which HS (Oakton, Madison, Mclean) our family should choose

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The nice thing about Oakton is the boundaries are a little screwy, which means you have more housing options.

Yes definitely very weird boundaries! They have been saying for many years that Franklin Farm would be rezoned for South Lakes but it has never happened. Franklin Farm is definitely one of those screwy ones.

Part of Franklin Farm goes to Chantilly. Chantilly is really the closest for most of Franklin Farm.

+1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The nice thing about Oakton is the boundaries are a little screwy, which means you have more housing options.

But then a lot of the houses zoned to Oakton are nowhere near the school.

This is really not a factor. Is it a pain sometimes to pick up your kid? Yes, but you get used to it after a while. Carpools are your friend. And now they have plenty of parking for seniors, even some juniors this year got spots. When your kids are gone you won't care! Pick what works for you long term.

Of course it is a factor. If you live in the western part of the district your kid is going to school in the same direction as the AM rush and coming home in the same direction as the early PM rush.

Those who do not work have no problems with car pools. Those that work from home may not be able to get away for carpools. Those that work in an office may not be able to carpool at all.

Multiple kids? Even those that "stay at home" can have difficulties making arrangements to be two or three places at once.

It may not be a "factor" for some people, but it is a factor for many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The nice thing about Oakton is the boundaries are a little screwy, which means you have more housing options.

Yes definitely very weird boundaries! They have been saying for many years that Franklin Farm would be rezoned for South Lakes but it has never happened. Franklin Farm is definitely one of those screwy ones.

Part of Franklin Farm goes to Chantilly. Chantilly is really the closest for most of Franklin Farm.

+1.

Yes you are right. I believe 286 is the boundary. East of is Oakton and West of is Chantilly. The Eastern part is the one that they keep saying might redistrict to SL.

[Anonymous]

I would do Woodson. Just keep an eye on which elementary- some are much better than others.

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Annandale/8403-Stone-Gate-Dr-22003/home/9710329

[Anonymous]

Wakefield Chapel is a great swim club to be near.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the great advice and insights!

our family almost decided to move to Oakton high school district. Right now we are looking at the area either with Waples Mill ES or Navy(same Oakton HS and Franklin MS). It seems Navy has better rating from greatschools.com(9 vs 7) but I know sometimes you need to take some great grain and salts on the rating score. Just wondering if there is any material difference for the elementary school?

Also for the swimming club, could you please recommend some which might usually have openings so I can register my kids immediately without waiting? My kids have swum for many years and do compete in the competitive team but they are not the top so they might not be able to make the tryout for the top swimming team given the spot is usually very limited. We don't mind driving 20-30 minutes.
A tennis club is also helpful but my kids spend much more time on swimming.

thank you all!

Anonymous wrote:Wakefield Chapel is a great swim club to be near.

[Anonymous]

OP, if your kids are serious swimmers, there are also year round groups.

[Anonymous]

Great choice OP. For summer clubs:

https://reachforthewall.org/summer-pools/Northern_Virginia_Swimming_League/

Year round: NCAP, Machine, Makos, Fish, Dragon...

[Anonymous]

Fair Oaks is the highest rated swim club in that area for nvsl

[Anonymous]

[twitter]

Anonymous wrote:Fair Oaks is the highest rated swim club in that area for nvsl

Try to buy a house in or near Fair Oaks Estates. The swim team is great. Navy is the elementary school and Oakton the hs. Navy is better than waples mill. Unfortunately its too late to join the fair oaks swim team for this year but you should be able to for next year. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the great advice and insights!

our family almost decided to move to Oakton high school district. Right now we are looking at the area either with Waples Mill ES or Navy(same Oakton HS and Franklin MS). It seems Navy has better rating from greatschools.com(9 vs 7) but I know sometimes you need to take some great grain and salts on the rating score. Just wondering if there is any material difference for the elementary school?

Also for the swimming club, could you please recommend some which might usually have openings so I can register my kids immediately without waiting? My kids have swum for many years and do compete in the competitive team but they are not the top so they might not be able to make the tryout for the top swimming team given the spot is usually very limited. We don't mind driving 20-30 minutes.
A tennis club is also helpful but my kids spend much more time on swimming.

thank you all!

Anonymous wrote:Wakefield Chapel is a great swim club to be near.

For school: Navy.

For swim: tons of options for the 20171 zip code, but it’s going to be tough finding a pool with openings this late on the game.

Summer swim:
-Fair Oaks: top of NVSL division 2. Very close to being the tributes to division 1. For some people, that’s a great thing. For others, it’s a deal breaker.
-Franklin Farm: Not in the NVSL. Lovely pool. Awesome community. Nice tennis courts. And it’s in Franklin Farm which is super nice.
-Fox Mill: NVSL, lower division so not super competitive. Great pool. Great community. Not so great facilities.
-Pinecrest: Hidden gem. NVSL D6. Competitive, but not crazy. Nice pool. Beautiful tennis courts. Great community. Currently a 5 year waitlist, but that could change next year.

I’d apply to all of them and see what happens.

Winter swim:

Machine, Potomac Marlins, NCAP, Moon Aquatic Club.

Hope that helps!

[Anonymous]

Navy and Waples are both good schools. I wouldn't quibble about which is better. A lot of Waples kids join Fair Oaks Sharks until they get off the Waiting List for Oakton Swim and Racquet (this could take years). If you buy a house in Fair Oaks Estates many houses have a pool membership that conveys to the neighborhood pool that your kids can walk/ride their bike to.

[Anonymous]

Based on everything you've said OP, I think your best bets are the Fair Oaks Estates or Franklin Farm neighborhoods. For Franklin Farm it's just a small number of streets that go to Navy but there are quite a few kids. The entire Fair Oaks neighborhood goes to Navy and there are tons of kids who play outside a lot. If you're open to a townhouse you could also look at the new townhomes behind Harris Teeter off Rt 50. Those are zoned for Navy and there are definitely families with kids moving in there. There's a pool there, but not sure about swim team... probably not. You could join Fair Oaks as an outside member next summer. As for winter swim teams, there are several that practice at Oak Marr rec center (e.g. York and Machine). There's also Cub Run Rec Center not too far away, where a couple other teams practice (Marlins, Centreville Swim Club). It's usually best to join a summer team then find out where kids who swim year round do club swim. They can tell you which teams/coaches they like and it gives you carpool options.

[Anonymous]

Navy is 46% Asian vs Waples Mill is 25% Asian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Navy is 46% Asian vs Waples Mill is 25% Asian.

Why is this even relevant?