Relocating to Nova - researching schools, neighborhoods

[avocado_gtt]

Hi all,

I’m relocating from South Florida to NoVa and could really use some help narrowing down elementary schools and school pyramids. I won’t be able to tour many schools in person. I’ll be visiting in May but only for a few days, so I would really appreciate some local insight.
A few things about us to maybe help narrow this down:
We are Brazilian, and I am a single gay mom. I would like a school that doesn't focus too much on technology / screens, and one that does not require too much homework at the lower grades. I value a lot of the Montessori-style pedagogy; I value diversity and don't want to be the only non traditional family in the school. My daughter has disabilities so a school with strong special education is high on my list.
I haven’t chosen a neighborhood yet, and also I’m open to suggestions. From my research, it seems like Arlington or Fairfax would check most boxes.
I am hoping to live somewhere that feels a bit walkable, has some life to it, and is welcoming (not looking for a super quiet, isolated suburb, but more of a community vibe where there’s stuff to do, people around, and families who are engaged)
Based on the above, would you guys recommend a few specific schools (or pyramids) for me to research deeper, and try to visit in person?

Thank you so much. this move feels very overwhelming particularly because I am having to make so many decisions "site unseen", so I appreciate any guidance.

[Anonymous]

Where will you be commuting to? And what grade(s) are your kids?

All Nova schools are large and diverse, all have screens, none have Montessori. There are some schools with language immersion programs if that interests you (I think they are lottery based) and some schools with more special ed programs. But the truth is, most people choose based on commute and housing budget. Touring schools is allowed but not terribly common.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where will you be commuting to? And what grade(s) are your kids?

All Nova schools are large and diverse, all have screens, none have Montessori. There are some schools with language immersion programs if that interests you (I think they are lottery based) and some schools with more special ed programs. But the truth is, most people choose based on commute and housing budget. Touring schools is allowed but not terribly common.

I work remote and travel out of state 1 week out of the month. So don’t have to commute daily to a specific place.
Kids are elementary age.
Interesting about touring schools not being common. I am not sure how to make this choice then! I was thinking I’d pick the school and then find a place to live that is zoned to that school.

I like the idea of a neighborhood school that my kids can either walk to, or maybe have neighbors that go to same school.

Do you recommend any specific schools that I can research?

[Anonymous]

Figure out where you can afford a house and look at those specific schools. Most public schools do not give tours and they all us technology. Kids bring home their laptops. Virginia passed legislation that requires homework now. From what I have been hearing the homework is reading 20 minutes a night and some short worksheets but that really is school dependent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where will you be commuting to? And what grade(s) are your kids?

All Nova schools are large and diverse, all have screens, none have Montessori. There are some schools with language immersion programs if that interests you (I think they are lottery based) and some schools with more special ed programs. But the truth is, most people choose based on commute and housing budget. Touring schools is allowed but not terribly common.

I work remote and travel out of state 1 week out of the month. So don’t have to commute daily to a specific place.
Kids are elementary age.
Interesting about touring schools not being common. I am not sure how to make this choice then! I was thinking I’d pick the school and then find a place to live that is zoned to that school.

I like the idea of a neighborhood school that my kids can either walk to, or maybe have neighbors that go to same school.

Do you recommend any specific schools that I can research?

So why Nova, then? Asking because MoCo in MD used to have stronger special ed support (not sure if that's current), and lots of other places are cheaper than being within commuting distance to DC.

Anyway, in Fairfax, if your kid is entering 3rd - 6th and you consider them high achieving, you can try to get them into the AAP program. There used to be "AAP center schools" those kids would bus to if not already zoned; that's being phased out in favor of AAP in your base school but some schools are still centers. People have different feelings about whether being zoned for a center is good; see the separate AAP forum here.

I don't know the equivalent GT system in Arlington. Arlington will have more options for living walkable to retail areas.

[Anonymous]

Agreed. Why live in the DMV area if you WFH and travel oos 1x/month? Do you have family in the area to help when you travel?

If you provide a house budget, that would also help.

[Anonymous]

The best are McLean and Langley pyramids

[avocado_gtt]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where will you be commuting to? And what grade(s) are your kids?

All Nova schools are large and diverse, all have screens, none have Montessori. There are some schools with language immersion programs if that interests you (I think they are lottery based) and some schools with more special ed programs. But the truth is, most people choose based on commute and housing budget. Touring schools is allowed but not terribly common.

I work remote and travel out of state 1 week out of the month. So don’t have to commute daily to a specific place.
Kids are elementary age.
Interesting about touring schools not being common. I am not sure how to make this choice then! I was thinking I’d pick the school and then find a place to live that is zoned to that school.

I like the idea of a neighborhood school that my kids can either walk to, or maybe have neighbors that go to same school.

Do you recommend any specific schools that I can research?

So why Nova, then? Asking because MoCo in MD used to have stronger special ed support (not sure if that's current), and lots of other places are cheaper than being within commuting distance to DC.

Anyway, in Fairfax, if your kid is entering 3rd - 6th and you consider them high achieving, you can try to get them into the AAP program. There used to be "AAP center schools" those kids would bus to if not already zoned; that's being phased out in favor of AAP in your base school but some schools are still centers. People have different feelings about whether being zoned for a center is good; see the separate AAP forum here.

I don't know the equivalent GT system in Arlington. Arlington will have more options for living walkable to retail areas.

Good question - and I guess the answer is, I need to live somewhere lol. NoVa seems to check all boxes for what I want in life and for what I want for my kids. I don't have any family in the US except for one cousin in NoVa and although she wouldn't be a source of childcare, it would be nice to be close to her.
Since I don't know the area, I am finding super overwhelming to decide where exactly I want to be, which schools to send my kids to, etc.

[avocado_gtt]

Anonymous wrote:Agreed. Why live in the DMV area if you WFH and travel oos 1x/month? Do you have family in the area to help when you travel?

If you provide a house budget, that would also help.

I don't have much family in the US but have one cousin that lives in NoVa. She wouldn't be a source of childcare but it would be wonderful to be close to her and maybe see each other every few weeks. I have a solid childcare system for when I travel, though.

The DMV area just seems to check all boxes for me. I want to live near a major city, diversity is very important to me, as is living in a progressive area. I want great public education for my children, and access to a variety of activities and not just the neighborhood park. I am a single parent of small kids but am still very much interested in having a social life so I don't want to be isolated in a suburb that is super far from activities I enjoy. I also want to be close to nature and access to hikes, etc. Nova just seems to check all those boxes.

In terms of house budget - initially I'd be renting for the first 1-2 years. Budget would be 5k for a 3 bedroom. And then as far as housing, I'd love to stay under 1 million for a single family house, or townhome would also do.

Do you have any particular areas, or schools that I should check out?

[Anonymous]

Reid and the hyper-progressive school board are running FCPS into the ground. Sad to see the decline of the once-great FCPS.

[Anonymous]

I just want to know why would you make this move?

[avocado_gtt]

Anonymous wrote:I just want to know why would you make this move?

why not? seems like a great place to live. Can you elaborate why not?

[Anonymous]

avocado_gtt wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just want to know why would you make this move?

why not? seems like a great place to live. Can you elaborate why not?

DP. I really like living in Fairfax. But I live in this area because of the jobs and wouldn't have moved here if not for that. Your job lets you live anywhere, so this area is a weird choice because pretty much everything is driven by proximity to jobs. Also I live in a suburb, which doesn't seem to be your vibe.

If I had no job or family constraints and didn't want to live somewhere much more expensive (like CA or NY) I'd look at the Boston area. I hear the schools are very good.

In Fairfax, Reston and Falls Church City are both relatively walkable and family friendly. They both have tricky ES school boundaries that you need to study closely. Vienna is a distant runner up on walkability but does have a lot of housing walkable to retail and more consistent schools. McLean is not walkable.

Someplace like Clifton or even old town Leesburg is cute and a better value for your dollar because it's farther from DC. You will not find many on DCUM familiar with the schools there.

[Anonymous]

If being near the relative is the motivation, live near him/her.

[Anonymous]

If you have a million dollar budget for a house, I would look in the Reston, Chantilly area. You can find a nice house for that price and aim for Chantilly, Centerville, Oakton, or Western HS pyramids. OK, the Western HS pyramid has yet to be defined but it will be in June.

Oak Hill, Floris, Crossfield, Fox Mill, Navy, are a few of the ES in that area that tend to be good ES. I am sure there are others but those are off the top of my head.

I would avoid Herndon. The schools are fine for a very involved parent but there is a higher number of kids needing additional support so kids on grade level or ahead have a smaller cohort. They do well but there are fewer similarly academically motivated kids to hang out with.

We love where we are in Reston, it is a nice community with lots of options. Not too high pressured for kids but parents care that kids are doing well in school without being only focused on top 20 schools. Good activities, walkable neighborhood, very traditional suburban area.