- How Do I Know Which School is Right for My Child?
- Factors to Consider
- Questions to Ask
- Using Our Search Function
- Additional Resources
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As every parent with more than one child knows, no two children’s educational interests and needs are alike. Families in greater Washington, D.C., are fortunate. In addition to traditional public schools, public charter schools, and schools run by the region’s parish and other religious school systems, the Washington area’s independent private schools serve a wide range of students from preschool to high school using many different educational philosophies. They provide families many high-quality educational options and make the Washington region one of the country’s most vibrant educational landscapes.
Finding the school that best aligns with a student’s needs requires work. In evaluating the options available to them, a family might consider a series of questions:
- Is your child better suited to a small school or a larger one?
- Is a coeducational or a single-sex community best?
- Do you need an extended-day program? Daily transportation?
- Is your child an accomplished athlete, artist, or musician?
- Is your child a highly talented student seeking greater challenges in the classroom, or a middle-achiever who would benefit from the intensive, highly supportive academic environments that many independent schools provide?
Ultimately, the best school for a student is the school that best fits his or her needs and abilities – and may not be the school best-known to a student’s parents.
In further narrowing down the options, a family might assess a particular school on the basis of a number of factors, among them:
- Location and facilities
- Mission and philosophy
- Achievement
- Leadership and faculty
- Atmosphere
- Parent involvement
- Academic support
Finding answers to these questions typically requires visiting the school while it is in session, which provides opportunities for tours, class visits, and conversations with faculty, staff, and students. While research via printed materials and school websites is important, it fails to paint as vivid a picture of a school’s climate and culture.
In evaluating school options, parents should take the time to ask critical questions, mainly during a visit to the school while it is in session. Students should also think of questions that are important to them and seek answers through tours, class visits, and conversations with other students.
A family might ask the following questions to determine whether a school is the best fit for their child:
- Is the school accredited? By which organization?
- Does the school have a distinct educational focus or approach to learning?
- What is the school’s atmosphere like? Is it nurturing? Competitive? Rigorous?
- What kind of support, both academic and personal, is offered to students?
- What types of learning experiences are available, both inside and outside of the classroom?
- What extracurricular opportunities are offered? Are all students encouraged and/or expected to participate in extracurricular activities?
- How diverse is the student body and faculty?
- Is parental engagement high? How strong is the sense of community at the school?
- What kind of facilities does the school have? Do the facilities accommodate the types of activities in which your child is interested?
- Who are the teachers? What kind of education and background do they have?
- Is there a strong partnership between the school’s leadership and teachers? Does this partnership extend to parents as well?
- What evidence is there of student achievement? For high schools, what percentage of students enter colleges, and what kind of colleges do they attend?
- What is the tuition, and what kind of financial aid is available?
You can begin your search for the right school for your student under Our Schools, using a number of criteria to narrow your focus. We urge you to visit the schools’ websites and to contact their admissions offices, because the details of the admissions process and admissions calendars vary from school to school.