how do falls church CITY schools rank against falls church city/Fairfax County schools?

[Anonymous]

We're thinking of moving and have always heard that falls church city schools ranked better than FCC/Fairfax county schools, but now I'm not so sure. And with the houses so expensive in the city, I'm not sure it's worth it to move. Anyone have any feedback/comparisons on the different school systems?

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on the part of FC you're talking about. There's a decent-sized section of Falls Church that feeds into McLean schools that are ranked very high.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on the needs of your child. For a typically developing kid with no special needs, then I think Falls Church City schools are a good choice. But it is a very small school district. I know several people with kids who have various special needs and none of them are happy with the FCC school for their special needs child. (My own child is special needs, so we are plugged into that network a bit.) I think a small district can have a harder time dealing with atypical kids, if for no other reason than they have fewer options to offer.

[Anonymous]

Falls Church City public schools have their own George Mason HS, Mary Ellen Henderson MS, Thomas Jefferson ES and Mount Daniel pre-school - first grade. I have had clients move to Falls Church City just for the schools. George Mason was one of the first HS to offer the IB program. Is IB better for your child than AP?
http://www.fccps.org/schools/

Check out each school and see if their specialty areas meet your child's needs. In FXCO each school has its own group of specialty areas. If your children have special needs, do your homework and look at all the schools. www.fcps.edu

[Anonymous]

These neighborhoods are not inexpensive, either, but if you are frustrated with your search in FCC you might look at neighborhoods in the 22043 zip code (FFX County with Falls Church address) that feed into Haycock ES/Longfellow MS/McLean HS or Shrevewood ES/Kilmer MS/Marshall HS.

McLean is AP; Marshall is IB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're thinking of moving and have always heard that falls church city schools ranked better than FCC/Fairfax county schools, but now I'm not so sure. And with the houses so expensive in the city, I'm not sure it's worth it to move. Anyone have any feedback/comparisons on the different school systems?

Falls Church City school district is small. That is a plus for many reasons. However, that Fairfax County is large is a plus too: it allows for GT Centers, Language Immersion programs, etc.