Considering a house in Vienna.. AA family

[Anonymous]

Move to Potomac instead

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Black Enrollments at FCPS High Schools Fall 2025-26 (additional information on AP/IB status and latest Great Schools rating).

Hayfield 26.19% (AP) - GS 6
South County 21.32% (AP) - GS 7
Mount Vernon 20.91% (IB) - GS 2
Edison 18.99% (IB) - GS 4
West Potomac 15.67% (AP) - GS 5
Westfield 13.94% (AP) - GS 6
West Springfield 12.78% (AP) - GS 9
South Lakes 12.47% (IB) - GS 6
Annandale 12.10% (IB) - GS 3
Justice 10.54% (IB) - GS 2
Lewis 9.16% (IB) - GS 4
Lake Braddock 9.12% (AP) - GS 8
Fairfax 8.36% (AP) - GS 6
Centreville 7.73% (AP) - GS 5
Robinson 6.85% (IB) - GS 7
Chantilly 6.58% (AP) - GS 8
Marshall 6.36% (IB) - GS 7
Oakton 6.05% (AP)- GS 8
Herndon 5.93% (AP) - GS 3
Woodson 5.76% (AP) - GS 9
Falls Church 5.16% (AP) - GS 2
TJHSST 4.89% (AP/magnet) - GS 10
McLean 3.82% (AP) - GS 9
Langley 2.56% (AP) - GS 9
Madison 2.09% (AP) - GS 8

Is there a breakdown of AA (as in, African Americans/what some are calling FBA) vs. foreigners and children of foreigners anywhere? Some people who want a school with more black children are interested in the former. The latter, while it provides a diversity, isn't the same.

I’m glad you note that. There’s lot of Muslim East Africans in Nova (very nice people) but to the honest white Americans probably have more in common culturally with black American than an Ethiopian, Eritrean, Sudanese

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, not sure if this should be in real estate or this Forum?
Really like the area overall.
The home would be inbound for one of the many very low population AA High Schools; How feasible would it be to commute to one of the more racially diverse private schools in the area? Are there shuttles etc., that students can take instead of the drive to some of these schools?
There doesnt seem to be ANY high achieving FCPS high schools with a solid AA population from what I could tell?
Would it make more sense to simply consider other areas? MoCo Schools have a high average AA population at most, but seem on average seem much lower rated than top rated FCPSchools, but not sure how much this impacts college acceptance? i.e graduating from a Wooten/Whitman etc. vs an Oakton/McLean/Madison.

Vienna is a great community with good schools and very welcoming.

However, Madison is the whitest high school in Fairfax County and about to get whiter.

Some other schools are more diverse than Madison due to significant Asian and Hispanic enrollment but don't have a lot of AA kids.

West Springfield is often considered the sweet spot for those looking for a highly rated school with a larger (in WSHS's case, about 13%) AA enrollment.

Thanks. Yeah, I saw WSHS on another thread and looked into it.. its quite a drive from the Vienna area but doable it seems. Do you know much about the supposed overcrowding at the school? It doesnt seem to affect performance metrics much if any from recent scores.

I do the opposite commute (WSHS neighborhood to Vienna) for DD’s school. Yes, it’s doable but not convenient. Budget for 35 minutes at least and Express Lane expenses because if the beltway has an issue, all bets are off.

[Anonymous]

White Vienna/Madison mom here who wishes you’d come here and send your kids to Madison. We may not be as diverse as other schools but we are a very welcoming community and would be happy to increase our diversity.

[Anonymous]

There is a recent article about this in Madison's student newspaper that may be an interesting read: https://warhawknews.com/6471/in-depth/breaking-the-madison-image/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Vienna community is not at all relaxed. It is hyper competitive on youth sports, academics, wealth, popularity and pretty much anything else people can be competitive about.

Anonymous wrote:
+100. I grew up in a similarly competitive environment so am used to this. Almost all kids here are over scheduled. Mine included. Vienna is not relaxed. Maybe not as competitive as McLean. My kids are at 2 different Vienna schools. Very low AA population at each and I think in general. As far as I know, there isn’t overt exclusion and the few families I know are very involved and seem welcomed. But we are not AA so cannot reliably know their true experience.

[Anonymous]

My spouse grew up in the Vienna area in the 80s-2000s. My in-laws still live there.

There were Black neighborhoods back then. You could still see the holdover of segregation back then, according to my spouse.

Today, when we visit my in-laws, it's overwhelmingly white. My spouse and I looked at houses in Vienna, but we ended up buying in Springfield. I'm white, my spouse is half Hispanic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Vienna community is not at all relaxed. It is hyper competitive on youth sports, academics, wealth, popularity and pretty much anything else people can be competitive about.

OP Here; That actually sounds amazing

DP and it is true but can be a little extreme. Your kid will have opportunities in every area. I didn’t grow up in this area and it’s unbelievable how competitive it is. DC doesn’t mind it. But sometimes DH and I do and this is why we wonder if we should have sent them to Marshall.

But you Vienna a great town for kids. If they play any sports, are in band or theater and are VERY competitive, you will like Madison.

Thanks for that random dig at Marshall. Marshall is highly competitive also. All of high income areas of NOVA are like this. Pretty sure Marshall ranks higher than Madison most years.

I’m a Marshall parent and I don’t take offense at the PP. Kids at Marshall can definitely be very competitive and very much concerned about college outcomes. And like any school in the area-sports and activities can be intense. But the vibe I feel is slightly more chill. And because Vienna is so rah-rah about Madison, students see themselves a little bit as the underdogs. My kids did/do all the town of Vienna activities but I actually think it works out well that their activities’ friends are different than their school friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Black Enrollments at FCPS High Schools Fall 2025-26 (additional information on AP/IB status and latest Great Schools rating).

Hayfield 26.19% (AP) - GS 6
South County 21.32% (AP) - GS 7
Mount Vernon 20.91% (IB) - GS 2
Edison 18.99% (IB) - GS 4
West Potomac 15.67% (AP) - GS 5
Westfield 13.94% (AP) - GS 6
West Springfield 12.78% (AP) - GS 9
South Lakes 12.47% (IB) - GS 6
Annandale 12.10% (IB) - GS 3
Justice 10.54% (IB) - GS 2
Lewis 9.16% (IB) - GS 4
Lake Braddock 9.12% (AP) - GS 8
Fairfax 8.36% (AP) - GS 6
Centreville 7.73% (AP) - GS 5
Robinson 6.85% (IB) - GS 7
Chantilly 6.58% (AP) - GS 8
Marshall 6.36% (IB) - GS 7
Oakton 6.05% (AP)- GS 8
Herndon 5.93% (AP) - GS 3
Woodson 5.76% (AP) - GS 9
Falls Church 5.16% (AP) - GS 2
TJHSST 4.89% (AP/magnet) - GS 10
McLean 3.82% (AP) - GS 9
Langley 2.56% (AP) - GS 9
Madison 2.09% (AP) - GS 8

Is there a breakdown of AA (as in, African Americans/what some are calling FBA) vs. foreigners and children of foreigners anywhere? Some people who want a school with more black children are interested in the former. The latter, while it provides a diversity, isn't the same.

I’m glad you note that. There’s lot of Muslim East Africans in Nova (very nice people) but to the honest white Americans probably have more in common culturally with black American than an Ethiopian, Eritrean, Sudanese

There's no "probably" about it.

Americans are Americans. Being able to borrow the foundation and setting powder of a woman that arrived in the U.S. in the last generation does not mean we share history, worldview, experiences, values etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My spouse grew up in the Vienna area in the 80s-2000s. My in-laws still live there.

There were Black neighborhoods back then. You could still see the holdover of segregation back then, according to my spouse.

Today, when we visit my in-laws, it's overwhelmingly white. My spouse and I looked at houses in Vienna, but we ended up buying in Springfield. I'm white, my spouse is half Hispanic.

Yep. A lot of the original black families made $$$ selling their houses, especially since there was sometimes a lot of land and developers could fit more than one house.

There is a pretty big black church still in Vienna. So even if there aren’t a lot of AA kids at Madison there’s a church right down the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, not sure if this should be in real estate or this Forum?
Really like the area overall.
The home would be inbound for one of the many very low population AA High Schools; How feasible would it be to commute to one of the more racially diverse private schools in the area? Are there shuttles etc., that students can take instead of the drive to some of these schools?
There doesnt seem to be ANY high achieving FCPS high schools with a solid AA population from what I could tell?
Would it make more sense to simply consider other areas? MoCo Schools have a high average AA population at most, but seem on average seem much lower rated than top rated FCPSchools, but not sure how much this impacts college acceptance? i.e graduating from a Wooten/Whitman etc. vs an Oakton/McLean/Madison.

Flint Hill is near Vienna and your kids will have a good experience there if you can swing it.

[Anonymous]

Vienna schools look diverse but make no mistake there is a lot of coded racism (including from teachers).

[Anonymous]

We are a multi-racial family and my kids go to Louise Archer elementary in Vienna- it is very diverse. In AAP the white kids are the minority- primarily Indian/east Asian. The school has a rich black history that is celebrated and every kid can recite, my son’s class got FCPS to recognize the school as a historical site and they just received their historic marker. Ms. Louise Archer was a remarkable black educator that founded the school. We love Vienna and the sense of community.