Sheridan School

Posted: October 19, 2025

We have 4 children and have been part of several independent school communities. Sheridan is small and mighty, unassuming from the outside, and a treasure once you find out all they offer. In particular, their middle school staff and administration does a fantastic job of cultivating a pro social community and academic responsibility necessary for success in high school

Posted: October 19, 2025

Posted: October 19, 2025

Posted: October 19, 2025

Posted: October 19, 2025

Posted: October 19, 2025

Posted: October 19, 2025

Posted: November 24, 2019

Homework is age appropriate and is not overwhelming.

Posted: November 24, 2019

I had found the teachers to be academically and socially/emotionally effective. They meet all the children where they are and teach a love of learning that the children take to the next grade.

Posted: November 24, 2019

Developing these skills are in the mission and the curriculum is created to enforce the use and value of these skills.

Posted: November 24, 2019

The administration is very clear about the mission of the school and maintaining an environment in line with that vision.

Posted: November 24, 2019

Posted: November 24, 2019

The school has created an anti-bullying program for the children, and because the school is small there are always things being done so that the children see their school as their community where they should care about everyone.

Posted: November 24, 2019

I love this school, it is a real gem. My daughter loves going to school and learning. She feels cared for and loved by everyone at the school from the Head of School that she hugs every day to teachers she has not had classes with yet.

Posted: October 24, 2019

The head of school greets each child with a handshake every morning and has an open-door policy for students and parents alike. The head of lower school is very engaged with the community and the teachers and faculty all seem to just love their jobs. The kids at school seem extremely happy, which I believe is a reflection of an overall good environment.

Posted: October 24, 2019

The teachers do a wonderful job figuring out how each child learns and creates an environment for that child to thrive. Whether they need to wiggle more or have complete quiet to complete a task, they will find a way to help.

Posted: October 24, 2019

We have had no experience with this, but my understanding of the way faculty, staff and administration tackle difficulties gives me every confidence that they would find a way to sort out bullying or any other issue that arises.

Posted: October 24, 2019

I love everything about Sheridan. First of all, it goes without saying that my daughter is getting a first-rate education at this amazing school. But Sheridan doesn’t just focus on academics — the faculty and staff focus on kindness, team work and helping parents shape our children into fine human beings who will be excellent citizens of the world.

Every single teacher from the home room teachers to the specials teachers seem to love what they do and love the kids. My daughter has learned a song in a new language in every music class, has done exciting science experiments that we recreate at home, is learning to speak Spanish without an accent and is giving me tips on nutrition that she picks up in PE. The social justice component of the curriculum is extremely important to our family and I love that Sheridan emphasizes compassion just as we do at home. Not only is she learning the basics, but she is learning critical thinking skills that are so necessary for our society to function.

The structure the school has in place to welcome new families made our move to DC and into a new school absolutely seamless. There is excellent communication from all quarters and our buddy family helped us know everything we needed to know and meet classmates before the school year began. We couldn’t be happier.

Most importantly, my daughter LOVES school. At the end of the day, she begs to go to after care and never wants to leave until the school closes for the day. My only regret is we didn’t begin Sheridan in kindergarten and we missed out on two years at this amazing place.

Posted: October 24, 2019

At the youngest ages, the students don't have homework. They let kids be kids, but my daughter always wants to practice Spanish, recreate science experiments and do other things she loves doing at school.

Posted: October 24, 2019

Every single teacher from the home room teachers to the specials teachers seem to love what they do and love the kids. My daughter has learned a song in a new language in every music class, has done exciting science experiments that we recreate at home, is learning to speak Spanish without an accent and is giving me tips on nutrition that she picks up in PE.

Posted: October 24, 2019

The social justice component of the curriculum is extremely important to our family and I love that Sheridan emphasizes compassion just as we do at home. Students learn about various topics such as food deserts and brainstorm solutions to society problems in an age-appropriate way. When I have seen younger students have the inevitable disagreement, the teachers helps the children get in touch with their feelings and compassionately resolve the situation without assessing blame, but through fostering understanding.

Posted: October 16, 2019

I would rate my experience thus far (2 years) a 10/10.

Posted: October 16, 2019

The approach taken to homework is reasonable and takes into account what is age appropriate. As the children increase in age, so do expectations associated with home learning.

Posted: October 16, 2019

My son comes home explaining what he has learned on a consistent and knowledgeable basis. When he does not understand something, time is taken to explain it for him in a way that he can better comprehend. The teacher to student ratio also lends itself to teacher efficacy. There are a high number of teachers to students allowing for more differentiated student learning.

Posted: October 16, 2019

Integrity, compassion and respect underpin all of the social emotional learning that takes place in Sheridan's responsive classrooms. In fact Sheridan won national recognition for being a school that is distinguished in this area.

Posted: October 16, 2019

Studies have found that school leadership is one of the single most important factors in student learning outcomes. So when we searched for schools, strong leadership committed to the school's stated mission was on our list of requirements. Sheridan's students learn to love learning and knowledge because the faculty and staff are supported in their work. The credit for that lays to a good degree with its highly skilled and warm administrative staff.

Posted: October 16, 2019

We have found that Sheridan is dedicated to teaching its students where they are and raising them up from wherever they may be found. To the extent that Sheridan employs every tool they have to meet a child's needs and cannot do so, they will be honest with the parents and help in finding assistance externally.

Posted: October 16, 2019

Sheridan is committed to the safety -- both physical and social emotional safety -- of its students. This takes the form of active anti-bullying and restorative-justice based conflict resolution measures.

Posted: September 17, 2019

The homework is meaningful and additive - never busy work and never onerous

Posted: September 17, 2019

The teachers are creative and focused on student learning. They build a curriculum that feels relevant and engaging for the students. The curriculum and the materials are curated to excite curiosity and drive in the students.

Posted: September 17, 2019

Integrity and respect are the cornerstones of a Sheridan education.

Posted: September 17, 2019

The leadership of the school is focused on delivering the best outcomes for the students and fostering a supportive professional environment for the faculty and staff.

Posted: September 17, 2019

The school identifies where each student is in every aspect of their education and builds support and expanded opportunity response to their specific needs.

Posted: September 17, 2019

Posted: September 17, 2019

Excellent. Sending our children to Sheridan was the best decision we have made as parents.

Posted: October 11, 2018

Except for the first week in kindergarten, when my daughter was hoping maybe we'd change our minds and let her stay home forever, Sheridan has been a wonderful experience. It may not be advertised that every single person at the school knows your child by name, and that every single teacher knows your child well. But at Sheridan they do, and when you take into account that this school makes your child's social and emotional development as high a priority as their development as critical thinkers, the size and intimacy of the school makes sense. My daughter is now an eighth grader, and was thrilled this week to finally meet her own kindergarten buddy. It seemed like only yesterday that she was the smallest child in the school. Now she's a nurturing presence to the smaller kids, an enthusiastic science and math student, with a wonderful ability to concentrate for extended periods of time. She's also an engaged warrior for social justice, and is able to offer her thoughts on the news of the day. It's an interesting time for a girl to come of age, with so much pervasive, belittling speech in our national discourse, and I am sure l that her development as a strong, thoughtful human being has been shaped by Sheridan.

Posted: October 11, 2018

Posted: October 11, 2018

Posted: October 11, 2018

Posted: October 11, 2018

Posted: September 25, 2018

Sheridan has been wonderful for our daughter but equally great for our family. There is a sense of community and belonging at Sheridan that extends not only to the students but also to the parents. We have been appreciated and heard during our time at Sheridan by the administration. The “love of learning” and “willingness to take chances” that Sheridan instills in the student body is also readily apparent in the faculty.

Posted: September 25, 2018

Posted: September 25, 2018

Posted: September 25, 2018

Posted: September 25, 2018

Posted: September 25, 2018

Posted: September 25, 2018

Posted: September 20, 2018

Our children have gone to Sheridan from K-8, with our last son finishing up this year. Our kids have consistently liked going to school here, and we believe this is because they felt very safe to just be themselves every day. It is a remarkable place if you are trying to raise kids who are community-minded and strong in character. The academics are excellent as well, without being over-the-top or a pressure-cooker like many of the schools in town. The teacher support at Sheridan is strong, so you get happier adults engaging with your children every day. It is a comparatively small school, which we found helpful, but some people and children don't. They strive and succeed better than many schools to provide equity, though it is still a private school so not as diverse as a public school would be. Overall we couldn't be happier with the school.

Posted: September 20, 2018

Posted: September 20, 2018

Posted: September 20, 2018

Posted: September 20, 2018

Posted: September 20, 2018

Posted: September 20, 2018

Posted: September 11, 2018

We have had an excellent experience at Sheridan, where our daughter has been enrolled since K. Her fellow students are kind, interesting and engaged. The faculty has been exceptional - not only to our child but to every child that crosses the door. Sheridan is a very intentional place - it is intentionally small (one class per grade), the co-teaching model is intentionally designed to bring out the best in both the students and teachers and the school as a whole is intentional in its mission, strategic priorities and direction.

Posted: September 11, 2018

Posted: September 11, 2018

Posted: September 11, 2018

Sheridan was the only DC recipient of a national School of Character Award in 2017. The school underwent an intense review as part of the assessment for this award, it was deemed outstanding.

Posted: September 11, 2018

Posted: September 11, 2018

Posted: October 9, 2017

Posted: October 9, 2017

Posted: October 9, 2017

Posted: October 9, 2017

Posted: October 9, 2017

Posted: October 9, 2017

Posted: October 9, 2017

It is hard to put into words what makes this school so special- it certainly is in part the ability to synthesize the mission of the school into concrete practices. The school is a Progressive model in educational theory. Starting in kindergarten they foster intellectual exploration by offering space for risk taking, encouraging creative problem solving, valuing the diversity of perspectives and knowing and working with others to complete task of varying degrees of complexity. There is respect for multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion that is evident from the moment you walk through the doors, and which presents itself throughout the curriculum. They have a Mountain Campus in Luray, Virginia which too is integral to the school’s fundamental belief in outdoor education and environmental justice. The school really ticks off so many important boxes for me- but in truth what is most important is the way my now 3rd grader demonstrates her love of learning, her love of Sheridan and her love of the wonderful friends she has made there. She is genuinely happy at Sheridan, and that is such a sweet relief for me.

Posted: June 3, 2016

We found Sheridan almost by accident but in the end we're quite happy we did. As two dads we were not sure what to expect but the true commitment to diversity at the school is very impressive. Not that they have it perfect -they don't - but they are willing to have tough conversations and look beyond band aid solutions.

Academically, I am still working to understand the nuance behind the term "progressive education" but what I see is a school that focuses on teaching kids how to think. We were super impressed by the approach to math - it's not just rote memorization (although there is some). I even learned to think about math differently because of it.

The school has been having some great discussions about the future. I was very pleased to see that as part of the strategic planning process both feeder and destination schools were interviewed and the overall opinion of Sheridan was very high. Although our family is not thinking about high school yet, it's great to know that the Sheridan kids are sought after for their maturity and their inquisitive approach to learning.

In addition to the very warm and safe school environment, we found that our son LOVES the after school activities as well. From Karate to breakdance to "future makers" he's enjoyed it all.

Overall, we've loved our Sheridan experience so far. We've become fond of the kids, the staff, the parents and the overall community.

Posted: June 1, 2016

Our son loves Sheridan and so do my husband and I. Sheridan School offers a progressive curriculum which is helping our son become a more critical thinker. Sheridan also offers a safe, caring and inclusive school environment. The teachers are great! They're highly educated, great at communicating the weekly class assignments (via the class blog) and are always available to give us advice and/or updates on his progress. Sheridan has been a great fit, not just for our son, but also for our family.mar

Posted: July 4, 2013

Sheridan has been an incredible experience for our children. It is caring, nurturing, and extremely child focused - things that make it a safe place for our kids to try new things, stretch themselves, and explore complex ideas and concepts. We have had wonderful experiences with teachers in every grade so far who care about our children as people and learners. From languages to art to science, they work to engage each kid where they are and stretch their limits. If you are considering Sheridan, I encourage you to go to an open house and talk to one of the 8th graders - the best measure of a school's success. You will be blown away by their maturity and poise, and by the fact that they are truly well-balanced, kind, thoughtful human beings. Both my daughters look up to the older kids at the school and feel connected to and supported by them. It is a real community, not snobby, not racist, not quirky. Take the negative posts with a real grain of salt - and go visit and see for yourself. It is an amazing place.

Posted: October 1, 2012

This is a wonderful school. Completely supportive of all types of children and families, academically challenging, with a focus on social/emotional development. We could not have asked for a better environment. Everyone knows my child so she will never get lost. Attentive teachers and administration who view parents as partners in their child's academic success.

Posted: April 12, 2012

This school has been wonderful for my daughter. She has come out of her shell and gain so much confidence. She loves the close knit community. This is a great school for those looking for a small, nurturing and creative environment.

Posted: September 15, 2009