Thinking of moving to VA. Tell me more about the high schools in FCPS.

[Anonymous]

I would avoid APS entirely unless a short commute to DC is a top priority. You get the social competition you find at some FCPS schools but it’s not as academically rigorous.

- former Arlington resident

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm not a troll. We are in MCPS where the CO is doing a big change and watering down all the magnet programs and proposing 6 regional magnets in 2027. We will no longer have access to Richard Montgomery or Blair. We live in a region where our school does not have the advanced classes. This will be a problem for one of my kids who is STEM focused.

Good to know about Chantilly and Edison. I will look into those.

We are also considering renting before buying.

Both of us WFH so commute is not a factor.

Look also into North Arlington as a place to live and APS as a school system.

Arlington County also sends kids to TJ every year. (FCPS merely operates TJ, which is a Virginia Governor's School serving multiple NoVA localities.)

APS also has the Arlington Tech STEM option HS, which is not competing Blair/TJ but is college prep (rather than the 1950s vocational type HS).

The N Arlington geographic HS is academically solid with a wide range of AP offerings.

Worth at least a look-see. Start with the APS web site for more.

It’s an odd turn of phrase to say FCPS “merely operates” TJ. It took the initiative to get TJ designated and annually renewed as a Governor’s School, and it both owns and runs TJ. APS gets to send some kids there as a participating jurisdiction, but FCPS calls the shots.

[Anonymous]

Since you live in the area- you should know budget is a major factor. But if we are just throwing out good options- families seem happy with Langley academically but it might be hard socially.

[Anonymous]

We had friends who moved to VA to get their kids into TJ. It worked for them, but they were legit math geniuses (as well as very accelerated) and one of them took Calc in middle school. The application process has also changed, and it's a bit more of a lottery than it was before.

I'm not familiar with how things are in MCPS these days, but FCPS schools have either AP or IB. I'm not sure about the IB schools, but it's pretty normal to take Algebra in 7th, and all of the AP schools can handle that track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had friends who moved to VA to get their kids into TJ. It worked for them, but they were legit math geniuses (as well as very accelerated) and one of them took Calc in middle school. The application process has also changed, and it's a bit more of a lottery than it was before.

I'm not familiar with how things are in MCPS these days, but FCPS schools have either AP or IB. I'm not sure about the IB schools, but it's pretty normal to take Algebra in 7th, and all of the AP schools can handle that track.

It's common to take Algebra in 7th grade in FCPS, especially among families aspiring for their kids to attend TJ, but it's not the norm. They also have a pilot program now to offer Algebra in 6th grade, about which local math teachers have mixed feelings.

[Anonymous]

FCPS is being run into the ground by an incompetent school board and extremist superintendent.

Please consider private school if you care about your children’s future.

[Anonymous]

FCPS is going downhill and run by an extremely liberal, politically motivated school board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS is being run into the ground by an incompetent school board and extremist superintendent.

Please consider private school if you care about your children’s future.

Fairfax doesn't have many private schools and the Catholic schools like O'Connell are inferior to the best FCPS schools, so some of us will continue to press for reforms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS is going downhill and run by an extremely liberal, politically motivated school board.

+1
And if the OP really is moving from MCPS, you would think they’d already know this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since you live in the area- you should know budget is a major factor. But if we are just throwing out good options- families seem happy with Langley academically but it might be hard socially.

We’ve been very happy with Langley, both academically and socially.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Langley or Mclean pyramids . The rest are bad

Translation: I am a fragile and unable to cope with the thought that little Larlo may have to breathe the same classroom air as children who are not rich and white, possibly Asian. I think DCUM is a serious discussion board and not a satire of entitled UMC douchebags.

Meanwhile, back in reality, most other FCPS schools also offer a ton of AP/IB options, have test scores well above state and national averages, and graduate scores of kids who go on to attend a wide array of colleges/universities and succeed in life.

[Anonymous]

Here is my take, after having had my child spend a year at a poorly regarded HS, and spending a year at a well regarded HS. There is no correlation between test scores and teaching. DD's teachers in the well regarded school are abysmal, with a couple of exceptions. The ones in the poorly regarded school were excellent, with one exception. The kids that do well in her classes do so almost entirely because the parents are willing to spend unlimited resources to make up for teaching quality.

The student cohort IS different. There are fewer behavior problems. She does find though that the problems at the poorly rated school are greatly exaggerated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Langley or Mclean pyramids . The rest are bad

Translation: I am a fragile and unable to cope with the thought that little Larlo may have to breathe the same classroom air as children who are not rich and white, possibly Asian. I think DCUM is a serious discussion board and not a satire of entitled UMC douchebags.

Meanwhile, back in reality, most other FCPS schools also offer a ton of AP/IB options, have test scores well above state and national averages, and graduate scores of kids who go on to attend a wide array of colleges/universities and succeed in life.

I think you're being played and that it's as likely as not that the poster to whom you responded doesn't have kids at either Langley or McLean. They are good schools, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is my take, after having had my child spend a year at a poorly regarded HS, and spending a year at a well regarded HS. There is no correlation between test scores and teaching. DD's teachers in the well regarded school are abysmal, with a couple of exceptions. The ones in the poorly regarded school were excellent, with one exception. The kids that do well in her classes do so almost entirely because the parents are willing to spend unlimited resources to make up for teaching quality.

The student cohort IS different. There are fewer behavior problems. She does find though that the problems at the poorly rated school are greatly exaggerated.

Our younger kids went to a highly rated AP school and, with a couple of exceptions, had stronger teachers than at the less affluent IB school that our oldest child attended. I'm not saying our experience was universal or carries more weight, but it differed from yours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Langley or Mclean pyramids . The rest are bad

Translation: I am a fragile and unable to cope with the thought that little Larlo may have to breathe the same classroom air as children who are not rich and white, possibly Asian. I think DCUM is a serious discussion board and not a satire of entitled UMC douchebags.

Meanwhile, back in reality, most other FCPS schools also offer a ton of AP/IB options, have test scores well above state and national averages, and graduate scores of kids who go on to attend a wide array of colleges/universities and succeed in life.

most people aren't willing to make a social experiment out of their children's education and liveing conditions