Falls Church City Public schools

[Anonymous]

Are they really so good?
I know that kids there have a PE every day as in private schools. They also have Spanish starting from the second grade.
But are they better than the top MCPS or Fairfax schools?
Are they also obsessive about reading and math (as MontCo and Fairfax school systems)?

[Anonymous]

I'm a product of Fairfax and taught in Fairfax for ten years before becoming a SAHM. I would send my kids to Fall Church Public Schools over Fairfax in a heartbeat.

[Anonymous]

It's difficult to compare FCCPS with Fairfax or MoCo, because the district is so small (less than 2000 kids in the whole district). They have one elementary K-1 (Spanish actually starts here in K), one that is grades 2-4, one middle school and one high school. It is an excellent district and many people move to the city of FC for the schools (if you're exploring buying a house there - be sure it is in the CITY of Falls Church which is only 2 square miles). Much of Falls Church is in Fairfax County school district.

FCCPS was formed when a group of Fairfax County parents who were not happy with their schools seceded from the county and formed their own district. Consequently, there is a ton of parental involvement and the schools are well-funded.

The high school (George Mason) was the first school in VA to adopt the IB program and is often called the private of public. It is an excellent school with high-achieving students and parents who are super involved. It ranks up there with the best public high schools in Fairfax and MoCo on SAT scores and the Matthews Challenge Index (take that with a grain of salt!). In my opinion, it has the advantage of a smaller student body than, say Whitman or Langely, which makes for fewer kids falling through the cracks.

Highly recommend it!

[Anonymous]

OP here: thank you so much for your replies!!!

[Anonymous]

are they better than Arlington schools?

[Anonymous]

The FCCPS has the same magic formula as the schools in McLean, Great Falls, North Arlington, Potomac, and Bethesda. The lack of poor people.

[Anonymous]

One thing to keep in mind about FCCPS is that they are funded almost entirely on property tax revenue, since there are mainly just small commercial businesses in the City. And with falling real estate values....