Someone tell me about Luther Jackson Middle School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see why you'd refer to it as a terrible area. I live a couple miles up the street, and it seems very safe to me, albeit a bit too industrial and dusty as all the new construction is going on.

I live in the area too and i call it terrible b/c it IS terrible. I do not mean filled with crime -- I mean messy, traffic, filled with construction dust, major dangerous roads and the Middle school is right there on 3 major highways -- Rt 50, 496 and Gallows and it's too close to the road. That's what I mean by terrible.

Sounds like the before metro development Arlington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone posted above how the whole "keep my kid at the neighborhood school" thing that comes up a lot in this area really is moot when the child's "neighborhood" of classmates is actually more important. That's totally true. Thoreau would be our "neighborhood" school only in the sense of physical proximity. Almost all my child's AAP classmates went to Jackson (except those who went to Kilmer because that's where they were zoned--those kids don't have a choice and go to Kilmer whether they're AAP or general ed). And my child has made friends from many other schools -- that side of things has not been an issue.

Agree completely. After elementary school the kids hardly have time to play outside, so the neighborhood connection becomes less and less relevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We passed on this opportunity and have never regretted it. Why send your DC to a school in a different neighborhood, particularly during the difficult MS years? Just did not work for us. It is not a requirement of life.

Perhaps because Luther Jackson MS is a great feeder school to TJ?

Got into TJ anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone posted above how the whole "keep my kid at the neighborhood school" thing that comes up a lot in this area really is moot when the child's "neighborhood" of classmates is actually more important. That's totally true. Thoreau would be our "neighborhood" school only in the sense of physical proximity. Almost all my child's AAP classmates went to Jackson (except those who went to Kilmer because that's where they were zoned--those kids don't have a choice and go to Kilmer whether they're AAP or general ed). And my child has made friends from many other schools -- that side of things has not been an issue.

Agree completely. After elementary school the kids hardly have time to play outside, so the neighborhood connection becomes less and less relevant.

Another voice in agreement. Once middle school starts, students end up in common extra-curricular activities that involve students from many different schools.

[Anonymous]

LJ is the perfect experience for some one else's kid.

[Anonymous]

With the projected overcrowding at Jackson, providing AAP at Thoreau seems like an obvious and sensible thing to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With the projected overcrowding at Jackson, providing AAP at Thoreau seems like an obvious and sensible thing to do.

Unlikely, though

[Anonymous]

AAP will happen at Thoreau some time, but not sure when. I was hoping for next year, but that does not seem to be the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AAP will happen at Thoreau some time, but not sure when. I was hoping for next year, but that does not seem to be the case.

I think AAP at middle schools is eliminated first.

[Anonymous]

Thank you to 09:16 above for your comments about Jackson. It helps a lot to hear from current parents there. The 6th-grade homework load this year is affecting most of the AAP kids, not just my daughter, although she does seem to take even longer than most to get through it because of her perfectionist tendencies. The teachers have been responsive and have even instituted a sort of study period most days so that the kids can get a head start on the homework. That has helped tremendously.

I find it interesting that most of the kids from your child's class at Archer went to Jackson for AAP, as we're finding just the opposite this year. As far as we can tell, about 90% of the kids will go to Kilmer next year and this is causing major anxiety at our house, as my daughter feels that she is the only girl from the Archer AAP center who would go to Jackson. I'm sure there are others, but she's right that of all of her many friends at Archer, she is the only one not going to Kilmer. She is begging and pleading to go to Kilmer, but I don't even know that that's an option. I could possibly plead the case that Kilmer was the AAP center when we bought our house and we would prefer that she go there, but I don't know if that argument stands a chance.

I do plan on going to the parent meetings at Jackson and Thoreau (although Thoreau's is scheduled for the same night as the Archer 6th-grade musical, so I don't know what kind of turnout they're going to have) and am curious to hear what they have to say.

Thanks again for your feedback.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to 09:16 above for your comments about Jackson. It helps a lot to hear from current parents there. The 6th-grade homework load this year is affecting most of the AAP kids, not just my daughter, although she does seem to take even longer than most to get through it because of her perfectionist tendencies. The teachers have been responsive and have even instituted a sort of study period most days so that the kids can get a head start on the homework. That has helped tremendously.

I find it interesting that most of the kids from your child's class at Archer went to Jackson for AAP, as we're finding just the opposite this year. As far as we can tell, about 90% of the kids will go to Kilmer next year and this is causing major anxiety at our house, as my daughter feels that she is the only girl from the Archer AAP center who would go to Jackson. I'm sure there are others, but she's right that of all of her many friends at Archer, she is the only one not going to Kilmer. She is begging and pleading to go to Kilmer, but I don't even know that that's an option. I could possibly plead the case that Kilmer was the AAP center when we bought our house and we would prefer that she go there, but I don't know if that argument stands a chance.

I do plan on going to the parent meetings at Jackson and Thoreau (although Thoreau's is scheduled for the same night as the Archer 6th-grade musical, so I don't know what kind of turnout they're going to have) and am curious to hear what they have to say.

Thanks again for your feedback.

Archer AAP kids from Archer, Vienna, Cunningham Park and the Madison half of Flint Hill all go to Jackson AAP. I really can't see that FCPS will let you transfer to Kilmer under the circumstances.

[Anonymous]

Thank you! I have done so many searches, trying to figure out which base schools feed their AAP kids to Jackson. I didn't realize the Archer kids go there, too. Good to know!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you! I have done so many searches, trying to figure out which base schools feed their AAP kids to Jackson. I didn't realize the Archer kids go there, too. Good to know!

You can find that information for your daughter's class at Pages 77-78 of this document (the assignments are different for the younger students with the opening of the new AAP centers at Westbriar, etc):

http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/cip/prioryears/cipbook2013-17.pdf

[Anonymous]

Thank you!!

[Anonymous]

Another question--do you know how many kids go on from Jackson AAP to Marshall HS? From what I'm reading, it seems as if most of them go to Falls Church or Madison. I hate to tear her away from her friends, have her make new friends, then 2 years later, tear her away again if she's the only one who goes to Marshall. Kilmer seems pretty well split between Madison and Marshall, while Thoreau seems to be predominantly Madison-bound kids, with a small subset headed to Marshall.