Moving to avoid kenmore - go to fcps?

[Anonymous]

Just cross Wilson and buy in Dominion Hills unless you’re set on another split level.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are ridiculous.

We transferred to Kenmore from Williamsburg and my daughter is very happy there. She is in Intensified Algebra as a 7th grader and the teacher is fantastic. The STEAM program is great, and the major reason my daughter wanted to go there. Most of her classes are under 20 kids, which is wonderful. My one current beef is that we have to share a Latin teacher with Gunston, but so far, so good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are and in an area that goes to kenmore but has ashlawn es.
Our jobs are here in Arlington but with 1st and 3rd grader we need to move now to prevent going to kenmore.
It has not appeared to get any better like we hoped.

We can swing the commute from a fcps like Woodson at the farthest.

Most of our neighbors are planning on moving prior to 6th grade so not like we are losing our neighbors- most are bailing that we hang out with.
It is not about more house for the money (maybe 10%), really about the schools (70%) and hopefully a little less Arlington with waitlists for everything (enrichment, camps, classes, etc) and having more of a yard/parking not being a pain.

Did you ask where most of your neighbors plan to move to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The issue with kenmore is that, according to our neighbor/friend with over 10 years as ACP they respond to calls at kenmore more than Washington and Lee...a friggin high school.
While there has been few violent crimes at kenmore ACP often posts double the amount of officers when there is rising, gang oriented issues brewing. It is more preventive- but he said he would never send his kid there when there are so many better options in the county.

Do you really plan to move based on one neighbor's statements, even if that neighbor is a cop? Sure, he has some perspective that's useful, but will you really sell a house, buy another, alter commutes etc. etc. based on a single data point? You're getting some very different perspectives here from people who are parents with children currently attending Kenmore; does their anecdotal experience have no value at all compared to his? Do more digging before you up and move. (FYI, I don't have a kid at Kenmore, so no vested interest in promoting or dissing the school.)

A PP gave you some links to start with.

Fleeing based on "rising, gang oriented issues" sounds rather vague and nebulous. Our FCPS middle and high school both were talked about on DCUM threads over the years as supposedly having some never-detailed "gang activity" that we (and other families who actually have kids there) have never seen, heard about or seen mentioned in the local press etc. I know you're hearing this from a cop about Kenmore so it understandably has more influence; I get that. Just get more sources before you uproot.

[Anonymous]

And here I have friends who purposely transferred into Kenmore because they love it so much.

[Anonymous]

https://www.greatschools.org/virginia/arlington/122-Kenmore-Middle-School/

Sad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.greatschools.org/virginia/arlington/122-Kenmore-Middle-School/

Sad

Look at the data. Are all students doing poorly? No. If your child isn't a minority, isn't an English language learner, isn't poor, you have nothing to worry about. It's not like some ES where there isn't a cohort of kids for an UMC child who is academically advanced. All kids have to go to school somewhere, and the poor and minority students have been purposely zoned out of almost every other area of Arlington, this is one of those schools. MC or UMC kids from stable homes, who have few impediments to learning, are doing very well at Kenmore. And maybe, just maybe, they will walk through the their future lives seeing people who don't have their exact same life circumstances as full humans, worthy of dignity, and not think they are "sad" or to be feared and avoided.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.greatschools.org/virginia/arlington/122-Kenmore-Middle-School/

Sad

Look at the data. Are all students doing poorly? No. If your child isn't a minority, isn't an English language learner, isn't poor, you have nothing to worry about. It's not like some ES where there isn't a cohort of kids for an UMC child who is academically advanced. All kids have to go to school somewhere, and the poor and minority students have been purposely zoned out of almost every other area of Arlington, this is one of those schools. MC or UMC kids from stable homes, who have few impediments to learning, are doing very well at Kenmore. And maybe, just maybe, they will walk through the their future lives seeing people who don't have their exact same life circumstances as full humans, worthy of dignity, and not think they are "sad" or to be feared and avoided.

There is a huge achievement gap at Kenmore. How does that positively affect the perception of the higher-achieving kids towards the other kids at the school, assuming they aren't largely in different classes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.greatschools.org/virginia/arlington/122-Kenmore-Middle-School/

Sad

Look at the data. Are all students doing poorly? No. If your child isn't a minority, isn't an English language learner, isn't poor, you have nothing to worry about. It's not like some ES where there isn't a cohort of kids for an UMC child who is academically advanced. All kids have to go to school somewhere, and the poor and minority students have been purposely zoned out of almost every other area of Arlington, this is one of those schools. MC or UMC kids from stable homes, who have few impediments to learning, are doing very well at Kenmore. And maybe, just maybe, they will walk through the their future lives seeing people who don't have their exact same life circumstances as full humans, worthy of dignity, and not think they are "sad" or to be feared and avoided.

There is a huge achievement gap at Kenmore. How does that positively affect the perception of the higher-achieving kids towards the other kids at the school, assuming they aren't largely in different classes?

Speaking for my high achieving 7th grader, I don't think she realizes that others aren't doing as well as she is academically, although she has pointed out to me that kids who are learning English now as a 2nd language are obviously going to struggle with learning the same material she does. (we were discussing school rankings and test score gaps, and she thought the idea of picking a school based on that was rubbish.) She is tracked into some classes with other gifted students, but electives, lunch, and PE are all mixed. She is extremely open minded and accepting of all people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.greatschools.org/virginia/arlington/122-Kenmore-Middle-School/

Sad

Look at the data. Are all students doing poorly? No. If your child isn't a minority, isn't an English language learner, isn't poor, you have nothing to worry about. It's not like some ES where there isn't a cohort of kids for an UMC child who is academically advanced. All kids have to go to school somewhere, and the poor and minority students have been purposely zoned out of almost every other area of Arlington, this is one of those schools. MC or UMC kids from stable homes, who have few impediments to learning, are doing very well at Kenmore. And maybe, just maybe, they will walk through the their future lives seeing people who don't have their exact same life circumstances as full humans, worthy of dignity, and not think they are "sad" or to be feared and avoided.

There is a huge achievement gap at Kenmore. How does that positively affect the perception of the higher-achieving kids towards the other kids at the school, assuming they aren't largely in different classes?

Speaking for my high achieving 7th grader, I don't think she realizes that others aren't doing as well as she is academically, although she has pointed out to me that kids who are learning English now as a 2nd language are obviously going to struggle with learning the same material she does. (we were discussing school rankings and test score gaps, and she thought the idea of picking a school based on that was rubbish.) She is tracked into some classes with other gifted students, but electives, lunch, and PE are all mixed. She is extremely open minded and accepting of all people.

The demographics at most schools include students from a range of backgrounds, but there's a larger cohort of high-achieving kids than at Kenmore.

Every thread about Kenmore triggers the same "I transferred my kid there from Williamsburg" posts, but any proposal to move kids to Kenmore (or Wakefield) provokes fierce opposition. Is Arlington not really that liberal, or do the other parents know something you're not sharing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.greatschools.org/virginia/arlington/122-Kenmore-Middle-School/

Sad

Look at the data. Are all students doing poorly? No. If your child isn't a minority, isn't an English language learner, isn't poor, you have nothing to worry about. It's not like some ES where there isn't a cohort of kids for an UMC child who is academically advanced. All kids have to go to school somewhere, and the poor and minority students have been purposely zoned out of almost every other area of Arlington, this is one of those schools. MC or UMC kids from stable homes, who have few impediments to learning, are doing very well at Kenmore. And maybe, just maybe, they will walk through the their future lives seeing people who don't have their exact same life circumstances as full humans, worthy of dignity, and not think they are "sad" or to be feared and avoided.

There is a huge achievement gap at Kenmore. How does that positively affect the perception of the higher-achieving kids towards the other kids at the school, assuming they aren't largely in different classes?

Speaking for my high achieving 7th grader, I don't think she realizes that others aren't doing as well as she is academically, although she has pointed out to me that kids who are learning English now as a 2nd language are obviously going to struggle with learning the same material she does. (we were discussing school rankings and test score gaps, and she thought the idea of picking a school based on that was rubbish.) She is tracked into some classes with other gifted students, but electives, lunch, and PE are all mixed. She is extremely open minded and accepting of all people.

The demographics at most schools include students from a range of backgrounds, but there's a larger cohort of high-achieving kids than at Kenmore.

Every thread about Kenmore triggers the same "I transferred my kid there from Williamsburg" posts, but any proposal to move kids to Kenmore (or Wakefield) provokes fierce opposition. Is Arlington not really that liberal, or do the other parents know something you're not sharing?

Most parents realize that schlepping their kid to another school won't magically change English from a second language to a first language for someone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.greatschools.org/virginia/arlington/122-Kenmore-Middle-School/

Sad

Look at the data. Are all students doing poorly? No. If your child isn't a minority, isn't an English language learner, isn't poor, you have nothing to worry about. It's not like some ES where there isn't a cohort of kids for an UMC child who is academically advanced. All kids have to go to school somewhere, and the poor and minority students have been purposely zoned out of almost every other area of Arlington, this is one of those schools. MC or UMC kids from stable homes, who have few impediments to learning, are doing very well at Kenmore. And maybe, just maybe, they will walk through the their future lives seeing people who don't have their exact same life circumstances as full humans, worthy of dignity, and not think they are "sad" or to be feared and avoided.

There is a huge achievement gap at Kenmore. How does that positively affect the perception of the higher-achieving kids towards the other kids at the school, assuming they aren't largely in different classes?

Speaking for my high achieving 7th grader, I don't think she realizes that others aren't doing as well as she is academically, although she has pointed out to me that kids who are learning English now as a 2nd language are obviously going to struggle with learning the same material she does. (we were discussing school rankings and test score gaps, and she thought the idea of picking a school based on that was rubbish.) She is tracked into some classes with other gifted students, but electives, lunch, and PE are all mixed. She is extremely open minded and accepting of all people.

The demographics at most schools include students from a range of backgrounds, but there's a larger cohort of high-achieving kids than at Kenmore.

Every thread about Kenmore triggers the same "I transferred my kid there from Williamsburg" posts, but any proposal to move kids to Kenmore (or Wakefield) provokes fierce opposition. Is Arlington not really that liberal, or do the other parents know something you're not sharing?

As one of the ones who chose Kenmore over Williamsburg, I would say it's a combination of people being afraid of the test scores (and old stories) and some people of not wanting to walk the walk.

[Anonymous]

Yes, they know this would tank their property value

[Anonymous]

I live in Arlington county and our good friend is a police officer here for over 10 years and said that ACPD send more units to Kenmore than W&L routinely. Not due to violent crimes but due to gang related "tension" and preventive reasons as a show of force.

He said he would never send his kids there, FWIW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Arlington county and our good friend is a police officer here for over 10 years and said that ACPD send more units to Kenmore than W&L routinely. Not due to violent crimes but due to gang related "tension" and preventive reasons as a show of force.

He said he would never send his kids there, FWIW.

You already said this, and it's been debunked.