purchasing a home that feeds into Wakefield HS

[Anonymous]

We currently live in DC and are looking to purchase a home in Arlington. It is clear that W-L and Yorktown have higher SAT averages than Wakefield, but I would love to hear from people who recently may have moved into south Arlington and who have kids who will eventually attend Wakefield. Would also love to hear from others who have kids who attend Wakefield and hear their thoughts about the school.

[Anonymous]

We live right across the street from Wakefield in the Claremont neighborhood. Although I don't have personal experience with Wakefield, I have heard very good things about it, the principal (who is new this year but was the assistant principal many years before that) and their AP Programs. I also have family members who teach in the APS system and they are planning to send their kids to Wakefield. You should also know that the school will be entirely rebuilt in the coming years. Construction starts this year I believe. Depending on how old your kids are, they would be getting a brand new facility. We have a 4 year old and while a lot can change in 9-10 years our current plan is to send her to Wakefield for HS. Claremont is a really nice neighborhood with lots of kids and families.

[Anonymous]

As is the case for all Northern VA high schools (with the exception of Freedom-PWC, maybe) there is a large group of kids and parents who are committed to success in college, trade school, the military, etc. It's just that there's a larger group of kids/parents who aren't as committed (whether by accident or intent, I won't go into here.) So the average is going to look worse.

I lived in the Wakefield zone. My experience is not typical but use it as a cautionary tale.

1. I made the mistake of living in a neighborhood that due to highways and the such was isolated from everything -- I had to get in my car the same as if I lived in some random cul-de-sac in Centreville. In other words, don't get a neighborhood with all the disadvantages of the city and none of its advantages. (No wonder the place was so cheap for its size.)
2. Neighbors weren't the greatest. Drug dealers (well the one across the street wasn't so bad), recent Americans who didn't like anyone from other nationalities, 8-12 people living in a 1300 sf duplex, people bumming us for money (who'd then have drunken/high fights at all hours), you get the picture. This might not be so bad in a SFH neighborhood though.
3. Crime is probably overstated unless you plan on rolling with MS-13. I locked my door maybe 70-80% of the time and didn't have my car broken into once, never felt directly threatened (but see 2).

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Yorktown and W&L have higher average SATs because the homes in those boundaries are pretty expensive for the area. (upwards of $500K for townhouses, expensive condos, not much subsidized housing compared to points South.) More rich white kids who speak English as a first language live in those homes, which tends to translate to higher average SAT scores. There are some nice neighborhoods that feed into Wakefield and there are some real commuting advantages to living there if you work in DC or Alexandria. But yeah, some neighborhoods are sketchier than others. (Though to be fair, when I was looking at houses in W&L boundary, I rejected one cute SFH because there were multiple cars up on blocks and guys walking around wearing wife-beaters. it just wasn't the neighborhood I had in mind. I kick myself sometimes now - W&L is better than the high school my daughter will attend!)

[Anonymous]

I am the mom to a 3 year old but am close with several of the moms of my babysitters who attend Wakefield (and live in our neighborhoos). I posed the same question to both our sitters and their moms and found it interesting that they all remarked about the smaller class sizes and as a result, more teacher interest / parent involvement at wakefield than at the larger Yorktown and W&L schools.

[Anonymous]

I should also add...if you're looking in South Arlington - the Douglas Park neighborhood is a fantastic one to raise a kid. I come from a small town and am amazed at the community involvment (4th July Parade, Ladies' Wine Nights, Christmas Caroling) that goes on in this neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the mom to a 3 year old but am close with several of the moms of my babysitters who attend Wakefield (and live in our neighborhoos). I posed the same question to both our sitters and their moms and found it interesting that they all remarked about the smaller class sizes and as a result, more teacher interest / parent involvement at wakefield than at the larger Yorktown and W&L schools.

Perhaps the class sizes at Wakefield are smaller than at Yorktown and W&L, but don't believe for a second that there is more "teacher interest/parent involvement" there. That's just totally ludicrous.

[Anonymous]

How would the Wakefield moms know this, anyway?

[Anonymous]

she has two kids one in each school?

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks for the helpful input. We don't know anyone who has kids at Wakefield or who lives in the area zoned for Wakefield, so we are just curious about whether we should even look at homes that feed into Wakefield. There are some lovely homes (or at least they seem nice online) in neighborhoods that feed into Wakefield and I was looking for some reassurance that when our kids (now very young) get to high school that the public high school is a solid option, despite the fact that its SAT score averages are lower than the other two Arlington high schools. Additional input, particularly about specific neighborhoods that are family friendly, would be appreciated. TIA!

[Anonymous]

23:08 here again.

Given the high Challenge Index rating, it seems that if a kid is interested in learning he/she can thrive @ Wakefield. I guess you can say it's a smaller version of TC Williams?

Some of the areas around 23rd street (West of Crystal City) seem to have family friendly SFHs, the neighborhoods of Alcova Heights and Penrose seem to have a nice variety of SFH's. OTOH, Gunston and Kenmore (I think) didn't even get full SOL accreditation, which to me is kinda worrisome (i.e. so many at-risk kids that a non-at-risk kid gets ignored.)

[Anonymous]

Aurora Highlands/Arlington Ridge are very family friendly and community oriented.

Our child is a toddler. We plan on going to our parish school, but I would not have a problem with it if the public option was our only option. While there may be at-risk students in these schools, I have seen enough neighborhood kids thrive at Wakefield that I don't have any qualms.