New Home Choice: Is Oakton High Really Better than Chantilly?

[Anonymous]

Also, How is Rocky Run Compared to Carson? Thank you so much!

[Anonymous]

Yes

[Anonymous]

DD goes to Rocky and her best friend goes to Carson. She says that academically, Rocky seems to be more difficult than RC. She really does not like the new Rocky principal; some of the new policies that impact the students don't make any sense.

Rocky's old principal went to Chantilly, and she is very well regarded. I don't think there are huge differences between Oakton and Chantilly. Chantilly does have an overcrowding problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD goes to Rocky and her best friend goes to Carson. She says that academically, Rocky seems to be more difficult than RC. She really does not like the new Rocky principal; some of the new policies that impact the students don't make any sense.

Rocky's old principal went to Chantilly, and she is very well regarded. I don't think there are huge differences between Oakton and Chantilly. Chantilly does have an overcrowding problem.

Thanks for the input! I do have one question: Isn't being more academically difficult a good thing? For progress purpose?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD goes to Rocky and her best friend goes to Carson. She says that academically, Rocky seems to be more difficult than RC. She really does not like the new Rocky principal; some of the new policies that impact the students don't make any sense.

Rocky's old principal went to Chantilly, and she is very well regarded. I don't think there are huge differences between Oakton and Chantilly. Chantilly does have an overcrowding problem.

Thanks for the input! I do have one question: Isn't being more academically difficult a good thing? For progress purpose?

That's a difficult question to answer. I've written about grading policies for DD's teaching team before. There seems to be a lot more hoop jumping involved (the long and short of it is that it's better to not fall behind, not have to do retakes, not miss turning in assignments, because having to do any of those involves considerably more effort that could put you even further behind). DD feels compelled to go in to school when sick, because she says work accumulates so quickly, it can be difficult to dig out from under. Just to give you an idea, over the next two weeks, she has 6 tests/quizzes and 3 multi-week projects due. These are just the announced ones; there may be unannounced ones too. It's a lot of pressure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes

And why so?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD goes to Rocky and her best friend goes to Carson. She says that academically, Rocky seems to be more difficult than RC. She really does not like the new Rocky principal; some of the new policies that impact the students don't make any sense.

Rocky's old principal went to Chantilly, and she is very well regarded. I don't think there are huge differences between Oakton and Chantilly. Chantilly does have an overcrowding problem.

Are you talking about AAP or Gen Ed at Rocky vs Carson?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD goes to Rocky and her best friend goes to Carson. She says that academically, Rocky seems to be more difficult than RC. She really does not like the new Rocky principal; some of the new policies that impact the students don't make any sense.

Rocky's old principal went to Chantilly, and she is very well regarded. I don't think there are huge differences between Oakton and Chantilly. Chantilly does have an overcrowding problem.

Are you talking about AAP or Gen Ed at Rocky vs Carson?

DD is in AAP at Rocky. Her friend is in AAP at Carson. So the direct comparison is for those two. Her friends are in a mix of honors and Gen Ed and their course load is not as bad, but I have no comparison points for Carson.

[Anonymous]

Chantilly area is more compact. Oakton boundaries stretch from Vienna to Herndon - makes it harder to visit friends and to get to and from the school for some families.

[Anonymous]

I think they are very similar - the demographics are different. Chantilly is far more Asian, Oakton is more white. Both great schools though. Chantilly has the academy. Oakton doesn't have that benefit. We are zoned to Oakton but wish we were zoned to Chantilly because it's closer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD goes to Rocky and her best friend goes to Carson. She says that academically, Rocky seems to be more difficult than RC. She really does not like the new Rocky principal; some of the new policies that impact the students don't make any sense.

Rocky's old principal went to Chantilly, and she is very well regarded. I don't think there are huge differences between Oakton and Chantilly. Chantilly does have an overcrowding problem.

What new policies?

[Anonymous]

Easy access to an academy is a big benefit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD goes to Rocky and her best friend goes to Carson. She says that academically, Rocky seems to be more difficult than RC. She really does not like the new Rocky principal; some of the new policies that impact the students don't make any sense.

Rocky's old principal went to Chantilly, and she is very well regarded. I don't think there are huge differences between Oakton and Chantilly. Chantilly does have an overcrowding problem.

What new policies?

Until the admin change, the kids had 3rd period (I think) daily. So there was one 45 minute class every day. Then they had 45 minutes of Rock Time, which was a break of sorts, every day. Now, they just have Rock Time as a regular class, one long block, every other day. The school is divided into groups based on counselors, and their outside time is with everyone in their own group. These groups each have a designated spot where they're supposed to meet, and each group is not supposed to mingle with the other groups. Last year, the kids got to sign up for where they wanted their breaks, every two weeks. Friends could meet up with their friends by choosing the same break location, and even if everyone didn't get the same spots, they still would have some friends in their location in any given week. Some of their locations were outdoors, some indoors. Now, with assigned grouping, some kids (like my daughter) end up with no friends in their group. Additionally, if there is inclement weather, there are no indoor locations where they can go; they just stay in whatever class/Rock Time they had before their break time.

Their teachers also have the ability to view all the tabs on their computer. The kids were told that this was an FCPS-wide thing, but per DD, none of her friends in other schools, including high schools have this. I don't think this is a bad thing, BTW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Easy access to an academy is a big benefit.

If your kid is taking a strong academic course load, an academy program is nice but not really a big benefit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Easy access to an academy is a big benefit.

I believe both high schools have multiple AP courses?