Frequently Asked Questions
Please read below to learn more about our school. If you'd like to find out more in person, please contact our admissions team at admissions@thesentschool.org or give us a call at 703-815-1002.
What ages/grades do you offer?
We have programs starting from 18th month all the way to 8th grade.
Our preschool program accepts children at 18 months of age and is a year-round program. Children going into our K3 program and up must be fully potty-trained to be accepted.
Our Kindergarten to 8th Grade school follows a 10 month academic calendar from September to early June. Students must be of qualifying age by September 30 of the start of school year in order to be accepted at each grade level.
What is your teacher:student ratio?
At the preschool level the ratios will align with the licensing requirements set by the Virginia Department of Education for childcare centers. We expect to fall within this range:
18 months - 1:4
2 years - 1:6
3 years - 1:8
4 years - 1:10
Kindergarten-8th Grade - 1:14
What are your school hours?
Our school hours will be 8:45am - 3:15pm. We will have a carpool kiss and ride lane set up starting at 8:30am, for parents to begin dropping off students. We will begin instruction at 8:45am, and students will be considered tardy after 9:00am.
We will keep attendance records for all students. Kindergarten to 8th Grade students with excessive tardiness or unexcused absences will be reflected on their report cards, and may impact their performance.
Do you have a school calendar?
Please check out our calendar page for specifics, but our elementary school runs on an academic calendar, from September to June. We follow closely with Fairfax County Public Schools for holiday breaks such as Christmas and Easter.
Our Preschool runs year-round; however, we consider the academic year to start in September and go through June. We do not consider our school to be a daycare--we will have several breaks that follow a similar schedule as the public schools. The school will continue during the summer months with very similar structure, but with more enrichment and special activities, as well as integration of VBS curricula.
Do you provide extended care options?
We have extended options for an additional cost, listed on our tuition page.
Morning: 7:00am - 8:30am
After School: 3:00pm - 6:00pm
What is the tuition? Do you provide any tuition assistance?
Please refer to the admissions page on the website to see our tuition rates, discounts, and any available promotions.
We provide financial aid, determined by an outside need-based financial analysis system called FAST. We will refer you the application upon request.
Will you provide lunch or snack?
Parents should pack a daily nutritious snack for the children. We currently finalizing with a school catering vendor with options for hot lunch, and will update with more information and cost.
What makes TSCS different from other schools?
We are the only structured Christian school in Northern Virginia that accepts children from 18 months old. We believe in the importance of children not only being exposed to a structured school, but a Christ centered safe environment as early as possible.
What is a structured school?
We consider ourselves to be a structured school because we utilize published curriculum that aligns with national standards, starting from our preschool and into elementary. Although we incorporate opportunities for free play and exploration in our preschool setting, our teachers are trained in specific Christian-published curriculum instruction. Our rigorous program has been carefully reviewed and developed in order to prepare for accreditation through ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International).
Having a structured preschool setting allows for smoother transition into our elementary program; Kindergarteners can quickly excel and advance because of their familiarity with the structured setting and curriculum.
We also do assessments for students starting in K4. All students must pass a re-assessment each year in order to be accepted for the following year.
What is Accreditation?
Virginia Law does not require private schools to undergo accreditation. However, achieving accreditation demonstrates a high quality program as the school must undergo a rigorous process in order to meet the qualifying standards. The school is graded in areas such as daily operations, curriculum and assessment, qualifications of teachers, and financial accountability. Accreditation status also indicates that the school program is recognized and accepted upon student transfer to another private or public school.
Accreditation is a lengthy process that takes 2-3 years to complete, but at TSCS we believe this is an important step in order to provide transparency and accountability for our program.
What is Christian-published curriculum?
At TSCS, we do not develop our own curriculum, but use established publishers who have been at the forefront of Biblical-based curriculum in a variety of subject areas including Bible, language, social studies/science, and math. We believe in the importance of having the children learn academic subjects from a Christian worldview. We also review all curriculum thoroughly to ensure that it covers all the national standards for each grade level.
What is your discipline policy?
As a Christian school we believe in the importance of shaping the students to be Christ-like in their thoughts and actions. Students are expected to live according to the Word of God, responding to one another in love, and growing in the development of Godly character as described in Galatians 5:22-23 (...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control.")
Our teachers use positive reinforcement to encourage the students to demonstrate Christ-like behavior. The children are expected to show respect and obedience towards their teachers. Age-appropriate consequences are given when students consistently react in defiance or misbehaviors. We believe that a strong partnership and transparent communication with the parents is essential to addressing behavior.
Do you use any formal assessments?
We use the ASQ-3 Assessment Scale for our Preschool students in order to track their developmental progress in areas of social, physical, emotional, and intellectual.
Starting in Elementary with Kindergarten, we will administer the IOWA standardized tests in the spring time to assess student knowledge in subject areas of language, math, science, and social studies. The IOWA test is nationally recognized and aligns with the Common Core standards. It is commonly used in schools in combination with other non-verbal tests to determine entrance to gifted programs.
*We do not administer COGAT testing as FCPS does for entrance to the AAP (Advanced Academics Program), because it does not accurately assess mastery of grade level material.
What languages do you offer?
All of our instruction is taught in English; however we will offer foreign language class options in both Spanish and Korean. Parents will have an option to choose which language they would like their child to take.
Foreign Language class will be taught 1-2 times a week by a special teacher.
Do you utilize technology in the classroom?
Our preschool minimizes the use of technology as we believe that early learners should have hands-on interactive instruction, and engage socially with the teacher and peers.
Our plan is for the elementary school to have technology available in the classroom for enrichment. In addition, we will have a designated technology teacher as the primary instructor in lessons and exposure to using a computer. Older grades will explore topics in STEM such as design, coding and robotics.
How will you address Covid concerns?
As a private school, TSCS has the option to develop own our policies regarding masking and other restrictions. We will be following the CDC recommendations at the start of school to determine how we will move forward. Because we have both preschool and elementary students, the recommendations and policies may differ between different age groupings. The policies are also subject to change, depending on the level of local transmission and exposure. We will do our best to use a variety of mitigation strategies to keep our students safe, while prioritizing in-school instruction.
More detailed information about the policies will be provided during enrollment.
Contact Us
Do you have a question that was not listed above and would like to have more information? Please contact our admissions team at admissions@thesentschool.org or call us at (703)815-1002.