Special Report: U.S. presidential election 2008    

    WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, have chosen a private school in northwestern Washington, D.C., for their two daughters on Friday, where former President Bill Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, has studied.

Barack Obama, along with his wife and two daughters, waves to supporters at the election night rally in Chicago, the United States, on Nov. 4, 2008, after he won the presidential election. (Xinhua File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    "A number of great schools were considered. In the end, the Obamas selected the school that was the best fit for what their daughters need right now," said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Michelle Obama.

    Obama's daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, would move to the capital with their parents from Chicago, Illinois, after his father is sworn in as the next president on Jan. 20.

    The two girls "bring with them a number of security and privacy concerns that come with being part of the new first family -- and the school they've selected is positioned to appropriately accommodate that," said Lelyveld.

    The Sidwell Friends School is chosen to take in Malia in the fifth grade and Sasha in the second grade, but the two would attend schools at different locations.

    Lelyveld also said that the Obamas had taken public schools into consideration, but they still felt that a private school was in the best interest of their children.

    "Mrs. Obama is the product of public education on the South Side of Chicago and she believes strongly in the importance of good public schools for all kids," Lelyveld said.

    It is not the first time for the school to receive a White House child.

    President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, also chose Sidwell for their daughter, Chelsea, in 1993.