schools in Potomac Falls/Cascades

[Anonymous]

Any one have any insight on the schools in this area? Thinking of moving there as we are priced out where we are now.

[Anonymous]

Let's see. Since I don't know if you care about ethnicity, I'll include those stats too.

If you have friends that way ask their opinions as well.

Potomac Falls: '8' on GS, 11% on FRL
Stone Bridge: '8' on GS, 5% on FRL
Briar Woods: '7' on GS, 6% on FRL
Loudoun Valley: '7' on GS, 4% on FRL
Loudoun County: '7' on GS, 10% on FRL
Broad Run: '7' on GS, 11% on FRL
Freedom: '7' on GS, 9% on FRL
Heritgage: '6' on GS, 16% on FRL
Dominion: '5' on GS, 20% on FRL
Park View: '2' on GS, 34% on FRL

Tuscarora draws from NW/NE Leesburg, Waterford, Lucketts, and Landsdowne. Woodgrove will draw from the NW part of the county (Lovettsville, Hillsboro, Round Hill, etc.) I don't know all the feeders to these two, but I always thought those areas were pretty wealthy.

Lots of rezoning, etc., so consider that if you get a place on a border with a school you want to avoid.

[Anonymous]

Well never mind. I lied. This compares the 10 schools open last year in terms of race/ethnicity.

http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/cs_compare/va/?level=h&area=d&district=104&sortby=pct_indian&tab=ethnic

I sorted by American Indian so all 10 open enrollment high schools were on the same page.

[Anonymous]

With an exception of Park View, all schools are pretty much on par with each other. I don't think they compare with the better fairfax county schools, but they are pretty good.

[Anonymous]

Thanks! I just want a safe, good education for my kids. I am sort of over the crazy "every kid is gifted" mentality around here.

I guess I was just wondering why the elementary school for Lowes Island gets a 9 or 10 on GS but the high school only a 5? I guess the hs pulls from other areas of Sterling besides Cascades?

[Anonymous]

I have heard mostly negative things about Sugarland Run, although they'd feed into Park View. And yes, the PP who said "not as good as the best FFX schools, but pretty good" is correct.

As for "every child is gifted," this may well be more true, given the nature of the area, as it would draw intelligent professionals who themselves would pass on smart genes to their kids and/or be very caring about their children's education.

I'm really not sure that Loudoun would be exempt from this mentality, as its household income is nearly that of Fairfax's (I'm guessing there's fewer $200k+ HHI families in Loudoun, but fewer <$50k HHI families than Fairfax.)

[Anonymous]

Which schools, specifically? Pot Falls pyramid? Dominion pyramid?

[Anonymous]

Dominion pulls from a much more diverse area than Potomac Falls. There will definitely be more free/reduced lunch students from Dominion. I thought Sugarland Run kids went to Dominion now, but I could be wrong. And, PP, there's nothing wrong with Sugarland. Yes, the houses cost less and the neighborhood was hit pretty hard by foreclosures, but it's safe and filled with hardworking parents who want the best for their kids.

If you want Potomac Falls for high school, look in the Potomac Lakes section of Cascades or or go a little further down Algonkian Parkway to Countryside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dominion pulls from a much more diverse area than Potomac Falls. There will definitely be more free/reduced lunch students from Dominion. I thought Sugarland Run kids went to Dominion now, but I could be wrong. And, PP, there's nothing wrong with Sugarland. Yes, the houses cost less and the neighborhood was hit pretty hard by foreclosures, but it's safe and filled with hardworking parents who want the best for their kids.

If you want Potomac Falls for high school, look in the Potomac Lakes section of Cascades or or go a little further down Algonkian Parkway to Countryside.

As we have been looking, Potomac Lakes seems like a good fit for us. My ds has mild sn (speech/mild sensory avoidance) so finding a school where he won't fall through the cracks is our top priority. smaller schools are better for him. Seems like Potomack or Horizion are the schools that Potomac Lakes would feed into.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone give any insight to which area has better schools...Cascades area of Ashburn Farm? Home prices are about the same it seems...

[Anonymous]

I'd have to go with Ashburn Farms. Stone Bridge HS is the local school. The Cascades/Lowes Island area is nice, but Lowes Island feeds into Dominion HS, which isn't supposed to be great. Potomac Falls has a good reputation, but the quality of the construction of houses in the Countryside area isn't too impressive. There are tons of houses with brick fronts and three sides of cheap-looking vinyl.

[Anonymous]

heck, if you're going that far, why not consider Brambleton or Leesburg?