Best schools in Fairfax County
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Anonymous
| We're considering a move from Alexandria City to Fairfax County primarily for the improvement in schools. Are there clear "best" schools in the county? We would have a first grader next year. Thanks! |
Anonymous
| Yes. The schools with the best reputations include haycock, Louise archer, mantua. There are others. The common element is that they are aap centers, which usually results in a more active PTA |
Anonymous
| Colvin Run is also among the best. then they are Churchill Road, Spring Hill and etc. check out www.greatschools.org for the schools and then consider other factors that are also important to you. |
Anonymous
| Haycock. It started out as everything I had hoped for and seriously gets better every year. They work hard to keep the students interested and challenged. |
Anonymous
Having an AAP center doesn't necessarily result in a more active PTA (where is your cite for that?!). However, because the AAP center test scores are added into the school's overall test score, the entire school tends to get ranked higher. So, it skews the ranking. OP, check into neighborhoods you like and talk to the neighbors. You'll find that, in most cases, people love their local, neighborhood schools. The curriculum is similar throughout FFX County and children thrive in all the schools -- not just the ones with AAP centers. |
Anonymous
| If the OP is interested in Haycock, you may want to pat attention to the upcoming boundary study centered on Leon Road and Freedom Hill. There has been some mention of changing nearby schools' boundaries, including Haycock's AAP. See the FCPS School Board agenda for the next regular meeting (February 9 2012). |
Anonymous
| ^^Lemon Road |
Anonymous
+1 However, if you really want to be in the very, very best schools: Churchill Road ES/Longfellow MS AAP with Cooper MS as fallback/TJHSST with Langley HS as fallback. |
Anonymous
| There are good schools on the western side as well - Flores, Union Mill, Greenbriar West, Colin Powell.... Don't limit yourself - the school does not have to be an AAP center and does not have to be on the eastern side. As mentioned before, scores are affected by level IV classes on one end and ESL students on the other, but you have to speak to parents to find out what the school is realy like. |
Anonymous
| There is no one "best" school -- determine what's important to you and do the research. Or, at least list what you mean by "best." |
Anonymous
I agree. We sort of stumbled into the Churchill Rd school. We love the school and think its wonderful but I don't know how we could say it's the best. I think they all bring something to the table. |
Anonymous
| Churchill is pretty darn good - much more accessible than many. And you cannot beat the statistics of Churchill - Longfellow grads who end up at TJ, or like the PP said, at the "fall back" of Langley. (which is about to be redone at which point it will rock McLean on academics and facilities). |
Anonymous
Really?!?! Yikes I had better check. My DC attends Haycock as an AAP student. I hope we don't get shifted to another center after DC has made friends and is really settled and happy!!! |
Anonymous
| PP here. I did a Google search and can't find the agenda for the upcoming meeting. Can anyone provide a link? I'm not sure why I'm missing it. |
Anonymous
| Nevermind. I found it on the Lemon Road thread. Thanks anyway! |