Lake Barcroft Neighborhood/Schools
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Anonymous
| We are thinking about buying a house in the Lake Barcroft area. Like the idea of living near a lake and close commute to DC, but have some concerns about the surrounding area and quality of schools. Have two DS's (one is 3 and the other 1 years old.) Wanted to know if the neighborhood (and surrounding area) is safe, family friendly, and if the schools (esp elementary schools) are good. And if they are good/bad why/why not? Have been trying to search different threads, but can't seem to find much information in one place. Looking forward to hearing from residents who currently live in the neighborhood on why you would or would not recommend it. Thanks in advance! |
Anonymous
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I grew up there, great neighborhood surrounded by crappy areas. Schools are what you want out of them, I went public Stuart-and ended up in Ivy and have friends who went to private and ended up at NOVA.
Parents still live there and go to the lake all the time, very safe. |
Anonymous
| Did you like your time at Stuart? |
Anonymous
It was great, I am sure some didn't like it but I enjoyed it. The 4th of July parade, fireworks, Labor Day games, and Easter Egg hunt are awesome. |
Anonymous
| Sorry to keep questioning. Why would some not like it? |
Anonymous
The area around Rt 7 Culmore area- but you have Peking Gourmet there yum |
Anonymous
| Yes, I like Peking Gourmet, too. But I meant, why would some not like their time at Stuart? Thanks for humoring me. |
Anonymous
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Stuart pulls from the apartment complexes around 7 corners and Baileys xroads. The IB program is great, but there are a number of ESL and lower performing students. Of course, if you are on IB track, your interaction with these students is limited.
IMO - Sleepy Hollow and Belvedere Elementary is one of the better primary schools. The boundaries are such that 7 corners go to Beech Tree and Culmore goes to Baileys. |
Anonymous
| I was doing some work for Stuart once and they mentioned there are over 40 different languages spoken there. The area is quite diverse, which is both good and bad. |
Anonymous
| We used to live nearby, and the kids went to Sleepy Hollow. We liked the area and were happy with the school. However, we moved to MoCo before MS, so I can't speak to MS/HS. |
Anonymous
| OP here: We currently live in N. Arlington, great school system (Ashlawn, Kenmore, WL) but have outgrown our house. Looking for a bigger house, with more land, but don't want to make the trek beyond Vienna (because of the commute, and even that's not desirable). Was attracted to Lake Barcroft b/c there are some interesting homes (we like mid century modern, more land, closer commute to DC, and seems like a fun lifestyle for raising kids). Is it a good tradeoff (from Arlington/Lake Braddock) or should I stick where I am b/c of the LB schools/nearby community? What would be best for the kids? |
Anonymous
| We also used to live in the area. The location is amazing. 30 minutes to everywhere except Annapolis/Baltimore. Our kids went to private school, but our neighbors were happy with Sleepy Hollow ES. I am not sure about Glasgow and Studart. I have heard mixed reviews. Apparently Stuart was "rough" 10-15 years ago. |
Anonymous
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NP here. I would be very comfortable with Belvedere or Sleepy Hollow ES (which most Lake Barcroft students attend), Glasgow MS and Stuart HS. Compared to Arlington, these areas are more diverse and less affluent than most of the schools that are assigned to Washington-Lee, but less diverse and wealthier than most of the schools that are assigned to Wakefield. Lake Barcroft isn't the only nice area that feeds into those schools. Sleepy Hollow Woods and Barcroft Woods are also very nice, as are other neighborhoods off Sleepy Hollow Road. There's always a sizable group of students involved in the IB program and parents involved in the PTA. The lake itself is loads of fun.
Personally, I'd be as happy with Glasgow as with Kenmore, and probably happier with Stuart than with TC Williams, Wakefield or Falls Church. The only reason I might avoid it would be if I was a middle or upper-class Hispanic and I was worried that my kid might get targeted or solicited for a gang by lower-income Hispanics who live in Culmore or the rougher areas off Columbia Pike. |
Anonymous
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Also, while not something you can count on if your kids are little, but if they get into TJ, it's a very easy commute there from Lake Barcroft area.
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Anonymous
| I am the one who grew up there and went to Stuart, and currently live in Yorktown district. I like it over here but still go to my parents in the summer I don't think you can go wrong either way |