WASHINGTON–Michelle Obama and daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7 have been in Washington since Sunday checking out schools.
The Obama women are returning to Chicago on Tuesday night. Michelle Obama was in Washington last week visiting schools and returned to let the girls see their choices “for their new schools, to make sure they find the right fit. That’s the priority,” Katie McCormick Lelyveld, the spokesman for the incoming First Lady told me Tuesday.
The Obamas “are looking for the right fit for their kids,” she said. Last week, Michelle Obama visted two of the most elite private schools in town–Sidwell Friends and Georgetown Day School. The Quaker run Sidwell has a very rich student body, but is big on not making a big deal on wealth. Georgetown Day–the first school to integrate in the city–is known as more progressive; teachers are called by their first names.
A friend of mine whose child attends Georgetown Day School told me her child saw Malia–and a Secret Service detail– at the school yesterday. The teachers were told to “look normal” and not treat the Obama’s any different, that they just wanted to see the school in its normal state.
The Washington Post “Reliable Source” Tuesday column said the Obama daughters and Michelle spent two hours at Georgetown Day and are expected at Sidwell Friends today. Another private school, Maret, may also be in the running.
Last week, Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty told me he hoped the Obamas’ would give some thought to enrolling the kids in public schools. However, that’s unlikely, since the Obama girls now go to the private University of Chicago Lab School.
