Mission

McLean School of Maryland is an independent, coeducational, day school for students in kindergarten through grade 12*. We offer an innovative and flexible program to accommodate both traditional learners and those with learning differences. At McLean, we honor and support both cultural and intellectual diversity. Children thrive in our nurturing and stimulating environment, emerging with an enthusiasm for learning, strong academic skills, confidence to meet new challenges, and a sense of responsibility toward their community and others. At McLean School, reaching one's personal best is not just an ideal. It is our mission.

* Grade 10 added in 2000, Grade 11 in 2001, Grade 12 in 2002.

McLean's Commitment to Diversity/Equity

McLean School's commitment to diversity/equity is an extension of our long-standing commitment to learning styles and differences. McLean em-braces diversity and values the integrity of all individuals. We offer equi-table opportunity to learn from the wealth that diversity renders to all community members in the recognition of differences of ethnicity, race, religion, socio-economic status, culture, color, sexual orientation, or gender. This recognition enriches our community and encourages our students to be better leaders and more responsible citizens. We believe that our students will acquire an appreciative sensitivity to different people and cultures and that they will be more secure in themselves and better prepared to enjoy the richness and possibilities of the wonderfully diverse world they will inherit.
Toward this end, McLean School commits itself:

to continue to develop a school culture and curricula that will teach our students both the skills and the sensibilities necessary for living in a world of change and difference;

to achieve an educationally enriching level of diversity in the student body, faculty, staff, and Board of Trustees;

to provide the resources and support equitably to secure the self-es-teem of every child;

We expect that all community members will support diversity/equity at McLean School, just as we expect that all community members will benefit from that work.

Adopted by the Board of Trustees: March 1997

Facilities

McLean School is situated in Potomac, Maryland 12 miles northwest from Washington, DC. Potomac is a gentle rolling, suburban area. McLean's nine acres are on a residential side street surrounded by lovely homes and townhomes.

The main structure of 47,000 square feet was built in the 1960's as a Montgomery County elementary school. McLean took possession in 1978 and completely renovated the building in 1991. In 1996 a 10,800 square foot gymnasium was completed. The site contains two fields for soccer, baseball, field hockey, lacrosse as well as a playground and equipment for children aged 5-11.

McLean's 37 classrooms house between 12 and 16 students each.

The School's 10,000 volume Library is fully computerized. McLean offers two large, up-to-date computer labs, and a separate computerized Library reference room, all linked to the Internet. In addition, classrooms are equipped with computers.

History

In 1954, McLean School was established and headed by Lenore and Delbert Foster, whose mission for the School was to provide a unique environment for learning that would serve the needs and gifts of all kinds of students. After the Fosters' retirement in 1978, a group of parents, faculty, and staff formed a non-profit corporation for McLean School and relocated to the present Lochinver Lane campus in Potomac, Maryland.

McLean's Innovative and Flexible Program

Our approach to academics is as broad, varied, and complex as the children we teach. From its beginnings, McLean School has maintained a dual program which, as our Mission states, accommodates traditional learners and those with learning differences. We recognize that children have many different learning styles and that - at any point in his or her development - a particular child's academic needs can and do fall along a continuum.
: We are constantly reminded that there is no one way to teach ... or one way to learn.
: Over the years, the dual program has expanded from two sections in a course to as many as a half-dozen; we can now place students at many points along the continuum as dictated by their skill levels, their academic strengths, and their learning styles.
: Our curriculum is challenging for all students, because it requires them to think in new ways, to utilize all their senses, and to discover innovative paths to knowledge and understanding. In every course, at every level, we encourage our teachers to use innovative methods; multi-sensory approaches; an organized, systematic teaching style; and interesting, challenging, age-appropriate materials.
: Students who need more guidance and structure to develop skills and learning strategies receive support in small groups with low ratios of students to teachers. Others may work independently in slightly larger classes, often at a faster pace. Smooth transitions between the sections of all disciplines are well planned, with good communication among teachers, parents, and support services if necessary.
: Throughout the program, with all the students, there is encouragement and motivation to stretch and progress, to challenge oneself to achieve higher and higher goals.

Special Programs

McLean's special programs include Visual and Performing Arts, Athletics, Computer, Drama, Health, Music, Mindfind, Speech Pathology, Full Time Nurse, Financial Aid, Summer Programs, Learning Specialists, and Psychologist.

Accreditation

The McLean School is accredited by the Association of Independent Maryland Schools (AIMS) and the Maryland State Department of Education.

Memberships

Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington (AISGW)

Association of Independent of Maryland Schools (AIMS)

Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE)

National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)

Black Student Fund (BSF)

Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)

Learning Disabilities Association (LDA)

Parents of Gifted and Talented/Learning Disabled Children

The Alumni Program Council for Independent Schools

The Parents' Council of Washington, D.C.