Recommendations for schools in south arlington?

[Anonymous]

DC goes to school in S. Arlington (Claremont) even though we live in one of those supposedly desirable n. arlington neighborhoods/school districts. Couldn't be happier. In fact, we're glad DC is not in our monochromatic n arlington neighborhood school. S Arlington has great neighborhoods, including Barcroft, Fairlington, the Shirlington area, and the Claremont neighborhood. There's Arlington Ridge, and I could go on and on. In retrospect, if we could do it over, we'd have bought in s. arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC goes to school in S. Arlington (Claremont) even though we live in one of those supposedly desirable n. arlington neighborhoods/school districts. Couldn't be happier. In fact, we're glad DC is not in our monochromatic n arlington neighborhood school. S Arlington has great neighborhoods, including Barcroft, Fairlington, the Shirlington area, and the Claremont neighborhood. There's Arlington Ridge, and I could go on and on. In retrospect, if we could do it over, we'd have bought in s. arlington.

Doesn't pass the smell test. You can easily sell the N. Arlington property and move to less monochromatic S. Arlington if you wish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC goes to school in S. Arlington (Claremont) even though we live in one of those supposedly desirable n. arlington neighborhoods/school districts. Couldn't be happier. In fact, we're glad DC is not in our monochromatic n arlington neighborhood school. S Arlington has great neighborhoods, including Barcroft, Fairlington, the Shirlington area, and the Claremont neighborhood. There's Arlington Ridge, and I could go on and on. In retrospect, if we could do it over, we'd have bought in s. arlington.

Doesn't pass the smell test. You can easily sell the N. Arlington property and move to less monochromatic S. Arlington if you wish.

We could, but moving is a hassle. We certainly like our neighbors. We're just glad that DC is not in our neighborhood n arlington school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC goes to school in S. Arlington (Claremont) even though we live in one of those supposedly desirable n. arlington neighborhoods/school districts. Couldn't be happier. In fact, we're glad DC is not in our monochromatic n arlington neighborhood school. S Arlington has great neighborhoods, including Barcroft, Fairlington, the Shirlington area, and the Claremont neighborhood. There's Arlington Ridge, and I could go on and on. In retrospect, if we could do it over, we'd have bought in s. arlington.

Doesn't pass the smell test. You can easily sell the N. Arlington property and move to less monochromatic S. Arlington if you wish.

We could, but moving is a hassle. We certainly like our neighbors. We're just glad that DC is not in our neighborhood n arlington school

I appreciate your sincerity. As Claremont is a Spanish immersion school would you also consider the immersion program through middle and high school at Gunston and Wakefield HS? Most N Arlington kids in the Spanish immersion programs go to their neighborhood high school (i.e. W-L or Yorktown) instead staying with the immersion program at Wakefield.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In about 5 years, with the streetcar, rising land values, and the new development that follows Clolumbia Pike will look nothing at all like it does today. I think it will become one of the most desirable areas in Northern Va. This will not be some run down West Philadelphia trolley. This streetcar will have all the bells and whistles, and people will flock to it. Anyways, that's my prediction.

You are right - they may change some of the facades but there is little draw for people to go to that area. Short of tearing every single last thing down almost all the way up and down the pike including all the huge apartment buildings that house plenty of lower income residents - the area will just not change. The streetcar doesn't really make any difference either way as Colubmia Pike is pretty driveable at any time fo the day. Also, parking isn't that bad either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC goes to school in S. Arlington (Claremont) even though we live in one of those supposedly desirable n. arlington neighborhoods/school districts. Couldn't be happier. In fact, we're glad DC is not in our monochromatic n arlington neighborhood school. S Arlington has great neighborhoods, including Barcroft, Fairlington, the Shirlington area, and the Claremont neighborhood. There's Arlington Ridge, and I could go on and on. In retrospect, if we could do it over, we'd have bought in s. arlington.

Doesn't pass the smell test. You can easily sell the N. Arlington property and move to less monochromatic S. Arlington if you wish.

We could, but moving is a hassle. We certainly like our neighbors. We're just glad that DC is not in our neighborhood n arlington school

I appreciate your sincerity. As Claremont is a Spanish immersion school would you also consider the immersion program through middle and high school at Gunston and Wakefield HS? Most N Arlington kids in the Spanish immersion programs go to their neighborhood high school (i.e. W-L or Yorktown) instead staying with the immersion program at Wakefield.

Actually, yes - and not just "considering" it. DC will definitely be going to Gunston - the full benefits of the immersion program kick in during middle school and the proficiency level of the kids really skyrockets. At the HS level, there's less of an issue because all of the Arlington high schools offer AP level courses and/or Spanish for native speakers classes. The immersion program at Wakefield consists only of Spanish language arts at this point - hoping that will change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In about 5 years, with the streetcar, rising land values, and the new development that follows Clolumbia Pike will look nothing at all like it does today. I think it will become one of the most desirable areas in Northern Va. This will not be some run down West Philadelphia trolley. This streetcar will have all the bells and whistles, and people will flock to it. Anyways, that's my prediction.

You are right - they may change some of the facades but there is little draw for people to go to that area. Short of tearing every single last thing down almost all the way up and down the pike including all the huge apartment buildings that house plenty of lower income residents - the area will just not change. The streetcar doesn't really make any difference either way as Colubmia Pike is pretty driveable at any time fo the day. Also, parking isn't that bad either.

But, the county's land use plan has targeted most of Columbia Pike for redevelopment. I think only the Barcroft Apartments might have a chance for survival under historic preservation, and as a way to preserve a generous amount of low-income housing. Developers are already swooping in. The owner of Dorchester Towers plans to demolish and build a ground-up mixed-use residential building. It may not look like it now, and may even seem impossible, but the tide is turning. And Arlington has a long history of courting developers--close to %100 percent of the numerous 1930s-40s era garden apartment complexes that hugged the orange line 30 years ago have disappeared, except for pricey Colonial Village. And further out, one-half of Buckingham Village was recently demolished, where townhomes are now selling for close to a million.

Eventually parts of Columbia Pike will become a destination, not unlike Shirlington Village. And, my guess is that the demographics of certain schools, those north of the Pike, in particular, will reflect whatever demographic change takes place. We can only speculate, but with Rosslyn-Ballston mostly built out, developers are looking South.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I bought in S. Arlington for a steal two years ago and am seriously excited about what's going on here. I love my very diverse neighborhood--truly diverse. We have black, white, Hispanic, African immigrants, lovely Korean neighbors who share recipes with me! And I feel very safe here. Check the crime statistics. Just because an area's not all-white doesn't mean it's crime-ridden.

I commute to 14th street downtown every day. I can take the 16Y bus straight from literally my door to downtown. Or to Ballston, Pentagon, Clarendon and Courthouse. I just hop on the first bus that comes and they come often, about every three minutes. I don't have to freak out about leaving the house by 7:56 exactly because I know there will be another in a few if I miss the one before it.

Not to mention, some of the best undiscovered restaurants in the area are in the 22204 zip. It's a foodie's dream.

I grew up in NYC and moved to Court House during law school. I hated how incredibly sanitized and boring it was. It was like living inside a sorority house. If I wanted to pop out for a quick bite, I could choose from three Irish pubs. Wow. (Just wow). Moving to Columbia Forest was SUCH a breath of fresh air.

I think a lot of the people who think S. Arlington is ghetto are just not well-equipped for urban living. Surprising given the name of this board.

Hey, it's the only person who has ever had a bad experience ever in South Arlington here again. This time I share a better experience.

22204 has the most nationalities of any ZIP code in the nation, except maybe one in Queens. The restaurants are awesome.

I lived in a TH near Columbia Pike. I liked it, actually; my wife didn't (she disliked the noise of being right off of Columbia Pike). Had we lived on the other side of the TH development, we probably would have stayed there, at least through DD's birth.

We had a neighbor with an orthopedic problem that seemed to be cured any time I dared park in "her" space (she'd be able to walk down stairs w/o problem). Would leave nasty-grams with us but never wanted to meet us. That really was the worst thing about the place. Well, one time our upstairs neighbors had their AC leak into our place. The fix was such (under $200) that we really didn't want to hassle them about making their insurance pay for it. My wife couldn't stand the noise. I resisted moving out, much as I resisted moving out of South Glebe (I attribute it to Stockholm Syndrome.)

I was still too wrapped up in myself to experience the community much. That, and thinking the 11-7:30pm shift was awesome. It wasn't.

We've changed between the time I was 24 and bought this place and where I am now. Stupidity and the unwillingness to accept that we made a bad choice kept us there for six years. It should have ended after 1-2 years.

I would recommend Columbia Pike (the further east you go the better, anything east of Glebe is as safe/nice as anything in Orange Line Arlington for 2/3 the cost). Even the bits around Four Mile Run Drive require more consistent application of common sense; those are definitely OK for a single guy, and maybe even a less delicate single woman/couple. The Metrobuses are awesome and from what I've heard have gotten even more so after 2002.

The only downside I imagine would be the schools. But they have probably improved enough over the past 10 years that they're worth a chance before giving up and going private or moving further out. My understanding is that Oakridge ES and Gunston MS are a bit better than Patrick Henry (I think) ES and Jefferson MS.

South Glebe was a level of Hell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC goes to school in S. Arlington (Claremont) even though we live in one of those supposedly desirable n. arlington neighborhoods/school districts. Couldn't be happier. In fact, we're glad DC is not in our monochromatic n arlington neighborhood school. S Arlington has great neighborhoods, including Barcroft, Fairlington, the Shirlington area, and the Claremont neighborhood. There's Arlington Ridge, and I could go on and on. In retrospect, if we could do it over, we'd have bought in s. arlington.

Doesn't pass the smell test. You can easily sell the N. Arlington property and move to less monochromatic S. Arlington if you wish.

We could, but moving is a hassle. We certainly like our neighbors. We're just glad that DC is not in our neighborhood n arlington school

I appreciate your sincerity. As Claremont is a Spanish immersion school would you also consider the immersion program through middle and high school at Gunston and Wakefield HS? Most N Arlington kids in the Spanish immersion programs go to their neighborhood high school (i.e. W-L or Yorktown) instead staying with the immersion program at Wakefield.

Actually, yes - and not just "considering" it. DC will definitely be going to Gunston - the full benefits of the immersion program kick in during middle school and the proficiency level of the kids really skyrockets. At the HS level, there's less of an issue because all of the Arlington high schools offer AP level courses and/or Spanish for native speakers classes. The immersion program at Wakefield consists only of Spanish language arts at this point - hoping that will change.

Then Wakefield should explore ways of expanding its immersion program to make it more appealing to the immersion kids. Otherwise out-of-boundary families lack any incentive to apply for a transfer to Wakefield. Even if only roughly 100 students/year transfer to Wakefield for language immersion, that would help raise SAT scores and offset to a small degree the high numbers of economically disadvantaged students. It could also help put a tiny dent in North Arlington overcrowding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I bought in S. Arlington for a steal two years ago and am seriously excited about what's going on here. I love my very diverse neighborhood--truly diverse. We have black, white, Hispanic, African immigrants, lovely Korean neighbors who share recipes with me! And I feel very safe here. Check the crime statistics. Just because an area's not all-white doesn't mean it's crime-ridden.

I commute to 14th street downtown every day. I can take the 16Y bus straight from literally my door to downtown. Or to Ballston, Pentagon, Clarendon and Courthouse. I just hop on the first bus that comes and they come often, about every three minutes. I don't have to freak out about leaving the house by 7:56 exactly because I know there will be another in a few if I miss the one before it.

Not to mention, some of the best undiscovered restaurants in the area are in the 22204 zip. It's a foodie's dream.

I grew up in NYC and moved to Court House during law school. I hated how incredibly sanitized and boring it was. It was like living inside a sorority house. If I wanted to pop out for a quick bite, I could choose from three Irish pubs. Wow. (Just wow). Moving to Columbia Forest was SUCH a breath of fresh air.

I think a lot of the people who think S. Arlington is ghetto are just not well-equipped for urban living. Surprising given the name of this board.

From your post, I can tell you are young ... and don't have school age kids.

Having lived in that exact same area when I was in my late 20's early 30's, I would have have said some the similar things.

Now, those things I once found quaint, like getting ethnic recipes, don't cut it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
But, the county's land use plan has targeted most of Columbia Pike for redevelopment. I think only the Barcroft Apartments might have a chance for survival under historic preservation, and as a way to preserve a generous amount of low-income housing. Developers are already swooping in. The owner of Dorchester Towers plans to demolish and build a ground-up mixed-use residential building. It may not look like it now, and may even seem impossible, but the tide is turning. And Arlington has a long history of courting developers--close to %100 percent of the numerous 1930s-40s era garden apartment complexes that hugged the orange line 30 years ago have disappeared, except for pricey Colonial Village. And further out, one-half of Buckingham Village was recently demolished, where townhomes are now selling for close to a million.

Eventually parts of Columbia Pike will become a destination, not unlike Shirlington Village. And, my guess is that the demographics of certain schools, those north of the Pike, in particular, will reflect whatever demographic change takes place. We can only speculate, but with Rosslyn-Ballston mostly built out, developers are looking South.

But this doesn't mean it will happen. Community backlash, change in politics, change in economy - all can effect the plans so until its done there really is no way to know for sure how far they will get with the plan. The Columbia Pike revitalization was being planned when I lived there almost 13 years ago. Well 13 years later, and the only thing to show is one apartment bldg completed and the start of another that I bet won't be fully occupied anytime soon and the retail tenants will be hard to attract. Dorchester is still standing.
And there are still plenty of those old apartments doting the landscape - drive down Rt 50 and you see them. There is the huge track of them in Buckingham Village and then across the street in "Historic" Ballston park or whatever they dubbed them but they are still swamped with low income residents (the same as they were when the first revitalized them and slapped the Historic label on them).

I concede that change will happen but at the pace its going it would likely be 20+ years before there was a true demographic move and if your child is now entering Kindergarten it won't be of any benefit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
But, the county's land use plan has targeted most of Columbia Pike for redevelopment. I think only the Barcroft Apartments might have a chance for survival under historic preservation, and as a way to preserve a generous amount of low-income housing. Developers are already swooping in. The owner of Dorchester Towers plans to demolish and build a ground-up mixed-use residential building. It may not look like it now, and may even seem impossible, but the tide is turning. And Arlington has a long history of courting developers--close to %100 percent of the numerous 1930s-40s era garden apartment complexes that hugged the orange line 30 years ago have disappeared, except for pricey Colonial Village. And further out, one-half of Buckingham Village was recently demolished, where townhomes are now selling for close to a million.

Eventually parts of Columbia Pike will become a destination, not unlike Shirlington Village. And, my guess is that the demographics of certain schools, those north of the Pike, in particular, will reflect whatever demographic change takes place. We can only speculate, but with Rosslyn-Ballston mostly built out, developers are looking South.

But this doesn't mean it will happen. Community backlash, change in politics, change in economy - all can effect the plans so until its done there really is no way to know for sure how far they will get with the plan. The Columbia Pike revitalization was being planned when I lived there almost 13 years ago. Well 13 years later, and the only thing to show is one apartment bldg completed and the start of another that I bet won't be fully occupied anytime soon and the retail tenants will be hard to attract. Dorchester is still standing.
And there are still plenty of those old apartments doting the landscape - drive down Rt 50 and you see them. There is the huge track of them in Buckingham Village and then across the street in "Historic" Ballston park or whatever they dubbed them but they are still swamped with low income residents (the same as they were when the first revitalized them and slapped the Historic label on them).

I concede that change will happen but at the pace its going it would likely be 20+ years before there was a true demographic move and if your child is now entering Kindergarten it won't be of any benefit.

I see your point, and change indeed takes time. And the county has got to get that trolley built first, which would help jump start development on other parts of the Pike. But Buckingham is not swamped with low income residents these days. A few buildings are set aside for low income housing and await renovation, but gentrification has radically altered the demographic make-up of the neighborhood. Ballston Park east of Glebe is actually a mix of professionals and some families, and the units are market rate, but less than the high rises in the center of Ballston. The section of low income apartments that still calls itself "Buckingham Village" west of Glebe has greatly diminished in size, especially after the series of demolitions starting about three years ago. Many young professionals are walking those streets today, and live in the new buildings along N George Mason and renovated older units.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From your post, I can tell you are young ... and don't have school age kids.

Having lived in that exact same area when I was in my late 20's early 30's, I would have have said some the similar things.

Now, those things I once found quaint, like getting ethnic recipes, don't cut it.

What went wrong for you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I see your point, and change indeed takes time. And the county has got to get that trolley built first, which would help jump start development on other parts of the Pike. But Buckingham is not swamped with low income residents these days. A few buildings are set aside for low income housing and await renovation, but gentrification has radically altered the demographic make-up of the neighborhood. Ballston Park east of Glebe is actually a mix of professionals and some families, and the units are market rate, but less than the high rises in the center of Ballston. The section of low income apartments that still calls itself "Buckingham Village" west of Glebe has greatly diminished in size, especially after the series of demolitions starting about three years ago. Many young professionals are walking those streets today, and live in the new buildings along N George Mason and renovated older units.

I could see that having the trolley in place would probably attract better and more retail establishments and those in turn would attracts visitors and new residents.

Young professionals unforunately don't translate into families with school age kids. I now live near Fairlington and the same thing happens - young professionals, families with very young kids, but the families with school age kids move on - to North Arlington neighborhoods. So the deomographic of school age kids doesn't stand to change much in the coming years UNLESS they can attract those families to South Arlington which I am sure is the idea but then again the pace of change is slow....

As I said, I could see change but its so many years down the road that kids entering school today would not benefit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - honestly, I imagine I'll continue to spend much of my time in North Arlington, not South. I've spent a lot of time in Clarendon and Ballston in the 15 years I've lived in Arlington and Fairfax. I'm not sure I'll ever feel like a cheerleader for Columbia Pike, though it's definitely gotten better over the years.

But the houses we saw in North Arlington sucked. And without a second income (i.e. husband) or amazing giant-income job that might involve never seeing my child, the good houses in North were completely out of my reach. The houses that could be expanded "someday" on decent lots go almost as quickly as the nice houses. we really didn't see anything that was even an option. I wasn't willing to live on a very, very busy street just to send my kid to a good high school someday. I wasn't willing to buy a tear-down for over half a million dollars, knowing I wouldn't have the money to tear it down and rebuild. There are some pretty seedy areas of North Arlington (hello, Bon Air?) and some pretty nice parts of South. It's not black-and-white.

Not everyone can afford North Arlington. If you can, that's great and we're all happy for you, but I'm not in your shoes and I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I figure that as housing prices continue to get higher in North Arlington, more people might make the same decision I did. My friends have been coming out of the woodwork to hook me up with people they know who live near my future neigborhood. (which is Alcova Heights, not Barcroft, though it feeds into Barcroft Elementary.) Either way, I'll have a sweet commute, and probably won't spend it wondering if I'd be happier in North.

Hi OP, NP here
I have a very strong feeling that you are going to be my new neighbor! Everything in your posts lead me to believe that you just put an offer on the house 2 doors down from me. I hope I am right because you sound like you will fit in great. Alcova Heights is a great neighborhood. The people are friendly and care about each other. The neighborhood listserve is very active and the neighbors are always willing to help. So, welcome to the neighborhood! I'm very sad my neighbors are moving but it looks like we will be getting a great new neighbor.
ps-we are in the blue house and have 4 kids so we would love to have you over to play when you move