Private School Guide, Part 1: Lower and Middle Schools

Dozens of private schools in the area offer a wide range of academic philosophies, facilities and teaching methods. So just how do you decide which one is right?

By Michael S. Gerber

The decision to send a child to private school can be stressful: Applications, consultants and tuition bills might make you think you’re already sending your 5-year-old off to college. But even earlier, just choosing which schools to look at can be daunting.

“We are very lucky in the Washington area,” says Wendy Sturges, co-director of School Opportunities and Strategies Inc., a Rockville-based consulting firm. “We have many more schools here to choose from [than in many other cities].”

The key to picking an elementary or lower school is finding a match for your child’s personality, not necessarily finding a first-grade program that eventually leads to the Ivy League. Bethesda Magazine spoke with administrators, teachers and consultants to find out what’s different and what’s new at some of the area’s private lower and middle schools.

Note: Tuition numbers are for the 2005-06 school year except where noted.

The numbers:

• Grades PK-12
• About 275 students (grades PK-8)
• Tuition is $14,490 for PK-K, $16,600 for grades 1-6 and $18,970 for grades 7- 8

Getting in:

• Open house is scheduled for Nov. 6
• Application deadline is Jan. 20

The skinny: The Barrie School teaches a Montessori curriculum in its lower grades, which emphasizes sensory learning by actually seeing and touching materials—for the youngest students, that might include activities like stacking cups or using building blocks. Barrie kids also have a great deal of freedom in the classroom. “The teacher is much more of a facilitator to the environment” than a lecturer, explains one consultant, who advises that a school like Barrie is better for kids “who can make choices for themselves.” … The school sits on a 45-acre wooded campus with a stream and pond, and has an outdoor pool. Barrie is the only school in the Bethesda area with its own horse and pony stables and equestrian facility. Its campus plays a large role in its curriculum, and students spend a great deal of time outdoors.

The Bullis School
10601 Falls Road, Potomac
301-299-8500
www.bullis.org

The numbers:

• Grades 3-12
• About 260 students (grades 3-8)
• Tuition is $21,600 for grades 3-5 and $23,240 for grades 6-8

Getting in:

• Open house is scheduled for Nov. 6
• Application deadline is Feb. 1

The skinny: A school with more than 70 years of history and a strong emphasis on the arts and athletics, Bullis combines the traditional and nontraditional. Its lower school curriculum is integrated between the classes, so students that are studying world cultures may learn the geography and history of a country, work on art projects about it, and then do some research about it on the computer in their technology class…. The school’s most recent addition to its sprawling, 80-acre suburban campus is a state-of-the-art performing arts center, which opened three years ago. “I do think that their arts program is really growing and becoming stronger,” says one educational consultant…. The school is also known for its athletic programs—it’s in the midst of a stadium renovation—even in the younger grades. Lower school students have physical education every day, and middle school students are required to participate in interscholastic sports.

The numbers:

• Grades 5-12
• About 20 students (grades 5-8)
• Tuition is $32,020

Getting in:

• Open house is scheduled for Nov. 18
• Applications are accepted on a rolling basis

The skinny: The Chelsea School, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, specializes in educating students with learning disabilities, most of whom are referred to the school from other area public and private schools…. The Chelsea School offers small class sizes organized by reading level, allowing students to progress at an individual pace. It follows the Montgomery County curriculum. “It’s very curriculum driven, but in the fifth through the eighth grade you adjust the curriculum to the student,” says Bekah Atkinson, admissions director…. Chelsea’s new headmaster, Anthony R. Messina Jr., plans to change and expand the curriculum, facilities and enrollment at the school. “He’s bringing in his own vision to take the school toward a new science, technology and math-heavy curriculum,” Atkinson says.

Christ Episcopal School
109 S. Washington St.
Rockville
301-424-6550
www.ces-rockville.org

The numbers:

• Grades PK-8
• About 270 students
• Tuition is $5,950 for PK and $9,950 for grades K-8

Getting in:

• Open houses are scheduled monthly
• Applications accepted on a rolling basis

The skinny: As Christ Episcopal approaches its 40th anniversary, the school is in the midst of a major expansion. Having just recently bought a new building adjacent to its campus near Rockville town center, the school plans to nearly double its size, from one class per grade to two. The school hopes to have 397 students enrolled five years from now. The expansion means new classrooms, including a science lab, and an expanded athletic program.… Students at Christ Episcopal attend a short chapel service every morning, but there is no additional religion class. “It is not a fundamental Christian school by any means,” says admissions director Carol Lechner. The curriculum, Lechner says, focuses on the basics: reading, writing, math, and instilling a sense of morality and social justice.

9411 Connecticut Ave.
Kensington (grades 1-6)
301-949-5860
www.geds.org

The numbers:

• Grades PK-6
• About 255 students
• Tuition is $13,585

Getting in:

• Several open houses; call for dates
• Application deadline is Jan. 15

The skinny: Grace Episcopal likes to think of itself as a community school. Admissions Director Michelle Siraj says the school draws its students mostly from the local neighborhood near its two campuses. The Kensington campus is adjacent to Rock Creek Park and takes advantage of a nature trail that begins at the school… Unlike many other area lower schools, Grace has not added a middle school and has no immediate plans to do so. Although that can seem like a disadvantage—parents have to start looking for another school earlier—some educational consultants point to the benefits to children who take leadership roles at a younger age. At Grace, 11- and 12-year-olds are the “seniors,” the ones who the youngest students look up to… Like the other Episcopal schools, Grace teaches religion but encourages diversity; less than half its students are Episcopalian.

The numbers:

• Grades PK-8
• About 320 students
• Tuition is $21,515

Getting in:

• Open houses are scheduled for Nov. 11 and Dec. 11
• Application deadline is Jan. 20

The skinny: Green Acres celebrated its 70th birthday last year by tearing down buildings on its 15-acre campus: The school is nearing completion of a large-scale project that includes a new middle school building, additional athletic and arts facilities, and modernization of the school’s original building. Marge Dimond,  retired admissions director who’s been affiliated with the school for three decades and still helps out, says the changes will “modernize, expand and improve the facilities that we already have.”… A progressive school, Green Acres’ curriculum emphasizes experiential learning. The curriculum also focuses on finding themes and patterns in all areas, from math and science to literature and history. Teachers work in teams, so what a student learns in one subject builds upon and re-enforces what he learns in another class… Green Acres students “are encouraged to remain children,” said one educational consultant. “They play…they spend a lot of time outside, they dig in the dirt and they go to the creek, they really become immersed in the curriculum.”

The numbers:

• Grades PK-2
• About 100 students
• Tuition is $14,704 for the full-day program

Getting in:

• Open houses are scheduled for November and January
• Call for more information about the application process

The skinny: The Harbor School caters solely to the youngest of elementary school age students, so everything about the school is designed for small children. “The whole focus of the school is 4-, 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds,” says one local education expert. The curriculum is developmental, “allowing the child to learn at [his or her] own rate,” she adds… There is a strong emphasis on reading and writing. A reading specialist assesses first- and second-graders at the beginning of the year and helps place the students into reading groups. Those groups frequently change throughout the year as students progress at different speeds… Second-graders at Harbor lead the school—they speak at assemblies and even serve as “buddies” to preschool students.

The numbers:

• Grades 3-12
• About 230 students (grades 3-8)
• Tuition is $11,150 for grades 3-5 and $13,025 for grades 6-8

Getting in:

• Open house is scheduled for Oct. 30
• Application deadline is Jan. 31

The skinny: The Heights, an all boys school, gets its name from the hill on which the upper school is located. The younger students attend school in the “valley.” Lower school classes are in two log cabins surround by forest, “a boy’s dream,” says Linda Maher, director of communications… The Heights encourages competition and personal freedom “within limits,” Maher says. For example, the school encourages snowball fights during the winter, but there are strict “rules of engagement.”… The Heights is divided into four clans, so lower and middle school students eat lunch and participate in other activities with the high school students in their clan… The curriculum is a traditional college prep program even in the third grade, Maher says. While the Heights is a Catholic school, it offers non-Catholic students the option of an ethics class instead of the more doctrine-based religion course.

The Holton-Arms School
7303 River Road, Bethesda
301-365-5300
www.holton-arms.edu

The numbers:

• Grades 3-12
• About 340 students (grades 3-8)
• Tuition is $23,170 for grades 3-6 and $23,500 for grades 7-8

Getting in:

• Open houses are scheduled for Oct. 30 and Nov. 20
• Application deadline is Feb. 1

The skinny: Holton-Arms is one of the few options for girls who want a single-sex school that is not affiliated with a church. It was founded in 1901… Holton-Arms recently completed construction of a new performing arts center and black-box theater on its 57-acre campus, which also includes an indoor pool… Holton-Arms puts a strong emphasis on math and science, including a lower school program called Design Technology, which teaches basic engineering principles and problem-solving, and also touches upon disciplines like art, literature and social studies. Recent projects have included designing and building a go-cart, according to Brooke Thaler, the school’s public relations coordinator. “It shows the commitment we have to math and science and educating girls,” Thaler adds.

The Katherine Thomas School
9975 Medical Center Drive
Rockville
301-738-9691
www.ttlc.org/kts.htm

The numbers:

• Grades K-10
• About 100 students (grades K-8)
• Tuition is $21,228

Getting in:

• Open houses usually on the first Wednesday of the month
• Applications accepted on a rolling basis

The skinny: The Katherine Thomas School is for children with language and learning disabilities… Each class of 10 students has two teachers in the classroom, plus an occupational therapist, speech and language pathologist, and counselor assigned to the students. “It’s a real team intervention approach,” says the school’s director, Rhona Shortz… While the school is aimed at students with learning disabilities, its curriculum aims to prepare students to return to “mainstream” education at a public or private school. Students sometimes leave Katherine Thomas in elementary school, while others stay longer—the school recently added a high school… Katherine Thomas’ students range from those with minor learning disabilities to others “on the high end of the autism spectrum,” says Shortz… Lower school students do not receive grades, but seventh- and eighth-graders will begin receiving grades this year.

The numbers:

• Grades 3-12
• About 235 students (grades 3-8)
• Tuition is $22,450 for grades 3-5 and $24,500 for grades 6-8

Getting in:

• Open house is scheduled for Nov. 5
• Application deadline is Jan. 31

The skinny: Landon bills itself as the only non-religious, all-boys school between Baltimore and Richmond… The school is known for its athletic programs, but admissions director Russ Gagarin says Landon places an equal emphasis on the arts.

Lower school students are required to participate in one of the music performance groups, such as band or chorus… In many ways, Landon is a traditional school, with a strong emphasis on the honor code and morality. Landon middle schoolers wear a formal uniform, and the seventh and eighth grades are referred to as Forms I and II. The lower school’s motto is “Be honest, do your best, and help the other fellow.”… One education consultant says that Landon is not a place for students who do not thrive on competition. “In an all-boy environment, you get competition in everything,” she says.

The numbers:

• Grades K-12
• About 350 students (grades K-8)
• Tuition is $19,900 for K, $20,000 for grades 1-4, $21,000 for grades 5-6, $21,500 for grade 7 and $22,000 for grade 8

Getting in:

• Several open houses beginning Oct. 20
• Application deadline is Feb. 1

The skinny: Unlike some of its competitors in Potomac and Bethesda, the McLean School doesn’t have a sprawling campus with several buildings. The school, which only recently added a high school, is housed in one building that used to belong to the county public schools. While each division has its own separate area, there is a lot of interaction between younger and older students… The McLean School’s philosophy is that each student learns in his or her own way, and teachers are told to use different styles and think “outside the box” to reach different students. “They [students] learn to be advocates for themselves,” says Elizabeth Shannon, the school’s communications director. “They learn how to learn, specific to them.”

The numbers:

• Grades K-12
• About 215 students (grades K-8)
• Tuition is $9,400 for grades K-5 and $9,900 for grades 6-8

Getting in:

• Open house is scheduled for March 18
• Applications are accepted on a rolling basis

The skinny: Although Montrose Christian was founded by members of Montrose Baptist Church, the school is non-denominational and only about 10 percent to 15 percent of its students are Baptist, says Tracy Mohr, the head of the school. Religion is a major part of the curriculum, though, and students attend Bible class each day and chapel once a week…. Two years ago the school created an intramural sports program for its lower school students in an effort to broaden athletic opportunities…. Mohr says there has been an emphasis on creating more science and computer labs for the school so that every student has access to those facilities.

The numbers:

• Grades K-8
• About 520 students
• Tuition is $20,580 for grades K-4, $21,330 for grades 5-8

Getting in:

• Open houses are scheduled for Nov. 6, Dec.1 and Jan. 10.
• Application deadline is Jan. 27

The skinny: Norwood began as an Episcopal parish school more than 50 years ago but has grown into a large independent school. Its roots are still apparent—every morning begins with chapel—but the school has expanded throughout the years, adding its seventh and eighth grades only a decade ago and constructing a middle school building and other new facilities in 1999… Norwood’s curriculum is more traditional than some of the other K-8 schools, although the school puts a strong emphasis on the arts. One educational consultant described the school’s philosophy as “the more art and that side of the brain you use, the more you can get out of the kids academically.”

The numbers:

• Grades PK-5
• About 180 students
• Tuition is $11,835 for PK, $15,005 for K, $15,035 for grades 1-3 and $15,295 for grades 4-5

Getting in:

• Open houses are scheduled for Nov. 5 and Jan. 12
• Application deadline is Jan. 20

The skinny: St. Francis is relatively young, founded in 1988 by members of the St. Francis Parish.… St. Francis is in a time of transition. A new head of the school takes over for Walter McCoy, who spent three years as the school’s top administrator. One former member of the St. Francis community says enrollment dropped during McCoy’s tenure; as of July, the school was still looking for students for this fall, especially in the third grade and above. The school’s new head, Pat Talbert Smith, comes to St. Francis from Norwood. The school also has a new admissions director, Spring Swinehart, who was most recently at Holton-Arms.… St. Francis emphasizes hands-on learning and a theme-based curriculum. The classrooms “have a very homey feel,” Swinehart says, emphasizing the small size of the school, which has no plans to add a middle school. “It’s geared to the younger kids,” she adds.

Sandy Spring Friends School
16923 Norwood Road
Sandy Spring
301-774-7455
www.ssfs.org

The numbers:

• Grades PK-12
• About 295 students (grades PK-8)
• Tuition is $14,700 for PK-K, $15,800 for grades 1-5, $17,200 for grade 6 and $18,400 for grades 7-8

Getting in:

• Open house in the fall; call for more info
• Application deadline is Jan. 15

The skinny: Sandy Spring Friends has the benefit of space—the campus is 140 acres, with a pond and stream and its own ropes course. The space also allows for expansion: A new middle-school building is scheduled to open this fall, allowing the school to expand the number of students in both the sixth and seventh grades. In addition, the fifth grade will move from the middle school to the lower school. Construction is currently under way on a new athletic facility and performing arts center…. Although Sandy Spring Friends strongly emphasizes the Quaker roots of the school and the surrounding community, less than 15 percent of its students are Quaker. Students participate in weekly silent worship in the school’s historic Meetinghouse.… The school describes its lower and middle school curricula as “informal” and “nontraditional.”

3825 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Washington (grades 5-12)
202-537-8100
www.sidwell.edu

The numbers:

• Grades PK-12
• About 630 students (grades PK-8)
• Tuition is $23,545 for grades PK-4 and $24,545 for grades 5-8

Getting in:

• Call for info about open houses
• Application deadline is Jan. 6

The skinny: Although Sidwell Friends is usually associated with its Tenleytown campus on Wisconsin Avenue, its Lower School is located in the Edgemoor neighborhood in the heart of Bethesda…. A Quaker school, Sidwell has one of the best academic reputations in the D.C. area. “Sidwell is one of the finest academic institutions in the country,” says a consultant who helps parents choose schools for their children. Most of the Lower School classes are team taught, and the school describes the atmosphere as “relaxed and informal.”… Sidwell has plans to construct a new gymnasium on the grounds of its Bethesda campus. On the D.C. campus, Sidwell is going to build an addition to its Middle School to provide more classroom space as well as specialized rooms, like science labs.

Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart
9101 Rockville Pike
Bethesda
301-657-4322
www.stoneridge.org

The numbers:

• Grades PK-12
• About 420 students (grades PK-8)
• Tuition is $9,550 for grades PK-6 and $16,840 for grades 7 and 8

Getting in:

• Open house is scheduled for Nov. 12
• Application deadline is Jan. 13

The skinny: Stone Ridge is known as an all-girls school, although its preschool and kindergarten programs are open to boys as well…. There are more than 20 other Sacred Heart schools in the U.S. and many more worldwide that teach a Catholic-based curriculum for girls…. Stone Ridge’s lower school holds a weekly assembly where children are honored for academic performance and exemplary behavior. The girls receive a medal, which they wear for a week…. There is no simple answer to whether or not a child will be a good match for a single-sex environment like Stone Ridge. “There are some girls that would not flourish in an all-girl environment,” says one education expert…. Stone Ridge recently enclosed its pool, creating a new aquatic center that can be used year-round. Synchronized swimming will now become part of the lower school program.

The numbers:

• Grades PK-8
• About 310 students
• Tuition is $20,110

Getting in:

• Open houses are scheduled for Nov. 11, Dec. 11 and Jan. 9
• Application deadline is Feb. 1

The skinny: Washington Episcopal’s main building might be old—it was once the Marriott headquarters—but the school has only been in existence since 1986…. A recent renovation added new classrooms, computer rooms, science labs and athletic facilities. The school also purchased an adjacent property, nearly doubling the campus to 12 acres. Admissions Director Kathy Herman says plans for the new land are still up in the air. Students at Washington Episcopal attend chapel once a week, but the curriculum encourages discussion of all religious faiths and the school has a large non-Episcopalian population…. The older students take major trips each year—the fifth-graders to Antietam, sixth-graders to Utah, seventh-graders to Italy, and eighth-graders to Paris, where they stay with French families as part of an exchange program.

The numbers:

• Grades PK-12
• About 220 students (grades PK-8) 
• Tuition is $15,980

Getting in:

• Monthly info sessions start Oct. 12; PK-K open house is scheduled for Jan. 7
• Application deadline varies by grade

The skinny: The school’s incorporation of Waldorf methods includes the concept of a “Class Teacher”: The same teacher remains with each class of students from first grade through eighth…. Ed Buckley, the school’s admissions director, says Washington Waldorf doesn’t try to rush children. “Where in society today the push is to try to have them doing calculus by second or third grade, we don’t feel that that’s the right thing for the child to do,” he explains…. Arts and hands-on practical skills are encouraged; every student learns to play the recorder and to knit at a young age. They also learn “eurythmy,” described on a Waldorf education Web site as a “dance-like art form in which music or speech are expressed in bodily movement.”… The Waldorf method discourages television and computers for young children. The school doesn’t introduce computers to the curriculum until middle school.

The numbers:

• Grades PK-8
• About 300 students
• Tuition is $9,300 for PK, $13,000 for K (full day), $13,410 for grades 1-4 and $14,195 for grades 5-8

Getting in:

• Open house is scheduled for Nov. 3
• Application deadline is Feb. 15

The skinny: The Woods is a rarity in that it is a Catholic school but remains independent, unaffiliated with a particular church. Students have religion classes throughout their time at The Woods. The classes teach Catholic theology, but also look at other religions. “No one feels as though they’re left out or uncomfortable,” says Barbara Snyder, the school’s admissions director.… The school has a Montessori preschool and kindergarten program, but offers a more traditional classroom experience in grades one through eight…. Renovations and constructions a few years ago gave The Woods a new gymnasium, chapel, and art and music studios…. The Woods only offers financial aid to families and students who already attend the school and need help continuing to pay tuition.

The numbers:

• Grades PK-3
• 390 students
• Tuition is $21,469

Getting in:

• Open Houses are scheduled for Nov. 6 and 11, and Jan. 5
• Application deadline is Jan. 6

The skinny: Beauvoir is the National Cathedral’s school for the early grades, so it is naturally associated with St. Albans and the National Cathedral School. And while many of its students do go on to those schools, many also choose to go on to other schools, according to Admissions Director Margaret Hartigan. And one area education consultant says Beauvoir shouldn’t be thought of as merely a feeder school. “Beauvoir is a lot more developmental and kind of ‘child-centered’ than the [other] Cathedral schools are,” she says…. Beauvoir only goes through third grade, so eight- and nine-year-olds are the schools “seniors.” Everything about the school is designed for young children, from the hallways to the classrooms to the curriculum. “It is definitely a school for young children, and it feels like that,” Hartigan says.

The numbers:

• Grades PK-12
• About 220 students (PK-8)
• Tuition is $15,500 for grades PK-6 and $17,050 for grades 7-8

Getting in:

• Open house is scheduled for Nov. 11
• Rolling admissions

The skinny: The British School is one of five in the United States. Each is under the guidance of a British company that trains the teachers and provides the curriculum. But only about a third of the students are British, about one-fifth from other countries, and the rest are American…. The school emphasizes group learning. Bill Morocco, the admissions director, says none of the classrooms has desks set up in rows; instead, students sit in small groups. “[It’s] sort of an immersion in community-style learning,” Morocco says…. The school’s house system also provides a community within a community. Each student is assigned to a “house,” which most kids will recognize from the Harry Potter books. So, at assemblies and other all-school events, students are interacting with kids of all ages who are assigned to the same house.

The numbers:

• Grades PK-12
• About 570 students (grades PK-8)
• Tuition in 2006-07 will be $21,217 for PK-K, $22,690 for grades 1-5 and $23,603 for grades 6-8

Getting in:

• Open houses are scheduled for Nov. 29 (lower school) and Nov. 3 and Jan. 4 (middle school)
• Application deadline is Jan. 13

The skinny: Georgetown Day’s lower and middle school campus is located near Georgetown University in Washington. While separate from the high school, the campus still has a wide range of facilities, including several science labs, a theater, athletic facilities and more…. Georgetown Day School boasts of being the first “integrated school in a segregated city,” and the school still celebrates diversity 60 years later. In 2004, it received an award for equity and justice from a national private school organization. Despite its name, Georgetown Day is not affiliated with Georgetown university, nor is it a religious school…. One educational consultant says that location is an important factor when considering a school like Georgetown Day. While its location in Washington may mean less room for stadiums and large playgrounds, she says, it also gives students the chance to experience an urban environment, “GDS kids are city kids,” she says.

The numbers:

• Grades PK-6
• About 315 students
• Tuition is $19,500

Getting in:

• Contact the admissions office for open house dates
• Rolling admissions

The skinny: Lowell students learn by doing, according to the school’s director, Abigail Wiebenson. That comes in many forms, especially food: Each year, the third-graders bake cakes in the shapes of the continents. Another class makes salad dressing. These projects, Wiebenson says, let the kids have fun while also learning important skills, from geography to math to cooking. “Children go from the concrete to the abstract, and memory is enhanced by working with three-dimensional things,” she explains.… Several years ago, Lowell moved to a beautiful wooded campus in upper Northwest Washington. The move enabled the school to expand its size, adding fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade classes, as well as improve its technology—the campus is fully wired, and each student is given a laptop, which they use at school and at home, starting in the fourth grade.

The numbers:

• Grades K-12
• About 300 students (K-8)
• Tuition in 2004-05 was $18,925 for K, $19,510 for grades 1- 4, and $21,155 for grades 5-8

Getting in:

• Open house is scheduled for December, call for more info
• Application deadline is in January

The skinny: Maret is nearly 100 years old, but the last few years have seen many changes to its eight-acre campus on the site of an historic home near the National Zoo. This year, the school hopes to finish the second phase of an eight-year plan—including a completely new, larger building for the lower school, expanded facilities for middle and upper school science, music and art, as well as a brand new 350-seat theater.… Maret has a strong reputation as a college prep school, and its lower grades enjoy a similar rap. “It’s a very academic school,” said one education consultant…. Like Georgetown Day, Maret offers a more urban setting than many of the area’s similar schools. “It gives you a very different sense of self than a suburban school would give you,” the consultant says.

National Cathedral School
Mount Saint Alban
202-537-6339
www.ncs.cathedral.org

The numbers:

• Grades 4-12
• About 280 students (grades 4-8)
• Tuition is $24,724

Getting in:

• Open house is scheduled for Nov. 20
• Application deadline is Jan. 1

The skinny: National Cathedral School has the advantages of an all-girls school but some of the resources of a larger, coed school because of St. Albans right next door…. Each division of the school is self-contained; the lower school and middle school have their own buildings, although the entire school shares a dining hall and athletic facilities…. Religion is taught as an academic course, focusing on different aspects of all religions, not just Episcopalism or Christianity. For example, the seventh-grade religion class focuses on the National Cathedral itself. Students learn about architecture, engineering, art, history and religion by studying the landmark next door…. The school plans to renovate its middle school facilities in the future, but a date has not been set. There is also a curriculum review currently under way.

1621 New Hampshire Ave., NW
(grades 5-8)
202-965-8700
www.rcis.org

The numbers:

• Grades PK-8
• About 250 students
• Tuition is $19,775

Getting in:

• Open houses throughout the fall
• Application deadline is in February

The skinny: While many of area schools offer language classes at an early age, Rock Creek International takes the next step. All students receive a bilingual education, with classes taught in English and either French, Spanish or Arabic. Students who enter the school in the first grade and later can take tutorial classes to help them catch up…. Although an international school, Rock Creek International’s admissions director, Alejandra Maudet, says that about one-third of the students are the children of parents native to this country…. The school is expanding: This year it held its second eighth-grade graduation, and Maudet says there are plans for a high school as soon as additional space can be acquired…. International travel is also an integral part of the curriculum: Fifth-graders to Costa Rica, sixth to Greece, and seventh to the Middle East.

The numbers:

• Grades 4-12
• About 250 students (grades 4-8)
• Tuition is $24,768

Getting in:

• Open house is scheduled for Nov. 20
• Application deadline is Jan. 15

The skinny: St. Albans, an all boys school, has been a part of Washington for nearly a century, making it one of the “pillars of the community, so to speak,” says one education consultant….  The program is academically rigorous, with a traditional curriculum that emphasizes the classics, reading and writing, and math and science, says Mason Lecky, admissions director. The school also places a strong emphasis on honor and character….

Although National Cathedral School is next door, the school is “very much a boys school” in the earlier grades, Lecky says. In eighth grade, the boys and girls get together for an ethics class…. St. Albans’ fourth-grade class uses an open room, team teaching method. In fifth grade, the school takes a more traditional approach, dividing the grade into three separate sections each with its own homeroom instructor.

The numbers:

• Grades 6-12
• About 110 students (grades 6-8)
• Tuition is $16,350

Getting in:

• Open house is scheduled for Nov. 6
• Rolling admissions

The skinny: Although St. Anselm’s youngest students are in the sixth grade, the school doesn’t consider its sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders merely young high school kids. The sixth grade has its own separate wing in the school’s new building, which houses a brand-new gymnasium and theater as well. The middle school has its own section of the main building. “They are not treated simply as the lower grades of the upper school,” says admissions director Pat Parsons…. But the school is a college prep program, and the curriculum in the younger grades still reflects that. For example, all seventh- and eighth-graders take Latin…. Learning organizational and study skills are also an important part of the St. Anselm’s program. Each boy is given a day planner, and sixth-graders attend a study skills course weekly.

The numbers:

• Grades K-8
• About 215 students
• Tuition is $19,717 for grades K-3, $20,933 for grade 4 and $21,893 for grades 5-8

Getting in:

• Call for info about open houses
• Application deadline is in January

The skinny: The Sheridan School prides itself on being small. It has fewer students than many of the other independent K-8 schools in the area, creating a tightknit community in which seventh- and eighth-grade students act as leaders of the school, running the student government and mentoring the youngest students…. Sheridan owns a second campus in Virginia near the Shenandoah National Park. The 130-acre “mountain campus” is the site of trips taken by students beginning in first grade and is used by dozens of other schools in the area…. The curriculum is concept based, so students learn about general ideas by studying specific examples and discussing patterns in topics from history to art…. Sheridan recently underwent renovations, enlarging each classroom by about 5 feet and adding a new playground.

Bethesda resident Michael S. Gerber has written for Legal Affairs, Campaigns & Elections and the Washington Examiner.