Arlington County is voted best school district in this region.

[Anonymous]

Joke of the week

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you probably don't need to worry. People who moved to Fairfax for the schools may not change their minds because they still have TJ and we don't. Or they can't afford homes in Arlington. Or they don't want to spend more money than they already have on a smaller home with a smaller lot. Or they like the county services - having lived in both Fairfax and Arlington, I found the rec classes/teams to be easier there.

People in MontCo also have decent schools, similar or better housing stock, and a lot of them don't particularly want to cross the river.

People in Alexandria City are already moving here during or after elementary school because they don't trust their middle/high school options. Same with DC.

So I think that it'll stay pretty much the same, regardless of what an article says about our schools.

The reason Arlington schools are overcrowded now, I think, is because planners assumed that the old patterns of people continuing to move further out as their families grew older/bigger would hold true, and they're not. People don't automatically move from Arlington to Fairfax (or Loudoun) anymore when they need more space. Some do, but many add on, buy a bigger place in Arlington or suck it up to have the sweet DC commute.

I'd like to see a study that really explains what accounts for the growth in APS enrollment. I'd assumed it was largely a function of people who'd moved to Arlington when they were younger, liked it and stayed after they had kids, and possibly sought out larger quarters (i.e., a house vs. an apartment). I know a few people who've moved from Fairfax to Arlington, but just as many who've moved from Arlington to Fairfax. For the people I know, it's been mostly about a shorter commute or a bigger house/yard, not the schools or what they could or couldn't afford. Or that APS was capturing a larger share of people with kids moving to the DC region or moving out of DC to the suburbs, as well as accommodating more undocumented minors. I'd tend to think moves from other DC-area suburbs don't account for too much of the increase.

Also, if you live in Arlington, your kid can attend TJ if he/she gets in. It takes less time to get to TJ from Clarendon than it is to get there from Great Falls or Chantilly. On the other hand, if you live in FCPS, you can't apply to HB Woodlawn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you probably don't need to worry. People who moved to Fairfax for the schools may not change their minds because they still have TJ and we don't. Or they can't afford homes in Arlington. Or they don't want to spend more money than they already have on a smaller home with a smaller lot. Or they like the county services - having lived in both Fairfax and Arlington, I found the rec classes/teams to be easier there.

People in MontCo also have decent schools, similar or better housing stock, and a lot of them don't particularly want to cross the river.

People in Alexandria City are already moving here during or after elementary school because they don't trust their middle/high school options. Same with DC.

So I think that it'll stay pretty much the same, regardless of what an article says about our schools.

The reason Arlington schools are overcrowded now, I think, is because planners assumed that the old patterns of people continuing to move further out as their families grew older/bigger would hold true, and they're not. People don't automatically move from Arlington to Fairfax (or Loudoun) anymore when they need more space. Some do, but many add on, buy a bigger place in Arlington or suck it up to have the sweet DC commute.

I'd like to see a study that really explains what accounts for the growth in APS enrollment. I'd assumed it was largely a function of people who'd moved to Arlington when they were younger, liked it and stayed after they had kids, and possibly sought out larger quarters (i.e., a house vs. an apartment). I know a few people who've moved from Fairfax to Arlington, but just as many who've moved from Arlington to Fairfax. For the people I know, it's been mostly about a shorter commute or a bigger house/yard, not the schools or what they could or couldn't afford. Or that APS was capturing a larger share of people with kids moving to the DC region or moving out of DC to the suburbs, as well as accommodating more undocumented minors. I'd tend to think moves from other DC-area suburbs don't account for too much of the increase.

Also, if you live in Arlington, your kid can attend TJ if he/she gets in. It takes less time to get to TJ from Clarendon than it is to get there from Great Falls or Chantilly. On the other hand, if you live in FCPS, you can't apply to HB Woodlawn.

It's many things. All of the school systems around here are seeing growth, so some of this is a demographic effect and not particular to Arlington. Also, more people are staying in Arlington, esp. for middle and high school, more people in apartments are sending kids to the schools, and more people are choosing public over private. The cumulative effect is significant growth, even though it doesn't mean the tax base is expanding at the same rate. That is, most of the growth is coming from existing houses sending more kids to schools, not from building new houses. This is why the County Board is freaking out--they have to give the schools proportionately more money, and don't want to because then they'd have to raise taxes or cut something on the county side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am happy about our ranking because I like our schools even though my kids attend a south Arl school. What is of concern to me is that I don't want this ranking to cause more people to move into this area and contribute further to the overcrowding issues we're currently dealing with. I have a friend who works in education, after moving here she commented how our worst schools would be best schools where they came from and marvels at our bickering between north/south schools.

https://k12.niche.com/rankings/public-school-districts/best-overall/

PP, which one are your kids in if you don't mind? We are zoned for Drew though a year or two away still, so I always like to hear positive feedback about south arl.

We went from Key to Gunston. We love both schools

For the Key --> Gunston poster, do the majority of Key students continue on to Gunston? We're at Key now and it's a bit of a hike to get to Gunston from our neighborhood (we lotteried in). That said, we're really excited about how DD's spanish is progressing and I'm hoping more and more that she'll want to continue. Am I right that people who talk trash about south arlington schools mostly don't know what they're talking about? I'd like to think Gunston is a great opportunity for us to continue the immersion program.

You have to visit the school to get an idea. But the majority of Key student follow on to Gunston after Key. Most (4 out 7) of my DC's teachers are in constant contact with us, keeping us up to date with what's going on in class. My is loving his life there currently. The school has a nice mix of kids, it is changing fast. The school environment is friendly, kids seems to be enjoying themselves from the looks of it.

Being far in North Arlington will not be a problem as your kid will be taken the school bus with most of their friends from Key as my kid currently do. I am very happy with this school so far. We are zoned for WMS and we like it here better.

[Anonymous]

Considering how segregated Arlington county schools are, these rankings are useless. I bet if they were to divide north and south, north would be in the top 10 and south would not even make the cut. These rankings are based on averaging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Considering how segregated Arlington county schools are, these rankings are useless. I bet if they were to divide north and south, north would be in the top 10 and south would not even make the cut. These rankings are based on averaging.

Lots of rankings are based on averages. The more significant point is that the rankings are largely based on whoever chose to rate the schools.

It's not worth getting too exercised about one way or the other. Most people in FCPS know that people in APS and FCCPS are generally more likely to praise, and less likely to gripe about, their schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arl schools suck. The people are snobs and the homes are both overpriced and small. Stay away!

+1

this ranking is totally bogus. our children are very unhappy at their schools. mortgage is outrageous for our little sh!tshack. neighbors are all assholes. STAY FAR FAR AWAY!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arl schools suck. The people are snobs and the homes are both overpriced and small. Stay away!

+1

this ranking is totally bogus. our children are very unhappy at their schools. mortgage is outrageous for our little sh!tshack. neighbors are all assholes. STAY FAR FAR AWAY!!

Bullshit. We moved to Europe form Arlington a few years ago and enrolled our kids at a top prep school, they didn't miss a beat.

[Anonymous]

They're kidding. That's why they put the smiley face at the bottom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arl schools suck. The people are snobs and the homes are both overpriced and small. Stay away!

+1

this ranking is totally bogus. our children are very unhappy at their schools. mortgage is outrageous for our little sh!tshack. neighbors are all assholes. STAY FAR FAR AWAY!!

But this is kind of true, though, no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Considering how segregated Arlington county schools are, these rankings are useless. I bet if they were to divide north and south, north would be in the top 10 and south would not even make the cut. These rankings are based on averaging.

do you even understand what segregation means? If we were to use your "logic" what would be the outcome of FFX rankings when you separate the northen and southern parts of the county? Or if you separate Bethesda, CC and Potomac from the rest of the northern part of the MoCo?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considering how segregated Arlington county schools are, these rankings are useless. I bet if they were to divide north and south, north would be in the top 10 and south would not even make the cut. These rankings are based on averaging.

do you even understand what segregation means? If we were to use your "logic" what would be the outcome of FFX rankings when you separate the northen and southern parts of the county? Or if you separate Bethesda, CC and Potomac from the rest of the northern part of the MoCo?

Arlington schools are segregated. There are five schools that are almost all minority and five or six that are almost all white. The rest of the schools are more mixed (including the choice schools), but there is significant concentration among the wealthiest and also the poorest neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considering how segregated Arlington county schools are, these rankings are useless. I bet if they were to divide north and south, north would be in the top 10 and south would not even make the cut. These rankings are based on averaging.

do you even understand what segregation means? If we were to use your "logic" what would be the outcome of FFX rankings when you separate the northen and southern parts of the county? Or if you separate Bethesda, CC and Potomac from the rest of the northern part of the MoCo?

Arlington schools are segregated. There are five schools that are almost all minority and five or six that are almost all white. The rest of the schools are more mixed (including the choice schools), but there is significant concentration among the wealthiest and also the poorest neighborhoods.

You sound like the Arlington poster a while back who wanted to start busing North Arlington kids to South Arlington schools.

If you're from Fairfax, there's a wide range of demographics at schools in FCPS, although the larger Asian population in Fairfax keeps any schools from being as heavily white as Jamestown, Nottingham, Taylor and Tuckahoe. It certainly doesn't prevent high levels of poverty at some schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considering how segregated Arlington county schools are, these rankings are useless. I bet if they were to divide north and south, north would be in the top 10 and south would not even make the cut. These rankings are based on averaging.

do you even understand what segregation means? If we were to use your "logic" what would be the outcome of FFX rankings when you separate the northen and southern parts of the county? Or if you separate Bethesda, CC and Potomac from the rest of the northern part of the MoCo?

Arlington schools are segregated. There are five schools that are almost all minority and five or six that are almost all white. The rest of the schools are more mixed (including the choice schools), but there is significant concentration among the wealthiest and also the poorest neighborhoods.

You sound like the Arlington poster a while back who wanted to start busing North Arlington kids to South Arlington schools.

If you're from Fairfax, there's a wide range of demographics at schools in FCPS, although the larger Asian population in Fairfax keeps any schools from being as heavily white as Jamestown, Nottingham, Taylor and Tuckahoe. It certainly doesn't prevent high levels of poverty at some schools.

I'm not proposing a solution, I'm just saying that "segregation" in Arlington is a real thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Considering how segregated Arlington county schools are, these rankings are useless. I bet if they were to divide north and south, north would be in the top 10 and south would not even make the cut. These rankings are based on averaging.

do you even understand what segregation means? If we were to use your "logic" what would be the outcome of FFX rankings when you separate the northen and southern parts of the county? Or if you separate Bethesda, CC and Potomac from the rest of the northern part of the MoCo?

Arlington schools are segregated. There are five schools that are almost all minority and five or six that are almost all white. The rest of the schools are more mixed (including the choice schools), but there is significant concentration among the wealthiest and also the poorest neighborhoods.

You sound like the Arlington poster a while back who wanted to start busing North Arlington kids to South Arlington schools.

If you're from Fairfax, there's a wide range of demographics at schools in FCPS, although the larger Asian population in Fairfax keeps any schools from being as heavily white as Jamestown, Nottingham, Taylor and Tuckahoe. It certainly doesn't prevent high levels of poverty at some schools.

I'm not proposing a solution, I'm just saying that "segregation" in Arlington is a real thing.

So when FCPS dominated the US News rankings of top high schools in the state, did you make a similar comment? People are rarely "just saying" something on DCUM.