Please look at this list of elementary schools - what do you think???

[Anonymous]

We are in the process of buying a new home and we want to purchase in an area that feeds into a good public elementary school...by good I mean decent test scores, low number of kids on a free or reduced lunch, low teacher turnover, other indicators YOU feel make a good school.

ANY thoughts you can provide me on the following schools would be VERY appreciated. I know nothing and dont have friends in the area yet to ask...

Samuel Tucker Elementary School
Patrick Henry Elementary School
John Adams Elementary School
Douglas MacArthur Elementary
Cora Kelly Elementary School
Lyles Crouch Elementary School
George Mason Elementary School
Mount Vernon Elementary School
James K. Polk Elementary School
Maury Elementary School
Jefferson Houston Elementary School
William Ramsay Elementary School
Charles Barrett Elementary School

[Anonymous]

Very happy parent from Samuel Tucker here. They have a fairly low teacher turnover, and good test scores. Tucker has a fairly high number of kids on free and reduced lunch, but the quality of the education is great, and the test scores are quite good. Samuel Tucker follows a year round schedule, so be aware of that when making your decision. I think just looking stats like free and reduced lunch and test scores can be a bit deceiving, by the way. Alexandria has many poor families and/or many families where kids don't have English spoken at home or families with the income that allows them the ability to provide their children with every advantage. That's going to be reflected in the test scores. However, YOUR child will get individual attention (Alexandria has a great student-to-teacher ratio) and will get educated at the appropriate level for them. Kids that need more help get it, kids that need more challenging material get that. Welcome to Alexandria, wherever you may live in the city. (Also, might want to change title of the initial post to indicate your are asking specifically about Alexandria--might be more traffic.)