What's so special about Mclean schools?

[Anonymous]

ok didn't realize your really nice financial situation. Yeah then go ahead and make the move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know Mclean is deemed a great school district, has top ratings on greatschools.com and has a wealthy demographic. Wondering if the schools are worth the move. We currently live in the Edison pyramid. I know we don't want our kids going to Edison for high school. Will it be worth it to wipe out our savings and potentially delay our retirement?

That's almost never a good idea, especially to get your kids in the "right" school district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its only worth it if you can afford to move there without giving up everything else.

We can afford to move. Our current house is about 900k. We have about 1 million in savings. It would either wipe us out or we could keep some cash and get a mortgage. Have a high HHI so we could easily replenish our savings. We're in our mid 30's.

This would not devastate your savings and you could afford to repainted the outside and put in a few shrubs. It is in Chesterbrook/Longfellow/McLean. Nice neighborhood where people know each other and have an annual block party. Centrally located for many commutes. Main bus line is an easy walk that gets to you Baltson Metro or Tyson's.

http://www.trulia.com/property/3016336818-1711-Strine-Dr-McLean-VA-22101

[Anonymous]

Um, you can get a reasonably nice house in Mclean for 900k. Maybe not as nice as what you currently have but most of us have made that trade off. I live in a 5 bedroom, 2 car garage home in mclean that would probably sell for about $1 million.

[Anonymous]

Falls Church or APS is another option. Even closer to the city, maybe. Good schools and you can find homes in your budget. There are parts of McLean that are affordable at that price, though, for sure.

There is something to the big fish in the pond theory. IDK, but I would think being top 5% in a less than desirable schoo might be better than to 35% in a more desirable one when applying to colleges?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Falls Church or APS is another option. Even closer to the city, maybe. Good schools and you can find homes in your budget. There are parts of McLean that are affordable at that price, though, for sure.

There is something to the big fish in the pond theory. IDK, but I would think being top 5% in a less than desirable schoo might be better than to 35% in a more desirable one when applying to colleges?

This.

I mean, if you just want a different/ better sense of community - sure. But your kid will be very competitive from Edsion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Falls Church or APS is another option. Even closer to the city, maybe. Good schools and you can find homes in your budget. There are parts of McLean that are affordable at that price, though, for sure.

There is something to the big fish in the pond theory. IDK, but I would think being top 5% in a less than desirable schoo might be better than to 35% in a more desirable one when applying to colleges?

FCPS does not rank students.

[Anonymous]

West Springfield would keep you close to your same area/commute and it is a great value for the dollar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its only worth it if you can afford to move there without giving up everything else.

We can afford to move. Our current house is about 900k. We have about 1 million in savings. It would either wipe us out or we could keep some cash and get a mortgage. Have a high HHI so we could easily replenish our savings. We're in our mid 30's.

Then why on earth did you say it would wipe out your savings and retirement to move to the McLean area? Now you're saying something completely different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its only worth it if you can afford to move there without giving up everything else.

We can afford to move. Our current house is about 900k. We have about 1 million in savings. It would either wipe us out or we could keep some cash and get a mortgage. Have a high HHI so we could easily replenish our savings. We're in our mid 30's.

Then why on earth did you say it would wipe out your savings and retirement to move to the McLean area? Now you're saying something completely different.

Maybe OP would prefer not to have mortgage debt, although I'm not sure why that should worry people in their mid-30s with good incomes.

The McLean schools are great, both academically and in terms of the breadth and strength of the extra-curriculars.

[Anonymous]

Not sure why there's so much hate for Edison areas. Obviously if you have bright kids and family value is intact, you're going to do well and the kids will be fine no matter where your kids go to school. Be close to your work and family! No amount of money can bring back the lost of family time due to a long commute. FWIW I grew up in the Edison pyramid in a family who's parents never cleared 30k or had time for school functions because they were too busy working. Doesn't mean they don't value education. Went to state school. This year, my taxes paid were over 100k and my sister's over 200k. Edison area educated.

[Anonymous]

We don't live in Mclean, but I've met a lot of parents and children from there and overall they are well off financially and spend a lot of time with their families and kids. Many families have a stay at home parent and if both parents work, one or even two of them have very flexible jobs. The schools always seem to have great teachers, the curriculum always seems to be engaging and challenging, there are a lot of great enrichment programs at the school and in the community, and the children seem to be excelling and are friendly. I do think there are a lot of neighborhoods that don't have the neighborhood feel that some other places in Fairfax do. I also don't like that there are a lot of kids attending private schools in Mclean neighborhoods. The schools do a lot of differentiation though and through this, they tend to have smaller class sizes than some other areas nearby.

[Anonymous]

Another downside to Mclean is that the kids and parents tend to be very competitive. In everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing its purely based on SES. Plus in elementary school your class sizes will be huge

Stay at Edison. Your kids will be tracked by that point big fish small pond and assuming you are a decent parent they will be fine

OP here. I already feel like our class sizes are too big at 26-28 kids per class. I have read on here about overcrowded schools and trailers in Mclean.

It really depends year to year and class to class. We are at a Mclean pyramid elementary that has always been over crowded. However one of my kids has had as low as 22 and as high as 24 for 4 years now and the other has had 22 for 2 years. But the 5th grade in the school has almost 30 kids in a class. My kids are not in 5th grade.

[Anonymous]

I think the Langley pyramid is a bit better on class sizes, but it all depends on the specific school and year.