall functioning of the school. So our treasurer is a parent, our field trip organizer is a parent, our fundraisers are parents, etc. But our teachers are, indeed, teachers.

I'd also like to add that the parents I know well there are not only big believers in science, but they are also passionate about science being an integral part of their child's elementary school curriculum. Our teachers have strong science backgrounds in biology, chemistry, and astrophysics, and they bring real joy to the learning process.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another parent here considering exploring this school. The vaccination question concerns me a bit...does anyone have any insight as to if there are a large number of religious or personal exemptions used at this school? As it is a cooperative, I take in to account the parents who will be in the school on a regular basis with my child. If a large percentage of the parents at the school can't accept the basic science behind vaccinations I don't want them anywhere near my child's education. (I am obcoously 100% fine with medical exemptions.)

+1

+2. I am also intrigued by this school but this gives me pause.

But you realize that public schools and all other private schools allows the same exemption.

Public schools have professional teachers, not parents who may not believe in science acting as teachers.

Regarding the comment above about public schools having professional teachers, I just wanted to clarify that RFC does as well. I'm not sure where the belief came from that our parents are "acting as teachers", but our teachers are highly qualified teachers. Please read about them if you'd like more information: http://www.riverfarmcooperative.com/our-team/ I'm thinking that comment might stem from a misunderstanding about how our cooperative is structured. Our teachers are our only paid employees, and this is how we keep our tuition so low. Every family has a job, and that job is crucial to the overall functioning of the school. So our treasurer is a parent, our field trip organizer is a parent, our fundraisers are parents, etc. But our teachers are, indeed, teachers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another parent here considering exploring this school. The vaccination question concerns me a bit...does anyone have any insight as to if there are a large number of religious or personal exemptions used at this school? As it is a cooperative, I take in to account the parents who will be in the school on a regular basis with my child. If a large percentage of the parents at the school can't accept the basic science behind vaccinations I don't want them anywhere near my child's education. (I am obcoously 100% fine with medical exemptions.)

+1

+2. I am also intrigued by this school but this gives me pause.

But you realize that public schools and all other private schools allows the same exemption.

Public schools have professional teachers, not parents who may not believe in science acting as teachers.

Hello! We have 2 daughters at the River Farm Cooperative (RFC) School, and they love it there. When I hear my friends who have kids at other schools say something like, "Tim just doesn't like school, but I guess that's the way it's going to be for him", I cringe a bit. We went through the same experience - our daughter was not enjoying early elementary school at all, and the road ahead just looked so long and hard. She was doing well by academic standards, but was stressed anxious about "getting the wrong answer". But we had just moved into the Fairfax County Public School System because the public schools were so great, so we felt like we were in it for the long haul and just had to figure out how to make it fit our children better. Making a change mid-year (once we learned more about RFC) seemed like a crazy move, but once we did, we had absolutely no regrets. We can say with 100% confidence that our kids love school, and they are getting an outstanding education.

My husband and I have done a lot of reading on the different educational systems around the world. One book we really enjoyed is called "The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way" by Amanda Ripley. Two of the highest performing educational systems in the world are South Korea and Finland, and yet their philosophies are diametrically opposed. The South Korean system focuses are more time in the classroom, more homework, more testing/drilling. The Finnish system takes a less-is-more approach. There is less time in the classroom, less homework, less testing, and more unstructured playtime.

To us, it felt like the DC metro area public schools are moving towards a more South Korean educational system, and we did not want that. That system works for a lot of families, and it works well. It produces highly educated kids who go on to great careers. We were just looking for something different. It seems to us like RFC parents tend to prefer a model similar to the Finnish model. If that is considered "crunchy" because it is outside of the mainstream system here (?), I suppose that word applies. It definitely applies if you are looking for a greener, more environmentally conscious school, and one which emphasizes open, thoughtful discussions on all topics, including world politics and social justice issues. But no, we are not a religions school, although we lease space from a church. And as for attachment parenting, I actually had to look that up before responding...so no, we do not embrace that as a whole community. Most parents I know would actually be described as "mainstream" parents who were just looking for a different educational approach for their kids. If you are interested, I would highly encourage you to contact admissions and learn more. We think it is a very special place!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the vibe at the school? Crunchy? Religious? Attachment parenting? Etc?

God, I sincerely hope parents of 10 year-olds aren't still identifying at attachment parents.

I have three kids under the age of 6 and we are looking at early education options. Just curious about the parenting styles. We are at another co-op for preschool and there are some strong opinions there. Just wondering what it's like at River Farm.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another parent here considering exploring this school. The vaccination question concerns me a bit...does anyone have any insight as to if there are a large number of religious or personal exemptions used at this school? As it is a cooperative, I take in to account the parents who will be in the school on a regular basis with my child. If a large percentage of the parents at the school can't accept the basic science behind vaccinations I don't want them anywhere near my child's education. (I am obcoously 100% fine with medical exemptions.)

+1

+2. I am also intrigued by this school but this gives me pause.

But you realize that public schools and all other private schools allows the same exemption.