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Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)
Madison HS--the sports school?
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Anonymous
| Is it true what I hear about Madison HS? We're looking to move in a year or two and I love Vienna. But I keep hearing about the huge emphasis on sports at Madison and how the jocks rule. My son is sweet as can be and very smart, but he is horrible in sports. The last place I want to put him in is a HS where the jocks rule. |
Anonymous
Not if their football team this year is any indication, they're 0-7 this year...  So if it is jocks rule school, those jocks are a little lame. 
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Anonymous
It's a rebuilding year in football at Madison, but the basketball team should be very strong this winter and the Madison baseball team usually is good. Sports are very important at Madison, but it's not as if there aren't kids at the school with other interests. But the principal at Madison is a former athlete who attended - you guessed it - Madison, and that sets the tone for the school. There are a lot of students assigned to other high schools who transfer to Madison so they can play on Madison sports teams. Next-door Oakton is also a big sports school. If this is a significant concern for the OP, they might look at houses in Vienna (outside the Town of Vienna) in the McLean, Marshall or South Lakes districts. None of these schools has as much of an overall "jock culture" as Madison, even though McLean's football team is off to a surprising 7-0 start this year and some famous athletes (like Grant Hill and Alan Webb) attended South Lakes. |
Anonymous
| Avoid South Lakes, but my son is decidedly not a jock and is doing very well at Marshall. However, to some extent, most high schools place a great deal of emphasis on sports. The key is going to a school where other activities are funded and supported as well. |
Anonymous
Marshall could use a few more jocks and a few less IB diploma candidates. Getting beat by Jefferson at football is sad. |
Anonymous
Didn't Jefferson almost make the playoffs back in 2005, when only four teams per division (and eight overall from the region) qualified for the playoffs? i mean, they haven't always been bad. |
Anonymous
What's so sad about being beaten by Jefferson? Maybe they outsmarted the Marshall kids. |
Anonymous
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Appears that Madison has come to its senses and decided to promote boy's chorus over boy's football right now:
http://commweb.fcps.edu/newsreleases/newsrelease.cfm?newsid=1558 They apparently sing better than they run screens this fall. |
Anonymous
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Maybe it's because Madison students are finding it easy to hit the high notes:
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/cms/story.php?id=2404 |
Anonymous
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It took a lot of guts for these Madison parents to insist that the administration do something about the drug use at the school.
The normal instinct in Vienna is to cover up any problems that might harm Madison's image. In this case, parents went to the administration privately at first. They had heard that their children didn't want to use the school bathrooms and were uncomfortable being on sports teams where drug use was common. The principal initially gave the parents a very cold shoulder. He didn't want to acknowledge there might be a problem, particulary if it involved athletes. They were so angry at his indifference that they demanded a public meeting. They will be ostracized by some of the other parents who only want to hear good things about Madison. But they did what they knew was right. |
Anonymous
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I'm in my mid-late 20s and went to Madison, and had a younger sibling go there more recently. I had a wonderful experience there, even though I was more academic and not too athletic.. and like most of us, HS wasn't really my "thing." Yes, there are sports, but I wouldn't call it "the sports school" anymore than Oakton, McLean, Langley, Washington-Lee, Yorktown, etc. Same like anywhere else, there are students who are into drama, chorus, etc. Your son would find like-minded people, just like anywhere else.
Madison is a great school.. your son will find that HS has its difficult aspects no matter where you go. However, Madison is a wonderful school and I'm glad I went there for my high school experience. If I had one criticism of Madison generally, it would be that some of the parents spoil the kids too much. Like anyone else, I felt kind of jealous back in HS when I saw classmates getting a really nice new car. But now that I am self-sufficient and managing my own career, finances, etc- I understand why my parents didn't buy me a 3-series BMW in HS and then expect me to live within my means self-sufficiently, and work hard to advance in my career, etc as an adult. And, we don't plan to spoon-feed or coddle our own children- though my husband and I will support their education fully, in terms of material extras- they can have those once they work and earn them. |
Anonymous
I agree that Madison is a great school. I have two kids that graduated from there, and before we moved into the area, we knew we wanted to live in Vienna, so my options were Madision or Marshall. No brainer then, no brainer now. Madison is heads and shoulders better than Marshall, and there's less of a fear about gangs in the school. Madison is also in a better setting, away from busy Leesburg Pike. |
Anonymous
Another informative, and entirely made-up, post from the "Freedom Hill Troll" (aka, the oft-banned City Data poster previously known as Handy man88, Tankdude, Live_strong28, Leezer and Reeze). Perhaps some day soon he'll crawl back under his rock. |
Anonymous
You are one mom that needs to get a life. |
Anonymous
I'm not a mom, but you're a liar who has never lived in Vienna or had kids who attended Madison. It's truly sad that you're so worried about the value of the property you bought in West Falls Church at the height of the market that you make up this stuff. |