Choosing a 5 school over a 9 school

[Anonymous]

If you're open to private schools, have you already check out Burgundy Farm? They sometimes have openings...it's certainly worth a phone call.

I do think it's worth bringing up to him just so he is informed. I wouldn't bring it up with the ex yourself though.

That is great that you were all able to move here together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ditto the PPs, it's not your place to get involved. How far apart are these schools?

We're in Fairfax. Mom is in Alexandria. So maybe 12 miles ~ 20 minutes-ish.

Alexandria City or Alexandria postal code in Fairfax County?

Alexandria postal code in FFX.

Then you should be okay.

[Anonymous]

If the mom has more than 50% custody, it makes more sense for the kids to go to school nearer to her, otherwise she will be driving further on more days to get the kids. Now if she's currently renting and doesn't own, maybe you could eventually get her to move to a better district. And greatschools is not perfect - plenty of kids are doing just fine in "lower" ranked schools.

I have primary custody (5 days out of 7) so my daughter goes to school based on my address. In our case, it also makes a lot of sense because North Arlington schools are ranked more highly than my ex's Alexandria school. But in our case, I'm lucky to have found a house where I did, since my child would have gone to school closer to me, regardless of the relative rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You want to stir this up over a number? Have you gone to both schools? Assessed them for yourself? Talked to, oh I dunno, the kids's teachers? Compared the opportunities, class sizes, extra curiculars, experience and enthusiasm of the faculty? Met with the principals? Talked to other parents?

Or did you just want to stir shit up with the ex, and this is a convenient way to do it?

"She would send your kids to a school that's a *5* when we have an *exceptional* school right here! Did she even tell you that? I know you don't like to confront her, but think of the *children*."

What a manipulative piece of work.

...said the psyco ex-wife.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I don't see the harm in telling your husband about the website, with the caveat that these scores are not the end all, be all,- just to insure that he (and the ex) are well-informed. Given that the move was recent, and that they had been thinking about private school, they may not have done much research. Seeing the scores might encourage them both to look at the schools in person, meet with some teachers and other parents, and in the end they might stick with their original decision (since ratings don't paint the full picture). But I don't think it is stirring the pot to merely point out the rating discrepancy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ditto the PPs, it's not your place to get involved. How far apart are these schools?

We're in Fairfax. Mom is in Alexandria. So maybe 12 miles ~ 20 minutes-ish.

Alexandria City or Alexandria postal code in Fairfax County?

Which elementary school in Alexandria? There are some decent schools in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which elementary school in Alexandria? There are some decent schools in the area.

But if it's a 5, how could it be decent? We all know anything less than 8 is very risky. I'd be very nervous about a 6 or 7, let alone a 5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which elementary school in Alexandria? There are some decent schools in the area.

But if it's a 5, how could it be decent? We all know anything less than 8 is very risky. I'd be very nervous about a 6 or 7, let alone a 5.

Sigh. The GoodSchools rating is not the be-all, end-all assessment of school quality. It primarily reflects school demographics. There is so much more that goes into evaluating a school. Our zoned school is a "9" in GoodSchools and we do like it but I strongly considered a "6" school in the area with a magnet program I really liked. Everyone I know at that school loves it but it's a "6" because it does have a high proportion of lower-income kids. Ultimately, we decided to stick with the neighborhood school because it was important to us that DD/DS built relationships with neighborhood kids (and our school also has good income/racial diversity). In general, I'd prefer a good school with a mix of income/race even if that drags down its Good Schools rating vs. a 10 school that is all rich, white kids. FWIW, I went to rich, white public schools from ES - HS and I don't want that environment for my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which elementary school in Alexandria? There are some decent schools in the area.

But if it's a 5, how could it be decent? We all know anything less than 8 is very risky. I'd be very nervous about a 6 or 7, let alone a 5.

Sigh. The GoodSchools rating is not the be-all, end-all assessment of school quality. It primarily reflects school demographics. There is so much more that goes into evaluating a school. Our zoned school is a "9" in GoodSchools and we do like it but I strongly considered a "6" school in the area with a magnet program I really liked. Everyone I know at that school loves it but it's a "6" because it does have a high proportion of lower-income kids. Ultimately, we decided to stick with the neighborhood school because it was important to us that DD/DS built relationships with neighborhood kids (and our school also has good income/racial diversity). In general, I'd prefer a good school with a mix of income/race even if that drags down its Good Schools rating vs. a 10 school that is all rich, white kids. FWIW, I went to rich, white public schools from ES - HS and I don't want that environment for my kids.

white guilt? You're an idiot if you think good test scores is racist.

[Anonymous]

OP As you can see from the posts this is a very emotional topic. maybe ex wife needs to figure this out for herself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which elementary school in Alexandria? There are some decent schools in the area.

But if it's a 5, how could it be decent? We all know anything less than 8 is very risky. I'd be very nervous about a 6 or 7, let alone a 5.

Sigh. The GoodSchools rating is not the be-all, end-all assessment of school quality. It primarily reflects school demographics. There is so much more that goes into evaluating a school. Our zoned school is a "9" in GoodSchools and we do like it but I strongly considered a "6" school in the area with a magnet program I really liked. Everyone I know at that school loves it but it's a "6" because it does have a high proportion of lower-income kids. Ultimately, we decided to stick with the neighborhood school because it was important to us that DD/DS built relationships with neighborhood kids (and our school also has good income/racial diversity). In general, I'd prefer a good school with a mix of income/race even if that drags down its Good Schools rating vs. a 10 school that is all rich, white kids. FWIW, I went to rich, white public schools from ES - HS and I don't want that environment for my kids.

But I see you still chose the 9 school. Wise choice. Too much risk with a 6, no doubt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which elementary school in Alexandria? There are some decent schools in the area.

But if it's a 5, how could it be decent? We all know anything less than 8 is very risky. I'd be very nervous about a 6 or 7, let alone a 5.

Sigh. The GoodSchools rating is not the be-all, end-all assessment of school quality. It primarily reflects school demographics. There is so much more that goes into evaluating a school. Our zoned school is a "9" in GoodSchools and we do like it but I strongly considered a "6" school in the area with a magnet program I really liked. Everyone I know at that school loves it but it's a "6" because it does have a high proportion of lower-income kids. Ultimately, we decided to stick with the neighborhood school because it was important to us that DD/DS built relationships with neighborhood kids (and our school also has good income/racial diversity). In general, I'd prefer a good school with a mix of income/race even if that drags down its Good Schools rating vs. a 10 school that is all rich, white kids. FWIW, I went to rich, white public schools from ES - HS and I don't want that environment for my kids.

white guilt? You're an idiot if you think good test scores is racist.

Uh, no. Lots of snobs and overly focused on image and materialism. You were a loser if you didn't get a luxury car for your 16th birthday or had an after-school job. Drugs and partying were rampant because the norm was that kids had lots of access to money and their parents thought they could do no wrong. My family was definitely not in the norm and while they could have afforded a nice car for me they (rightly IMO now) didn't think that was appropriate.

Sure, I haven't been in every rich, white school here to see if a similar environment dominates but I definitely got a taste of it from some of the much more affluent families at my kids' preschool and it's certainly supported by comments here! No thank you.

"Good test scores" are meaningless without digging deeper into the stats. Greatschools just looks at them in aggregate. It is a fact that schools with more white, affluent kids do better on total test scores. Thus, if the only thing important to you is the overall test score ranking then, yes, you will automatically be prioritizing rich, white schools. It's important to consider what else comes along with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which elementary school in Alexandria? There are some decent schools in the area.

But if it's a 5, how could it be decent? We all know anything less than 8 is very risky. I'd be very nervous about a 6 or 7, let alone a 5.

Sigh. The GoodSchools rating is not the be-all, end-all assessment of school quality. It primarily reflects school demographics. There is so much more that goes into evaluating a school. Our zoned school is a "9" in GoodSchools and we do like it but I strongly considered a "6" school in the area with a magnet program I really liked. Everyone I know at that school loves it but it's a "6" because it does have a high proportion of lower-income kids. Ultimately, we decided to stick with the neighborhood school because it was important to us that DD/DS built relationships with neighborhood kids (and our school also has good income/racial diversity). In general, I'd prefer a good school with a mix of income/race even if that drags down its Good Schools rating vs. a 10 school that is all rich, white kids. FWIW, I went to rich, white public schools from ES - HS and I don't want that environment for my kids.

white guilt? You're an idiot if you think good test scores is racist.

Uh, no. Lots of snobs and overly focused on image and materialism. You were a loser if you didn't get a luxury car for your 16th birthday or had an after-school job. Drugs and partying were rampant because the norm was that kids had lots of access to money and their parents thought they could do no wrong. My family was definitely not in the norm and while they could have afforded a nice car for me they (rightly IMO now) didn't think that was appropriate.

Sure, I haven't been in every rich, white school here to see if a similar environment dominates but I definitely got a taste of it from some of the much more affluent families at my kids' preschool and it's certainly supported by comments here! No thank you.

"Good test scores" are meaningless without digging deeper into the stats. Greatschools just looks at them in aggregate. It is a fact that schools with more white, affluent kids do better on total test scores. Thus, if the only thing important to you is the overall test score ranking then, yes, you will automatically be prioritizing rich, white schools. It's important to consider what else comes along with that.

Well I assume you won't be one of those snobs that is overly focused on image & materialism. Your kids will be the "minority" in the "good" school, right? So that's adding diversity to the school, right? What are you worried about. Or you can go to the "bad" school and have your kids be the advantaged kids.

[Anonymous]

Most people who care about their kids education and learning environment understand how the school ratings work. Given the chance to choose between a 5 or a 9, I'm picking the 9. I could care less about the race of the students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most people who care about their kids education and learning environment understand how the school ratings work. Given the chance to choose between a 5 or a 9, I'm picking the 9. I could care less about the race of the students.

Amen! A child will ALWAYS receive a better education a school with a higher greatschools rating. That's just a fact.