How is Franklin Sherman school?

[Anonymous]

Very lackluster and underwhelming. They could really take advantage of the smaller size classes but don’t due to the lack of drive by the principal. The smaller class size is from neighborhoods where hardly any kids go to the school and rather do private. In our neighborhood when you have young kids and they ask what school you plan to attend and you say FSES, you get an eye roll and a good luck. With the right leadership it could be a great place, but as others have stated there is a mass exodus in third grade, and the kids who stay feel a little like stepkids. People will brag about how it has aap, but not really to the extend of what is provided by other mclean schools. Also FCPS recently sent out an email about the elimination of differential maths, so that may make their attempt to look aap reduced even more.

[Anonymous]

Couple of questions that come up with FS. Is there a chance that they be moved to Langley? This topic seems to come up.

Also, how will the McLean redevelopment impact the school? I heard there will be more multifamily homes built, similar to Mosaic District (smaller scale, of course).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Couple of questions that come up with FS. Is there a chance that they be moved to Langley? This topic seems to come up.

Also, how will the McLean redevelopment impact the school? I heard there will be more multifamily homes built, similar to Mosaic District (smaller scale, of course).

Franklin Sherman is 90% McLean, 10% Langley. The kids getting moved from McLean to Langley live further west in Vienna and are zoned to either Colvin Run and Spring Hill.

The redevelopment, if it ever occurs, would add students to Franklin Sherman, which has been under capacity for years. For the most part, it would be expensive, market rate units, with some set-asides for affordable housing.

If you look at the Mosaic District by comparison, they built a bunch of multi-family housing there that all feeds to Fairhill ES (and then to Jackson MS/Falls Church HS). It hasn't overwhelmed Fairhill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Couple of questions that come up with FS. Is there a chance that they be moved to Langley? This topic seems to come up.

Also, how will the McLean redevelopment impact the school? I heard there will be more multifamily homes built, similar to Mosaic District (smaller scale, of course).

Franklin Sherman is 90% McLean, 10% Langley. The kids getting moved from McLean to Langley live further west in Vienna and are zoned to either Colvin Run and Spring Hill.

The redevelopment, if it ever occurs, would add students to Franklin Sherman, which has been under capacity for years. For the most part, it would be expensive, market rate units, with some set-asides for affordable housing.

If you look at the Mosaic District by comparison, they built a bunch of multi-family housing there that all feeds to Fairhill ES (and then to Jackson MS/Falls Church HS). It hasn't overwhelmed Fairhill.

Downtown McLean already has high rise multi family housing, is it not zoned for FS? Also, isn’t going to the local school helpful for kids to make friends in the neighborhood or are these neighborhoods around FS primarily private school and people mainly keep to themselves or is there some sort of local community, kids playing together outside, people walking around?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Couple of questions that come up with FS. Is there a chance that they be moved to Langley? This topic seems to come up.

Also, how will the McLean redevelopment impact the school? I heard there will be more multifamily homes built, similar to Mosaic District (smaller scale, of course).

Franklin Sherman is 90% McLean, 10% Langley. The kids getting moved from McLean to Langley live further west in Vienna and are zoned to either Colvin Run and Spring Hill.

The redevelopment, if it ever occurs, would add students to Franklin Sherman, which has been under capacity for years. For the most part, it would be expensive, market rate units, with some set-asides for affordable housing.

If you look at the Mosaic District by comparison, they built a bunch of multi-family housing there that all feeds to Fairhill ES (and then to Jackson MS/Falls Church HS). It hasn't overwhelmed Fairhill.

Downtown McLean already has high rise multi family housing, is it not zoned for FS? Also, isn’t going to the local school helpful for kids to make friends in the neighborhood or are these neighborhoods around FS primarily private school and people mainly keep to themselves or is there some sort of local community, kids playing together outside, people walking around?

The current multi-story apartments in downtown McLean are zoned to FS but don't have many younger families - they are largely DINKs and retirees. There are also townhouses in downtown McLean and off Old Dominion zoned to FS and they do have a fair number of school-age kids.

FS is a good choice, especially if you'd like a smaller, more relaxed elementary school than most of the schools that feed into McLean and Langley, but the AAP-related dynamics (where a significant fraction of the kids peel off in 3rd grade and head off to Haycock) don't sit well with some people. It's best to go in with your eyes open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Couple of questions that come up with FS. Is there a chance that they be moved to Langley? This topic seems to come up.

Also, how will the McLean redevelopment impact the school? I heard there will be more multifamily homes built, similar to Mosaic District (smaller scale, of course).

Franklin Sherman is 90% McLean, 10% Langley. The kids getting moved from McLean to Langley live further west in Vienna and are zoned to either Colvin Run and Spring Hill.

The redevelopment, if it ever occurs, would add students to Franklin Sherman, which has been under capacity for years. For the most part, it would be expensive, market rate units, with some set-asides for affordable housing.

If you look at the Mosaic District by comparison, they built a bunch of multi-family housing there that all feeds to Fairhill ES (and then to Jackson MS/Falls Church HS). It hasn't overwhelmed Fairhill.

Thank you for your insight! If people peel off to the AAP school then does it mean there aren’t advanced kids left or some still prefer to stay? My other question is how does it affect the dynamics of the surrounding neighborhood and if kids tend to hang out together or are mainly driven around to play dates? I come from an area with a strong local community and kids getting together to play outside independently, visit each other etc, above a certain age
Downtown McLean already has high rise multi family housing, is it not zoned for FS? Also, isn’t going to the local school helpful for kids to make friends in the neighborhood or are these neighborhoods around FS primarily private school and people mainly keep to themselves or is there some sort of local community, kids playing together outside, people walking around?

The current multi-story apartments in downtown McLean are zoned to FS but don't have many younger families - they are largely DINKs and retirees. There are also townhouses in downtown McLean and off Old Dominion zoned to FS and they do have a fair number of school-age kids.

FS is a good choice, especially if you'd like a smaller, more relaxed elementary school than most of the schools that feed into McLean and Langley, but the AAP-related dynamics (where a significant fraction of the kids peel off in 3rd grade and head off to Haycock) don't sit well with some people. It's best to go in with your eyes open.

[Anonymous]

My kids did a year at Chesterbrook before we bought our house in the Franklin Sherman district. We much preferred Franklin Sherman’ s smaller size and more neighborhood feel. Chesterbrook is a good school but was too big for us and they completely missed my son needing speech therapy in while he was in second grade there. If I recall correctly, his second grade class at Chesterbrook had 32 kids and one teacher - no aide except for one who accompanied a special needs child. Barely enough physical space in the classroom. Granted this was about 10 years ago. The speech deficiency was found right away and addressed at FSES. I would recommend FSES.

[Anonymous]

Bump. Considering FS and private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bump. Considering FS and private.

Since this thread was last active, FS got a new principal and the school boundaries have changed substantially. I’d reach out to the school for information and not rely on stale information from 2021 in this thread. My impression is the new principal is enthusiastic and engaging in more outreach with parents, including parents of AAP-eligible kids, than her predecessor.

[Anonymous]

Just keep in mind that many many students in the McLean HS or Langley HS areas receive outside educational supplements. The details vary, but many receive private tutors and/or center-based supplements (e.g., AoPS, Kumon, Mathnasium, RSM).

In the ES cohort, many also go to Kids Language Arts, which offers AAP test prep and other academic content every summer. Redeemer Lutheran also has an after-school program (with a bus to pick up kids from all 3 FCPS ESs nearby) which includes homework help and tutoring.

[Anonymous]

Neighbors prefer new principal at FS over previous. Not sure why though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Neighbors prefer new principal at FS over previous. Not sure why though.

I’ve heard more frequent and better communications with parents and more attention to LLIV-eligible kids. The prior principal had been there many years and had developed a “my way or the highway” attitude.

The other thing happening is that, with the boundary changes affecting Franklin Sherman, Chesterbrook, Kent Gardens, Churchill Road, and Haycock, and the options that grandfathered families have to stay at their current schools or switch to their new schools this fall, the principals are competing with each other for students now. If the grandfathered families at Kent Gardens stay there rather than move to FS, but the grandfathered FS parents move to Chesterbrook and Churchill Road early, it would gut FS’s enrollment for a few years. So that’s another reason for Ms. Thomas to work hard to make a good impression.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neighbors prefer new principal at FS over previous. Not sure why though.

I’ve heard more frequent and better communications with parents and more attention to LLIV-eligible kids. The prior principal had been there many years and had developed a “my way or the highway” attitude.

The other thing happening is that, with the boundary changes affecting Franklin Sherman, Chesterbrook, Kent Gardens, Churchill Road, and Haycock, and the options that grandfathered families have to stay at their current schools or switch to their new schools this fall, the principals are competing with each other for students now. If the grandfathered families at Kent Gardens stay there rather than move to FS, but the grandfathered FS parents move to Chesterbrook and Churchill Road early, it would gut FS’s enrollment for a few years. So that’s another reason for Ms. Thomas to work hard to make a good impression.

OP - what does that mean for someone considering FS vs a private like Langley or Potomac for K in 2025? Does FS still have an advantage in class room size or is it worth paying for the smaller class sizes at private?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neighbors prefer new principal at FS over previous. Not sure why though.

I’ve heard more frequent and better communications with parents and more attention to LLIV-eligible kids. The prior principal had been there many years and had developed a “my way or the highway” attitude.

The other thing happening is that, with the boundary changes affecting Franklin Sherman, Chesterbrook, Kent Gardens, Churchill Road, and Haycock, and the options that grandfathered families have to stay at their current schools or switch to their new schools this fall, the principals are competing with each other for students now. If the grandfathered families at Kent Gardens stay there rather than move to FS, but the grandfathered FS parents move to Chesterbrook and Churchill Road early, it would gut FS’s enrollment for a few years. So that’s another reason for Ms. Thomas to work hard to make a good impression.

OP - what does that mean for someone considering FS vs a private like Langley or Potomac for K in 2025? Does FS still have an advantage in class room size or is it worth paying for the smaller class sizes at private?

FS will continue to be a relatively small school, but the class sizes will vary based on the number of kids in a grade. So if they have a grade with 40 kids in total, they'll have two classes with 20 kids, which is low by FCPS standards. But if they had 58 kids in a grade, they could end up with two classes with 29 kids, which is large, unless the principal finds some money in the budget to hire an additional classroom teacher.

Overall, I think the new principal and the boundary changes will be positive for the school, but only you can decide whether it's worth paying for private to be guaranteed smaller class sizes.