Moving from Arlington to Mclean

[Anonymous]

Chesterbrook/Longfellow/McLean were disappointing despite the high ratings. Fairfax County is like a machine (one size only). We had a much better experience in Arlington, which offered a variety of environments, like the Hippie school, Montessori options, etc. The teachers in Arlington were better and actually knew my kids; in Fairfax only the top or bottom kids get attention. Also,
the kids/parents in FCPS were insufferable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chesterbrook/Longfellow/McLean were disappointing despite the high ratings. Fairfax County is like a machine (one size only). We had a much better experience in Arlington, which offered a variety of environments, like the Hippie school, Montessori options, etc. The teachers in Arlington were better and actually knew my kids; in Fairfax only the top or bottom kids get attention. Also,
the kids/parents in FCPS were insufferable.

Not our experience at all (plenty of differentiation and personal attention), and we thought Longfellow and McLean were fantastic. Our kids were in a different pyramid for ES.

We'd lived in Arlington previously, and there was a fair amount of controversy over the "Hippie school" (HB Woodlawn), with a lot of people convinced there were unfair sibling preferences taking place when it came to admission.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, not everyone in APS is happy that some kids get to attend HB with 400 kids while W-L is over 2600 students and projected to be over 2800 in a few years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Colvin Run ES doesn't serve McLean neighborhoods.

It feeds to Langley HS. The OP specified Langley or McLean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:We are thinking of moving from Arlington to McLean. We really love our small neighborhood elementary school - Innovation Elementary in N. Arlington. We are considering Langley/Mclean school district but keep hearing how big the class sizes are in Churchill Elementary and Springhill Elementary. Is that true? What’s the vibe at these schools? My son’s current Kg class at Innovation has 17 kids with 2 teachers and we’re very happy with it. It’s ranked 6/10 but the Mclean schools are ranked 8 and 9 out of 10. There is no AAP in Arlington, so that’s a motivation for us to move to Mclean. Are there any smaller elementary schools in Mclean/Vienna that feed to solid high schools?

Visit Colvin Run ES in the Langley Pyramid

Colvin Run is bigger than Churchill so if you’re looking for a smaller ES than Churchill or Spring Hill it’s not a good choice. It also serves mostly Great Falls and Vienna, not McLean.

Colvin Run ES is neighborhood school and an AAP Center only for Great Falls ES. It is under capacity.

All in-boundary kids will move on to Cooper MS and Langley HS.

It is a good pyramid to check out.

The only thing is that the neighborhood is quite far away from Cooper and Langley, so it can be a long commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colvin Run ES doesn't serve McLean neighborhoods.

It feeds to Langley HS. The OP specified Langley or McLean.

The OP also specified they were thinking of moving to McLean. Colvin Run serves neighborhoods in Great Falls and Vienna, not McLean.

OP also said they were interested in schools smaller than Churchill Road and Spring Hill, and Colvin Run has more kids than Churchill Road.

If you think OP should be looking at other feeders to Langley or McLean, even if they don’t serve McLean neighborhoods, Great Falls and Lemon Road - both smaller than Churchill Road and Spring Hill - might make more sense than Colvin Run.

Or, I guess, you could just keep ignoring OP’s post and recommending Colvin Run. Are you trying to sell a house there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it better to move to FCPS in the earlier grades before eligibility for AAP like in 2nd grade? Is it easier to get in at the start as opposed to later grades?

I don't have data but knowing the process, I think it might be easier to get in at the older grades (fewer applications that need to be screened).

Results can be much more unpredictable in the older grades and among those who are new to FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:We are thinking of moving from Arlington to McLean. We really love our small neighborhood elementary school - Innovation Elementary in N. Arlington. We are considering Langley/Mclean school district but keep hearing how big the class sizes are in Churchill Elementary and Springhill Elementary. Is that true? What’s the vibe at these schools? My son’s current Kg class at Innovation has 17 kids with 2 teachers and we’re very happy with it. It’s ranked 6/10 but the Mclean schools are ranked 8 and 9 out of 10. There is no AAP in Arlington, so that’s a motivation for us to move to Mclean. Are there any smaller elementary schools in Mclean/Vienna that feed to solid high schools?

Visit Colvin Run ES in the Langley Pyramid

Colvin Run is bigger than Churchill so if you’re looking for a smaller ES than Churchill or Spring Hill it’s not a good choice. It also serves mostly Great Falls and Vienna, not McLean.

Colvin Run ES is neighborhood school and an AAP Center only for Great Falls ES. It is under capacity.

All in-boundary kids will move on to Cooper MS and Langley HS.

It is a good pyramid to check out.

The only thing is that the neighborhood is quite far away from Cooper and Langley, so it can be a long commute.

When Colvin Run opened, the Langley parents in Great Falls were pissed about their kids having to cross Route 7 to attend a school with a Vienna address. I assume they got over it eventually.

[Anonymous]

We love our McLean schools- Kent gardens/longfellow/mclean. I’ve had kids at all three, and I think the quality of Longfellow is heads and shoulders above my experience with other FCPS middle schools. (I’m assuming there are others that are also good- but I haven’t personally experienced those).

I think most area ES are good (and relatively equal). I would also be happy with north Arlington high schools.

If it were me, I’d find a neighborhood that I like and double check the school quality is above average. Class size varies tremendously between grades (one of my kids had an enormous class with 32 kids in math, her sister only has 22- same school, different grade).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colvin Run ES doesn't serve McLean neighborhoods.

It feeds to Langley HS. The OP specified Langley or McLean.

The OP also specified they were thinking of moving to McLean. Colvin Run serves neighborhoods in Great Falls and Vienna, not McLean.

OP also said they were interested in schools smaller than Churchill Road and Spring Hill, and Colvin Run has more kids than Churchill Road.

If you think OP should be looking at other feeders to Langley or McLean, even if they don’t serve McLean neighborhoods, Great Falls and Lemon Road - both smaller than Churchill Road and Spring Hill - might make more sense than Colvin Run.

Or, I guess, you could just keep ignoring OP’s post and recommending Colvin Run. Are you trying to sell a house there?

From OP’s post:

“ Are there any smaller elementary schools in Mclean/Vienna that feed to solid high schools?”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colvin Run ES doesn't serve McLean neighborhoods.

It feeds to Langley HS. The OP specified Langley or McLean.

The OP also specified they were thinking of moving to McLean. Colvin Run serves neighborhoods in Great Falls and Vienna, not McLean.

OP also said they were interested in schools smaller than Churchill Road and Spring Hill, and Colvin Run has more kids than Churchill Road.

If you think OP should be looking at other feeders to Langley or McLean, even if they don’t serve McLean neighborhoods, Great Falls and Lemon Road - both smaller than Churchill Road and Spring Hill - might make more sense than Colvin Run.

Or, I guess, you could just keep ignoring OP’s post and recommending Colvin Run. Are you trying to sell a house there?

From OP’s post:

“ Are there any smaller elementary schools in Mclean/Vienna that feed to solid high schools?”

Colvin Run is not a smaller elementary school. It is bigger than Churchill Road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We moved from an average FCPS pyramid into Langley/McLean. The differences in the peer groups and academic expectations were quickly noticeable, and it served our kids very well in terms of college preparedness and developing a solid work ethic.

Less crime in the neighborhoods and schools

[Anonymous]

Churchill Road parent here, class sizes are huge.
Last year we had 25 in first grade, 27 this year in second.

I believe FCPS increased class size due to budget constraints last year. I heard is about the same in other schools in McLean.

If Arlington has small classes, I would stay put for now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Churchill Road parent here, class sizes are huge.
Last year we had 25 in first grade, 27 this year in second.

I believe FCPS increased class size due to budget constraints last year. I heard is about the same in other schools in McLean.

If Arlington has small classes, I would stay put for now.

Class sizes vary.

https://www.fcps.edu/system/files/forms/2025-09/1_fcps-elementaryclasssize-2024-2025.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Churchill Road parent here, class sizes are huge.
Last year we had 25 in first grade, 27 this year in second.

I believe FCPS increased class size due to budget constraints last year. I heard is about the same in other schools in McLean.

If Arlington has small classes, I would stay put for now.

Another Churchill Road parent here. I don’t think 25 kids is a “huge” class. My kids have had classes with only 18 or 20 and that’s kind of small.