Kenmore, Swanson, or private?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson would be a safer bet home-value wise. And overall it’s held in higher esteem than Kenmore.

+1

I think Kenmore is considered the worst middle school in all of APS. If you see the kids walking n/S along carlin springs after school, the differences are striking.

Ouch - your racism is showing.

I wouldn't do Kenmore because there is a bullying problem. And the administration caters to the lowest common denominator.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a fourth grader and are moving to a larger house. We are considering putting offers on one of two homes - one zoned for Kenmore and one zoned for Swanson. I've heard fairly negative things about both middle schools, for different reasons (Kenmore not being terribly rigorous and having a lot of fights, and Swanson being overcrowded with more bullying than the standard middle school). Interested in perspectives of those whose kids have attended both schools. We might just suck it up and pay for private but would prefer not to.

Swanson’s old principal (Loft) is back and things are under control. The previous bullying incidents were highly publicized but it was mainly one student bully, who is no longer at the school. It’s a nice, walkable, community school that actually looks like that Hollywood image of the classic jr high school — red brick facade, green lawn out front. It’s a very old school building (roughly 85 years old) that has a lot of charm. The auditorium still has the stained wood paneling. It’s nice how students can walk to Swanson and patronize the shops in Westover Village.

Kenmore has a newer building and has the largest auditorium of all the APS schools. The arts focus there is popular and students would often transfer in for that program specifically. There was a highly publicized incident this year of a group of Kenmore students in a physical altercation with a Dorothy Hamm MS basketball player waiting for the bus at the bus stop.

What was one bully doing that it got negative attention for the entire school? He (I'm assuming) must have been busy.

PP is incorrect. The kids that bullied the child with autism are still there. The kid who brought a taser to to school is different, he is no longer there.

I was thinking of the taser incident. By they time OP’s DC is in middle school any bullies still there should be long gone.

Both incidents made the news.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson would be a safer bet home-value wise. And overall it’s held in higher esteem than Kenmore.

+1

I think Kenmore is considered the worst middle school in all of APS. If you see the kids walking n/S along carlin springs after school, the differences are striking.

Differences in what, pray tell?? Kenmore kids v. other middle schoolers; or kids walking south from Kenmore v. kids walking north from Kenmore?
I would argue Gunston is looked down upon more than Kenmore; but maybe that's because it's too far away from the white North for those people to see those kids walking n/s along Glebe.
I hear more positives about Kenmore than about Gunston; and more negatives about Gunston than about Kenmore. But then I hear different negative things about Swanson and Williamsburg. Maybe another poster is right - perhaps Hamm really is the best, because I've yet to hear anything negative about Hamm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson would be a safer bet home-value wise. And overall it’s held in higher esteem than Kenmore.

+1

I think Kenmore is considered the worst middle school in all of APS. If you see the kids walking n/S along carlin springs after school, the differences are striking.

No, that would be Gunston

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson would be a safer bet home-value wise. And overall it’s held in higher esteem than Kenmore.

+1

I think Kenmore is considered the worst middle school in all of APS. If you see the kids walking n/S along carlin springs after school, the differences are striking.

Ouch - your racism is showing.

I wouldn't do Kenmore because there is a bullying problem. And the administration caters to the lowest common denominator.

There is a bullying problem at Kenmore? Are you confusing it with Swanson last year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson would be a safer bet home-value wise. And overall it’s held in higher esteem than Kenmore.

+1

I think Kenmore is considered the worst middle school in all of APS. If you see the kids walking n/S along carlin springs after school, the differences are striking.

No, that would be Gunston

What's wrong with Gunston?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson would be a safer bet home-value wise. And overall it’s held in higher esteem than Kenmore.

+1

I think Kenmore is considered the worst middle school in all of APS. If you see the kids walking n/S along carlin springs after school, the differences are striking.

Differences in what, pray tell?? Kenmore kids v. other middle schoolers; or kids walking south from Kenmore v. kids walking north from Kenmore?
I would argue Gunston is looked down upon more than Kenmore; but maybe that's because it's too far away from the white North for those people to see those kids walking n/s along Glebe.
I hear more positives about Kenmore than about Gunston; and more negatives about Gunston than about Kenmore. But then I hear different negative things about Swanson and Williamsburg. Maybe another poster is right - perhaps Hamm really is the best, because I've yet to hear anything negative about Hamm.

Can you tell us more about what you hear about each school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson would be a safer bet home-value wise. And overall it’s held in higher esteem than Kenmore.

+1

I think Kenmore is considered the worst middle school in all of APS. If you see the kids walking n/S along carlin springs after school, the differences are striking.

Ouch - your racism is showing.

I wouldn't do Kenmore because there is a bullying problem. And the administration caters to the lowest common denominator.

Yeah. There's no bullying in any of the other middle schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson would be a safer bet home-value wise. And overall it’s held in higher esteem than Kenmore.

+1

I think Kenmore is considered the worst middle school in all of APS. If you see the kids walking n/S along carlin springs after school, the differences are striking.

Ouch - your racism is showing.

I wouldn't do Kenmore because there is a bullying problem. And the administration caters to the lowest common denominator.

There is a bullying problem at Kenmore? Are you confusing it with Swanson last year?

Nope I’m not talking about bullying I’m talking about a kid who was jumped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson would be a safer bet home-value wise. And overall it’s held in higher esteem than Kenmore.

+1

I think Kenmore is considered the worst middle school in all of APS. If you see the kids walking n/S along carlin springs after school, the differences are striking.

Differences in what, pray tell?? Kenmore kids v. other middle schoolers; or kids walking south from Kenmore v. kids walking north from Kenmore?
I would argue Gunston is looked down upon more than Kenmore; but maybe that's because it's too far away from the white North for those people to see those kids walking n/s along Glebe.
I hear more positives about Kenmore than about Gunston; and more negatives about Gunston than about Kenmore. But then I hear different negative things about Swanson and Williamsburg. Maybe another poster is right - perhaps Hamm really is the best, because I've yet to hear anything negative about Hamm.

Can you tell us more about what you hear about each school?

Bullying at Gunston. Principal very disliked...but she's moving on to Arlington Community HS next year. Way overcrowded. Band director popular.
Kenmore principal very well liked and respected. Arts program praised. Active and engaged Hispanic parents group.
Williamsburg principal not well liked by many parents, staff. But positive things about certain instruction (which may be happening elsewhere, too; we're out of MS so I don't know).
Swanson overcrowded, bullying. Better diversity than Williamsburg.
Hamm - under-enrolled, so lots of space and small classes; excellent principal.
TJ - fine. Meh principal, but not the negative comments like others. Excellent counseling staff, though the director of counseling left a year or two ago. World language earlier (v. language wheel) due to IB program (that can be a positive or negative depending on personal viewpoint). Hamm's principal was AP at TJ.

[Anonymous]

Kenmore is 49% Farms and Gunston is 36% farms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kenmore is 49% Farms and Gunston is 36% farms.

I wouldn’t worry about the bullying at Swanson. Those kids are moving on to high school soon, and the new principal changed the culture there. It’s always been a tight knit community school.

[Anonymous]

I would take what you hear on dcum with a grain of salt op. Some racism about kenmore, gossip etc. My neighbors all seem happy with Swanson (my kids aren’t there yet) and the kids seem to have a great community considering all the hanging after school in westover that I stumble upon often. My friend who was a teacher there never had bad things to say and said the kids are happy.

[Anonymous]

When are they rezoning middle schools to balance populations? Its surely coming with the empty and overcrowded middle schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When are they rezoning middle schools to balance populations? Its surely coming with the empty and overcrowded middle schools

They aren’t.