Arlington public school overcrowding?

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone. We're moving to Arlington this summer, mostly because I can't stand the commute to DC from Fairfax anymore, and because I love Arlington. I'm hoping to buy in North Arlington, likely feeding into Washington & Lee HS. But I'm worried that with school overcrowding, I could spend a lot more money on a smaller house in North Arlington and then a boundary shift could switch us to Wakefield. (which would lower the resale value of the house.) If that could happen, I'd rather just buy more house in South Arlington in the first place.

Who knows a lot about the public school system in Arlington, and what's likely to happen as the schools become overcrowded? Are Wakefield and its feeder schools at capacity, or over-capacity, just like North Arlington? Or is it just North Arlington, or just Washington & Lee? Is the county likely to re-draw the boundaries in the next 5-10 years? My daughter is young, so we don't have to worry about high schools *yet* but I don't know enough about where we'll end up living to ask about specific elementary schools.

The school we're slated for in Fairfax is pretty crappy, so Wakefield would be an improvement too, but W&L does have a better reputation. (Yorktown's is even better, but it's hard to find a house there in my price range, plus there's less diversity.)

[Anonymous]

No one really knows what they are going to do about the overcrowding in the schools. As far as moving from W-L to Wakefield, I think that would depend where you live in the W-L boundary. I would say the closer to S. Arlington, the more likely that chance, but even so, I think a lot of parents would be up in arms about a change like that considering Wakefield is not considered as good as W-L. I would assume that when they rebuilt W-L, they built in some room for growth, but it still probably not enough. There are projections for all the schools for the next 5 years on the Arlington website, but even those are on the low side IMO. My son is in K right now, and I feel like everyone in his class is the oldest child in the family, so that means a lot of siblings coming behind them in the next few years. The number of K students at his school is double the number of 5th graders, and I can only imagine how much bigger it will get. All in all, it is a big mystery. I think the county finally gets that the schools are getting very crowded, but IMO, they took too long to realize that. Anyone driving around neighborhoods in Arlington can see the number of kids all over the place - the growth should not have been a surprise to anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi everyone. We're moving to Arlington this summer, mostly because I can't stand the commute to DC from Fairfax anymore, and because I love Arlington. I'm hoping to buy in North Arlington, likely feeding into Washington & Lee HS. But I'm worried that with school overcrowding, I could spend a lot more money on a smaller house in North Arlington and then a boundary shift could switch us to Wakefield. (which would lower the resale value of the house.) If that could happen, I'd rather just buy more house in South Arlington in the first place.

Who knows a lot about the public school system in Arlington, and what's likely to happen as the schools become overcrowded? Are Wakefield and its feeder schools at capacity, or over-capacity, just like North Arlington? Or is it just North Arlington, or just Washington & Lee? Is the county likely to re-draw the boundaries in the next 5-10 years? My daughter is young, so we don't have to worry about high schools *yet* but I don't know enough about where we'll end up living to ask about specific elementary schools.

The school we're slated for in Fairfax is pretty crappy, so Wakefield would be an improvement too, but W&L does have a better reputation. (Yorktown's is even better, but it's hard to find a house there in my price range, plus there's less diversity.)

Here's the current boundary map, which may give you some feel for the areas currently in the W-L district that are closest to the Wakefield district:

http://www.apsva.us/15401081104047187/lib/15401081104047187/highschools.pdf

By the way, few would consider Wakefield an improvement over any FCPS high school other than possibly Mount Vernon.

[Anonymous]

First of all, what makes you think W-L is "better" than Wakefield? The Newsweek rankings? The fact that it is less diverse? Second, you can always try and get into HB or choose W-L for the IB Program. I am so sick of the people on this board bashing Wakefield. The renovation also starts this summer and it will be the most advanced and newest facility by the time your child is in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who knows a lot about the public school system in Arlington, and what's likely to happen as the schools become overcrowded? Are Wakefield and its feeder schools at capacity, or over-capacity, just like North Arlington? Or is it just North Arlington, or just Washington & Lee? Is the county likely to re-draw the boundaries in the next 5-10 years?

In general, North Arlington elementaries are all overcrowded to some extent. There are several South Arlington elementaries that are still underenrolled. I know the traditional program at Drew and Hoffman-Boston are underenrolled. Claremont isn't at capacity yet either. The South Arlington exception is Oakridge, which is projected to be the most severely overcrowded elementary in all of Arlington due in large part to the present and future development of Pentagon City and Crystal City.

From what I know, elementary boundaries will not be changed until a new elementary school (or two) is built. (And building another elementary is on the table for alleviating overcrowding.) Boundary changes are highly political, so they don't want to do one now and another in a few years. Plus, with all North Arlington schools overcrowded, you can't just redistrict easily there since the neighboring schools are also overcrowded. Whether or not MS and HS boundaries will change too is not known as the focus seems to be on elementaries. Or maybe that's because my DDs are in elementary, so that's all I hear about?

I agree with a previous PP, the closer your house is to the Wakefield border, the more likely it may be redistricted. If your goal is Washington & Lee, aim for the center of that boundary zone, if financially possible.

[Anonymous]

OP here. we're leaving the Falls Church High School boundary, which is ranked 23rd out of 24th of Fairfax high schools. SAT scores are below the national average, and the school has fallen steadily in the ranks since i moved to my house 11 years ago. (my zip code got split up to 4 high schools; my house landed in FCHS while others landed in Woodson or Oakton, which have a much better rep.)

Wakefield has lower test scores, more free lunches and a higher minority population than W&L. W&L has lower test scores, more free lunches and a higher minority population than Yorktown. These things affect a school's reputation and affect housing prices. Wakefield's lesser rep is one reason that more people can afford to buy into that area, along with lesser access to metrorail. It's not the end of the world if my daughter ended up at Wakefield - it's fine - but I don't want to pay North Arlington prices (for a smaller, older house) that would take a huge hit if we got rezoned. Frankly, W&L is not as good as some of the Fairfax county schools where i *could* live but I'm trying to improve my commute, not worsen it.

my ex said, "maybe you can stay where you are and she'll get into TJ" but that (a) involves a lot of assumptions, and (b) wouldn't solve the commuting problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. we're leaving the Falls Church High School boundary, which is ranked 23rd out of 24th of Fairfax high schools. SAT scores are below the national average, and the school has fallen steadily in the ranks since i moved to my house 11 years ago. (my zip code got split up to 4 high schools; my house landed in FCHS while others landed in Woodson or Oakton, which have a much better rep.)

Wakefield has lower test scores, more free lunches and a higher minority population than W&L. W&L has lower test scores, more free lunches and a higher minority population than Yorktown. These things affect a school's reputation and affect housing prices. Wakefield's lesser rep is one reason that more people can afford to buy into that area, along with lesser access to metrorail. It's not the end of the world if my daughter ended up at Wakefield - it's fine - but I don't want to pay North Arlington prices (for a smaller, older house) that would take a huge hit if we got rezoned. Frankly, W&L is not as good as some of the Fairfax county schools where i *could* live but I'm trying to improve my commute, not worsen it.

my ex said, "maybe you can stay where you are and she'll get into TJ" but that (a) involves a lot of assumptions, and (b) wouldn't solve the commuting problem.

Actually, I think all of this will change significantly over the next few years as more minorities get pushed out of the area and more upper-middle class white kids become of school age. This is already happening at the school my son is at (Glebe) and our high school is W-L. Glebe used to be one of the more diverse schools in N. Arlington, but with the baby boom here, the percentage of white kids keeps going up every year while the minority population has remained pretty much flat. Whether this really makes Glebe or W-L "better" schools, I have no idea. But W-L will definitely have a smaller minority population and thus fewer students on free lunch as time goes on.

[Anonymous]

http://www.arlnow.com/2011/01/21/capacity-crisis-looming-for-arlington-public-schools/

PS "Washington - Lee" is the high school. "Washington & Lee" is the college in Lexington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. we're leaving the Falls Church High School boundary, which is ranked 23rd out of 24th of Fairfax high schools. SAT scores are below the national average, and the school has fallen steadily in the ranks since i moved to my house 11 years ago. (my zip code got split up to 4 high schools; my house landed in FCHS while others landed in Woodson or Oakton, which have a much better rep.)

Wakefield has lower test scores, more free lunches and a higher minority population than W&L. W&L has lower test scores, more free lunches and a higher minority population than Yorktown. These things affect a school's reputation and affect housing prices. Wakefield's lesser rep is one reason that more people can afford to buy into that area, along with lesser access to metrorail. It's not the end of the world if my daughter ended up at Wakefield - it's fine - but I don't want to pay North Arlington prices (for a smaller, older house) that would take a huge hit if we got rezoned. Frankly, W&L is not as good as some of the Fairfax county schools where i *could* live but I'm trying to improve my commute, not worsen it.

my ex said, "maybe you can stay where you are and she'll get into TJ" but that (a) involves a lot of assumptions, and (b) wouldn't solve the commuting problem.

Actually, I think all of this will change significantly over the next few years as more minorities get pushed out of the area and more upper-middle class white kids become of school age. This is already happening at the school my son is at (Glebe) and our high school is W-L. Glebe used to be one of the more diverse schools in N. Arlington, but with the baby boom here, the percentage of white kids keeps going up every year while the minority population has remained pretty much flat. Whether this really makes Glebe or W-L "better" schools, I have no idea. But W-L will definitely have a smaller minority population and thus fewer students on free lunch as time goes on.

so, potentially, the same 'trend' in W-L will happen at Wakefield, given time... and then, voila, property values go up in S Arl...

[Anonymous]

The last time areas north of Rt 50 were zoned to Wakefield HS was back in the 1960s, before Yorktown HS opened to address overcrowding at W-L. The boundary was Pershing Drive (in Lyon Park), and Wilson Blvd (west of Ballston).

I highly doubt North Arlington neighborhoods would be assigned to Wakefield in a boundary shift, even if W-L surpasses 2,500 students as projected in five years... but you never know. I predict that the areas of Glencarlyn in South Arlington currently zoned to W-L will revert back to Wakefield, and there might be a radical restructuring of the W-L/Yorktown boundary which has not shifted significantly since Donaldson Run was moved into the Yorktown district about 20 years ago.

But there are options being discussed that include increasing the capacity of the new Wakefield HS building to help alleviate the North Arlington crowding. Wakefield is a good school with many excellent programs (etc), and with the new facilities, I'm sure more upper middle class families both north and south of Rt 50 will choose to send their kids there.

[Anonymous]

Hi,

We live around the corner from Wakefield, and my child will start K in the fall... just wanted to say that I have worried about the school options in south arlington but am finding that most of my worries are not true. First, in Arlington there is school choice-- for example, we have 5 elementary schools to choose from. Second, if my child goes to Claremont (spanish immersion) he would then have the option of going to 2 different middle schools. Finally, for HS, yes he might go to Wakefield (which BTW is really a decent school, and a new one is being built soon) but also the option of the IB program at W-L; HB Woodlawn, which is amazing; Thomas Jefferson HS (top in the country)... there are just alot of options. Also, we have a 4 bedroom 4 bath home that we bought for about $300K less than we would have in North Arlington. We love our neighbors too. Just my 2 cents!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi,

We live around the corner from Wakefield, and my child will start K in the fall... just wanted to say that I have worried about the school options in south arlington but am finding that most of my worries are not true. First, in Arlington there is school choice-- for example, we have 5 elementary schools to choose from. Second, if my child goes to Claremont (spanish immersion) he would then have the option of going to 2 different middle schools. Finally, for HS, yes he might go to Wakefield (which BTW is really a decent school, and a new one is being built soon) but also the option of the IB program at W-L; HB Woodlawn, which is amazing; Thomas Jefferson HS (top in the country)... there are just alot of options. Also, we have a 4 bedroom 4 bath home that we bought for about $300K less than we would have in North Arlington. We love our neighbors too. Just my 2 cents!

I second this as a N Arlington parent with a child at Claremont. Wakefield is a good solid school right now, as are both W-L and Yorktown (we're zoned for Yorktown and, while I'm glad about that in terms of real estate value, I really don't know if Yorktown will be so great for our child -- there are so many variables with kids).

The Arlington schools really are good to excellent across the board and it drives me a bit crazy to see people bashing/fretting about those Arlington schools with greater diversity. We're glad Arlington has school choice and our child is not at our neighborhood N. Arlington school where the kids seemingly aren't just almost exclusively white, but actually overwhelmingly blond as well, LOL (not that there's anything wrong with blond-haired people). In retrospect, if we were to do it over again, we'd have lived in a more diverse part of Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi,

We live around the corner from Wakefield, and my child will start K in the fall... just wanted to say that I have worried about the school options in south arlington but am finding that most of my worries are not true. First, in Arlington there is school choice-- for example, we have 5 elementary schools to choose from. Second, if my child goes to Claremont (spanish immersion) he would then have the option of going to 2 different middle schools. Finally, for HS, yes he might go to Wakefield (which BTW is really a decent school, and a new one is being built soon) but also the option of the IB program at W-L; HB Woodlawn, which is amazing; Thomas Jefferson HS (top in the country)... there are just alot of options. Also, we have a 4 bedroom 4 bath home that we bought for about $300K less than we would have in North Arlington. We love our neighbors too. Just my 2 cents!

I second this as a N Arlington parent with a child at Claremont. Wakefield is a good solid school right now, as are both W-L and Yorktown (we're zoned for Yorktown and, while I'm glad about that in terms of real estate value, I really don't know if Yorktown will be so great for our child -- there are so many variables with kids).

The Arlington schools really are good to excellent across the board and it drives me a bit crazy to see people bashing/fretting about those Arlington schools with greater diversity. We're glad Arlington has school choice and our child is not at our neighborhood N. Arlington school where the kids seemingly aren't just almost exclusively white, but actually overwhelmingly blond as well, LOL (not that there's anything wrong with blond-haired people). In retrospect, if we were to do it over again, we'd have lived in a more diverse part of Arlington.

This is so funny, because I always notice this when I am out at any of the various playgrounds in N. Arlington! Isn't natural blonde hair something like 10% of the population and yet it seems like more than half of the kids I see around N. Arlington have blonde hair and blue eyes. This is true in my son's preschool class as well.

Anyway, I do think that school choice will become less and less of an option as schools get more crowded with their own neighborhood kids, so I wouldn't count on all these choices always being available. But we'll see.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi,

We live around the corner from Wakefield, and my child will start K in the fall... just wanted to say that I have worried about the school options in south arlington but am finding that most of my worries are not true. First, in Arlington there is school choice-- for example, we have 5 elementary schools to choose from. Second, if my child goes to Claremont (spanish immersion) he would then have the option of going to 2 different middle schools. Finally, for HS, yes he might go to Wakefield (which BTW is really a decent school, and a new one is being built soon) but also the option of the IB program at W-L; HB Woodlawn, which is amazing; Thomas Jefferson HS (top in the country)... there are just alot of options. Also, we have a 4 bedroom 4 bath home that we bought for about $300K less than we would have in North Arlington. We love our neighbors too. Just my 2 cents!

I second this as a N Arlington parent with a child at Claremont. Wakefield is a good solid school right now, as are both W-L and Yorktown (we're zoned for Yorktown and, while I'm glad about that in terms of real estate value, I really don't know if Yorktown will be so great for our child -- there are so many variables with kids).

The Arlington schools really are good to excellent across the board and it drives me a bit crazy to see people bashing/fretting about those Arlington schools with greater diversity. We're glad Arlington has school choice and our child is not at our neighborhood N. Arlington school where the kids seemingly aren't just almost exclusively white, but actually overwhelmingly blond as well, LOL (not that there's anything wrong with blond-haired people). In retrospect, if we were to do it over again, we'd have lived in a more diverse part of Arlington.

This is so funny, because I always notice this when I am out at any of the various playgrounds in N. Arlington! Isn't natural blonde hair something like 10% of the population and yet it seems like more than half of the kids I see around N. Arlington have blonde hair and blue eyes. This is true in my son's preschool class as well.

Anyway, I do think that school choice will become less and less of an option as schools get more crowded with their own neighborhood kids, so I wouldn't count on all these choices always being available. But we'll see.....

wait until you actually see the classes. There is a huge diversity. My kids happen to be blonde...don't blame it on me...I am an olive-skinned dark brunette. Though-- I just took a tour of my son's elementary school (he enters K next year) and there is huge diversity. This is arlington science focus. Many, nay nationalites from all across the world. The classes aren't very blonde.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi,

We live around the corner from Wakefield, and my child will start K in the fall... just wanted to say that I have worried about the school options in south arlington but am finding that most of my worries are not true. First, in Arlington there is school choice-- for example, we have 5 elementary schools to choose from. Second, if my child goes to Claremont (spanish immersion) he would then have the option of going to 2 different middle schools. Finally, for HS, yes he might go to Wakefield (which BTW is really a decent school, and a new one is being built soon) but also the option of the IB program at W-L; HB Woodlawn, which is amazing; Thomas Jefferson HS (top in the country)... there are just alot of options. Also, we have a 4 bedroom 4 bath home that we bought for about $300K less than we would have in North Arlington. We love our neighbors too. Just my 2 cents!

I second this as a N Arlington parent with a child at Claremont. Wakefield is a good solid school right now, as are both W-L and Yorktown (we're zoned for Yorktown and, while I'm glad about that in terms of real estate value, I really don't know if Yorktown will be so great for our child -- there are so many variables with kids).

The Arlington schools really are good to excellent across the board and it drives me a bit crazy to see people bashing/fretting about those Arlington schools with greater diversity. We're glad Arlington has school choice and our child is not at our neighborhood N. Arlington school where the kids seemingly aren't just almost exclusively white, but actually overwhelmingly blond as well, LOL (not that there's anything wrong with blond-haired people). In retrospect, if we were to do it over again, we'd have lived in a more diverse part of Arlington.

This is so funny, because I always notice this when I am out at any of the various playgrounds in N. Arlington! Isn't natural blonde hair something like 10% of the population and yet it seems like more than half of the kids I see around N. Arlington have blonde hair and blue eyes. This is true in my son's preschool class as well.

Anyway, I do think that school choice will become less and less of an option as schools get more crowded with their own neighborhood kids, so I wouldn't count on all these choices always being available. But we'll see.....

wait until you actually see the classes. There is a huge diversity. My kids happen to be blonde...don't blame it on me...I am an olive-skinned dark brunette. Though-- I just took a tour of my son's elementary school (he enters K next year) and there is huge diversity. This is arlington science focus. Many, nay nationalites from all across the world. The classes aren't very blonde.

Actually, my son is in K at Glebe and there are a lot of blondes there, too. At least more than the general population. ASFS is a bit more diverse than other schools.