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Schools and Education General Discussion
What are the best places to live in NOVA for public schools?
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Anonymous
| Hi. I am new to Northern Virginia. As much as we would like to send our boys to private schools, the reality is that we don't have enough money to pay for that and simultaneously save any money for retirement. For those of you more familiar with this area, can you tell me the names of the best areas for schools/names of the schools themselves in the area. We are looking for an area that is good k-12. We currently live in an area that has good elementary schools but terrible high schools. We want to relocate to an area in NOVA that has good schools all the way through, not just elementary. Any ideas? Thank you so much. |
Anonymous
| Arlington County schools are great. In addition to neighborhood schools, there are specialty schools like the Arlington Traditional School, 2 dual-immersion programs, and a science focus school. For HS, Yorktown and Washington Lee probably are the best, although Wakefield also is becoming quite good. |
Anonymous
| How does the Churchill/Cooper/Langley pyramid compare in McLean? |
Anonymous
| McLean schools are supposed to be very good as well. What we like about Arlington is the variety of schooling choices that exist, as well as the greater diversity at many of the schools. |
Anonymous
Agree with this. You really can't go wrong anywhere in Fairfax County or Arlington. City of Falls Church is supposed to be very good, too. Schools will vary in their diversity and size, but they all provide a great education to students who are motivated and whose parents are involved. As far as offerings at the high school level, you might consider whether you are interested in the AP or IB programs. AP are the more traditional honors classes that give you college credit. IB is the International Baccalaureate program which as the name implies worldwide. Both are challenging programs - with the IB program you can get an IB diploma that is very rigorous. IN Arlington, WAshington-Lee has IB and Yorktown has AP. The Fairfax County schools have both depending on what you are looking for. |
Anonymous
| Waynewood School District in Alexandria in the Fairfax County section of Alexandria. There are a lot of families in our area that could afford to send their kids to private school but Waynewood is so good that many people think it is not worth it to spend the money on private school for elementary. |
Anonymous
You want to be in Spring Hill/Cooper/Langley, Churchill/Cooper/Langely or Great Falls/Cooper/Langley. These are the best in Fairfax (except for TJ for which you have to apply). Parts of McLean and Great Falls do not feed into Langley HS. The main point is to be in one of the districts that does. |
Anonymous
| I second Arlington. Nationally ranked schools and EVERYONE in Arlington cares deeply about education (except possibly one school board member whose record suggests he only cares about his political advancement.) |
Anonymous
|
Although just one measure, the schools with the highest test scores are:
1) Langley (Great Falls & McLean) 2) McLean (McLean, Tyson's, parts of Falls Church) 3) Woodson (parts of Fairfax) 4) George Mason (City of Falls Church) 5) Yorktown (north and west Arlington) 6) Oakton (Oakton, parts of Reston, ??) 7) Madison (Vienna, ???) 8) Lake Braddock (Burke, parts of Fairfax) 9) Robinson (Fairfax, parts of Burke) 10) Washington-Lee (central and north arlington) 11) George Marshall (Tyson's, Pimmit, Vienna) Hope this list helps. |
Anonymous
|
Here's an updated Fairfax/Arlington list based on test results for 2008 (excluding Thomas Jefferson, which is a magnet school)
1. Langley (McLean/Great Falls) 2. McLean (McLean/Falls Church/Vienna) 3. Woodson (Fairfax/Annandale) 4. Yorktown (North Arlington) 5. Oakton (Oakton/Vienna/Fairfax) 6. Marshall (Vienna/Falls Church/McLean) 7. Madison (Vienna/Oakton) 8. Lake Braddock (Burke/Springfield) 9. Robinson (Fairfax Station/Burke) 10. Herndon (Herndon/Reston) |
Anonymous
Isn't Waynewood overcrowded? |
Anonymous
Waynewood was actually slightly below capacity last year and is only projected to have modest growth over the next five years. |
Anonymous
What about George Mason in Falls Church City? |
Anonymous
With the exception of Thomas Jefferson, George Mason/FCC is know to be head and shoulders above FFX County schools. |
Anonymous
|
Here you go (with George Mason included and still excluding Thomas Jefferson, which is a magnet school)
1. Langley (McLean/Great Falls) 2. McLean (McLean/Falls Church/Vienna) 3. Woodson (Fairfax/Annandale) 4. Yorktown (North Arlington) 5. George Mason (Falls Church City) 6. Oakton (Oakton/Vienna/Fairfax) 7. Marshall (Vienna/Falls Church/McLean) 8. Madison (Vienna/Oakton) 9. Lake Braddock (Burke/Springfield) 10. Robinson (Fairfax Station/Burke) |