FFX vs Arlington County Schools

[Anonymous]

New FX parent here, and I just got on the SACC waiting lists for Chesterbrook a few months ago. There were 90+ kids on the waiting list for aftercare. That's pretty long. Friends who are starting K in Waynewood (Alexandria) also are on the waiting list and were number 94 or 95 or something like that....

So....I would venture to say that if you are counting on SACC, make sure you have a plan B. with nearly 100 kids on the aftercare list, I plan to wait at least two years for Chesterbrook.

Has anyone else had this experience?

If Arlington offers no wait, then that's a huge relief for working parents, especially those already trying to readjust work schedules for Kindergarten times in FFX.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I cannot see the real, long-term benefit of separating the smart cookies from the average cookies, and I think doing so may be do the average and below-average cookies a grave disservice. I think the real, measurable benefits for the smart cookies are far smaller than the potential costs for the others.

Doesn't always help the so-called "smart cookies" either.

You don't have to worry about finding smart cookies in Arlington to separate from the pack because there aren't any to separate to begin with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I cannot see the real, long-term benefit of separating the smart cookies from the average cookies, and I think doing so may be do the average and below-average cookies a grave disservice. I think the real, measurable benefits for the smart cookies are far smaller than the potential costs for the others.

Doesn't always help the so-called "smart cookies" either.

You don't have to worry about finding smart cookies in Arlington to separate from the pack because there aren't any to separate to begin with.

Feel better now?

[Anonymous]

There was a recent thread about Chesterbrook in particular not having any other alternatives till this past year for aftercare. I assume that is why that particular school's waitlist is high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I cannot see the real, long-term benefit of separating the smart cookies from the average cookies, and I think doing so may be do the average and below-average cookies a grave disservice. I think the real, measurable benefits for the smart cookies are far smaller than the potential costs for the others.

Doesn't always help the so-called "smart cookies" either.

You don't have to worry about finding smart cookies in Arlington to separate from the pack because there aren't any to separate to begin with.

nice to see that the fine ladies of FFX have a good sense of humor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think both school systems have their pros and cons. I'm in FX, but my brother is in Arlington. We are both products of FXPS (so is SIL). My kids do language immersion in FX. It isn't at all school, but they do offer it.

Also think about your commute. My brother walks/metros to work. I slug. We both spend the same amount of time commuting.

Life is different on other items. I have a garage and 3 cars, he has two driveways and 3 sheds. I have to spend an hour mowing my lawn, I think he spends 20 minutes. I can avoid 66. they get stuck in 66 traffic on a sunday afternoon.

I wouldn't pick FX for the AAP programs/center, but we turned AAP down to stay with language immersion. I also didn't have too much problem with SACC. We got in a few months into after we started, but we were at an immersion school and they have longer waitlists. SACC is also only for a few years. Most parents drop it late 5th grade/6th grade when kids can latch-key it.

Fairfax does let you go to different high schools, with reason. Due to our language immersion we are looking at multiple high schools to keep with the language (local high school dropped the language we studied). But, IBs & APs are a whole other forum.

that's weird - I live in Arlington and almost never go on Rt 66. every now & then I head out to the nether regions and get stuck heading out on 66 somewhere out by Nutley. and then decide to never leave the beltway again. and then sometimes I'm tempting to take back roads to Tysons, but then it's a crazy mess once I get there. another nig mistake.

very little traffic right around here though! although we don't even really need to drive around here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the Arlington parents who are so opposed to Fairfax, what do you think of AAP classes, honors classes, etc? Is differentiation only allowed at the high school level or do you just prefer that kids be taught at different levels in their own classroom? Not sure what your concern is with Fairfax.

I do think that differentiation is more appropriate at the high school level. I think differences in children's maturity levels and preparedness are much broader in the early years, and elementary school teachers are accustomed to dealing with a broad range of skills and abilities in their classrooms. Also, children change and grow--an unexceptional 6-year-old can catch up to her peers, while very precocious 8-year-olds can turn out to be just garden variety snowflakes by age 12.

But really my concern is this: in a world of scarce resources, I would rather see special education funding devoted to children who really NEED special services because they can't be adequately served in a regular classroom. This means truly gifted children and children with learning problems, not your typical smart cookie. And if we are not talking about children who need special services (which we decidedly are not when it comes to FCPS AAP), then what we are talking about is special services that can probably be great for kids at all levels, so why save them only for the smart cookies? Why not share that wealth with the kids of more average intelligence? And if the AAP special services are really just more work, more homework, moving faster, then I admit that I don't really see the benefit of that, either. But then, I have never seen a study that shows any long-term benefit of elementary school homework.

I cannot see the real, long-term benefit of separating the smart cookies from the average cookies, and I think doing so may be do the average and below-average cookies a grave disservice. I think the real, measurable benefits for the smart cookies are far smaller than the potential costs for the others.

[phone] Very, very well said.

-1000000000. In other words, I'm worried that my snowflake won't test into the advanced program, so I'd better come up with a rationale for why gifted programs cause more harm than good. Meanwhile, FCPS, not APS, has higher average SAT and SOL scores and attracts more high-achieving families, particularly Asians.

So sorry to burst your bubble of self-delusion, but AAP is most definitely not a gifted program. It's the exact same curriculum as Gen. Ed., just faster and with more projects and busy work. My older DC was in AAP, so yes, I know of what I speak. Our (center) school principal even stated that AAP should be the curriculum used for all FFX Co. students, and a truly "gifted" program for the much smaller % of students should be implemented. It's very amusing to hear AAP parents crowing about their "gifted" snowflakes.

[Anonymous]

AAP follows a different set of standards, uses different books, asks different questions of the students, and is accelerated. Not sure what your definition of a gifted program is. It's not a Sudbury School or something, they teach the same subjects.

[Anonymous]

The benefits of Arlington are class size. Some Fairfax schools are beyond ridiculous with the size of their classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The benefits of Arlington are class size. Some Fairfax schools are beyond ridiculous with the size of their classes.

And yet Fairfax students consistently outperform Arlington students and garner far more academic and other awards, even when adjusted for Arlington's smaller size. Go figure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The benefits of Arlington are class size. Some Fairfax schools are beyond ridiculous with the size of their classes.

And yet Fairfax students consistently outperform Arlington students and garner far more academic and other awards, even when adjusted for Arlington's smaller size. Go figure.

Yes, Fairfax is waaaaaay better and Arlington sucks. Is that what you want us to say? If that somehow makes you feel better about your long commute, then we can do that for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The benefits of Arlington are class size. Some Fairfax schools are beyond ridiculous with the size of their classes.

And yet Fairfax students consistently outperform Arlington students and garner far more academic and other awards, even when adjusted for Arlington's smaller size. Go figure.

Yes, Fairfax is waaaaaay better and Arlington sucks. Is that what you want us to say? If that somehow makes you feel better about your long commute, then we can do that for you.

You do realize that the average commute in Fairfax is less than five minutes longer than the average Arlington commute, right? A small price for better schools and academic opportunities, at least for those who don't need to live in a Lake Wobegon where people pretend each white child is above-average and each non-white child is invisible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The benefits of Arlington are class size. Some Fairfax schools are beyond ridiculous with the size of their classes.

And yet Fairfax students consistently outperform Arlington students and garner far more academic and other awards, even when adjusted for Arlington's smaller size. Go figure.

Yes, Fairfax is waaaaaay better and Arlington sucks. Is that what you want us to say? If that somehow makes you feel better about your long commute, then we can do that for you.

You do realize that the average commute in Fairfax is less than five minutes longer than the average Arlington commute, right? A small price for better schools and academic opportunities, at least for those who don't need to live in a Lake Wobegon where people pretend each white child is above-average and each non-white child is invisible.

Hahaha - five min more. okaaaaay dokay!

Wait, the parents in FFX don't all pretend that their kids are above-average? That is news to me!

[Anonymous]

OP APS parent here. I think that as someone else has suggested, you really do need to focus on commute times , esp given what time aftercare would close. My kid is in a private pre-k that closes at 6:15 in Rosslyn. Our APS elementary school is very close to the FFX county line and aftercare closes at 6. Given how frequently one can get snagged in traffic coming out of DC, having aftercare closer to DC that closes 15 min later was central to my decision to leave him in private aftercare this coming year, So even if the FFX parent is right about the 5 minute difference -- which could be roughly right if your kid is a Jamestown v. Chesterbrook, have a bad traffic day and there's no way you're gonna make it on time.

Also, APS does have Spanish language immersion elementary schools. Key in Clarendon is one of them. Other APS schools, like Jamestown, have FLES.

[Anonymous]

I only know about high schools, as our kids were high-school age when we were looking a few years ago, but my recollection is that there were a half-dozen schools in Fairfax better than Yorktown, W-L would be considered below average in Fairfax, and Wakefield had lower scores than any school in Fairfax. We ended up in Vienna in the Madison pyramid and would not trade it for anything in Arlington. Great small-town atmosphere and our neighbors are just wonderful. Arlington seems more urban and geared towards people in their mid to late 20s in my opinion.