Cunningham ES

[Anonymous]

Looking at a great house in that area and the prices is right. How is the reputation of that school?

TIA

[Anonymous]

Do you mean Cunningham Park ES in Vienna? If so, I think it is just ok. Almost all of the ES in Vienna are really very good so I don't mean to say it's a bad choice, but I don't think it's considered one of the better schools in Vienna (eg, Louise Archer, Flint Hill, Wolftrap).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you mean Cunningham Park ES in Vienna? If so, I think it is just ok. Almost all of the ES in Vienna are really very good so I don't mean to say it's a bad choice, but I don't think it's considered one of the better schools in Vienna (eg, Louise Archer, Flint Hill, Wolftrap).

OP here: yes, that is the one. Why is it considered "just ok", do you know? Crime in the area or only scores lower than average?

[Anonymous]

Scores lower than Archer of course but as you can see from the SOLS the past few years, scores are showing a rapid and substantial increase...the area around the school is gentrifying with lots of teardowns as you know. Adahi St. SE is NOT the best-looking street for a school...you can't find anything in-boundary for Vienna or Archer?

[Anonymous]

I don't know about the crime statistics for that part of Vienna, but I don't think crime is a particular problem there.

I believe it is a fine school and I have friends whose children go there. My kids don't go there so I don't have firsthand knowledge. All of the schools in Vienna are good. However, you asked about reputation, and IMO, it is not regarded as one of the better schools in Vienna.

Take a look at the boundary map and also at the student demographics. The boundary encompasses Park Street down to Cedar Lane and beyond. Are you familiar with that part of Vienna or have you only looked near Park St closer to Maple?

[Anonymous]

We also looked at some new houses in that area and decided to take a pass. There was so much finger-pointing by the wealthier residents at the students from the Vienna Park apartments who "drag down the numbers" at Cunningham. There are other diverse schools in the region where people seem to get along better and are less hung up on demographics and test scores. Perhaps we just spoke to a particularly uptight group of parents, but it left us VERY disenchanted.

[Anonymous]

To the PP. I'm sorry that the people that you talked with left you with that impression. We live in that neighborhood and it is a great place to raise a family. I haven't noticed that kind of finger-pointing among our friends and neighbors, but maybe that's just good luck. It's true that the other elementary schools in Vienna are regarded as 'better', but Cunningham Park has a good reputation with the parents who actually have children in the school. Yes, it is more diverse than some of the other elementary schools in Vienna, but I happen to think that diversity is a strength of the school. Overall, crime is very low in Vienna, you can check out the police reports on the city website.

To the OP. Come to Vienna, if you're looking for idyllic psuedo-small town life you will love it here. The town has so many activities for children, the mom's group is active and a great way to meet people. In the early evenings you'll see loads of people walking through the neighborhoods with their kids on strollers and bikes. It's super convenient to shopping, restaurants, parks, just a easy place to live.

[Anonymous]

Cunningham Park is a small school with a strong and caring community that supports it. The only reason the apartments might be mentioned is not to cast the children in a negative light, but to explain the SOLs results. For most of the student population the SOL scores are directly comparable to the other Vienna schools. The ESOL population (which many assume to come from the apartments) had lower scores which were a concern and the school has worked hard to help the children as needed. Since the school is small, the ESOL population as a percentage is larger than the other schools. But looking at the scores of the general population, it seems they are getting the education of the other Vienna schools but with the added diversity of the ESOL population. The Principal once told me there were over 30 different languages spoken by different students in Cunningham. I took that as a plus. There is no crime in any Vienna elementary schools that I know of.

[Anonymous]

If you're looking within the Town of Vienna boundary you can really go "wrong" with any of the schools that feed Thoreau MS and Madison HS (Cunningham Park, Flint Hill, Wolftrap, Vienna Main, Marshall Rd, Archer, and the itty-bit of town that goes to Freedom Hill)

The point about ESOL population is valid and does point to diversity. Diversity is not "bad" it just is. The real thing for you to evaluate is how does the school address test scores and what other activities are there. As 12:08 said if your getting a vibe that some parents don't look at the entire school as OUR school. That may be just a few disenchanted folks or the tip of larger us/them issue . I would suggest going TO the school talk to the principal, ask to talk to a few teachers for your kids' grades, and talk to the PTA leadership. [Do this for the other schools for that matter]

Make an informed decision for yourself instead of listening to all of our hearsay...

[Anonymous]

As a Cunningham Park ES parent, I couldn't be happier. Its got a very dynamic young principal at its core and a caring group of teachers. Its test scores are rapidly improving (and GreatSchools ratings lag current conditions/test scores there) Its a small school w/a very active PTA and yes school demographics are changing due to the influx of new families/housing in the area. My daughter attended Cunningham Park ES until she became eligible for the GT program at Archer. It was a very difficult decision b/c we loved Cunningham Park so much but we let her make the decision (she chose to go to Archer). Now we have our boy who will be in a similar position. It will be sad to leave our neighborhood school. As an aside, we have several friends whose kids go to "higher rated" Vienna ES but are not nearly as happy with that school as we are with ours. Overall, you can't go wrong with any of the Vienna schools as they all are quality elem schools. But if you like a small, warm friendly child-focused school then I'd highly recommend Cunningham Park ES. Please visit the school and see for yourself!

[Anonymous]

I am a parent at another Vienna elementary school (Marshall Road, for what its worth). And I wouldn't hesitate to move into a house in the Cunningham Park boundaries. I have many friends at that school and they are all happy there. While Marshall Road's scores on greatschools is slightly better than Cunningham Parks, they are lower than schools like Louise Archer, Wolf Trap, Vienna, Flint Hill. And I have to say, I don't think it means a thing. There are good and bad teachers in each school. A school like Louise Archer has a much higher population of GT students since the "advanced" students from many other schools feed into it. So of course their scores are higher. Schools like Cunningham Park have more ESOL students in it, which generally leads to lower test scores. So you really need to look at the whole picture and not just test scores. It is a nice, neighborhood school. There is no "bad" school in Vienna. Your child will not get a worse education if she attends there versus another Vienna school, I don't believe.

[Anonymous]

I don't know anything about Cunningham Park but I have to ask if you'd really base your decision on greatschools? It's just the opinions of a few anonymous parents. Test scores matter some but they do tend to be higher in the higher income areas and areas with fewer ESL students. Honestly, I expect a lot of these wealthy, white areas to have high scores. I am WAY more impressed by a diverse (economically and ethnically) school with scores that may not be as high but are still high. My DC actually goes to a school like that. I think what DC learns socially is as important as what she learned academically.

We are in a school that a lot of you would turn your nose up at and it happens to be a great school. DC loves it and we are very happy with it. I like that all of the kids aren't rich. There is very little attention paid to clothes and material things.

So I say, talk to people and go see the school. Meet the principal. Some of the lesser known schools are the true gems in FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Not OP, but to 7:54: who said that she was entirely basing her decision on Great Schools? I for one, have found Great Schools to provide a useful piece of information about schools (albeit a small piece). It's not much different than DCUrbanMoms in the sense that all information here is also "just the opinions of a few anonymous parents". I find both to be useful, although I don't take as 'fact' anything that I read at either place, although I do sometimes inquire a bit more if I find information at either place to be interesting or questionable.

[Anonymous]

When discussing GreatSchools, one needs to distinguish between the overall numerical ratings assigned to the schools, which are based on simply crunching test-score data, and the "stars" assigned to schools on other topics, which are based on the subjective assessments of a small number of individuals (typically, but not always, students or parents) who choose to comment.

In any event, you really can't go wrong with any of the Vienna-area schools, including Cunningham Park. This is true at the elementary, middle AND high school level.