Education Learning Fun

/Connection Fairfax Station/Laurel Hill Connection ●

Robbie Hammer Camps & Schools

Photo by Photo www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Laurel Hill/Fairfax Station Connection ● June 2009 ● Camps & Schools ● A+ Education, Learning, June Fun 2009 ● 1 Education●Learning●Fun

Fishburne Summer School ’09

File Photo

Dorothy McAuliffe, wife of Terry McAuliffe, speaks at the 2008 graduation of the Potomac School in McLean before handing out diplomas. Costs at Local Schools

●Local School Tuition SOURCE: school Web sites and the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. NAME LOCATION TUITION (GRADES) Alexandria County Day School Alexandria $19,830 (K-3) $21,430 (4-8) Bishop Ireton High School* Alexandria $10,400 (parishioner) Give Your Child An $11,800 (Catholic non-parishioner) $14,950 (non-Catholic) Bishop O’Connell High School* Arlington $9,200 (parishioner) $10,630 (Catholic non-parishioner) Educational Edge $13,245 (non-Catholic) Browne Academy Alexandria $12,975 (preschool) $21,505 (K-8) High School Diplomas Burgundy Farm Country Day Alexandria $20,575 (jr. K/K) $21,520 (1-5) College Prep Tutoring Services $22,675 (6-8) Commonwealth Academy Alexandria $28,336 Learning for Life Skills Classes The Congressional Schools of Virginia Falls Church $17,770 (K) to $20,500 (8) College Admission Advisement Episcopal High School Alexandria $40,875 (boarding) Flint Hill School Oakton $21,370 (jr. K) Career Choice Coaching $24,050 (K-4) $26,460 (5-8) After School Enrichment Programs $27,510 (9-12) Gesher Jewish Day School Fairfax $15,950 Green Hedges School Vienna $11,754 (pre-K) to $20,924 (8) UUNITEDNITED CCULTURALULTURAL AACADEMYCADEMY The Langley School McLean $12,600 (pre-K) $24,140 (K-5) $25,410 (6-8) Great Alternative to Public The Madeira School McLean $35,050 (day student) $46,160 (boarding student) & Private Schools Oakcrest School McLean $14,721 (6-8) $15,696 (9-12) Oakwood School Annandale $26,400 Paul VI High School* Fairfax $9,270 (parishioner) $12,140 (non-Catholic) The Potomac School McLean $24,340 (K-3) $25,930 (4-6) $27,445 (7-12) St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School Alexandria $20,400 (jr.K) $22,840 (K-5) $24,710 (6-8) $26,925 (9-12) Westminster School Annandale $16,856

● On the Cover: South County High School band members participate in a summer session to prepare for helping youth make a better world the fall marching season.

2 ● A+ Education, Learning, Fun ● Camps & Schools ● June 2009 ● Laurel Hill/Fairfax Station Connection www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Education●Learning●Fun Private Schools Feel The Economy’s Pinch Local schools report increase in requests for financial aid.

By Julia O’Donoghue The Connection

obert McIntyre will say goodbye to all his students when they head off for Photo by summer break June 12. He knowsR a handful of them won’t be returning next fall because their Louise Krafft families cannot afford the $26,400 price tag for a year of education at Oakwood School. “I am focusing on the kids who can’t /Connection come because of the money. That is heartbreak,” said McIntyre, Oakwood’s founder and head of school.

The 38-years old private institution in On the Madiera campus earlier this year, students enjoy a bit of sun and spring air between classes. Fairfax County caters to students with spe- schools in Northern Virginia. pendent school association’s 21 Virginia O’Marah said about eight families with a cial learning needs. Only about 110 chil- Faulkner’s association has heard from sev- schools doled out $21.5 million in finan- total of 11 or 12 students currently enrolled dren attend the kindergarten-through- eral members who saw a jump in requests cial aid to approximately 16 percent of their in the school sought financial help for the eighth-grade program and there is one staff for financial help from last year, she said. population. The median endowment was first time this year but the school was able member for every three students. In response to additional requests for help $1.3 million. Approximately 35.5 percent to ensure that the students could stay. McIntyre expects anywhere from eight to this year, the Catholic Diocese of Arlington of students at the diocese’s schools also re- A few schools said they are looking at 12 of his current students will not be able added $250,000 to the $1.7 million it nor- ceived aid last year, according to Balbuena. grants or doing more fundraising to help to enroll next year for financial reasons. mally uses for tuition assistance. The North- meet new demands for financial aid. Though Oakwood will be able fill the va- ern Virginia diocese runs 52 schools – in- FOR SOME SCHOOLS, the increase in “We have extended ourselves further than cant attendance slots, McIntyre still wor- cluding five in Alexandria, seven in Arling- financial aid requests is coming from cur- we ever have before and it impinges on us ries about what will happen to the students ton, and 20 in Fairfax. rent families who never had to ask for help to get a new source of support for next year who cannot afford to come back. “We were able to secure some additional but are now struggling to cover tuition. but we are committed to do so,” said Zvi “These kids are not coming and they des- money for families through a privately “We don’t normally see that at all. But Schoenberg, head of school at Gesher Jew- perately need a special education program funded grant and some emergency funds,” now, we are seeing it a little bit because ish Day School in Fairfax. like ours. Our kids are all college material said Ken Balbuena, assistant to the diocese’s people have lost jobs in this economy,” said but they need a chance to get the help they school superintendent. Stacey Ahner, director of institutional ad- THOUGH SCHOOLS saw an increase in need when they are younger,” he said. vancement at Flint Hill School in Oakton. requests for financial aid, most said they This past school year, about 10 percent NORTHERN VIRGINIA is in better eco- Depending on the grade level, Flint Hill have not seen a drop off in applications or of Oakwood students received some finan- nomic shape than most other parts of the tuition ranges from approximately $24,000 their enrollment numbers. cial assistance, with most of the grants cov- country. According to the Bureau of Labor to $27,500. Ahner said the school normally “Our applications were down slightly but ering somewhere between a third and half Statistics, the region’s unemployment rate allocates about $2 million in financial aid not significantly enough to cause concern,” of a student’s tuition. is 5.2 percent in March 2009 compared to to 15 percent of its student body each year. said Kerry Moody, director of admissions “This is the most aid we have ever given 8.5 nationwide at the same time. “We give priority to the students who are and financial aid at The Langley School in in the history of the school. We typically go But tens of thousands Northern Virginia already here. …We don’t have sufficient aid McLean. into the school year with some extra funds residents still lost their jobs over the last to meet everyone’s needs,” said Ahner. Paul VI High School had been apprehen- but we spent every nickel we have on chil- year. The government reports that 39,023 The Potomac School in McLean has never sive about a drop in applications and en- dren who needed assistance,” said McIntyre. Northern Virginia residents were unem- had to turn a student away for financial rollment earlier in the year but has seen Many private and parochial schools in ployed in March 2008. A year later, that reasons, even though they saw a significant both remain steady, according to Eileen Northern Virginia report that requests for number had jumped to 74,183 people. increase in requests for assistance this year. Hanley, who works in admissions. financial aid surged this year, both in terms At the 21 Virginia schools that belong to “Once the students are accepted, they are The increase in class size at Fairfax County of the number of families asking and the Faulkner’s private school association, the part of the Potomac family. We do every- Public Schools may have contributed to in- total dollar amount sought. average tuition is $20,144 for a third grader, thing that we can to make it possible for terest remaining high, she said. Tuition at “Given the economy, it is obviously not $21,819 for a sixth grader and $26,479 for those students to attend Potomac,” said the Catholic high school in Fairfax is about surprising that among new families and a 12th grader. Sheila O’Marah, assistant head of school $9,200 for members of the Arlington dio- returning families, there might be an in- The Arlington’s diocese parochial schools and director of financial aid. cese and $12,100 for non-Catholics. crease in requests for financial aid,” said are cheaper, costing an average of $4,445 Depending on the grade level, tuition “People are looking for value and, as long Rachel Faulkner, chief operating officer of per elementary school student and $9,348 ranges from $24,000 to $27,500 at Potomac as they are getting a good value and educa- the Association of Independent Schools of per high school student. and approximately 15 percent of the stu- tion, they are willing to sacrifice the money,” Greater Washington, which includes 21 In the 2008-2009 school year, the inde- dent body receives assistance. said Hanley. www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Laurel Hill/Fairfax Station Connection ● June 2009 ● Camps & Schools ● A+ Education, Learning, Fun ● 3 Education●Learning●Fun “I’m a single mom and I cannot take care of everything. My kids love those programs.” — Katherine, resident of NOVACO transitional housing Making a ‘PACT’ with Area Camps ●How to Help The Fairfax County Park Authority’s Parks Fees for a two-week session start at $340 and Community Together (PACT) program for a single child and that number can is still accepting donations for this summer. multiply greatly based on how many camp- Program sends children and teens from shelters and transitional housing to camps with other local young people. Whether it’s on an individual basis or a ers the PACT program helps and for how company-wide sponsorship, any donation to long. In 2008, PACT provided 112 two-week Photos Courtesy Fairfax County Park Authority PACT helps ensure that needy young people sessions for 36 children at a cost of $35,920. By Jason Mackey Frankeberger of Vienna and As an FCPA employee, on vacations.” receive a summer experience resembling Contact Sousan Frankeberger at 703-324- The Connection that of their peers. 8566 or sousan.frankeberger Werthmann of Clifton co-founded the Werthmann spent most of her Naomi Collins started work at @fairfaxcounty.gov. Fairfax County Park Authority’s Parks time coordinating her Alexandria’s Bethany House in ousan Frankeberger and Ellen and Community Together (PACT) organization’s hundreds of the spring of 2006 and two Werthmann share an inside program back in 1997 and have since summer camps, which can weeks later began to panic joke: Frankeberger does all influenced the lives of more than 400 include anything from moun- about what to do with her son the work, while Werthmann children typically between the ages of tain biking to zoology to chess and daughter for the summer. Sgets to have all the fun. Or, put an- 3 and 15. camps. She was also aware that After some online research and other way, Frankeberger raises the Think of Frankeberger and the cost of some of the FCPA’s a few phone calls placed to money, and Werthmann just worries Werthmann as a sort of Santa Claus camps can be a bit prohibitive, friends, Collins found out about about spending it. with sun-tan lotion and a brown- especially to those in homeless the PACT program and met The philosophy has worked. bagged lunch. shelters or transitional housing. Werthmann. So Werthmann, always eager As a result, this summer will to spend a buck or two, con- be her son’s fourth year of tacted Frankeberger, who was attendance — each one more more than willing to accommo- special than the last. date on the fundraising end; “Oh my goodness,” Collins she already had several donors said. “Most parents who are with whom she had struck up a homeless or who live in a relationship, only to find that shelter or are in a domestic they wanted something tangible violence program cannot afford to give to, a feel-good cause. the price of the camp. The PACT “There’s a need to have program makes it very afford- somewhere safe and enjoyable able. Having that camp available that only our camps can offer,” to children puts a structure in said Werthmann, who works place for the summer and for primarily as the PACT the children to have something program’s recruitment coordi- to do.” nator, placing youths with their camps of choice. “For homeless KATHERINE, a 24-month families, there’s no way to come resident of NOVACO transitional up with the extra money.” housing for victims of domestic Added Frankeberger, “We abuse, has sent her two children wanted to not only provide With the Parks and Community Together program, often camp counselors never find out which to PACT programs for the past children with the opportunity campers benefit from PACT and which do not. two summers. to feel normal because every- In addition to meeting new one else gets to go to a camp and they vices, Northern Virginia Family Ser- director of NOVACO and she estimates friends which they have been able to don’t, but we also wanted to give their vices, New Hope Housing and Good that an average of seven to nine kids reconnect with throughout the year, parents an opportunity not to worry Shepherd Housing and Family Services there benefit from the PACT program Katherine said the PACT program has about what to do with their chil- — both of Alexandria. every year. It’s a way, Neely said, for enabled her kids to experience certain dren. youngsters to get out of the house things that they might not normally “It’s an opportunity for the par- “It’s awesome because and spice up the summer a bit. have gotten the chance to experience ents to take care of other things that “It’s awesome because otherwise due to the family’s current situation. are of immediate urgency.” otherwise these kids these kids would be sitting at “I’m a single mom and I cannot take Last summer, 36 children from home,” said Neely, of Centreville. “It care of everything,” she said. “They would be sitting at home.” In 2008, fundraising director Sousan Frankeberger of Vienna raised $36,763 for Ellen local shelters were placed in FCPA gives them the opportunity to do have a lot of programs, and my kids — Victoria Neeley, Werthmann, the PACT program’s recruitment and placement coordinator, to work camps — free of charge. When a what their peers are doing, which is love those programs. They’re learning executive director, NOVACO with. This summer, that total has jumped to around $40,000. child is placed in a camp, complete enjoying the outdoors. The fact that new things, too. With me working, I anonymity is granted. Often, the this is already paid for is just a huge cannot take them to museums or particular camp, there’s also a Counse- that Frankeberger raised. This year, camp counselors never even find out Transportation to and from the benefit because there either isn’t anything like that.” lor In Training (CIT) program that’s Frankeberger has totaled around which campers arrived courtesy of the camps must be taken care of by the money in our budget or our clients offered. $40,000 for Werthmann to work with, PACT program and which did not. individual or shelter, and attendees don’t have the money to pay for it. THERE ARE no restraints on how Fiscal issues are simple as well. Each and, by all accounts, the program will The influence of the PACT program must figure out meals and snacks on “It’s better than the same old rou- many sessions one camper can enjoy. year Frankeberger sets a goal — this have its best summer yet, with an stretches all over Northern Virginia. their own. Other than that, PACT tine. Even my kids, they don’t want the Werthmann and Frankeberger both year it was $50,000 — and tries her expectancy of 50 to 60 youths, hardly Partners include Alexandria’s assumes 100 percent of each camp’s same old routine. They definitely want said that some campers stay the whole best to reach that goal by mailing fliers resembling the 1997 total of four. Since 1997, the Fairfax County Park Authority’s Parks and Community Together Mondloch House, NOVACO of Fairfax, tuition. to do something different and have an summer, some for only one or two and soliciting donations from area “Sousan brings it in, and I spend it,” (PACT) program has helped more than 400 needy children and teens attend various Falls Church’s Shelter House, Fairfax’s adventure to talk about when they go sessions. And after some outgrow the businesses. Werthmann joked. “But we have been summer camps for free. Bethany Home, Lutheran Social Ser- VICTORIA NEELEY is the executive back to school because they don’t go point where they would attend a In 2008, Werthmann spent $35,920 able to help hundreds of children.” 4 ● A+ Education, Learning, Fun ● Camps & Schools ● June 2009 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com www.ConnectionNewspapers.com June 2009 ● Camps & Schools ● A+ Education, Learning, Fun ● 5 Education●Learning●Fun ●School Search Timeline AUGUST: Finalize schools that you plan to inquire Choosing the Right School about. SEPTEMBER ● Request admissions and financial aid material by dapted from the National Association Basic Facts: How many students does the school phone or online. of Independent Schools. For more, have? Where is it, and how does the location affect ● Review admissions materials to determine which your transportation needs? For high schools, what are schools to visit. visit the Parents’ Guide from the National A the graduation requirements? What percentage of stu- ● Keep a calendar of pertinent deadlines for Association of Independent Schools at www.nais.org/ dents enter college, and what kinds of colleges do they admission and financial aid and procedures, such as go/parents. attend? Is the school accredited, and if so, by whom? when schools start taking reservations for individual tours and interviews. Educational Quality: What is the school’s mission, ● Register for standardized tests—the SSAT or Start Early: Public schools take in new children all and does its philosophy appeal to you? Does it have a ISEE (for middle school and high school). year round. But not independent schools. Most particular educational focus? Is the atmosphere com- ● Review the test Web sites to learn procedures schools’ admissions and financial aid timelines are like petitive? Nurturing? Or what? and see sample questions; consider whether you want colleges; applicants start the process almost a year Beyond the Basics: What types of learning experi- to buy a test-preparation book. ● before they plan to attend. Learn the deadlines — for ences are available — in class, on the playing field, in Call to schedule individual tours, interviews, extracurricular activities, and in community service? class visits, and “shadow days.” Ask elementary both admission and financial aid — by checking Web schools about their test schedules and how to make sites. Call individual schools if you have questions. Do the school materials discuss parental involvement? an appointment. The entire process will be easier on your family if you Costs: What is the tuition? Are there extra charges, OCTOBER know the deadlines, keep track of them carefully, and such as for books, lab fees, transportation, and so on? ● Visit open houses. give yourself plenty of time to meet them. What are the school’s financing options? What is the ● Call to schedule tours, interviews, class visits, financial aid application process? When are the dead- and school-based tests if you haven’t already. ● Do Your Homework: Start by working with your lines? Attend information sessions and take tours. ● Finalize school(s) to which you will make family to determine your ideal educational commu- application. nity. Ask yourself whether the school would be: small The Open House: Although the majority of open ● Take standardized test. or large; day school or boarding school; coeducational houses occur in the fall, some schools have one right NOVEMBER or single-sex; traditional or progressive; source of after the first of the year. Most schools list open houses ● Follow through on activities you may not have special programs; representing a diverse community; in the admissions section of their Web sites; if you completed, such as scheduling tours, interviews, class and/or sensitive to your child’s special needs. can’t find the information there, call the admissions visits, and standardized or school-based tests. office. Check to see if you need to register or if you ● Continue to watch for open houses you may want can just drop in. Also find out if there will be a formal to attend. Consider the Possibilities: Call potential schools ● Start lining up teacher recommendations. to request admissions literature, and examine their welcome at the open house and what time it will oc- ● Start working on applications, financial aid Web sites. Then compare what you read there with cur. This brief presentation is an ideal opportunity to forms, student questionnaires, essays, etc. what you’re looking for in your ideal school. Among hear how the school head and admissions director DECEMBER Complete any remaining applications, the questions you should ask yourself about each speak of the school. questionnaires, etc. Most application materials are school: due in January or early February.

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6 ● A+ Education, Learning, Fun ● Camps & Schools ● June 2009 ● Laurel Hill/Fairfax Station Connection www.ConnectionNewspapers.com Education●Learning●Fun

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Photo by Robbie Hammer/The Connection John Fitzpatrick, a fifth-grader, makes his next move during a chess match against a classmate at Nativity Catholic School on Photo by April 9. Members of the Thomas Jefferson High School Chess Robbie Hammer/ team visited the school to teach the students how to play chess The Connection and play some exhibition matches. KENWOOD SCHOOL Educational Excellence at an Affordable Price

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8 ● A+ Education, Learning, Fun ● Camps & Schools ● June 2009 ● Laurel Hill/Fairfax Station Connection www.ConnectionNewspapers.com