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Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)
Where to buy next home in NOVA based on good schools?
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Anonymous
| We are outgrowing our 2BR townhouse in Arlington. Our son is almost a year old and we'd like to buy our next home in a great school district (preschool through high school). There are so many excellent public and private schools in NOVA that I am feeling overwhelmed trying to figure out where we should focus our home search. Any suggestions? Even if the school is ranked well, how do you determine if it would be a good fit? I'm also wondering is it worth spending money on private if the public schools are so good in this area? Especially since we plan to have another child. We are looking at homes up to $1million, if that is helpful to know. I really appreciate your suggestions on schools and any advice you may have! |
Anonymous
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Of course even if a HS is ranked well today who knows what it'll be in 13-16 years. I mean, it's not like you'll see Langley turned into a ghetto in that time frame, but there could be a new principal, etc., that doesn't work for you.
Most schools in Northern VA are such that you'll have a solid core of parents committed to success. Whether you end up moving to the Woodson or McLean zones will matter far less than whether you are there for your kid when he needs it. Find a house you like, then find out where it is assigned to. Remember, assignments change. Somewhere on the FCPS site is a boundary map, so you might want to check out the neighboring schools. In my case -- Vienna-Thoreau-Madison. For ES, I might go to Cunningham Park, which is just fine. For MS, I might go to Kilmer instead of Thoreau. For HS, I might get to go to Marshall instead of Madison. |
Anonymous
| Buy the best house that you can afford that is closest to your work AND is in a good school district. You are already in Arlington so I am guessing that the commute works for you. Arlington schools are very, very good. |
Anonymous
I agree. If you have up to $1 million to spend, you can get a very nice house in Arlington. I would just stay there. |
Anonymous
You don't need a million if you move farther away from Clarendon....there are many neighborhoods in the YorktownHS pyramid with avg. price less than that. |
Anonymous
Of course, but anything renovated and larger (4 bedrooms, 3 baths) is going to be at least $800,000+. |
Anonymous
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Are Loundon County schools that bad, that they don't even figure in these discussion?
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Anonymous
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It's all relative. Most schools in Ffx Co, Montg, Arlington, etc are among the best in the country...even the not so highly rated ones.
I am a product of Ffx Co. schools. My HS was def not among the top...and 99.5% of us graduated and 99.7% went straight onto 4-year universities and colleges...several Ivy Leaguers, Public Ivies amongst us. Don't get so caught up on 'the best'. Your child will get an excellent education at many that don't get bantered around as 'the best'. Frankly, some that are always bragged about on here aren't even the best education...they have a more uniform student body. I have friends that went to some of these that were not impressed with the level of teaching. Do go over the records, visit them, talk to other parents, but don't be sold solely because of some list. |
Anonymous
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2 places come to mind:
Falls Church City. George Mason HS and the schools that feed into are nationally ranked (I believe). It is an awesome HS. This neighborhood: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=machodoc+ct+falls+church&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Machodoc+Ct,+Falls+Church,+VA+22043&gl=us&ei=awc6TcWuLtDSgQfwyb25CA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBcQ8gEwAA Haycock is also a level IV GT center--by itself, it is an awesome school. Longfellow MS is great. The HS in the area are McLean HS and Marshall HS both of which are excellent. George Mason is also near there too. |
Anonymous
I think that most of the posters on this board are from Fairfax, Arlington, DC, and Montgomery, so Loudoun doesn't get mentioned that much. Also, the thing with Loudoun is that there is so much growth going on right now that the school sytem is just trying to keep up, and boundaries are constantly changing as new schools are being built. I would not call Loudoun County schools bad at all. I think most of them are pretty good. However, I don't think that they offer some of the programs that Fairfax does. For example, I think their GT/AAP program is really weak. If you are looking for that...you won't find it. |
Anonymous
Falls Church City has its own tiny school system - some have likened it to a private system since it's small and less bureaucratic than other area systems. Very high test scores, but not much diversity and your kids won't have the same breadth of course selections available that they'd have in Arlington or Fairfax County. Haycock is a Fairfax County school; students districted there are assigned to Longfellow MS and McLean HS. Marshall HS is close by, but no one at Haycock or Longfellow goes there unless they "pupil place" for the IB program. There are undoubtedly a lot of good schools in Loudoun, though I personally can't see why anyone with $1M to spend on a house could possibly want to live there if they expect to be working in Arlington or DC. |
Anonymous
|
FAirfax station or clifton . Families are very involved and want the best f
or their schools. |
Anonymous
Actually, you could go to Haycock then end up at Marshall if you are an AAP student from one of the base schools that is assigned to Marshall (i.e. Shrevewood). |
Anonymous
| Try Vienna (Wolftrap) or Herndon (Floris or Oak Hill) |
Anonymous
| I second Floris/Oak Hill ES area. Close to the Dulles airport, an upcoming train station and toll road. |