Frequently Asked Questions

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Q. What are the hours of the school day? Hide

A. The school day begins for all grades at 8:00am. Pre-Primary Mornings only program dismisses each day at 12:15. Pre-Primary Partial All Day program 8:00am – 12:15 three days a week and 8:00am – 3: 15 two days a week.

Pre-Primary All Day – 6th grade begin at 8:00am and dismiss at 3:15pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday is an early dismissal day at 2:00pm.

Q. Do you have an After School Program? Hide

A. Yes, Lowell has an after school program available for all students until 6pm each day.

Q. Does Lowell provide lunch? Hide

A. All children bring their own lunches

Q. Does Lowell provide transportation? Hide

A. Lowell does not provide transportation. Most Lowell families use carpools by using the zipcode/carpool helper available on our website. An S4 Metrobus stop is less than ½ block away at 16th and Kalmia streets. The Silver Spring Metro station is a few blocks north of the school.

Q. Where are you located? Hide

A. Lowell School is located in the Colonial Village neighborhood of NW Washington, DC. We are in close proximity to downtown Silver Spring, Takoma Park, and Shepherd Park.

Q. How many students do you have? Hide

A. There are just over 300 students at Lowell.

Q. What is the highest grade for Lowell? Hide

A. Lowell is a Pre-Primary (ages 3 -5) through Sixth grade school. Lowell's strategic Plan for 2008 includes the directive to "study and plan for the expansion of Lowell's program to 7th and 8th grades consistant with Lowell's educational philosophy and mission." The planning has begun and assuming all goes well, we will have our first 7th grade in either 2009-2010 or 2010-2011.

Q. How do I apply to Lowell? Hide

A. We hope that you will apply online. If you are unable to apply online please call our admissions office, 202-577-2000 to receive a hard copy. 

Q. How do I schedule a tour? Hide

A. To schedule a tour please contact the admissions office: 202-577-2004;mbelton@lowellschool.org or 202-577-2097; ssims@lowellschool.org

Q. How do I know when my child will have their applicant visit? Hide

A. After submission of the application, please contact the admissions office to schedule the visit. Applicants for Pre-Primary - Third grade will visit on one of two Saturdays. The Saturday Visit Dates can be found on our Student Visit page. For applicants of Fourth grade and above, visits are scheduled during the school day.

Q. What should my child wear when they come for a visit? Hide

A. We encourage children to wear comfortable clothes that they can work on the floor and use the playground. 

Q. Do you require outside testing? Hide

A. For applicants of Third grade and above we require the WISC, IV. We do not test students on site but we have a list of testers on our website.

Q. Does Lowell have a discipline policy? Hide

A. Lowell has a Behavioral Guidance and Discipline Policy to clarify school expectations for student behavior. The policy is predicated on a solid partnership between home and school. Our intention is to teach, practice, and develop the ability to exercise self-control in each student during his or her tenure at Lowell.

Q. How many new students are accepted each year? Hide

A. We generally have 55-60 new students each year with the majority of being in our Pre-Primary and Kindergarten programs. One to two spaces are available for First – Sixth grade by attrition. 

Q. Do you offer a foreign language? Hide

A. We offer Spanish as our second language. 

Q. What is your average class size? Hide

A. Our average class size is 18 students per class. Some grade levels have full-time teaching assists.

Q. What schools do most of your students come from? Hide

A. We have students that attend many different nursery or elementary schools in the Washington, D.C, Maryland and Virginia areas.