If my child is zoned for Gunston and I’m not excited about it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Move. We were zoned to Kenmore and that’s what we did.

Where'd you move? I feel like the Gunston zone is all I can afford (not OP)

[Anonymous]

Moved to N Arl. But this was before interest rates went up. Maybe try a transfer. Hamm and Williamsburg should both have room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Move. We were zoned to Kenmore and that’s what we did.

Where'd you move? I feel like the Gunston zone is all I can afford (not OP)

Clearly not being able to afford anything more expensive than what’s in the Kenmore zone wasn’t an issue for the person you’re replying to. Are you just being nosy to find out what school they went to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Move. We were zoned to Kenmore and that’s what we did.

Where'd you move? I feel like the Gunston zone is all I can afford (not OP)

This is OP. That person is being an $&@ because if we could afford to move to a better school district, we would.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They’ll open the lottery for neighborhood transfers on February 20th. I also live in the gunston zone and know many people who are very happy there. If it’s an option this year I will apply to TJ for IB

To add, I would be fine with Gunston, I really liked the vibe at the information night.

This is OP. Can you say more about the vibe? My daughter has special needs, and I’m concerned about the overcrowding for her in particular. I have also heard a few things from neighbors that I think my daughter is unprepared to handle, but I realize that might just be middle school and not Gunston specifically.

Re Kenmore, I have actually heard great things about Kenmore, particularly for artsy, quirky kids like my daughter.

[Anonymous]

FCPS is a superior school district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Move. We were zoned to Kenmore and that’s what we did.

Where'd you move? I feel like the Gunston zone is all I can afford (not OP)

Clearly not being able to afford anything more expensive than what’s in the Kenmore zone wasn’t an issue for the person you’re replying to. Are you just being nosy to find out what school they went to?

Uh, no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They’ll open the lottery for neighborhood transfers on February 20th. I also live in the gunston zone and know many people who are very happy there. If it’s an option this year I will apply to TJ for IB

To add, I would be fine with Gunston, I really liked the vibe at the information night.

This is OP. Can you say more about the vibe? My daughter has special needs, and I’m concerned about the overcrowding for her in particular. I have also heard a few things from neighbors that I think my daughter is unprepared to handle, but I realize that might just be middle school and not Gunston specifically.

Re Kenmore, I have actually heard great things about Kenmore, particularly for artsy, quirky kids like my daughter.

The presenters seemed very passionate and on top of things, knowledgeable and energetic. FWIW I have talked to some APS substitutes who say that Kenmore has some of the worst behavior they have seen at the middle school levels.

[Anonymous]

Well, we are zoned for Hamm but send our kid to Gunston (immersion program). It’s not perfect, but we’ve been happy with the choice. As others have said, Gunston is usually prioritized for neighborhood transfers since it is overcrowded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They’ll open the lottery for neighborhood transfers on February 20th. I also live in the gunston zone and know many people who are very happy there. If it’s an option this year I will apply to TJ for IB

To add, I would be fine with Gunston, I really liked the vibe at the information night.

This is OP. Can you say more about the vibe? My daughter has special needs, and I’m concerned about the overcrowding for her in particular. I have also heard a few things from neighbors that I think my daughter is unprepared to handle, but I realize that might just be middle school and not Gunston specifically.

Re Kenmore, I have actually heard great things about Kenmore, particularly for artsy, quirky kids like my daughter.

The presenters seemed very passionate and on top of things, knowledgeable and energetic. FWIW I have talked to some APS substitutes who say that Kenmore has some of the worst behavior they have seen at the middle school levels.

This is OP. I didn’t realize this! Clearly I don’t really know where I would have DD go other than Gunston. I feel not very excited about any of the middle school options, honestly.

To the PP in the immersion program — that’s different. Immersion and Montessori are their own things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They’ll open the lottery for neighborhood transfers on February 20th. I also live in the gunston zone and know many people who are very happy there. If it’s an option this year I will apply to TJ for IB

To add, I would be fine with Gunston, I really liked the vibe at the information night.

This is OP. Can you say more about the vibe? My daughter has special needs, and I’m concerned about the overcrowding for her in particular. I have also heard a few things from neighbors that I think my daughter is unprepared to handle, but I realize that might just be middle school and not Gunston specifically.

Re Kenmore, I have actually heard great things about Kenmore, particularly for artsy, quirky kids like my daughter.

The presenters seemed very passionate and on top of things, knowledgeable and energetic. FWIW I have talked to some APS substitutes who say that Kenmore has some of the worst behavior they have seen at the middle school levels.

Kenmore parent here. I think that’s a very small subset of the school and the Principal is great and handles stuff like that immediately and has open communication with the parents. I find out from him before my kid says something or read about it on AEM or ARLNow. Seems that’s rare. It’s definitely a good option for an artsy kid. Dance, theatre, music, technology arts are all top notch and kids have access to things at this school they wouldn’t at others. We were reluctant Kenmore parents, based on stuff we read here, but didn’t want to move and our neighbors who actually had kids in the school were all very positive. Turns out it was the right decision. Our kid, who we didn’t peg as “artsy” before MS has really blossomed with these opportunities at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They’ll open the lottery for neighborhood transfers on February 20th. I also live in the gunston zone and know many people who are very happy there. If it’s an option this year I will apply to TJ for IB

To add, I would be fine with Gunston, I really liked the vibe at the information night.

This is OP. Can you say more about the vibe? My daughter has special needs, and I’m concerned about the overcrowding for her in particular. I have also heard a few things from neighbors that I think my daughter is unprepared to handle, but I realize that might just be middle school and not Gunston specifically.

Re Kenmore, I have actually heard great things about Kenmore, particularly for artsy, quirky kids like my daughter.

The presenters seemed very passionate and on top of things, knowledgeable and energetic. FWIW I have talked to some APS substitutes who say that Kenmore has some of the worst behavior they have seen at the middle school levels.

Kenmore parent here. I think that’s a very small subset of the school and the Principal is great and handles stuff like that immediately and has open communication with the parents. I find out from him before my kid says something or read about it on AEM or ARLNow. Seems that’s rare. It’s definitely a good option for an artsy kid. Dance, theatre, music, technology arts are all top notch and kids have access to things at this school they wouldn’t at others. We were reluctant Kenmore parents, based on stuff we read here, but didn’t want to move and our neighbors who actually had kids in the school were all very positive. Turns out it was the right decision. Our kid, who we didn’t peg as “artsy” before MS has really blossomed with these opportunities at the school.

I’m glad to hear that! I think middle school is tough everywhere and basically none of us are excited to start 😂

[Anonymous]

Consider whether you could afford FCPS instead. They are better schools. If I could do it all over again I’d buy a cheaper house in McLean. Not a fancy new build. Just a standard 3 bedroom. Like the one I bought in N Arl to get out of Kenmore. But for less $ and better schools.

[Anonymous]

Our APS MS is not sending full sports teams to Kenmore for games this winter because of the incident where a group of Kenmore kids beat up a Hamm student after an afternoon basketball game

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Consider whether you could afford FCPS instead. They are better schools. If I could do it all over again I’d buy a cheaper house in McLean. Not a fancy new build. Just a standard 3 bedroom. Like the one I bought in N Arl to get out of Kenmore. But for less $ and better schools.

This is OP. What do people mean when they say Fairfax schools are “better”? Does that mean more rigorous? My child is twice exceptional, which means gifted and in special Ed. She also has extreme anxiety. Moving her away from friends might be a non-starter because of anxiety but I also think moving her to a higher-pressure academic environment would be detrimental. It’s hard for me to tell if that’s what people mean when they say Fairfax schools are “better.”