Falls Church City Elementary Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I guess buying a condo to get into that school district is cheaper than buying a SFH.

There goes the neighborhood..

I know the second poster was joking, but this is depressing. I was considering those condos because that is what we can afford. I didn't know we would be looked down upon because of my non-profit salary.

I personally would not say one way or the other, but I have never met a couple who moved into a neighborhood for the schools and lived in a condo. In fact, I always thought condos are for singles.

Given that you revealed that you work for a non-profit, my other assumption is that most people who work in non-profits (e.g. liberal) are more likely to be open to having their kids attend transition schools with a lot of diversity vice ensuring that their kids get into the best public schools which usually means neighborhoods with the least diversity.

I appreciate your sharing your thoughts. You're right, we're in a diverse neighborhood now, but we can't afford a SFH here either. I couldn't care less what people think of me, but I would hate for my kids to be viewed as "less than" because their parents chose careers that don't pay a lot of money (for the DC area).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I guess buying a condo to get into that school district is cheaper than buying a SFH.

There goes the neighborhood..

I know the second poster was joking, but this is depressing. I was considering those condos because that is what we can afford. I didn't know we would be looked down upon because of my non-profit salary.

I personally would not say one way or the other, but I have never met a couple who moved into a neighborhood for the schools and lived in a condo. In fact, I always thought condos are for singles.

Given that you revealed that you work for a non-profit, my other assumption is that most people who work in non-profits (e.g. liberal) are more likely to be open to having their kids attend transition schools with a lot of diversity vice ensuring that their kids get into the best public schools which usually means neighborhoods with the least diversity.

I appreciate your sharing your thoughts. You're right, we're in a diverse neighborhood now, but we can't afford a SFH here either. I couldn't care less what people think of me, but I would hate for my kids to be viewed as "less than" because their parents chose careers that don't pay a lot of money (for the DC area).

Lots of FCC parents resent the hell out of the condos (some of which aren't selling so they're rentals) because they weren't supposed to bring in too many new students to the schools and of course they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why would anyone want to transfer into Stuart? I guess gang members want to be with gang members.

Attempting to have a discussion with a prejudiced, uniformed idiot is pointless.

Again, why would anyone want to transfer into Stuart....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I guess buying a condo to get into that school district is cheaper than buying a SFH.

There goes the neighborhood..

I know the second poster was joking, but this is depressing. I was considering those condos because that is what we can afford. I didn't know we would be looked down upon because of my non-profit salary.

I personally would not say one way or the other, but I have never met a couple who moved into a neighborhood for the schools and lived in a condo. In fact, I always thought condos are for singles.

Given that you revealed that you work for a non-profit, my other assumption is that most people who work in non-profits (e.g. liberal) are more likely to be open to having their kids attend transition schools with a lot of diversity vice ensuring that their kids get into the best public schools which usually means neighborhoods with the least diversity.

I appreciate your sharing your thoughts. You're right, we're in a diverse neighborhood now, but we can't afford a SFH here either. I couldn't care less what people think of me, but I would hate for my kids to be viewed as "less than" because their parents chose careers that don't pay a lot of money (for the DC area).

I'm not sure that will be an issue until maybe your kids get into MS/HS where there may be more cliques and peer pressure.

What your kids will see is a lot of in ES are elaborate birthday parties that they may get invited to, hearing about kids taking overseas vacations during spring break, beach houses, swim/tennis clubs, nannies, involvement in multiple sports, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Again, why would anyone want to transfer into Stuart....

Stuart has maintained a strong core of good students and involved parents, even as the percentage of lower-income and ESOL students at the school increased. It has a decent IB program, and it's smaller than Annandale. So it gets a fair number of transfers every year from those schools. Some of the neighborhoods that feed into Stuart are every bit as nice as some of the neighborhoods that feed into Madison or McLean.

Here's an interesting article with a nice video link:

http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/13903.html

The OP could live in a condo in the Stuart district, and it wouldn't be a big deal, as it might in the City of Falls Church or among the "McLean part of Falls Church" crowd that thinks they've already got it made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Again, why would anyone want to transfer into Stuart....

Lots of kids are very happy at Stuart and have parents who rave about it and are very involved in the school. Their kids are getting a good education and getting into good colleges. That's reflected in the student transfer numbers, with parents "in-the-know" moving their kids to Stuart for the IB program.

Stuart offers the IB program with great success. 85% of kids who attempt the IB diploma at Stuart receive it, above the world average of 79% and the U.S. average of 69%, so the education offered is clearly high-quality.

Based on Jay Matthew's challenge index (love it or hate it):
Stuart is in the top 6% of U.S. schools in terms of challenging students, based on a challenge index score of 2.429. According to Matthews: "in the list below, any school with a rating of 1.000 or above is in the top 6 percent of all U.S. high schools in encouraging students to take AP, IB or Cambridge tests. "

Stuart is ranked in the top 1/3 of area schools using the 2010 challenge index. http://projects.washingtonpost.com/challengeindex/ranking/2010/

Stuart has the second-highest challenge rating of any area school with >50 percent kids that are eligible for free and reduced price lunch

Nationwide, Stuart is ranked in the top 25% of all schools that Matthews included in his rankings

Stuart has a great band program ( http://www.raiderband.org/ ), and more opportunities for interested kids to participate in sports than most other schools of similar size.

Some parents like having their kids interact with a variety of kids, especially those whose families work hard to provide for them instead of knowing only kids who have most material things handed to them. Kids at Stuart receive an excellent education.

[Anonymous]

Yeah sure.

A lot of people are raving about Stuart because they have a vested interest in raving about Stuart.....their kids go there and/or they have homes in the district.

Once you started talking about the Challenge Index to back up your arguments, you know that you've lost.

The Challenge Index is nothing more than a ratio of the # of AP classes taken by seniors divided by the number of seniors. This ratio can clearly be inflated by letting anyone take AP classes.

Now, when you look at the E&E ratio by Matthews, you'll note that 41% receive a score on the AP test that gives them college credit.

Looking at McLean and Madison, they are 70% and 60%, respectively.

[Anonymous]

Says the parent whose child goes to Stuart.

Anonymous wrote:Lots of kids are very happy at Stuart and have parents who rave about it and are very involved in the school. Their kids are getting a good education and getting into good colleges. That's reflected in the student transfer numbers, with parents "in-the-know" moving their kids to Stuart for the IB program.

Stuart offers the IB program with great success. 85% of kids who attempt the IB diploma at Stuart receive it, above the world average of 79% and the U.S. average of 69%, so the education offered is clearly high-quality.

Based on Jay Matthew's challenge index (love it or hate it):
Stuart is in the top 6% of U.S. schools in terms of challenging students, based on a challenge index score of 2.429. According to Matthews: "in the list below, any school with a rating of 1.000 or above is in the top 6 percent of all U.S. high schools in encouraging students to take AP, IB or Cambridge tests. "

Stuart is ranked in the top 1/3 of area schools using the 2010 challenge index. http://projects.washingtonpost.com/challengeindex/ranking/2010/

Stuart has the second-highest challenge rating of any area school with >50 percent kids that are eligible for free and reduced price lunch

Nationwide, Stuart is ranked in the top 25% of all schools that Matthews included in his rankings

Stuart has a great band program ( http://www.raiderband.org/ ), and more opportunities for interested kids to participate in sports than most other schools of similar size.

Some parents like having their kids interact with a variety of kids, especially those whose families work hard to provide for them instead of knowing only kids who have most material things handed to them. Kids at Stuart receive an excellent education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah sure.

A lot of people are raving about Stuart because they have a vested interest in raving about Stuart.....their kids go there and/or they have homes in the district.

Once you started talking about the Challenge Index to back up your arguments, you know that you've lost.

The Challenge Index is nothing more than a ratio of the # of AP classes taken by seniors divided by the number of seniors. This ratio can clearly be inflated by letting anyone take AP classes.

Now, when you look at the E&E ratio by Matthews, you'll note that 41% receive a score on the AP test that gives them college credit.

Looking at McLean and Madison, they are 70% and 60%, respectively.

Looks like the resident troll is back.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous
Looks like the resident troll is back.

She's desperately trying to keep her inflated McLean property values high by launching largely ad hominem attacks against posters with valuable information showing that kids can get great educations at schools in more affordable areas. I've been amazed at the scare tactics the pro-McLean poster is using, implying rampant gang activity at Stuart and expressing incredulity at the data showing lots of incoming pupil placements at Stuart. Then trying to discredit the pro-Stuart poster simply on the basis that she appears to be a Stuart parent. I, for one, would rather get my information about Stuart and other similar schools from parents with actual experience there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
She's desperately trying to keep her inflated McLean property values high by launching largely ad hominem attacks against posters with valuable information showing that kids can get great educations at schools in more affordable areas. I've been amazed at the scare tactics the pro-McLean poster is using, implying rampant gang activity at Stuart and expressing incredulity at the data showing lots of incoming pupil placements at Stuart. Then trying to discredit the pro-Stuart poster simply on the basis that she appears to be a Stuart parent. I, for one, would rather get my information about Stuart and other similar schools from parents with actual experience there.

He's a guy; he lives in Falls Church (though in the McLean school district); and he has every bit as much of a vested interest in touting the McLean schools and saying negative things about other school districts as anyone in the Stuart district might have in pointing out that school's positive attributes.

It may be the case that both vested and unvested interests abound on an internet forum, but it's a historical fact that Stuart typically gets more incoming than outgoing pupil placements.

[Anonymous]

PP, we have a lot of friends and relatives living in FCC and they are all nice normal people who couldn't care less about whether another family lives in a condo.

There is a little neighborhood of smaller affordable-looking townhouses right off Route 7 (across from the shopping center with the pancake house)...I would check the prices in that neighborhood, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
She's desperately trying to keep her inflated McLean property values high by launching largely ad hominem attacks against posters with valuable information showing that kids can get great educations at schools in more affordable areas. I've been amazed at the scare tactics the pro-McLean poster is using, implying rampant gang activity at Stuart and expressing incredulity at the data showing lots of incoming pupil placements at Stuart. Then trying to discredit the pro-Stuart poster simply on the basis that she appears to be a Stuart parent. I, for one, would rather get my information about Stuart and other similar schools from parents with actual experience there.

He's a guy; he lives in Falls Church (though in the McLean school district); and he has every bit as much of a vested interest in touting the McLean schools and saying negative things about other school districts as anyone in the Stuart district might have in pointing out that school's positive attributes.

It may be the case that both vested and unvested interests abound on an internet forum, but it's a historical fact that Stuart typically gets more incoming than outgoing pupil placements.

LOL! I don't think McLean schools need anyone to tout. Their performance stand on their own, and the property values of the homes surrounding these schools reflect that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like the resident troll is back.

Looks like the resident troll is back. What a hater of the truth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[quote=Anonymous
Looks like the resident troll is back.

She's desperately trying to keep her inflated McLean property values high by launching largely ad hominem attacks against posters with valuable information showing that kids can get great educations at schools in more affordable areas. I've been amazed at the scare tactics the pro-McLean poster is using, implying rampant gang activity at Stuart and expressing incredulity at the data showing lots of incoming pupil placements at Stuart. Then trying to discredit the pro-Stuart poster simply on the basis that she appears to be a Stuart parent. I, for one, would rather get my information about Stuart and other similar schools from parents with actual experience there.

Remove McLean or Langley HS from any discussion and Stuart still remains an average school with a large percentage of kids that qualify for free or reduced lunches and a much greater safety issue. The prices of homes that feed into Stuart reflect this.

http://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:2:822873229022548:::0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID:100

http://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:2:5411477429460478:::0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID:030

http://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:2:8982916602553025:::0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID:020


Anyone looking to sell a home in the Stuart district, make sure you put in the description that Jay Matthews has it on his Challenge Index.