Is Falls Church High School bad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

"Overall, Madison High School had the highest graduation rate, 98.2 percent, and Falls Church High School had the lowest, with 85.6 percent. (At the elite magnet school, the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, the graduation rate was perfect.)"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-fairfax-graduation-rates-improve-slightly/2013/10/11/a820f5ba-3288-11e3-89ae-16e186e117d8_story.html

Whoever wrote that article was not reading facts correctly. JEB Stuart's graduation rate is BELOW 85%, has been for years, and it plainly says so right there in the article.


If you don't count the Korean girl who had to leave early after an elaborate ruse to convince her peers and parents that Harvard and Stanford were fighting over her. If you have a bright child, they are going to do well at any high school in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

"Overall, Madison High School had the highest graduation rate, 98.2 percent, and Falls Church High School had the lowest, with 85.6 percent. (At the elite magnet school, the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, the graduation rate was perfect.)"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-fairfax-graduation-rates-improve-slightly/2013/10/11/a820f5ba-3288-11e3-89ae-16e186e117d8_story.html

Whoever wrote that article was not reading facts correctly. JEB Stuart's graduation rate is BELOW 85%, has been for years, and it plainly says so right there in the article.

If you don't count the Korean girl who had to leave early after an elaborate ruse to convince her peers and parents that Harvard and Stanford were fighting over her. If you have a bright child, they are going to do well at any high school in the area.

Agreed, but hopefully people are also thinking of their middle to bottom-of-the-curve children as well when making decisions about schools, etc.

Will a middling child fare better at a "good" school, or a not so good school?

That is the question that I will ask myself when my kids are older.

[Anonymous]

We have a 2 year old now and are zoned for FCHS. We live in Greenway Downs and the neighbors seem to like the high school, but do say it he facilities are old. But otherwise they are happy with the school academically. Fingers crossed!

We love our neighborhood btw. Lots of young families and I never hear anyone complain about the elementary schools.

[Anonymous]

The problem with that area of falls church is there are low income apartments that line route 50 with tons and tons of disadvantage children who can't are ESOL. I also didn't like the fact that many of the cape cods were near these apartment complexes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem with that area of falls church is there are low income apartments that line route 50 with tons and tons of disadvantage children who can't are ESOL. I also didn't like the fact that many of the cape cods were near these apartment complexes.

You do know that you sound barely literate, right? Go fly your hate flag somewhere else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with that area of falls church is there are low income apartments that line route 50 with tons and tons of disadvantage children who can't are ESOL. I also didn't like the fact that many of the cape cods were near these apartment complexes.

You do know that you sound barely literate, right? Go fly your hate flag somewhere else.

Pp probably started saying "who can't speak English" and switched to "who are ESOL" and didn't edit properly. No need to be condescending. Also, why is stating that there are tons of ESOL kids waving a "hate flag"? It's a fact and it does impact the school. I live near Stuart High and have chosen not to move and to send my kids to schools with high ESOL populations. I am fine with that, but I would be being quite disingenuous if I said it didn't impact the quality of the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with that area of falls church is there are low income apartments that line route 50 with tons and tons of disadvantage children who can't are ESOL. I also didn't like the fact that many of the cape cods were near these apartment complexes.

You do know that you sound barely literate, right? Go fly your hate flag somewhere else.

Pp probably started saying "who can't speak English" and switched to "who are ESOL" and didn't edit properly. No need to be condescending. Also, why is stating that there are tons of ESOL kids waving a "hate flag"? It's a fact and it does impact the school. I live near Stuart High and have chosen not to move and to send my kids to schools with high ESOL populations. I am fine with that, but I would be being quite disingenuous if I said it didn't impact the quality of the schools.

Um, OK. Just recognize that posters like PP have no interest in debating the pros and cons of schools like Stuart and Falls Church. It's all about bad-mouthing them to try and make some other area look better.

[Anonymous]

The people with the worst things to say about particular schools in NoVA are usually the ones with the least direct experience with them. And, no, knowing there greatschools rating or the FARM/ESL rates is not the direct experience of which I speak.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with that area of falls church is there are low income apartments that line route 50 with tons and tons of disadvantage children who can't are ESOL. I also didn't like the fact that many of the cape cods were near these apartment complexes.

You do know that you sound barely literate, right? Go fly your hate flag somewhere else.

Pp probably started saying "who can't speak English" and switched to "who are ESOL" and didn't edit properly. No need to be condescending. Also, why is stating that there are tons of ESOL kids waving a "hate flag"? It's a fact and it does impact the school. I live near Stuart High and have chosen not to move and to send my kids to schools with high ESOL populations. I am fine with that, but I would be being quite disingenuous if I said it didn't impact the quality of the schools.

Agreed. I went to Falls Church years ago, graduated almost 15 years ago, when it was more in the beginning stages of trending downward, but still was fairly balanced in terms of SES/Student ethnicity.

Now Falls Church seems much less balanced, with nearly half of students of Hispanic origin, and nearly 60% free and reduced lunch.

For what it is worth, OP, when I was a Falls Church student, I never interacted with limited English proficient students. They were in completely different classes. I would see them sometimes, but they all hung out together. I took just about every AP class offered. There are ways to segregate yourself as a student, and surround yourself with the best students, even at the poorest-performing FCPS high schools.

[Anonymous]

I have a home that feeds into FCHS.

Compared to HS in the nearby immediate area (Madison, Marshall, McLean), it is not as good. This is all due to SES and demographics. This is not going to change going forward because the high density housing that feeds into FCHS will not go away (nor should it). But that does not mean that FCHS is a bad school - compared to the rest of the country, or the rest of Virginia, it would be in the top 25% at least.

SFHs in this area reflect that fact that it is older housing stock and that it feeds into FCHS.

The Mosaic development, and planned future development - such as INOVA's planned medical school on Exxon's site on Gallows - will bring interest and money to the area to (hopefully) continue to increase SFH property values. But Mosaic residents, or residents who move into the area because the medical facilities provide them jobs, do not have a lot of kids.

In my neighborhood there are a lot of babies and there are a lot of empty nesters. Most people with kids move out during late elementary / middle school unfortunately.

If you buy your investment will be fine but people move out because for an extra $50k or less (which is still a lot), and an increase in their commute (which is tolerable when the kids are older and more independent) they can buy into Madison.

If you're sticking your kids into private Catholic HS then that would be fine too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a home that feeds into FCHS.

Compared to HS in the nearby immediate area (Madison, Marshall, McLean), it is not as good. This is all due to SES and demographics. This is not going to change going forward because the high density housing that feeds into FCHS will not go away (nor should it). But that does not mean that FCHS is a bad school - compared to the rest of the country, or the rest of Virginia, it would be in the top 25% at least.

SFHs in this area reflect that fact that it is older housing stock and that it feeds into FCHS.

The Mosaic development, and planned future development - such as INOVA's planned medical school on Exxon's site on Gallows - will bring interest and money to the area to (hopefully) continue to increase SFH property values. But Mosaic residents, or residents who move into the area because the medical facilities provide them jobs, do not have a lot of kids.

In my neighborhood there are a lot of babies and there are a lot of empty nesters. Most people with kids move out during late elementary / middle school unfortunately.

If you buy your investment will be fine but people move out because for an extra $50k or less (which is still a lot), and an increase in their commute (which is tolerable when the kids are older and more independent) they can buy into Madison.

If you're sticking your kids into private Catholic HS then that would be fine too.

THIS pretty much sums up what is SO DANG FRUSTRATING about my inside-the-beltway Fairfax County house. We like our house, our commute and neighborhood. I do not want to pay more to live in a "better" neighborhood, a smaller house, AND have a longer commute!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a home that feeds into FCHS.

Compared to HS in the nearby immediate area (Madison, Marshall, McLean), it is not as good. This is all due to SES and demographics. This is not going to change going forward because the high density housing that feeds into FCHS will not go away (nor should it). But that does not mean that FCHS is a bad school - compared to the rest of the country, or the rest of Virginia, it would be in the top 25% at least.

SFHs in this area reflect that fact that it is older housing stock and that it feeds into FCHS.

The Mosaic development, and planned future development - such as INOVA's planned medical school on Exxon's site on Gallows - will bring interest and money to the area to (hopefully) continue to increase SFH property values. But Mosaic residents, or residents who move into the area because the medical facilities provide them jobs, do not have a lot of kids.

In my neighborhood there are a lot of babies and there are a lot of empty nesters. Most people with kids move out during late elementary / middle school unfortunately.

If you buy your investment will be fine but people move out because for an extra $50k or less (which is still a lot), and an increase in their commute (which is tolerable when the kids are older and more independent) they can buy into Madison.

If you're sticking your kids into private Catholic HS then that would be fine too.

THIS pretty much sums up what is SO DANG FRUSTRATING about my inside-the-beltway Fairfax County house. We like our house, our commute and neighborhood. I do not want to pay more to live in a "better" neighborhood, a smaller house, AND have a longer commute!

There shouldn't be anything frustrating about that, unless you decide to drive yourself nuts listening to the crazies on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
This is not going to change going forward because the high density housing that feeds into FCHS will not go away (nor should it).

Really? I live near seven corners, and I would love nothing more than to see all the tenement-style dwellings in SC razed, and have something better built in their place.

I don't think the route 50 garden apartments are as bad as seven corners/bailey's crossroads, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is not going to change going forward because the high density housing that feeds into FCHS will not go away (nor should it).

Really? I live near seven corners, and I would love nothing more than to see all the tenement-style dwellings in SC razed, and have something better built in their place.

I don't think the route 50 garden apartments are as bad as seven corners/bailey's crossroads, though.

Sure, sounds great to reduce lower priced (rental) housing stock. Easy to say when you don't struggle to find the money to pay the rent.

Working class people need to live somewhere you know. Do you really think your "better built" solutions would cost them the same per month?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is not going to change going forward because the high density housing that feeds into FCHS will not go away (nor should it).

Really? I live near seven corners, and I would love nothing more than to see all the tenement-style dwellings in SC razed, and have something better built in their place.

I don't think the route 50 garden apartments are as bad as seven corners/bailey's crossroads, though.

Sure, sounds great to reduce lower priced (rental) housing stock. Easy to say when you don't struggle to find the money to pay the rent.

Working class people need to live somewhere you know. Do you really think your "better built" solutions would cost them the same per month?

Because I pay a mortgage. And my husband and I are most certainly working class. Also, any newly developed multi-family dwellings have to have a certain percentage of below market rate units built in.

But no, you would rather see tenement style dwellings that are owned by horrific slumlords, stuffed with multiple families.