Which public school system is best? (Arlington, fairfax, DC, MD)
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
If you're talking Public Schools generally, then, of the areas you mentioned:
1.) FX 2.) Montgomery 3. ) DC based on Best High Schools rankings and the amount of schools among the top: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools (sortable by state) I'm not even sure if there were any in the top 200 from DC itself?! Plus if the student is smart and ambitious enough in FX, they can go to TJ which is pretty much the best in the U.S.... |
Anonymous
Arlington County is very tiny yet it had several schools that are ranked top in the state/country. Fairfax and Montgomery dwarf it in sheer size---which a lot actually find to be a benefit to APS. It is more personal and receptive. |
Anonymous
| If you can afford it, Falls Church or McLean. Otherwise (and commute time to DC will rise), farther out in Reston/Herndon or Chantilly/Centreville. All in FX and based on personal experience and the rankings here: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia |
Anonymous
Except OP said she likes "urban living" and I don't think any of those places fall in that category. I would say Arlington or close-in MoCo. |
Anonymous
Bethesda! From what I understand the "urban" parts of Arlington don't have the best schools. |
Anonymous
don't comment on something you have no clue about. Arlington has excellent schools all around. And as another poster said, the fact that it is a small county (compared to MoCo and FFx) is very appealing to me. You feel like your voice matters and isn't diluted with the 10s of thousands of parents the larger counties have to deal with. |
Anonymous
Arlington. Science focus/Taylor, Swanson middle, etc. (and that is just one side of the urban) top schools in the country. Urban parts are split between Yorktown and W-L both great HS. |
Anonymous
All I can say is we looked around and were more impressed by B-CC than Washington-Lee. Though I should admit sending our kids to a school named after a Confederate general didn't appeal to us either, maybe it doesn't matter to others. My recollection is that the suburban parts of Arlington that are like Great Falls go to Yorktown. Not the "urban" parts. So maybe my opinion is not the same as yours but I DO have a clue. Take a hike honey. |
Anonymous
+1 it filters out the parents trying to prop up the up and coming neighborhood that may not be "there" yet and may never reach that threshold. |
Anonymous
NO here -- when I looked at it it seemed useless. I wonder if it's like the newspapers-- if you know something about the area it's clear that it's at least half wrong, but if you don't know anything then it's better than nothing. |
Anonymous
Ironically, Great Falls is more the type to be proud to go to a Confederate named school, unlike Arlington. Give me a break. There is a whole part of Rosslyn/Courthouse and part of Clarendon that is zoned Yorktown so as the saying goes 'you don't know your ass from your elbow'. Enjoy B-CC. |
Anonymous
For what they are, the numerical 1-10 ratings are useful and accurate for purposes of comparing schools within a state. I suspect you do not agree with the underlying premise of reducing academics at a school to a single rating. |
Anonymous
I don't understand what you're saying. Arlington isn't proud to send their students to a Confederate named school, but they are too lazy to do anything about it? Sorry about not knowing Rosslyn and Court House go to Yorktown. Quite frankly, we thought that area was so ugly compared to Bethesda we didn't spend time looking there, just further out toward Clarendon. Yes, we are happy with Bethesda schools so far. Stop being such a "rhymes-with-witch" for Pete's sake. |
Anonymous
Do you have a problem with George Washington too? Apparently, you don't know the long history behind W-L--hell there was even a Hollywood movie made about it. Some things are facts. We aren't too lazy. We don't have a problem with it and I come from a long line of Connecticut yankees. I am actually against purging anything we may not agree with from the history books. Your tone throughout the thread has been incredibly condescending and patronizing, yet you are the one that takes offense. Give me a break. Happy to have you stay in MD. |
Anonymous
You are wrong. An open minded community like Arlington has no desire to "butter over" its history. The Arlington House is the National Memorial to Robert E. Lee and his statue is in the US Capitol. Lee transcends most other Confederate figures because of the work he did after the Civil War to reconcile the South and the North. He held himself with dignity and became a national hero. There are public schools named after Lee in many states not in the South, such as in California. In 1975 President Ford wrote, "General Lee's character has been an example to succeeding generations, making the restoration of his citizenship an event in which every American can take pride." Due to a clerical error his citizenship was not restored during his lifetime. Lastly, Arlington County was named in honor of Robert E. Lee. You can read about it in old issues of the Arlington Historical Society Magazine. Washington and Lee, are arguably the two most famous Northern Virginians and they make a great name for one of the state's oldest public schools. |