best neighborhoods for public schools in nova

[Anonymous]

If we want to send our dc to public school from elementary through high school, where should we live?

[Anonymous]

The Mount Vernon area of Fairfax County Alexandria. Waynewood Elementary is one of the best in the county.

[Anonymous]

We really liked the Wakefield Forest, Frost, WT Woodson group. Woodson ranks nationally and is a great school. Canterbury woods is also in that group for gifted children. The address is Annandale but the schools are not actually in Annandale near Annandale HS (not too great of a school). Woodson is closer to NOVA Community College going into true Fairfax. The communities are great and so are the people.

[Anonymous]

Fairfax County has a great website describing each school clusters and describing all the different schools in terms of test scores, % of students who receive free lunches, % ESL students etc. I would start there. I'm sure Arlington and Loudon County have the same.

The Post also does a ranking of area high schools and you can find out which schools feed into those high schools.

Greatschools.net is also a great resource.

Honestly though they say that parental involvement in the school and the child's education is the most important determinant of their educational success. I think most of the schools in Nova would provide a great public school education. The rankings don't really tell the whole story sometimes, either. Pick a general area where you want to live in terms of prices, commute, etc and then narrow your school choices from there if it's a factor.

[Anonymous]

To OP - how important is it to you for your child to be in a diverse school environment? By diversity, I mean both racial and socioeconomic.

[Anonymous]

OP here - I would prefer a diverse environment, that's why I'm considering public school. But, I want the best education first and foremost. Why do you ask?

[Anonymous]

Thanks, OP. I ask because for some people, diversity isn't a priority. I'm not passing judgment on those folks, but I just wanted to know where you're coming from so I can best answer your question.

I agree with everything the 9:29 PP said, and would only add this: given your stated preference, and if you want to remain somewhat close to DC, I would suggest looking at Alexandria or South Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Arlington - Clarendon, Cherrydale, Lyon Village, Lyon Park, Ashton Heights. I am sure there are more, but those are the ones I am familiar with.

[Anonymous]

841 poster - you must be my neighbor!
Are you in the Ilda subdivision?

Sorry to digress OP. Small world.

[Anonymous]

The diversity question is interesting... but I have to say,... I would not send my child to most of the schools in south Arlington.

I realize that when we're talking about Arlington and Fairfax Counties... ALL of the schools are pretty good by national standards. But I think just based purely on the quality of education, I'd steer towards North Arlington, Falls Church, McLean, Vienna...

As for Alexandria... there are a few very good schools there... but again, in general, I don't think the better schools are located in that area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:841 poster - you must be my neighbor!
Are you in the Ilda subdivision?

Sorry to digress OP. Small world.

I am! I live off Wakefield. Are you close?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The diversity question is interesting... but I have to say,... I would not send my child to most of the schools in south Arlington.

I realize that when we're talking about Arlington and Fairfax Counties... ALL of the schools are pretty good by national standards. But I think just based purely on the quality of education, I'd steer towards North Arlington, Falls Church, McLean, Vienna...

As for Alexandria... there are a few very good schools there... but again, in general, I don't think the better schools are located in that area.

I would agree with this recommendation for OP, who stated she valued diversity, but quality of education first and foremost. The unfortunate reality is that N. Arlington has better schools, but diversity is lacking.

[Anonymous]

I drive by Washington-Lee all the time when students are out and it looks like a pretty diverse group to me...

[Anonymous]

I agree it depends where you are in N. Arlington. I think some of the elementary schools tend to be less diverse (Nottingham, Jamestown, etc), but as you get into middle and high school, the schools tend to me more diverse since they pull students from many different locations. I live in N. Arlington and my neighborhood elementary is Glebe. I don't know much about it since my oldest is only 2.5, but from what I have heard it is a good school, the building looks fairly new, and it is rather diverse for N. Arlington since there are a number of apartment buildings right near Glebe. I agree with the pp about Washington-Lee. The school is diverse since it pulls from the apartment buildings around Ballston, many of which have a lot of Hispanic families. The facility is also brand new and they have an IB program there.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the others, that if I were looking for a top-notch education, I would not be focusing on S. Arlington and Alexandria. Those areas might be wonderfully diverse... but they're not where the better schools are.