Real estate/school district selection advice I've heard as a new parent - how true is it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Take a look at the private schools within a 30 minute drive as well or whatever you deem reasonable as a commute to school. Once your kids are ready for school you might be surprised that you want to consider private

I struggle to understand the value proposition of private school in our area. We already pay tens of thousands of dollars in taxes that fund some of the best public schools in the country - and despite that people are willing to pay an additional $20-30k in tuition every year for 12 years? Is the quality of education at the private school in our area really that much better? Does it translate to that much more money earned when the kid enters the workforce, or that much more social-emotional well-adjusted-ness? Even if money were no object, I find the marginal value of private school very low.

Yes. I taught in both Fairfax County and a local private. Fairfax County kids are a full year behind in writing. The lowest private school kid was as good a writer as the Fairfax County transfer who was at the head of the class. It was shocking. We left everything and moved out of the area when our oldest was ready for elementary. We were open to anywhere in the United States with good schools, bearable climate, and an appropriate job market. If we could have afforded private, I would have stayed. To be clear, it wasn’t about who was in the class. My concerns were 💯 curriculum-based.

Absolutely leave the DMV because what you posted is absurd.

Private curriculums vary widely. You are a troll.

It’s not absurd. The truth hurts. Your naivety is absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Take a look at the private schools within a 30 minute drive as well or whatever you deem reasonable as a commute to school. Once your kids are ready for school you might be surprised that you want to consider private

I struggle to understand the value proposition of private school in our area. We already pay tens of thousands of dollars in taxes that fund some of the best public schools in the country - and despite that people are willing to pay an additional $20-30k in tuition every year for 12 years? Is the quality of education at the private school in our area really that much better? Does it translate to that much more money earned when the kid enters the workforce, or that much more social-emotional well-adjusted-ness? Even if money were no object, I find the marginal value of private school very low.

This is coming from a foreigner with no kids yet, so take what I am about to say with a grain of salt (as I don't know how private schools are generally setup here).

If I could afford to pay 50k for private (sidwell and etc), I would want my, hypothetical, kids to go there. Not necessarily because the quality of education would be that much better (it most likely won't if comparing good public to goos private in area), and also not because of better college outcomes (in some ways I'd argue going top private may hurt top college outcomes).

But because I would assume that the private schools are safer (given the ridiculous gun epdicemic in this country and dumb rednecks focus on the 2nd amendment). Seeing all these school shootings make me worry a bit, and I would assume the private school has better security (when I was at a private abroad, we had probably over a hundred guards on campus at once).

The other value that I can see, is that your kids will be surrounded with the kids of influential people and people that matter, which could also be helpful for your kid in the future.

Those same "influential people" may either look down on you for your not having enough, or you and/or your kid will have issues with trying to "keep up with the joneses". Never a good idea to intentionally be the poorest on your block, especially for the kids.

[Anonymous]

I haven't read the whole thread. I agree with some of your premises, but not all.

I think I agree with your idea of seeking out a good high school. In most decent districts, the elementary schools are great. It's in junior high and high school where you see the flaws. Some districts are too big, too chaotic, have bad leadership, etc. So, sure, look for good high schools.

I would add SIZE as a determining factor. My kids' district is simply too big. It's a mess.

Great Schools is trash ... don't worry about it.

I would read the local papers and talk to lots and lots of friends and acquaintances about what they like about their kids' schools. You still have to be careful about that. Some people will complain about anything, while some are a little pollyannaish. But over time, you can get to know some overarching information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Take a look at the private schools within a 30 minute drive as well or whatever you deem reasonable as a commute to school. Once your kids are ready for school you might be surprised that you want to consider private

I struggle to understand the value proposition of private school in our area. We already pay tens of thousands of dollars in taxes that fund some of the best public schools in the country - and despite that people are willing to pay an additional $20-30k in tuition every year for 12 years? Is the quality of education at the private school in our area really that much better? Does it translate to that much more money earned when the kid enters the workforce, or that much more social-emotional well-adjusted-ness? Even if money were no object, I find the marginal value of private school very low.

Yes. I taught in both Fairfax County and a local private. Fairfax County kids are a full year behind in writing. The lowest private school kid was as good a writer as the Fairfax County transfer who was at the head of the class. It was shocking. We left everything and moved out of the area when our oldest was ready for elementary. We were open to anywhere in the United States with good schools, bearable climate, and an appropriate job market. If we could have afforded private, I would have stayed. To be clear, it wasn’t about who was in the class. My concerns were 💯 curriculum-based.

Absolutely leave the DMV because what you posted is absurd.

Private curriculums vary widely. You are a troll.

It’s not trolling if it’s true. I’m an educator. I left Fairfax to find an adequate education for my children. Jeff can vouch that I’m a teacher paying from another city. Sorry you’re triggered. It took me years to come to grips with my options. I moved here *for the schools*. Imagine how disheartening it was to see as someone who had participated in the system.

[Anonymous]

Same poster, and while oeuvre circular may vary, FCPS was using the very worst one on the market. It wasn’t hard to do better.

[Anonymous]

Private curricula, not oeuvre circular! Sorry, autocorrect.

[Anonymous]

Another thing to think about here, if ensuring diversity is a key point for you, is possibly locating near Fort Belvoir or one of the other military bases here in the area. My kid has gone to 2 FCPS elementary schools around Alexandria/Springfield and the student body has always been extremely diverse. Less than 50 percent white kids and 50 percent everyone else.

Obviously, the one issue is that your kid will make friends with other kids who will leave after a few years and that is hard. But being near a base also helps with home values because of the robust rental market for military families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is terrible advice. Nobody wants to have to move after 15 years in one location just for HS.

Of course it’s true that the “good schools”
can go downhill. But generally they are not going to go from decent places where kids go to good colleges, to a disaster, in 10-15 years.

And of course it’s even more delusional to think a terrible HS is magically going to “improve” in a decade.

Buy a house where the schools are at least acceptable all through HS. Or have a plan to pay for private.

This. You and your kids will hopefully build community and friendships in your neighborhood, school, local activities, etc. You won't want to up and leave all that for MS or HS. Or if you are sure you won't care, just rent in the best school zone for each level.

IMO, elementary is critical for early skill building and love of learning. MS is a socially tricky time and you want your kid with a good crowd, ideally friends from the ES years. I'd look for schools that aren't "split feeders" meaning you can stick with the same friends all the way through. After that I'd look at size / teacher ratio, and FARMS. Plenty of affluent areas have diverse schools so with a few notable exceptions you are not going to stand out as an unusual family in most public schools in the area.

As far as real estate advice, don't overlook townhouses.

Np. This is good advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is terrible advice. Nobody wants to have to move after 15 years in one location just for HS.

Of course it’s true that the “good schools”
can go downhill. But generally they are not going to go from decent places where kids go to good colleges, to a disaster, in 10-15 years.

And of course it’s even more delusional to think a terrible HS is magically going to “improve” in a decade.

Buy a house where the schools are at least acceptable all through HS. Or have a plan to pay for private.

This. You and your kids will hopefully build community and friendships in your neighborhood, school, local activities, etc. You won't want to up and leave all that for MS or HS. Or if you are sure you won't care, just rent in the best school zone for each level.

IMO, elementary is critical for early skill building and love of learning. MS is a socially tricky time and you want your kid with a good crowd, ideally friends from the ES years. I'd look for schools that aren't "split feeders" meaning you can stick with the same friends all the way through. After that I'd look at size / teacher ratio, and FARMS. Plenty of affluent areas have diverse schools so with a few notable exceptions you are not going to stand out as an unusual family in most public schools in the area.

As far as real estate advice, don't overlook townhouses.

Np. This is good advice.

Just note that schools that aren't "split feeders" today may be split feeders in a few years.

[Anonymous]

ntek87ntek wrote:My wife and I had our first child last July and are trying to figure out what our real estate buying strategy will look like as our daughter grows up. How are folks here in a similar situation approaching buying real estate and picking a school district? Has anyone else gotten advice like what I'll list below? Given how expensive home buying is, we all need to start planning and saving for this NOW, and this topic has taken up a lot of my mental headspace recently.

Our particular budget/goals: $750k-$800k. We have no interest in sending our kid to private school. We're people of color and don't want to be in a district where our kid is the only one who looks like her in the classroom. Our kid is too young for us to know if she will have special needs. We're perfectly fine if she ends up going to an average public university or trade school rather than getting in the high achievement elite college admissions rat race.

Advice I've heard: How true is it?

Don't buy into a district with "good schools:" Over the course of a child's 18 years in school, school district boundaries can change, the characteristics of student bodies can change, and the quality of teachers and administrators can change as they turn over. It therefore makes zero sense for families with small children to buy a "forever home" on the basis of the school district's reputation.

Quality of elementary schools and middle schools matters less than quality of high school: The idea here is that you can buy a more affordable home in a district with mediocre elementary/middle schools, save up money, and then move to a district with a better high school. At the elementary/middle school level, parental involvement matters much more as long as the kid's school is clean and safe. But with high school, things like extra curriculars and AP/IB classes make a big difference in college admissions or preparing for future vocational career paths.

School rankings are not a useful metric: There's a lot of media reporting about how sites like GreatSchools measure how wealthy the parents are in a school district rather than how effective a school district is in educating children. How true is that for the DMV area? Are there more reliable metrics we should be looking at? Or is it true that the quality of a school district is so idiosyncratic that broad assessments make no sense at all:

1. An academically talented kid could succeed in any school / a kid with mediocre academic abilities would struggle even at the best school
2. One bad teacher/one bullying problem/one bad set of friends can erase any benefits of going to a "good" school
3. Outcomes for kids with special needs depend much more on quality individualized support than how well-funded or "good" a school is.

Do yourself a favor, don’t buy in the DMV! This area is overpriced and filled with insecure people who are obsessed with perfection. Move to North Carolina, Colorado, or any other normal state in the U.S.

[Anonymous]

Definitely don't have it be part of your plan to move for middle or high school if you can avoid it. As others have said, by the end of elementary you will hopefully have ties to the community and not want to move. Additionally, it is harder to make parent friends once your kids are older - and these friends (esp those with older kids!!) can be helpful as you are navigating school-related issues.

Try to avoid living right on the edge of a school district if being redistricted would switch you to a much worse district.