We wanted to stay in VA and looked at Flint Hill as one of DC's private options. We hadn't heard any of this board's opinions going into it and were very receptive to what FH had to offer. However after visiting schools and shadowing, DC felt there was no comparison to Potomac and will be attending there in the fall. FH didn't really stand out the way that Potomac did, and DC even commented that the students at Potomac appeared to be engaging on a higher acadmic level in their classroom discussions. Potomac will be the longest commute for us but definitely feels worth it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we looked at flint hill and all of the family friends we have that send their children their raved and focused on all the extra help the kids receive. I think if your child will be lost in a large HS or has a special need then it may be worth it. But my impression is that it's not for academic standouts. Those kids end up at Potomac.

I think its reputation has gotten better in recent years. How does it stack up to other privates like SSSAS, Madeira, Episcopal or Catholics like BI, DJO, PVI or JP.

Terribly against your first 3 (SSSAS, Madeira and EHS). They are heads and shoulders above FH in all regards. As for the Catholics, you basically pulled out the four lowest performing Catholics from an academic perspective possible. Yikes. Hope it is at least as "good" as those but thats not saying much...

Anonymous wrote:we looked at flint hill and all of the family friends we have that send their children their raved and focused on all the extra help the kids receive. I think if your child will be lost in a large HS or has a special need then it may be worth it. But my impression is that it's not for academic standouts. Those kids end up at Potomac.

I think its reputation has gotten better in recent years. How does it stack up to other privates like SSSAS, Madeira, Episcopal or Catholics like BI, DJO, PVI or JP.

we looked at flint hill and all of the family friends we have that send their children their raved and focused on all the extra help the kids receive. I think if your child will be lost in a large HS or has a special need then it may be worth it. But my impression is that it's not for academic standouts. Those kids end up at Potomac.

Anonymous wrote:Quite a few Alexandria kids are choosing Flint Hill over SSSAS for high school. There is a bus from Alexandria. Parents I speak to have been very happy with the academics and the social scene is less intense than SSSAS.

they'll regret that commute, even with the bus. Hopefully they're not doing any extra curriculars or mom and dad are going to be spending a lot of time on 495.

Anonymous wrote:I learned from dcum that "Flint Hill is the {FCPS-equivalent} public school you pay for..."

Consider also that parents in the Luther Jackson MS district don't see that assigned school as a benefit. Nice option to send your MSer to FH for two years to avoid LJMS. Parents who can afford this option do this. Would be interesting to see stats on students who attend ONLY 7 and 8, then return to FCPS.

Also, class sizes are so small (12 in a language class) that for a shy kid who has trouble making friends, the small class size that is so widely touted is a social nightmare.

You did your homework. Awesome!

I learned from dcum that "Flint Hill is the {FCPS-equivalent} public school you pay for..."

Consider also that parents in the Luther Jackson MS district don't see that assigned school as a benefit. Nice option to send your MSer to FH for two years to avoid LJMS. Parents who can afford this option do this. Would be interesting to see stats on students who attend ONLY 7 and 8, then return to FCPS.

Also, class sizes are so small (12 in a language class) that for a shy kid who has trouble making friends, the small class size that is so widely touted is a social nightmare.

That is the story that Flint Hill spins, but The loss of Exxon Mobil did not cause the loss of so many students, just some. Flint Hill does have its place -- it can be very supportive of students with learning differences because there are many there who have them. If academics are your first priority, however, you can do better elsewhere, particularly for the Lower School.

Quite a few Alexandria kids are choosing Flint Hill over SSSAS for high school. There is a bus from Alexandria. Parents I speak to have been very happy with the academics and the social scene is less intense than SSSAS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many parents were/are dissatisfied with Flint Hill, and many have left. The Lower School has been the hardest hit.

Is it still bleeding in the lower grades? Some posts have suggested that middle grades have been affected too. I live in Alexandria and see stickers for it so people are commuting from there to this school. Just interested because don't know much about it.

No, it isn't and the Middle School is fine. There was a period of time a few years ago when it lost some families because a large company relocated and yes, there were some families that were dissatisfied with their experiences there - in some cases academic, in others, not so much (although they will always blame the school). What I don't understand is why the people who left are still so angry that that want to discourage other people from considering the school or applying. People need to move on.

Glad to hear FH is doing better. It is a great school with a lot to offer. It may not have the prestige of the downtown schools, but for that part of nova, it's small class sizes and teacher attention are a draw.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many parents were/are dissatisfied with Flint Hill, and many have left. The Lower School has been the hardest hit.

Is it still bleeding in the lower grades? Some posts have suggested that middle grades have been affected too. I live in Alexandria and see stickers for it so people are commuting from there to this school. Just interested because don't know much about it.

No, it isn't and the Middle School is fine. There was a period of time a few years ago when it lost some families because a large company relocated and yes, there were some families that were dissatisfied with their experiences there - in some cases academic, in others, not so much (although they will always blame the school). What I don't understand is why the people who left are still so angry that that want to discourage other people from considering the school or applying. People need to move on.

Anonymous wrote:Many parents were/are dissatisfied with Flint Hill, and many have left. The Lower School has been the hardest hit.

Is it still bleeding in the lower grades? Some posts have suggested that middle grades have been affected too. I live in Alexandria and see stickers for it so people are commuting from there to this school. Just interested because don't know much about it.

Anonymous wrote:Why does FH get so much hate on this forum?

It doesn't get hate, it gets dismissed and that is because there is nothing impressive or noteworthy about it.

Many parents were/are dissatisfied with Flint Hill, and many have left. The Lower School has been the hardest hit.

Why does FH get so much hate on this forum?