Seneca Academy

Seneca Academy is an independent, nondenominational school in Darnestown, Maryland, that runs from preschool through fifth grade. It traces its history to January 1983, when Jodi Thurmond and Marty Long opened The Circle School as a small preschool. Kindergarten was added in 1985, the elementary program (Seneca Academy) began in 1998, and the two names were consolidated under the single Seneca Academy name in 2009. The school has now passed its 40-year mark in the same community.

The academic program is built around the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. Seneca Academy hosted the IB visiting team in May 2012 and received full authorization as an IB World School that September, making it one of the area's authorized PYP schools. The PYP framework is designed for ages 3 to 12 and is taught here using an inquiry method, with hands-on units and high-level thinking activities rather than rote instruction. Classes work through a Program of Inquiry made up of six-week transdisciplinary units, and fifth graders cap their time at the school with an Exhibition project that they present to the whole community before moving on.

Enrollment options span several age groups. The youngest children can attend Parent's Day Out, a program for two-year-olds offered on two-, three-, four-, and five-day schedules. Preschool serves rising three-year-olds and rising four-year-olds (toilet training is required for all preschool programs except Parent's Day Out), with an extended-day prekindergarten option for older fours. Kindergarten students must turn five by September 1 of the entry year. Admissions run on a rolling basis and include an open house or private tour, an application, a student visit, and a parent meeting with the Head of School.

Seneca Academy is approved by the Maryland State Department of Education and is a member of the Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools (AIMS) and the Washington Small Schools Association (WSSA). For preschool, new families pay a nonrefundable $60 registration fee plus a 10 percent tuition deposit at registration, with the first tuition payment due in May. The school can be reached at (301) 869-3728. Note that this is a mainstream independent school: the website does not describe a special-education or therapeutic-services focus, so families seeking those supports should confirm fit directly with the admissions office.