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Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)
Shrevewood Elementary?
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Anonymous
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I would love to hear any feedback you have about Shrevewood Elementary. This is the zoned school for where we currently live, however, we are thinking of moving (possibly in the same pyramid but maybe not). Comments on class size, school administration, resources, teachers, parental involvment...really, anything at all would be helpful! Thank you! |
Anonymous
Why are you guys moving? |
Anonymous
| My kids are in Shrevewood. I like it. It's a small school (550 kids or thereabouts). The families are down to earth. Parents are involved but not crazy involved. It's very diverse. I compared orientation one year to the UN. Overall, I've been very happy. |
Anonymous
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OP here...
20:14, we are moving because we would like more room. Currently, we are in a condo and would prefer something with more living space for a play area. Plus, a yard (even a small one) would be nice. 20:53, thank you for your thoughts! I had heard that it was a smaller school (which I like) and it is nice to hear you and your kids have been happy with it. Down to earth families are always a bonus. 
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Anonymous
| Uninvolved parents compared to Vienna and McLean and a relatively high percentage of reduced or free lunches. |
Anonymous
Shrevewood parent here. In one respect, "uninvolved" means there are fewer helicopter parents, but it also means the PTA doesn't raise as much money to buy extra toys (i.e. smart boards and the like) for the school. Really, though, it's not comparable to McLean or Vienna. It's a different experience. I think the education is excellent. The families are not as wealthy, which in our experience, has decreased the social pressures. There are a lot of great kids and good teachers there. If you are interested in schools that are all white and all rich, it would not be the place for you. If you like diversity (economic and ethnic), then you will probably be happy. |
Anonymous
Oh noes. A whole 19%! IMO, that's really not panic-worthy, and hardly a sign of a Terrible School. OP: What is your budget and what size lot are you hoping for in a SFH? |
Anonymous
There are a lot of great homes in the Shrevewood district. Lately, they have been building new homes as well. I suspect that scary 19% will be pushed out fairly soon anyway. 
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Anonymous
Shrevewood has some lovely older neighborhoods like Falls Hill and a convenient location near both the WFC metro and the W&OD trail. I also seem to recall that Shrevewood was one of two elementary schools in 22043 (the other being Haycock) that Washingtonian magazine mentioned in a recent article about West Falls Church as a nice, less expensive alternative to McLean. Hopefully, the praise was sufficiently subdued that the "school snobs" won't start showing up and ruining things! |
Anonymous
Shrevewood draws principally from two areas - neighborhoods of SFHs (mix of older and brand new homes) near Idylwood and Shreve Roads and neighborhoods of condos/apartments closer to Merrifield. The "scary 19%" mostly come from the latter. It's possible the Merrifield/"Mosaic District" redevelopment plans could eventually push out some of those residents. People may pay more to live near an Angelika Film Center than a construction site. |
Anonymous
A large section of 22043 also sends their kids to McLean schools, ES, MS, and HS. |
Anonymous
True, but no one said otherwise, and the Washingtonian article wasn't limited to the part of 22043 feeding into "McLean schools." |
Anonymous
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This is the Washingtonian article that was referenced:
"Good for Young Families In Virginia: Falls Church (22043) Bordering upscale McLean, Fairfax County’s Falls Church has a similar suburban setting and top-notch schools but much lower home prices. Last year’s median price was $428,500, compared with $794,205 in McLean’s 22101 Zip code. “You pay a lot more for the name McLean,” says mom of five Irene Levy, who grew up in McLean but moved to Falls Church in 1989. The Zip code feeds two Fairfax County high schools, McLean High and George C. Marshall High, both of which made U.S. News’s list of the country’s best high schools for 2008–09. Haycock and Shrevewood elementary schools received Governor’s Awards this year. Houses here spent an average of just 66 days on the market in 2009, and prices have remained fairly steady since 2005. “If it’s in good condition, it’s flying off the shelf,” says real-estate agent Bethany Ellis. Housing includes condos and townhouses as well as older brick Colonials and ramblers. A few new Craftsman-style homes have been built on lots where smaller houses once stood. Near the West Falls Church Metro station, condos and townhouses command $400,000 and up, while single-family houses start around $600,000, according to Ellis. If residents are lured here by good schools and easy access to major roads, the laid-back vibe is what hooks them. Families stroll along tree-shaded sidewalks or walk and bike on the paved Washington & Old Dominion trail. “It’s a throwback to bygone days, with lots of little neighborhoods,” Levy says. “There are people on our block who haven’t locked their doors in 25 years.” |
Anonymous
Those who live in 22043 that borders McLean with Arlington to the East and DTH to the South don't get that much of a price break in homes. In fact, that area falls within the McLean tax area and you pay extra monies for the McLean Community Center even though your postal address is Falls Church. In fact, that area near Haycock is considered McLean even though the post office says Falls Church. If you ever surf redfin.com and input 22043 and then 22101, you'll see an overlap right in that area. |
Anonymous
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I have one at Shrevewood and one at the coveted Haycock, and here are my comparisons...
Shrevewood has a great family feel. Everyone knows everyone...teachers of grades your child has not yet been in still seem to know your child. We have never met a teacher that we wouldn't want our child to have. At Haycock, we don't really know anyone other than some parents in our child's class. It's a very "my child is better than yours" and "my SUV was more expensive than yours" environment. It's also primarily causasian and asian while Shrevewood is a diverse mix of everything you could ever imagine (which I much prefer for my kids). There are plenty of smart boards, computers in the classroom, etc at Shrevewood. Every classroom doesn't have their own smart board (like at Haycock), but there are several for every grade level and the teachers are never without one when they want to use one. Instead of spending every penny earned on smart boards to try and make a selling point for the school, teachers at Shrevewood submit "wishlists" to the PTA when there are items that would enhance instruction in their classroom and the PTA tries to grant those requests. The parents at Shrevewood are wonderful. They are definitely involved and there are parents in and out of classrooms all day long helping with various things. At Haycock, even if you want to help in the classroom, chances are that a helicopter parent has already beat you out for just about every helping opportunity. They seem to try to stick their nose in the door at every opportunity to "make a name" for themselves and get buddy-buddy with the teachers. I'm not saying that all of the parents are like this, but there are definitely a few in every class. Haycock is overcrowded and it is really noticable. On the night of a school event, it is not uncommon to have someone double park behind you in the parking lot or to have to walk 1/4 mile from wherever you had to park in the surrounding neighborhoods. They have 8 classrooms in trailers, and just installed a modular with several more classrooms. One kid is getting a great education at Haycock, but so is the one at Shrevewood, and Shrevewood is definitely a much less chaotic environment. |