Happier After Move Away from FCPS/Fairfax County?

[Anonymous]

I honestly think you have to ask WHY you want to move away - is it the (local) school environment? Curriculum? Overall School System (and then you can get into size, number of students, teacher experience, etc). I grew up in the Midwest, Small Town, Excellent school system (4 Elem, 1 Middle, 1 HS). Generally, a well-rounded, high achieving school with a traditional education.

I feel strongly that my kids could be getting a better education in that district vs. what they are receiving in FCPS. The academic pressure and competitiveness here are the major drawbacks for me. It's like people can't even see what their kids MIGHT be good at or how they can be a well-rounded person because they are so focused on getting a 4.5, taking 12APs and being President of 4 clubs just for their resume/college application.

Yes, I feel the School Board is one issue to look at, but I would focus on what a place is actually doing academically. What are the foundations in the early years - literacy, phonics, reading, math, etc - and how are they taught/what methods are being used. How much testing is going on during the school year (as it takes time away from actual learning).

It, for example, felt really crappy to realize my kids had never been taught Phonics based on the curriculum FCPS was using at the time, not to mention the way reading and literacy was being crammed down their throats for what amounts to some metrics. That's a lifelong issue they are going to have to deal with - and I have kids who H A T E reading as a result. Did I do all the things I was supposed to at home? Yes, I did. And let's not even mention the writing skills (not being taught).....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are so many options in FCPS. Our kids were in private schools so we did not even focus on public, until we did. We went to just take a look (Robinson) and the option our kids had at their disposal was astounding. One is still at Terra Center and 2 in HS and we could not be happier. We have hard all the negatives and complaints but they do not affect our kids. We have found teachers and administrators are responsive when issues arise. Overall happy and saving $$

Wrong thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I honestly think you have to ask WHY you want to move away - is it the (local) school environment? Curriculum? Overall School System (and then you can get into size, number of students, teacher experience, etc). I grew up in the Midwest, Small Town, Excellent school system (4 Elem, 1 Middle, 1 HS). Generally, a well-rounded, high achieving school with a traditional education.

I feel strongly that my kids could be getting a better education in that district vs. what they are receiving in FCPS. The academic pressure and competitiveness here are the major drawbacks for me. It's like people can't even see what their kids MIGHT be good at or how they can be a well-rounded person because they are so focused on getting a 4.5, taking 12APs and being President of 4 clubs just for their resume/college application.

Yes, I feel the School Board is one issue to look at, but I would focus on what a place is actually doing academically. What are the foundations in the early years - literacy, phonics, reading, math, etc - and how are they taught/what methods are being used. How much testing is going on during the school year (as it takes time away from actual learning).

It, for example, felt really crappy to realize my kids had never been taught Phonics based on the curriculum FCPS was using at the time, not to mention the way reading and literacy was being crammed down their throats for what amounts to some metrics. That's a lifelong issue they are going to have to deal with - and I have kids who H A T E reading as a result. Did I do all the things I was supposed to at home? Yes, I did. And let's not even mention the writing skills (not being taught).....

I’d say we’re reasonably happy with the local schools. It’s just this sense that the leadership is terrible, wastes money, and is driving FCPS into a ditch. The specter of boundary changes doesn’t help and our School Board member is awful (like dealing with a brick wall). I guess I’m feeling like a smaller system that is less bureaucratic, where you wouldn’t have to worry about money being wasted or where your kids will go to school in a few years, would be an upgrade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are so many options in FCPS. Our kids were in private schools so we did not even focus on public, until we did. We went to just take a look (Robinson) and the option our kids had at their disposal was astounding. One is still at Terra Center and 2 in HS and we could not be happier. We have hard all the negatives and complaints but they do not affect our kids. We have found teachers and administrators are responsive when issues arise. Overall happy and saving $$

Wrong thread.

Former Robinson parent who had to move away.

We are in a southern state and it is not great academically. It is more white, but there is a much, much larger amount of poverty, people who don't care about school, lack of resources for activities and sports. It is more conservative, which we thought would be nice, but really in execution means I pay for supplementing my kids academically and in terms of activities.

There are private schools but they are very expensive 20-30K a year per kid. They claim to offer "aid" but are very dodgy about the income limits. Friends say, it's more of a discount program for the right kind of families who are connected or play certain sports. We are neither.

I cannot wait to return back to the Pentagon. It was a better post for us than here.

[Anonymous]

Talk to your friends in other school systems, OP, and see what they have to say. Nobody I know is happy with their schools.

[Anonymous]

Start homeschooling your kids, OP

[Anonymous]

I think leaving FCPS for greener pastures will often come with trade offs. Yes there is a lot of bureaucracy here, it's rather impersonal and depending on where you fall on the spectrum, you may not like the local politics that bleeds into the school system.

However, the amount of resources that is poured into the school system here is not matched in many other places outside of this area.

I am from a moderately sized, solidly MC/UMC town in PA. My mother was a school teacher and my father was an administrator. As a student, I was on a first name basis with more than half of our school board members and two of them were parents of good friends of mine. It was a very comfortable educational environment.

Many of my friends still live there and their kids go to the same high school we went to. They cannot even begin to grasp the amount of opportunities that are afforded to my kids through FCPS that they can't even come close to providing to their students.

The environment here is way more intense and competitive, but if your kids can make it through FCPS, they will go out in the world way more prepared for success and armed with a better skill set than many other students across the country.

So, maybe FCPS sucks. But maybe the suck carries with it higher levels of resources and opportunity. And in other places, it sucks less, but so are the resources and opportunities.

Everything's a tradeoff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LOL. My sister moved to Alabama bc she didn’t like things being “forced on her kids” by the schools.

Now they have Christmas music performances and watch Jesus films. (They don’t even attend church…yet) They have to take agriculture classes. And their schools are 97% white.

I’ll take FCPS any day.

Christmas music performances sound awesome...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking for anecdotes from people who moved out of Fairfax County specifically to avoid FCPS and the politics of FCPS. Increasingly, I find myself despondent about living in this county with its wretchedly bad county government and schools system, and thinking we'd be happier elsewhere.

Or is every school system/School Board as bad (incompetent, hypocritical, etc.) as the Fairfax County School Board? Comparisons with other specific jurisdictions would be most welcome.

I feel like you haven't lived in a lot of places if you are despondent about living in one of the richest counties in the US, with its historically good school system filled with educators with masters and PhDs.

Of course, it's not perfect, but nothing is.

You sound like someone who will be continually disappointed no matter where you go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think leaving FCPS for greener pastures will often come with trade offs. Yes there is a lot of bureaucracy here, it's rather impersonal and depending on where you fall on the spectrum, you may not like the local politics that bleeds into the school system.

However, the amount of resources that is poured into the school system here is not matched in many other places outside of this area.

I am from a moderately sized, solidly MC/UMC town in PA. My mother was a school teacher and my father was an administrator. As a student, I was on a first name basis with more than half of our school board members and two of them were parents of good friends of mine. It was a very comfortable educational environment.

Many of my friends still live there and their kids go to the same high school we went to. They cannot even begin to grasp the amount of opportunities that are afforded to my kids through FCPS that they can't even come close to providing to their students.

The environment here is way more intense and competitive, but if your kids can make it through FCPS, they will go out in the world way more prepared for success and armed with a better skill set than many other students across the country.

So, maybe FCPS sucks. But maybe the suck carries with it higher levels of resources and opportunity. And in other places, it sucks less, but so are the resources and opportunities.

Everything's a tradeoff.

Simply spending more doesn't equal quality. What are some specific opportunities that your kids have that you think others don't have?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I honestly think you have to ask WHY you want to move away - is it the (local) school environment? Curriculum? Overall School System (and then you can get into size, number of students, teacher experience, etc). I grew up in the Midwest, Small Town, Excellent school system (4 Elem, 1 Middle, 1 HS). Generally, a well-rounded, high achieving school with a traditional education.

I feel strongly that my kids could be getting a better education in that district vs. what they are receiving in FCPS. The academic pressure and competitiveness here are the major drawbacks for me. It's like people can't even see what their kids MIGHT be good at or how they can be a well-rounded person because they are so focused on getting a 4.5, taking 12APs and being President of 4 clubs just for their resume/college application.

Yes, I feel the School Board is one issue to look at, but I would focus on what a place is actually doing academically. What are the foundations in the early years - literacy, phonics, reading, math, etc - and how are they taught/what methods are being used. How much testing is going on during the school year (as it takes time away from actual learning).

It, for example, felt really crappy to realize my kids had never been taught Phonics based on the curriculum FCPS was using at the time, not to mention the way reading and literacy was being crammed down their throats for what amounts to some metrics. That's a lifelong issue they are going to have to deal with - and I have kids who H A T E reading as a result. Did I do all the things I was supposed to at home? Yes, I did. And let's not even mention the writing skills (not being taught).....

But aren't the testing requirements set at the state level? And schools are ranked based on student performance? And parents make decisions based on those rankings? Do you see where I am going with this - if the schools don't teach the kids to be able to pass or excel on the SOLs, then the same people that want to see this well-rounded curriculum are complaining that the schools are terrible.

And it's a personal choice to be highly academically competitive and take a zillion AP classes. I understand the pressure in this area, but you can opt out of playing that game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think leaving FCPS for greener pastures will often come with trade offs. Yes there is a lot of bureaucracy here, it's rather impersonal and depending on where you fall on the spectrum, you may not like the local politics that bleeds into the school system.

However, the amount of resources that is poured into the school system here is not matched in many other places outside of this area.

I am from a moderately sized, solidly MC/UMC town in PA. My mother was a school teacher and my father was an administrator. As a student, I was on a first name basis with more than half of our school board members and two of them were parents of good friends of mine. It was a very comfortable educational environment.

Many of my friends still live there and their kids go to the same high school we went to. They cannot even begin to grasp the amount of opportunities that are afforded to my kids through FCPS that they can't even come close to providing to their students.

The environment here is way more intense and competitive, but if your kids can make it through FCPS, they will go out in the world way more prepared for success and armed with a better skill set than many other students across the country.

So, maybe FCPS sucks. But maybe the suck carries with it higher levels of resources and opportunity. And in other places, it sucks less, but so are the resources and opportunities.

Everything's a tradeoff.

Simply spending more doesn't equal quality. What are some specific opportunities that your kids have that you think others don't have?

DP, but off the top of my head - opportunity for IB diploma, the Academies, transportation to/from another school if a specific subject is not taught at your child's school (high school), legitimate arts and music from elementary through high school, recess, relationship with NoVa, opportunity to apply to the best HS in VA, and one of the best HS in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LOL. My sister moved to Alabama bc she didn’t like things being “forced on her kids” by the schools.

Now they have Christmas music performances and watch Jesus films. (They don’t even attend church…yet) They have to take agriculture classes. And their schools are 97% white.

I’ll take FCPS any day.

Christmas music performances sound awesome...

+1
Completely agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking for anecdotes from people who moved out of Fairfax County specifically to avoid FCPS and the politics of FCPS. Increasingly, I find myself despondent about living in this county with its wretchedly bad county government and schools system, and thinking we'd be happier elsewhere.

Or is every school system/School Board as bad (incompetent, hypocritical, etc.) as the Fairfax County School Board? Comparisons with other specific jurisdictions would be most welcome.

I feel like you haven't lived in a lot of places if you are despondent about living in one of the richest counties in the US, with its historically good school system filled with educators with masters and PhDs.

Of course, it's not perfect, but nothing is.

You sound like someone who will be continually disappointed no matter where you go.

Well, no, I was happy in many other places we lived although we didn’t have kids yet, and I was reasonably happy here until the last few years.

It sounds like you’re threatened that anyone wouldn’t think this area and school system are great, but don’t take it personally. I just think the leadership of the county and FCPS right now really sucks and am thinking there have to be places that are better managed and less impersonal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are so many options in FCPS. Our kids were in private schools so we did not even focus on public, until we did. We went to just take a look (Robinson) and the option our kids had at their disposal was astounding. One is still at Terra Center and 2 in HS and we could not be happier. We have hard all the negatives and complaints but they do not affect our kids. We have found teachers and administrators are responsive when issues arise. Overall happy and saving $$

Wrong thread.

Former Robinson parent who had to move away.

We are in a southern state and it is not great academically. It is more white, but there is a much, much larger amount of poverty, people who don't care about school, lack of resources for activities and sports. It is more conservative, which we thought would be nice, but really in execution means I pay for supplementing my kids academically and in terms of activities.

There are private schools but they are very expensive 20-30K a year per kid. They claim to offer "aid" but are very dodgy about the income limits. Friends say, it's more of a discount program for the right kind of families who are connected or play certain sports. We are neither.

I cannot wait to return back to the Pentagon. It was a better post for us than here.

I posted about my sister in Alabama earlier. Also a Robo parent. I can’t begin to count the number of stories I have heard like this from military families over the years (going on 15 years now) since we have been in FCPS. I can’t help but wonder though if the quality of public schools near bases is just generally poor? We have a family down the street who moved here from San Francisco a few years ago who raved about how much better our schools are. I grew up in the DMV in Maryland and my kids’ experiences have been far superior to my own.