Moving to VA from MCPS

[Anonymous]

APS family now in Fairfax. I would NOT go to APS. Both Meridian and fCPS are better. Much better at preparing students for rigorous college studies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are trying to decide if we should move to VA for better schools for our kids or stay in MoCo and go private/parochial. The VA HS boundaries we are looking at are: Yorktown (Arlington), Meridian and Marshall (Falls Church), McClean (Fairfax).
Here are some factors we are thinking through:
- Three kids, so parochial school PK-8 is ~350k.
- MCPS uses a lot of technology in early grades (K uses Chromebooks for educational games). I would prefer more limited (or non-existent, honestly) technology.
- MCPS allows cell phones (or has teacher enforcement of cell phone bans, which I believe is an ineffective policy).
- We are in MCPS’s Down County Consortium, so Blair HS is an option. Our elementary is fine but not great and MS (Sligo MS) doesn’t seem like a great option. Reading and math proficiency levels are not very good, even at our ES, which is not Title 1.

Will moving to VA actually address the concerns I have? I think my husband is leaning toward move to VA, get a nicer house, and get better schools while I lean toward staying in our more modest house and going to parochial school because it’s a better culture fit.

Any guidance on VA schools or generally thinking through this issue would be appreciated.

Why? That's so stupid. Do you want them to use chalk and slate or some shit like that?

The VA schools you're eyeing are remarkably similar to MCPS, so not sure what you think you're going to get that's different.

What a bizarre hostility to technology, though. Do you realize we live in the 21st Century and technology is a central part of how we live, work and learn?

Homeschool if you're determined to have luddites with no skills.

Spellcheck typing and PowerPoint presentations are not high tech for most people, but apparently that doesn't include you and your kids. What exactly is the computer doing? Chatbots? Grammar check? YouTube? Kahoot? These are useless for learning for normal kids in a classroom. Desmos should be replaced back with a TI because it's harder to cheat.

You laugh about chalk and slate but many science and math classes still rely on writing things in (yes) chalk or markers on boards. The only reason actual tech would be necessary are for niche things like coding and video editing where there is no alternative.

[Anonymous]

You won’t get a “nicer house” with “nicer schools” just because you cross over to VA. Housing prices correspond to good school districts. New builds in our YHS district are 2.5M-3.5M. And YHS, Marshall, Meridian (and W&L, which you omitted but is now considered on par) are all great schools. But you aren’t upgrading from the very good MOCO schools like BCC. Many people, myself included, would not consider parochial schools an upgrade academically from these particular schools. However, there are loads of reasons why parochial may be a better fit, including tech use, so absolutely no disrespect! I fully support your tech views and share them. Seems like Va schools are moving more quickly than Maryland schools but it’s not fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:APS family now in Fairfax. I would NOT go to APS. Both Meridian and fCPS are better. Much better at preparing students for rigorous college studies.

All kinds of reasons why people want out of APS. (Same for Falls Church and FCPS!) But for the OP, you aren’t getting an academic upgrade by moving to Marshall or Meridian over YHS or W&L. For example, they all sound about Top 10% of class to UVA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are trying to decide if we should move to VA for better schools for our kids or stay in MoCo and go private/parochial. The VA HS boundaries we are looking at are: Yorktown (Arlington), Meridian and Marshall (Falls Church), McClean (Fairfax).
Here are some factors we are thinking through:
- Three kids, so parochial school PK-8 is ~350k.
- MCPS uses a lot of technology in early grades (K uses Chromebooks for educational games). I would prefer more limited (or non-existent, honestly) technology.
- MCPS allows cell phones (or has teacher enforcement of cell phone bans, which I believe is an ineffective policy).
- We are in MCPS’s Down County Consortium, so Blair HS is an option. Our elementary is fine but not great and MS (Sligo MS) doesn’t seem like a great option. Reading and math proficiency levels are not very good, even at our ES, which is not Title 1.

Will moving to VA actually address the concerns I have? I think my husband is leaning toward move to VA, get a nicer house, and get better schools while I lean toward staying in our more modest house and going to parochial school because it’s a better culture fit.

Any guidance on VA schools or generally thinking through this issue would be appreciated.

The only reason to move anywhere is if your kids are way ahead or way behind and where you currently live is hopeless. With that said, Arlington sucks and the newish superintendent is more concerned about social justice (i.e., equal outcomes at a remedial level) than academic performance. None of the APS hs are that impressive and only 2 or 3 FCPS hs are worth a look if you can actively choose your schools. If your kids are outperforming their peers, you're probably looking at extracurricular support anyway so maybe move to the district that has better DE options. Caveat: with the way these school admin race to the bottom with their policy changes, there are no guarantees whatever you end up doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are trying to decide if we should move to VA for better schools for our kids or stay in MoCo and go private/parochial. The VA HS boundaries we are looking at are: Yorktown (Arlington), Meridian and Marshall (Falls Church), McClean (Fairfax).
Here are some factors we are thinking through:
- Three kids, so parochial school PK-8 is ~350k.
- MCPS uses a lot of technology in early grades (K uses Chromebooks for educational games). I would prefer more limited (or non-existent, honestly) technology.
- MCPS allows cell phones (or has teacher enforcement of cell phone bans, which I believe is an ineffective policy).
- We are in MCPS’s Down County Consortium, so Blair HS is an option. Our elementary is fine but not great and MS (Sligo MS) doesn’t seem like a great option. Reading and math proficiency levels are not very good, even at our ES, which is not Title 1.

Will moving to VA actually address the concerns I have? I think my husband is leaning toward move to VA, get a nicer house, and get better schools while I lean toward staying in our more modest house and going to parochial school because it’s a better culture fit.

Any guidance on VA schools or generally thinking through this issue would be appreciated.

The only reason to move anywhere is if your kids are way ahead or way behind and where you currently live is hopeless. With that said, Arlington sucks and the newish superintendent is more concerned about social justice (i.e., equal outcomes at a remedial level) than academic performance. None of the APS hs are that impressive and only 2 or 3 FCPS hs are worth a look if you can actively choose your schools. If your kids are outperforming their peers, you're probably looking at extracurricular support anyway so maybe move to the district that has better DE options. Caveat: with the way these school admin race to the bottom with their policy changes, there are no guarantees whatever you end up doing.

Name them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are trying to decide if we should move to VA for better schools for our kids or stay in MoCo and go private/parochial. The VA HS boundaries we are looking at are: Yorktown (Arlington), Meridian and Marshall (Falls Church), McClean (Fairfax).
Here are some factors we are thinking through:
- Three kids, so parochial school PK-8 is ~350k.
- MCPS uses a lot of technology in early grades (K uses Chromebooks for educational games). I would prefer more limited (or non-existent, honestly) technology.
- MCPS allows cell phones (or has teacher enforcement of cell phone bans, which I believe is an ineffective policy).
- We are in MCPS’s Down County Consortium, so Blair HS is an option. Our elementary is fine but not great and MS (Sligo MS) doesn’t seem like a great option. Reading and math proficiency levels are not very good, even at our ES, which is not Title 1.

Will moving to VA actually address the concerns I have? I think my husband is leaning toward move to VA, get a nicer house, and get better schools while I lean toward staying in our more modest house and going to parochial school because it’s a better culture fit.

Any guidance on VA schools or generally thinking through this issue would be appreciated.

The only reason to move anywhere is if your kids are way ahead or way behind and where you currently live is hopeless. With that said, Arlington sucks and the newish superintendent is more concerned about social justice (i.e., equal outcomes at a remedial level) than academic performance. None of the APS hs are that impressive and only 2 or 3 FCPS hs are worth a look if you can actively choose your schools. If your kids are outperforming their peers, you're probably looking at extracurricular support anyway so maybe move to the district that has better DE options. Caveat: with the way these school admin race to the bottom with their policy changes, there are no guarantees whatever you end up doing.

Name them

No need, you already know and are just trying to be an a-hole. Verify your list with college placements, test scores, NMS, USNWR, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are trying to decide if we should move to VA for better schools for our kids or stay in MoCo and go private/parochial. The VA HS boundaries we are looking at are: Yorktown (Arlington), Meridian and Marshall (Falls Church), McClean (Fairfax).
Here are some factors we are thinking through:
- Three kids, so parochial school PK-8 is ~350k.
- MCPS uses a lot of technology in early grades (K uses Chromebooks for educational games). I would prefer more limited (or non-existent, honestly) technology.
- MCPS allows cell phones (or has teacher enforcement of cell phone bans, which I believe is an ineffective policy).
- We are in MCPS’s Down County Consortium, so Blair HS is an option. Our elementary is fine but not great and MS (Sligo MS) doesn’t seem like a great option. Reading and math proficiency levels are not very good, even at our ES, which is not Title 1.

Will moving to VA actually address the concerns I have? I think my husband is leaning toward move to VA, get a nicer house, and get better schools while I lean toward staying in our more modest house and going to parochial school because it’s a better culture fit.

Any guidance on VA schools or generally thinking through this issue would be appreciated.

The only reason to move anywhere is if your kids are way ahead or way behind and where you currently live is hopeless. With that said, Arlington sucks and the newish superintendent is more concerned about social justice (i.e., equal outcomes at a remedial level) than academic performance. None of the APS hs are that impressive and only 2 or 3 FCPS hs are worth a look if you can actively choose your schools. If your kids are outperforming their peers, you're probably looking at extracurricular support anyway so maybe move to the district that has better DE options. Caveat: with the way these school admin race to the bottom with their policy changes, there are no guarantees whatever you end up doing.

+1. This is a real issue with moving for a school district. OP, your kids sound young and a lot could change. I am dealing with the same issue (live in a bad school district and want to move, but am worried that I will spend a bunch of money on a house in a district that ends up not being much better).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are trying to decide if we should move to VA for better schools for our kids or stay in MoCo and go private/parochial. The VA HS boundaries we are looking at are: Yorktown (Arlington), Meridian and Marshall (Falls Church), McClean (Fairfax).
Here are some factors we are thinking through:
- Three kids, so parochial school PK-8 is ~350k.
- MCPS uses a lot of technology in early grades (K uses Chromebooks for educational games). I would prefer more limited (or non-existent, honestly) technology.
- MCPS allows cell phones (or has teacher enforcement of cell phone bans, which I believe is an ineffective policy).
- We are in MCPS’s Down County Consortium, so Blair HS is an option. Our elementary is fine but not great and MS (Sligo MS) doesn’t seem like a great option. Reading and math proficiency levels are not very good, even at our ES, which is not Title 1.

Will moving to VA actually address the concerns I have? I think my husband is leaning toward move to VA, get a nicer house, and get better schools while I lean toward staying in our more modest house and going to parochial school because it’s a better culture fit.

Any guidance on VA schools or generally thinking through this issue would be appreciated.

The only reason to move anywhere is if your kids are way ahead or way behind and where you currently live is hopeless. With that said, Arlington sucks and the newish superintendent is more concerned about social justice (i.e., equal outcomes at a remedial level) than academic performance. None of the APS hs are that impressive and only 2 or 3 FCPS hs are worth a look if you can actively choose your schools. If your kids are outperforming their peers, you're probably looking at extracurricular support anyway so maybe move to the district that has better DE options. Caveat: with the way these school admin race to the bottom with their policy changes, there are no guarantees whatever you end up doing.

Name them

No need, you already know and are just trying to be an a-hole. Verify your list with college placements, test scores, NMS, USNWR, etc.

I honestly do not agree with you that there are academically better schools in FCPS, which is the reason I suggested you name them. You can call me names for believing that. It is true, for instance, that all of the schools listed by OP have a top 10% to UVA admission rate. That is verifiable. That seems like an excellent proxy for trying to figure out if there are really big meaningful differences for most smart kids. Id welcome your identifying others that I’m missing which put YHS & W&L significantly below, say, Meridian or McLean for your run of the mill smart NoVA kid.

[Anonymous]

Re reputation, that can change over the course of a few years. Marshall is now one of the most sought after high schools in all of FCPS, but a generation ago, it was at the bottom of the pack reputation-wise, and was at risk of closing. Neighborhoods and school pyramids can change, for the better or for the worse. Don’t put all your marbles into one basket as the saying goes.

Changing boundaries can also affect a school for better or worse—Annandale HS used to be a solid school reputation wise in terms of athletics and sports, but boundary changes over the years moved all of its upper-middle class population to other nearby high schools. In the case of South Lakes HS, new boundaries brought middle and upper middle class families into that pyramid, making it highly sought after today.

To Arlington’s credit, due to parent pushback, the middle schools have reintroduced an advanced curriculum for those students who wish to challenge themselves. All the high schools are plenty challenging, with Arlington’s IB programme highly competitive among its cohort of academically-inclined students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are trying to decide if we should move to VA for better schools for our kids or stay in MoCo and go private/parochial. The VA HS boundaries we are looking at are: Yorktown (Arlington), Meridian and Marshall (Falls Church), McClean (Fairfax).
Here are some factors we are thinking through:
- Three kids, so parochial school PK-8 is ~350k.
- MCPS uses a lot of technology in early grades (K uses Chromebooks for educational games). I would prefer more limited (or non-existent, honestly) technology.
- MCPS allows cell phones (or has teacher enforcement of cell phone bans, which I believe is an ineffective policy).
- We are in MCPS’s Down County Consortium, so Blair HS is an option. Our elementary is fine but not great and MS (Sligo MS) doesn’t seem like a great option. Reading and math proficiency levels are not very good, even at our ES, which is not Title 1.

Will moving to VA actually address the concerns I have? I think my husband is leaning toward move to VA, get a nicer house, and get better schools while I lean toward staying in our more modest house and going to parochial school because it’s a better culture fit.

Any guidance on VA schools or generally thinking through this issue would be appreciated.

Why? That's so stupid. Do you want them to use chalk and slate or some shit like that?

The VA schools you're eyeing are remarkably similar to MCPS, so not sure what you think you're going to get that's different.

What a bizarre hostility to technology, though. Do you realize we live in the 21st Century and technology is a central part of how we live, work and learn?

Homeschool if you're determined to have luddites with no skills.

Spellcheck typing and PowerPoint presentations are not high tech for most people, but apparently that doesn't include you and your kids. What exactly is the computer doing? Chatbots? Grammar check? YouTube? Kahoot? These are useless for learning for normal kids in a classroom. Desmos should be replaced back with a TI because it's harder to cheat.

You laugh about chalk and slate but many science and math classes still rely on writing things in (yes) chalk or markers on boards. The only reason actual tech would be necessary are for niche things like coding and video editing where there is no alternative.

Ah yes i remember arguments like this in elementary schools when we first got computers.

You prefer we go back to using an abacus. Whatever, loser.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are trying to decide if we should move to VA for better schools for our kids or stay in MoCo and go private/parochial. The VA HS boundaries we are looking at are: Yorktown (Arlington), Meridian and Marshall (Falls Church), McClean (Fairfax).
Here are some factors we are thinking through:
- Three kids, so parochial school PK-8 is ~350k.
- MCPS uses a lot of technology in early grades (K uses Chromebooks for educational games). I would prefer more limited (or non-existent, honestly) technology.
- MCPS allows cell phones (or has teacher enforcement of cell phone bans, which I believe is an ineffective policy).
- We are in MCPS’s Down County Consortium, so Blair HS is an option. Our elementary is fine but not great and MS (Sligo MS) doesn’t seem like a great option. Reading and math proficiency levels are not very good, even at our ES, which is not Title 1.

Will moving to VA actually address the concerns I have? I think my husband is leaning toward move to VA, get a nicer house, and get better schools while I lean toward staying in our more modest house and going to parochial school because it’s a better culture fit.

Any guidance on VA schools or generally thinking through this issue would be appreciated.

Why? That's so stupid. Do you want them to use chalk and slate or some shit like that?

The VA schools you're eyeing are remarkably similar to MCPS, so not sure what you think you're going to get that's different.

What a bizarre hostility to technology, though. Do you realize we live in the 21st Century and technology is a central part of how we live, work and learn?

Homeschool if you're determined to have luddites with no skills.

Spellcheck typing and PowerPoint presentations are not high tech for most people, but apparently that doesn't include you and your kids. What exactly is the computer doing? Chatbots? Grammar check? YouTube? Kahoot? These are useless for learning for normal kids in a classroom. Desmos should be replaced back with a TI because it's harder to cheat.

You laugh about chalk and slate but many science and math classes still rely on writing things in (yes) chalk or markers on boards. The only reason actual tech would be necessary are for niche things like coding and video editing where there is no alternative.

Ah yes i remember arguments like this in elementary schools when we first got computers.

You prefer we go back to using an abacus. Whatever, loser.

You're so dumb (and possibly xenophobic). Entire countries that outperform in math compared to here require kids to learn the abacus for increased math fluency. Choose a better example for your acumen like finger counting and tootsie roll pops.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are trying to decide if we should move to VA for better schools for our kids or stay in MoCo and go private/parochial. The VA HS boundaries we are looking at are: Yorktown (Arlington), Meridian and Marshall (Falls Church), McClean (Fairfax).
Here are some factors we are thinking through:
- Three kids, so parochial school PK-8 is ~350k.
- MCPS uses a lot of technology in early grades (K uses Chromebooks for educational games). I would prefer more limited (or non-existent, honestly) technology.
- MCPS allows cell phones (or has teacher enforcement of cell phone bans, which I believe is an ineffective policy).
- We are in MCPS’s Down County Consortium, so Blair HS is an option. Our elementary is fine but not great and MS (Sligo MS) doesn’t seem like a great option. Reading and math proficiency levels are not very good, even at our ES, which is not Title 1.

Will moving to VA actually address the concerns I have? I think my husband is leaning toward move to VA, get a nicer house, and get better schools while I lean toward staying in our more modest house and going to parochial school because it’s a better culture fit.

Any guidance on VA schools or generally thinking through this issue would be appreciated.

Why? That's so stupid. Do you want them to use chalk and slate or some shit like that?

The VA schools you're eyeing are remarkably similar to MCPS, so not sure what you think you're going to get that's different.

What a bizarre hostility to technology, though. Do you realize we live in the 21st Century and technology is a central part of how we live, work and learn?

Homeschool if you're determined to have luddites with no skills.

Spellcheck typing and PowerPoint presentations are not high tech for most people, but apparently that doesn't include you and your kids. What exactly is the computer doing? Chatbots? Grammar check? YouTube? Kahoot? These are useless for learning for normal kids in a classroom. Desmos should be replaced back with a TI because it's harder to cheat.

You laugh about chalk and slate but many science and math classes still rely on writing things in (yes) chalk or markers on boards. The only reason actual tech would be necessary are for niche things like coding and video editing where there is no alternative.

Ah yes i remember arguments like this in elementary schools when we first got computers.

You prefer we go back to using an abacus. Whatever, loser.

Many top-performing Asian countries still rely on use of an abacus in the early grades. But keep telling yourself that Dreambox yields better results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are trying to decide if we should move to VA for better schools for our kids or stay in MoCo and go private/parochial. The VA HS boundaries we are looking at are: Yorktown (Arlington), Meridian and Marshall (Falls Church), McClean (Fairfax).
Here are some factors we are thinking through:
- Three kids, so parochial school PK-8 is ~350k.
- MCPS uses a lot of technology in early grades (K uses Chromebooks for educational games). I would prefer more limited (or non-existent, honestly) technology.
- MCPS allows cell phones (or has teacher enforcement of cell phone bans, which I believe is an ineffective policy).
- We are in MCPS’s Down County Consortium, so Blair HS is an option. Our elementary is fine but not great and MS (Sligo MS) doesn’t seem like a great option. Reading and math proficiency levels are not very good, even at our ES, which is not Title 1.

Will moving to VA actually address the concerns I have? I think my husband is leaning toward move to VA, get a nicer house, and get better schools while I lean toward staying in our more modest house and going to parochial school because it’s a better culture fit.

Any guidance on VA schools or generally thinking through this issue would be appreciated.

Why? That's so stupid. Do you want them to use chalk and slate or some shit like that?

The VA schools you're eyeing are remarkably similar to MCPS, so not sure what you think you're going to get that's different.

What a bizarre hostility to technology, though. Do you realize we live in the 21st Century and technology is a central part of how we live, work and learn?

Homeschool if you're determined to have luddites with no skills.

Spellcheck typing and PowerPoint presentations are not high tech for most people, but apparently that doesn't include you and your kids. What exactly is the computer doing? Chatbots? Grammar check? YouTube? Kahoot? These are useless for learning for normal kids in a classroom. Desmos should be replaced back with a TI because it's harder to cheat.

You laugh about chalk and slate but many science and math classes still rely on writing things in (yes) chalk or markers on boards. The only reason actual tech would be necessary are for niche things like coding and video editing where there is no alternative.

Ah yes i remember arguments like this in elementary schools when we first got computers.

You prefer we go back to using an abacus. Whatever, loser.

You're so dumb (and possibly xenophobic). Entire countries that outperform in math compared to here require kids to learn the abacus for increased math fluency. Choose a better example for your acumen like finger counting and tootsie roll pops.

Tootsie roll pops. LOL

I watched a middle schooler figure out IXL and work his way all the way up to advanced high school math. But then we tried to see if he could figure out similar problems using pencil and paper. Nope, he was just good at figuring out patterns in the computer software. He knew how to game the system. What a joke.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the detailed responses. I suspect that my technology concerns won’t be solved with a move. (For the PPs who don’t think tech is a concern, that’s fine, but I am a HS teacher and think pen/paper/binders/hard textbooks are helpful for student learning.)

I guess the other issue we are trying to solve with a move to VA is college. We have saved enough to pay for in state tuition, but the VA options are much better than the MD options.