Does Woodson really suck or does it just get a bad rap?
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Anonymous
| We are thinking of moving into the Frost/Woodson pyramid and I hear a lot of stories about Woodson being an impersonal, huge school, run like a factory. I hear it is good a supporting special ed kids and AAP kids, but the "normal" kids in general ed get left in the dust. Is this the case at all FCPS? I went to Woodson years ago and hated it, but I was hoping it had changed. How many students are there? I don't care about academics I just want my kids to be HAPPY at their school. |
Anonymous
| I wouldn't say that Woodson "really sucks" (!) but I will say there are loud fans of Woodson and loud detractors of Woodson. So you will likely need to listen to both points of view and make up your own mind. |
Anonymous
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2425 kids there last year. FCPS moved kids from Annandale there without realizing the City of Fairfax would then demand that FCPS move some county kids out of Fairfax HS. FCPS then had to move more kids to Woodson. They need to send some of them back to Annandale.
Many people love Woodson, but it certainly doesn't attract lots of people who just "want their kids to be happy" without regard to academics. |
Anonymous
| we live in the neighborhood behind woodson and the kids seem normal and nice. at least the ones on our street/neighborhood and that go to the pool. the parents are nice too and we like the community. |
Anonymous
| I've always heard that it's a great school, but I've also heard (from recent and very-not-recent grads) that it can be a pressure cooker, i.e. lots of pressure to succeed. |
Anonymous
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Whether your kids feel a pressure cooker atmosphere is up to the culture at home. Don't stress your kids out.
We aren't in high school yet, but everyone we have met in the neighborhood and elementary school is very nice. We have such a great sense of community here. |
Anonymous
+1. People tend to toss out phrases like "that school is a pressure-cooker" casually, with no real understanding of the school. |
Anonymous
| Needs to rezone kids to Annandale. Needs to happen now. |
Anonymous
You mean the Canturbury Woods kids? Why? To balance out Annandale HS or something else? I want to learn more. |
Anonymous
Not familiar enough with the boundaries, but Annandale lost a big chunk up sfh's a few years back. They need to be put back. Annadale was always a perfectly fine school. The county has basically ruined both Annandale and Lee. |
Anonymous
I thought wakefield chapel road use to be the divider between Woodson and Annandale HS? So, are you proposing those neighborhoods go back- or to include all the Annandale zip code (22003 and neighborhoods like Canterbury Woods and Truro)? |
Anonymous
The border is with Wakefield Forest, so some or all of that school should move to Annandale first. Doing so would both balance the total enrollments at the two schools and reduce the FARMS percentages at Poe/Annandale, which shot up after FCPS kept moving SFH neighborhoods to other schools. |
Anonymous
| What did you hate about it back in the day, OP? |
Anonymous
Ok, got it. But what does have to do with whether or not Woodson "sucks"? |
Anonymous
That's a question for a different poster. The information above speaks to Woodson's size and whether it's "huge," as OP suggested. |