What is the difference bethween Langley and McLean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Avoid Langley. The principal is easily bullied by the parents to the detriment of the students.

My child asked to be moved out of Langley, despite doing well and having friends. It was about the general climate of the school itself. When I went to disenroll my child, I was told my child was supposed to have gone to each of her teachers to tell them why she was leaving, and that I was lax in not letting her do so. My response was essentially to tell them to go to hell.

What do you mean by "general climate" and why didn't your child like it?

I've never heard before that a child leaving a public school was supposed to schedule an exit interview with each teacher. I agree that it sounds odd. You don't need their permission.

They have a very high pressure for no reason attitude, meaning the high pressure benefits the school but NOT the kids. Furthermore, VA colleges see Langley as esp. elite (i.e. privileged) so they have to work so much harder to get higher GPAs to compete for the same slots. It's very political and does NOT benefit the kids. Often Langley kids are up at 5-5:30 AM and have a ton of (meaningless) homework. Add sports and you have exhausted, overworked kids.

My child felt that a lot of the teachers could not teach and that frustrated her.

A lot of her friends who still go there find the social climate very negative. Not abusive or overly cliquey, just no one seems happy and they all feel tremendous stress. I remember the administration bragging about their stress seminars. I asked them why on earth they don't simply reduce the stress??? She moved to a private school that allows her to work hard but recognizes her for doing so. They also insist on balance, and therefore the homework load is much more manageable, so she has time for her music and other creative outlets. As a result, she feels she has a much better shot at getting into the college of her choice and they told her she'd probably get a scholarship to boot. She feels she would never have gotten this from Langley.

McLean is a good high school with, I feel, a much better balance.

The "go to your teachers" thing was odd. When pressed, they admitted it was their policy, not Fairfax County's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have heard the students drive nicer cars than the teachers at Langley. I have also heard that there is a drug problem at Langley.

While academics are important, I would like my child not to be so stressed out from other students with rancid home lives, even if they have oodles of money and an expensive house.

Rancid is a good word. I live in Great Falls and boy, some of the women here? Scary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Avoid Langley. The principal is easily bullied by the parents to the detriment of the students.

My child asked to be moved out of Langley, despite doing well and having friends. It was about the general climate of the school itself. When I went to disenroll my child, I was told my child was supposed to have gone to each of her teachers to tell them why she was leaving, and that I was lax in not letting her do so. My response was essentially to tell them to go to hell.

What do you mean by "general climate" and why didn't your child like it?

I've never heard before that a child leaving a public school was supposed to schedule an exit interview with each teacher. I agree that it sounds odd. You don't need their permission.

They have a very high pressure for no reason attitude, meaning the high pressure benefits the school but NOT the kids. Furthermore, VA colleges see Langley as esp. elite (i.e. privileged) so they have to work so much harder to get higher GPAs to compete for the same slots. It's very political and does NOT benefit the kids. Often Langley kids are up at 5-5:30 AM and have a ton of (meaningless) homework. Add sports and you have exhausted, overworked kids.

My child felt that a lot of the teachers could not teach and that frustrated her.

A lot of her friends who still go there find the social climate very negative. Not abusive or overly cliquey, just no one seems happy and they all feel tremendous stress. I remember the administration bragging about their stress seminars. I asked them why on earth they don't simply reduce the stress??? She moved to a private school that allows her to work hard but recognizes her for doing so. They also insist on balance, and therefore the homework load is much more manageable, so she has time for her music and other creative outlets. As a result, she feels she has a much better shot at getting into the college of her choice and they told her she'd probably get a scholarship to boot. She feels she would never have gotten this from Langley.

McLean is a good high school with, I feel, a much better balance.

The "go to your teachers" thing was odd. When pressed, they admitted it was their policy, not Fairfax County's.

This ranking says it all. Despite being a more rich area Langley ranks a little lower than a few surrounding schools and McLean.
Don't get me wrong, Langley is excellent and in the top 10 but a richer area doesn't necessarily mean a better school.

Top Ranked VA Schools

To be eligible for a state ranking, a school must be awarded a national gold or silver medal.

#1
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
6560 BRADDOCK RD, ALEXANDRIA, VA 22312

#2
George Mason High School
7124 LEESBURG PK, FALLS CHURCH, VA 22043

#3
George C. Marshall High School
7731 LEESBURG PK, FALLS CHURCH, VA 22043

#4
Mclean High School
1633 DAVIDSON RD, MCLEAN, VA 22101

#5
James W. Robinson Jr. Secondary School
5035 SIDEBURN RD, FAIRFAX, VA 22032

#6
Langley High School
6520 GEORGETOWN PK, MCLEAN, VA 22101

#7
W.T. Woodson High School
9525 MAIN ST, FAIRFAX, VA 22031

#8
James Madison High School
2500 JAMES MADISON DR, VIENNA, VA 22181

#9
Oakton High School
2900 SUTTON RD, VIENNA, VA 22181

#10
Stone Bridge High
43100 HAY RD, ASHBURN, VA 20147

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia

[Anonymous]

Ho ho ho. Looks like you'll keep riding that tired US News sleigh until the wheels fall off or US News realizes the data on which the rankings were based was wrong.

Now stop it, or you'll get a lump of coal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ho ho ho. Looks like you'll keep riding that tired US News sleigh until the wheels fall off or US News realizes the data on which the rankings were based was wrong.

Now stop it, or you'll get a lump of coal.

Keep smoking the christmas bath salts! nothing is wrong with the data all the retracted rankings were corrected last spring. Most of the top 10 virginia schools mention the rankings on their websites or showcase their rank with permanent signage in front of their respective buildings.

[Anonymous]

No, the only school posting the ratings is Marshall, the school with the most incorrect data. Are 99% of the students still enrolled in the IB program? This was never true, and this was the only factor that got them this rating. The surrounding schools, Madison, McLean, Mason, and, Langly ALL have higher standardized test scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, the only school posting the ratings is Marshall, the school with the most incorrect data. Are 99% of the students still enrolled in the IB program? This was never true, and this was the only factor that got them this rating. The surrounding schools, Madison, McLean, Mason, and, Langly ALL have higher standardized test scores.

You will never win. Let it go. You are making an ass of yourself.

[Anonymous]

Why must the Marshall lady ruin even the Lanley/ McLean thread?

[Anonymous]

If your kid is a smart, highly motivated, self-starter, s/he will do very well at Lanley and will end up at a great college (Princeton, Ale, Wake Forest, UVa among them).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why must the Marshall lady ruin even the Lanley/ McLean thread?

She ruins every thread. If anyone mentions Marshall or US News, she goes bat$#!+ crazy.

[Anonymous]

My main reservation with Marshall is that it draws from such a hodge-podge of neighborhoods. It will never be as desirable around here as Langley, McLean or Madison, all of which get more community support, have higher test scores, and have better extra-curricular programs. The US News rankings, correctly calculated or not, won't change that. However, if you think Langley is too much of a pressure cooker or "too rich," you might like Marshall better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is a smart, highly motivated, self-starter, s/he will do very well at Lanley and will end up at a great college (Princeton, Ale, Wake Forest, UVa among them).

Where is Ale University located?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My main reservation with Marshall is that it draws from such a hodge-podge of neighborhoods. It will never be as desirable around here as Langley, McLean or Madison, all of which get more community support, have higher test scores, and have better extra-curricular programs. The US News rankings, correctly calculated or not, won't change that. However, if you think Langley is too much of a pressure cooker or "too rich," you might like Marshall better.

They said that about madison and mclean high back in the day. Madison and Mclean high used to only feed the cheaper ramblers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My main reservation with Marshall is that it draws from such a hodge-podge of neighborhoods. It will never be as desirable around here as Langley, McLean or Madison, all of which get more community support, have higher test scores, and have better extra-curricular programs. The US News rankings, correctly calculated or not, won't change that. However, if you think Langley is too much of a pressure cooker or "too rich," you might like Marshall better.

Langley is the only high school in Fairfax County that doesn't draw from a "hodge podge" of neighborhoods. McLean and Madison also have low income, high minority population apartment complexes within their boundaries. And believe it or not, there are intelligent and hardworking kids in those complexes, just like there are drug dealers and slackers in the suburbs.

It's almost 2013. Open your mind a little.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I taught at McLean and have a student in Langley. There is much more a student socio-economic mix at McLean, but still very strong cliques. Academics at both are rigorous. We also live west of the beltway and mornings are really tough with the bus route. We are probably at the lower-end of the socio-economic spectrum at Langley and would be in the middle at McLean. My kids have never felt out-of-place because of this. I guess it is about who they choose as friends.

To put this in "perspective":

To be at the lower end of the spectrum at Langley, your parents own a $850K house in McLean. At McLean, they rent a 2-BR apartment in subsidized or inexpensive housing in Falls Church.

To be in the middle end of the spectrum at Langley, your parents own a $1.2M house in McLean or Great Falls. At McLean, they own a $850K house in McLean, Falls Church or Vienna.

To be at the high end of the spectrum at Langley, your parents own a $3-5M house in McLean or Great Falls. At McLean, they own a $2-2.5M house in McLean.

That's why people say McLean is more diverse, even though most of the kids come from upper-income families.

Great analysis, but don't the 2 Million + send their kids to private?