Alexandria City: Maury ES vs Mount Vernon Community School?

[Anonymous]

I posted this in another thread, but two people responded that I should start a new thread, so here it goes:

Hello, I am a NP and am very interested in hearing more about ACPS for elementary school.

My husband and I are separated, and we actually both live in separate residences in Alexandria: I am in the Maury ES district and he is in the Mount Vernon Community School District.

Our DS will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall, and we aren't sure where to register him, or if we will have either option. From what i gather, we could be better off having him where I live, enrolled in Maury?

Does anyone know if we will have a choice of either, given we have two residences in the city?

A few more considerations: DS is bright but from what we can tell he isn't a genius or anything. Just a happy and chatty well-adjusted 5 year old. He does enjoy soccer. We have a history of dyslexia, but aren't sure if he will be affected. So far, doesn't seem to be an issue. But it's there in the back of our minds, so we also need to consider which school might have better reading support.

We also thought about some of the local private and parochial schools like St. Marys, Blessed Sacrament, (we cannot afford the St. Stephens and Country Day Type schools). But figured we would try public schools instead. After reading so many criticisms of the public schools, we may reconsider.


Thanks for all the feedback in advance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I posted this in another thread, but two people responded that I should start a new thread, so here it goes:

Hello, I am a NP and am very interested in hearing more about ACPS for elementary school.

My husband and I are separated, and we actually both live in separate residences in Alexandria: I am in the Maury ES district and he is in the Mount Vernon Community School District.

Our DS will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall, and we aren't sure where to register him, or if we will have either option. From what i gather, we could be better off having him where I live, enrolled in Maury?

Does anyone know if we will have a choice of either, given we have two residences in the city?

A few more considerations: DS is bright but from what we can tell he isn't a genius or anything. Just a happy and chatty well-adjusted 5 year old. He does enjoy soccer. We have a history of dyslexia, but aren't sure if he will be affected. So far, doesn't seem to be an issue. But it's there in the back of our minds, so we also need to consider which school might have better reading support.

We also thought about some of the local private and parochial schools like St. Marys, Blessed Sacrament, (we cannot afford the St. Stephens and Country Day Type schools). But figured we would try public schools instead. After reading so many criticisms of the public schools, we may reconsider.


Thanks for all the feedback in advance.

Maury is the more traditional of the two. It's on the standard school calendar (MVCS is on an alternative calendar that might compel you to send your DC to MVCS for much of the non-standard break periods). We know numerous parents who are just delighted with Maury (we're in another ACPS school). Six or seven years ago, not so many, but now I think you'll hear many excellent reviews. If there's a dyslexia issue, consider touching base with the school before enrollment for a reading diagnosis. You'll find that the publics are infinitely better at diagnosing and resolving routine dyslexia than any of the privates, BTW.

[Anonymous]

OP Here. Thank you, PP. We were aware of the different calendars, and are not sure which would be better, since we both work full-time. But I would imagine that the MVCS calendar makes it more challening to find interim child care for holiday weeks. Are the after care programs pretty decent? I considered moving to Fairfax county (south of Old Town), but then was told that after care isn't guaranteed. Does anyone know if Maury or MVCS have such long waiting lists for after care?

[Anonymous]

you should post your question to the delray parents listserve

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP Here. Thank you, PP. We were aware of the different calendars, and are not sure which would be better, since we both work full-time. But I would imagine that the MVCS calendar makes it more challening to find interim child care for holiday weeks. Are the after care programs pretty decent? I considered moving to Fairfax county (south of Old Town), but then was told that after care isn't guaranteed. Does anyone know if Maury or MVCS have such long waiting lists for after care?

After-school care is non-identical as between MVCS and Maury. Both have access to City after-school programs, which are generally OK but a little uneven; the City offers pretty close to a guarantee that SOME after-school program will be available. MVCS and Maury are both proximate to tons of neighborhood babysitters! Call the two PTAs and ask. If it were me (and this might not be a key consideration for you), I'd find the alt-calendar to be a pain rather than a strength -- you're captive to the school-based intersession programs, you have only a limited summer vacation, and if you share child-care with another family (pretty common in Alexandria), you have only a smaller pool of eligible parents with whom to make arrangements.

Fairfax is a different story. The FCPS schools operate on a half-day-Monday system. Early years are half-day anyway, which means that for your littlest, Monday school means 8 AM to 1015 AM. No kidding. We looked at the bldgs, the schedules, the policies, the classroom crowding, etc, and fled Fairfax well before considering a move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP Here. Thank you, PP. We were aware of the different calendars, and are not sure which would be better, since we both work full-time. But I would imagine that the MVCS calendar makes it more challening to find interim child care for holiday weeks. Are the after care programs pretty decent? I considered moving to Fairfax county (south of Old Town), but then was told that after care isn't guaranteed. Does anyone know if Maury or MVCS have such long waiting lists for after care?

After-school care is non-identical as between MVCS and Maury. Both have access to City after-school programs, which are generally OK but a little uneven; the City offers pretty close to a guarantee that SOME after-school program will be available. MVCS and Maury are both proximate to tons of neighborhood babysitters! Call the two PTAs and ask. If it were me (and this might not be a key consideration for you), I'd find the alt-calendar to be a pain rather than a strength -- you're captive to the school-based intersession programs, you have only a limited summer vacation, and if you share child-care with another family (pretty common in Alexandria), you have only a smaller pool of eligible parents with whom to make arrangements.

Fairfax is a different story. The FCPS schools operate on a half-day-Monday system. Early years are half-day anyway, which means that for your littlest, Monday school means 8 AM to 1015 AM. No kidding. We looked at the bldgs, the schedules, the policies, the classroom crowding, etc, and fled Fairfax well before considering a move.

PP, I am confused. Did you flee to Fairfax or away from Fairfax? What do you mean that "early years are half-day anyway?" Do you mean that only Mondays are half-day? Or all days? Where did you end up deciding on?

[Anonymous]

I have found the FARMS and ELL population in the City schools overwhelm them and a big emphasis is placed on those group of students.

You will get tons of pro-supporters for both schools but in my experience the overwhelming very pro-Maury and Mt. Vernon parents were caught off guard by both the housing market, the economy in general and the schools which they never really looked into too much when they were buying and their kids were baby/toddlers. Couple that with the believe they would "just send their kid to private school" and you have a lot of parents who can do nothing else but be supportive of the school because they are stuck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP Here. Thank you, PP. We were aware of the different calendars, and are not sure which would be better, since we both work full-time. But I would imagine that the MVCS calendar makes it more challening to find interim child care for holiday weeks. Are the after care programs pretty decent? I considered moving to Fairfax county (south of Old Town), but then was told that after care isn't guaranteed. Does anyone know if Maury or MVCS have such long waiting lists for after care?

After-school care is non-identical as between MVCS and Maury. Both have access to City after-school programs, which are generally OK but a little uneven; the City offers pretty close to a guarantee that SOME after-school program will be available. MVCS and Maury are both proximate to tons of neighborhood babysitters! Call the two PTAs and ask. If it were me (and this might not be a key consideration for you), I'd find the alt-calendar to be a pain rather than a strength -- you're captive to the school-based intersession programs, you have only a limited summer vacation, and if you share child-care with another family (pretty common in Alexandria), you have only a smaller pool of eligible parents with whom to make arrangements.

Fairfax is a different story. The FCPS schools operate on a half-day-Monday system. Early years are half-day anyway, which means that for your littlest, Monday school means 8 AM to 1015 AM. No kidding. We looked at the bldgs, the schedules, the policies, the classroom crowding, etc, and fled Fairfax well before considering a move.

PP, I am confused. Did you flee to Fairfax or away from Fairfax? What do you mean that "early years are half-day anyway?" Do you mean that only Mondays are half-day? Or all days? Where did you end up deciding on?

1. In FCPS (NOT Alexandria), all primary school Mondays are half-days. Early years are half-days anyway, so Monday for K in Ffx is a half of a half day, a little over two hours.

2. Fled AWAY from Ffx. Saw zero of any appeal whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

FCPS now has full-day K for all schools. But, yes, 1/2 day Mondays for all too. It's just that the 1/2 day for K is now a full half, not 2 hours as PP says.

Also, after care is not guaranteed but it's right there at the school and, depending on the school, there may be plenty of spaces.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have found the FARMS and ELL population in the City schools overwhelm them and a big emphasis is placed on those group of students.

You will get tons of pro-supporters for both schools but in my experience the overwhelming very pro-Maury and Mt. Vernon parents were caught off guard by both the housing market, the economy in general and the schools which they never really looked into too much when they were buying and their kids were baby/toddlers. Couple that with the believe they would "just send their kid to private school" and you have a lot of parents who can do nothing else but be supportive of the school because they are stuck.

This is what happened with us. We bought in Del Ray when I was pregnant because it's the perfect place for families with babies. But now that our kids are getting to be elementary school aged, we are concerned and not sure what to do. The housing market in Del Ray is extremely strong with properties selling in 1-2 days on market.

What is so bad about Mt Vernon Elementary? We would like honest and candid opinions. We go to the playground often and it seems like a nice little school, but yet the ratings are so low. Given the Del Ray demographic of upper-middle class young families, I don't understand why Mount Vernon has such a bad reputation.

[Anonymous]

OP Again. Thanks to the PPs for clarification. So K is full-day now except for Mondays which is a half-day. Good to know. I think we are probably going to stick with our Mount Vernon vs. Maury plan, but I did consider moving down to the Belle Haven area for FFX county schools. but I don't know if those schools are much better.

Is there a reason why parents tend to like Maury over Mount Vernon? Maury is walking distance from my townhouse, and seems smaller. Is there typically a waiting list for Maury, or is it pretty easy to register?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have found the FARMS and ELL population in the City schools overwhelm them and a big emphasis is placed on those group of students.

What is "FARMS" and "ELL?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have found the FARMS and ELL population in the City schools overwhelm them and a big emphasis is placed on those group of students.

You will get tons of pro-supporters for both schools but in my experience the overwhelming very pro-Maury and Mt. Vernon parents were caught off guard by both the housing market, the economy in general and the schools which they never really looked into too much when they were buying and their kids were baby/toddlers. Couple that with the believe they would "just send their kid to private school" and you have a lot of parents who can do nothing else but be supportive of the school because they are stuck.

This is what happened with us. We bought in Del Ray when I was pregnant because it's the perfect place for families with babies. But now that our kids are getting to be elementary school aged, we are concerned and not sure what to do. The housing market in Del Ray is extremely strong with properties selling in 1-2 days on market.

What is so bad about Mt Vernon Elementary? We would like honest and candid opinions. We go to the playground often and it seems like a nice little school, but yet the ratings are so low. Given the Del Ray demographic of upper-middle class young families, I don't understand why Mount Vernon has such a bad reputation.

But most of those parents are opting out of Mt. Vernon because they can and going to George Mason, Charles Barrett and Douglas MacArthur. But those schools are still saddled with the problem of FARMS and ELL kids overwhelming them. Also the curriculum in general doesn't seem as robust as say the Arlington County schools curriculum. They are both posted on line so you can compare. Even the worse performing Arlington count school still did better than any school in Alexandria City even when the demographics are similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have found the FARMS and ELL population in the City schools overwhelm them and a big emphasis is placed on those group of students.

What is "FARMS" and "ELL?"

Free and Reduced Lunch and English Language Learners

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have found the FARMS and ELL population in the City schools overwhelm them and a big emphasis is placed on those group of students.

What is "FARMS" and "ELL?"

FARMS= Free and Reduced Meals Students
ELL=English Language Learners

Yes, the schools in Alexandria do have a substantial number of people with lower incomes and English as a second language. We are in ACPS schools, we fit into neither category, and while we do feel that the schools work hard to support the needs of these students (as they should), we do not feel it is at the expense of our children. We are satisfied with the education they are receiving.

OP, I would tour both schools. It will give you the best sense of each one. I know happy parents at both schools, so it ultimately will be which is the best fit for your circumstances.