Schools in Herndon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless a Catholic education is really important to you, you are better off living in 20171 and attending one of the publics there. No point in spending the money. The Catholic schools are good for language arts but not as much for math or science. One of our kids attended Catholic elementary for a couple years (different school but same diocese) and they were behind on math when they got to FCPS. Science and art both seemed like a joke compared to our FCPS elementary.

Agree with this. We did st joes for a year and the math and science were very weak. Plus the behavior was worse than public. Moved back to FCPS. Kids from st joes tend to go to PVI, DJO and Gonzaga. It is a very Catholic track school.

[Anonymous]

My kids went to St Joes and then to Herndon High. It took them some time to learn the ins and outs of Herndon, but they did well. They made lots of friends, joined clubs, played sports. They were prepared academically as well. Their SJS classmates that went to PVI or DJO did not have better college placements. Add to that, their friends lived close by and they got a taser of the “real world”. We wouls do do path for our kids all over again

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids went to St Joes and then to Herndon High. It took them some time to learn the ins and outs of Herndon, but they did well. They made lots of friends, joined clubs, played sports. They were prepared academically as well. Their SJS classmates that went to PVI or DJO did not have better college placements. Add to that, their friends lived close by and they got a taste of the “real world”. We would do do path for our kids all over again

[Anonymous]

I have kids currently in ES, MS and HS in the Herndon pyramid. We love it and find the quality of instruction to be very high. Teacher and admin engagement especially at the ES level is excellent. The MS principal is also excellent. Herndon usually only gets a bad rap from the people who don't know what it's like to actually live in Herndon or attend our schools. They see a high FARMS rate and assume that our schools are overrun by MS-13. HHS is really not that different from any other FCPS high school. There are challenges but not really any more than at any other school. My high-school aged kids have been largely unaffected by any negative incidents or issues at HHS - they don't see it and I don't hear about it.

As far as St. Joes, there are a lot of kids who go through St. Joes and then end up at HHS. From my observation, many of these kids are smart, but they have not received as rigorous a curriculum as the public school kids and while they have the capacity to do well, usually aren't the most advanced kids in their class. From hearing the parents talk about their experiences, I hear a lot about rigor meaning lots of homework and doing a lot of work outside of school, but not about a lot of advanced thinking.

We also know several non-religious parents who send their kids to St Joes because there are more conservative-leaning families there and they feel more comfortable with like-minded people whereas the general area in Herndon trends more blue.

[Anonymous]

20171 only

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have kids currently in ES, MS and HS in the Herndon pyramid. We love it and find the quality of instruction to be very high. Teacher and admin engagement especially at the ES level is excellent. The MS principal is also excellent. Herndon usually only gets a bad rap from the people who don't know what it's like to actually live in Herndon or attend our schools. They see a high FARMS rate and assume that our schools are overrun by MS-13. HHS is really not that different from any other FCPS high school. There are challenges but not really any more than at any other school. My high-school aged kids have been largely unaffected by any negative incidents or issues at HHS - they don't see it and I don't hear about it.

As far as St. Joes, there are a lot of kids who go through St. Joes and then end up at HHS. From my observation, many of these kids are smart, but they have not received as rigorous a curriculum as the public school kids and while they have the capacity to do well, usually aren't the most advanced kids in their class. From hearing the parents talk about their experiences, I hear a lot about rigor meaning lots of homework and doing a lot of work outside of school, but not about a lot of advanced thinking.

We also know several non-religious parents who send their kids to St Joes because there are more conservative-leaning families there and they feel more comfortable with like-minded people whereas the general area in Herndon trends more blue.

This is really important to consider. I'm the PP whose child went to a different Diocesan parochial school around here. The families were by and large very conserative; some openly MAGA. Part of why we left was that I felt like we were never going to fit in. I'm more middle of the road but felt super liberal compared to many of the families there. Lots of families with a ton of kids and trad wives.

[Anonymous]

McNair isn't a bad school, but it is incredibly massive.

[Anonymous]

Fox Mill and Carson aren’t really Herndon either. The bad Herndon is Herndon High School. Avoid that pyramid.

[Anonymous]

The elementary schools in 20194 - Armstrong and Aldrin - are apart of the Herndon pyramid. I lived in North Reston for some time. While I never had any kids attend those schools, I heard good things about them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless a Catholic education is really important to you, you are better off living in 20171 and attending one of the publics there. No point in spending the money. The Catholic schools are good for language arts but not as much for math or science. One of our kids attended Catholic elementary for a couple years (different school but same diocese) and they were behind on math when they got to FCPS. Science and art both seemed like a joke compared to our FCPS elementary.

Agree with this. We did st joes for a year and the math and science were very weak. Plus the behavior was worse than public. Moved back to FCPS. Kids from st joes tend to go to PVI, DJO and Gonzaga. It is a very Catholic track school.

Many also attend Herndon HS. My kids are there now. We belong to St Joe’s and know many of the families who sent their kids to the grade school. My DC attended Herndon Es, MS and now HS, ans one did AAP at Clearview. Should’ve stuck with immersion instead of AAP. The fruits of immersion on brain development is noticeable. The root causes of most issues at the schools are the FCPS system. The issues I have are mostly the same my friends with kids at Chantilly and Oakton. Our kids are involved in sports and activities that involve many HS pyramids. I see the same divide between the parochial and public schools — the parochial school is stronger with English / language arts and public is stronger with math. The social issues are slightly different and high have their downsides.. I’d argue that the kinds of issues associated with parochial schools are a bit “more” due to local affluence more noticeably in HS.

— alum of both public and private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fox Mill and Carson aren’t really Herndon either. The bad Herndon is Herndon High School. Avoid that pyramid.

Do you know this from experience or are you perpetuating stories?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fox Mill and Carson aren’t really Herndon either. The bad Herndon is Herndon High School. Avoid that pyramid.

Do you know this from experience or are you perpetuating stories?

Do you really need to ask?

[Anonymous]

Here is a great example of a Herndon HS kid. My kid was also in the cast. They are all very supportive of each other and good students and good people to boot.

https://herndonhs.fcps.edu/features/he-cant-s...role-footloose-under

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fox Mill and Carson aren’t really Herndon either. The bad Herndon is Herndon High School. Avoid that pyramid.

Do you know this from experience or are you perpetuating stories?

Do you really need to ask?

Op asked, “Does anyone have kids in any of the Herndon public schools right now, or in the last year or so, and what was your experience?” So your answer should have been “no.”

[Anonymous]

Think OP was sincere info seeker or a troll?