Jamestown, Taylor, and Nottingham

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are looking to buy in North Arlington and wondered what these schools are like. We currently live in DC and have kids at Stottert Elementary for reference.

[Anonymous]

These are all high SES, low diversity elementary schools. Add in Discovery and they are pretty much interchangeable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These are all high SES, low diversity elementary schools. Add in Discovery and they are pretty much interchangeable.[/quote

Agreed 100 percent. Just buy what you like/can. All of these schools are the same.

[Anonymous]

Agree. I don't think there are any meaningful differences between those three plus Discovery. You will get the same types of kids, parents, and teachers. And a perfectly adequate (but not necessarily stellar) education. APS has been less than inspiring over the past three years but that is any public school system for you.

[Anonymous]

We are Tuckahoe which I would throw in the same bucket as Nottingham and Discovery. Jamestown, to me, is an even higher SES and even lower diversity.

Great communities, dedicated teachers, solid education with some gripes surrounding the pandemic. Beautiful buildings and ample opportunities for your child to excel.

If your child has an IEP, the SPED team will vary school to school.

[Anonymous]

Previous Taylor parent. One thing I’ll note is that Jamestown and some other NA schools get thrown around on here for self important parents etc. I don’t know if that’s true or not. But Taylor never gets mentioned in that way. In fact Taylor almost never gets mentioned at all. I found it a pretty down to earth community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Previous Taylor parent. One thing I’ll note is that Jamestown and some other NA schools get thrown around on here for self important parents etc. I don’t know if that’s true or not. But Taylor never gets mentioned in that way. In fact Taylor almost never gets mentioned at all. I found it a pretty down to earth community.

DP I don't hear things about Taylor parents, either. However, over the years, I have heard multiple Taylor parents whose kids (girls, particularly) chose to transfer to Kenmore for middle school specifically to separate from their Taylor peers. Otherwise, I agree with the other responses that they're all pretty much the same with Jamestown being even more affluent and this outsider's perception is that the Jamestown PTA is particularly wary of letting others know the true extent of its resources. They are not necessarily self-centered and selfish; they do demonstrate interest in helping (and have helped) schools less resourced especially through some partnering with Randolph ES in the south. It's just a different "vibe" than from the other schools across north Arlington.

Despite the similarities in student body and community demographics, there can be some differences in the atmosphere created by the admin at each school just like any other school you may go to in Arlington or anywhere else. But generally, there aren't significant differences between any of those schools you're looking at. I'd suggest the middle schools may have greater differences.

[Anonymous]

They are all great. My kids were at Jamestown. Nice community. Amazing special Ed team - really helped my child with ADHD and dyslexia. It is affluent, but you find all types of people. Most of the moms work, but there are a good amount of stay at home moms. We were very happy there.

[Anonymous]

Is there a reason you left Discovery off the list? It’s right in between Jamestown and Nottingham.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Previous Taylor parent. One thing I’ll note is that Jamestown and some other NA schools get thrown around on here for self important parents etc. I don’t know if that’s true or not. But Taylor never gets mentioned in that way. In fact Taylor almost never gets mentioned at all. I found it a pretty down to earth community.

+1. Jamestown = having your PTA fundraiser at Washington Golf. One year pre-Covid there was even a Miss America-style event where the dads threw in increasing amounts of cash to support their wives in the pageant. Wish I were kidding. It was awful.

[Anonymous]

Tuckahoe is mostly strivers - the mommy culture is really toxic. Home and garden tour really highlights who has the best gardeners, house cleaners and handymen. Probably keep it off your short list.
https://tuckahoetour.org/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous Taylor parent. One thing I’ll note is that Jamestown and some other NA schools get thrown around on here for self important parents etc. I don’t know if that’s true or not. But Taylor never gets mentioned in that way. In fact Taylor almost never gets mentioned at all. I found it a pretty down to earth community.

+1. Jamestown = having your PTA fundraiser at Washington Golf. One year pre-Covid there was even a Miss America-style event where the dads threw in increasing amounts of cash to support their wives in the pageant. Wish I were kidding. It was awful.

PP Taylor parent. Something I really appreciated about the school/PTA is that they relied almost solely on the no frills fundraiser. I don't recall there being an auction of any kind. There was a spring fair that also brought in money. But for the most part we were not constantly asked/expected to donate at various events, just donate to the no frills fundraiser and be done with it. I don't know if that changed with the new principal. We were rezoned to ASFS and I can't stand the number of fundraisers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous Taylor parent. One thing I’ll note is that Jamestown and some other NA schools get thrown around on here for self important parents etc. I don’t know if that’s true or not. But Taylor never gets mentioned in that way. In fact Taylor almost never gets mentioned at all. I found it a pretty down to earth community.

+1. Jamestown = having your PTA fundraiser at Washington Golf. One year pre-Covid there was even a Miss America-style event where the dads threw in increasing amounts of cash to support their wives in the pageant. Wish I were kidding. It was awful.

Stop. This cannot possibly be true.

[Anonymous]

Taylor seems very middle of the road.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1037608.page

[Anonymous]

Discovery is pretty good but lately a lot of teacher turnover. Beautiful building and some excellent teachers. No significant diversity. The worst thing about Discovery is the Standards based grading. As a parent and as a student, you just never really know how you’re doing.