Any cautionary advice for parents contemplating move to Arlington for good schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't move to Arlington to escape overcrowding. It's only getting worse.

MoCo has much better schools than Arlington. Don't be silly. There are no schools in Arlington on par with those in the Whitman, Churchill, or Wootton clusters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't move to Arlington to escape overcrowding. It's only getting worse.

+1000 We moved from MoCo. The schools are better in MD. Virginia public schools are very, very crowded. They are plenty diverse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't move to Arlington to escape overcrowding. It's only getting worse.

MoCo has much better schools than Arlington. Don't be silly. There are no schools in Arlington on par with those in the Whitman, Churchill, or Wootton clusters.

Love the comments like this - so full of crap and offering no objective data. Both school systems, along with FCPS, are fantastic. If Arlington was subpar, why the hell would so many wealthy, educated families be vying to move into the county? Maybe to escape asshats like you? Well that actually does make sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:North Arlington posters will pretend South Arlington doesn't exist, and then the utter lack of diversity in North Arlington will scare off most people with a conscience. I would stay in MoCo, which is far more interesting.

How arrogant are you?

[Anonymous]

how large are the elementary schools in MoCo? I believe arlington size is about 600

[Anonymous]

There is great diversity in the schools in Arlington and a school for everyone. Basically... The further North you are , the less ethnically diverse the school. Schools such are Ashlawn, Long Branch and Barrett have more ethnic diversity.

Class sizes are pretty decent in Arlington- I think it's only about 23 kids max in the younger grades which is favorable to other districts locally. Also, Arlington has two Spanish immersion schools and a year round school. Yes, the schools are overcrowded, but there is a reason- they are good and well performing - and APS is working to address the problem (imperfect albeit- but it's a process and IMO at least they are trying!).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:N Arl has crowding too. You get less house for more $ in N Arl. Very little diversity too if you want that.

Don't listen to generalizations. This is my number one piece of advice!! My kids go to ASF. We are zoned for Key/ASF. My kids' classes are INCREDIBLY diverse. My son came home with the class list and he is one of about 5 out of 20 with English as the first language at home. My older son's class is about 50-50. The school is excellent--as are almost all Arlington schools (whether they are N or S).

We also have very small class sizes. 2nd grader has 20 kids in his class. K has 19 with a teacher and full-time aide. There are 3 trailers at our school currently not diminishing size of play area. This latter part is going to vary by each school and projections are for more students flooding the system in coming years. School zones can be different in an individual neighborhood so double check the exact house address when looking at schools.

I would focus on where YOU want to live vs school. Lack of inventory and home prices are going to be a big shock. Things also sell very quickly.

Arlington Co is a well-run machine. Services, schools, etc are very personalized given its very small size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We really like Arlington. Our elementary school is overcrowded, but we have not seen an increase in class size, rather an increase in trailers. Since I could not care less about trailers, I feel the impact of overcrowding on my child has been nil so far. My children attend two of the more "diverse" schools in Arlington, but our middle school is disappointingly homogenous.

Overall, we have been very pleased here, but since I have never lived in MoCo, I can't compare. I do know several people who have taught in both Arlington and FC schools and they all prefer the smaller Arlington school system to the larger FC system. But I'm not sure if the things they prefer about teaching in Arlington are things that are better just for teachers or if they are better for students as well.

I will say that I have noted handwringing among parents of preschool children about the terrible overcrowding and need for the dreaded trailers and maybe they should move to Falls Church City. ~shrug~

They are having crowding issues as well...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't listen to generalizations. This is my number one piece of advice!! My kids go to ASF. We are zoned for Key/ASF. My kids' classes are INCREDIBLY diverse. My son came home with the class list and he is one of about 5 out of 20 with English as the first language at home. My older son's class is about 50-50. The school is excellent--as are almost all Arlington schools (whether they are N or S).

why did ASF disclose this information to all families? how odd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't listen to generalizations. This is my number one piece of advice!! My kids go to ASF. We are zoned for Key/ASF. My kids' classes are INCREDIBLY diverse. My son came home with the class list and he is one of about 5 out of 20 with English as the first language at home. My older son's class is about 50-50. The school is excellent--as are almost all Arlington schools (whether they are N or S).

why did ASF disclose this information to all families? how odd.

Wow, how many different languages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:N Arl has crowding too. You get less house for more $ in N Arl. Very little diversity too if you want that.

Don't listen to generalizations. This is my number one piece of advice!! My kids go to ASF. We are zoned for Key/ASF. My kids' classes are INCREDIBLY diverse. My son came home with the class list and he is one of about 5 out of 20 with English as the first language at home. My older son's class is about 50-50. The school is excellent--as are almost all Arlington schools (whether they are N or S).

We also have very small class sizes. 2nd grader has 20 kids in his class. K has 19 with a teacher and full-time aide. There are 3 trailers at our school currently not diminishing size of play area. This latter part is going to vary by each school and projections are for more students flooding the system in coming years. School zones can be different in an individual neighborhood so double check the exact house address when looking at schools.

I would focus on where YOU want to live vs school. Lack of inventory and home prices are going to be a big shock. Things also sell very quickly.

Arlington Co is a well-run machine. Services, schools, etc are very personalized given its very small size.

Agree and agree!

I stubbed my toe really bad on a buckled sidewalk walking back from dropping my two kids at their elementary school this morning. I completed the online form to repair a sidewalk around 9:00 this AM and at pick up time the county had already sprayed the spot for identification and repair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:N Arl has crowding too. You get less house for more $ in N Arl. Very little diversity too if you want that.

Don't listen to generalizations. This is my number one piece of advice!! My kids go to ASF. We are zoned for Key/ASF. My kids' classes are INCREDIBLY diverse. My son came home with the class list and he is one of about 5 out of 20 with English as the first language at home. My older son's class is about 50-50. The school is excellent--as are almost all Arlington schools (whether they are N or S).

We also have very small class sizes. 2nd grader has 20 kids in his class. K has 19 with a teacher and full-time aide. There are 3 trailers at our school currently not diminishing size of play area. This latter part is going to vary by each school and projections are for more students flooding the system in coming years. School zones can be different in an individual neighborhood so double check the exact house address when looking at schools.

I would focus on where YOU want to live vs school. Lack of inventory and home prices are going to be a big shock. Things also sell very quickly.

Arlington Co is a well-run machine. Services, schools, etc are very personalized given its very small size.

Agree and agree!

I stubbed my toe really bad on a buckled sidewalk walking back from dropping my two kids at their elementary school this morning. I completed the online form to repair a sidewalk around 9:00 this AM and at pick up time the county had already sprayed the spot for identification and repair.

Yes. My husband filed an online complaint about a pothole in front of our house and the NEXT morning the truck was there filling it. Anytime I have has to go to County office for something I've been in and out immediately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:N Arl has crowding too. You get less house for more $ in N Arl. Very little diversity too if you want that.

Don't listen to generalizations. This is my number one piece of advice!! My kids go to ASF. We are zoned for Key/ASF. My kids' classes are INCREDIBLY diverse. My son came home with the class list and he is one of about 5 out of 20 with English as the first language at home. My older son's class is about 50-50. The school is excellent--as are almost all Arlington schools (whether they are N or S).

We also have very small class sizes. 2nd grader has 20 kids in his class. K has 19 with a teacher and full-time aide. There are 3 trailers at our school currently not diminishing size of play area. This latter part is going to vary by each school and projections are for more students flooding the system in coming years. School zones can be different in an individual neighborhood so double check the exact house address when looking at schools.

I would focus on where YOU want to live vs school. Lack of inventory and home prices are going to be a big shock. Things also sell very quickly.

Arlington Co is a well-run machine. Services, schools, etc are very personalized given its very small size.

Agree and agree!

I stubbed my toe really bad on a buckled sidewalk walking back from dropping my two kids at their elementary school this morning. I completed the online form to repair a sidewalk around 9:00 this AM and at pick up time the county had already sprayed the spot for identification and repair.

It's a shame that the county sidewalks are in such bad condition.