Which district/pyramid would you choose?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
We have one child in 5th grade in a public school on the hill. We rent our house and are interested in buying in the spring. Would prefer to stay in public school and buy in a location where we are satisfied(ish) with the school situation through high school. Budget is around 1.3M. Child is very artistic, loves theatre and creative writing. Average student.
We’re finding this to be such a difficult decision. Part of it is the tension between the reality that from a selfish/adult-focuser perspective, we’d prefer to stay in the city, as close to downtown as possible. Even if we embrace the idea of moving to the suburbs, where to go is tricky. People with kids in MCPS seem miserable, though at least by spring the boundary issue should be largely resolved. I also get that MCPS used to be the gold standard and is slipping, but could be okay with that provided we can get 7 decent years out of it. But the threads are full of people saying they’d not choose MCPS if they had to do things over again, and I’m not sure what to do with that. Trying to learn more about Virginia; apparently Fairfax is also redoing boundaries and it also feels too far from the city. Maybe Arlington? Also concerned about state wide politics. We are very interested in Jackson Reed but the budget is limiting. A lot of this is comparing apples to oranges and I have no idea how to move this forward. I’d like to at least make some kind of shortlist so we could visit some middle school open houses. If you were in our shoes with our budget, where would you go? |
Anonymous
|
The people on this board seem to be more miserable then the general population, keep that in mind. People find boards like this for information and to complain.
The only school district in this area I wouldn't move into is the Alexandria County school district, the public schools are struggling and most of the MC and UMC families in the area send their kids to private school. I would find a hoe you like, with a commute you like, and look at the schools in the area. Involved parents who are helping their kid engage with school will find the public schools in this area are solid. |
Anonymous
| We are in a similar position and are giving J-R a close look but agree the budget issue is tough. Arlington similarly tough. Bethesda housing stock is a little better priced but we are hesitant to move all the way up there. The reality of the Hill post elementary school is tough. Even if we were to stay and go to SH or EH, the looming HS question is scary. |
Anonymous
|
We cannot afford it, but I would buy a house either in northern part of Arlington or maybe in Falls Church City. Arlington Public Schools (APS) are less badly managed than the other obvious options. The smaller size seems to help relative to MCPS or FCPS.
We particularly like ATS for elementary (option school with a lottery, so hard to get a seat) and Arlington Tech (as a STEM option -- in addition to having TH as an option). |
Anonymous
| TJ not TH. |
Anonymous
This is always good advice. |
Anonymous
OP here. I would rather find a hoe I like than try to solve this school situation. But seriously, I appreciate the insights and commiseration as well as the wisdom that there are unhappy (and happy) people everywhere. Will look more closely at Arlington. I think there are kids who can probably go through Hill MS and HS and go on to college and thrive, but my kid isn’t one of them. Definitely benefits from having a critical mass of peers who take school seriously and positive peer pressure that results (though also trying to avoid pressure cooker situations). I genuinely think we could find that at Eliot Hine or Stuart Hobson, but Eastern is a bridge too far. If we have to live in an apartment or smaller space than we’d like, so be it. |
Anonymous
| We’ve had a great experience at MCPS for both of our kids, including attending schools and participating in programs that are criticized here. |
Anonymous
| Yeah I admit we are done now but we were happy with MCPS. |
Anonymous
| Since you have a kid who is "very artistic, loves theatre and creative writing. Average student." is S-H an option for middle school and Duke Ellington for HS? |
Anonymous
We thought about it. I’m not convinced by Ellington. I think she’d love it - small school, theatre. But also worried she’ll get eaten alive when she hits college and hasn’t been academically challenged enough through grades 6-12. Open to having someone tell me why I’m wrong though. |
Anonymous
|
We are in FCPS, in the South Lakes HS pyramid but might be moved to the new school pyramid.
We have been happy with our child's experience. He is nuero-typical but needed speech therapy, which a teacher identified and brought to our attention. We like that there are options, such as language immersion and magnet schools, but found our base schools to be strong. We appreciate the advanced academic program; our child was selected but we deferred because we did not want to leave our base school. I know that draws fire because the selection process is unclear and there are parents who are desperate to get their kid into the program. We have not had issues with teachers or bullying or disruptive kids in the classroom, but we know other grades at our schools that have. Parents of kids with IEPs have had mixed results, it depends on the severity of the kids' needs and what type of supports that they need. We know people who have kids who are seriously delayed, and they have been happy with the programs provided for their kids. The people we know who are unhappy are parents who are having issues with their kids IEP and parents who think that the schools should be offering specialized programs that are more inclusive, families whose kids were not placed in AAP, and parents who think that the schools don't do enough for kids who are advanced. I would say 90% of our friends are happy with their kids experiences in the schools. |
Anonymous
| Ellington parent here. There is a small committed tribe of nerds at DESA who motivate each other to do advanced math, dual enrollment, etc. The general work ethic at the school is remarkably impressive -- these kids are in school every day from 8:30 to 5, often stay even later for extracurriculars or gigs/rehearsas, then come home, crush dinner, and practice their instruments another hour before crashing in bed. I can't speak to the sciences, as my kid's nerd leanings do not go in that direction, but if your kid likes math and music they'll be taken care of at DESA. |
Anonymous
| Most people hate MCPS but love their MCPS school. My kid has had amazing teachers with decades of experience. I would not make decisions based on what you read on DCUM. |
Anonymous
Slight correction: Most people on DCUM hate MCPS. Most people are happy with MCPS in Real Life. |