NoVA Close-In Schools

[Anonymous]

We are thinking about moving to NoVA from DC and pulling our kids out of private school. We live very close to the MD border, so I know a little bit about MoCo publics, but think we would probably get a nicer house in VA. We want to be close to DC for work (so we preliminary thought of looking in 22207 or 22101) but wanted to find great schools. What are the strong schools in close-to-dc neighborhoods? We have elementary school kids so want to consider the schools all the way through HS (yes, I've already heard of TJ and am not even thinking about that yet).

We bought our house in DC pre-kids, and we've had our kids in private since pre-K, so I really do not know anything about the NoVA public schools. I hope some of you can help. Thanks.

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Come on over. Anything in the 22201, 22205, 22207, 22209 will be a fairly easy commute for you. Anyone of those zip will put in a great school triangle. But, if you're really picky, find a place in Yorktown HS school triangle - It is all the rage this forum.

[Anonymous]

22101 has great schools. Chesterbrook/Longfellow/McLean and Churchill Road/Cooper/Langley, for example, are both great pyramids close to DC.

[Anonymous]

We were in the exact same situation a few years ago. We ended up in McLean Hamlet (22102). Have an awesome house, great neighborhood, fun pool club for the summer, and Spring Hill elementary is first rate. About half of the kids (grades 3 and up) are in AAP and the school has a real community feel.

[Anonymous]

22043

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were in the exact same situation a few years ago. We ended up in McLean Hamlet (22102). Have an awesome house, great neighborhood, fun pool club for the summer, and Spring Hill elementary is first rate. About half of the kids (grades 3 and up) are in AAP and the school has a real community feel.

Outside the Beltway

[Anonymous]

Anything that zones to Langley, McLean, George Mason, Marshall, or Yorktown will satisfy most school snobs.

Not sure why W-L gets plaudits here while Wakefield is generally shunned. The demographics aren't terribly different, there's more difference between Yorktown and

Yorktown: 7 on GS, 14% poors, 67% White, 14% Hispanic, 11% Asian, 8% Black
W-L: 5 on GS, 30% poors, 42% White, 33% Hispanic, 14% Black, 12% Asian
Wakefield: 4 on GS, 41% poors, 47% Hispanic, 25% Black, 16% White, 11% Asian
TC Williams: 4 on GS (*), 39% poors, 44% Black, 27% Hispanic, 21% White, 7% Asian

W-L, Annandale, Stuart, Falls Church, Wakefield, and TC Williams are for the more urban pioneering among us. You do run the risk of living near stereotypes of urban poverty, but if you get a nice immediate neighborhood, you -- and your kids -- can really thrive.

I think Madison and Woodson have some tiny sliver inside the Beltway. They meet with school snob approval, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I think Madison and Woodson have some tiny sliver inside the Beltway. They meet with school snob approval, though.

No one who lives inside the Beltway is zoned for Madison or Woodson. Some students who live inside the Beltway might be able to pupil place there for the AP program; not sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I think Madison and Woodson have some tiny sliver inside the Beltway. They meet with school snob approval, though.

No one who lives inside the Beltway is zoned for Madison or Woodson. Some students who live inside the Beltway might be able to pupil place there for the AP program; not sure.

OK, thanks for clarifying.

[Anonymous]

Well I grew up in 22101 and now live (with my kids) in 22207 so I think your first thought suggestions are great!

No seriously, PPs have mentioned the strong school pyramids in this area - some elementary schools are better than others in terms of specific focus on areas that might be more interesting to your family, but you really can't go wrong with any of them. As you probably already know, many/most of the N.Arl elementary schools are badly overcrowded, and there is talk of opening new schools, building onto current schools, redistricting, who knows what. But for now, even with trailers and overcrowding, our school (Nottingham) is really providing exemplary services for our kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anything that zones to Langley, McLean, George Mason, Marshall, or Yorktown will satisfy most school snobs.

Not sure why W-L gets plaudits here while Wakefield is generally shunned. The demographics aren't terribly different, there's more difference between Yorktown and

Yorktown: 7 on GS, 14% poors, 67% White, 14% Hispanic, 11% Asian, 8% Black
W-L: 5 on GS, 30% poors, 42% White, 33% Hispanic, 14% Black, 12% Asian
Wakefield: 4 on GS, 41% poors, 47% Hispanic, 25% Black, 16% White, 11% Asian
TC Williams: 4 on GS (*), 39% poors, 44% Black, 27% Hispanic, 21% White, 7% Asian

W-L, Annandale, Stuart, Falls Church, Wakefield, and TC Williams are for the more urban pioneering among us. You do run the risk of living near stereotypes of urban poverty, but if you get a nice immediate neighborhood, you -- and your kids -- can really thrive.

I think Madison and Woodson have some tiny sliver inside the Beltway. They meet with school snob approval, though.

Because no one who intends to have a serious conversation about school quality trots out Good Schools rating as if they are reliable.

[Anonymous]

W-L gets better press than Wakefield because the test scores are much higher and the dropout rate is probably a lot lower. Wealthier demographics, too - there are some pretty sweet (expensive) neighborhoods feeding into it, like Lyon Village.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anything that zones to Langley, McLean, George Mason, Marshall, or Yorktown will satisfy most school snobs.

Not sure why W-L gets plaudits here while Wakefield is generally shunned. The demographics aren't terribly different, there's more difference between Yorktown and

Yorktown: 7 on GS, 14% poors, 67% White, 14% Hispanic, 11% Asian, 8% Black
W-L: 5 on GS, 30% poors, 42% White, 33% Hispanic, 14% Black, 12% Asian
Wakefield: 4 on GS, 41% poors, 47% Hispanic, 25% Black, 16% White, 11% Asian
TC Williams: 4 on GS (*), 39% poors, 44% Black, 27% Hispanic, 21% White, 7% Asian

W-L, Annandale, Stuart, Falls Church, Wakefield, and TC Williams are for the more urban pioneering among us. You do run the risk of living near stereotypes of urban poverty, but if you get a nice immediate neighborhood, you -- and your kids -- can really thrive.

I think Madison and Woodson have some tiny sliver inside the Beltway. They meet with school snob approval, though.

Langley, McLean, George Mason and Marshall are all 9 on GS. Wonder why Yorktown is only a 7 and W-L only a 5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anything that zones to Langley, McLean, George Mason, Marshall, or Yorktown will satisfy most school snobs.

Not sure why W-L gets plaudits here while Wakefield is generally shunned. The demographics aren't terribly different, there's more difference between Yorktown and

Yorktown: 7 on GS, 14% poors, 67% White, 14% Hispanic, 11% Asian, 8% Black
W-L: 5 on GS, 30% poors, 42% White, 33% Hispanic, 14% Black, 12% Asian
Wakefield: 4 on GS, 41% poors, 47% Hispanic, 25% Black, 16% White, 11% Asian
TC Williams: 4 on GS (*), 39% poors, 44% Black, 27% Hispanic, 21% White, 7% Asian

W-L, Annandale, Stuart, Falls Church, Wakefield, and TC Williams are for the more urban pioneering among us. You do run the risk of living near stereotypes of urban poverty, but if you get a nice immediate neighborhood, you -- and your kids -- can really thrive.

I think Madison and Woodson have some tiny sliver inside the Beltway. They meet with school snob approval, though.

The demographics between W-L and Wakefield couldn't be more different. Unlike Wakefield, W-L has the support of the the wealthy neighborhoods that surround it. And some of the best elementary schools in Northern Va are in the W-L zone. I would hardly put W-L in the same category as Mount Vernon, Stuart, TC Williams, and Wakefield, etc. Trust me, the families at W-L are not urban pioneers hoping for the best. I've never heard anyone characterize the school as such until now. Whether or not the data supports the perception, W-L has always had a strong academic reputation, and people do in fact move to the neighborhoods for the high school. SAT scores are well above the state and national averages and the W-L rivals Yorktown for the number for natl merit semifinalists and finalist every year.

[Anonymous]

While it seems that most of the smug Alexandria "refugees" posting here are in the Yorktown school zone and in far N Arlington, I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few in the W-L pyramid.