Stone Ridge School Of The Sacred Heart

Posted: October 4, 2025

Not always safe, there is bulling and as a parent my daughter complained in middle school about bullying. The principal asked to have empathy for the bullies - there parents being out of the country - they were foreign exchange. Of course, I did not have empathy for those mean girls.

While the last headmistress who es a nun was great, the current one is mercenary and only looking for star power (Katie Ledecky).

I am mbkvalent. Class size was fine. Curriculum fine.

An art teacher in middle school was absolutely useless.

Posted: October 4, 2025

Posted: October 4, 2025

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Posted: April 16, 2024

Posted: April 16, 2024

Posted: April 16, 2024

Posted: April 16, 2024

There is a culture of fear. No one is willing to say anything critical unless they are prepared to take their daughter out of school. Christian values have nothing to do with their practices. Money and clique rules the school. If you are a person of color and no big check to write, be prepared to be treated poorly by teachers and administration.

Posted: April 16, 2024

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Posted: January 28, 2024

Posted: January 28, 2024

Posted: January 28, 2024

Posted: January 28, 2024

Posted: January 28, 2024

Posted: January 28, 2024

I have to go to this school because my parents want me to. School sucks. There is too much homework, and teachers don't care to help. Bullying is common, and reporting gets you in trouble. I can not wait to get out of this school. I used to be a happy person until my parents put me in this school.

Posted: January 28, 2024

Posted: January 28, 2024

Posted: December 31, 2023

Go if you are white, rich, and catholic. Nothing wrong with a school being that if it is not sold as inclusive. Very little is taught in the class. Back breaking backpacks and all consuming homework. No time to do anything else. Stress is overpowering, leading so many students to anxiety disorders, medicines, and drugs. Once you get into the cycle, its hard to get out.

Posted: November 7, 2023

Stone Ridge is amazing!! My two daughters love it there, are learning so much, and socially thriving with all their friends. I would strongly recommend this school to anyone looking to build strong, happy, confident, smart, engaging girls and women!

Posted: November 7, 2023

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Posted: August 19, 2023

I have been at Stone Ridge for 10 years. It's a great school, and I recommend coming here is you
want challenging academic work.

Posted: August 19, 2023

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Posted: April 19, 2022

Stone Ridge is a stereotypical all-girls Catholic school: the teaching style is old-fashioned, legacy students are coveted, and bullying is prevalent, specifically in the lower school. Academically, the workload is immensely heavy, but more focused on memorization and regurgitation of information as opposed to critical thinking. Much like Golden Age academia, the fundamentals-based approach lays a solid intellectual foundation but completely neglects analytical skills and ingenuity in processing information. Catholic schools are notorious for utilizing education methods akin to Stone Ridge, but what sets the Sacred Heart apart is the teacher's active discouragement of intellectual and unconventional thought. During my time at Stone Ridge, in a lower school creative writing class, I was berated for my unique approach to a prompt and was sent to the "special education" tutor for the majority of other English classes...to provide perspective, after leaving the school, I was first published at age eleven, won several creative writing awards, was the head editor for my high school's magazine, and am now an English major in college. Understandably, at such a young age I was insulted that my teacher thought I was "intellectually challenged," but later realized Stone Ridge deems anything outside of the tight constraints of conformity as malignant. Similarly, in regards to student life, children are bullied for diverging from trends set by the "popular clique," which leaves the peer group as uniform in behavior as their mandated plaid jumpers. Though bullying is frequently brought to the school's attention, the administration turns a blind eye as most of the aggressors are either legacy students or have older siblings at the school, which provides that demographic with the Herculean shield of good 'old favoritism. In addition, the administration almost strictly allows legacies to stay back a year for athletic advantage, which is not only unfair but furthers lower school bullying due to size/development differences. In my class, I was the only one who stood up to bullies and frequently found myself in the Principle's office as a result. Essentially, the aggressors were enabled to behave atrociously and other students were just expected to conform and take it...needless to say, I didn't, as I not only finished whatever fight was started, but joined the annual lower school outplacement wave many moons ago. Save yourself the trouble and enroll your child elsewhere.

Posted: April 19, 2022

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Posted: June 30, 2019

Posted: June 30, 2019

Bullying incident with my daughter was very well handled.

Posted: June 30, 2019

Excellent experience after our first 2 years

Posted: June 30, 2019

There is a good amount of homework but teachers work together to balance things.

Posted: June 30, 2019

They are very willing to work with each child individually.

Posted: June 30, 2019

Posted: June 30, 2019

Very strong leadership at the middle school.

Posted: February 9, 2019

Our daughter experienced an episode of minor bullying. We brought it to the attention of the counselor who dealt with it discreetly and in ways so.no one felt conspicuous. The child who bullied her is now a good friend. There us so much emphasis on kindness and inclusion that our daughter says there is very little drama.

Posted: February 9, 2019

Stone Ridge us exceeding our expectations. We are not Catholic but our child feels welcome, included, challenged and happy.

Posted: February 9, 2019

Stone Ridge offers both study hall and supervised study

Posted: February 9, 2019

Teachers are devoted to maximizing academic and personal growth in each student.

Posted: February 9, 2019

Our daughter is becoming a kinder person since attending SR and is more sensitive to the feelings of her peers.

Posted: February 9, 2019

Both the head of school and head of middle school are excellent: visionary, student-focussed and good social skills with parents.

Posted: February 9, 2019

Our daughter is bright with learning differences and is flourishing. The school has a nice balance of structural.supports and challenging content. They are very discreet so that one has no idea which students have learning differences.

Posted: September 28, 2018

Sending our daughters there was the worst decision we ever made.

Posted: September 28, 2018

Posted: September 28, 2018

Posted: September 28, 2018

They do not like kids who are not superstars. I have one superstar and one developmentally-delayed kid. They kicked the delayed kid out.

Posted: September 28, 2018

They could care less about the kids unless they are photogenic and/or generating revenue.

Posted: September 28, 2018

They kicked my developmentally-delayed kid out. One of the richest Catholic schools in the nation said they did not have the capacity to deal with a developmental delay.

Posted: September 28, 2018

Posted: May 14, 2017

My daughter started at Stone Ridge this year in Lower School. We absolutely love the school. The new Head of Lower is knowledgeable, kind, and honest. The teachers are very good and we love the encouragement the girls receive to be good students and also good people.

Only drawbacks are lack of outdoor security on campus though you need to be buzzed into buildings and on the report cards when teachers say your child needs to grow in an area they don't state what they are going to do at school to help your child and what you should do at home.

Posted: December 12, 2015

I dated the Stone Ridge girl in high school, I sent a daughter there for ten years and now have grand daughters there today....I would do it all over again...the "Stone Ridge Girl" are real women; bright, independent and successful.

Posted: January 26, 2015

Stone Ridge is a well-intentioned school that works hard to live up to it's Christian (Catholic) principles in a city that is aggressive, demanding and highly competitive. Under the direction of Catherine Ronan Karrels, Stone Ridge is likely to see further development in the years to come. But, it has a little farther to go before it earns it's fifth star. There is variability in the quality of teachers and the school struggles with some of the "extras" that are not extras for many of the girls who attend - for example music, drama and the art. All in all, our daughter is happy, healthy and engaged there. The school works hard to honor diversity (in many ways), but the most successful are self-starters who do not get mired in the social tensions that an all-girl school can promote. (Stone Ridge does not generate as much social angst as some of the other upper tier all-girl schools in the area). The lower school is very good, the middle school is outstanding and the upper school is good - probably in that order. There will be new leadership in the upper school in the coming year, which could be a breath of fresh air. Would strongly recommend for many.

Posted: January 19, 2015

As an alumna of SR (1995), I often say that my experience there was the most pivotal preparation I had for life to follow. Academically, I never worked harder or developed more tools to support learning, organization and time management (and after SR, I graduated from a top 10 liberal arts college and earned a Master's degree). Socially, at the time, I was atypical because I enrolled for Upper School only (Many of my classmates had been together since Lower School), and my family was not upper-middle/upper class, dual-parent, or from Bethesday/Potomac/NW DC, but I found my niche and made life-long friends while feeling truly comfortable and included in my class as a whole. The other students and the toughest teachers were an inspiration to me. I worked harder, studied more, came out of my shell and set my sights higher based on the environment and students at SR. I was not carefree but I wasn't there for an easy ride! Attending SR was, by far, the most significant choice I ever made as a young person. And my family could not have done it without SR's offer of financial aid.

Posted: June 12, 2014

I graduated from Stone Ridge three years ago. Many people accuse the school of being a breeding ground for clique culture. I won't argue, but I will say that I think that is more a function of the elitist D.C. area private school mindset than of gator girls themselves. In fact, I was very impressed during my time at SR at the potential for every girl, regardless of her background or interests, to be very popular and well-liked. Loving to learn or being a member of the chess club does not make you a loser at Stone Ridge. It was refreshing for me to see that passion for academics and extracurriculars were seen as cool! Additionally, I feel that the single sex environment allowed us to realize our full potential for leadership and academic achievement. Academically, Stone Ridge is top notch; the education that I received there has made college a breeze, intellectually speaking. However, the size of the school, while great for fostering an environment of intimacy, can be rather limiting in terms of academic options - the courses offered are not very varied or exciting. Still, I am glad to have attended such a challenging and rewarding institution, and proud to call myself a gator girl.

Posted: March 1, 2014

Stone Ridge has been an excellent school for our family. Our daughter started at the school this year and our experience is exceeding our expectations. No school is perfect and there are many reasons for good vs. poor experiences at any school, but we have found Stone Ridge to be academically rigorous and challenging without being a pressure cooker. So far the teachers have been top notch. The school and its families are welcoming, supportive and highly diverse. We have not seen any evidence of strong cliques...certainly no more than we have seen in any other private or public school. In fact, any sign of a clique mentality is overtly frowned upon and actively discouraged in my daughter's class. Even the parents who are clearly very wealthy are super down to earth and roll up their sleeves without hesitation. The school may not be for everyone, but it is a wonderful place for highly motivated, community-oriented students and their families. My daughter was accepted to a number of highly competitive schools and we are very happy that we placed her in Stone Ridge.

Posted: January 1, 2014

To address the girls talking about clique issues... I was honestly very surprised. Maybe things have changed from when I graduated, but my class got along phenomenally well for high school girls. (at least that is what I perceived). At college, my new friends would joke that all girls schools are full of drama, and I was quick to correct them, telling them how it wasn't like that at Stone Ridge. It's almost as if the academics are so challenging you had no choice but to be supportive and kind to each other if you wanted to get through it. (Academically, your daughters will thank you when they get to college, trust me.) Yes, girls had their groups of friends, but overall everyone got along. No bullying, exclusion, any of that. We were taught better than that at Stone Ridge.

Posted: December 28, 2013

We are former parents of three Stone Ridge graduates. They are lifers, which means that they were at Stone Ridge from Kindergarden to graduation. They went on to excellent colleges and graduate schools. They are successful, well adjusted, great moms and wives, excellent in their professions; involved in community service; they are happy and loving. I believe that part of their success is due to the education that they received at Stone Ridge. I love the school and continue to recommend it highly to prospective students and their families.

Posted: December 16, 2013

I think it's very telling that most of the negative reviews here are from former students. As a former student myself, there are definite pros and cons. Educationally, SR is phenomenal. I've never known a graduate who struggled academically in college. The commitment to community service is still with me. Some of my best friends even now are classmates. But this is largely because we formed that intense bond that stems from a shared trauma. Socially... middle school is miserable no matter where you are, but the girls there are nothing short of magnificent in terms of psychological torture. Given that the coping mechanisms employed when I was there were pills, liquor, and bulimia, it seems only a matter of time until major tragedy. The guidelines are there for this to be an amazing place, which is why the reality is so disappointing. If the focus was placed on compassion and kindness rather than kilt length and competition, maybe things would be different. Having said that, my being the strong and successful woman I am today has a lot to do with my education (and rebellion) from SR. I'm just not sure "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is a great educational philosophy.

Posted: July 28, 2013

A few notes to add Our experience has been wonderful! Our daughter transferred from public school and loves SR. We ve found it to be a very nurturing, caring and welcoming environment that s academically challenging (but not extreme), religious based emphasizing values, with a focus on social awareness and action. The sense of community in our class, and I d say the school as a whole, is quite healthy. Parental involvement is very strong; enjoyable and probably expected, enriching but not overburdening. We re very impressed with the administration. SR apparently had a bumpy ride for a while years ago, but that seems to have long since passed. Some reviews address the issue of cliques. My take on it: you ll find it everywhere in life. We have not encountered that at SR, but high school will soon be upon us and it s possible we will. Personally, I grew up on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale in a decidedly blue-collar environment that was full of cliques, snobbery and elitism. While there is a wide variety of financial means among families at Stone Ridge, we ve always felt and been included, and we ve never experienced the classism I grew up with. Come see for yourself!

Posted: August 9, 2012

Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart has provided our daughter with an excellent academic and extra-curricular environment to learn and grow. The curriculum is excellent. We were very happy with our son's high school but find that Stone Ridge has a curriculum that allows the students to drill deeper into each subject. The student:teacher ratio is great. The faculty are engaged and really care about their students. They encourage each student to do their best. Stone Ridge provided an opportunity for our daughter to play a varsity sports and assume a leadership role in student government. Our daughter has a wonderful circle of friends who are supportive, hardworking and focused young ladies. We have every confidence that our daughter will be ready to go to any college of her choosing at the end of the four years. Most importantly, Stone Ridge has reinforced our family values through the school environment, value for leadership and community service.