LCPS to Langley Pyramid (Great Falls) - Is it Worth the Stretch?

[Anonymous]

Langley parent here.

I would not stretch your home budget just to go to Langley. Your child is probably better off being the best at whatever Ashburn school you are zoned for. Langley and McLean are competitive for anything and everything and it is really hard to stand out.

And not every kid has 4.5GPA and 1500+. Yes, maybe the top 5-10% may be in that range but it certainly is not the entire school. Everyone may want to go to a T20 school but not all will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just make sure you don't buy in the Herndon area currently zoned to Langley, or Dranesville or pretty much any area zoned to Forestville Elementary if you want to be safe. Otherwise your kindergartner and possibly your 5th grader will be going to Herndon and not Langley one day.

According to the proposed boundary maps - all options leave GF alone. There a few Great Falls areas already zone to Herndon High and a few Herndon/Reston areas zoned to Langley.

What parts of Great Falls are already zoned to Herndon? I don't see any. Dranesville isn't Great Falls. It's adjacent, but a separate location.

So yeah, the current changes leave GF and Dranesville and the other Herndon addresses that currently go to Langley alone. However it also moves more students into Langley from McLean and puts Langley over 100%. It's a desirable area, and that percentage won't go down no matter how much some people seem to convince themselves it will. As Tysons and the surrounding area grows there will be more pressure to reassign the far western part of the Langley boundary to the much closer Herndon High School. I was just trying to warn the OP who is thinking of moving here specifically for Langley that this is an issue they need to take into account, especially with a kindergartner who won't be in high school until after at least one more boundary review cycle.

Do you mean Dranesville Rd isn’t Great Falls? Because the much of the old village of Dranesville is certainly in Great Falls.

[Anonymous]

Langley has reputation of grading being tough. May be because lot of kids get tutored?

[Anonymous]

I grew up around here and attended Langley. It was a pressure cooker. I would never send my kids there now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just make sure you don't buy in the Herndon area currently zoned to Langley, or Dranesville or pretty much any area zoned to Forestville Elementary if you want to be safe. Otherwise your kindergartner and possibly your 5th grader will be going to Herndon and not Langley one day.

According to the proposed boundary maps - all options leave GF alone. There a few Great Falls areas already zone to Herndon High and a few Herndon/Reston areas zoned to Langley.

What parts of Great Falls are already zoned to Herndon? I don't see any. Dranesville isn't Great Falls. It's adjacent, but a separate location.

So yeah, the current changes leave GF and Dranesville and the other Herndon addresses that currently go to Langley alone. However it also moves more students into Langley from McLean and puts Langley over 100%. It's a desirable area, and that percentage won't go down no matter how much some people seem to convince themselves it will. As Tysons and the surrounding area grows there will be more pressure to reassign the far western part of the Langley boundary to the much closer Herndon High School. I was just trying to warn the OP who is thinking of moving here specifically for Langley that this is an issue they need to take into account, especially with a kindergartner who won't be in high school until after at least one more boundary review cycle.

Do you mean Dranesville Rd isn’t Great Falls? Because the much of the old village of Dranesville is certainly in Great Falls.

The area of the map that Google Maps highlights when you search for "Dranesville, VA" is what I mean. All of it has Herndon addresses and is part of Herndon, not Great Falls.

[Anonymous]

We live in herndon area zoned to Langley and was kind of hoping we get rezoned to Herndon HS that's just 2 miles from where we live.

[Anonymous]

If your kid is a high achiever it is probably a good place. My freshman at Langley really struggles. It is a hard school and I think the administration assumes parents pick up the slack with tutors. He doesn’t get much help from his teachers.

That being said, the community is very welcoming. There are tons of activities. The building is beautiful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just make sure you don't buy in the Herndon area currently zoned to Langley, or Dranesville or pretty much any area zoned to Forestville Elementary if you want to be safe. Otherwise your kindergartner and possibly your 5th grader will be going to Herndon and not Langley one day.

According to the proposed boundary maps - all options leave GF alone. There a few Great Falls areas already zone to Herndon High and a few Herndon/Reston areas zoned to Langley.

What parts of Great Falls are already zoned to Herndon? I don't see any. Dranesville isn't Great Falls. It's adjacent, but a separate location.

So yeah, the current changes leave GF and Dranesville and the other Herndon addresses that currently go to Langley alone. However it also moves more students into Langley from McLean and puts Langley over 100%. It's a desirable area, and that percentage won't go down no matter how much some people seem to convince themselves it will. As Tysons and the surrounding area grows there will be more pressure to reassign the far western part of the Langley boundary to the much closer Herndon High School. I was just trying to warn the OP who is thinking of moving here specifically for Langley that this is an issue they need to take into account, especially with a kindergartner who won't be in high school until after at least one more boundary review cycle.

Do you mean Dranesville Rd isn’t Great Falls? Because the much of the old village of Dranesville is certainly in Great Falls.

DP. There's the Dranesville magisterial district, which includes both Great Falls and Herndon. There's also part of the old village of Dranesville that's now considered Great Falls. On the other hand, Dranesville ES is in the Herndon HS pyramid and the 20170 zip code, which has a Herndon mailing address, is sometimes referred to as Dranesville.

PP is right that part of Langley eventually may get moved to Herndon now that they've moved a growing section of Tysons to Langley. The Great Falls citizens group fought against that in 2021, but they didn't put up much of a fight in the just-completed boundary review. It was clear the local School Board member elected in 2023 supported moving part of Tysons to Langley to eliminate a "split feeder" at Spring Hill ES. The Great Falls group sent a letter to FCPS saying they'd oppose any further boundary changes in the future, but if Langley is over 105% capacity in 2030 there could be a Langley-to-Herndon move. On the other hand, Langley had been accepting over 100 pupil placements for AP and foreign language, and they can regain capacity by shutting down that pipeline (that's happening already with FCPS announcing this year that it will no longer accept student transfers for a foreign language not offered at a student's base school).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Langley parent here.

I would not stretch your home budget just to go to Langley. Your child is probably better off being the best at whatever Ashburn school you are zoned for. Langley and McLean are competitive for anything and everything and it is really hard to stand out.

And not every kid has 4.5GPA and 1500+. Yes, maybe the top 5-10% may be in that range but it certainly is not the entire school. Everyone may want to go to a T20 school but not all will.

Another current Langley parent here.

Agree with this poster. Langley is competitive for anything and everything. Academics, sports, etc. Kids have master plans starting as Freshman for a leadership path within their extracurriculars that will help them stand out. They take PE over the summer to make more room for electives (i.e. more AP classes.) They take Geometry over the summer for fun. Lol. All those championship athletic teams are just an indicator of how much money and time parents have poured into their kid's sport of choice. Kids who've play a club sport for years can have trouble making a team. Don't get me wrong, we've been very happy here. The peer group is incredible, amazing, and inspiring. The teachers have been excellent. But consider all of the PROS/ CONS and do research on the specific schools you're already zoned for.

And if you're still considering moving... consider that most of Great Falls is about 30 minutes from Langley. That's a solid bus ride, but also, that's an hour round trip drive on Georgetown Pike if you need to pick them up from any of those after school activities, or if they miss that bus.

[Anonymous]

They are not taking geometry for fun. They are taking geometry hoping to get into TJ or to be able to take more advanced math classes thinking it will help them get into to schools. My kid is MATHCOUNTs, the kids taking geometry are giving up 8 hours a day in the summer for 6 weeks. Most of them don't find it fun. Many will find it easy because they have been exposed to Geometry already but it is not fun. It is also unnecessary but their parents really won't believe that and the kids will end up taking the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are not taking geometry for fun. They are taking geometry hoping to get into TJ or to be able to take more advanced math classes thinking it will help them get into to schools. My kid is MATHCOUNTs, the kids taking geometry are giving up 8 hours a day in the summer for 6 weeks. Most of them don't find it fun. Many will find it easy because they have been exposed to Geometry already but it is not fun. It is also unnecessary but their parents really won't believe that and the kids will end up taking the class.

My kid's math teacher said in one class that most of the class is likely in RSM or Kumon or something else. The other kids went through the material a year earlier, did those hard math questions a year early, and now doing the course for the 4.X GPA. If your kid is going through the material the first-time expect a brutal time: low grade and feeling intellectually inadequate. The teachers make the test much harder to spread out the grades.

[Anonymous]

Step back and assess your goal here... It sounds like your goal is to provide the absolute best education, growth experiences, etc. that you are able to as parents, and that you're willing to stretch yourself financially to do so. You're looking to make a longer term plan that gets you there. That's commendable. Really. I'm sure you're an amazing parent.

I personally believe there are multiple avenues here for you to reach your goals. Absolutely research your current base schools and alternatives and make sure they have good quals. Langley (or insert name of dream school here) doesn't necessarily have a magic that other schools don't, just a concentration of highly motivated (dare I say aggressive?) and well funded parents and kids. You'll find those same peers all over, just maybe not in the same concentration. Other options for the budget you're willing to allocate could go to tutors, coaches, incredible summer programs, travel, 529's for college, etc., etc., to support your kiddos in their passions and talents, however they evolve. Locking all of your resources into your mortgage may not provide you the flexibility to tailor that experience in the way that will best benefit their specific needs/ desires.