Washington Episcopal School

WES embodies the concept of 'respect for all'. The staff at WES are dedicated to learning about and respecting all cultures and backgrounds. My child has deeply learned about different nationalities, religions, and cultural traditions. Our heritage is West African and I was so impressed to see aspects of our culture incorporated into quizzes and class content. Honestly, I've learned a lot just from my child's readings and assignments. This is special to me given that, with a masters and doctorate, I've always considered myself to be highly educated :). In addition to teaching the students, the teachers learn your student. Report cards are comprised of in-depth, comprehensive information about child's learning style, strengths, challenges, and growth. This is in addition to a very intentional athletics program that keeps kids extremely active. Lots of recreation and extracurricular activities. Team sports start at 5th grade. It's impressive. I can't say enough about how worth it WES is. I'm grateful for the experience.

My kids transferred to WES mid year and have been there since 2021. WES is a school that prioritizes not just the academics but also the social emotional development of children so that they are well rounded kids and growing up to be good people. The school is responsive as things inevitably develop in kids' lives and collaborate with parents on how to resolve any concerns. We couldn't be happier to have our kids at WES.

My 2 boys have attended WES since kindergarten. They're now in 4th and 6ths grades and truly love going to school each day. The commitment of the teachers and staff is truly outstanding. After researching other schools, we chose WES based on the small class size, convenient location, amazing campus/building, and people. Both the employees and other parents are so nice and down to earth. New students are immediately welcomed and made to feel comfortable by the other students every year into every grade and sometimes mid-year. The atmosphere is designed to create growth in the students and you'll often hear the head of school enthusiastically talking about their 3 big goals: Kind, Confident, and Prepared. Go WES Dragons!

Our son joined WES last year as a fifth grader, and the transition couldn't have been smoother. He loved going to school (!) and quickly found his rhythm, worked hard, and developed a cohort of friends. We have been so impressed we bumped up his younger sister to the transition and she just started 4th this fall. They're juggling of home-schooling and the transition to a hybrid system has been second-to-none. WES is a terrific community, with terrific leadership providing an outstanding learning environment for the kids!

WES is a great school with a nurturing environment and diverse & inclusive community! Our daughter who is currently attending kindergarten loves her school and has continued to excel academically as well as being empathetic and kind to others! The small classroom size also allows a more-on-one attention from the teacher and students also get to know each other better. The school leadership works tirelessly to create an engaging school faculty and parent community.

I am a parent of a 4th grader at Washington Episcopal School and am very proud. This school has been a great transition for my son, especially coming from a smaller school (100 students). The school's attention to the whole child (academic, social and emotional) is what is most attractive about it. I am also very pleased with the diversity of the school and it's emphasis on making all families feel apart of the community. I am looking forward to many more years!

When we were searching for a school, we were looking for an Early Childhood Program that was developmentally appropriate: an active learning environment with a social-emotional focus and the right balance of play and structure. We have found this and much more at Washington Episcopal School. Our daughter is now in her 3rd year at WES. She started in Nursery at age 3 and is now in Kindergarten. Her teachers have been so nurturing, knowing exactly how to bring out the best in her. We have been delighted to see our daughter thrive in this wonderful school community, growing into a kind, confident and social 5 year-old. Actually, as first-time parents, we feel like our daughter's teachers have also been ours, as they have been an invaluable resource to our entire family. We couldn't imagine a better school fit.

My son attends preschool at WES and we could not be any happier. Having been transferred from abroad, we first registered for the summer camp and were so delighted with the warm, diverse and welcoming environment which really made a difference in our son's adjustment to the new city. The curriculum, teachers and staff are all wonderful and my son has developed new enthusiasm for school. Although we were concerned about his English skills, teachers have been amazing and he now feels comfortable with the language and is even taking on French at WES as well! It is just great to see our son happy and eager to learn. We definitely recommend WES to all parents in search of a great school!

WES as a second home to our son. How does it feel when your son gets up an hour earlier in the morning and ready to go to school? That is a story of our son in 1st grade at WES. We believe that our son found WES as a worm and cozy place. Beyond the outstanding job his teachers is doing in shaping our son academically his comfort with the school atmosphere made us to have faith in WES. WES is the future of our son!

My daughter has attended WES for four years, beginning in Nursery. The school's motto, "Be Kind," has permeated her experience as a student at the school and mine as a parent. The school embraces diversity, is dynamic and thoughtful in its curriculum, and truly recognizes and values each child as an individual. It is a warm and inclusive community, and a school that knows how to imbue its students with the tools and confidence they need to imagine and achieve their academic and life dreams.

Our oldest child started at Washington Episcopal School 4 years ago and we could not be more pleased with our experience there, both for our children and as a family. WES` balanced approach to academics, social development and play for children in the Early Childhood Program (pre-school through 1st Grade) has provided our sons with a supportive environment within which to develop a true love of learning. The WES community is friendly, down to earth, diverse and engaged; it`s been a pleasure getting to know other families through school-wide community events. Our second child started at WES in pre-school this year and we are excited to watch him join the school community and grow as a student under the care of his teachers. We highly recommend that anyone seeking a private school education for his or her child consider WES!

My 5th grade daughter has been at WES since kindergarten. While pursuing schools with social cachet names, I thankfully listened to a consultant who emphasized that the structured and individualized classroom approach would fit my daughter and its unassuming, down-to-earth community would fit me (a single mom). She was so right! My daughter loves school and is thriving in accelerated math, on the trumpet, with team projects, in robotics and more; she loves, loves to read and is working with teachers on keeping assignments organized and on track. We are a bilingual family and incredibly more than a third of her class is bilingual. WES is a great match for families from abroad - open and embracing. As a working mom, I love that the staff and administrators all know both me and my daughter - every conversation I have is a meaningful one. And best of all is the WES motto: BE KIND. It has been a constant guide and really means something at WES!

My son is a Nursery student at WES. I drop him off each morning and regularly head to work knowing we`ve made a great decision about sending him there. The faculty is incredible and works hard to foster a sense of community. It`s very common to have teachers in other grades greet him by name each morning. That does wonders for a three or four year-old`s confidence and ability to take on the day. The school goes to great lengths to accommodate working parents and to make the entire family feel connected and involved with the school. We absolutely love WES!

My two children transferred from public school to WES, one in 7th grade and the other in 4th grade. WES is an amazing school, with fantastic teachers; a rich, dynamic curriculum; and excellent sports and extracurricular activities. I wish our kids had started at WES much earlier, as they would really have benefited from the learning that takes place from nursery to 3rd grade.

This fall will be our 7th year at Washington Episcopal School. We started in Transition (pre-K) having looked at a variety of private school options in the greater Washington area. What drew us to WES, and what has held true, is that the kids are happy. For us, the line in the WES Mission Statement that "...learning should be joyful, because academic excellence and happy children belong together" sums up the WES experience. My children have been challenged academically, but in a way that enriches their learning. We have been fortunate to have so many kind, excellent WES teachers in our children's lives, from the first grade teacher who took the time to proof a story my daughter wrote outside school to the teacher who help transform my child's reading.

We have been at WES for 4 years and couldn't be happier with the quality of education our two daughters are receiving. We started out in Nursery and Transition (pre-K) and have seen first hand how the curriculum prepares our children to be accomplished students, strong learners, kind community members and respectful individuals. The small class sizes have been amazing for their educational development and they have now taken years of both French and Arabic even though they are only in 1st and 2nd grade! I highly recommend this school!