What’s Barron Trump’s new school like? Private, pricey and a long commute from White House. It’s also praised for its ‘diversity’ and its approach to teaching.
Barron Trump will be attending a private Episcopal school in Maryland — praised for its « diversity » — starting in the fall, first lady Melania Trump announced Monday.
Word leaked last week that Barron, 11, the youngest child of President Trump, would attend St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Md., but the first lady’s press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, declined to confirm it, citing privacy concerns.
But after the school put out a letter to parents Monday confirming Barron’s attendance, the East Wing responded with a statement issued by Mrs. Trump, Grisham said in an email.
« We are very excited for our son to attend St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, » her statement said. « It is known for its diverse community and commitment to academic excellence. The mission of St. Andrew’s is ‘to know and inspire each child in an inclusive community dedicated to exceptional teaching, learning, and service, ‘ all of which appealed to our family. We look forward to the coming school years at St. Andrew’s. »
Barron has not been seen much in Washington since the inauguration, although he attended the White House Easter Egg Roll in April. But he and his fifth-grade class traveled by bus to Washington last week to meet the president, have lunch and tour the White House, Grisham confirmed Monday.
As with previous presidential families with young children, the Trumps are trying to keep their son from too much exposure in the media, and generally the mainstream media, including USA TODAY comply, covering him only when he’s in public with one or both of his parents.
St. Andrew’s is described as a co-ed college prep school for grades 6-12. Tuition for those grades tops more than $40,000 a year, but starts at about $23,000 for pre-kindergarten children. The school is located in a Maryland suburb of Washington, about 20 miles from the White House.
On its website, the school cites its « joyful and supportive atmosphere, celebrating its students’ diversity of interests, backgrounds and abilities and developing each child’s potential in the ‘four pillars’ of academics, arts, athletics, and spiritual life. »
It also stresses « research-informed education » strategies that try to improve how teachers teach and how students learn. « Teachers love to teach here and students are happy here. And as our own research has shown, happy students learn best, » the school says on its website.
Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, is an alumnus, according to the school’s recent interview with the billionaire, who has become a major philanthropist.
Barron Trump, who has been attending a private school in Manhattan on the Upper West Side, is finishing up the school year there, delaying his and his mother’s move to Washington and life in the White House until next month. President Trump recently told Bloomberg that he and the first lady had picked a « good » new school for him in Washington but didn’t say at the time which one.
The most recent presidential children of school age, Malia and Sasha Obama and Chelsea Clinton, all attended Sidwell Friends, the highly-regarded co-ed Quaker day school northwest of the White House chosen by many liberal and wealthy families in Washington.
The Trumps also could have chosen another close-by Episcopal prep school, St. Albans, an all-boys day school and boarding school near the National Cathedral in Washington.
By fall, three of President Trump’s five children will be living in Washington, including Barron: His elder daughter, Ivanka Trump, daughter of his first wife, Ivana Trump, already lives there with her husband and three children, and his younger daughter, Tiffany Trump, daughter of his second wife, Marla Maples, has been admitted to the law school of Georgetown University starting in the fall.
