My children attended/attend two of the schools on this thread and both have had very solid writing programs, but there is no question that one program was far more intense than the other. Both schools did an intense grammar review in high school, as I think they found that the new kids coming in from a variety of other schools didn't have the same foundation - not worse, but not the same.

If your child really likes to read and write, I would suggest a summer program. Whether it's a camp with a newspaper, Writopia, screenwriting, or something else, there are lots of options in DC, and that is how my writer child was able to explore what type of writing he liked to do vs. what he was required to do.

When my dd started NCS in 6th grade, I was surprised to discover that her biggest challenge was writing. The English department then had a 50+ page manual for writing, developed internally, to use as a guide. Dd learned so much and became a very skilled writer. She’s even had a few freelance pieces published.

My Catholic school DC all learned sentence diagraming. Unfortunately, depending on the schools you may sacrifice a little math. Makes sure the school is big enough to offer at least 3 math tracks.

Good luck, OP.

Class sizes are small, so teachers can give individualized instruction. In regards to writing instruction, students get it all. They are doing research papers, literary analysis essays, creative writing, etc. Students also read complex texts, which science supports.

Anonymous wrote:Hands down, CHDS.

What is it about the CHDS program that you like?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is considered a wrong writing program? Are students learning to write 5-paragraph essays in middle school?

*strong writing program

OP here. I am looking for actual instruction in grammar, writing style, and form. And then review by a skilled teacher, followed by revision by the kid, at least for some assignments. I'd like an overall emphasis on the importance of learning to express oneself clearly, efficiently, and correctly. I worry a lot of what my kid is learning right now is more about "feel" and less explicit instruction. She can tell me that a certain sentence or phrase looks wrong and can often make it better but she has no idea why, including that she doesn't know the names of many parts or speech or style conventions.

I think you will find the responses on this thread to limited, especially those that tout certain schools but without details. In general, schools are not teaching grammar like they used to (no one is diagramming sentences anymore.) Maybe you can look into how integrated writing is throughout the middle school curriculum, not just Language Arts. There should be significant emphasis on writing and research skills in History. My kid also had to write lab reports in science and occasional short essays in math.

Hands down, CHDS.