Barrett Elementary

[Anonymous]

Hi, we are looking for a house to buy in North Arlington and some of the houses on sale are in Barrett's district. I checked the review and they are not as good as other school in North Arlington. Any opinions? Much Appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Barrett is the most diverse of the N Arlington elementary schools, that serves middle and upper middle class neighborhoods as well as the much improved area of apartments along George Mason Drive that now houses a mixed population of recent immigrants and young professionals. Its test scores have been improving, largely due to demographic shifts, and the North Arlington baby boom. I would not be concerned about sending my child there at all. You should visit the school/check out the website to see if the school's curriculum would be a good fit for your child. I believe they have a montessori program, but I'm not positive.

[Anonymous]

Barrett has some tremendous teachers with a lot of energy and creativity. As an example, students at the school just won a nationwide NASA contest to design a game for astronauts.

http://www.sungazette.net/articles/2011/04/12/arlington/news/nw81g2.txt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Barrett is the most diverse of the N Arlington elementary schools, that serves middle and upper middle class neighborhoods as well as the much improved area of apartments along George Mason Drive that now houses a mixed population of recent immigrants and young professionals. Its test scores have been improving, largely due to demographic shifts, and the North Arlington baby boom. I would not be concerned about sending my child there at all. You should visit the school/check out the website to see if the school's curriculum would be a good fit for your child. I believe they have a montessori program, but I'm not positive.

This is an accurate description. We live in the neighborhood and our kids go to Barrett, as do most of our neighbors' kids. Test scores are "not as good" as other N Arlington schools because probably half of the students at Barrett do not have English as their first language and/or receive free/reduced lunch. The other half are children of young professionals, typically college graduates, and if you pull out the test scores for Limited English Proficient students, these children score as high as those from the other N. Arlington schools. It is a very warm and close-knit environment with a great principal and wonderful staff. I believe it consistently ranks as one of the highest, if not highest, in terms of staff satisfaction in Arlington public schools. They do offer a Montessori program (although it's difficult to get a spot - 2/3 are reserved for low-income households). I would definitely call and ask for a visit/tour before you make a decision. Barrett is a special place .

[Anonymous]

There was an earlier thread discussing the merits and drawbacks of socioeconomically mixed schools like Barrett (including direct reference to Barrett). There are notable drawbacks and impacts on overall educational outcomes (even for higher-income kids from college/graduate degree households) when a school is majority low-income, take note before you make your choice and make sure you make an informed one.

We recently moved to the area and our child is now preschool age. We will not be sending to Barrett for some of these reasons and will opt for a private when the time comes....