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Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)
Marshall Road ES (full day Kinder)
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Anonymous
| We are hoping to move to Vienna in the spring and our budget is tight so we are looking at neighborhoods that feed into MR. I am a little worried about my dc and full day kinder. Do they eat in the cafeteria with the big kids? Any personal experience would be greatly appreciated. Also, how is the principal? Is bullying a problem? I apologize if I sound neurotic! This is my first kiddo going off to Kinder so I am full of questions! |
Anonymous
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My child goes to Marshall Road. Yes, the kindergarteners eat in the cafeteria. Each class eats at their own table so there is very little interaction with the big kids. I have not heard of ANY bullying at the school. The principal is absolutely fabulous. She is friendly, will know your child, and know you after a short while in the school. She comes from a special needs background so she is very patient and understanding. I think the school is great. It is very diverse in terms of nationalities and ethnicities - majority white with a large minority of Asians (mostly Korean), and some Middle Eastern, Hispanic, and East Indian, along with a very small percentage of African Americans. The International Night is a true international night - amazing array of tables with information from many of the students' backgrounds. Very cool!
My favorite thing about the school is that it is "down to earth." There does not seem to be too much competitiveness or snobbiness there. Most of the students come from modest, middle or upper-middle class means. There does not seem to be any feeling of needing to buy a certain brand of clothes to fit in and whatnot that is a bit more prevalent in some other higher-income schools. The students are just, overall, nice children. We really love it there! |
Anonymous
| 8:10, Thank you! My dc has mild SN (speech/sensory avoidance) so the fact that the principal is from a sn background is a huge plus. Right now, our pre-k is only 3 hours a day so I am worried the jump to full day will be exhausting but I guess they all adjust at some point. Thanks for your help! |
Anonymous
Why are you only considering Marshall Road? Other homes in Vienna that offer full day kindergarten and where homes aren't all expensive include Cunningham Park ES and Freedom Hill ES. In fact, Freedom Hill ES offers preK and headstart, so that may benefit you if your budget is tight. Consider also Wesbriar ES, where homes may be slightly more expensive, but also offers full day kindergarten and test scores there are higher than the 3 aforementioned schools. |
Anonymous
| I am looking at Archer/Wolftrap/Marshall Road/Stenwood. But, Marshall Road is the only one where I do not have friends with kids in school there so I needed a little more info. |
Anonymous
What are your thoughts on the other Vienna schools? |
Anonymous
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[What are your thoughts on the other Vienna schools?
I think the general opinion is that the schools north of maple have higher test scores (less ESOL students) so a lot of people consider those schools highly desirable. I have heard good things about Archer, Flint Hill, Wolftrap, and Westbriar. The only school that my friends have told me to avoid was Cunningham Park. I guess they didn't meed the AYP but it looks like their scores have been improving so it's hard to say. Stenwood is supposed to have a very good music program. |
Anonymous
I think the general opinion is that the schools north of maple have higher test scores (less ESOL students) so a lot of people consider those schools highly desirable. I have heard good things about Archer, Flint Hill, Wolftrap, and Westbriar. The only school that my friends have told me to avoid was Cunningham Park. I guess they didn't meed the AYP but it looks like their scores have been improving so it's hard to say. Stenwood is supposed to have a very good music program. Vienna ES is supposed to be very good also, probably the best south of maple, and they have a small student/teacher ratio. |
Anonymous
| All of the elementary schools in Vienna are good. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. The ones with higher test scores are generally fed by slightly more upscale neighborhoods. The ones with lesser test scores have more modest neighborhoods feeding into them. Most of the schools score a 7, 8, 9, or 10 on Greatschools. Cunningham Park being the exception. Most people attribute that to the Vienna Park apartments that feed into that school. I have not heard of anyone being unhappy there, though. Find a place where you want to live in Vienna and base it on that. You will not go wrong. |
Anonymous
Most are good, but all are not the same. Some are clearly higher performing than others. There are pockets of expensive homes in Vienna, but nothing that would be considered really upscale compared to Great Falls or McLean. If you're going to move to Vienna, you might as well pick the area you want to live based on the school, not just move into anywhere in Vienna without factoring in what the school triangle is. |
Anonymous
| PP: I have to agree...In most parts of Vienna, you can find moderately priced (less than 500K) homes. They will be small. The exception might be Wolf Trap. I know there are houses for under 500K in Louise Archer districts (Vienna Hills neighborhood) |
Anonymous
The prior poster who said you can't go wrong with Marshall Road or the other Vienna elementary schools had it exactly right. And, there's plenty in Vienna that is upscale, both in absolute terms and compared to the older sections of McLean. |
Anonymous
You're joking. There's nothing "upscale" in Vienna that can compare to upscale in McLean or Great Falls. |
Anonymous
That's a different point, but it's also completely off-topic. The OP wasn't asking about elementary schools in McLean or Great Falls. Marshall Road and every other elementary school in Vienna are just fine. |
Anonymous
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Can we keep this on topic? The subject is about Marshall Road and other Vienna elementary schools. We don't need to compare the houses in Vienna to neighboring towns. The OP did not ask anything about McLean or Great Falls. I am the PP who mentioned that schools with better test scores generally had more upscale neighborhoods feeding into in than schools with lower scores. I meant more upscale compared to other parts of Vienna. I did not mean upscale compared to McLean, Great Falls, or Beverly Hills, for that matter. A 1990's 4-bedroom colonial homes neighborhood is generally more upscale than a 3-bedroom 1950's cape cod neighborhood.
Back to the topic on hand: OP, I think you will be fine in any of the neighborhood schools. Personally, I would not limit yourself to one school. None of them are that bad. Besides, over time, reputations change. When I moved here Vienna Elementary was just "eh." Now it is much better in just a few years' time. Mosby Woods in neighboring Fairfax had a horrible reputation. Now the GT center is there, and the school got a new principal and it performs at a much higher level. None of the town is "low income" with maybe the exception of the Vienna Park apartments. There are no bad or seedy areas. All of it is nice. The students all overlap in sports and other activities. I have friends in almost all of the Vienna area schools. I haven't heard major complaints. All of my friends at all of the schools (Louise Archer, Flint Hill, Wolftrap, Stenwood, Marshall Road, Cunningham Park, and Vienna Elementary) have had great teachers, good teachers, and so-so teachers. I've had friends who have had lousy teachers at some of the schools with higher test scores. In the end, I don't think the children will be educated that differently at Wolftrap versus Stenwood verus Vienna Elementary.
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