Fairfax? Other? For average athlete/good student?

[Anonymous]

Look at Edison. It’s smaller than most FCPS high schools. The attendance area is affordable. Your kids will make most of the teams. And the academics are solid. And, yes, it is frowned upon by many here, but kids from there get into good schools.

[Anonymous]

I have to say every time I hear about a school that is very pro military I think "very conservative" and "highly mobile". It's a turn off to people who want to stay in the area for a long time.

+1

Just have to chime in here. First, don't make too many assumptions about military views. Yes, the military skews conservative, but there are is a lot more nuance than you might guess and even some progressives (like me!). Don't think of it as a homogeneous monolith.

And when someone is looking for "pro military" in a school generally they mean schools that are helpful to kids who haven't been there all along. Military friendly is a maybe a better term. You moved in august and your volleyball prodigy missed volleyball tryouts? Or you moved in the middle of your kid's senior year and she hasn't taken random freshman class xyz that is suddenly a graduation requirement. A "military friendly" school is more helpful and flexible in making this work. A military friendly school will have orientations for new kids, even if they aren't freshmen. etc, etc. To OP- there is enough transience in DC area in general - not limited to military- that these schools have seen it all before.

Finally, your kids would be lucky to attend school with military kids. I cannot for the life of me figure out how a community which is friendly to military kids is a "turn off."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


I have to say every time I hear about a school that is very pro military I think "very conservative" and "highly mobile". It's a turn off to people who want to stay in the area for a long time.

+1

17:47 here, obviously my quotes didn't work. Ugh. That part was supposed to be in quotes

[Anonymous]

Friendly to military kids is a turn on. Yes, we want to be helpful to military kids and open to them coming in. Having a lot of military kids is a turn off for people who don't want to have to keep saying goodbye to friends and making new ones. For the same reason military kids want to be in groups with other military kids so they can all be one clique, other people see this as a negative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Friendly to military kids is a turn on. Yes, we want to be helpful to military kids and open to them coming in. Having a lot of military kids is a turn off for people who don't want to have to keep saying goodbye to friends and making new ones. For the same reason military kids want to be in groups with other military kids so they can all be one clique, other people see this as a negative.

I'll explain that to my kid. Sorry bud, they don't want to be your friend because we will eventually leave. Better not to know you at all than miss you later!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ Del Ray?

That is the cutest little neighborhood in such a great location. Too bad the schools aren't stronger.

No, Del Ray is in Alexandria City. PP is talking about a neighborhood in Fairfax County (probably Bucknell Manor) near the Belle View neighborhood, which is also in Fairfax County.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Friendly to military kids is a turn on. Yes, we want to be helpful to military kids and open to them coming in. Having a lot of military kids is a turn off for people who don't want to have to keep saying goodbye to friends and making new ones. For the same reason military kids want to be in groups with other military kids so they can all be one clique, other people see this as a negative.

I'll explain that to my kid. Sorry bud, they don't want to be your friend because we will eventually leave. Better not to know you at all than miss you later!

This thread started on how military families want to stick togetherand so should move to schools with many other military families. Not sure why you think that's ok but don't thinks its ok for others not to want to be around a clique like that. Yes, mobility is something that people look at when choosing schools. School boundaries with many apartments are also less popular for the same reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Friendly to military kids is a turn on. Yes, we want to be helpful to military kids and open to them coming in. Having a lot of military kids is a turn off for people who don't want to have to keep saying goodbye to friends and making new ones. For the same reason military kids want to be in groups with other military kids so they can all be one clique, other people see this as a negative.

It's neither here nor there. The mobility rates (student turnover) for Lake Braddock, Robinson, and West Springfield are towards the lower end for FCPS (West Springfield, at 8.2%, was higher than at Lake Braddock (5.7%), Langley (4.0%), McLean (6.4%), Robinson (5.7%), but still lower than at most high/secondary schools in the county).

Schools all over FCPS are used to kids coming or leaving during the school year, whether it's students from military families, World Bank/State Department families, or minors from other countries arriving in January or February, when some schools often see an increase in their enrollments.

As much as PP wants OP to think LB, Robinson, and West Springfield are the only places for military families to consider, that's just not the case. Go to a basketball game at South Lakes in Reston or West Potomac in Alexandria, and you'll often see a Junior ROTC division lead the opening ceremonies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're moving to the NOVA area. My SO will be at the Pentagon and doesn't want to drive an hour each way, every day. She'll probably be very unhappy if it is much more than 30 minutes each way. Our kids are bright, but not all of them are hard workers. They have moved a lot. I'm not sure the massive high schools are the best fit. Any recommendations for smaller high schools where the environment is not too stressful, yet still challenging enough to get into a decent university? One kid in particular gets anxious when the work piles on, despite usually making all As. It's also important that it's a school where the average hard working athlete can make the basketball and baseball teams? Does this place exist? Budget is about 3000/month for rent, give or take.

Lee High School meets all of these criteria:

Smallest high school in Fairfax - just over 1700 students - Lee's enrollment is about 550 below the county average (or 137 less students per grade)

Within 30-40 minutes of the Pentagon - driving, Metro train, or express busses (though driving in the DC area will vary day to day)

Average athletes will likely make the teams (and play!) - of course nothing is guaranteed, but chances are better at Lee than probably every other Fairfax school just based on numbers

More dedicated students can take IB Diploma route, less inclined students can piecemeal IB classes (or not)

Every year students go to excellent universities

Housing is within budget

Naysayers will downplay or mock Lee, but it meets all of your criteria and FCPS provides excellent resources to all of its schools.

I think the next closest match is George Mason in Falls Church City, but housing cost may rule that out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Friendly to military kids is a turn on. Yes, we want to be helpful to military kids and open to them coming in. Having a lot of military kids is a turn off for people who don't want to have to keep saying goodbye to friends and making new ones. For the same reason military kids want to be in groups with other military kids so they can all be one clique, other people see this as a negative.

I'll explain that to my kid. Sorry bud, they don't want to be your friend because we will eventually leave. Better not to know you at all than miss you later!

This thread started on how military families want to stick togetherand so should move to schools with many other military families. Not sure why you think that's ok but don't thinks its ok for others not to want to be around a clique like that. Yes, mobility is something that people look at when choosing schools. School boundaries with many apartments are also less popular for the same reason.

No.

The thread started to help OP find schools that would be accommodating and welcoming to her military kids who are dealing with the sickness of having to move during high school.

Info on welcoming schools and communities is helpful to OP.