Obamas select a D.C. school

The quality of the school and its extra security make Sidwell Friends a good choice, said Letitia Baldrige, who was Jackie Kennedy's social secretary and chief of staff during the Kennedy administration. Caroline Kennedy attended first grade in a makeshift third-floor classroom inside the White House.

"The children are under enormous pressure from the press and their fellow students and especially the mommies of their fellow students," who are eager for their children to attend sleepovers, Baldrige said.

"I'm sure they'll both be athletically inclined and play on all the sports teams, and they'll have a lot of fun," Baldrige said. "But it won't be easy."

Rob Lippincott, a member of the board of trustees at Sidwell, where his daughter is a high school senior, said he could not confirm whether the Obama girls had chosen the school. But he said if so, students and parents will be excited.

"We're obviously delighted if that is the case. I have not heard anything officially," said Lippincott, senior vice president for education at PBS. "I'm certainly aware they came and visited. From everything I understand, they'd be a great addition to the school."