school choice address is McLean, but local school seems to be Falls Church

[Anonymous]

We recently moved to Mclean, baby is still almost 4 years away from school age. Yet school listed is in Falls church (Westgate) which is just down the road. Looks nice on the outside, and is not far away. Yet doesn;t seem to have that high a rating on greatschools. Of course I don;t know how valid these web sites are, and would be interested what people think from personal experience with falls church elementary schools. HAve always heard good things about Mclean schools in general although I suppose there is a range with those as well.
Does any one else have a similar experience? Can Fairfax County force you to send your child to school in Falls Church if your address is in Mclean? The High School listed is McLean. Or do they list elementary schools in proximity to your address and neighborhood, but if you are willing to transport your child to another school you are allowed to? Thanks

[Anonymous]

Yes, your school could be in Falls Church rather than Mclean although you live in Mclean. Westgate is not a "Falls Church City" school (which is its own separate and very highly regarded school district). Westgate is a Fairfax County school. The schools are organized by county level here so it has nothing to do with your address. The town designations have no meaning for school purposes. I don't know much about Westgate, but I wouldn't worry too much. Fairfax schools have an excellent reputation, and while it is true that Mclean schools have a particularly good rep within Fairfax, most of those ratings things tend to be based on test scores -- and frankly, that tends to reflect the socioeconomic and demographic makeup of the school. My guess is that Westgate draws from a somewhat more diverse population than some of the other elementary schools in Mclean, but that doesn't mean your child won't get a good education. You still will probably feed into Mclean high school it sounds like. I grew up in Fairfax County and because we moved around some I went to schools known as the "best" Fairfax schools and some that did not have that reputation. Frankly, in many ways I had more interesting experiences and received more attention at some of the schools with a less chi-chi reputation. And, I should say that I received an excellent education in Fairfax public schools.

I'm not sure if there is a way for you to get permission to send your child to a school outside your neighborhood school. There are circumstances when this is done, but I think you may need some specific justification (like a program offered at the school that is not offered at your home school) rather than just a willingness to drive your child to another school. There are a few more options, though. There are language immersion programs in Fairfax. For example, Kent Gardens in Mclean is a French immersion program and you can enter a lottery to be accepted. Also, of course, if your child tests into Gifted/Talented in 3rd grade that's a way to have your child bussed to another school.