Arlington and Alexandria school districts

[Anonymous]

Alexandria’s cute and if you like to jog or bike into work has some good trail access. The high school is a dumpster fire—the largest high school in Virginia, a state of 9 million people, because a second high school can’t get built. Yes some kids do well at the high school. It can be done. But the overall experience is lousy. 9th grade has its own campus!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The east end grade schools in Alexandria are stellar (with the exception of JH, which you can opt out of.)

GW middle school is great if your kid is UMC and not dumb.

TCHS- now ACHS is an excellent school for UMC kids of average intelligence. If that describes your kid his chances of admission to great colleges are much better than from the privates.

It's laughable to compare the charm of Alexandria to Arlington and the real estate prices reflect that.

There has not been an automatic opt out for J-H for a number of years. J-H appears to still have problems (especially for upper elementary) but it seems the new principal there is a stronger leader.

False. I know several families zoned for JH over the last three years that were granted admission to other grade schools of their choice. These were admin transfers, not IEP or programmatic.

Yes - admin. transfers which means that ACPS had to approve them (and thus there was some policy / circumstance reason for them). They were not automatic (like I believe with respect to the Mount Vernon dual language or the Tucker year round school).

https://www.acps.k12.va.us/Page/3057 - JH has no opt out for elementary

Of course, the crony system still works in Alexandria so the PP you're responding to could be referring to that. One hand washes the other, you know. I wouldn't put anything past Wilson and that corrupt City Council to force the school system to accommodate some ne'er-do-well crony.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The east end grade schools in Alexandria are stellar (with the exception of JH, which you can opt out of.)

GW middle school is great if your kid is UMC and not dumb.

TCHS- now ACHS is an excellent school for UMC kids of average intelligence. If that describes your kid his chances of admission to great colleges are much better than from the privates.

It's laughable to compare the charm of Alexandria to Arlington and the real estate prices reflect that.

There has not been an automatic opt out for J-H for a number of years. J-H appears to still have problems (especially for upper elementary) but it seems the new principal there is a stronger leader.

False. I know several families zoned for JH over the last three years that were granted admission to other grade schools of their choice. These were admin transfers, not IEP or programmatic.

Yes - admin. transfers which means that ACPS had to approve them (and thus there was some policy / circumstance reason for them). They were not automatic (like I believe with respect to the Mount Vernon dual language or the Tucker year round school).

https://www.acps.k12.va.us/Page/3057 - JH has no opt out for elementary

Can you opt into one of the other two programs though (and out of JH)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The east end grade schools in Alexandria are stellar (with the exception of JH, which you can opt out of.)

GW middle school is great if your kid is UMC and not dumb.

TCHS- now ACHS is an excellent school for UMC kids of average intelligence. If that describes your kid his chances of admission to great colleges are much better than from the privates.

It's laughable to compare the charm of Alexandria to Arlington and the real estate prices reflect that.

There has not been an automatic opt out for J-H for a number of years. J-H appears to still have problems (especially for upper elementary) but it seems the new principal there is a stronger leader.

False. I know several families zoned for JH over the last three years that were granted admission to other grade schools of their choice. These were admin transfers, not IEP or programmatic.

Yes - admin. transfers which means that ACPS had to approve them (and thus there was some policy / circumstance reason for them). They were not automatic (like I believe with respect to the Mount Vernon dual language or the Tucker year round school).

https://www.acps.k12.va.us/Page/3057 - JH has no opt out for elementary

Can you opt into one of the other two programs though (and out of JH)?

I read it that way which is surprising because I thought there was a space issue at Mount Vernon.

[Anonymous]

We looked hard in Arlington and it was price prohibitive - we had the money but it was ridiculous to shell out that amount for what you got - and it just wasn't convenient. Arlington folks will say you can get around easy but we decided to stay in Alexandria and let me tell you - there is getting around and there is convenience! Working in metro DC is a lot easier from Alexandria by the Shirlington And S Arl locations where you access 395 v either 66 or parkway. While I agree that infrastructure like flooding and traffic patterns are really cumbersome in Alex, it is a really nice place to live. Esp around where are by Del Ray you just have that diversity, community and convenience. It's hard to look at Arlington because their lots back into each other. There were small sections of Arl we liked and I mean small - like sections of 3-4 streets. I really enjoy Arl and people who live there but physically, it's hard to pass up Old Town, DC, Del Ray and have Target, markets and mall. School wise, the local elementary schools are fine but middle school is dicey - a lot depends on the kids abilities and personality. I don't have a prob with HS so MS is private but there are a lot of independent schools in that part of Alex to look at. I would look at both and rent if possible. I'm from a major metro city and I really hate the DC culture but where we are is the only neighborhood I could ever manage living. Falls Church City is cute but I'm a city gal and really hard to be that suburban for me. While Fairfax is known for schools, there's no place in that county near enough to DC for us commute wise to stomach nor culturally comfortable for us. I dream of leaving this area but I will say Alex USA hard neighborhood to beat all things considered.

[Anonymous]

Anyone that wants out of JH gets out. Call it what you will, but no UMC white family is being compelled to send their kid there if they wish otherwise. Been like that for 20 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP with that budget Alexandria is out. You can’t get a 4-5 bedroom house with a yard for that price plus the school system is terrible (yes, I live here).

If I wanted public schools I would move to Arlington or Fairfax.

+1. Planning to move out of Alexandria now that I have two in elementary. Want to avoid the middle schools and high school.

[Anonymous]

I know that not everyone likes sources like Niche or Great Schools because they have their flaws but I do think they are helpful to look at occasionally https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-public-elementary-schools/s/virginia/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone that wants out of JH gets out. Call it what you will, but no UMC white family is being compelled to send their kid there if they wish otherwise. Been like that for 20 years.

My understanding is that there has been a change in the last 5-6 years on how easy it is to get out of J-H if you are zoned for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of Arlington fans on dcum but I wanted to chime in to say don’t rule out Alexandria. I’m from California (Bay Area) and have lived in several parts of the DC area and the only place I could really get into is Alexandria - and somewhat coincidentally (or not) I keep meeting other folks from CA who say the same!

A lot of the DC area is suburban sprawl, and not in a good way. Alexandria has significantly more charm and personality than other places around here (certainly than Arlington, which was famously called “soulless”), and the people in Alexandria are both more down to earth and friendlier (it’s the southern influence I think) in a way that reminds me of CA.

There are many good public elementary schools in Alexandria. The public high school is huge and has some troubled kids but also sends its share of kids to Ivies every year, so it’s not all bad.

Anyway something to consider!

Alexandria has parts that are ugly as ugly gets and soulless. Just depends.

NP. I live in south Arlington and I go to Alexandria frequently. Del Ray is sooo cute, and obviously most of Old Town is stunning. But of course then there are strip malls areas too. If we want to use up the damn Chilis gift cards my parents give me for Xmas, we go to Alexandria. (But DH and I do almost all our dates in Alexandria because I think dining options are better there than around us in Arlington)

I believe that there are places in Alexandria that are zoned for a school district other than ACPS?

This is a good point, OP. There is Alexandria City with its own school district; but part of Alexandria is in Fairfax County. I don't know the CA system; but here Arlington County is its own entity, no cities within it. Similarly, Alexandria is its own city not within a County; but then there are localities like Springfield, Annandale, and part of Alexandria that are inside Fairfax County and the FFX Co school system.

NP. The above explanation is really unnecessarily confusing.

In Virginia, cities and counties are completely separate. Completely. Unlike Maryland, where you have Rockville inside of Montgomery County, you have the city of Alexandria and Fairfax County, Arlington County, etc.

If your address is within the city of Alexandria, you are zoned for ACPS. If your house is within Fairfax County, you’re zoned for FCPS. Period. Full stop. No choices. While some addresses might say Alexandria, Virginia (like the area off of the GW Parkway near Mt Vernon) you must find out technically where the address lies, is it in Fairfax County? If so, you’re going to FCPS. You don’t have a choice.

Counties and cities have separate school systems, municipal governments, etc. So just find out where the address in question is located. Is it in a county or a city?

[Anonymous]

Arlington's schools are completely segregated. We have elementaries that are 70% poverty and ones that are 3% poverty. It's ridiculous. People will tell you they are all fine, but the reality is that middle class and upper middle class will try to avoid anything over 40%. You can find all those stats online. Boundaries in Arlington are a mess and will be for years. I used to think the schools here were good, but then we went private for COVID and I see huge gaps in my kids' educations. I can't speak to other jurisdictions, but I would not move here for the schools. Arlington is a great place to live, though. No one has big yards. But people are friendly. Lots of trails. Walkable neighborhoods. Good parks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arlington's schools are completely segregated. We have elementaries that are 70% poverty and ones that are 3% poverty. It's ridiculous. People will tell you they are all fine, but the reality is that middle class and upper middle class will try to avoid anything over 40%. You can find all those stats online. Boundaries in Arlington are a mess and will be for years. I used to think the schools here were good, but then we went private for COVID and I see huge gaps in my kids' educations. I can't speak to other jurisdictions, but I would not move here for the schools. Arlington is a great place to live, though. No one has big yards. But people are friendly. Lots of trails. Walkable neighborhoods. Good parks.

Where are the biggest gaps?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone that wants out of JH gets out. Call it what you will, but no UMC white family is being compelled to send their kid there if they wish otherwise. Been like that for 20 years.

My understanding is that there has been a change in the last 5-6 years on how easy it is to get out of J-H if you are zoned for it.

Alexandria is a wonderful place to live, if you don’t send your kids to public schools. We really enjoyed it there BUT every single family we knew from the preschool and early elementary days moved to went to private school by mid elementary if not sooner. Most of us moved if we didn’t want to pay private school tuition. That’s how we got out.

[Anonymous]

Moved or went to private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone that wants out of JH gets out. Call it what you will, but no UMC white family is being compelled to send their kid there if they wish otherwise. Been like that for 20 years.

My understanding is that there has been a change in the last 5-6 years on how easy it is to get out of J-H if you are zoned for it.

Alexandria is a wonderful place to live, if you don’t send your kids to public schools. We really enjoyed it there BUT every single family we knew from the preschool and early elementary days moved to went to private school by mid elementary if not sooner. Most of us moved if we didn’t want to pay private school tuition. That’s how we got out.

I am one of the PP on J-H - this is absolutely true. The number of white UMC children who remain at J-H does dwindle for the reason this poster states.