Haycock OR Falls Church City schools - which would u choose?

[Anonymous]

We are moving to the West Falls Church metro area and trying to decide whether to buy in Falls Church City or nearby Haycock ES. Ive heard great things about both schools but wonder how they compare with each pther.

Haycock is large and crowded but an excellent academic environment with lots of resources. The pyramid schools are great as well.
FCC is a much smaller system (which can be a positive), but lacks the extensive Gifted program of the Fairfax system and a small school system has its pros/cons.

Any feedback on choosing between the two would be great. I've ally ever been in a large school system myself so am wary of the smaller FCC one. Views appreciated!!

(and yes I know the Gifted factor may be a totally moot point as my kids are only 3 and 4 right now. However, would like to keep options open for now and consider all the pros/cons).

[Anonymous]

If you want to do Haycock, you need to be sure where you buy is not going to be part of what is going to be re-districted. There's talk that due to Haycock's population that it may happen.

FCC are great as well and always place well. If I were you I would go with FCC. and no I don't live in FCC

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the heads up. Do u know where I can find more info on the redistricting? I guess people might get redirected to Lemon Rd ES?

[Anonymous]

Will you need Before/After care? I understand there is a wait list for the SACC at Haycock. Seems like other options exist for Aftercare, but not sure what people do for Before Care (and school starts late, at 9:15am). I'm not sure how that all works out. Before/After care is guaranteed in FCC. If that is a consideration for you, something to look into...

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't put too heavy a weight on the AAP thing. I suspect FCPS will phase out centers in the next few years. They are already moving that direction.

[Anonymous]

The talk has been about moving AAP kids out of Haycock more than changing Haycock's boundaries.

Have you spent much time actually looking in FCC? What ultimately made us go with Haycock was the greater variety of homes in WFC. There was not much on the market in FCC and we did not particularly like what we saw.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Yes the homes in FCC tend to be older and the ones in our budget are small. However we love the small town feel here and the walkability factor. The Haycock area isn't walkable to much and lacks a community feel. The homes are ok. Ultimately I would prefer to move to Vienna except for the killer commute on 66 from DC. We would barely see the kids!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Yes the homes in FCC tend to be older and the ones in our budget are small. However we love the small town feel here and the walkability factor. The Haycock area isn't walkable to much and lacks a community feel. The homes are ok. Ultimately I would prefer to move to Vienna except for the killer commute on 66 from DC. We would barely see the kids!

The Haycock school community is wonderful and we found the homes there not just "OK," but much nicer than those in the City of Falls Church, with more variety and better access to the WFC metro station. Apart from the farmer's market in Falls Church City, which we absolutely love, we didn't see much in FCC that would make us want to buy or walk around there. We kept looking for something that would appeal to us and never found it.

[Anonymous]

Falls Church City, definitely

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The talk has been about moving AAP kids out of Haycock more than changing Haycock's boundaries.

Have you spent much time actually looking in FCC? What ultimately made us go with Haycock was the greater variety of homes in WFC. There was not much on the market in FCC and we did not particularly like what we saw.

Moving a few AAP kids out of Haycock is not going to solve the overcrowding problem. The proposal would move a net amount of about 50 kids out of Haycock and into a new Marshall cluster center. Those 50 kids are spread over 4 grades, so it's not really enough to reduce the size of the school. The AAP center (unless they close it all together, which has not been proposed) is a red herring.

[Anonymous]

Falls church city has high liberal taxes, and the last mayors husband molested a bunch of girls.

[Anonymous]

Have you looked at the recent thread on Falls Church City Schools? Visited them? It's pretty easy to do a tour of them. Not like there are a lot.

[Anonymous]

We were facing the same issue, and ended up buying in the Haycock boundary. FCC was too small for us. The housing in our price range, 600 -750K, was pretty awful. We originally thought FCC based on a friend's recommendation. The more we looked into Haycock, the more it looked like the right choice for us.

We have been very happy with Haycock. The teachers are fantastic, the parents and PTA are very involved, and my kid really likes it. The school goes to great lengths to provide a more challenging curriculum for each child. They consistently win multiple math competitions due to the academic focus. We also liked the Longfellow and McLean options for secondary better.

FWIW we shop and participate in FCC activities even though we don't live in the boundary since it is so close. Fireworks, farmers market, summer camps, ect. For us it has been the benefit of the city without the taxes.

Lastly, the city seems to be fairly democratic leaning. We are more independent moderates, so I don't think we would fit in with our neighbors if we lived there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were facing the same issue, and ended up buying in the Haycock boundary. FCC was too small for us. The housing in our price range, 600 -750K, was pretty awful. We originally thought FCC based on a friend's recommendation. The more we looked into Haycock, the more it looked like the right choice for us.

We have been very happy with Haycock. The teachers are fantastic, the parents and PTA are very involved, and my kid really likes it. The school goes to great lengths to provide a more challenging curriculum for each child. They consistently win multiple math competitions due to the academic focus. We also liked the Longfellow and McLean options for secondary better.

FWIW we shop and participate in FCC activities even though we don't live in the boundary since it is so close. Fireworks, farmers market, summer camps, ect. For us it has been the benefit of the city without the taxes.

Lastly, the city seems to be fairly democratic leaning. We are more independent moderates, so I don't think we would fit in with our neighbors if we lived there.

Op here. Interesting! Did u end up buying near the school itself? Are you walkable to FCC? Did you find a nice house with tpur budget? Nicer than what u could get in FCC for that price range?

[Anonymous]

One thing to consider - and this may not bother you but it does bother some - is the way elem grades are broken up in FCC. I believe it's 1 school for K-2 then another for 3-6. I've heard that is a pain when you have more than 1 kid.