Ethnically Diverse High Performing Middle Schools FCPS

[Anonymous]

We are an African-American highly educated family and seeking advice on middle schools. We are house shopping ($750k budget) and looking for schools that are culturally diverse and high performing. Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Look in Burke/ west Springfield

[Anonymous]

Luther Jackson is extremely ethnically and culturally diverse and operates an outstanding AAP program. Academics and extracurricular opportunities (music, drama, competitive academic teams such as Mathcounts and Science Olympiad) are top-notch. Luther Jackson prepares students well for success in high school, including TJ (where a solid contingent of Luther Jackson students attends each year). Luther Jackson is the base school for certain areas of Oakton, Falls Church, and Fairfax and is the AAP middle school for most of Vienna.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are an African-American highly educated family and seeking advice on middle schools. We are house shopping ($750k budget) and looking for schools that are culturally diverse and high performing. Thanks in advance!

What do you consider diverse? education?, religion?, ethnicity?, income? Most of the MS in FCPS are minority majority- or nearly so.

[Anonymous]

Luther Jackson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Luther Jackson is extremely ethnically and culturally diverse and operates an outstanding AAP program. Academics and extracurricular opportunities (music, drama, competitive academic teams such as Mathcounts and Science Olympiad) are top-notch. Luther Jackson prepares students well for success in high school, including TJ (where a solid contingent of Luther Jackson students attends each year). Luther Jackson is the base school for certain areas of Oakton, Falls Church, and Fairfax and is the AAP middle school for most of Vienna.

+1 to this. Luther Jackson was our child's middle school. Our child was very well prepared for both the content and workload of high school by the AAP program at Jackson, and also was readier for high school because Jackson MS uses high-school style block scheduling (a rarity to see that schedule used in middle schools). Ethnically very diverse. And some really excellent teachers in both 7th and 8th grade teaching teams. If you're school shopping as you house-hunt, I'd ask to talk with someone from Student Services there.

Be aware that Jackson's location isn't particularly appealing to look at (it's on busy Gallows Road and next to a strip shopping center) but don't let that fool you. And be aware too that you can live in areas that are not assigned to Jackson as the base school but still can send your child there if your child is in AAP and Jackson is your nearest MS with an AAP center. Check boundaries with care when you buy --and remember that real estate agents do NOT always know or have the latest school boundary information even if they say they do; check with FCPS on school assignments/AAP centers etc. You could live close to one school and find out that your child is assigned to another school that's actually a bit farther away -- it happens.

If you're from outside FCPS and the whole "AAP center" thing is new to you, find out about it before you proceed so you can consider whether you want an AAP center (all AAP, all the time, in all academic subjects), or are going to prefer to send your child to a school that has "local level IV" AAP classes. Either way your student must qualify for AAP so that's the first thing to consider if you want that. If the ethnic diversity is important as well as performance, do look at Jackson.

[Anonymous]

Rocky Run Middle is culturally diverse. It's an AAP center, which pulls kids in from different areas. Honestly though, most of the diversity is from Asian students - not many African American students. The county has stats of this sort about all of the schools on their website, if you're interested in getting more exact numbers. The school is high-performing and the principal, Mr. Terrell - rocks! He is the best administrator I've ever encountered ANYWHERE. One of my kids currently attends and the other is in HS now.

I want to correct what a PP said about AAP center schools. Not all kids that attend are in the AAP program. If you are not "in the program" you can choose to take any subject as a general education course or as an honor's level course. Honors courses are completely equal to AAP courses at Rocky Run. I can say this with confidence having had two kids in honors who have friends in AAP. There is NO difference in curriculum. There used to be a few extra projects (exactly 2 - one in 7th and one in 8th) but now they are having the honors kids do those projects as well. The AAP kids have to take all AAP/honors level courses and cannot opt out - that's the difference.

Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

PP here. Forgot to mention about houses. We live in nearby subdivision, Greenbriar - houses are in your price range and maybe even a little under. Poplar Tree subdivision also feeds into Rocky Run and is also in your range.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for Rocky Run.

[Anonymous]

Your budget could find you a split level house in McLean VA that would need some work. The area is diverse but leans towards Asian/Indian diversity with fewer African-Americans. I live in the McLean HS pyramid and I haven't observed any racial discrimination but there is a lot of 'educational' discrimination. Parents who have kids in AAP want their kids to hang out with other AAP kids, but often avoid the non-AAP kids. Both my kids are in AAP and it's a common topic of conversation. Ethic background never comes up.

[Anonymous]

Kilmer is diverse and a great school.

[Anonymous]

Depends on what you mean by diverse. Carson has kids from lots of different countries & religions (strong Christian, Muslim, Hindu & Jewish communities) and is very high performing-- arguably the highest performing MS iN FCPS. And houses are easily under 750k. But it's non- Caucasian students are largely Asian, not AA or Hispanic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kilmer is diverse and a great school.

+1

[Anonymous]

Lanier Middle School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your budget could find you a split level house in McLean VA that would need some work. The area is diverse but leans towards Asian/Indian diversity with fewer African-Americans. I live in the McLean HS pyramid and I haven't observed any racial discrimination but there is a lot of 'educational' discrimination. Parents who have kids in AAP want their kids to hang out with other AAP kids, but often avoid the non-AAP kids. Both my kids are in AAP and it's a common topic of conversation. Ethic background never comes up.

Wow, that's disturbing