Good Charter/Private/Whatever Schools in or near Arlington

Hi L.! I live in south Arlington, and my oldest will be attending Kindergarten this fall. Like you, we have a really good public elementary school, but our son is very bright and we wanted him to be challenged academically.

There is a charter school near us called Arlington Classics Academy. I've always heard really good things about it. It's supposed to be very academically challenging - the school days are a little bit longer, they teach math a year ahead, etc.

The only thing we don't like about it is how strict they are. They're pretty serious about having a very well-behaved student body. I've spoken to many moms who like the school very much, but they do describe it as being like a military school. That doesn't fit very well with our parenting style, so we're not sure what we're going to do yet! We applied for this fall - they have a lottery, so it's just the luck of the draw whether you get in or not. Maybe you can check out ACA and it will be a good fit for you.

I've also heard about a group of charter schools called Harmony - I believe they have several locations around the metroplex, though none are in Arlington.

As far as private schools go, I've heard good things about Oakridge and Children's University, both on Arlington.

Best of luck to you! This is proving to be a very tough decision for us!!

Jen
www.morethanmothers.com

We've been very pleased with Summit International Prep--they are part of the Uplift family of charter schools. It's free, and they require 40 hours of volunteer work from parents. The school earned Exemplary status across all grades last year. You can find them at www.summitinternationalprep.org. They are located close to Randol Mill and Collins at the old Country Day campus.

The school is also a lottery--very few spots were available this year.

Everything has been mentioned are good schools. I would add one more to the mix Fellowship Academy. I don't have kids, but I have worked with the leadership of this school and they are wonderful Christian people that have their priorites straight.

Check out Grace Preparatory Academy. I have two children there now and one that graduated from Grace last year and is doing FABULOUSLY in college! Grace is a Christian school with very well behaved students. They offer K-12. Children in elementary grades attend school on Tuesday & Thursday and are taught at home M,W,F. Secondary students attend school on Monday, Wednesday & Friday and self-study at home on Tuesday & Thursday. Besides top-notch academics, Grace has a very good athletics program. Our varsity boys basketball team just won the state championship yesterday! The web site is www.graceprep.org. Take a look and check out the University Model School. Good luck!