Cardinal Forest, Orange Hunt, Silverbrook ES

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All are good schools. WSHS is probably a little better than SCHS but you can’t go wrong with any of these options.

This may be splitting hairs a bit...but what is considered "a little better"? With my kids so young, it's hard to think about what I may be looking for in a HS.

West Springfield has higher test scores - SOLs and SATs - then South County. That’s about it.

And SoCo feeds from an area over off of Route 1 that is rough and low income. WSHS doesn't have a pocket like that and is fairly homogenous income-wise. Silverbrook is definitely the highest income ES that feeds into the SoCo pyramid.

[Anonymous]

Unless you plan to do German immersion, please choose one other than Orange Hunt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless you plan to do German immersion, please choose one other than Orange Hunt.

DP
Could you elaborate? This isn't very helpful without some reasons why.

[Anonymous]

Orange Hunt is crowded and lots of mobility because of the military families.

Hunt Valley would be another option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All are good schools. WSHS is probably a little better than SCHS but you can’t go wrong with any of these options.

This may be splitting hairs a bit...but what is considered "a little better"? With my kids so young, it's hard to think about what I may be looking for in a HS.

West Springfield has higher test scores - SOLs and SATs - then South County. That’s about it.

And SoCo feeds from an area over off of Route 1 that is rough and low income. WSHS doesn't have a pocket like that and is fairly homogenous income-wise. Silverbrook is definitely the highest income ES that feeds into the SoCo pyramid.

You can count on people from West Springfield to tell you the top schools are “pressure cookers” and that more diverse schools have “rough” areas. They are the Goldilocks of FCPS - every other area is somehow too rich (hot) or too cold (poor).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All are good schools. WSHS is probably a little better than SCHS but you can’t go wrong with any of these options.

This may be splitting hairs a bit...but what is considered "a little better"? With my kids so young, it's hard to think about what I may be looking for in a HS.

West Springfield has higher test scores - SOLs and SATs - then South County. That’s about it.

And SoCo feeds from an area over off of Route 1 that is rough and low income. WSHS doesn't have a pocket like that and is fairly homogenous income-wise. Silverbrook is definitely the highest income ES that feeds into the SoCo pyramid.

You can count on people from West Springfield to tell you the top schools are “pressure cookers” and that more diverse schools have “rough” areas. They are the Goldilocks of FCPS - every other area is somehow too rich (hot) or too cold (poor).

Actually I’m a SoCo parent, but try again. OP asked for clarification about the slight difference someone else pointed out. This is the honest slight difference. Do I personally think that it would be enough to sway me into picking one over the other? No…I was simply answering the question OP posed. Both schools have decent reputations…if I were in OPs shoes I would pick whatever house/neighborhood I liked best, but that isn’t what OP asked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All are good schools. WSHS is probably a little better than SCHS but you can’t go wrong with any of these options.

This may be splitting hairs a bit...but what is considered "a little better"? With my kids so young, it's hard to think about what I may be looking for in a HS.

West Springfield has higher test scores - SOLs and SATs - then South County. That’s about it.

And SoCo feeds from an area over off of Route 1 that is rough and low income. WSHS doesn't have a pocket like that and is fairly homogenous income-wise. Silverbrook is definitely the highest income ES that feeds into the SoCo pyramid.

You can count on people from West Springfield to tell you the top schools are “pressure cookers” and that more diverse schools have “rough” areas. They are the Goldilocks of FCPS - every other area is somehow too rich (hot) or too cold (poor).

Actually I’m a SoCo parent, but try again. OP asked for clarification about the slight difference someone else pointed out. This is the honest slight difference. Do I personally think that it would be enough to sway me into picking one over the other? No…I was simply answering the question OP posed. Both schools have decent reputations…if I were in OPs shoes I would pick whatever house/neighborhood I liked best, but that isn’t what OP asked.

Do the "rough" kids give your kids trouble?

[Anonymous]

I thought the FARMS rate at Cardinal Forest is fairly high - almost 30% and higher than South County HS as a whole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought the FARMS rate at Cardinal Forest is fairly high - almost 30% and higher than South County HS as a whole.

I would say Cardinal Forest is the outlier in the WSHS pyramid.