Have you toured an Arlington school lately? Provide feedback for those who are moving to the area.
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Anonymous
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Here’s a thread to share impressions of Arlington public schools as recommended by a poster on another thread. This is not a place for throwing out insults- those can’t be substantiated. The intent is to describe aspects of the schools to others- as if you are talking to those who are relocating to the area and are unfamiliar with what makes each school special. It would be better if you have visited more than one school to provide reasonable comparisons and context. I’m sure the thread will go awry but maybe for just a few posts, it can help another family like ours- military and overwhelmed about the many school choices available. I’ll start. Bear in mind, these are my impressions based on what we were looking for. As background, our oldest will be entering his 3rd elementary school this fall after we move. As a military family, schools are the major source of stability since a move can take away most everything else that brings a child comfort and a feeling of security. So we visit schools in hopes of finding a school that fits the child- not a perfect school, just one that will help him grow and feel secure. We have one child with ASD and another who has been called "gifted." Our goal is to have both boys in the same school, both to be challenged and for the school (staff and teachers) to care about them as individuals, not as a student with a test score. We want a good facility with a plan in case the worse happens (safety) and a strong PTA. Diversity is a must and we define it as- a good mix ethnically and a good gender mix (having male teachers in the school is important to us). I'll keep it brief since we visited so many schools.
Barcroft- probably the worse facility-wise of the schools we visited but the facility was acceptable. We visited Barcroft right after Tuckahoe so of course, Barcroft seemed old and a bit dark. But it had personality- something we couldn't pinpoint. It seemed like it's own little community, the principal is amazing: enthusiastic, knowledgable about each of the students and staff and very direct, which my SN child needs. The term that comes to mind is "old school". It was obvious that the kids respect and love her but it was also obvious that she can be tough. She has been at the school for 20 years. Very active PTA. High Hispanic population but not many male teachers. Great community involvement and sponsorship of school activities. Lots of aftercare and enrichment programs. All of this, plus few early release days (they do Spanish instead) and the modified school year calendar, and we decided that this school is the fit for us- if we can find housing in the area. Henry- Seemed like Barcroft (enrichment activities, diversity, staff enthusiasm) except with a newer building. Achievement scores are typically higher than Barcroft for those who care about these things. School is quite small (only 440 kids) so it also had a community feel. Henry has a partnership with the local middle school where middle school students come over and read with their elementary school buddies. Loved this idea. Because of the newer building, everything seemed brighter. The building layout seemed to flow better than some of the other schools. PTA is growing but not as active as many of the other schools we visited. Long Branch- Another no-nonsense principal who loves what she does. I must admit that I am biased towards the older principals. Anyway, Long Branch's principal has been a principal for 23 years. The school has a more transient student population due to the military base, foreign service and nearby transitional housing area. This creates a diverse student body both ethnically and economically. The school has school wide projects centered around a theme. The school is still small by our standards (490 kids) but class size can push to 23, which I guess is large for Arlington. Nothing really special about the facility except it was one of the few schools with a fence all the way around the back (several of the schools have a gate in their back fence for students who walk- didn't like these). McKinley- Unique way of incorporating art into every subject. The school has an "artist in residence" program. Male principal but very few other males on staff. Little diversity in staff or student body (but more than Tuckahoe). Nice class size (20-21). Subject to boundary changes but at the same time, the school will be expanding. Not sure about the other schools but during PE, there is a strong focus on skill building, so they don't really do team-type sports. The PE teachers seemed to be trying to build each individual student's comfort and fitness level- hard to explain. The facility was bright, clean and decorated with student art. Active PTA. Good school and it is the last one on the list that we are considering. Barrett- Had really looked forward to visiting this school but it just doesn't fit us and I don't really know why. As I said, Barcroft had an aura, a personality- and this one didn't but I expected it to. It has a wonderful raised garden and the walls are filled with student work. It has an active awards program for the kids and bathrooms in the K and 1 classrooms (instead of using the hall bathrooms). The NASA focus is nice but not as prevalent as I thought it would be. There is nothing wrong with this school- I just think that after researching the school online, I expected to be instantly wowed and I wasn't. Glebe- After getting used to the schools with fewer than 500 students, going to a school with 565 seemed like a lot. Young principal and several male teachers on staff. Not enough ethnic diversity for us in the teaching staff. They have a turtle habitat and a garden that students take care of. The school has solar panels and a water cistern for catching water. The online description of the school's green initiatives really doesn't do the school justice. Every Friday, there is a dance party during lunch- neat touch. Pretty active PTA. Wonderful playground and field for the kids. Not as much student work on the walls as some other schools. Nice facility but subject to boundary changes. Tuckahoe- This building shined- but it was almost too sterile. The halls seemed to quiet for a school- even when students were walking from one room to another. Subject to boundary changes with 665 students onboard. The library doesn't have external walls- it is an open space. That would be distracting for DS. the outdoor living area is amazing. Again, the website doesn't do it justice. Each grade level gets involved as a steward of an outdoor learning area. There is a separate outdoor space set up as a colonial village for teaching Virginia history. Just amazing. The school uses a county playground and basketball court- I'd rather have a complete fence. We like the facility and the school's programs but the lack of diversity and the sterile environment just wouldn't suit our kids. Would love to know how they kept kids so quiet for over an hour. Maybe they are noisier during lunch. Hoffman-Boston: Fewer students than all the schools we visited (only 405) with nice size (but older) facility. We may tour this one again because our opinion of the school and the area it is in might be negatively influenced by having just visited one of the newer looking schools. We were also there at the end of the day, which could be chaos at any school. The reason we may visit again is because the school has a STEM program. Before visiting, we thought the county was preparing to implement STEM but didn't realize that the program is well on its way. Lots of resources being poured into the school to make the program a success. So we may give it another look. I was amazed at the technology available to the students at all the schools. IPads and laptops on mobile carts moving from room to room, smart boards, small TV studios for doing morning announcements, etc. Art rooms with kilns blew me away. Again, some of the things that impressed us might not impress those who come from school systems where these things are common. Small class sizes- last year my 1st grader had 32 in his class. To me that is what I think of when someone says a large class size. In Arlington (N or S) that seems unheard of. Also in Arlington, security cameras throughout the buildings (not just at the front door) was common. Music classes with a variety of instruments for student use- not just bongos and a recorder. The schools have a partnership with farmers' markets so that kids choose cut veggies like cucumbers, carrots and broccoli to snack on with their lunches. The spec ed resources are wonderful regardless of school. Some schools just have more experienced staff than others in this area but that is to be expected. I know this is long but hope this helps someone.  Would love to read a recent post on Hoffman-Boston.
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Anonymous
| Thank you, OP! I haven't toured any schools yet, but I hope others will post their impressions, even if it is just about little things that you noticed in the building, etc. |
Anonymous
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To add to the Long Branch description. While it might have the most transient population of the N Arlington schools, it is also a strong neighborhood school where families are committed to the local schools through high school. Long Branch is one reason why the Ashton Heights and Lyon Park neighborhoods are close-knit communities.
Long Branch is also the only school that is a neighborhood school for both North and South Arlington neighborhoods. It truly is one of the most diverse schools in Arlington, if not the DC region. President Obama chose to visit the school a couple years ago, because of the school's high achieving and diverse student body. |
Anonymous
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OP- You are a dedicated parent! ...did you go on private tours at each school, or on the currently held larger tours? Did you consider any of the countywide schools like Arlington Traditional, Campbell, Drew, ... to possibly fit your needs (just a thought?)?
... and was it not difficult to get a sense of the PTAs from the tours or Internet ? What do you recommend when looking at that aspect if a school? Thanks! |
Anonymous
| OP, just so you know, Hoffman-Boston is probably regarded as the weakest school in the Arlington system. It's interesting that you reacted to it as positively as you did. |
Anonymous
OP here. Understand how Hoffman-Boston ranks in Arlington. However, from my research, a weak Arlington school seems to be equal to a medium-to-strong school in many other states. |
Anonymous
OP here. We did not visit countywide schools because 1) I like certainty. There are already too many variables related to moving and I don't want whether or not DS gets into a certain school to be one of them. And 2) we have two children with two completely different needs and we want them to go to the same school. We also want to establish playdates (something we don't currently do because of our location) and it would be great if the kid next door went to the same school. We did private tours. I was amazed how much time each principal and staff devoted to us. We contacted them more than a week in advance to set up appointments and at almost every school, the tour was given by the principal personally. Also, since we are concerned about spec ed, each arranged for us to meet the spec ed staff. PTA minutes for most schools are available online. So I asked questions based on what I had read in the minutes. Also, most schools actually brought up the PTA before I started asking questions. At several of the schools, we encountered parent volunteers- decorating, reading with students, etc, so I asked them what made the school special. My intent was to determine what the PTA provides to the school (lots of fundraising but does it help the students and/or teachers), how parent volunteers are perceived and to assess the level of pride parents, teachers and students have with respect to the school. If parents, teachers, students respect the school and are willing to work together, they can overcome many financial/resource challenges. That's what we've learned from our current situation- we moved our DS from a high achieving school to a Title 1 school with an amazing staff and it has made all the difference. |
Anonymous
Does Arlington have people on retainer to churn out such press release-type statements? What you say may be true, but it could hardly sound less heartfelt and more canned. It reinforces the image of Arlington as a place for bland careerists who see burnishing its image as a logical extension of their daily resume-padding. How about sharing a personal anecdote or two about the school? Something that might give rise to at least some hope that real people live in your neighborhood, and not just a bunch of image-obsessed automatons? Is that really too much to ask? |
Anonymous
Long Branch lost a very special teacher and mentor a few years ago. Every morning without fail he would greet the students, and as a PE teacher he inspired his students to try their hardest, always. He connected with his students on a very special level. The school dedicated up a plaque in his memory where he greeted them every morning, and a local scholarship is named in his honor. While there are many excellent teachers in APS, it's not often that one person can shape an entire school in such a positive way. |
Anonymous
| OP - just wanted to thank you for all of your thoughtful descriptions of the schools. We're looking at Arlington schools right now as well (and also have two kids, one ASD) and I think your assessments seem pretty accurate from what I know. |
Anonymous
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Shhhh. We Barcroft parents prefer to keep it a secret.
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Anonymous
| OP, as a Barcroft parent, I think your observations about the school are right on! Great teachers, strong sense of community and commitment, diversity that benefits all kids (not just those to which the Title I funding is directed), and a wonderfully challenging and interesting environment, not always conventional but consistently beneficial. My son is bursting with information learned in his kindergarten class and couldn't be happier. |
Anonymous
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Barcroft
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Anonymous
| You didn't mention Oakridge, PP. Our family loves the international environment (lots of diplomats' kids); phenomenal administrators and teachers. Seems to have the highest proportion of male teachers of any ES I've seen (anecdotally speaking), even in the primary grades, which is quite rare. |
Anonymous
But the sec of education chose Asfs. |