Anonymous wrote:I’m a first-time mom who recently moved to the DMV area for work. I drive by Rochambeau every day but don’t know much about it. I’ve been searching online to learn more and saw on their website that they offer programs starting at two years old. Do they have strong programs for young children? What are these programs known for? How competitive is the admissions process? Thank you in advance.

I am a parent to a current little person in nursery. The programming for the pre-school is wonderful. They have a Pre-k 2 class which works out to cost the same as many daycares but with qualified staff. Before care starts at 7:30 and the late after care ends at 6PM.

Many of the nursery school teachers are teacher certified in France (French teacher certification is a competitive and arduous process). The kids have 2 outdoor recesses, nap, sing, dance, listen to stories, do little projects. It's an extremely happy place and the teachers are responsive to parental requests. For example, a few Northern Europeans lamented that the kids didn't play in the snow and the situation was remedied in a week -- we were asked to send snow pants to school and out they went.

Overall, it's a structured environment, with happy, bright, well behaved children from professional families (State Department, diplomats, academics, etc). The play is quite academic in focus, so they are learning to count, write their names and whatnot quite early. They all sit and listen to the teacher, etc. If you have a child who is hyperactive, this may not be the best environment (although I somehow made it through, despite having severe ADHD).

It's extremely international, and I'd say at least half of the children speak 3 languages (many of the pre-schoolers speak 4). The counseling team is quite capable and can assess in French, Spanish or English, as needed.

The admissions process varies. Alums have an easier time of it, as do expats on temporary assignment and people from French speaking households. The kids are all interviewed before admission, which for nursery involves a play date in a classroom.

Rochambeau is a French school that follows the French curriculum with adaptations for local culture (English language and US literature, civics and history). It has high academic standards and requires exposure to French culture and language outside of school to make the most of it. So it is a bigger commitment on the side of the families.

Students can enter the school with no knowledge of French up to 3rd grade and are put in a specific accelerated immersion French program until they are up to grade in the language. After 3rd grade, prospective students need a test to evaluate their French skills.

It has a very international student body and while it's private, you have quite a bit of diversity. It has rolling admissions, but admissions have become more competitive over time.

Many families choose it because they are more academically inclined. The course load in the middle and higher grades is considerable (student end up with two high school diplomas: the US and the French one). This leaves little time for heavy involvement in extracurricular sports, which many US families tend to favor in order to get scholarships.

I’m a first-time mom who recently moved to the DMV area for work. I drive by Rochambeau every day but don’t know much about it. I’ve been searching online to learn more and saw on their website that they offer programs starting at two years old. Do they have strong programs for young children? What are these programs known for? How competitive is the admissions process? Thank you in advance.

It wipes the floor with WIS at half the fees.

Rochambeau is a great school, with a rigorous curriculum, IB, the advantage of bilingualism (plus other languages offered: Spanish, Arabic, German, Latin). Kids have several outdoor recesses per day (so important for happiness, social, cognitive and physical development). The new campus for ES is fantastic. Kids can enter up to 3rd grade through the Immersion program, or test to check if they have the appropriate language-level for later grades. Talk to the Admissions Department, Valerie (AD) is lovely and approachable. She will give you more insights into whether your 9 year-old would qualify.

Having said that, it does require a commitment to French immersion and high academic standards, which depends on the family's values/support/inclinations. We are very happy with this choice for our child's foundational education, regardless of where the child ends up going to college.