South arlington elementary schools

[Douglasparker]

My husband and I moved to the Douglas Park neighborhood in South Arlington 5 years ago. We are very pleased with the area and have grown to appreciate South Arlington. Our child is slated to attended Randolph Elementary school, but other than not stellar test scores- I haven't been able to find out much about it. Our neighbor's children are grown,or for various reasons go elsewhere( parochial etc.). We are in a position to move ( probably to North Arlington), but just can't decide what is best. Also I've heard about overcrowding on that side. Anyone have any insights? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I am in Alexandria City and our schools have the same problems as South Arlington schools. Looking at the test scores my thoughts on Randolph would be:

The scores are very low indicating that the general school population is going to need remediation and I see they are Title I. The focus will be on "closing the achievement gap" the curriculum and instruction need to focus on the very basics and there needs to be lots of repetition on the basics. They might offer some differentiation but beware that often comes in the form of worksheets handed to the child to work on.

The IB program can't really be effective at this time because they have too many students not getting the basics with the standard curriculum.

Expect that a lot of time and attention in K will be focused on the kids learning school expectations and proper behavior. This focus continues all throughout.

Look at the extra programs offered by the school. Many times these "extras" don't really benefit your child. Mentoring programs and positive behavior programs and school is important, go to college! programs because your child is already getting those messages at home. The time the school invests in those programs means they can't invest in enrichment programs.

You will always find some enthusiastic parent supporters in your same situation at the school. They will tell you they love the school, it's great, blah, blah, but see if you get them to give you any real specifics on why they love it. What about the curriculum do they love? How have they seen it benefit their own child? What do they love about the teacher? What has she done specifically that has made an impact? What was the impact? etc.///

[Anonymous]

I think we all over thing these choices - read the section in the article below about elementary schools:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/25/AR2008022500675.html

Admittedly, this is from 2008, but I always refer back to it.

7. Don't worry about elementary school.

The fact that you have read this far means you are an energetic parent who puts great emphasis on education and who, I would guess, has been reading and talking to your children since they were infants. You have filled your house with books. You make learning exciting. All the studies show that you are going to have much more influence over your child's academic achievement through sixth grade than the elementary school you choose. So as long as the school is safe and you like it, it really doesn't matter whether its test scores are not the highest. Your child is still getting a great education because of you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think we all over thing these choices - read the section in the article below about elementary schools:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/25/AR2008022500675.html

Admittedly, this is from 2008, but I always refer back to it.

7. Don't worry about elementary school.

The fact that you have read this far means you are an energetic parent who puts great emphasis on education and who, I would guess, has been reading and talking to your children since they were infants. You have filled your house with books. You make learning exciting. All the studies show that you are going to have much more influence over your child's academic achievement through sixth grade than the elementary school you choose. So as long as the school is safe and you like it, it really doesn't matter whether its test scores are not the highest. Your child is still getting a great education because of you.

HUH? So don't worry about what happens at school? Why not just home school them with this logic.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info guys. I realize this probably is an old topic on these boards, I'm just a bit new to all of this. Thanks for the article. I appreciate the advice. I haven't been able to find anyone specifically who sends their child there and was hoping to connect with someone on his thread. Like I said so far none of my neighbor's kids are going there. So, I'll hop over to Randolph one day and ask around. Now I have some specifics to focus on. Thanks guys.

[Anonymous]

The overcrowding in Arlington is everywhere -- but keep in mind that Arlington class sizes are the lowest in the NoVA area so that what is overcrowded here might be technically okay in Fairfax.

Do you have a neighborhood list-serve? I'd reach out to people that way just to get some contacts. You could also contact the PTA, but they're likely to point you to happy families only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The overcrowding in Arlington is everywhere -- but keep in mind that Arlington class sizes are the lowest in the NoVA area so that what is overcrowded here might be technically okay in Fairfax.

Do you have a neighborhood list-serve? I'd reach out to people that way just to get some contacts. You could also contact the PTA, but they're likely to point you to happy families only.

Nice jab, but over crowding in Fairfax County is above 20 students per class which is the same as most of arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Do you have a neighborhood list-serve? I'd reach out to people that way just to get some contacts.

That's a good suggestion. The south arlington moms club might have more direct feedback on that particular school. http://www.southarlingtonmomsclub.org/

[Anonymous]

You should sign up for the 22204 listserv on yahoo - I'm on it from when I was planning to buy a house there, and there are a bunch of people who live in Douglas Park and may have kids at Randolph.

Do you love your neighborhood? The test scores are lower at Randolph (and some other S. Arl schools) because the population is poorer (high FARMS rate - 77% last year), more ESL and more hispanic than the schools in North Arlington. It's a Title I school. Chances are, white children perform about the same as at other schools. Looks like 79% of white students passed the SOLs in Reading and Math, vs. 93% in Arlington and 82% in the State. https://p1pe.doe.virginia.gov/reportcard/report.do?division=7&schoolName=1705

If you want to stay in South Arlington, I've heard that Patrick Henry (Penrose) and Oakridge (22206 near Crystal City) are a little more diverse in their mix, both racially and economically, whereas Randolph is about 10% Caucasian (56% Hispanic) and 77% FARMS. The average for Arlington last year was about 47% Caucasian and 32% FARMS. Otherwise, you pretty much can't go wrong in North Arlington, though you definitely will pay a lot more for a house.

[Anonymous]

Find out more from your neighbors and visit the school. Our kids go to a similar school in Arlington and on paper it looks dismal but the community is strong and our neighborhood kids learn and thrive. My kids played soccer with kids from Randolph and all the parents we knew were very happy with the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should sign up for the 22204 listserv on yahoo - I'm on it from when I was planning to buy a house there, and there are a bunch of people who live in Douglas Park and may have kids at Randolph.

Do you love your neighborhood? The test scores are lower at Randolph (and some other S. Arl schools) because the population is poorer (high FARMS rate - 77% last year), more ESL and more hispanic than the schools in North Arlington. It's a Title I school. Chances are, white children perform about the same as at other schools. Looks like 79% of white students passed the SOLs in Reading and Math, vs. 93% in Arlington and 82% in the State. https://p1pe.doe.virginia.gov/reportcard/report.do?division=7&schoolName=1705

If you want to stay in South Arlington, I've heard that Patrick Henry (Penrose) and Oakridge (22206 near Crystal City) are a little more diverse in their mix, both racially and economically, whereas Randolph is about 10% Caucasian (56% Hispanic) and 77% FARMS. The average for Arlington last year was about 47% Caucasian and 32% FARMS. Otherwise, you pretty much can't go wrong in North Arlington, though you definitely will pay a lot more for a house.

Patrick Henry is 22204 and Oakridge is 22202. I agree that both are good schools, among the stronger ones in South Arlington. Oakridge is one of the overcrowded schools though. OP, if considering South Arlington, you should closely follow APS More Seats for More Students and the School Board's development of the 2014 CIP. It's all underway right now. There is the possibility of either a new school in South Arlington (if the County provides a site) or additions to existing schools (with boundary changes) in South Arlington. The school boundaries for South Arlington that you see now will likely change. North Arlington went through this process for elementary schools last year so things are settled in that part of the County. Things will be more clear in May when the School Board works out the details of the 2014 CIP.

Here's the most recent APS presentation on the matter - http://www.apsva.us/cms/lib2/VA01000586/Centricity/Domain/110/041014%20SB%20Work%20Session_FINAL_WEB.pdf

[Anonymous]

We live near Douglass Park and some kids in our daughter's daycare have older siblings at Randolph. While there are challenges with the school population I have heard good things too. Don't know anyone with kids older than second grade. You may want to visit the school and/or put something on the neighborhood listserv. Or move and sell us your house. We'd love a SFH in Douglass Park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think we all over thing these choices - read the section in the article below about elementary schools:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/25/AR2008022500675.html

Admittedly, this is from 2008, but I always refer back to it.

7. Don't worry about elementary school.

The fact that you have read this far means you are an energetic parent who puts great emphasis on education and who, I would guess, has been reading and talking to your children since they were infants. You have filled your house with books. You make learning exciting. All the studies show that you are going to have much more influence over your child's academic achievement through sixth grade than the elementary school you choose. So as long as the school is safe and you like it, it really doesn't matter whether its test scores are not the highest. Your child is still getting a great education because of you.

HUH? So don't worry about what happens at school? Why not just home school them with this logic.

Completely missing the point. Of course you should choose the best school for your child that you can -- but you shouldn't drive yourself mad obsessing over FARMS scores in elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think we all over thing these choices - read the section in the article below about elementary schools:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/25/AR2008022500675.html

Admittedly, this is from 2008, but I always refer back to it.

7. Don't worry about elementary school.

The fact that you have read this far means you are an energetic parent who puts great emphasis on education and who, I would guess, has been reading and talking to your children since they were infants. You have filled your house with books. You make learning exciting. All the studies show that you are going to have much more influence over your child's academic achievement through sixth grade than the elementary school you choose. So as long as the school is safe and you like it, it really doesn't matter whether its test scores are not the highest. Your child is still getting a great education because of you.

HUH? So don't worry about what happens at school? Why not just home school them with this logic.

Completely missing the point. Of course you should choose the best school for your child that you can -- but you shouldn't drive yourself mad obsessing over FARMS scores in elementary school.

Maybe we shouldn't obsess over scores but peer effect on academic achievement in classrooms is real. There are lots of studies out there with quantitative evidence to back it up.

[Anonymous]

My kids go to a S. Arlington school. The school is excellent, as are the teachers, and resources.

However, your kids' classmates will to 1/2 to 2/3 rds Hispanic. Only you can determine if that would be acceptable to you or not.

Honestly, they are great schools, but minority white. It t