Schools in Herndon

[Ash_tanor]

We are considering a move to Herndon in the next year or so. We've heard mixed things about the public schools though. Does anyone have kids in any of the Herndon public schools right now, or in the last year or so, and what was your experience?

We would also be grateful for any recommendations regarding private schools in the area, as we're fortunate that we probably have some of those as options. We're familiar with and have heard decent things about St. Joseph's in Herndon, though are not Catholic or religious at all (I was raised Catholic so I guess I could pass if needed). Where do most kids from SJC go for high school after they graduate SJC?

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

If you can afford it, definitely choose Saint Joseph’s. A Catholic education provides a sound grounding in all of the core subjects. It is far superior to anything that can be offered by FCPS. I speak as a longtime HS educator, and we can always tell who has gone to the local Catholic school. They know their basic math, they know grammar. They are polite and a great addition to the public school high school. They also are prone to turning their work in time and not ask for continual retakes because there are none.

[Anonymous]

Where in Herndon?

There are Herndon addresses that feed into Herndon ES, Fox Mill ES, Floris ES, Oak Hill ES, Coates ES, Crossfield ES, McNair ES, and Navy ES, as well as Carson MS, Herndon MS, Franklin MS, Herndon HS, Westfield HS, Oakton HS, South Lakes HS, and Chantilly HS (at a minimum). There is a huge difference among those schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where in Herndon?

There are Herndon addresses that feed into Herndon ES, Fox Mill ES, Floris ES, Oak Hill ES, Coates ES, Crossfield ES, McNair ES, and Navy ES, as well as Carson MS, Herndon MS, Franklin MS, Herndon HS, Westfield HS, Oakton HS, South Lakes HS, and Chantilly HS (at a minimum). There is a huge difference among those schools.

Most people that live where you listed consider Herndon to be the area north of the toll road.
Since OP asked specifically about St. Joseph's that would seem likely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you can afford it, definitely choose Saint Joseph’s. A Catholic education provides a sound grounding in all of the core subjects. It is far superior to anything that can be offered by FCPS. I speak as a longtime HS educator, and we can always tell who has gone to the local Catholic school. They know their basic math, they know grammar. They are polite and a great addition to the public school high school. They also are prone to turning their work in time and not ask for continual retakes because there are none.

So, I take it you don’t have kids who go to school on Herndon?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where in Herndon?

There are Herndon addresses that feed into Herndon ES, Fox Mill ES, Floris ES, Oak Hill ES, Coates ES, Crossfield ES, McNair ES, and Navy ES, as well as Carson MS, Herndon MS, Franklin MS, Herndon HS, Westfield HS, Oakton HS, South Lakes HS, and Chantilly HS (at a minimum). There is a huge difference among those schools.

Most people that live where you listed consider Herndon to be the area north of the toll road.
Since OP asked specifically about St. Joseph's that would seem likely.

Correct, we are looking just north of the toll road, not too far from the library

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where in Herndon?

There are Herndon addresses that feed into Herndon ES, Fox Mill ES, Floris ES, Oak Hill ES, Coates ES, Crossfield ES, McNair ES, and Navy ES, as well as Carson MS, Herndon MS, Franklin MS, Herndon HS, Westfield HS, Oakton HS, South Lakes HS, and Chantilly HS (at a minimum). There is a huge difference among those schools.

Most people that live where you listed consider Herndon to be the area north of the toll road.
Since OP asked specifically about St. Joseph's that would seem likely.

Correct, we are looking just north of the toll road, not too far from the library

You should look in 20171, the schools are better.

[Anonymous]

I would probably avoid Herndon for public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would probably avoid Herndon for public schools.

Have you had kids in the Herndon area FCPS schools?

[Anonymous]

My kids went to Fox Mill and Carson, can definitely recommend that.

[Anonymous]

I have two kids at Herndon elementary one in AAP, another requiring special education support. We have very few complaints about the school. We know several people that go to St. Joe's, none are doing any more advanced work than my children. If you think having homework equates to a better education by all means enroll in St. Joe's, but join a catholic church tuition will be cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Ash_tanor wrote:We are considering a move to Herndon in the next year or so. We've heard mixed things about the public schools though. Does anyone have kids in any of the Herndon public schools right now, or in the last year or so, and what was your experience?

We would also be grateful for any recommendations regarding private schools in the area, as we're fortunate that we probably have some of those as options. We're familiar with and have heard decent things about St. Joseph's in Herndon, though are not Catholic or religious at all (I was raised Catholic so I guess I could pass if needed). Where do most kids from SJC go for high school after they graduate SJC?

Thanks in advance!

Avoid Herndon public schools at all costs.

[Anonymous]

My kid attended Fox Mill, which we really enjoyed. He was in the JI program and in the Advanced Math cohort. I have heard from neighbors that the experience is different in the regular class, more kids move to Oak Hill for LIV services out of the regular class then the JI class, and that there seems to be issues with the Special Ed at the school. That is listening to neighbors and their experiences. Our experience was great and most of our neighbors had good experiences there.

We know people who attende Oak Hill for AAP. Some loved it, others brought their kids back to Fox Mill because it wasn't a great social fit. I didn't hear anything negative about the academics, admin, or teachers. Mainly the kids wanted to be at school with their friends. We know people were Oak Hill was their base school and have not heard anyone complain about the school.

We know people at Crossfield, Dranesville, and Sunrise Valley. All of them have been very happy at their schools. We have friends who attended Hutchinson for K and moved that summer because they realized that the school was not going to be able to meet their kids needs. Their kid was on grade level and pretty much ignored in K because so many of the kids had not attended any preschool and had not been taught the basics (letters, sounds, numbers, colors, shapes) at home. They had other reasons for moving, it wasn't just the school, but the school played a large role in where they moved to. They made sure it was not a Title 1 or near Title 1 school.

The Reston/Herndon area has a lot of ES options. I would focus more on the HS and look for schools that feed that HS. South Lakes is an IB program, not an AP program. Lots of folks we know are happy at South Lakes, we also know people who principal place for AP at other schools. We have friends very happy at Westfield, Chantilly, Centerville, Oakton, and South Lakes. All of our friends who attended Herndon High were happy there, but we also know people who principal placed from Herndon.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for the 20171 area code... Schools are way better than 20170... I would argue comparable to a private school education in terms of quality! (Referring to Carson and Oakton)

[Anonymous]

Unless a Catholic education is really important to you, you are better off living in 20171 and attending one of the publics there. No point in spending the money. The Catholic schools are good for language arts but not as much for math or science. One of our kids attended Catholic elementary for a couple years (different school but same diocese) and they were behind on math when they got to FCPS. Science and art both seemed like a joke compared to our FCPS elementary.