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Even the open house is hands-on!
“I learned more in two hours than I do all day at school!”* *Incoming TSS student Students and their families are invited to participate in our hands-on open house on June 14th from 6pm-8pm. The Sycamore School is an experiential, problem-based learning secondary school with no homework for our middle schoolers! Explore The Sycamore School’s…
Q&A: Founder of new Arlington secondary school lays out priorities
This article first appeared in early March 2017 in the Arlington Sun Gazette and InsideNOVA. The 2017-18 school year will bring the arrival of a new option in local education with the opening of The Sycamore School – a nonprofit, independent secondary school in Arlington. The inaugural class will include students in grades 6 to 8,…
Stress and Teenage Suicide
We’ve lost another Northern Virginia teenager to suicide. We shouldn’t be surprised. Northern Virginia high schools have turned into the Bermuda Triangle of stress: high achieving students + high achieving parents + high achieving school system = teens who are overloaded, over-scheduled, stressed out, sleep deprived, overly focused on grades and pushed to their limits.…
How to create an island of calm in a sea of chaos
The world of a parent can feel unrelentingly fast paced, chaotic and stressful, with no indication that it will ever slow down…at least not until all our kids are grown. There is an increasing need for us as parents to set the pace and create an environment at home that can help buffer our children…
The Flip-Side Of Academic Acceleration: Why I Started The Sycamore School
Stressed out, overwhelmed, anxious. Sound familiar? I’m not talking about you, I’m talking about your kids! As families prepare to take a much needed spring break next week, now is a good time to talk about why our kids are more burnt out than some corporate executives, and how parents can…
Is The Sycamore School a Montessori School?
Parents and other professionals often ask if The Sycamore School is a Montessori School. The short answer is no. The more complete answer is that TSS shares many commonalities with Montessori programs and would be a good fit for students with a Montessori background, as we strive to cultivate many of the same attributes of Montessori programs: curiosity,…
For kids to thrive, school should be a good fit
Is your school a good fit? As a parent, one of our biggest concerns can be making sure our children are thriving in their current school setting. When our children struggle and are unhappy at school, it creates considerable stress for the student and the whole family. Often it is this stress that leads parents…
Becoming A Founding Family at The Sycamore School
What does it mean to be a Founding Family? The Sycamore School is currently recruiting Founding Families to join our school for the 2017/18 school year. While we understand that it takes a certain leap of faith to place your child a new school, our first families are not choosing The Sycamore School on a…
Behind the Scenes of Starting A New School
T- 292 days until the first day of classes! Whew, it’s been a whirlwind week at The Sycamore School! For this Founder/Head of School, I am thankful for coffee, supportive community members and good old fashioned adrenaline to keep me going during this start-up phase for our school. Monday I observed an elementary school class…
