Luther Jackson Middle School

[Anonymous]

DD is slotted for the GT program at Luther Jackson in a year, but I'm considering Thoreau and privates as well. Does anyone have experience there? We've had a mostly good experience at our local GT center: it has been great for her socially and pretty good academically (better than I think the local privates would have done). But I've heard that Luther Jackson is crowded and rougher - is that true? I'd be grateful for any first-hand experience. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

There's been some recent discussion about Jackson in FCAGs Yahoo discussion group. Those with children who are there seem quite happy with it. You can read those discussions and join in the conversation with specific questions at that group.

The link to join is near the top of this page.
http://www.fcag.org/

[Anonymous]

My neighborhood is in the Jackson pyramid and I know two people with 7th graders currently at the Luther GTC. Both are extremely happy with the program and quality of instruction. I also know several people there whose kids are not in the GTC and they are also very happy there.

I would be a little leery of the FCAG group on this topic. There are some people there who are openly hostile to their children being moved from the Kilmer GTC to Jackson and who seem to relish in bashing Luther.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My neighborhood is in the Jackson pyramid and I know two people with 7th graders currently at the Luther GTC. Both are extremely happy with the program and quality of instruction. I also know several people there whose kids are not in the GTC and they are also very happy there.

I would be a little leery of the FCAG group on this topic. There are some people there who are openly hostile to their children being moved from the Kilmer GTC to Jackson and who seem to relish in bashing Luther.

Exactly. Ironically, a lot of this crowd had a hissy fit when their kids were sent to Kilmer GT center from Longfellow years ago. It didn't matter that Kilmer was closer; it was called "rough." Of course, after lots of Kilmer kids started getting admitted to TJ, Kilmer got a big renovation, and test scores at Marshall HS (which most Kilmer students go on to attend) started to rise, Kilmer turned out to be just fine. In Jackson's case, it's "deja vu all over again." Some of the parents decided to keep their kids at Thoreau rather than send them to Jackson, but over time most are going to send their GT/AAP kids to Jackson.

[Anonymous]

I'm the one who suggested FCAG, and I also agree with the previous two posts. I think that OP could look at the recent FCAG discussion, and see that those with children actually AT Luther Jackson are quite happy with it. Rumors, which are apparently untrue, about 'bad things' happening at Jackson are sometimes raised by some parents who sent their kids to Thoreau instead of Luther Jackson. I think both Jackson and Thoreau are perfectly fine choices, but find it illuminating and reassuring that parents with kids actually at Jackson are really very happy with it. Luther Jackson parents on the FCAG discussion group seem to do an excellent job debunking those rumors.

[Anonymous]

This is good to know. My husband and I bought a beautiful home in the Jackson/Falls Church HS area about 7 years ago. At the time, we bought for location, but when we went to sell, we found that once potential buyers found out about the schools, they weren't interested anymore. Right now we are renting it out, but would love to sell at some point.

[Anonymous]

You should be able to sell your house if it's reasonably priced. I don't know every neighborhood in the Jackson/Falls Church pyramid, but houses in the Camelot neighborhood of Annandale, which are in the Jackson MS/Falls Church HS district, tend to sell very quickly. The same is the case for houses in the Holmes Run area.

[Anonymous]

We are across from Vienna metro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are across from Vienna metro.

Sounds like you're in the Fairhill ES district? It feeds into Jackson MS/Falls Church HS.

If your house is near the Vienna metro, some buyers won't be interested because they may have incorrectly assumed it would be in the Madison or Oakton HS district, rather than the Falls Church HS district. But that doesn't mean someone else won't buy it; over the past year or so, houses in the Fairhill ES district have, on average, sold about 30 days after they were first listed. That is not bad at all. A reasonably priced home in the Falls Church HS district will sell faster than an overpriced home in the Madison HS district, and vice versa.

[Anonymous]

If your house is near the Vienna metro, some buyers won't be interested because they may have incorrectly assumed it would be in the Madison or Oakton HS district, rather than the Falls Church HS district

This is what I was thinking, that buyers may have assumed it was Vienna schools. We live in this area and 12-18 months ago nothing was selling, but now homes seem to be selling within a few weeks.

[Anonymous]

I'm in Fairhill/Jackson/FC district. We sold our house in April before it was even listed. Amazing what a "coming soon" sign can do. Multiple, good offers. Buyer had kids, so I assume they were aware of schools.

BTW, we have found Fairhill to be an excellent school and many neighbors have been really pleased with Jackson.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the feedback. I have been paying attention to the FCAG listserv and that's why I asked here. There was a lot of second-hand info, and even the first-hand reports were kinda weird, like "Fabulous school, my kids don't mind getting pushed around in the hallway."

If anyone here has more first-hand reports, I'd be glad to hear them. My hesitations about LJ are three: 1) it is really far from our house; 2) the dilution of the GT social and academic effect, with only three core classes offered at the GT level; 3) school atmosphere. DD is most comfortable in a smaller environment. She's dealing with the GT center now because it offers better social and academic comfort than the privates, but if LJ is much bigger or more chaotic, the balance may tip in the other direction.

[Anonymous]

Well, in terms of size, Jackson has about 1000 students, 150ish in the GT Center. Kilmer also has about 1000, with not quite 300 in the Center. All the demographics for the schools are on the FCPS website.

[Anonymous]

Glad to hear all this! We're currently in Fairhill/Jackson/FCHS and some of the gossip about FCHS and Jackson scares me. We're likely moving anyway because I want to be closer to my job in DC, but it's nice to know that my house might sell quickly or if I decide to keep it, that my daughter won't be doomed to subpar schools.

[Anonymous]

I coach at Falls Church and I can assure you that most of the gossip is just that -- gossip (and extremely outdated at that). I have NEVER felt uncomfortable at the school and have found that the student body is very accepting of each other. Now, there are schools where I am not comfortable but not that is neither here nor there.