Lowell School

1640 Kalmia Road Northwest

Washington, DC 20012

34 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on October 27, 2023

Unqualified administration treats teachers poorly and provides little instructional support. This results in a high level of teacher and student turnover. Parent community is largely ignorant of issues facing teachers. Very little discernible progressive pedagogy beyond surface DEI commitment. Curriculum is ill-defined, non-cohesive, and non-rigorous for many subjects in both lower and middle school. Administrators and some parents bully and threaten those who raise these issues respectfully. The result is a climate of fear for teachers, parents, and students. Administration fails to keep children safe, both physically and emotionally. Terrible school.
Submitted by parent on August 21, 2023

This school does not, in our informed opinion, adequately protect students against bullying.
Submitted by parent on November 03, 2022

Terrible people who hate women. No diversity, and they treat the small amount of diverse students terribly.
Submitted by parent on June 08, 2022

My child’s experience in the Primary school was lovely but the middle school had very difficult dynamics between the students. Girls in particular, but the boys were also very rough and tumble with many lewd jokes being made. The administration did not address the issue. They brand themselves as being a safe space for middle schoolers to grow but that is not the case. I would recommend the lower school but not anything above 5th grade.
Submitted by parent on May 15, 2019

I love this school and all involved in it. Highest quality people, highest quality teaching, without a doubt. I especially love to watch the magic of unsure children become confident - truly a magical place!
Submitted by parent on May 01, 2019

Our child is in their first year at Lowell and is having a wonderful experience. The small class sizes with two lead teachers allow every students needs to be met. The integrated curriculum and commitment to social justice is evident in the work he does and what he talks about. We had lots of options of schools and couldn't imagine a fit better than Lowell.
Submitted by parent on April 28, 2019

Lowell has been marvelous experience for both of our kids -- our younger one started in pre-primary and is now finishing first grade while our older one started in primary and is now in middle school. They have both really connected with their teachers as well as the curriculum and the program both in school and after school are terrific.
Submitted by parent on April 03, 2019

Our experience has been absolutely incredible! We feel so grateful to have our daughter at Lowell School!
Submitted by parent on February 19, 2019

Lowell is where my daughter wants to be. She comes home happy everyday. She misses school when there are long breaks. My dear daughter once told me she wants to be at Lowell forever. I let her know that Lowell goes through 8th grade so she would have to leave at some point. She agreed that she would stay through 8th grade.
Submitted by parent on January 31, 2019

Our experience at Lowell has been outstanding. From the extracurricular activities, aftercare program, sports teams and supporting kids academically, Lowell has met all of our needs.
Submitted by parent on January 30, 2019

Our son is new to the school this year and you wouldn’t know it- he feels at home here.
Submitted by parent on January 20, 2019

Phenomenal! My child is a better, more well-rounded person because of his many years at Lowell. The school teaches him that he is part of a global culture, where differences are welcomed and celebrated. This is incorporated into every aspect of the challenging curriculum. Neither is sacrificed for the other. Importantly, because of the low adult to child ratio, Lowell is able to meet every child where they are at any given point in time. When my son was having trouble learning to spell, he was given supplemental assistance with this skill until it was no longer an issue. At the same time, because he was advanced in math, he was given more challenging assignments and encouraged to work ahead, which he loved.
Submitted by parent on January 19, 2019

Our two recent Lowell graduates had a very positive experience at Lowell. It is a place where kids can discover their passion for learning. The teachers see and understand each individual student. I grew as a parent and appreciated the community and resources for parents.
Submitted by parent on January 12, 2019

Lowell will end up being the place where life's best memories were made with my kids.
Submitted by parent on December 31, 2018

Our family's experience at Lowell has been extremely positive. The community is supportive and is constantly looking to improve, even though they are already topping the charts in many aspects, including diversity, equity, inclusion, STEAM, and simply creating life-long learners who are leaders in their communities. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Submitted by parent on December 29, 2018

Our family has had an incredibly positive, thoughtful, and stimulating experience at this independent, progressive school. We’ve had two kids at Lowell, both went from primary school through 8th grade. It’s uniquely welcoming and forward thinking, but also offers students an academically challenging and integrated learning environment. The arts (music, visual arts studio, and black box theater), science (labs and adjacent Rock Creek Park), and athletics (pool and swimming program—where both our kids learned to swim—basketball, running, and field sports) are impressive and thrive at Lowell. The teachers are genuinely supportive and are the “secret ingredient” that make this pre-K-8 program exactly what recent pedagogical research says is the best environment for kids to grow into young teens. The parent community is really involved, too. The high diversity in the student body AND in the faculty and staff—including an incoming African-American female head of school—are a rare combination in an independent school in this area. Hard not to be enthusiastic!
Submitted by parent on November 12, 2018

Overall, we have been very impressed with the Lowell School. It is an experience-rich, nurturing and diverse environment. The parent community is fantastic and supportive.
Submitted by parent on February 01, 2018

Lowell School has been a great fit for all three of my very different children. Each child has their own unique needs and energy levels, yet Lowell manages to not only teach and reach them, but to push them to excel. My oldest graduated from 8th grade with confidence and pride. He easily meets the challenges of his rigorous high school, but even more importantly the joy of learning instilled in him by Lowell carries him through the daily high school grind. I feel blessed everyday to call Lowell my children's school.
Submitted by parent on January 28, 2018

When my family applied to Lowell, our oldest son wasn't even three-years-old. We knew who he was but didn't know who is was going to be. We looked at a lot of schools. We did our research. Canvased our network of friends and families who traveled this road. We considered the different pedagogies and how teachers were trained. My wife and I pondered if there was room for our child to grow academically, socially and emotionally. Most of the schools we considered met our threshold criteria: academic rigor balanced with constructive play that fosters individual creative expression and learning styles. At the end of the day, our family decided on Lowell because we thought it best represented our values as a family and where if we (as parents) had to go to school all over again Lowell is where my wife and I would want to be. While our oldest son has thrived at Lowell, in my mind, our youngest son has provided the best social proof that we made the right choice for our family by coming to Lowell. Our baby boy was born three months into our first year at Lowell. Just about every day of his life, he has visited Lowell's amazing beautiful campus and interacted with students, parents, teachers and administrators. If Lowell, wasn't a place he wanted to be, he certainly would have let us know.He let us know (constantly) that Lowell is where he wanted to be. "When I go to Lowell, Dad," was a constant question.He started pre-primary in the Fall and every morning he leaps out of the backseat with boundless joy and excitement.Although, both boys have very different personalities, Lowell has created an environment that has allowed them to flourish in their own ways. Yet, both share characteristic which I've come to learn are hallmarks of Lowell students: emphatic; creative problem solvers; articulate about the needs and the concerns of others; and a zest for exploring ideas and learning.
Submitted by parent on January 18, 2018

This is our 5th year at Lowell and we could not be more pleased with the school. Lowell has provided a warm, nurturing environment that has helped our child develop into a confident, engaged learner. We have been very impressed by the academic rigor of the curriculum at Lowell, and also by Lowell's efforts to promote the social-emotional growth of its students -- something many schools claim to do but, in our experience, few truly deliver. The parent community is extremely warm and welcoming, the campus is leafy and spacious, and we love the school athletic programs, that start as young as kindergarten in some sports (swimming, track) and allow every child to participate, regardless of ability. We feel very lucky to have landed at Lowell.