Haycock vs Kent Gardens
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Anonymous
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Hi There,
We are moving from out of state, and are considering buying a home in the area zoned for these two schools. Are there distinct diffrernces between the two academically or socially? The boundaries and neighborhoods are so close, and yet some houses are considered McLean (Kent Gardens) and others Falls Church (Haycock). It's all very confusing. We know about the French immersion, and that doesn't really interest us. We would rather the kids learn Spanish or Chinese. Can current parents speak to the cultures at both of these schools? Our kids are well rounded happy kids, not genuises. outgoing and social. Thanks in advance... our realtor hasn't been much help in this regard! |
Anonymous
| Search the AAP forum to get a feel for the culture of Haycock... |
Anonymous
| first poster here. Thanks for the quick reply. Sorry for being clueless (new to area) what is AAP? |
Anonymous
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If you are looking for schools in the McLean area that offer some exposure to Spanish or Chinese, without being full-blown immersion programs, your best bets would be neither Kent Gardens (French) or Haycock (neither), but perhaps homes zoned for Chesterbrook (Chinese) or Franklin Sherman (Spanish). Shrevewood is Falls Church has the same "FLES" program in Chinese as Chesterbrook. Fairfax doesn't have any immersion programs in Chinese (yet). It does have Spanish immersion programs, but none of the schools with such programs are very close to McLean or West Falls Church.
Here's some information on the FLES program in FCPS: http://www.fcps.edu/is/worldlanguages/fles.shtml There are some serious Haycock haters on this forum, and you should take what they have to say with a grain of salt and hope they don't hijack the thread. Hope this helps. |
Anonymous
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I can't speak for Kent Gardens, but having two kids who attended Haycock I can tell you that the parent culture is best defined by the words competitive and intense. The AAP (gifted) center at Haycock is a big deal to most of the families, and a large majority of 3rd-6th graders are in the program. The kids are well aware of who the "smart kids" are and who is just in "gen ed." You will find a large component of students who are tutored outside of school, not because they are behind, but rather to push them ahead of their peers. Many of the parents have placed their kids in TJ-prep classes by 5th or 6th grade to try to get a leg up on the highly competitive admissions to Thomas Jefferson (a STEM high school).
If you're low key like I am, and just looking for a wonderful community of parents who are "all in this together." Haycock is not your school. There are some warm and welcoming families, but it takes a couple years to work your way through the crazies and find them. If your looking for Chinese, I believe both Chesterbrook and Shrevewood elementary schools nearby offer Chinese. |
Anonymous
| Shrevewood is facing some serious overcrowding with no obvious solution in sight at present, so Chesterbrook may be the more attractive option for Chinese until FCPS comes up with a solution. |
Anonymous
| Also look at Chesterbrook, Franklin Sherman, Lemon Road and Westgate. |
Anonymous
What foreign language services do Lemon Road and Westgate provide? |
Anonymous
None. Same as Haycock. |
Anonymous
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Kent Gardens parent here. Have met many pleasant parents. Haven't met anyone overly competitive and intense...yet? PTA is impressive and they offer lots of great activities and programs including a summer camp. Our new principal was a vice principal at Haycock and she was well-liked there. Seems like a happy place for kids, but we have not been there for many years.
Our family had no interest in French immersion. You cannot get any exposure to languages other than French during the school day, but I believe the county offers some after school language classes. I wish Spanish were an option during the day. |
Anonymous
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Kent Gardens is a STEM school that also offers French Immersion for those who can get in based on a lottery system. For non FI kids, there is some exposure to French but by no means do kids attend this school just b/c of French. Many parents there have no interest in French and they are not forced fed French.
Kent Gardens is transitioning into a school that will also offer LLIV (AAP services) starting Fall 2014. The new principal at KG is, as someone said, the former assistant principal at Haycock and was the primary driver of their AAP program given her math background. She was beloved at Haycock. She's also credited with having helped start the AAP program at Spring Hill ES. Her name is Holly McGuigan. As someone mentioned above, KG has an extensive summer camp program where KG kids get first dibs at signing up. In addition, KG offers STEM Saturdays during the regular school year. This is a very science and engineering focused school, and lately, very focused on music and chorus also. This McLean ES has had the largest student showing at all the local choral concerts in McLean including the McLean Winterfest and the McLean pyramid choral concert at McLean HS. The new principal is very, extremely responsive and has turned the school around 180 degrees since starting mid fall 2013. She's a great communicator and leader. You'll find that KG is probably the most diverse school in McLean. The only issue I see is large class sizes which most McLean schools have. KG usually has an assistant teacher help out the main teacher. With regard to Haycock, as someone said, it is an AAP center school. Not long ago, there was a lot of heartache when rules were enacted to restrict AAP attendance at that school based on the feeder school. It's undergoing a renovation to increase building size. At most AAP center schools, the general ed kids get marginalized even if they're just as capable as AAP kids, but didn't screen into the program and it seems to be the case at Haycock. |
Anonymous
Oh yeah..PP here. Your realtor is "not supposed to" talk about schools officially. I think you'll find that your kids will be happy at KG b/c it can serve the needs for all kids, especially with the push now to offer AAP services for those families who are interested. Many of the KG teachers are already trained on AAP methods and teach it to the kids in the advanced math and language arts classes. |
Anonymous
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OP here. Wow, I had no idea there would be such detail and specifics in these posts! Thank you. The house we like the most is zoned for Haycock. The neighborhood is loaded with kids and friendly neighbors, so I never suspected them to be a bunch of cutthroat "tiger mom" types.
We are more laid back and relocating from the Midwest (Kansas City area). Our realtor pointed me to this forum. Another question: how would a kid with dyslexia fit in at Haycock or Kent Gardens? Bright with high IQ, but with learning challenges? Our kids are still young, but one may be showing signs in late pre-k. We want the best schools for the kids, but we don't want them to be shunned or marginalized. Geesh, it's Elementary school! Now I'm worried we may make a mistake by looking in the Haycock area. Especially since we will be house poor (ESP coming from Midwest housing prices) and there is no way we could afford sending the kids to private if they are unhappy in public. |
Anonymous
Franklin Sherman is public ES that offers a program for special needs kids. It's in McLean also. You'll find that some parts of West Falls Church is zoned for Kent Gardens. Also, there are many older, lower priced homes in McLean that are within the KG boundary...both SFH and TH. KG is a warm and friendly school. I recommend you talking to the new principal if you have concerns. If you think the schools are competitive, the local kids sports scene is just as competitive. |
Anonymous
Chesterbrook has made strives in recent years with 2E children and does a good job mixing the needs with the AAP classes, but still have to advocate well (as with all schools you have to ask, they will not volunteer). I know several families with LD and ADHD children who moved it of Kent Gardens to other schools like Chesterbrook, Franklin Sherman and Churchill Road, but that was under the former Principal. The 2E LD (not ADHD) I know who went to the AAP center at Haycock returned the following year to Chesterbrook. You will need to set up the IEP accommodations in elementary school so that they will be there in MS. Where you will find trouble is at he MS level. The HS does very well for the LD bright child. |