While the public school systems in Northern Virginia are recognized as high quality, numerous families opt for private education. It's not without reason – the region's private schools offer impressive curriculums, dedicated faculty, and tailored educational experiences. There is a spectrum of different kinds of private schools, all offering different curriculums, philosophies, and learning environments. Here, let's explore the different kinds of private schools with links to well-known examples in Northern Virginia.
Traditional Private Schools
Traditional private schools offer a comprehensive education that emphasizes a broad range of subjects, including math, science, humanities, and the arts. They typically maintain small class sizes for more personalized attention and provide a strong preparatory foundation for higher education. Many also incorporate technology, foreign languages, and extracurricular activities. Here are some well-known Traditional Private Schools in Northern Virginia:
Location: McLean
Grade Level: Pre-K - 12th Grade
About: “BASIS Independent McLean offers more than just an education designed to prepare students to be among the top students in the area: we’re focused on preparing students to be among the top in the world. The time-tested, globally benchmarked BASIS Curriculum results in autonomous learners with deep content knowledge and the ability to put knowledge to use in novel, innovative ways.”
Location: Oakton
Grade Level: Pre-K - 12th Grade
About: “Our school is fundamentally designed to support all kinds of learning and cultivate each student’s individual passions. Every day, we redefine what excellence in education looks like and continuously innovate across programs so that all of our students excel—academically, physically, socially and emotionally.”
Location: Herndon
Grade Level: Pre-K - 8th Grade
About: “We offer an accelerated academic curriculum that allows students with proficiency in a particular subject to study material up to four grade levels ahead of their own. Nysmith balances the highest levels of academic content with a commitment to every student’s success.”
Location: McLean
Grade Level: Preschool - 8th Grade
About: “The Langley School fosters purposeful inquiry-based and social-emotional learning for children in preschool through grade 8 in a joyful, connected community. We empower all students as curious, confident, and resilient leaders, thinkers, and creators.”
Loudoun School for Advanced Studies
Location: Ashburn
Grade Level: 6th Grade - 12th Grade
About: “Loudoun School for Advanced Studies offers an academic program that engages and challenges students with real-world problems as well as a learning environment that promotes curiosity, self-reliance and citizenship. Our courses emphasize research, problem-solving, and collaboration.”
The Academy at Metropolitan School of the Arts
Location: Alexandria
Grade Level: 7th Grade - 12th Grade
About: “The Academy @ Metropolitan School of the Arts is a college preparatory performing arts conservatory for budding young artists who are dedicated to high caliber academics and pre-professional performing arts education.”
Religious and Parochial Schools
Religious and parochial schools incorporate a focus on faith-based education in their curriculum. While they provide a comprehensive academic education similar to traditional private schools, they also emphasize spiritual growth and religious teachings. Here are some well-known Religious/Parochial Schools in Northern Virginia:
Location: Fairfax
Grade Level: Pre-K - 8th Grade
About: “Our integrated curriculum of general and Jewish studies prepares students to be knowledgeable and committed Jews, dedicated to the State of Israel, and informed and responsible American citizens. Gesher is dedicated to educational excellence, an individualized approach to learning, and to providing a nurturing educational environment.”
Location: Reston
Grade Level: Pre-K - 8th Grade
About: “Al Fatih's mission is to cultivate and nurture a thriving American Muslim identity that balances religious, academic, and cultural knowledge and imparts the importance of civic involvement and charitable work.”
St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School
Location: Alexandria
Grade Level: Pre-K - 12th Grade
About: “SSSAS is a college preparatory Episcopal Church School in the Diocese of Virginia. To help our students succeed in a complex and changing world, we seek to inspire a passion for learning, an enthusiasm for athletic and artistic endeavor, a striving for excellence, a celebration of diversity, and a commitment to service.”
Location: Fairfax
Grade Level: Pre-K - 12th Grade
About: “By God’s grace, through his word and Spirit, Trinity seeks to transform students by the renewing of their minds after the image of him who created them. We desire to bring into conscious subjection to God what has been redeemed in and through Christ.”
Location: Herndon
Grade Level: Pre-K - 12th Grade
About: “The mission of Temple Baptist School is simple. It is to prepare our students academically and spiritually for a life of service to Jesus Christ. That's it. The hard part is carrying out the mission, but that is our commitment.”
Location: Arlington
Grade Level: 9th Grade - 12th Grade
About: “Our mission is to provide students an education rooted in the life of Christ and to foster the pursuit of excellence in the whole person. Bishop O'Connell will distinguish itself through innovations in STEM fields, global studies enrichment opportunities and university partnerships.”
St. Paul VI Catholic High School
Location: Chantilly
Grade Level: 9th Grade - 12th Grade
About: “The mission of St. Paul VI Catholic High School is to provide an excellent Catholic education to young men and women by affording them the means to achieve spiritual, intellectual, personal, social, and physical development according to the teachings of the Gospel and St. Francis de Sales.”
Boarding Schools
Boarding schools offer a unique experience for students to live on campus, either full-time or part-time. These schools provide an immersive learning environment where education extends beyond the classroom to include life skills, independence, and community living. They often have robust extracurricular programs, including sports, arts, and leadership activities. Here are some well-known Boarding Schools in Northern Virginia:
Location: Arlington
Grade Level: Kindergarten - 12th Grade
About: “Veritas seeks to provide a well-rounded education through a biblical worldview. We maintain high academic standards while holding biblical faith at the center of the educational process. The rigorous academics are easily overcome by nurturing and encouraging children to reach higher.”
Location: Front Royal
Grade Level: 6th Grade - 12th Grade
About: “The Power of Rise is a mindset at R-MA. Students learn to take risks, to succeed, to fail – lessons at R-MA result in a rewarding sense of accomplishment even if the outcome is not one originally expected. It is a characteristic, a trait found within the very core of the most successful individuals.”
Foxcroft School - All Girls
Location: Middleburg
Grade Level: 9th Grade - 12th Grade
About: “At Foxcroft, we seek opportunities to integrate learning in the classroom and learning for life. We hold this philosophy: Everything We Do is Curriculum. Through work and play, Foxcroft’s residential community, paves a path for academic, social, and interpersonal growth, provides the stimulus for lifelong learning, and helps every girl explore her unique voice.”
Location: Alexandria
Grade Level: 9th Grade - 12th Grade
About: “Guided by its founding principles of honor, academic distinction, spiritual growth, and community, Episcopal High School prepares young people with the intellectual and moral courage to pursue lives of ethical leadership and service as citizens of an increasingly connected world.”
The Madeira School - All Girls
Location: McLean
Grade Level: 9th Grade - 12th Grade
About: “We’ve re-designed academics so that learning is exploratory, joyful, and girl-centered. With fewer, longer classes, time to explore interests and passions, and a super-charged Co-Curriculum internship program, Madeira ensures all graduates leave with inspired goals, essential life skills, and an impressive resume.”
Woodberry Forest School - All Boys
Location: Woodberry Forest
Grade Level: 9th Grade - 12th Grade
About: “Woodberry Forest has sought to develop young men of intellectual thoroughness and principled integrity equipped with the capacity and eagerness to serve as leaders, learners, and citizens. Consistent with Christian principles, we aspire to instill in every boy a deep sense of empathy, self-confidence buttressed by genuine humility, and an enthusiastic pursuit of lifelong learning.”
Language Immersion Schools
Language immersion schools offer a unique approach to language learning where a significant portion of the curriculum is taught in a second language. These schools aim to develop fluency in the second language and promote cultural understanding. Northern Virginia does not have many Language Immersion Private Schools, as the public school systems do have language immersion programs. However, the DC metro area boasts some impressive Language Immersion Private Schools. Here are some well-known Language Immersion Schools in the DC Metro area:
The Metaphor International School
Location: Falls Church
Language: Russian
Grade Level: Preschool - 2nd Grade
About: “We provide a challenging, individually-tailored educational experience for our diverse Russian- and English- speaking community where children are inspired to think, collaborate, create, and lead. Our goal is to create an exciting bilingual atmosphere for learning, exploring, and making new discoveries.”
Washington International School
Location: Washington DC
Language: Immersion in French or Spanish. Mandarin is available above 6th grade.
Grade Level: Preschool - 12th Grade
About: “Language learning is a cornerstone of the WIS program. Students are prepared to be functionally bilingual, beginning with a French or Spanish language immersion program in Preschool, Pre-Kindergarten, and Kindergarten and continuing with study in at least two languages through Grade 12.”
Rochambeau French International School
Location: Bethesda
Language: French
Grade Level: Preschool - 12th Grade
About: “Beginning in preschool (age 2) through 12th grade, we offer our students a rigorous curriculum in French and English leading to either the French Baccalauréat and its bilingual or trilingual international options (BFI) or the International Baccalaureate (IB). We are the only school accredited by the French Ministry of Education in the Washington DC area.”
Location: Potomac
Language: German
Grade Level: Preschool - 12th Grade
About: “The German International School Washington D.C. combines the highest standards of German academic excellence with a multicultural environment, inspiring its students to develop into creative, critically thinking, empathetic leaders and engaged global citizens.”
Montessori Schools
Montessori schools follow the educational philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori, emphasizing child-led learning within carefully prepared environments. They aim to develop the whole child—intellectually, socially, and emotionally. Montessori schools emphasize hands-on, experiential learning and encourage independence and self-direction. Here are some well-known Montessori Schools in Northern Virginia:
Location: Fairfax
Grade Level: Pre-K - 5th Grade
About: “Blending Montessori, STEM and Creative Learning, VINCI School cares and educates Infant, Toddler, Preschool, Kindergarten and Elementary students, one child at a time, with an unprecedented and precise targeting, thanks to our home-grown technology platform and literacy content.”
Location: Arlington
Grade Level: Pre-K - 6th Grade
About: “Full Circle Montessori fosters a Montessori learning community that supports the development of the whole child emotionally, socially, intellectually, and physically.”
Montessori School of Northern Virginia - Hillbrook Campus
Location: Annandale
Grade Level: Pre-K - 6th Grade
About: “At the Montessori School of Northern Virginia (MSNV), we want this joy—the delight of discovery—to last a lifetime. By presenting a myriad of rich learning experiences based on the enduring principles of Montessori, MSNV offers a well-rounded, dynamic and inspiring education for your child.”
Sunset Hills Montessori School
Location: Reston
Grade Level: Pre-K - 7th Grade
About: “Our efforts at Sunset Hills Montessori Elementary are focused on facilitating the individual child’s ability to discover the answers to these deeper questions. We do this by bringing the world into the classroom, and by escorting the child out into the world.”
Waldorf Schools
Waldorf schools foster creativity and imagination in the early years, gradually introducing academic learning as the child grows. The same teacher often stays with a group of students through multiple grades, nurturing a strong student-teacher relationship. There are currently only two Waldorf schools in the DC Metro Area, here they are:
Potomac Crescent Waldorf School
Location: Alexandria
Grade Level: Early Childhood - 5th Grade
About: “We strive to develop thoughtful, fulfilled citizens who have the capacity to think imaginatively, communicate effectively, and relate compassionately. We believe in the Waldorf curriculum for educating the whole human being: head, heart and hands, which nurture well-rounded individuals who will be successful in school and beyond.”
Location: Bethesda
Grade Level: Kindergarten - 12th Grade
About: “At Washington Waldorf, we encourage the connections that broaden students’ experiences and help them grow in new directions. Our teachers incorporate academic, artistic, and practical elements into every subject, creating memorable lessons, successful scholars, and strong individuals.”
Special Needs Schools
Special needs schools are designed for students with specific learning difficulties, disabilities, or giftedness. They provide specialized instruction and resources to meet each child's unique learning needs and help them achieve their full potential. These schools often have experts such as speech therapists, psychologists, and special education teachers on staff. Here are some well-known Special Needs Private Schools in Northern Virginia:
Location: Annandale
Grade Level: 1st Grade - 8th Grade
About: “Oakwood School provides a multisensory educational program in which students with learning differences(dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and ADHD) are guided to achieve their unique academic and social potential in a nurturing community environment.
Location: Annandale
Grade Level: Ages 6 - 22
About: “At our Annandale campus we offer highly individualized learning environments, social skills training and practice, individualized and integrated related services including counseling, speech and language therapy, occupational and physical therapy, career and technical education curricula, and authentic job opportunities in the community along with crisis prevention through a strengths-based approach.”
Location: Oakton
Grade Level: 3rd Grade - 10th Grade
About: “The Siena School prepares bright, college-bound students with language-based learning differences, such as dyslexia, to become confident, curious learners who understand their personal strengths and gain the tools and strategies to excel.”
Location: Alexandria
Grade Level: Pre-K - 12th Grade
About: “Commonwealth Academy is a college preparatory school that embraces students of average to gifted ability who have ADHD, executive functioning challenges, and mild learning differences. We empower our students to thrive and discover their path to excellence with small class sizes and differentiated instruction in an inclusive caring community.”
Families in Northern VA that opt for private education have a diverse array of excellent schools to choose from. Choosing the right school is a significant decision for every family. Whether you send your children to Private School or opt for the Public School System, Northern VA will surely deliver an excellent education!
