Which APS high school manages its huge size best?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We are likely moving to Arlington for my kid’s HS years. I see that all the three comprehensive HS are massive. Is there any difference in how they handle the size between them? I’m not that concerned about the differences in demographics etc. Just want my kid to be able to integrate into the school with the other kids. He is not a STEM kid so Arlington Tech isn’t really an option. I don’t think he will be full IB either.

Why would you do this? Move to FCC. We moved here pre kids for the short commute and metro access, but as nearly empty nesters FCC would be ideal.

Because I don’t like the suburbs and because I don’t think sticking him into a smaller school where all the kids have been together since K is a great idea either.

Arlington is a suburb. What are you talking about? If you send your kid to Yorktown its no different. 22207 and 22213 are as suburban as you can get.

Lots of DD's friends at Washington-Liberty live in high rises in Rosslyn and Ballston. Kids walk from school to Ballston to eat and hang out, and it definitely feels urban more than suburban. Depends where you are.

OP here. If we go with W-L that would describe our lives! It is what I am strongly leaning towards. But if Yorktown or Wakefield has a better way to make the school feel less giant (current MS has 400 kids) then I might consider something slightly more suburban!!

OP, does your kid do any sports? While most of the teams are super competitive and hard to make, cross country is no cut and could be a good way for yours to meet others. It starts in August before the actual school year, too. There are also other extracurricular activities and clubs. It will likely be tough to meet people at first - your kid will have to put themselves out there, which I know many teens never want to do. I don’t think any of the high schools have anything to make them feel smaller, tbh.

Crew (rowing) is also no cut at W-L specifically. It's also one of the oldest sports at the school with a lot of tradition. In past years Yorktown has had cuts for rowing.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We are likely moving to Arlington for my kid’s HS years. I see that all the three comprehensive HS are massive. Is there any difference in how they handle the size between them? I’m not that concerned about the differences in demographics etc. Just want my kid to be able to integrate into the school with the other kids. He is not a STEM kid so Arlington Tech isn’t really an option. I don’t think he will be full IB either.

Why would you do this? Move to FCC. We moved here pre kids for the short commute and metro access, but as nearly empty nesters FCC would be ideal.

Because I don’t like the suburbs and because I don’t think sticking him into a smaller school where all the kids have been together since K is a great idea either.

Arlington is a suburb. What are you talking about? If you send your kid to Yorktown its no different. 22207 and 22213 are as suburban as you can get.

Lots of DD's friends at Washington-Liberty live in high rises in Rosslyn and Ballston. Kids walk from school to Ballston to eat and hang out, and it definitely feels urban more than suburban. Depends where you are.

So they skip out on the bus home, how are they getting home? Mom and dad or a student with a car picks them up. No teenager is taking the ART at 5pm.

Ballston is a so-so mall, with a few ground level shops and a target, and a LOT of office buildings. Its not really urban in the vibrant community way.

I wouldn't consider Ballston a mall any longer. Maybe a failed mail. But it has a successful ice rink, food hall, and other places kids eat. No one's kidding themselves that Ballston is vibrant 14th Street or Union Market, etc. Ballston, Clarendon, Roslyn are vibrant communities with shops (Clarendon mainly), eateries, cultural institutions (MOCAA-Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington), robust public transit, diverse and dense housing types, etc.

W-L upperclassmen do take advantage of open lunch and walk to/from Ballston to eat. Students do in fact take the public bus or subway after dark.

Students also walk home after dark and after school sports events. I don't know why PPP is so fixated on Ballston, which is just one of a number of communities in the vicinity of the high school. The high school for "culturally vibrant" Georgetown is Macarthur, far from Metro and in an area that's not the most pedestrian friendly. Not knocking the MacArthur, but it helps make my point that W-L is well situated for walking, biking, transit, etc. And culturally vibrant DC (Smithsonian, Kennedy Center, National Theater, downtown shopping, pro sports venues, etc.) is a short subway ride away. Field trips from the school into the city have often used Metro over the many decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP where are you from that you are already so familar with the differences between ballston and fcc? Are you local? That might help drive this discussion.

Coming from DCPS and have spent a lot of time in Ballston. Job on the Silver Line. I don’t know FCC that well!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For most families new to the area, they are choosing HS by home prices. Is that not a factor?

I will be renting! So the issue is more having a variety of rentals available. FCC does seem to be a little cheaper which is a plus.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We are likely moving to Arlington for my kid’s HS years. I see that all the three comprehensive HS are massive. Is there any difference in how they handle the size between them? I’m not that concerned about the differences in demographics etc. Just want my kid to be able to integrate into the school with the other kids. He is not a STEM kid so Arlington Tech isn’t really an option. I don’t think he will be full IB either.

Why would you do this? Move to FCC. We moved here pre kids for the short commute and metro access, but as nearly empty nesters FCC would be ideal.

Because I don’t like the suburbs and because I don’t think sticking him into a smaller school where all the kids have been together since K is a great idea either.

Arlington is a suburb. What are you talking about? If you send your kid to Yorktown its no different. 22207 and 22213 are as suburban as you can get.

Lots of DD's friends at Washington-Liberty live in high rises in Rosslyn and Ballston. Kids walk from school to Ballston to eat and hang out, and it definitely feels urban more than suburban. Depends where you are.

So they skip out on the bus home, how are they getting home? Mom and dad or a student with a car picks them up. No teenager is taking the ART at 5pm.

Ballston is a so-so mall, with a few ground level shops and a target, and a LOT of office buildings. Its not really urban in the vibrant community way.

Wait why wouldn’t a teen take a bus?

Have you ever ridden the ART? Other than Langston corridor, the buses come about every hour and are it would be a long walk to most neighborhoods. I guess if they don’t have any homework or activities and just chill at Ballston IHOP its an option. But Arlington is an urban city with a mesh of buses running with high frequency. Its got the metro, which is a commuter rail to the District.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are likely moving to Arlington for my kid’s HS years. I see that all the three comprehensive HS are massive. Is there any difference in how they handle the size between them? I’m not that concerned about the differences in demographics etc. Just want my kid to be able to integrate into the school with the other kids. He is not a STEM kid so Arlington Tech isn’t really an option. I don’t think he will be full IB either.

Why would you do this? Move to FCC. We moved here pre kids for the short commute and metro access, but as nearly empty nesters FCC would be ideal.

Because I don’t like the suburbs and because I don’t think sticking him into a smaller school where all the kids have been together since K is a great idea either.

Arlington is a suburb. What are you talking about? If you send your kid to Yorktown its no different. 22207 and 22213 are as suburban as you can get.

Lots of DD's friends at Washington-Liberty live in high rises in Rosslyn and Ballston. Kids walk from school to Ballston to eat and hang out, and it definitely feels urban more than suburban. Depends where you are.

So they skip out on the bus home, how are they getting home? Mom and dad or a student with a car picks them up. No teenager is taking the ART at 5pm.

Ballston is a so-so mall, with a few ground level shops and a target, and a LOT of office buildings. Its not really urban in the vibrant community way.

I wouldn't consider Ballston a mall any longer. Maybe a failed mail. But it has a successful ice rink, food hall, and other places kids eat. No one's kidding themselves that Ballston is vibrant 14th Street or Union Market, etc. Ballston, Clarendon, Roslyn are vibrant communities with shops (Clarendon mainly), eateries, cultural institutions (MOCAA-Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington), robust public transit, diverse and dense housing types, etc.

W-L upperclassmen do take advantage of open lunch and walk to/from Ballston to eat. Students do in fact take the public bus or subway after dark.

Students also walk home after dark and after school sports events. I don't know why PPP is so fixated on Ballston, which is just one of a number of communities in the vicinity of the high school. The high school for "culturally vibrant" Georgetown is Macarthur, far from Metro and in an area that's not the most pedestrian friendly. Not knocking the MacArthur, but it helps make my point that W-L is well situated for walking, biking, transit, etc. And culturally vibrant DC (Smithsonian, Kennedy Center, National Theater, downtown shopping, pro sports venues, etc.) is a short subway ride away. Field trips from the school into the city have often used Metro over the many decades.

You are insane to think APS students are jetting off to the National Theater. When we talk about urban we don’t mean 5 metro stops away from anything.

BTW Meridian is about the same distance to West Falls station as WL is from Ballston station, and WF station is two stops further from DC. Its a wash.

The advantage is that Meridian is about 1/3 the size of WL. The insularity may be an issue, but in WL anonymity runs rampant.

[Anonymous]

We've been really happy at yorktown, where my daughter is a junior. She does two sports there and has been happy with the course selection and her teachers. I'm on the pta, which is active, and I like the administration. we have friends with kids at the other two big HS's and they seem happy.

At back to school night it can be challenging to get from one class to the next in the time you have. And it's hard to find parking, so you might want a house within the walk zone.

[Anonymous]

Oh, and to piggyback on to earlier posts, the Yorktown cross country team is a great way to meet people. The kids are nice, the parents are nice, the coaches are nice. Make sure to get your son a physical between 5/01 and 8/01 so he can participate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are likely moving to Arlington for my kid’s HS years. I see that all the three comprehensive HS are massive. Is there any difference in how they handle the size between them? I’m not that concerned about the differences in demographics etc. Just want my kid to be able to integrate into the school with the other kids. He is not a STEM kid so Arlington Tech isn’t really an option. I don’t think he will be full IB either.

Why would you do this? Move to FCC. We moved here pre kids for the short commute and metro access, but as nearly empty nesters FCC would be ideal.

Because I don’t like the suburbs and because I don’t think sticking him into a smaller school where all the kids have been together since K is a great idea either.

Arlington is a suburb. What are you talking about? If you send your kid to Yorktown its no different. 22207 and 22213 are as suburban as you can get.

Lots of DD's friends at Washington-Liberty live in high rises in Rosslyn and Ballston. Kids walk from school to Ballston to eat and hang out, and it definitely feels urban more than suburban. Depends where you are.

So they skip out on the bus home, how are they getting home? Mom and dad or a student with a car picks them up. No teenager is taking the ART at 5pm.

Ballston is a so-so mall, with a few ground level shops and a target, and a LOT of office buildings. Its not really urban in the vibrant community way.

I wouldn't consider Ballston a mall any longer. Maybe a failed mail. But it has a successful ice rink, food hall, and other places kids eat. No one's kidding themselves that Ballston is vibrant 14th Street or Union Market, etc. Ballston, Clarendon, Roslyn are vibrant communities with shops (Clarendon mainly), eateries, cultural institutions (MOCAA-Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington), robust public transit, diverse and dense housing types, etc.

W-L upperclassmen do take advantage of open lunch and walk to/from Ballston to eat. Students do in fact take the public bus or subway after dark.

Students also walk home after dark and after school sports events. I don't know why PPP is so fixated on Ballston, which is just one of a number of communities in the vicinity of the high school. The high school for "culturally vibrant" Georgetown is Macarthur, far from Metro and in an area that's not the most pedestrian friendly. Not knocking the MacArthur, but it helps make my point that W-L is well situated for walking, biking, transit, etc. And culturally vibrant DC (Smithsonian, Kennedy Center, National Theater, downtown shopping, pro sports venues, etc.) is a short subway ride away. Field trips from the school into the city have often used Metro over the many decades.

You are insane to think APS students are jetting off to the National Theater. When we talk about urban we don’t mean 5 metro stops away from anything.

BTW Meridian is about the same distance to West Falls station as WL is from Ballston station, and WF station is two stops further from DC. Its a wash.

The advantage is that Meridian is about 1/3 the size of WL. The insularity may be an issue, but in WL anonymity runs rampant.

Regarding the schools do you have first hand experience that anonymity "runs rampant" or insularity is potential problem? A lot of this is conjecture with hyperbole and not exactly helping OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are likely moving to Arlington for my kid’s HS years. I see that all the three comprehensive HS are massive. Is there any difference in how they handle the size between them? I’m not that concerned about the differences in demographics etc. Just want my kid to be able to integrate into the school with the other kids. He is not a STEM kid so Arlington Tech isn’t really an option. I don’t think he will be full IB either.

Why would you do this? Move to FCC. We moved here pre kids for the short commute and metro access, but as nearly empty nesters FCC would be ideal.

Because I don’t like the suburbs and because I don’t think sticking him into a smaller school where all the kids have been together since K is a great idea either.

Arlington is a suburb. What are you talking about? If you send your kid to Yorktown its no different. 22207 and 22213 are as suburban as you can get.

Lots of DD's friends at Washington-Liberty live in high rises in Rosslyn and Ballston. Kids walk from school to Ballston to eat and hang out, and it definitely feels urban more than suburban. Depends where you are.

So they skip out on the bus home, how are they getting home? Mom and dad or a student with a car picks them up. No teenager is taking the ART at 5pm.

Ballston is a so-so mall, with a few ground level shops and a target, and a LOT of office buildings. Its not really urban in the vibrant community way.

Wait, what? My teens took the ART bus at night. As does their now 60 y.o. mother, every evening to get home from work.

A large share of W-L kids are walkers, no schoolbus for them. My kids walked to school and if they went
to Ballston, they walked home or took the bus.

[Anonymous]

You have more options for courses in large schools which is an important factor for me. APS Also offered DE/AP/IB which is nice

[Anonymous]

The latest enrollment numbers show YHS & WHS are almost exactly the same size (2200 students), while W-L has a few hundred more kids since the annex was renovated.

We’ve been happy at Wakefield. I don’t know that there is appreciable difference in how the APS high schools “handle” their size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are likely moving to Arlington for my kid’s HS years. I see that all the three comprehensive HS are massive. Is there any difference in how they handle the size between them? I’m not that concerned about the differences in demographics etc. Just want my kid to be able to integrate into the school with the other kids. He is not a STEM kid so Arlington Tech isn’t really an option. I don’t think he will be full IB either.

Why would you do this? Move to FCC. We moved here pre kids for the short commute and metro access, but as nearly empty nesters FCC would be ideal.

Because I don’t like the suburbs and because I don’t think sticking him into a smaller school where all the kids have been together since K is a great idea either.

Arlington is a suburb. What are you talking about? If you send your kid to Yorktown its no different. 22207 and 22213 are as suburban as you can get.

Lots of DD's friends at Washington-Liberty live in high rises in Rosslyn and Ballston. Kids walk from school to Ballston to eat and hang out, and it definitely feels urban more than suburban. Depends where you are.

So they skip out on the bus home, how are they getting home? Mom and dad or a student with a car picks them up. No teenager is taking the ART at 5pm.

Ballston is a so-so mall, with a few ground level shops and a target, and a LOT of office buildings. Its not really urban in the vibrant community way.

I wouldn't consider Ballston a mall any longer. Maybe a failed mail. But it has a successful ice rink, food hall, and other places kids eat. No one's kidding themselves that Ballston is vibrant 14th Street or Union Market, etc. Ballston, Clarendon, Roslyn are vibrant communities with shops (Clarendon mainly), eateries, cultural institutions (MOCAA-Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington), robust public transit, diverse and dense housing types, etc.

W-L upperclassmen do take advantage of open lunch and walk to/from Ballston to eat. Students do in fact take the public bus or subway after dark.

Students also walk home after dark and after school sports events. I don't know why PPP is so fixated on Ballston, which is just one of a number of communities in the vicinity of the high school. The high school for "culturally vibrant" Georgetown is Macarthur, far from Metro and in an area that's not the most pedestrian friendly. Not knocking the MacArthur, but it helps make my point that W-L is well situated for walking, biking, transit, etc. And culturally vibrant DC (Smithsonian, Kennedy Center, National Theater, downtown shopping, pro sports venues, etc.) is a short subway ride away. Field trips from the school into the city have often used Metro over the many decades.

You are insane to think APS students are jetting off to the National Theater. When we talk about urban we don’t mean 5 metro stops away from anything.

BTW Meridian is about the same distance to West Falls station as WL is from Ballston station, and WF station is two stops further from DC. Its a wash.

The advantage is that Meridian is about 1/3 the size of WL. The insularity may be an issue, but in WL anonymity runs rampant.

+1 Yorktown kids are in Georgetown all the time but not for @culture@ lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The latest enrollment numbers show YHS & WHS are almost exactly the same size (2200 students), while W-L has a few hundred more kids since the annex was renovated.

We’ve been happy at Wakefield. I don’t know that there is appreciable difference in how the APS high schools “handle” their size.

January numbers:
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2026/02/U-MEM_281_Summary.pdf

Wakefield- 2100
Yorktown- 2185
WL - 2629

Yorktown and Wakefield are more similar w/r to class size. WL has an extra 125 kids per grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The latest enrollment numbers show YHS & WHS are almost exactly the same size (2200 students), while W-L has a few hundred more kids since the annex was renovated.

We’ve been happy at Wakefield. I don’t know that there is appreciable difference in how the APS high schools “handle” their size.

January numbers:
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2026/02/U-MEM_281_Summary.pdf

Wakefield- 2100
Yorktown- 2185
WL - 2629

Yorktown and Wakefield are more similar w/r to class size. WL has an extra 125 kids per grade.

Wow, my high school had 125 kids per grade TOTAL.