McLean School of Maryland

Posted: August 22, 2026

Hated it here and it’s 3x the cost of my college tuition smh…not worth it hated every minute

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Posted: April 3, 2025

this school sucks. I go here PE department sucks. Many kids leave mid year. teachers constantly belittle kids

Posted: October 18, 2024

I used to go here and of the time I was here 2+ years I had 5 adults I could trust and didn’t see me as a diagnosis that had to be treated. There’s no care about bullying/ harassment(physical mental etc.) but we were also told to not tell people that we were being bullied. and the dress code is sexist.

Posted: October 18, 2024

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Posted: October 9, 2024

We have just started our third year at McLean School and have been very happy. Our son is a bright kid but has ADHD and dyslexia. In his previous school, he was unable to get the support he needed to learn to read and his frustration was treated as a behavioral problem. At McLean, he has made significant progress and moreover has a strong sense of self esteem.

The school is very diverse which we did not expect for a school in Potomac, MD. It also ensures that not only are all people are welcome but that everyone better understands each other. It is also a very active and supportive parent community. The Parents Association is very welcoming and inclusive and has many social, educational, and service oriented activities throughout the year for both families and just for parents.

The teachers are well trained, kind, and very communicative. The administration is also very accessible. The senior leadership including the head of school, associate heads of school, and division heads attend many parent events and engage actively with parents.

We are very happy with McLean.

Posted: October 9, 2024

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Posted: May 28, 2021

I just moved out of McLean and I just wanted to say how great I think McLean is. The teachers are trained really well and love teaching. They don't tolerate bullying and at a young age students are taught the importance of kindness and respect of their peers and to their teachers. Of course I have had my experience with bad teachers but even they aren't the end of the world. McLean is really big on mindfulness which while I was there thought it was silly, was I finally left the school I realized how great it actually was. I can easily calm myself down if I get mad and I don't normally do. It is really easy to make friends at McLean and no matter what, people treat like family. Even when I'm gone I still keep in touch with all of my friends that still go to McLean. I have ADHD and they taught in a way so that I could understand easily. I have to admit McLean's homework is pretty easy but before I left, it got better. Having PE everyday really helped me get all of my energy out and help me stay focused, they play a lot of fun games that make PE really fun! I had a teachers in 4th grade that truly changed the way I thought of math, she taught in a way that made everything really fun. Thanks Ms. Murphy! Overall I had a wonderful time at McLean and it taught me the importance of being a good person, and teaches very well.

Posted: May 28, 2021

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Posted: February 10, 2021

My son attended Mclean High School for 18 months. Most of that time he has been on-line and not in school due to the corona-virus. I must say for the $50K tuition the school is not worth the headache. The administration fails to use common sense in dealing with daily "kid" issues. If you choose this school expect the administration to not listen to your concerns or thoughts in dealing with your child. Expect their-way-or-the-highway rule of law. You are not a customer in their eyes. Also expect to be a very proactive parent following up with every teacher and making sure your child succeeds, because the Mclean staff won't. I expected a education team to work with the parents and students for a successful outcome. I was very disappointed... and I've spoken to many parents over the past two years who have felt the same and removed their kids from the Mclean School. I recently removed my son as well... but if your unhappy with the schools performance don't expect any refund, apology or guarantee...you won't get one.

Posted: February 10, 2021

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Posted: December 9, 2019

Posted: December 9, 2019

Posted: December 9, 2019

Posted: December 9, 2019

Our experience with McLean was extremely negative. My child attended McLean for a short period of time, before McLean asked us to withdraw our child without providing justification for the decision. Communication from school administration was very poor. It was difficult to find another school to admit our child on very short notice in the middle of the semester. I would not recommend this school.

Posted: December 9, 2019

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Posted: November 20, 2019

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Posted: November 20, 2019

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Posted: November 20, 2019

I highly recommend this school to a parent that is looking for a K-12 school who embraces your child for who they are, celebrates their talents, supports their challenges and invests in positive outcomes for every student. This dynamic, empathetic community puts the students at the heart of every decision and every aspect of school culture. McLean teachers truly care about the social-emotional well-being of the students, not just the academics (although the academics are strong). The relationships they build with the students are authentic and last through the students’ tenure at the school – you can see it in the hallways and at school events. The faculty helps foster learning by creating a nurturing and supportive classroom community that enables students to take risks in their learning, make mistakes, voice their opinions, share their perspectives and learn how to self-advocate. Simply put, they make kids feel good about themselves and recognize the greatness they have within.

Posted: November 20, 2019

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Posted: October 30, 2019

My two sons had an amazing experience the moment they entered McLean School

Posted: October 30, 2019

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Posted: September 25, 2019

The education in emotional learning starts in the lower school and continues through the upper school.

Posted: September 25, 2019

Posted: September 25, 2019

The staff is highly trained in meeting students where they are and finding the best way that each child learns.

Posted: September 25, 2019

McLean has no tolerance for bullying. They work hard to guide children starting in the lower school with how to be good citizens.

Posted: September 25, 2019

My two daughters have had an amazing experience at McLean.

Posted: September 25, 2019

They do not give busy work. Also, students can discuss with their teachers if they did not understand the homework. I end the battles at home caused by frustration.

Posted: September 25, 2019

I cannot say enough about the teachers. They are highly trained and obviously love what they do.

Posted: March 1, 2019

Horrible! Just plain horrible. The school does nothing about bullies. I’ve seen teachers ignore students who are being bullied. The bully gets a free pass to terrorize students.

Posted: March 1, 2019

Bullies all over the school. I’ve been bullied all of middle school. The teachers did nothing. They just gave me my money back and never said a thing.

Posted: March 1, 2019

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Posted: March 1, 2019

Was bullied for two years. Was told to leave by highschool conslor. He said that they wouldn’t get rid of the bully. I have been suffering from ptsd.

Posted: January 7, 2019

School follows a basic moral standard in the honor system which continues through to high school division. However, schoo l admin and staff are extremely lacking in promoting an open environment and in diversity in interacting with different people of different identities, genders, and ethnicities for students. Often it ends up being the more progressive student body that speaks up on behalf of social issues, it is troubling that many adults (there are exceptions of course )at this school are not the ones who are teaching children to be more open to others and understanding. In this vibe, it feels like the school admin wants to promote diversity and good ethics whatnot, but does not actually take real steps to ensure all staff follow this ideal, so that it can be taught to students.

Posted: January 7, 2019

Student council body, and clubs in general, lack much degree of independent autonomy from administration control, many titles are in name only. The only seemingly effective leadership for students is in the disciplinary honor system, where an offender is reviewed by elected peers for their transgressions. Overall, school admin leadership is lacking as well, although some staff are friendly regardless of your background.

Posted: January 7, 2019

Smaller classes benefit from better more direct assistance from teachers, particularlu in mathematics classes where, most of the time, material is taught in easy to understand ways.

Posted: January 7, 2019

No experience with bullying during my own time here, but the school does deal fitting degrees of punishments on blatant rule breakers (bringing dangerous items to school, fighting, vandalism, etc). The honor system in middle school however could use more work, and not just encourage carrot and stick rewards like honor stickers for good behavior, instead a more engaging moral class should be taught alongside curriculum like sex ed.

Posted: January 7, 2019

Homework quantity and effecgiveness difers for each teacher. In this aspect, it is inconsistent.

Posted: January 7, 2019

However, for a number of classes, this is due to the efficiency of the teacher's ability to teach an engaging class. Smaller to medium sized classes allow for individual student help. However, in recent years, some teachers have mood problems, though it is usually at a tolerable level.

Posted: January 7, 2019

Not amazing. During my time, our student body suffered from lack of voice against certain ridiculous private school regulations like school socks color, freedom of choice for female student body to wear pants or skirt, and various uniform dissatisfactions. There was also the fact sports and other liberal arts clubs have little diversity. Liberal arts clubs are not serious clubs and rely on teacher connections to outside sources to function as anything more than recreational waste of time, art courses need more drawing and sketching lessons starting early. We also saw more identity/ethinically diverse teachers get the boot for not fitting in with the Disney esque conservative progressiveness standard in administration. Several new hires (dominantly white) also were intolerant towards students who attempted to question them or for less reasonable reasons, presumably fron personality or job dissatisfaction. The staff in nurse office are not agreeable people either, lacking basic bedside manners and mostly sounding cynical and unwelcoming. High school counselors keep changing and each time they are not amicable amd effective educators who students can interact with or be open with for personal issues.

Posted: May 29, 2018

It has been a pleasure to have our daughter attend the school. This was her first year and she is doing very well and we look forward to greater achievements in the coming year. The school has also been terrific with providing financial assistance, albeit very competitive, but they do their best to accommodate.

Posted: May 29, 2018

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Posted: May 14, 2018

amazing staff!! This school has been totally transformative for our child....it is a place that is warm, welcoming, celebratory, and incredibly positive people!!!

Posted: May 14, 2018

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Posted: April 26, 2018

Homework gets progressively harder, but students are told to spen no more time than 1/2 hour.

Posted: April 26, 2018

Passionate teachers that get to know your child. They inspire and educate.

Posted: April 26, 2018

I have 2 children at McLean and they are both finishing up their third year. The teachers and staff at McLean are truly amazing and have transformed the lives of my children and our family. When my children came to McLean, they lacked confidence, doubted their intelligence and were a shell of who they are now. My daughter has discovered a passion for singing and science, and my son has become a master at math, and wholly dedicated to the award-winning school robotics team! Both of my children are thriving in the progressive and individualized culture of McLean school. We are lucky to have found it when we did!

Posted: April 26, 2018

Posted: April 26, 2018

Posted: April 26, 2018

Posted: April 26, 2018

I have 2 children at McLean and they are both finishing up their third year. The teachers and staff at McLean are truly amazing and have transformed the lives of my children and our family. When my children came to McLean, they lacked confidence, doubted their intelligence and were a shell of who they are now. My daughter has discovered a passion for singing and science, and my son has become a master at math, and wholly dedicated to the award-winning school robotics team! Both of my children are thriving in the progressive and individualized culture of McLean school. We are lucky to have found it when we did!

Posted: April 24, 2018

Both of our girls attend the McLean School. Our youngest attends the Middle School and is a traditional learner. Our oldest attends the Upper School and has mild to moderate learning challenges. We love McLean's small class sizes. The girls are supported academically and socially by experienced and qualified teachers, specialist and administrators. Most importantly, McLean has a supportive and friendly environment that fosters physical, emotional, social, and intellectual growth. It is a place where our children are happy, thriving and can live up to their full potential.

The girls often say that “It feels like I have been here my whole life.” We have heard Mr. Saxenian say that McLean is transformative. In fact, it has been transformative and life-changing for our family.

Posted: April 24, 2018

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Posted: April 12, 2018

McLean School has far surpassed our expectations!

Posted: April 12, 2018

Posted: April 12, 2018

They are passionate, dedicated and individualize instruction based on need.

Posted: April 12, 2018

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Posted: April 12, 2018

Students are taught in small groups based on their needs.

Posted: April 12, 2018

Posted: March 8, 2018

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Posted: March 8, 2018

I love working at McLean. The students are engaging, faculty incredibly experienced and supportive, and the parents dedicated.

Posted: March 8, 2018

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Posted: November 5, 2016

There is no clear and stated policy on bullying that is readily available to parents to understand how this is investigated or prevented.

Posted: November 5, 2016

If your child needs minimal differentiation and can function pretty independently, your child will be fine there in my opinion. Having a child who needs more structure and collaboration, I have had 50% of his teachers truly make an effort to work with us and our child to increase his academic outcomes. I would love to truly see the website's mantra scrolling at the bottom: K12 College Preparatory School Supporting Bright Students Individual Learning Styles. I don't see it and it borders on discriminative based on what you perceive as bright and your judgement of what individual learning styles are.

Posted: November 5, 2016

I am still unclear about the actual policies and structures of enforcement for teachers and students. If the question are they effective, I would disagree at this point. There need to be more clear and transparent to the community structures around all areas of administration for the expectations of parents and students.

Posted: November 5, 2016

They need to practice and model what they preach. Its not enough to have a brochure or a website that says we are caring and supportive if in reality there are more often than not instances where their practice does not meet their preaching.

Posted: November 5, 2016

I would say based on the teachers my child has had and does have now the percentage is 50/50. The ones who are effective are highly effective because the truly appear to understand and make an effort to work with the unique abilities of their students and it shows in their collaboration with parents and fair assessments in grading. While others inefficient planning, instructing and collaboration demonstrates a less effective way to determine if they even understand the school or students the school 'claims' they are sensitive to.

Posted: November 5, 2016

There is a lack of consistency on what the true expectations of homework are. All teachers are monitoring homework differently. Some teachers are highly efficient with working with students on homework and it is truly reflective of content taught prior to assigning while others are teaching very little in content and expecting homework to be an additional teacher vs. enforcing what was taught.

Posted: November 5, 2016

Being a parent for the second year of a student here, I would be remiss if I did not say my son loves the school as much as a 12 year old could but this would be based more on the social relationships he has formed with students who are very much like him and feeling a level of comfort in this. Being in the world of education myself, I am concerned that there is a disparity that exists at this school that I have experienced and in sharp contrast to the many reviews they give you at meetings and website that preaches differentiation and sensitivity. They need to re-visit their approaches to ensure that they are a staff that practices what they preach by ensuring ALL teachers have clearer expectations and their policies are more efficiently structured and enforced. The administration needs to also look at how they appear and interact with the school community to ensure they are living and modeling the expectations of students. Actually consider parent feedback and engage parents who have left this 'prestigious' school for what you could do better.

Posted: August 23, 2015

I was bullied for two years straight and the principal and teachers did nothing until my parents threatened to sue. I never want to go back, thanks to one girl who bullied everyone in my grade. Thanks to that school, I had fear of going to school and talking to people. Also they never taught any other ways for kids with learning disabilities. It's a waste of money, public school better in my opinion.

Posted: June 10, 2014

This has been the best year of school for my children . I could not ask for more from a school . McLean has given my children a family environment where they learn . It's like a big family . When my children are sick they insist on going to school . It's a nurturing environment . They look at a child for who they are and nourish them and guide them and bring the best out of each of them . I could not ask for more ! McLean school of Maryland , I give you a ten out of ten . A perfect score !! Thank you !

Posted: January 11, 2014

My child is flourishing at the McLean School in Potomac (not to be confused with the Potomac School). It's a friendly, fun place, where they accommodate different learning styles while challenging the students. Highly recommended.

Posted: October 7, 2013

McLean continues to be one of the best decisions we have ever made for our daughter. She is challenged and engaged in a caring environment by true education professionals. Yes, there have been recent administrative and faculty changes. As parents, we have seen these changes unify the staff, curriculum, and community at large. The new Head of School does not have a teaching background, but has plenty of experience in schools and has taken great strides to put knowledgeable teaching faculty into place at all levels of the school. Most importantly, we can see the effects on our daughter as she has developed into a confident student; someone willing to challenge herself in not only in the classroom, but in sports, music, art, and among her friends as well. There is no doubt that our daughter will be well prepared for college and beyond after her years at McLean.

Posted: June 26, 2013

I was concerned to see the most recent post stating that McLean used to be a good school. It is still a very good school. I do not deny the statements made about the new head of school, but let's give him a chance. The prior head of school was no great shakes either. No school is perfect, but McLean has wonderful teachers who understand kids who learn differently. The teachers and staff care about our kids and help them to succeed academically. My son has flourished. at McLean. Instead of being discouraged by school, he is motivated and cares about succeeding.