HB Woodlawn vs. Williamsburg Middle School?
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Anonymous
| Anyone have any thoughts on HB Woodlawn vs. Neighborhood School (Williamsburg MS) generally? What should I be thinking about? And also for a dyslexic student? Where will my son be best supported? He will be entering 6th, but we’re thinking ahead 6-12 (HB vs. WMS/Yorktown HS). Thank you. |
Anonymous
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Hahaha, if you are zoned for WMS you have long odds for HB.
But I would do HB because for high school the smaller school will offer the best support. |
Anonymous
| OP… I should add that my DS has a lottery spot. So we have a big decision to make. Thanks for any thoughts. |
Anonymous
The odds are no different than any other school, ALL schools are allocated between 2-4 seats based on enrollment data. Cardinal is the only exception with 5. https://www.apsva.us/school-transfer-data/#:~:text=Woodlawn%20Grades%206-,Available,-Seats |
Anonymous
I would take the HB spot. I have had 2 children at WMS and in general had a fine experience but I know from experience some family friends children with ADHD and some other learning differences really struggled and received limited support. Many families are paying for outside support (tutors, etc). The classes are huge at WMS- since the school is under-enrolled they are allocated fewer teachers so classes are at capacity. HB is obviously a smaller school which seems like a benefit in your case. That being said if you are ok with all of that and your kid is super sporty, I'd pick WMS. |
Anonymous
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One of mine attended WMS and the other HB for middle school. I truly believe these are both good options, with highly comparable academics, despite the dramatic disagreements and hyperbole on DCUM.
My advice would be to look at the things that make HB different--less structure, student self-direction, less adult supervision etc.--and consider whether that would work best for him as a student, and to genuinely include him in the decision if you think HB is the way to go. HB so emphasizes student autonomy that I think it's worth taking that MO seriously at this stage if you think it could be a good fit. What does he want? |
Anonymous
Agree with above, both schools are good options. WMS offers differentiated academic level classes in middle school if that’s important. HB does not offer intensified in middle school except in math (if your student is on the pre-algebra path from 6th grade). If your student wants more classes to choose from (including electives), more clubs, and middle school sports, then WMS. One big difference is that HB has kids coming from all over Arlington so that positively impacts the student body population demographics (more socio-economic diversity). But also know that sometimes it’s harder for friends to get together because they are all over Arlington. Quality of administration is about the same too IMO. |
Anonymous
| You should ask each school how they will support your child's dyslexia. Do they have an IEP? |
Anonymous
| Parent of a current HB 6th grader with an IEP (but not for dyslexia). Personally I would take the spot. We have found the IEP support to be amazing. |
Anonymous
| My kid has an IEP at HB and we have been very very happy. |
Anonymous
| I would take the spot and see how it goes. You can always go back to WMS but not the other way. You have nothing to lose. |
Anonymous
But is it for dyslexia? What do they offer for dyslexia? |
Anonymous
This is important. You don’t often hear that about any of the other MS. |
Anonymous
This is true, but also HB has far less resources for special ed than other middle schools. So it's a tradeoff. They are great with the services they do offer but if they don't offer something, you are on your own. I had a friend whose kid with dyslexia went to HB and they didn't do dyslexia remediation so they had to do it outside of school. Not sure if that's still the case. |
Anonymous
Less resources but likely way more per capita. Any idea of IEP percentage vs mainstream schools. |