Lower rated schools in Falls Church and Arlington

[Anonymous]

Hi Moms and Dads,

So we are new parents looking into moving to a bigger house and stay there for a while.
The thing is that we keep getting the recommendation that our house hunting should have the school as the biggest factor to be considered. And we know almost nothing about the school systems in Virginia.

Our Search was focused on Arlington and Falls Church, but it seems that all we can afford take us to elementary schools that are badly rated in GreatSchools.com, under 5 points.

We are certain we don’t want to play around with our kid’s education but how important are these ratings for elementary schools?

Have any of you started out in a lower rated school to then move out into a better rated middle school district? Or are there ways to send our kid to a different district without spending private school like tuitions?

I know there is also big developments going on in Arlington that are pushing house prices higher and higher, is this expected to affect schools ratings in any way?

We both work in the downtown DC and the long commute is not an option for us at the moment with the type of jobs we have.

Hope you can give us some advices as we are having a hard time.

A million thanks in advance for your help.
RC

[Anonymous]

Falls Church - Fairfax or Falls Church City?

[Anonymous]

If you are new parents, you should be able to buy a smaller house with better schools and only move later if you have to.

I personally would not buy in the most poorly ranked school areas in Arlington simply to get a huge house. YMMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi Moms and Dads,

So we are new parents looking into moving to a bigger house and stay there for a while.
The thing is that we keep getting the recommendation that our house hunting should have the school as the biggest factor to be considered. And we know almost nothing about the school systems in Virginia.

Our Search was focused on Arlington and Falls Church, but it seems that all we can afford take us to elementary schools that are badly rated in GreatSchools.com, under 5 points.

We are certain we don’t want to play around with our kid’s education but how important are these ratings for elementary schools?

Have any of you started out in a lower rated school to then move out into a better rated middle school district? Or are there ways to send our kid to a different district without spending private school like tuitions?

I know there is also big developments going on in Arlington that are pushing house prices higher and higher, is this expected to affect schools ratings in any way?

We both work in the downtown DC and the long commute is not an option for us at the moment with the type of jobs we have.

Hope you can give us some advices as we are having a hard time.

A million thanks in advance for your help.
RC

Studies show that low income kids fall behind even before public school. I could see detrimental effects of really falling behind by going to a poorly performing elementary school. You want to stay above 7 or 8 ratings. Maybe a 6 if you truely vet the school.

[Anonymous]

OP, a lot of the questions you raise are pretty personal. I doubt anyone can answer for you how important elementary is to you and how it factors in with all the other decisions about your life you have to weigh, including commute, house size, budget, etc. For me personally, we bought a spacious new build in South Arlington and our zoned school was a 4 when we bought and remains a 4 now. My oldest child is not yet 5 but she is already attending the Montessori preschool at Drew. We wanted a nice house, we wanted to feel that we could afford it instead of stretching, we wanted to be close in, we are ambivalent about how gentrified North Arlington is, and we don't think a Great Schools ranking of 4, particularly for elementary, is a big deal. So, that's how we made our decision to live where we live.

The things to understand about South Arlington schools (I assume you know that basically any North Arl school is regarded as "good" or better) is that there is going to be a big re-zoning in 2019 or so that will change things, and you should familiarize yourself with the concept of neighborhood schools and choice. Many Arl schools offer choice programs that you can lottery into. That's why we did Montessori preschool, so that we'd have that as a choice option instead of our home school if we want it. From there, I might suggest digging around on this forum for info (long thread here, if you can parse through the side convos on "diversity" - http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/565685.page) Lots of schools have fairly well known reputations and things that make them unique. E.g., Oakridge is supposed to be a great school, but it's huge (800 or so) and I know that puts many off. Hoffman-Boston has a STEM focus that some seem to think well of. Patrick Henry is a blue ribbon school and maybe has hit the magic number of just about one-third FARMS kids, as opposed to other schools that are struggling with higher percentages. Etc.

In terms of how Arlington is changing, I can tell you anecdotally that there are a lot of young families moving in. You can probably see that yourself based on the new builds on tiny lots popping up everywhere. There are also ongoing issues with affordable housing, specifically how a lot of it is located on the west end of Columbia Pike and elsewhere in South Arl, and there are proposals for more. Housing policy affects school policy, which isn't something I thought about before I had kids and bought a house. Both of those elements push and pull in different directions and will likely change things significantly. Whether that will be before my kids or yours are out of elementary, I don't know.

[Anonymous]

You really shouldn't consult GreatSchools. It's not a reliable arbiter of school quality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You really shouldn't consult GreatSchools. It's not a reliable arbiter of school quality.

Wrong. Great schools has been extremely accurate about every school my kid has gone to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You really shouldn't consult GreatSchools. It's not a reliable arbiter of school quality.

Wrong. Great schools has been extremely accurate about every school my kid has gone to.

That's probably confirmation bias. GreatSchools thinks my kid's school is a 10, and let me tell you -- it's not.

People generally don't view GreatSchools as credible.

[Anonymous]

I'm 11:40. I was citing Great Schools because it's basically the only common metric I'm aware of. OP may be far and away more sophisticated at evaluating schools than I am, but it was one of the first things I looked at. Also, it does tell you how the kids at the school do on standardized tests. What that in turn tells you depends on what you think of standardized tests and many other things. Low scores may mean the school population is lower income, is more minority, is less educated, is less smart, has bad teachers, has bad leadership, low parental involvement, whatever conclusions you want to draw. Some of those things might mean your child gets a worse education, some don't necessarily mean that. Low scores might also lead to a push to raise scores, possibly resulting in a beloved principal being relocated (see: Randolph). High scores might mean the school population is higher income, less minority, more educated, better teachers, etc. It might mean your child gets to do more enrichment rather than focusing on test prep. There are lots of ramifications, some more obvious than others. But Great Schools does give you some info.

[Anonymous]

Please do not let one website, based strictly on test scores deter you. Test scores usually represent a lower income demographic present in schools who don't have the resources or time (parental involvement wise) to study or get tutoring. It doesn't mean that the school itself isn't excellent with great administration and teachers. I'm puzzled how that one website is basically driving home values right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You really shouldn't consult GreatSchools. It's not a reliable arbiter of school quality.

Wrong. Great schools has been extremely accurate about every school my kid has gone to.

And how many schools have your kids been to? What area do you live in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm 11:40. I was citing Great Schools because it's basically the only common metric I'm aware of. OP may be far and away more sophisticated at evaluating schools than I am, but it was one of the first things I looked at. Also, it does tell you how the kids at the school do on standardized tests. What that in turn tells you depends on what you think of standardized tests and many other things. Low scores may mean the school population is lower income, is more minority, is less educated, is less smart, has bad teachers, has bad leadership, low parental involvement, whatever conclusions you want to draw. Some of those things might mean your child gets a worse education, some don't necessarily mean that. Low scores might also lead to a push to raise scores, possibly resulting in a beloved principal being relocated (see: Randolph). High scores might mean the school population is higher income, less minority, more educated, better teachers, etc. It might mean your child gets to do more enrichment rather than focusing on test prep. There are lots of ramifications, some more obvious than others. But Great Schools does give you some info.

Schooldigger is another. Both schooldigger and and greatschools are based on standardized test scores but use different algorithms so the ratings are a little different. My advice is to look at both websites, the demographic breakdown, and actual test results. Both websites have all that data. Don't judge a school by only the "number" rating on greatschools. Note that the greatschools ratings tend to fluctuate year by year, whereas schooldigger ratings are more consistent.

[Anonymous]

These rankings are geared toward rich and white areas. As is apparent from countless threads, many people in Arlington are uncomfortable with diversity.

[Anonymous]

Randolph's principal wasn't universally loved. It was well known through out APS, that she was not an effective administrator, and promoted an abusive work atmosphere. Some hippy dippy PTA parents really want that school to work and have been drinking the kool aid. How that school has been allowed to languish, I'll never understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You really shouldn't consult GreatSchools. It's not a reliable arbiter of school quality.

Wrong. Great schools has been extremely accurate about every school my kid has gone to.

And how many schools have your kids been to? What area do you live in?

3. In FCPS and in another county in Maryland (not mcps). Schools were 5,7 and 9. The nine school was by far the best, the 5 school was really bad, currently at the 7 school, very average. When we were at the 9 school I thought it was good, but some of the families were kind of snobby, but the programs the school had were much better than the very average 7 school. We are at the 7 school currently. The 7 school has issues, but is definitely better than the 5 school.