Oakton HS
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Anonymous
That leaves the TJ boys like the men in China with no prospects. |
Anonymous
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Can we get back on track and not be distracted by ONE poster's comments on the clothes of some kids?
I live near OHS, but my kids are zoned for Madison. We have gone to OHS for various events and one of my kids is in an Oakton pyramid elementary school. I was very impressed with the kids at OHS for the events we attended. I also like that it has diversity in a good way. The big negatives (on Oakton HS) for us when we were looking for a house 2 yrs ago was that it is very overcrowded (like 500 kids over capacity -- hence the renovation/addition), and the zone is very wide (i.e. we were looking at houses in Franklin Farm that we liked, but didn't want to be 20 min. away from the HS... didn't want to have to drive on 66 to get there, etc.). We ended up buying very close to OHS, so if we were zoned for it, we'd be happy with the community, the distance (walkable), the quality of education, the diversity, etc. BUT, right now and in the coming few years, the overcrowding would be a big negative -- deal-breaker negative. We also rejected a house or two that was close by and IN OHS zone not because of OHS, but because of the middle school being Jackson. That was a dealbreaker for us. Starting next year, the middle school will be Thoreau. But, that wouldn't have worked for our timing/needs as one of my kids is finishing 8th grade this year... so we needed the middle school to be not-Jackson for the past two years in order to buy a house in that zone. Anyway -- what I've seen of OHS has been very good and I wouldn't mind being there except for the over crowding and construction issues. |
Anonymous
I would suggest that PP who is so disturbed about the clothing look up the clothing worn by young women in the '70's. It might surprise her to know what mom or grandmom was wearing in those days: very short mini skirts, hot pants, midriff halters, etc. A few years later, skirts were long and hot pants were out. No halters, either. |
Anonymous
Why is Jackson a deal breaker? |
Anonymous
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PP with the TJ son at TJ. The PP is right. It was surprising to see a lot of these kids together in ES. One cohort goes to TJ one goes to Oakton. Same parents. Same neighborhoods. In this case, most girls in both groups were white, not Asian as PP suggested. Huge difference in what they were wearing to homecoming a little more than a year later. It’s a date point for OP to consider.
I’m also amused because I am not an Oakton parent. So I posted the comment, and did not follow the thread. This is only the second time I’ve posted. So the rest of you are arguing with and insulting a person or people who are not me. And I’m sorry TJ makes people crazy. DS2 is getting ready to go to a non-Oakton base HS this fall (kids came out of Carson, which is split feeder). I don’t thing TJ is the be all and end all. The contrast between different kids from different schools was just striking. Would it have upset you as much if I had said my kid went to Westfields, Chantilly, SLHS, a private school etc.? Anyway, I probably won’t follow this thread. So if you are arguing with someone, it is probably not me. |
Anonymous
Not the PP above. OP, we actually chose Jackson for the AAP center over Thoreau. Please go to the information nights at both schools if they haven't already taken place. Talk to parents with kids at each school. Both schools are fine and a lot of friends' kids did very well at Thoreau. But Jackson gets criticized on DCUM as too old (yes, it needs renovation) and too close to Gallows road etc. And it has a higher proportion of lower income students which some DCUM posters don't like (I'm NOT saying that was the PP's issue, just noting it comes up in other posts about Jackson). But my own DD got excellent teachers there. No regrets. Not sure why it would be a deal breaker to some unless the old facilities and location turn them off, but go visit and ask about academics there. DD's closest friend goes to Oakton. The girl, who is extremely bright, says the instruction is good and she is very happy there. She participates in several activities she absolutely loves. I've had a lot of interactions with OHS students recently and found them to be uniformly polite and smart kids. Sorry your thread got hijacked earlier. Amazed that one poster made everything about one dance and her own assumptions. You can't go wrong with most any FCPS MS or HS. In most of the country we wouldn't have all the choices we get here. |
Anonymous
At the time we were looking (2 yrs ago), part of our reason for moving was that we wanted to get a good school for our child who was not in AAP. (Our other child had been in AAP and compared to our base elem. school, it was more challenging. Our base elem was pretty lackadaisical -- which is not the case for every non-AAP school... but it was for us.) Knowing that our rising middle schooler would not be in AAP, we wanted to be sure that whatever zone we picked, that the non-AAP side of things was strong. We looked at Rocky Run but we were literally over-run in the curriculum night by AAP parents and kids. Like, literally, almost trampled... and in the gen ed discussion... poof!... the herd that nearly trampled us disappeared! Turns out they all went to the AAP discussion (which was separate from the discussion for non-AAP kids). The attendance gap was pretty stark. Anyway -- back to your question about Jackson -- we did not actually go to Jackson, so our "deal-breaker" on Jackson was based on the stats. At that time I think it was about 45% FARMS. We knew that it was an AAP center. We extrapolated that if the whole school was 45% farms -- and we know that the proportion of FARMS in AAP is much lower -- then that meant that the "needy" category of kids in the non-AAP part of the school surely was a lot more than 45%.... and since we were giving up a pyramid where the MS/HS were already 30-something% FARMS, we couldn't see how that would be getting our non-AAP kid a better situation. We don't know for sure what the atmosphere is like there, but we have heard enough about the crowding in the past two years and the inability to get into classes that we are certain we made the right move for our older child who would have been there for the worst of the crowding -- and in gen. ed. I have recently heard that there are about 50 kids who are rising 8th graders (in gen ed) who are fed up enough with it currently that they are willing to switch to Thoreau for just 8th grade. I'm not trying to start a war on this thread about LJ vs. TMS. But, the fact is, some portion of the "grandfathered" class -- the kids who are in the 7th grade year -- who could stay at LJ for next year -- are voting with their feet and saying they do not want to stay there for next year. You can make of that what you will. We were looking at sending a kid into MS who needed a good challenging, caring school after having a lack-luster elementary program, and we weren't going to put DC in a school where perhaps 60% of DC's classmates were facing the challenges of poverty and learning English. Naturally, the school is going to have to devote additional resources toward those kids; and my kid, who comes from a non-needy/English-speaking family, would be assumed to be fine. Part of our reason for moving (within county) was to get a good school for the non-AAP kid. If my kid was in elementary or HS, I might not have been as bright-line about LJ. But, with a kid coming into a new school -- knowing no one, and needing a good MS, Jackson didn't make the cut. |
Anonymous
The obvious thing to make of it is that FCPS over-crowded Jackson with AAP kids and now it’s gone overboard in the opposite direction and is making the GenEd population higher FARMS. It’s a shame, but no doubt the Oakton families are ready to forget they were ever assigned to Jackson. |
Anonymous
| We love OHS! Crowding hasn’t been an issue. They are one of only a handful to offer AP Capstone degree. We wanted to stay in Vienna area, wanted OHS, and wanted AAP center schools. We passed on houses nearby because of Madison High and if it’s lack in academics and lower rating. |
Anonymous
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I have a senior in OHS, so I can chime. We moved here for 9-12 grades. I searched all schools in the area since we were moving from outside of NOVA and purposely chose Oakton over Madison or Marshall.
My senior now admitted to three Ivy Schools, Northwestern, UVA (full scholarship), Northeastern (large scholarship), and few other top schools). School is very diverse, it is true. I've seen variety of girls there: some dressed up as pp described above, and some dressed up very modest, some asian girls dressed up in a high end designers' clothes, and some very conservative muslim girls covered up head to toes. So saying there are only one type of girls is very inaccurate. My child moved here from private school and grew up in uniforms. She was / and still doesn't care about fashion too much, and she fits in school very well. Usually dressed up in jeans or leggings, sweater, or hoodies (sometimes even old dad's hoodie) and never felt uncomfortable there. My child never was in AAP or any other advance classes, but was able to take all Honor classes in 9th grade and now graduating with 12 or 13 AP classes. I found the school is challenging but not a pressure cooker like other schools in the area. My kid was on two varsity sport teams for all four years, and still was able to maintain 4.0 unweighted GPA. Before we relocated, we apply to TJ and the child was admitted, but we chose to go to Oakton instead to have more free time for sports and other extra curriculums. I personally don't know anything about the drugs in the school. I am not in denial, I am sure there are some drugs around. But we have not encountered any in the last four years (and I am talking not only about my child, but also about her circle of friends). OP, let me know if you have any other questions. |
Anonymous
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NP.
We have loved OHS. It’s only one of a few to offer AP Capstone degree. We loved living in Vienna but wanted to avoid Madison due to its lower rating and lack of academic choices. We purchased in an area that is close to the school to avoid any possibility of being rezoned. My younger attends LJ in AAP. Knowing our kids were AAP allowed us to buy in a more desirable (closer to metro) part of of the OHS boundary. |
Anonymous
AP Capstone is a course, not a degree. Oakton piloted it in FCPS, but there are other AP high schools offering it now, too. Most in the Vienna area prefer Madison (or Langley or McLean if they are in 22182) over Oakton for the stronger sense of community. The Oakton boundaries stretch from Vienna to Herndon and there are frequent boundary changes at both the MS and HS level. Oakton is also strong academically, although some believe both Marshall and Chantilly will surpass OHS over the next 5-10 years. |
Anonymous
??? Both Madison and Oakton are GS 6 (under the new rankings) and 8's under the old. I doubt that Oakton has ever been higher than an 8. As for SAT scores, Madison and Oakton were the same for a few years, but the most recent year listed on the profiles (2016) has Madison about 30 points higher than Oakton (for the whole school average). If you bought in Oakton just for higher test scores --- you were wrong. But, good news -- Oakton is still a very good school. Just not as good as you thought. |
Anonymous
Both Marshall and Chantilly had higher SAT scores that Oakton in 2017. http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/120/691855.page |
Anonymous
FWIW, Marshall has a GS score of 7, Chantilly 6. |