South Arlington schools

[Anonymous]

There are two Arlingtons. One is blessed, bountiful, etc. The other is not. We must fix this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the poster that is having trouble forming a coherent thought.
What an interesting link! I live in one of the largest neighborhoods in Arlington. The median age of my neighborhood is 33.
So. Many. Houses. Have sold over the last couple of years. I'm trying to think who has been selling and who has been buying. Why, I believe it is older homeowners selling, and young families buying. Hmmm. I've lived here for 10 years, certainly I've seen this trend of young families moving once kids hit school age...
Huh. Nope. They aren't selling and moving. They are staying, even though this hood is zoned to one of the "worst" elementary schools. I guess people either tough it out, or go private for a couple of years. Doesn't seem worth the move out of a neighborhood (full of young families) that you love.

Well the demographics and FARM rates of the elementary school don't match your narrative

#StatsSoHard

NP here- We are another family with 2 professional parents that live in South Arlington. We chose to send our kids to Catholic school through 8th grade but our oldest is now at Wakefield and we do not have a single complaint. Our neighborhood is also full of families with school age kids. Many of them have done the lottery or the Spanish Immersion programs for elementary school but have every intention of sending their children to Wakefield. I also know of more than 8 other families that are doing what we have done.

In 2015, Wakefield High ranked worse than 58.1% of high schools in Virginia. It also ranked 3rd among 4 ranked high schools in the Arlington County Public Schools District.

So you are saying that of 4 ranked high schools, Wakefield came in 3rd? That seems pretty good. I would have assumed it would have been fourth. We plan to lottery or go private through 5th grade. Then we will be doing TJ and Wakefield. I'm really not concerned about how all of the students in Va are performing. I'm only concerned how my kid is performing. Extremely confident and comfortable with Wakefield.
-- millenial family

You must have had your kids early if you are a millenial with a high schooler.

-- millenial who's relative went north a few years a go due to south experiences in elementary school

Well good for you. I am a north Arlington parent who's deliberately picked wakefield because we liked it better. I do not have any fears my kids will not reach their potential. I don't look at school rankings, I visit the school, linger, ask questions, inform myself and then make a decision. I too believe, Wakefield will like become more like W&L, though in less time than others have mentioned - 5 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the poster that is having trouble forming a coherent thought.
What an interesting link! I live in one of the largest neighborhoods in Arlington. The median age of my neighborhood is 33.
So. Many. Houses. Have sold over the last couple of years. I'm trying to think who has been selling and who has been buying. Why, I believe it is older homeowners selling, and young families buying. Hmmm. I've lived here for 10 years, certainly I've seen this trend of young families moving once kids hit school age...
Huh. Nope. They aren't selling and moving. They are staying, even though this hood is zoned to one of the "worst" elementary schools. I guess people either tough it out, or go private for a couple of years. Doesn't seem worth the move out of a neighborhood (full of young families) that you love.

Well the demographics and FARM rates of the elementary school don't match your narrative

#StatsSoHard

NP here- We are another family with 2 professional parents that live in South Arlington. We chose to send our kids to Catholic school through 8th grade but our oldest is now at Wakefield and we do not have a single complaint. Our neighborhood is also full of families with school age kids. Many of them have done the lottery or the Spanish Immersion programs for elementary school but have every intention of sending their children to Wakefield. I also know of more than 8 other families that are doing what we have done.

In 2015, Wakefield High ranked worse than 58.1% of high schools in Virginia. It also ranked 3rd among 4 ranked high schools in the Arlington County Public Schools District.

So you are saying that of 4 ranked high schools, Wakefield came in 3rd? That seems pretty good. I would have assumed it would have been fourth. We plan to lottery or go private through 5th grade. Then we will be doing TJ and Wakefield. I'm really not concerned about how all of the students in Va are performing. I'm only concerned how my kid is performing. Extremely confident and comfortable with Wakefield.
-- millenial family

You must have had your kids early if you are a millenial with a high schooler.

-- millenial who's relative went north a few years a go due to south experiences in elementary school

Well good for you. I am a north Arlington parent who's deliberately picked wakefield because we liked it better. I do not have any fears my kids will not reach their potential. I don't look at school rankings, I visit the school, linger, ask questions, inform myself and then make a decision. I too believe, Wakefield will like become more like W&L, though in less time than others have mentioned - 5 years.

So you can transfer to Wakefield from Yorktown. How can you transfer from Wakefield to Yorktown? Or is that a one way thing.

Also note that W&L isn't the gold standard, Yorktown is which has slipped in the ratings.

[Anonymous]

This is one of the most transient regions in the entire country. I would love my kids to grow up around the same kids their entire childhoods, that's just not the reality of the DC metro region. I grew up around here. I have 1 friend that went from elementary school through high school graduation. I went to one of the "coveted" pyramids on these forums.
It's a lovely idea and I can see why people would strive to achieve that. I grew being adaptable and accepting change.
The 150k - 250k school "surcharge" you pay for north Arlington just didn't seem worth it... And less house to boot!
We all make choices and compromises.
We chose the best commute for family time and best home for our needs and lifestyle. Trade off was elementary school. Of course we've still got a few years. Would be lovely if our school suddenly turned around. Sadly, I don't see the demographics shifting dramatically anytime soon.

That being said, I don't think the neighborhood school is exceptionally bad. I just want a school with more kids like mine. Middle class. English speaking.
South Arlington schools are fine. There are three elementary schools that are struggling. Hardly an indictment of all APS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the poster that is having trouble forming a coherent thought.
What an interesting link! I live in one of the largest neighborhoods in Arlington. The median age of my neighborhood is 33.
So. Many. Houses. Have sold over the last couple of years. I'm trying to think who has been selling and who has been buying. Why, I believe it is older homeowners selling, and young families buying. Hmmm. I've lived here for 10 years, certainly I've seen this trend of young families moving once kids hit school age...
Huh. Nope. They aren't selling and moving. They are staying, even though this hood is zoned to one of the "worst" elementary schools. I guess people either tough it out, or go private for a couple of years. Doesn't seem worth the move out of a neighborhood (full of young families) that you love.

Well the demographics and FARM rates of the elementary school don't match your narrative

#StatsSoHard

NP here- We are another family with 2 professional parents that live in South Arlington. We chose to send our kids to Catholic school through 8th grade but our oldest is now at Wakefield and we do not have a single complaint. Our neighborhood is also full of families with school age kids. Many of them have done the lottery or the Spanish Immersion programs for elementary school but have every intention of sending their children to Wakefield. I also know of more than 8 other families that are doing what we have done.

In 2015, Wakefield High ranked worse than 58.1% of high schools in Virginia. It also ranked 3rd among 4 ranked high schools in the Arlington County Public Schools District.

So you are saying that of 4 ranked high schools, Wakefield came in 3rd? That seems pretty good. I would have assumed it would have been fourth. We plan to lottery or go private through 5th grade. Then we will be doing TJ and Wakefield. I'm really not concerned about how all of the students in Va are performing. I'm only concerned how my kid is performing. Extremely confident and comfortable with Wakefield.
-- millenial family

You must have had your kids early if you are a millenial with a high schooler.

-- millenial who's relative went north a few years a go due to south experiences in elementary school

Well good for you. I am a north Arlington parent who's deliberately picked wakefield because we liked it better. I do not have any fears my kids will not reach their potential. I don't look at school rankings, I visit the school, linger, ask questions, inform myself and then make a decision. I too believe, Wakefield will like become more like W&L, though in less time than others have mentioned - 5 years.

So you can transfer to Wakefield from Yorktown. How can you transfer from Wakefield to Yorktown? Or is that a one way thing.

Also note that W&L isn't the gold standard, Yorktown is which has slipped in the ratings.

Yorktown is not my cup of tea, good, if it is for others. I like Wakefield and since the county is allowing transfer, I took it, otherwise we would be going private. School for us is much more than the curriculum. The majority of what my kids will learn to succeed will come from us if I do my job well. so far so good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is one of the most transient regions in the entire country. I would love my kids to grow up around the same kids their entire childhoods, that's just not the reality of the DC metro region. I grew up around here. I have 1 friend that went from elementary school through high school graduation. I went to one of the "coveted" pyramids on these forums.
It's a lovely idea and I can see why people would strive to achieve that. I grew being adaptable and accepting change.
The 150k - 250k school "surcharge" you pay for north Arlington just didn't seem worth it... And less house to boot!
We all make choices and compromises.
We chose the best commute for family time and best home for our needs and lifestyle. Trade off was elementary school. Of course we've still got a few years. Would be lovely if our school suddenly turned around. Sadly, I don't see the demographics shifting dramatically anytime soon.

That being said, I don't think the neighborhood school is exceptionally bad. I just want a school with more kids like mine. Middle class. English speaking.
South Arlington schools are fine. There are three elementary schools that are struggling. Hardly an indictment of all APS.

Sending 2 kids to private school is much more expensive than 150-250K, it's not tax deductible and you 'll get a nicer neighborhood moving north.

People are crazy if they think it's just the elementary schools that are not good, it's middle and high. Maybe they have rose colored glasses because they haven't experienced having their kids attend middle and high.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your concern for our finances. We have one child, and it will be less expensive for us to send them through 5 years of private. We would have had to come up with an additional 250k, to get an equivalent home in north Arlington. We made the right choice for our family.

I agree that middle and high school are extremely important. That's why I don't want my child at Williamsburg or Yorktown.
If money had been no obstacle, we would choose Long Branch/Henry, TJ, W/L or Wakfield. We came as close as we could for our budget.
As I said, we all make compromises.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for your concern for our finances. We have one child, and it will be less expensive for us to send them through 5 years of private. We would have had to come up with an additional 250k, to get an equivalent home in north Arlington. We made the right choice for our family.

I agree that middle and high school are extremely important. That's why I don't want my child at Williamsburg or Yorktown.
If money had been no obstacle, we would choose Long Branch/Henry, TJ, W/L or Wakfield. We came as close as we could for our budget.
As I said, we all make compromises.

How on earth is 5 years of private a savings? You don't get that back, if you paid 250k more for a home you pay that down and can recoup that eventually and more.

You also have to test into TJ and fairfax county would be the best place to be for TJ admissions not South Arlington.

Provide your private school costs, home cost, size / age of your home and neighborhood.

Using the above metrics I can show you price appreciation on North Vs South I can guarantee you that I can show you that it would be better financially to invest in North Arlington using public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for your concern for our finances. We have one child, and it will be less expensive for us to send them through 5 years of private. We would have had to come up with an additional 250k, to get an equivalent home in north Arlington. We made the right choice for our family.

I agree that middle and high school are extremely important. That's why I don't want my child at Williamsburg or Yorktown.
If money had been no obstacle, we would choose Long Branch/Henry, TJ, W/L or Wakfield. We came as close as we could for our budget.
As I said, we all make compromises.

How on earth is 5 years of private a savings? You don't get that back, if you paid 250k more for a home you pay that down and can recoup that eventually and more.

You also have to test into TJ and fairfax county would be the best place to be for TJ admissions not South Arlington.

Provide your private school costs, home cost, size / age of your home and neighborhood.

Using the above metrics I can show you price appreciation on North Vs South I can guarantee you that I can show you that it would be better financially to invest in North Arlington using public schools.

TJ middle school dear. It's a middle school in APS. Do you even live in Arlington? Do you even have kids?
Have you even ever bought a home?
Yes, it would have been grand to have had an extra 250k laying around when we bought our home approx.10 years ago.
You seem to be such a wizard at real estate! Perhaps you are on the wrong forum?
When we looked at homes, we had specific parameters.
The home we chose fit all except one (elementary) so we compromised.
I promise you, my home has appreciated very nicely. We will make plenty of money on our home when the time comes to sell, but that will be at least 20 years from now.
When may not even need private, we will see if choice works out for us first. We are also willing to give our neighborhood school a try for K, if it seems the winds have changed.
We got 2 out of the 3 schools we were interested in. We are satisfied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for your concern for our finances. We have one child, and it will be less expensive for us to send them through 5 years of private. We would have had to come up with an additional 250k, to get an equivalent home in north Arlington. We made the right choice for our family.

I agree that middle and high school are extremely important. That's why I don't want my child at Williamsburg or Yorktown.
If money had been no obstacle, we would choose Long Branch/Henry, TJ, W/L or Wakfield. We came as close as we could for our budget.
As I said, we all make compromises.

How on earth is 5 years of private a savings? You don't get that back, if you paid 250k more for a home you pay that down and can recoup that eventually and more.

You also have to test into TJ and fairfax county would be the best place to be for TJ admissions not South Arlington.

Provide your private school costs, home cost, size / age of your home and neighborhood.

Using the above metrics I can show you price appreciation on North Vs South I can guarantee you that I can show you that it would be better financially to invest in North Arlington using public schools.

TJ middle school dear. It's a middle school in APS. Do you even live in Arlington? Do you even have kids?
Have you even ever bought a home?
Yes, it would have been grand to have had an extra 250k laying around when we bought our home approx.10 years ago.
You seem to be such a wizard at real estate! Perhaps you are on the wrong forum?
When we looked at homes, we had specific parameters.
The home we chose fit all except one (elementary) so we compromised.
I promise you, my home has appreciated very nicely. We will make plenty of money on our home when the time comes to sell, but that will be at least 20 years from now.
When may not even need private, we will see if choice works out for us first. We are also willing to give our neighborhood school a try for K, if it seems the winds have changed.
We got 2 out of the 3 schools we were interested in. We are satisfied.

Different poster here

I think we can all agree people look for different things.

I am not sure why you are attacking PP, you are painting a picture of bliss in South Arlington but everyone knows the difference.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/in-arlington-unsettling-questions-about-divisions-between-the-haves-and-have-nots/2014/11/23/3b647434-71a6-11e4-893f-86bd390a3340_story.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well good for you. I am a north Arlington parent who's deliberately picked wakefield because we liked it better. I do not have any fears my kids will not reach their potential. I don't look at school rankings, I visit the school, linger, ask questions, inform myself and then make a decision. I too believe, Wakefield will like become more like W&L, though in less time than others have mentioned - 5 years.

are you a minority? i've seen a few minority families transfer out of YT and wondered if race's one of the main factors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for your concern for our finances. We have one child, and it will be less expensive for us to send them through 5 years of private. We would have had to come up with an additional 250k, to get an equivalent home in north Arlington. We made the right choice for our family.

I agree that middle and high school are extremely important. That's why I don't want my child at Williamsburg or Yorktown.
If money had been no obstacle, we would choose Long Branch/Henry, TJ, W/L or Wakfield. We came as close as we could for our budget.
As I said, we all make compromises.

How on earth is 5 years of private a savings? You don't get that back, if you paid 250k more for a home you pay that down and can recoup that eventually and more.

You also have to test into TJ and fairfax county would be the best place to be for TJ admissions not South Arlington.

Provide your private school costs, home cost, size / age of your home and neighborhood.

Using the above metrics I can show you price appreciation on North Vs South I can guarantee you that I can show you that it would be better financially to invest in North Arlington using public schools.

TJ middle school dear. It's a middle school in APS. Do you even live in Arlington? Do you even have kids?
Have you even ever bought a home?
Yes, it would have been grand to have had an extra 250k laying around when we bought our home approx.10 years ago.
You seem to be such a wizard at real estate! Perhaps you are on the wrong forum?
When we looked at homes, we had specific parameters.
The home we chose fit all except one (elementary) so we compromised.
I promise you, my home has appreciated very nicely. We will make plenty of money on our home when the time comes to sell, but that will be at least 20 years from now.
When may not even need private, we will see if choice works out for us first. We are also willing to give our neighborhood school a try for K, if it seems the winds have changed.
We got 2 out of the 3 schools we were interested in. We are satisfied.

Different poster here

I think we can all agree people look for different things.

I am not sure why you are attacking PP, you are painting a picture of bliss in South Arlington but everyone knows the difference.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/in-arlington-unsettling-questions-about-divisions-between-the-haves-and-have-nots/2014/11/23/3b647434-71a6-11e4-893f-86bd390a3340_story.html

The south Arlington poster is the one being attacked. That article is click bait from 2 years ago when they cancelled the street car.
South Arlington is lovely. No one is making you move there.

[Anonymous]

Please don't move here. We don't need to become the trailer park North Arlington has become.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please don't move here. We don't need to become the trailer park North Arlington has become.

+1

[Anonymous]

I get confused when people talk about "minorities" and Wakefield? Do they mean the whites who are minorities there or minorities in the US?

Also why are there not many Asians in APS and where are they from? Someone told me not many are Chinese, Korean or Indian like other parts of region.