The Examiner's top private school picks

BEST COEDUCATIONAL SCHOOLS:

Georgetown Day School
Since its founding in 1945 as the first racially integrated school in a segregated city, Georgetown Day has continued to value inclusion through requirements like a ninth-grade diversity seminar and a curriculum development program to “infus[e] equity and multiculturalism into classroom practice.” Teachers at Georgetown Day enjoy considerable freedom in structuring their classrooms, and many are on a first-name basis with students. Block scheduling at the high school level allows ample class time for labs and independent projects.
Web site: gds.org
Location: Northwest D.C.
Grades: Pre-kindergarten-12
Total enrollment: 1,035
Minority enrollment: 30 percent
Tuition range: $$26,185-$30,107
Student-to-faculty ratio: 7:1
Average SAT score: 1343
Popular colleges: Cornell, Harvard, Oberlin, Princeton, Penn, Yale

St. Andrew’s School (Delaware)
St. Andrew’s School is set on 2,100 acres of rural land at the neck of the Delmarva Peninsula, two hours northeast of Washington, so students enjoy a river-framed plot of heaven. A formal dress code lends to a more traditional feel reminiscent of the boarding school classic “Dead Poet’s Society,” filmed there in 1989. A traditional prep-school curriculum prepares upperclassmen for academic independence, highlighted by senior course work “in the spirit of the Oxford tutorial method.” And lest parents worry about the boarding school diet, half of the school’s meals are grown or produced within 100 miles of the campus.
Web site: standrews-de.org
Location: Middletown, Del.
Grades: 9-12
Total enrollment: 288 (all boarders)
Minority enrollment: 23 percent
Tuition (with room and board): $40,500
Student-to-faculty ratio: 4:1
Average SAT score: 1293
Popular colleges: Davidson, Williams, University of the South, Harvard, Middlebury

Maret School
Kindergartners to high schoolers roam the same halls of the Maret School, where “life preparatory” is preferred over “college preparatory.” But that doesn’t stop its students from attending top colleges and universities. Academics at Maret emphasize intellectual risk taking and breaking traditional boundaries between science and English, math and history. And since the school’s founding by three Swiss sisters in 1911, it has maintained global sensitivities; foreign language instruction begins at 5 years old.
Web site: maret.org
Location: Northwest D.C.
Grades: K-12
Total enrollment: 600
Minority enrollment: 30 percent
Tuition: $24,695-$28,430
Student-to-faculty ratio: 6:1
Average SAT score: 1349
Popular colleges: Virginia, Boston U., Oberlin, Morehouse, Tufts

Potomac School
Potomac’s new and state-of-the-art upper school campus is next to the lower school on 90 acres of trail-traced wooded land in McLean, Va. The setting provides a living laboratory for the school’s focus on environmental stewardship, but within the classroom a traditional college-preparatory curriculum holds sway. A speaker series showcases leaders more often found at corporate retreats than in high school auditoriums, from Chris Burnham, managing director of Deutsche Bank, to Sam Donaldson of ABC News.
Web site: potomacschool.org
Location: McLean, Va.
Grades: K-12
Total enrollment: 931
Minority enrollment: 30 percent
Tuition: $24,340-$27,445
Student-to-faculty ratio: 7:1
Average SAT score: 1324
Popular colleges attended: Boston U., Brown, Colorado College, Virginia, Harvard, Penn

Sidwell Friends School
The Quaker belief in “that of God” in each person still guides this 125-year-old institution long home to the children of many of Washington’s media and political elite — most recently, of course, Sasha and Malia Obama. The school emphasizes peaceful conflict resolution, creative inquiry and world citizenship, all while maintaining unquestioned academic excellence. A Chinese studies program founded in 1983 rivals the best college offerings in the country and includes summers abroad and student and teacher exchanges.
Web site: sidwell.edu
Location: Northwest D.C.
Grades: Pre-K-12
Total Enrollment: 1,091
Minority enrollment: 39 percent
Tuition: $28,442-$29,442
Student-to-faculty ratio: 13:1
Average SAT score: 1400
Popular colleges attended: Yale, Penn, Michigan, Harvard, Columbia

BEST ALL-BOYS SCHOOLS

Woodberry Forest School
The boys at Woodberry wear ties or polo shirts as a part of the school’s mission to create mature gentlemen and serious academics. Out of the classroom, however, play is taken seriously as well, with more than 90 percent of the students, all boarders, participating in athletics on some of the finest prep school facilities in the nation. Extensive theater, music and study-abroad programs round out the experience designed to give young men the freedom to follow any pursuit.
Web site: woodberry.org
Location: Woodberry Forest, Va.
Grades: 9-12
Total enrollment: 398 (all boarders)
Minority enrollment: 20 percent
Tuition (with room and board): $38,900
Student-to-faculty ratio: 4:1
Average SAT score: 1230
Popular colleges attended: Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, N.C. State, Southern Methodist

St. Anselm’s Abbey School
St. Anselm’s Abbey prides itself on a 1,500-year-old Benedictine tradition of educating the mind, body and soul. And it does all three with the gravity one would expect of a school still run by monks. In addition to traditional college-prep courses, high school students learn Latin alongside French or Spanish, and complete four years of religion including options for Gregorian chant and the “Poetry of Piety.” The intensity carries to the fields and gymnasiums, as upperclassmen are required to participate in at least one varsity-level sport.
Web site: saintanselms.org
Location: Northeast D.C.
Grades: 6-12
Total enrollment: 234
Minority enrollment: data not available
Tuition: $19,350-$19,900
Student-to-faculty ratio: 5:1
Average SAT score: 1351
Popular colleges attended: Georgetown, Notre Dame, New York University, Maryland, William & Mary

Georgetown Preparatory School
The nation’s oldest Jesuit school and only Jesuit boarding school has maintained stellar academic standards for 220 years, focused on the service-minded motto “men for others.” A six-class course load, including four years of religious studies and two of Latin, is heavier than many independent schools in the region, and 85 percent of the students participate on some of the area’s best athletic teams. True to the Jesuit spirit, more than one-third of the senior class each June participates in a home-building service project in New Orleans.
Web site: gprep.org
Location: North Bethesda, Md.
Grades: 9-12
Total enrollment: 450 (100 boarders)
Minority enrollment: 31 percent
Tuition: $24,200 ($42,150 room and board)
Student-to-faculty ratio: 8:1
Average SAT score: 1292
Popular colleges: Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Princeton, Virginia, Penn

Landon School
A sporty reputation often defines Landon — varsity basketball and hockey both took conference championships this year, and the school’s Web site looks like an Abercrombie and Fitch poster. But the same on-field commitment helps young men thrive in the classroom, too, where a demanding college-preparatory curriculum has been developed since the school’s 1929 founding. Neckties and a focus on character education help complete the whole young man inside the classroom. And many students study abroad as well, on language programs in China, France, Italy and Spain.
Web site: landon.net
Location: Bethesda, Md.
Grades: 3-12
Total enrollment: 675
Minority enrollment: 26 percent
Tuition range: $27,400-$28,400
Student-to-faculty ratio: data not available
Average SAT score: 1289
Popular colleges: Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Maryland, Virginia

St. Albans
Set on Mount St. Alban overlooking the capital city, the namesake school has long bred boys to grow into dignified and academically sound gentlemen. Though religiously and culturally diverse, the school maintains a relationship with the neighboring National Cathedral, and it hosts ecumenical chapel services twice per week for high school students. Boys wear jackets and ties beginning in the early grades and continue the formality in high school, where they expand on a solid grounding in the liberal arts.
Web site: stalbansschool.org
Location: Northwest D.C.
Grades: 4-12
Total enrollment: 570 (30 boarders)
Minority enrollment: 26 percent
Tuition: $31,428 ($44,457 room and board)
Student-to-faculty ratio: 7:1
Average SAT score: data not available
Popular colleges attended: Brown, Cornell, Michigan, Stanford, Penn

BEST ALL-GIRLS SCHOOLS

Holton-Arms School
Holton-Arms was founded in 1901, one mile away and one year after the opening of the more traditional Cathedral School, with the dream to create an “open door” for young women. The focus on opening all varieties of opportunities has guided the school in the more than 100 years since, and it takes special pride in the number of students in high-level math and science courses. Summer-abroad opportunities include a science course in Costa Rica and a women’s studies seminar in Senegal.
Web site: holton-arms.edu
Location: Bethesda, Md.
Grades: 3-12
Total enrollment: 657
Minority enrollment: 38 percent
Tuition: $27,200-$28,500
Student-to-faculty ratio: 7:1
Average SAT score: 1359
Popular colleges: Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Virginia

The Madeira School
Where Madeira lags just slightly in scores on college entrance exams and matriculation at elite colleges, it soars in extra opportunities made available to its young women. All sophomores volunteer at community-based centers, juniors intern on Capitol Hill, and seniors design their own yearlong internship. Three-quarters of students participate on 20 sports teams, including a renowned equestrian program available to all levels of riders. Academically, the school follows a college-prep curriculum with a goal to produce “ethical and curious young women.”
Web site: madeira.org
Location: McLean, Va.
Grades: 9-12
Total enrollment: 321 (173 boarders)
Minority enrollment: 27 percent
Tuition: $33,060 ($43,540 with room and board)
Student-to-faculty ratio: 7:1
Average SAT score: 1250
Popular colleges: William & Mary, Virginia, George Washington, Tufts, Georgetown

Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart
Encouraging exploration outside the classroom makes Stone Ridge unique among schools with similar academic reputations. Young women can spend a semester at one of dozens of Sacred Heart schools elsewhere in the United States and abroad, and unique internships are available through the National Institutes of Health in Sacred Heart’s Bethesda backyard. The school’s Catholic foundation is taken seriously as well, with a primary stated commitment “to educate to a personal and active faith in God.”
Web site: stoneridge.org
Location: Rockville, Md.
Grades: K-12
Total enrollment: 675
Minority enrollment: 28 percent
Tuition range: $18,025-$22,420
Student-to-faculty ratio: data not available
Average SAT: data not available
Popular colleges: data not available

Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School
St. Francis de Sales embodied the virtues of hopefulness, humility, optimism and gentleness, and for 210 years, Georgetown Visitation has allowed Salesian values to guide the development of its young women. The curriculum, however, has shifted with the times, and the school offers as part of its solid college preparation excellent courses in high-level math and computer sciences often eschewed by young women at coeducational schools. Proximity to Georgetown University allows students to take college courses as well.
Web site: visi.org
Location: Northwest D.C.
Grades: 9-12
Total enrollment: 466
Minority enrollment: 20 percent
Tuition: $20,600
Student-to-faculty ratio: 13:1
Average SAT score: 1254
Popular colleges: Boston College, Georgetown, Maryland, Virginia, Princeton

National Cathedral School
National Cathedral School was founded in 1900 as a place in the city where young women could receive a superior education — a novel idea at the time, and one it has aimed to keep up. It maintains a close relationship with St. Albans, both in the shadow of Washington’s grand Gothic cathedral, through collaboration on many classes and activities. Young women choose from seven foreign language offerings as part of their broad-based college-prep curriculum, and most participate in varsity athletics.
Web site: ncs.cathedral.org
Location: Northwest D.C.
Grades: 4-12
Total enrollment: 577
Minority enrollment: 27 percent
Tuition: $30,700
Student-to-faculty ratio: 7:1
Average SAT score: 1366
Popular colleges attended: Stanford, Yale, Colby, Columbia, Penn, Vermont

BEST SPECIALTY SCHOOLS

Washington International School
Washington International was once known as the school for children of D.C.’s significant foreign population, offering the International Baccalaureate associated with a British education. But as IB programs have gained popularity at American schools and as a global student body has appealed to more American parents, the school has become increasingly popular. Language immersion programs operate through eighth grade, and by high school, students study a third language as they enter IB’s rigorous college-prep course of study.
Web site: wis.edu
Location: Northwest D.C.
Grades: Pre-K-12
Total enrollment: 890
Minority enrollment: 36 percent
Tuition range: $20,685-$28,465
Student-to-faculty ratio: 8.2:1
Average SAT score: 1190-1430 (middle 50 percent)
Popular colleges: Virginia, Michigan, American, University of Warwick (Britain), Stanford

The Field School
The first hint that The Field School attracts artists is upon opening the visually creative Web site. And then there’s the course load. Studio art classes incorporating a wide variety of media are required of each student every day of her or his Field career. Core academic classes emphasize discussion and problem solving over memorization — the school’s reason for not offering Advanced Placement courses. Outside of class and the studio, most students are required to participate in two of three athletic seasons.
Web site: fieldschool.org
Location: Northwest D.C.
Grades: 7-12
Total enrollment: 280
Minority enrollment: 17 percent
Tuition: $30,150
Student-to-faculty ratio: 6:1
Average SAT score: data not available
Popular colleges: Barnard, Boston U., Grinnell, James Madison, Pitzer College

Kingsbury Day School
Learning disabilities show up in myriad ways, from struggles with comprehension to organizational ineptitude, and generally cause a flop in a traditional classroom. At Kingsbury Day, however, intensely individualized instruction, both academically and socially, allows students with learning disabilities to thrive, often at or above levels seen by regular-education students. In 2008, Kingsbury initiated a program designed for the extra-challenging subset of students labeled as both highly gifted and learning disabled.
Web site: kingsbury.org
Location: Northwest D.C.
Grades: K-12, plus adult education
Total enrollment: 210
Minority enrollment: data not available
Tuition: $33,140
Student-to-faculty ratio: 5:1
Average SAT score: data not available
Popular colleges: data not available

Emerson Preparatory School
For students who don’t take to traditional schools’ agrarian calendar, or for parents hoping to save some tuition money, Emerson offers year-round classes and the option to graduate from high school in three years. Small classes with flexible scheduling are modeled on courses at liberal arts colleges. A cross-discipline mind-set is fostered in courses such as cognition and ethics, spanning science and social studies, and media studies and semiotics.
Web site: emersonprep.net
Location: Northwest D.C.
Grades served: 9-12
Total enrollment: 65
Minority enrollment: 30 percent
Tuition: $20,000
Student-to-faculty ratio: 10:1
Average SAT score: 1200
Popular colleges: Drew, Goucher, George Washington, Maryland, Vermont