Rather than picking a house based on the school, we already lived in the neighborhood and I thought if the ES is halfway decent my kids can go there and we can walk. My grown children still reminisce about walking to school. |
Thanks... FCPS in our case. If anyone has experience in Fairfax about how this is handled (either the formal "rules" or how it works in practice, if that deviates), would appreciate hearing your experience. |
This is what I had growing up. Independence to walk up the street to the bus stop in elementary and 5 min walking distance from MS/HS. I think that's ideal if you're planning on staying for the long haul. |
You need to pick one. You can’t expect the teacher to keep up with how your kid’s getting home today vs tomorrow vs next week. |
We live a 5 min walk from Elementary and 8 min to Middle School.
Pros for walking - my 4th grader can walk himself home. Lots of kids in our neighborhood so the walk to school is very social and I catch up with mom friends. When there are concerts or activities, we don’t have to look for parking. Sometimes with activities we are back and forth 2-3 times in one day. Being so close, it’s unlikely we’d be redistricted to another school. Pros for bus - Our school gets out at 3:45, so bus kids often get home at 4:15-4:30pm. If you have a flexible work schedule that may mean you save the cost of aftercare. Kids get focused social time with neighborhood friends on the bus - and having neighborhood friends make play dates and carpools easier. |
I’m not in FCPS but I think generally you just register for K and they’ll take kids including your within proximity of each other into confederation when forming stops. Also you don’t have to notify the bus driver of your plans each day (like if your kid is sick, or you pick up early because a doctor’s appt, or you decide to walk home, etc.). That would be an awful lot for the driver to keep track of. |
Sorry for typos, but hopefully the above still makes sense! |
She can pick the default of bus rider, but should be able to email the school when dismissal plans change. Obviously it would be annoying if it was constant, but on a nice day when OP has time, she should be able to email (we have a specific address for attendance/dismissal stuff at our school) and ask her kid to be released as a walker. And if she is changing up the arrival then the school doesn’t need advanced notice of how her kid is getting there. |
We are walkers but 5 min! I agree with other poster wish I had put more emphasis on things I wanted in a house rather than being able to walk to school.
However on days kids are running behind I am so thankful we don’t have to rush to catch the bus! My kids can walk out the door 5-10 min before school starts and be there on time! My middle schooler is a bus rider now and it’s a pain to miss and then have to drive. It’s also sooo nice being able to walk for school events. Never have to fight for parking. Or if your kid forgets something such an easy trip (if you work from home like me) I did have friends young kids learning not so good things from older kids on the bus. But that could have been a one off. That’s said, I’d love to have that extra 30-40 min on the end of the day. I’m always running to get to school in time for pickup! |
If you work, I think the bus gives you more time without needing before/after care. However, on days when the bus gets delayed by traffic, it can be a hassle. |