Alexandria city middle and HS recs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - As the poster above said, there is only one high school in the City of Alexandria - T.C. Williams (yes, of Remember the Titans fame). My daughter is there now and loves it. It is very big - not sure the exact number of students but it has to be close to 4,000. The 9th grade is housed in a separate 9th only campus, but students do go over to main campus for some things (certain electives/activities). We were a little concerned about the size and considered private for that reason, but friends and neighbors gave us comfort enough to stick with public school. We're glad we made that choice. The size really hasn't been an issue. Her classes are all surprisingly small and her teachers are really fantastic. I'm constantly amazed at the opportunities available to her at TC. The economies of scale allow for a lot of stuff- academic and otherwise - not necessarily available elsewhere.

There are two dedicated middle schools (6-8) George Washington Middle School (serves mostly the east part of the city) and Francis C. Hammond Middle School (serves mostly the west part of the city). There are also two K-8 schools - Jefferson Houston (east) and Patrick Henry (west). I only have experience with GWMS. It's fine. The building is old and in not great condition (it's a really pretty art deco style design outside, but it definitely shows its age inside). It too is a pretty large school. I'm not a fan of the administration, but both of our kids have had great teachers. It's middle school, with all of the things that come with middle school aged kids.

Be prepared for an onslaught of people (most of whom have no experience with ACPS - Alexandria City Public Schools) to post a bunch of hyperbolic things about how the schools are awful and no one in their right mind would ever send their kids to ACPS and no one sends their kids there etc etc. That happens every time someone asks a question about ACPS on this board. Take it all with a giant grain of salt. There is a lot of great stuff about ACPS and about Alexandria City. The city often seems like a small town. There is a great sense of community here generally. Lots of fun little city traditions and pride in the place. The schools are far from perfect, but we have been pleased overall. Honestly, most of the people we know with kids send them to public school (again, despite what you will likely read on this board) and about half of the people we know who had kids in private in the early years send (or sent) their kids to TC for high school.

Good luck finding a place and welcome to Alexandria!

NP here. OP, we are Alex city parents, our DC just graduated from TC, and we largely agree with the above post. The size of TC in every respect is an advantage. There are multiple classes/extracurriculars/sports etc that will engage any kid, and the curriculum is better and wider than what you would find at a small college. We were skeptical and were prepared originally to pull our DC and send to private - we found that a number of the nearby private schools actually aren’t as good as TC.

My kid will finish 8th grade at GW next June and go to Minnie Howard. It's not perfect, for sure, but it will probably be fine. She's excited for a more diverse community, to catch up with old friends and all the clubs and activities. We could manage private, but I don't see any compelling real life evidence that those kids do better overall.

[Anonymous]

Saint Stephens

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at all the white private moms swarm!

This. You know where the SSSAS kids I know went to college? West Virginia, UNC Greensboro and College of Charleston.

That's a craptastic ROI if you ask me.

My TC kid went to Brown.

They are not prepared for brown

[Anonymous]

OP, why aren't you considering the FFX county part of Alexandria or Springfield?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will be commuting to Ballston. From what i understand the city limits would provide the best commute. As a single parent, i need to be able to have a decent commute due to pickups/kids activities

The difference between Alexandria City and the part of Alexandria in Fairfax County isn't much if you live right over the FFX county line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, why aren't you considering the FFX county part of Alexandria or Springfield?

I wouldn't want to commute to Ballston from either of those places - it's not about the schools, it's about the commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at all the white private moms swarm!

This. You know where the SSSAS kids I know went to college? West Virginia, UNC Greensboro and College of Charleston.

That's a craptastic ROI if you ask me.

My TC kid went to Brown.

They are not prepared for brown

You're addressing me. Went is past tense. She graduated already (with honors, natch) and is halfway through her MPH.

So sorry you wasted a quarter million dollars getting your daughter into a half-rate finishing school.

I hope she's pretty!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at all the white private moms swarm!

This. You know where the SSSAS kids I know went to college? West Virginia, UNC Greensboro and College of Charleston.

That's a craptastic ROI if you ask me.

My TC kid went to Brown.

They are not prepared for brown

You're addressing me. Went is past tense. She graduated already (with honors, natch) and is halfway through her MPH.

So sorry you wasted a quarter million dollars getting your daughter into a half-rate finishing school.

I hope she's pretty!

Perhaps “Yale or Jail” needs to be supplemented with “Brown or Drown.”

Most TC kids are low performing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at all the white private moms swarm!

This. You know where the SSSAS kids I know went to college? West Virginia, UNC Greensboro and College of Charleston.

That's a craptastic ROI if you ask me.

My TC kid went to Brown.

They are not prepared for brown

You're addressing me. Went is past tense. She graduated already (with honors, natch) and is halfway through her MPH.

So sorry you wasted a quarter million dollars getting your daughter into a half-rate finishing school.

I hope she's pretty!

Perhaps “Yale or Jail” needs to be supplemented with “Brown or Drown.”

Most TC kids are low performing.

Most MC/UMC kids are high performing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at all the white private moms swarm!

This. You know where the SSSAS kids I know went to college? West Virginia, UNC Greensboro and College of Charleston.

That's a craptastic ROI if you ask me.

My TC kid went to Brown.

They are not prepared for brown

You're addressing me. Went is past tense. She graduated already (with honors, natch) and is halfway through her MPH.

So sorry you wasted a quarter million dollars getting your daughter into a half-rate finishing school.

I hope she's pretty!

Perhaps “Yale or Jail” needs to be supplemented with “Brown or Drown.”

Most TC kids are low performing.

Most MC/UMC kids are high performing.

not at tc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at all the white private moms swarm!

This. You know where the SSSAS kids I know went to college? West Virginia, UNC Greensboro and College of Charleston.

That's a craptastic ROI if you ask me.

My TC kid went to Brown.

They are not prepared for brown

You're addressing me. Went is past tense. She graduated already (with honors, natch) and is halfway through her MPH.

So sorry you wasted a quarter million dollars getting your daughter into a half-rate finishing school.

I hope she's pretty!

Perhaps “Yale or Jail” needs to be supplemented with “Brown or Drown.”

Most TC kids are low performing.

Most MC/UMC kids are high performing.

not at tc

All of my son's MC friends from TC went on to decent colleges. Their trajectory is indistinguishable from that of his BI and SSSSA friends.

Being white and not broke is a much bigger predictor of success than is the HS one attended.

Shocker, I know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Holy cow. If you believe the above post then I have a bridge to sell you, OP. It is golden. It has a gate. You'll love it.

TC Boosters - it is okay to advocate for your school but to say that TC is better than local private schools like Episcopal, SSSAS and BI is laughable, and make your posts unbelievable. We live in Alexandria, too. TC has some significant problems that are evident simply by looking at the data published by the VDOE (Virginia Department of Education) let alone rating scales like Great Schools. When you lie and exaggerate you do everyone a disservice.

SSSAS and BI are laughable. To pay that much to go to mediocre (at best) private schools says something about your IQ, PP.

BI is lower priced than other privates, especially if you are Catholic and *especially* if you have multiple kids attending.

[Anonymous]

Wow. This thread is enlightening. Posters are going nuclear on SSSAS for no clear reason, as well as on other posters who point out the long-standing and clear challenges associated with TC Williams.

Me thinks there's a lot of anger, jealously, and insecurity lurking not far underneath the surface...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at all the white private moms swarm!

This. You know where the SSSAS kids I know went to college? West Virginia, UNC Greensboro and College of Charleston.

That's a craptastic ROI if you ask me.

My TC kid went to Brown.

They are not prepared for brown

You're addressing me. Went is past tense. She graduated already (with honors, natch) and is halfway through her MPH.

So sorry you wasted a quarter million dollars getting your daughter into a half-rate finishing school.

I hope she's pretty!

Perhaps “Yale or Jail” needs to be supplemented with “Brown or Drown.”

Most TC kids are low performing.

Most MC/UMC kids are high performing.

not at tc

Sure. Tell that to the Regeneron science award winner.