Center Level IV school versus local level IV

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I realize that center schools nor local level IV programs throughout FCPS are created equal.

But.....

If you have a student who'll be entering into Fairfax County in 3rd grade and going directly into a full-time Level IV AAP program, in general, would you lean toward going to the base school or the center school?

I'd love to hear the pros and cons of each option. Of the parents I've spoken with in my neighborhood, most chose to keep their kids at the base school because the kids didn't want to leave their friends. I'm looking for other evidence as to why one option might be more beneficial than the other, not "keep them with their friends."

My DD will be coming into FCPS from a private school, so I'm weighing the whole "I have some friends at this place already" a little bit less in this decision (FWIW, she has two neighborhood friends who go to our base school, as they play soccer together).

I would figure out the following: Does your kid want to go to the center school? My DC was adamant about not going, we didn't explain DC was gifted, just that it would be more interesting in science and math. After many attempts, still no change. So we're staying at our base school. The bell schedule knocked out a lot of after school curriculars for us so we stayed in part because enrichment goes farther here. DC didn't retain any friends going to the center school (everyone in our base school stayed.) So it was a situation where it was like: we might as well let DC stay and then transfer to the middle school as needed.

Oak View and Lee are 6/7 in great schools, so it's really tough to figure out which school in terms of "rigor." I will say that they will probably be the same, with room for your kid to explore a little more in your base school. (It's not like you're leaping into Mantua or Sangster here) Someone mentioned more extra curriculars in Oak View: THIS MATTERS. If Oak View has more that you are willing to try, do that. The enrichment is worth it. If you had paid for private school so far, this is a small burden, but it leads to less screen time at home and more growth overall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know that pyramid, but sometimes the AAP elementary center feeds into a different middle school than the base school, and then a different high school than the neighborhood, so your child could be going to middle and high school with just a few kids who they know. Not ideal.

OP here. Thanks, great point. Luckily for us, both our center and base feed into the same middle and high school, so no issue there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realize that center schools nor local level IV programs throughout FCPS are created equal.

But.....

If you have a student who'll be entering into Fairfax County in 3rd grade and going directly into a full-time Level IV AAP program, in general, would you lean toward going to the base school or the center school?

I'd love to hear the pros and cons of each option. Of the parents I've spoken with in my neighborhood, most chose to keep their kids at the base school because the kids didn't want to leave their friends. I'm looking for other evidence as to why one option might be more beneficial than the other, not "keep them with their friends."

My DD will be coming into FCPS from a private school, so I'm weighing the whole "I have some friends at this place already" a little bit less in this decision (FWIW, she has two neighborhood friends who go to our base school, as they play soccer together).

Super helpful, thanks! I appreciate this perspective.

One question: you said that being at the base school might allow DD to explore more. I would’ve thought the opposite. Do you mind sharing why that might be the case? Curious to understand more.

As for asking DD if she wants to go to the center school....I haven’t asked her point blank but I know I will get “but I know two people at the base.” Again, she does not go to school with any of these kids right now....they’re friends from sports. So it’s not like they will stop being friends. I am considering maybe not telling DD she has a choice because frankly I am not sure a kid with zero public school experience truly understands the full picture of why her parent might want her to attend one school versus the other. Yes, she’s a bright kid, but she’s still only 8.

I would figure out the following: Does your kid want to go to the center school? My DC was adamant about not going, we didn't explain DC was gifted, just that it would be more interesting in science and math. After many attempts, still no change. So we're staying at our base school. The bell schedule knocked out a lot of after school curriculars for us so we stayed in part because enrichment goes farther here. DC didn't retain any friends going to the center school (everyone in our base school stayed.) So it was a situation where it was like: we might as well let DC stay and then transfer to the middle school as needed.

Oak View and Lee are 6/7 in great schools, so it's really tough to figure out which school in terms of "rigor." I will say that they will probably be the same, with room for your kid to explore a little more in your base school. (It's not like you're leaping into Mantua or Sangster here) Someone mentioned more extra curriculars in Oak View: THIS MATTERS. If Oak View has more that you are willing to try, do that. The enrichment is worth it. If you had paid for private school so far, this is a small burden, but it leads to less screen time at home and more growth overall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I realize that center schools nor local level IV programs throughout FCPS are created equal.

But.....

If you have a student who'll be entering into Fairfax County in 3rd grade and going directly into a full-time Level IV AAP program, in general, would you lean toward going to the base school or the center school?

I'd love to hear the pros and cons of each option. Of the parents I've spoken with in my neighborhood, most chose to keep their kids at the base school because the kids didn't want to leave their friends. I'm looking for other evidence as to why one option might be more beneficial than the other, not "keep them with their friends."

My DD will be coming into FCPS from a private school, so I'm weighing the whole "I have some friends at this place already" a little bit less in this decision (FWIW, she has two neighborhood friends who go to our base school, as they play soccer together).

I would figure out the following: Does your kid want to go to the center school? My DC was adamant about not going, we didn't explain DC was gifted, just that it would be more interesting in science and math. After many attempts, still no change. So we're staying at our base school. The bell schedule knocked out a lot of after school curriculars for us so we stayed in part because enrichment goes farther here. DC didn't retain any friends going to the center school (everyone in our base school stayed.) So it was a situation where it was like: we might as well let DC stay and then transfer to the middle school as needed.

Oak View and Lee are 6/7 in great schools, so it's really tough to figure out which school in terms of "rigor." I will say that they will probably be the same, with room for your kid to explore a little more in your base school. (It's not like you're leaping into Mantua or Sangster here) Someone mentioned more extra curriculars in Oak View: THIS MATTERS. If Oak View has more that you are willing to try, do that. The enrichment is worth it. If you had paid for private school so far, this is a small burden, but it leads to less screen time at home and more growth overall.

OP again!

Super helpful, thanks! I appreciate this perspective.

One question: you said that being at the base school might allow DD to explore more. I would’ve thought the opposite. Do you mind sharing why that might be the case? Curious to understand more.

As for asking DD if she wants to go to the center school....I haven’t asked her point blank but I know I will get “but I know two people at the base.” Again, she does not go to school with any of these kids right now....they’re friends from sports. So it’s not like they will stop being friends. I am considering maybe not telling DD she has a choice because frankly I am not sure a kid with zero public school experience truly understands the full picture of why her parent might want her to attend one school versus the other. Yes, she’s a bright kid, but she’s still only 8. In her current school, it’s pretty small so she hasn’t seen the effects of pressure to be “cool,” etc quite yet. Of course these pressures come eventually regardless, but I’d love to minimize that kind of stuff as much as I can. I understand one can never avoid it completely.

[Anonymous]

DD went from private to center. Our base doesn't offer LLIV, so there was no question of that. Most of the kids knew at least one or two other kids in class, but generally they weren't BFFs or anything, so the kids all seem to have formed new friendships. We don't really have a huge distance issue, in that the base school is a block away, but the center is only 1.5 miles away. Her peer group is good, and there are a lot of nerdy but proud of it kids there as well, so they fit in with each other and have each other's backs.

[Anonymous]

I kept my older at base school for the smaller environment and will do so with the younger when their time comes. It's not just because of friends but that's part of it. The bigger problem is that their bus ride to base is 5 minutes. To center it's 55 minutes. I'm not going to have my kids sitting on buses for an extra 1 hour 40 minutes each day. I want them to come home and be able to have some fun, play with neighborhood kids, before launching into dinner, homework, etc. Also, I'm sure they will make new friends in the center school BUT these new friends likely will not live within walking distance of your house. Your kid may (or may not) be off schedule due to different starting times or bus ride time. So, even if they maintain their old friends, they may no longer have time to play with them after school. Do you want to drive your kid to playdates with the new center friends EVERY time they want to get together.

Life's too short for me. Can't put up with all that hassle for maybe a 5-10% increase in rigor. Not even sure increased rigor means anything or has any statistical long-term effect. Like, do you really think it will be the difference between UVA and Harvard? lol

[Anonymous]

Frankly, the way that the district boundaries are drawn, our local school (which is not the closest school, it is the assigned one) is just as inconvenient to get to/bus to as our Center.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Frankly, the way that the district boundaries are drawn, our local school (which is not the closest school, it is the assigned one) is just as inconvenient to get to/bus to as our Center.

Well you'd better double check the bus routes (assuming you are OP). Physical distance is not the same as bus distance. We are the only stop on local bus route hence 5 minute drive. The center school is only about a 7 minute further drive (probably 10 minutes away in no traffic) BUT the center buses make hella stops. There's probably like 15 stops to pick up all these one-off kids going to the center. And we just so happen to be one of the last. This is how a 10 minute drive turns into a 55 minute bus ride.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I kept my older at base school for the smaller environment and will do so with the younger when their time comes. It's not just because of friends but that's part of it. The bigger problem is that their bus ride to base is 5 minutes. To center it's 55 minutes. I'm not going to have my kids sitting on buses for an extra 1 hour 40 minutes each day. I want them to come home and be able to have some fun, play with neighborhood kids, before launching into dinner, homework, etc. Also, I'm sure they will make new friends in the center school BUT these new friends likely will not live within walking distance of your house. Your kid may (or may not) be off schedule due to different starting times or bus ride time. So, even if they maintain their old friends, they may no longer have time to play with them after school. Do you want to drive your kid to playdates with the new center friends EVERY time they want to get together.

Life's too short for me. Can't put up with all that hassle for maybe a 5-10% increase in rigor. Not even sure increased rigor means anything or has any statistical long-term effect. Like, do you really think it will be the difference between UVA and Harvard? lol

Weirdly my DCs and their friends love the bus ride--they do lots of creative play with friends on it and they have really good friends from varied grades through the bus ride. Play dates after school often involve getting off at others' stops (this is also a very convenient way parents' exchange afterschool child care as occasionally need it). Never would have thought it but they hate it when I say I'm going to drop them off/pick them up at school. But it is a long day. Also, it works for us because we would have SACC otherwise and the long bus eliminates that need since we can just tweak our work schedules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I kept my older at base school for the smaller environment and will do so with the younger when their time comes. It's not just because of friends but that's part of it. The bigger problem is that their bus ride to base is 5 minutes. To center it's 55 minutes. I'm not going to have my kids sitting on buses for an extra 1 hour 40 minutes each day. I want them to come home and be able to have some fun, play with neighborhood kids, before launching into dinner, homework, etc. Also, I'm sure they will make new friends in the center school BUT these new friends likely will not live within walking distance of your house. Your kid may (or may not) be off schedule due to different starting times or bus ride time. So, even if they maintain their old friends, they may no longer have time to play with them after school. Do you want to drive your kid to playdates with the new center friends EVERY time they want to get together.

Life's too short for me. Can't put up with all that hassle for maybe a 5-10% increase in rigor. Not even sure increased rigor means anything or has any statistical long-term effect. Like, do you really think it will be the difference between UVA and Harvard? lol

OP again. Thanks for your perspective.

I can certainly understand the thinking re: your personal experience given the issue distance/time spent on a bus.

As I mentioned previously, I am not necessarily looking for more "rigor" or thinking a decision about 3rd grade has any bearing on what college she ends up at years down the road. As stated, I want to make sure my kid is in an environment where she's still eager to learn and encouraged to do so, particularly when it comes to subjects and activities that aren't always as attractive to young girls (e.g. STEM, chess, etc).

[Anonymous]

I'll give another perspective: My center has a slightly greater number of academic extracurriculars than the LLIV, but it's much easier to get into them in the LLIV. At the center, you end up with only 30 slots and 200 kids who are interested, so there's no guarantee that your kid will be picked for the science olympiad team or math team. I would ask both schools what opportunities they each have, but also how competitive is it to get in. If the center has to do a lottery for many of the nerdier extracurriculars, then the offerings at the LLIV may be better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll give another perspective: My center has a slightly greater number of academic extracurriculars than the LLIV, but it's much easier to get into them in the LLIV. At the center, you end up with only 30 slots and 200 kids who are interested, so there's no guarantee that your kid will be picked for the science olympiad team or math team. I would ask both schools what opportunities they each have, but also how competitive is it to get in. If the center has to do a lottery for many of the nerdier extracurriculars, then the offerings at the LLIV may be better.

Good point, thanks.

[Anonymous]

We live in that neighborhood and we're in your position. Ultimately, I kept my DD at Lee's Corner because I liked the idea of her being with the same group of kids for a few years. I never regretted it. The AAP teachers were fantastic. She formed some great friendships and she was prepared for middle school AAP really well. But I am sure people who sent their kids to Oak Hill also feel they made the best choice.

[Anonymous]

Not familiar with those specific schools, but I have had kids at both our LLIV and at the center.

The biggest difference for us was the size of the AAP program. At our local school, there is one classroom for AAP. My older child would not have done well with the same group of 20-something classmates for 4 years in a row - he really thrived in a larger community. There are more extracurriculars available, with more variety of interests.

At our local school, AAP is a single classroom. My other child did well with the smaller, more consistent group. He would have been overwhelmed going to the center. The peer pressure is more intense, there was more of a 'sink or swim' feel to it.

I haven't seen any difference in the quality of instruction, the teachers, or the academic rigor. The local school is more attentive and nurturing, though. At the center, nobody from the main office even knew my kid's name. Principal wouldn't have recognized him if we saw her away from school. Some of the teachers were very proactive and attentive, others weren't. At our local school, everyone from the principal to the custodians knows each and every child, and talks with them regularly.

[Anonymous]

We live in the Lees Corner neighborhood, and I love the school, but in your situation I would not hesitate to send my kids to Oak Hill. Why not take advantage of the wider AAP circle if you aren’t leaving friends behind? Staying with neighborhood friends is the #1 reason we choose to stay with LC. And being with the same 27 kids for 4 years straight does get old.