I am a mom of four kids, all now at The Langley School; here is my experience: There are many great independent schools in the DC area. Academic excellence is a given. But, explore the Langley School, and you will see a clear differentiation.
One step on the campus and you feel the community, from the parents and teachers to staff and students. The school truly follows their pillars, balancing academics with social and emotional learning. Kids learn "how they learn," build leadership skills with school assemblies and performances, and learn value of global thinking, diversity, and collaboration. I was struck by the inclusion and global perspective - children or their parents - represent ten different countries in one of our classes alone.
We felt the community touch when I was going through brutal year of health issues. The parent village came alive. Families took care of my children, brought us meals, etc. My personal experience is just one example, but there is clearly a strong foundation of family values. I am comfortable sending my children home with any classmate family. It is a blessing to know that there is a network watching over them.
In Preschool, my child's class is learning fine motor skills my using pipets and tweezers to pick up tiny objects at their three year old mini science lab. In first grade, my child is loving reading and writing, sharing her latest story at a Publishing party. In third grade, my daughter is learning Three Blind Mice and the like on the recorder which they perform at a school concert. Third graders learn U.S. geography by writing letters to local newspapers across the country and then organizing the responses and shared items in a show and tell panorama. And in fifth grade, my child just finished soccer season, an oral presentation on Mexican States for Spanish class, and is working in a book club reading "Awful Falafel." Across the years, we have had invested teachers coaching our kids, and appreciated the strong curriculum choices, from Singapore math, Handwriting without tears, Responsive classroom, and more.
If you are interested in the school, take a tour and see for yourself firsthand! read more