I am so unhappy with FCPS can someone help me with advice on private elementary schools in the area?

Thank you!

Home school?

Try the catholic school closest to you.

I have two young boys so Catholic schools are out and I am Catholic.

Sorry but my husband and I both work plus I want my kids to be with other kids. Nothing wrong with home schooling for some kids just not ours.

Alexandria Country Day School

My son went to their summer program and loved it. It's a very "homey" environment. Nice staff.

We know kids who go to Browne Academy and they seem to like it there also.

What's wrong with the public schools? They're generally considered to be the best in the country.

You must be new here, Snapple.

The effects of 3 years of no raises and increasing class sizes is starting to become very apparent. That's what's wrong. Some of the best teachers are leaving. They are retiring as soon as they can (for fear of changes in the pension) or they are going to other jobs. It's going to be hard to attract teachers with the new 40 year pension plan. The job just keeps getting less rewarding for many reasons. The picture is not good. At least in private schools you will have small classes and more attention.

Our Lady of Mercy in Potomac is one of the country's best K-8 private schools. Tuition is about $5k / year. About a 20 minute drive from FFX once you're on the beltway. A lot of the teachers are former public school teachers who walked away from the pay & retirement packages to teach in a school where students come first and union dues and bureaucracy are nowhere to be found.

To the OP,

You could also check out Merritt Academy located in Fairfax off Route 50. I think it is a bit more expensive than the Lady of Mercy in Potomac though. My sister used to work there when she was younger. At any rate, just look up private schools from the phone book or on the internet for around here and research.

I know nothing about Merritt Academy other than how cheap (@12,000) it is compared to Flint Hill (@25,000) so I wonder how could it be that much cheaper. Catholic schools are cheap (@$5000-$10000) because they are subsidized by the church.

From what I read on here many Clifton parents want to go private. The problem with this area of Fairfax is we have few nearby private schools. Getting to Flint Hill up 123 in the morning would be a nightmare with traffic. I see a Commonwealth or Westminster small bus (I forget which it is) come through my neighborhood around 5pm. I can't imagine how early is must come through in the morning. It must be a long bus ride.

probably good Wrote:
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> We know kids who go to Browne Academy and they
> seem to like it there also.

It looks like the OP is worried about her boys getting molested. Didn't Dan Hegarty teach at Browne?

Send you kid to a nice bead mumbler catholic school where father feel you up will take good care of the little ones.

See DCUM forums, I think you will get some more info.

I, having nearly completed high school all in public schools, believe that the bad name public schools are given is incorrect. I fell that my education in high school has put me at a huge advantage when applying to college next fall. Save some money, keep your children active and give FCPS a chance. It is not as bad as you think.

You are a perfect example of why I want to send my child to private school.

DominoParent Wrote:
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> From what I read on here many Clifton parents want
> to go private.

This is what I have read as well.

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I went to St. Joseph's School in Herndon from K-8. I definitely noticed a change in standards when I began attending Herndon High School in 9th grade.

This one is highly rated by the community and I'm sure they'd love to convert (I mean enroll) your youngsters ....optimal path to chemical/nuclear engineering and flight schools

http://www.greatschools.org/virginia/alexandria/2218-Islamic-Saudi-Academy/