Alexandria city vs. FCPS Alexandria

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

TC also has a large number of kids and families who highly value education. This year's class received offers from Stanford, Cornell, Penn, UVA (many, many kids), Middlebury, Duke, Haverford, Oberlin, William & Mary, Wesleyan, Johns Hopkins, Smith and Columbia, among others. And only one was an athletic recruit (Columbia). I'm sure our stats hold up against those of Edison, Hayfield, or West Potomac -- or St. Stephen's, for that matter.

Different kids or the same handful getting offers from multiple schools? High-end stats at TC are usually good. Overall, it's not so great.

[Anonymous]

To the parents of kids at TC: what's the interaction between the "jails" and the "yales"? I've looked up the stats, and the misconduct incidents grossly (by magnitudes) outnumber those of the surrounding comparable schools (like west potomac, stuart, wakefield, etc.) And I always see a strong police presence parked out front. What do your kids say about these incidents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You left out the West Potomac district, which has a large number of kids who come from backgrounds where education is highly valued. Given a choice, I'd pick West Potomac over TC Williams, Hayfield or Edison.

TC also has a large number of kids and families who highly value education. This year's class received offers from Stanford, Cornell, Penn, UVA (many, many kids), Middlebury, Duke, Haverford, Oberlin, William & Mary, Wesleyan, Johns Hopkins, Smith and Columbia, among others. And only one was an athletic recruit (Columbia). I'm sure our stats hold up against those of Edison, Hayfield, or West Potomac -- or St. Stephen's, for that matter.

The stats say that TC failed every year for the last 5 years? Last year, the option was close or restructure.

I think one or two kids may have received offers from those top schools but that could be said of probably any high school in the area.

Rich, white parents who send their kids there are basically tapped out from paying the private school tuition for k-8.

[Anonymous]

The top-performing students (i.e., top 75 or 100 in the class) have very little interaction with the students who are involved in the vast majority of the disciplinary matters. Most top students are taking all honors or AP courses, and most of those students (there are a few exceptions, of course) are serious about academics. Our new principal, Suzanne Maxey, has taken a very firm stand on discipline, and the number of incidents has gone down dramatically this year.

As to the number of students receiving offers at these schools, I personally know students will be attending (not just accepted by) Penn, Columbia, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Middlebury, NYU, Haverford, UVA (many, many students), William and Mary, and Wesleyan. I do know of one student who turned down Penn and Cornell to attend UVa. I'm not sure about attendance at the other schools I listed, but I do know that students were accepted at them. Others are attending Bucknell, Colgate, Sewanee, Barnard, Morehouse, and Boston College.

One other thing to consider is this: the city of Alexandria does not send students to Thomas Jefferson. So the truly exceptional math and science students in the city of Alexandria stay at TC -- they are not siphoned off. Two of our students went to the national Intel Science competition this year, for example.

[Anonymous]

And by the way, there are quite a few "rich white" families at TC. Although I probably shouldn't tell you that, if that is a major factor in deciding where to send your child to high school. You'd do better elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, TC parent. It's good to see some school spirit. It's disheartening to see how TC gets trashed on this board, expecially when there are those who are proud of the school. You said that 75-100 students don't interact with the troublemakers of the school. Do those 75-100 students feel part of a "community"? Or do they feel left out? Do they hang out with the non-troublemakers-but-not-honors students? I'm just trying to get a feel for the social atmosphere.

[Anonymous]

Most of the 75-100 kids at the top of the academic ladder really enjoy TC and feel like valued members of the TC community (there are the occasional exceptions, of course). I would say that the key to happiness at TC, as at any large school, is to find your niche. There are a variety of "niches" that kids can find -- sports teams (the crew team is an amazing group of incredibly talented, nice kids), drama, journalism, school leadership, band, orchestra, etc. My daughter started out playing field hockey and crew, and met great kids that way. She now focuses on debate, which she loves.

There is some interaction with motivated, "good" kids who are not, for whatever reason, on the AP track -- particularly in certain classes, sports and clubs. I'd like to see more interaction, as would the administration.

[Anonymous]

Hayfield and Edison are very comparable in terms of test scores, amount of poverty, and percentage of white kids in the school. Edison is a little more hispanic, Hayfield is a little more black. They are both diverse schools that are not overwhelmed by poor kids. I think you'll find the housing may be a little different in each area, but basically, it's a high-density housing region. Edison has IB, Hayfield has AP. I have known good kids who go to each school. These schools are schools very much in the middle of the pack for the state of Va.

TC is much less white -- only 21%. So, culturally, I would expect that to have an influence on the feel of the school -- the largest group being black. TC also has a higher percentage of poor kids (39% at TC vs. 23% at Hayfield and 30% at Edison).

The good news is that kids CAN get an education at any of the three -- the passing rate for white kids on the SOLs is nearly identical for all three. I conclude from that, that the schools ARE teaching what they are supposed to teach. But, the feel of the schools is going to be very different. Likewise, the communities may feel very different too -- and that's what you'll need to consider. What kinds of homes are available, how does it affect your communte, how run-down or cared for the neighborhoods seem, are there open spaces for kids to play, etc.

As with most high schools in Va, it's not a question of whether THE SCHOOL is good or bad, it's a question of what kinds of kids go there and what kind of environment you want for your child (what do the peers bring to the learning process (on the positive side), do the peers take away from others being able to learn (on the negative side)).

[Anonymous]

OP, forget the trashing of Alexandria all these snoozey FFX county residents are doing. It's a great city, and the schools are fine. Just b/c many people on this board crap their pants when they might be a minority at a school (gasp!) doesn't mean you should. If you are an involved parent, you child(ren) will succeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow- what a rude, rude comment all around!

I would tend to disagree with you that I am not more mindful of education than people who have kids in school - I'm "pretty sure," as you so nicely put it, that I think about education minimum 50 hours per week. I am not a classroom teacher, by the way, I'm an administrator (although I guess that part doesn't really matter), but what a snarky way to put that! FYI- the only reason I made a comparison in the first place was to explain my background and the fact that this may be on my mind more than others.

For what it's worth, we are not thinking about moving "really soon." If you read my post, it said that we are STARTING to think seriously about buying a home. I'm not going to move somewhere "just for kids" when I don't have kids. However, when we are actively trying to conceive, it is completely valid to start thinking about options so that we are more prepared when it comes time to actually make a move.

Oh god, OP, I really hope you aren't an "administrator" in education anywhere around here. Otherwise, I am truly worried about your understanding of our school system in this area. Your initial post indicated that you had very little knowledge of the schools not just where you live, but immediately outside (Fairfax Co.). You seemed to have no idea what City of Alexandria schools are really like and limited knowledge of Fairfax Co. schools (e.g., your little comment about whether to even bother if your kid doesn't go to McLean/Langley - any administrator worth her salt knows how stupid a comment that is).

Honestly, I suggest you educate yourself about these school systems for purposes of your job, not your move.

Ugh, no wonder people have so little regard of our education system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
One other thing to consider is this: the city of Alexandria does not send students to Thomas Jefferson. So the truly exceptional math and science students in the city of Alexandria stay at TC -- they are not siphoned off. Two of our students went to the national Intel Science competition this year, for example.

That discourages people who want public options from even moving to City of Alexandria. In Arlington, you have four HS and can also try for TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
One other thing to consider is this: the city of Alexandria does not send students to Thomas Jefferson. So the truly exceptional math and science students in the city of Alexandria stay at TC -- they are not siphoned off. Two of our students went to the national Intel Science competition this year, for example.

That discourages people who want public options from even moving to City of Alexandria. In Arlington, you have four HS and can also try for TJ.

I don't know about that. TJ seems to be a pressure cooker, as well as Arlington high schools. My take is that TC isn't? Also, I would think that someone coming from TC has a slight advantage in the college acceptance quotas. I would look to the resources available at TC and whether they're adequate for these exceptional students. I guess they were for these Intel Science students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I don't know about that. TJ seems to be a pressure cooker, as well as Arlington high schools. My take is that TC isn't? Also, I would think that someone coming from TC has a slight advantage in the college acceptance quotas. I would look to the resources available at TC and whether they're adequate for these exceptional students. I guess they were for these Intel Science students?

I said discourages, not prohibits. Just expressing a personal opinion that, for the money, Arlington is far better than Alexandria for those who want close-in location and public schools. From what I hear, it's the middle schools that are the worst.

[Anonymous]

TC parents: did your children go to GW or Hammond middle schools? If so, what was your experience?

[Anonymous]

We came from a private PK-8, but the vast majority of my daughter's friends came from GW or Hammond. Many of them are one year ahead in math -- they are on track to take calculus next year (11th grade). I haven't asked their parents specifically about their middle school experiences, but they seem to have emerged unscathed!