Anyone who has (or recently had) their kids at Douglas MacArthur ES?

[Anonymous]

We are moving from another area and I've read that schools in Alexandria generally aren't great. That said, how is Douglas MacArthur? We are looking at the surrounding areas to buy a house and I've seen at least one posting that says it has been in decline. Thank you!!

[Anonymous]

It's a great school. I've never heard any complaints about it. Brand new facilities. It is common for families in the area to do public elementary and then move to private for middle and/or HS so I would consider what you want long-term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a great school. I've never heard any complaints about it. Brand new facilities. It is common for families in the area to do public elementary and then move to private for middle and/or HS so I would consider what you want long-term.

Some of those kids and parents who depart after elementary school have a very difficult time making the transition. There are grading standards at the privates.

There are no "great" schools in ACPS but MacArthur is one of the better schools. But the bar is very low in VA and Alexandria specifically.

If people tell you that a school is "great" in Alexandria...ask them if they quietly got tutors for their kids. Many do this and then claim the schools are "great"!

Take a look at the proficiency numbers for the economically disadvantaged kids in schools. That's the real measure of the quality of the school.

DM is around 50% proficiency in reading and math. Cora Kelly is about the same. Much better than the other east side schools (For reading, George Mason is 25%, Brooks is 27%, Barrett is 32% and MVCS is 28%) but still very poor. Especially considering how VA fared in the US Dept. of Ed's "report card".

[Anonymous]

MacArthur a very good a school. The new building is beautiful and there are plenty of excellent, caring teachers. Of course some things could be better, like if the ever opened the playground for the kids to play on... but we are plenty satisfied.

[Anonymous]

Oh and the playground thing is the overall inadequacy of ACPS as a whole so not really MacArthur specific.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh and the playground thing is the overall inadequacy of ACPS as a whole so not really MacArthur specific.

That's the heart of it. ACPS is completely inadequate. They are swimming in cash, central office is growing more bloated by the day, and the person responsible for the highest level of elementary education doesn't even send her kids to ACPS. She has them in private.

OP, I'll give you some advice I wish I had gotten. Don't bother with Alexandria and ACPS. Plan for private or look into neighboring cities. ACPS won't improve by the time your kids hits middle or high schools. And no one wants to admit that the elementary schools aren't "great" or even "very good". It's weird.

It's a failed system in a city that isn't interested in its improvement. And if you think you can be a really active parent who will change things for the better...be prepared for the PTAs/PTAC/School Board members, your neighbors, and other parents to brutally attack you and your reputation.

That's how things are done here. And it's also why nothing improves. Just the way the city wants it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a great school. I've never heard any complaints about it. Brand new facilities. It is common for families in the area to do public elementary and then move to private for middle and/or HS so I would consider what you want long-term.

Some of those kids and parents who depart after elementary school have a very difficult time making the transition. There are grading standards at the privates.

There are no "great" schools in ACPS but MacArthur is one of the better schools. But the bar is very low in VA and Alexandria specifically.

If people tell you that a school is "great" in Alexandria...ask them if they quietly got tutors for their kids. Many do this and then claim the schools are "great"!

Take a look at the proficiency numbers for the economically disadvantaged kids in schools. That's the real measure of the quality of the school.

DM is around 50% proficiency in reading and math. Cora Kelly is about the same. Much better than the other east side schools (For reading, George Mason is 25%, Brooks is 27%, Barrett is 32% and MVCS is 28%) but still very poor. Especially considering how VA fared in the US Dept. of Ed's "report card".

How low is the bar in Virginia? I keep hearing schools in the most populous states like California, Texas, and New York have much higher standards. I’ve heard anecdotally that Maryland has much higher standards for its public schools, same with North Carolina. But is there hard data to support this.

[Anonymous]

Find the most recent "Nation's Report Card" on the US DOE's website. Compare Virginia's results there with what the state reports. The gap is enormous. The DOE has been doing the study since the 60s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Find the most recent "Nation's Report Card" on the US DOE's website. Compare Virginia's results there with what the state reports. The gap is enormous. The DOE has been doing the study since the 60s.

Interesting. Yet Virginia’s public colleges are among the best in the country.

For motivated students the public schools appear to be doing fine as the advanced classes adhere to the very high national standards.

[Anonymous]

https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/state/

The U.S. average results are actually quite abysmal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Find the most recent "Nation's Report Card" on the US DOE's website. Compare Virginia's results there with what the state reports. The gap is enormous. The DOE has been doing the study since the 60s.

Interesting. Yet Virginia’s public colleges are among the best in the country.

For motivated students the public schools appear to be doing fine as the advanced classes adhere to the very high national standards.

That's what pp meant by low standards in VA, your children may do well but it will be despite the public schools. Likely with lots of third party tutoring and enrichment. Even TX is scoring better than VA.

[Anonymous]

There is so much tutoring that goes on.

[Anonymous]

The Virginia state standards may need to be revisited.

They do that in California regularly, and this past year, while increasing expectations across the board, they also reinstated the cursive requirement for all students (highly unusual post common core, but it’s part of a “back to basics / less screen time” move that began with disillusioned silicon valley families).

[Anonymous]

Virginia's standards of learned are higher than the common core other states use so I find this hard to believe. Kids at ACPS in the lower elementary grades spend all their time in scheduled learning and intervention blocks. There is so much less play and fun in school today than when we were kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Virginia's standards of learned are higher than the common core other states use so I find this hard to believe. Kids at ACPS in the lower elementary grades spend all their time in scheduled learning and intervention blocks. There is so much less play and fun in school today than when we were kids.

Can you cite the data that supports your belief?