Dogwood Elementary (or other Reston public schools)

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have experience with Dogwood elementary? I know it has a higher percentage of ESL kids than
the other Reston schools, but I am wondering about the quality of the teachers and the class sizes, how it compares to other Reston area
elementary schools, etc. Thanks for any info.

[Anonymous]

There are 17 elementary schools from across Fairfax County that need "so much" help that they have been made part of the Level I targeted assistance list of the Priority Schools Initiative. Dogwood is one of those schools.

http://www.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/legacy-content/86755G200E52/$FILE/ATTHG6UR/Projected%20Priority%20Schools.pdf

[Anonymous]

Dogwood sucks and the scores reflect it. Don't buy property in the part of Reston which is served by Dogwood. The prices are always much lower than the rest of Reston and they sit on the market for a long time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dogwood sucks and the scores reflect it. Don't buy property in the part of Reston which is served by Dogwood. The prices are always much lower than the rest of Reston and they sit on the market for a long time.

Is that really true? Do properties in the part of Vienna served by Cunningham Park - also on the "priority schools" list - also sit on the market for a long time?

[Anonymous]

PP: Cunningham Park's issues are largely the result of the fact that Vienna Park appartments feed into it. If you look at the weekly crime state, almost all of the "serious" events in Vienna occur near there. There is a large ESL population. However, the school as a whole seems to be fine.

Away from that one area (which probably accounts for 20% of CPES students), the area is much like the rest of Vienna....except prices are a little lower...

The small "vienna ramblers" are about 20% less in that area, then say, the Vienna Hills neighborhood which is served by Louise Archer

[Anonymous]

Sadly, some people think the school sucks because they don't think it's possible for minority kids to do well. The school is majority-minority and majority-poverty, which presents some challenges.

But actually, if you look at the NEW scores, you'll see that Dogwood's reading and math scores are now HIGHER than for many of the more affluent schools surrounding them. Moreover, on many of the tests, over half of Dogwood's students are now scoring in the "advanced pass" range.

Class sizes are considerably smaller than many schools - an average of around 21-22 per class.

Dogwood also has a full-time GT teacher on staff, which is unusual for a non-center school.

[Anonymous]

My kids' McLean school is a sister school for Dogwood - providing books, food, clothing, holiday gifts, etc. Hard to believe there is such poverty in the DC Metro area as there is for some people in Dogwood. I don't mean this at all as an insult ... it is just illuminating. Some of the kids do not have winter coats unless donated to them.

[Anonymous]

Dogwood has an incredible staff that looks at each student on a child-by-child basis. No matter whether a student is a struggling one or an advanced one, each child makes significant progress. There is no "teaching to the middle" at Dogwood. Schools with a more homogeneous population often have an easier time of it. However, what Dogwood lacks on homogeneity it makes up in research based instructional practices, commitment to its students and community, and highly dedicated and qualified staff. Anyone who tells you differently eiher has incredible prejudices or has not bothered to look past the surface. Go visit and you will see.

[Anonymous]

If you are going to move to a less-advantaged school's zone, then consider the following:

1. Ensure your -- and your family's -- actual physical safety. Some areas are really rough, and I won't start another flamewar by naming areas, although Fairfax County has a 911 call mapper (I know I've linked to it elsewhere.)
2. Make sure your DH or DW or whatever is fully on board with it. Being part of a community's revitalization is hard work and having a SO that'd rather be elsewhere won't help.
3. Make sure that your kid isn't getting ignored if he/she is not ESOL and/or at-risk.
4. What will you do if your neighbors engage in stereotypical low-income behavior (parties all hours, always asking for money, arguments at all hours, even drug use)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
4. What will you do if your neighbors engage in stereotypical low-income behavior (parties all hours, always asking for money, arguments at all hours, even drug use)?

Apart from the "asking for money" part, this is how college graduates living in group houses all over the area often behave. Check out your neighbors, period, and dispense with the stereotypes.

[Anonymous]

I bring this thread back up because I am curious about current residents in this school zone. It seems so truly bizarre to me that with the lovely single family home developments that should be feeding into this school, that this school is so heavily minority and poor. A friend who has a rising kindergartener who lives in this school zone is actually ticked that the school is looking like it is going to pass its tests this year and transfer options will no longer be available. To me, it seems like white flight and fear are this school's problems rather than actually being a bad school. Shouldn't it be a GOOD thing that the school is passing tests and doing well (at least based on the information I have seen)?

Does anyone have any actual current experience with this school that can offer some insight? We live in another area of Reston right now, but we are looking to buy a single family soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I bring this thread back up because I am curious about current residents in this school zone. It seems so truly bizarre to me that with the lovely single family home developments that should be feeding into this school, that this school is so heavily minority and poor. A friend who has a rising kindergartener who lives in this school zone is actually ticked that the school is looking like it is going to pass its tests this year and transfer options will no longer be available. To me, it seems like white flight and fear are this school's problems rather than actually being a bad school. Shouldn't it be a GOOD thing that the school is passing tests and doing well (at least based on the information I have seen)?

Does anyone have any actual current experience with this school that can offer some insight? We live in another area of Reston right now, but we are looking to buy a single family soon.

It's hard to draw parents back to a Title I school that has been required to offer transfer options to schools with more affluent demographics. Even if the parents don't know anything about NCLB or Title I, the message is that it is a failing school.

For what it's worth, however, the number of white students at Dogwood has increased over the past 3-4 years, though not as rapidly as the Hispanic population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bring this thread back up because I am curious about current residents in this school zone. It seems so truly bizarre to me that with the lovely single family home developments that should be feeding into this school, that this school is so heavily minority and poor. A friend who has a rising kindergartener who lives in this school zone is actually ticked that the school is looking like it is going to pass its tests this year and transfer options will no longer be available. To me, it seems like white flight and fear are this school's problems rather than actually being a bad school. Shouldn't it be a GOOD thing that the school is passing tests and doing well (at least based on the information I have seen)?

Does anyone have any actual current experience with this school that can offer some insight? We live in another area of Reston right now, but we are looking to buy a single family soon.

It's hard to draw parents back to a Title I school that has been required to offer transfer options to schools with more affluent demographics. Even if the parents don't know anything about NCLB or Title I, the message is that it is a failing school.

For what it's worth, however, the number of white students at Dogwood has increased over the past 3-4 years, though not as rapidly as the Hispanic population.

White parents don't want their kids to be the minority. Just like hispanic or black parents don't want their kids to be the minority. It is a catch-22.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's hard to draw parents back to a Title I school that has been required to offer transfer options to schools with more affluent demographics. Even if the parents don't know anything about NCLB or Title I, the message is that it is a failing school.

For what it's worth, however, the number of white students at Dogwood has increased over the past 3-4 years, though not as rapidly as the Hispanic population.

White parents don't want their kids to be the minority. Just like hispanic or black parents don't want their kids to be the minority. It is a catch-22.

I'm thinking of buying into one of those neighborhoods and starting a trend, then. If the school no longer offers transfer options, the parents in those neighborhoods are left with the 2 nearby lottery schools or private. I doubt everyone can afford private, so eventually the caucasian students will return.

[Anonymous]

I am very curious about the school as I feed into it and my child will start their next school year. My neighborhood is beautiful and one would not think we feed into Dogwood, but we do. I have no idea where all the kids in my neighborhood go to school but there are a lot of kids so I can't see them all going to private. When the time comes, I will go and visit the school and see how I feel about the environment. The online stats may be worse than what I see in person. My child's daycare is very diverse so he is already exposed to different cultures. I am more concerned over the quality of the education than anything else. I am hoping someone will post some up to date information as to what the school is really like.