Hoffman Boston Elementary vs Oakridge vs ??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At $3500/month, you could rent at Cherry Hill apartments in North Arlington- we lived there during a recent renovation and it was great. Not on the metro but the bus service is super convenient and the apartments were so nice (large modern 3bedroom for that price). I think the elementary school isTaylor.

Thanks for the feedback on Cherry Hill. Somehow the impression I got from reading about Taylor was it catered to a the rich, non-diverse base?

We are also not sure about the new school at Key site..Long branch, Glebe, Ashlawn? perhaps..

I’m currently at asfs, where the majority of the school is going to the new school at key. So far I have not been impressed with the new principal for key.
The main downside for either Asfs or key is that both communities are largely apartment building/multi family housing. This makes this student population very transient— I have a fifth grader and every year she’s had to make new friends because her bffs from the previous year move either to another part of Arlington or out of the area (state department). Talking to other parents, it seems like the area around key is more transient than other parts of Arlington. It’s not a big deal, but it does mean a lot of parents aren’t particularly engaged in school activities. Other than from Lyon Village and Courthouse/Clarendon (which isn’t supposed to be at key, I think courthouse and Clarendon stayed at asfs with the latest boundary), there aren’t a lot of parents who can commit a lot of time to the school.

It’s a very international community, but will have a f/rl rate of close to 40% (so similar to hb in that regard). Since it’s a brand new school community, there’s going to be a lot of growing pains from there being a new school with a new pta. Only one current pta officer from asfs will be at the new school, so it will be interesting to see if more parents step up or if they just downscope pta activities.

Another area to look would be Barrett. That’s also a very diverse community and would be a short commute.

Thanks for this perspective. I'll look into Barrett as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At $3500/month, you could rent at Cherry Hill apartments in North Arlington- we lived there during a recent renovation and it was great. Not on the metro but the bus service is super convenient and the apartments were so nice (large modern 3bedroom for that price). I think the elementary school isTaylor.

Thanks for the feedback on Cherry Hill. Somehow the impression I got from reading about Taylor was it catered to a the rich, non-diverse base?

We are also not sure about the new school at Key site..Long branch, Glebe, Ashlawn? perhaps..

I don’t know much about long branch, but I’d happily have my kids attend Ashland or Glebe or Taylor. Fwiw, if you come across McKinkey, the entire school is being moved to a new site called Reed at Westover. It’s a great area, and I’d love if my kid could go there. It will open in September.

If you are ok with an apartment, there’s Horizons East and West in 22207 and a bunch of Apartment buildings in 22201 north of Lee highway that are easily walkable to Courthouse Metro. One of them is called Potomac Towers.

https://www.apartmentratings.com/va/arlington/horizons-east-west_703527235322207/#floorplans

https://www.apartments.com/potomac-towers-arlington-va/tsepvvb/

Thanks for these suggestions. I'll check it out. Trying to keep the commute within 45 mins to DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At $3500/month, you could rent at Cherry Hill apartments in North Arlington- we lived there during a recent renovation and it was great. Not on the metro but the bus service is super convenient and the apartments were so nice (large modern 3bedroom for that price). I think the elementary school isTaylor.

Thanks for the feedback on Cherry Hill. Somehow the impression I got from reading about Taylor was it catered to a the rich, non-diverse base?

We are also not sure about the new school at Key site..Long branch, Glebe, Ashlawn? perhaps..

I don’t know much about long branch, but I’d happily have my kids attend Ashland or Glebe or Taylor. Fwiw, if you come across McKinkey, the entire school is being moved to a new site called Reed at Westover. It’s a great area, and I’d love if my kid could go there. It will open in September.

If you are ok with an apartment, there’s Horizons East and West in 22207 and a bunch of Apartment buildings in 22201 north of Lee highway that are easily walkable to Courthouse Metro. One of them is called Potomac Towers.

https://www.apartmentratings.com/va/arlington/horizons-east-west_703527235322207/#floorplans

https://www.apartments.com/potomac-towers-arlington-va/tsepvvb/

Thanks for these suggestions. I'll check it out. Trying to keep the commute within 45 mins to DC.

My kids are in preschool so can't comment on Oakridge but the Pentagon City/Crystal City commute to L'Enfant is unbeatable. Both VRE and metro are options, especially if your employer has a transit subsidy (otherwise VRE is $$). You could also bike or run there in protected lanes on the Mount Vernon trail/14th street bridge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At $3500/month, you could rent at Cherry Hill apartments in North Arlington- we lived there during a recent renovation and it was great. Not on the metro but the bus service is super convenient and the apartments were so nice (large modern 3bedroom for that price). I think the elementary school isTaylor.

Thanks for the feedback on Cherry Hill. Somehow the impression I got from reading about Taylor was it catered to a the rich, non-diverse base?

We are also not sure about the new school at Key site..Long branch, Glebe, Ashlawn? perhaps..

I don’t know much about long branch, but I’d happily have my kids attend Ashland or Glebe or Taylor. Fwiw, if you come across McKinkey, the entire school is being moved to a new site called Reed at Westover. It’s a great area, and I’d love if my kid could go there. It will open in September.

If you are ok with an apartment, there’s Horizons East and West in 22207 and a bunch of Apartment buildings in 22201 north of Lee highway that are easily walkable to Courthouse Metro. One of them is called Potomac Towers.

https://www.apartmentratings.com/va/arlington/horizons-east-west_703527235322207/#floorplans




https://www.apartments.com/potomac-towers-arlington-va/tsepvvb/

Thanks for these suggestions. I'll check it out. Trying to keep the commute within 45 mins to DC.

My kids are in preschool so can't comment on Oakridge but the Pentagon City/Crystal City commute to L'Enfant is unbeatable. Both VRE and metro are options, especially if your employer has a transit subsidy (otherwise VRE is $$). You could also bike or run there in protected lanes on the Mount Vernon trail/14th street bridge.

We love Oakridge! Very happy there- but I really think all APS schools are good.

[Anonymous]

Dude, they are in the walk zone and you were not. It wasn’t some big conspiracy. Also, if they didn’t zone you out, they wouldn’t have had room for the kids in the new affordable housing complex about to open, the one that’s closer to the school than you were, and that would’ve been bused to Drew instead, further exacerbating that school’s economic segregation.


PP here - I don't live in Pentagon City, so don't have a dog in that fight, just was halfway-jokingly talking about how Oakridge "dealt" with their overcrowding problem. The Pentagon City-to-Hoffman Boston shift made sense to me and seemed like a win/win, we're on the same side here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 3rd grader in Oakridge and a 6th grader who did 1-5 at Oakridge, and it has been great for us.

Thanks. Quick question: How is Oakridge dealing with the high enrolment/overcrowding situation?

Oakridge used to be overcrowded but lost a lot of students in the recent redistricting.

[Anonymous]

Hoffman Boston class sizes are still pretty small, and there is plenty of space in the building (it used to be a high school). Tons of outdoor field space, too, along with a playground and the tennis and basketball courts of the colocated Carver community center. There's a nice community garden and a great sledding hill in the winter, too!

[Anonymous]

The Oakridge principal has had a very acrimonious relationship with the PTA in the past. That has probably faded with time.

[Anonymous]

How is the HB PTA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is the HB PTA?

It is small but the president is really good and there were several good activities and events last year. Things like festivals and fairs, movie nights, STEM activity night, ice cream socials, etc bring out a good crowd. The parents are, of course, a very diverse body like the students (there is a dedicated Mongolian interpreter). This year has been hard because of Covid.

The PTA budget is probably very meager compared to richer schools in the north, but they do a variety of fundraisers and in the past have used some of the funds to pay for extracurricular activities for low-income students. They get grants too, for example from Amazon.

[Anonymous]

OP Here: so far based on these reviews, we are considering Glebe, HB, Oakridge, Ashlawn . Some of these are far away for pick up and drop off say to and from L'enfant.. I wish I could pare it down further.

Took off ASFS from our list (based on principal and the mess with teachers leaving)..
As someone pointed the new key site school will have growing pains and there are too many unknowns..Area is super convenient for commute though...

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Fleet. I don't know much about it, but have heard it's excellent, diverse, 27% FARMS and seems like a reasonable commute to L'Enfant.

[Anonymous]

What would be the nearesr metro?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Oakridge principal has had a very acrimonious relationship with the PTA in the past. That has probably faded with time.

I don’t know that I would call it acrimonious but it’s not great. That’s just what I have seen going to pta meetings; I’m not involved. But the principal is just...not nice when it comes to power issues. I am sure she’s a fine person outside of school though. That said I like Oakridge a lot and I wouldn’t let the principal influence my decision because it’s not a huge deal. I just avoid her. I feel bad for the teachers though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What would be the nearesr metro?

To Fleet? I would think taking a bus to the Pentagon Metro Station. Then one stop on the yellow line.
Or potentially the Ballston Station. Not walking distance, but not a far drive or bus ride. I think you can park in the Ballston Garage for $1. At least that used to be the case.