MARY MCDOWELL FRIENDS - UPPER

A family whose 9th-12th grader has a diagnosed language-based learning disability (dyslexia, dysgraphia, etc.) and thrives with small, structured classes and a values-driven, not religiously prescriptive, community.

• A 4.1-to-1 student-teacher ratio, which is unusually tight even among specialized schools and lets teachers tailor instruction daily.
• Specialized academic programming — Orton-Gillingham PAF for reading, Judith Hochman's Teaching Basic Writing, and Structural Arithmetic — built around language-based learning differences.
• Spanish and ASL both offered as world languages, an unusual pairing that signals an unusually broad view of what "language" means.
• A Quaker (Friends) framework that weaves values like integrity and social responsibility into the school day without heavy religious instruction.
• A real visual and performing arts program, uncommon at a school this small and specialized.

• Tuition sits at $87,000 for 2025-26 with a single price point, putting this among the most expensive high schools in the city.
• There is no lower or middle school here — this is grades 9-12 only, so families with younger children will need a separate elementary placement or feeder plan.
• Parent reviews are mixed: families praise teachers, class size, and rigor but raise concerns about administration.
• The student body is 65.9% white, so families looking for a more racially diverse peer group may want to weigh this carefully.
• This is a school built around learning differences, not a general-admissions college-prep school — the fit is specific.