How is Oakton high?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a FARMS kids and I can tell you first hand that the idea of having me sit on a long bus ride out of my neighborhood for the privilege of attending school with higher income kids is offensive. Do people really think that poor kids sit in class and think that they are somehow lucky and should be thankful they were given the opportunity? No, they sit there awkwardly aware that they are thought of as inferior to others by their peers.

Stop with the UMC savior mentality and give low-income kids what they need. Support and successful role models who show them all the possibilities for the future right their in their own schools.

Either you've made that story up, or you're missing the point entirely. It isn't about sending poor kids to bask in the presence of UMC kids. It's about providing equal academic and enrichment opportunities at all schools. Low-SES schools cannot offer what high-SES schools offer as far as higher level courses and after-school activities, in part because the concentration of poverty and ELL is so high that the student population isn't enough to support holding those classes or activities. It is not anybody's fault, nor are we blaming ELL students that must be served. But it is an issue when kids in a region can't "track" into particular courses because they aren't even offered, or can't join a debate team because there aren't enough kids interested. This should be possible without resorting to pupil placement.

It's solely FCPS's mismanagement of facilities and logistics that has led to these wide discrepancies in population across the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a FARMS kids and I can tell you first hand that the idea of having me sit on a long bus ride out of my neighborhood for the privilege of attending school with higher income kids is offensive. Do people really think that poor kids sit in class and think that they are somehow lucky and should be thankful they were given the opportunity? No, they sit there awkwardly aware that they are thought of as inferior to others by their peers.

Stop with the UMC savior mentality and give low-income kids what they need. Support and successful role models who show them all the possibilities for the future right their in their own schools.

Either you've made that story up, or you're missing the point entirely. It isn't about sending poor kids to bask in the presence of UMC kids. It's about providing equal academic and enrichment opportunities at all schools. Low-SES schools cannot offer what high-SES schools offer as far as higher level courses and after-school activities, in part because the concentration of poverty and ELL is so high that the student population isn't enough to support holding those classes or activities. It is not anybody's fault, nor are we blaming ELL students that must be served. But it is an issue when kids in a region can't "track" into particular courses because they aren't even offered, or can't join a debate team because there aren't enough kids interested. This should be possible without resorting to pupil placement.

It's solely FCPS's mismanagement of facilities and logistics that has led to these wide discrepancies in population across the county.

1. Replace the School Board next year. They are hypocrites who make a difficult situation worse.

2. Don't sweat the fact that not every school is the exact same. Focus on what is not available at your school that is available elsewhere, figure out why that is the case, and insist on a respectable floor/baseline at every school. Maybe that means you need to step in and become a sponsor of an extra-curricular activity yourself in some cases. Beyond that you run the risk of dragging everyone down in a fruitless quest for parity that will just turn into a race to the bottom.

[Anonymous]

DC graduated from OHS two years ago. DC felt neutral about the school--basically thought it was way too big (over 700 kids in graduating class) to meaningfully connect with teachers or other students. Online learning and the 4-year renovation made it a challenging experience, but those are no longer issues. Dc did well enough to get into UVA (first choice), but I had to arrange for a tutor for AP Physics (teacher was new to the subject and not equipped to teach the class). That could happen at any school. One highlight of DC's experience was the AP Capstone classes, which are only offered in a few high schools in Fairfax Co. The Capstone classes really helped prepare DC for writing college-level papers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a FARMS kids and I can tell you first hand that the idea of having me sit on a long bus ride out of my neighborhood for the privilege of attending school with higher income kids is offensive. Do people really think that poor kids sit in class and think that they are somehow lucky and should be thankful they were given the opportunity? No, they sit there awkwardly aware that they are thought of as inferior to others by their peers.

Stop with the UMC savior mentality and give low-income kids what they need. Support and successful role models who show them all the possibilities for the future right their in their own schools.

Either you've made that story up, or you're missing the point entirely. It isn't about sending poor kids to bask in the presence of UMC kids. It's about providing equal academic and enrichment opportunities at all schools. Low-SES schools cannot offer what high-SES schools offer as far as higher level courses and after-school activities, in part because the concentration of poverty and ELL is so high that the student population isn't enough to support holding those classes or activities. It is not anybody's fault, nor are we blaming ELL students that must be served. But it is an issue when kids in a region can't "track" into particular courses because they aren't even offered, or can't join a debate team because there aren't enough kids interested. This should be possible without resorting to pupil placement.

It's solely FCPS's mismanagement of facilities and logistics that has led to these wide discrepancies in population across the county.

1. Replace the School Board next year. They are hypocrites who make a difficult situation worse.

2. Don't sweat the fact that not every school is the exact same. Focus on what is not available at your school that is available elsewhere, figure out why that is the case, and insist on a respectable floor/baseline at every school. Maybe that means you need to step in and become a sponsor of an extra-curricular activity yourself in some cases. Beyond that you run the risk of dragging everyone down in a fruitless quest for parity that will just turn into a race to the bottom.

Not a chance if the nut-jobs on display from the Republicans are the alternative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I see no one has refuted the “full of rich kids” statement.

It's a LMC/MC class HS. We were zoned for Chesterbrook/Longfellow/McLean and played baseball with kids at Langley; those schools are "full of rich kids", not Oakton. There is a lot of affordable housing feeding into Oakton and its ESs and none into Chesterbrook ES or McLean.

[Anonymous]

Ah yes, the poor lower middle class in their 2M dollar houses instead of your 10M dollar houses where you live. Lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ah yes, the poor lower middle class in their 2M dollar houses instead of your 10M dollar houses where you live. Lol.

Please. There were 163 homes under 500K sold within the last 6 months; 65 of them under 300K. Oakton is affordable.

[Anonymous]

I don't dispute that there is a small amount of housing that is more affordable there compared to mclean, but there is plenty of wealth at Oakton. That is not a school that most would think of when you discuss affordable housing and fcps schools. I've worked there, along with 7 other high schools across the spectrum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't dispute that there is a small amount of housing that is more affordable there compared to mclean, but there is plenty of wealth at Oakton. That is not a school that most would think of when you discuss affordable housing and fcps schools. I've worked there, along with 7 other high schools across the spectrum

I'd argue that, for DC area, Oakton has a lot of affordable housing, not a small amount. If you dig into the census data, you'd also find out that the household income is modest for the zip codes feeding into the school. It's very much a middle class HS. Saying that it is full of rich kids is wrong.

[Anonymous]

Curious what you think modest income is

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious what you think modest income is

Under 300K. At that income, and taking into account that Oakton HS neighborhoods are not where trust funders live, the parents cannot afford the things that will make other kids feel out of place because of income - expensive cars, yearly vacations to Europe, school breaks skiing in Colorado, condo in the Caribbean etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious what you think modest income is

Under 300K. At that income, and taking into account that Oakton HS neighborhoods are not where trust funders live, the parents cannot afford the things that will make other kids feel out of place because of income - expensive cars, yearly vacations to Europe, school breaks skiing in Colorado, condo in the Caribbean etc.

DP: This account is fairly accurate. Oakton's median income has changed somewhat with the new developments around Vienna over the years. If you look on Niche, they list the median HH income of the area feeding into the school as 138598, which is less than the median at Robinson (144142) and Lake Braddock (149833) and Woodson (177218) and definitely less than McLean or Langley (222587). It's higher than Chantilly (110917) and West Springfield (127578). So higher than the overall average of FCPS schools, but close to what people think of the middle.

To be sure, some of Oakton's slightly lower HHI is because there are younger people living in apartments so only have 1 income starting out so not that relevant to the school, but some of it is families in rentals/condos whose income is not FARMS but more solidly middle class.

That said, the wealthy portion of Oakton is more like the wealthy portions of McLean/Langley. Oakton, I think, is a good example of a solid more socioeconomically diverse school that is very successful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious what you think modest income is

Under 300K. At that income, and taking into account that Oakton HS neighborhoods are not where trust funders live, the parents cannot afford the things that will make other kids feel out of place because of income - expensive cars, yearly vacations to Europe, school breaks skiing in Colorado, condo in the Caribbean etc.

AThe wealthy kids at Oakton objectively come from high-income families in Vienna and Oak Hill that can afford all the extras. The FARMS kids at Oakton may qualify for FARMS but live in nicer housing than the FARMS kids in many other parts of the county. And then there are families in between.

That’s also the case at many other FCPS high schools. It’s a mix - skewed towards the affluent but with some diversity- that many families find attractive. There’s no reason to mischaracterize or run away from the demographics there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious what you think modest income is

Under 300K. At that income, and taking into account that Oakton HS neighborhoods are not where trust funders live, the parents cannot afford the things that will make other kids feel out of place because of income - expensive cars, yearly vacations to Europe, school breaks skiing in Colorado, condo in the Caribbean etc.

DP: This account is fairly accurate. Oakton's median income has changed somewhat with the new developments around Vienna over the years. If you look on Niche, they list the median HH income of the area feeding into the school as 138598, which is less than the median at Robinson (144142) and Lake Braddock (149833) and Woodson (177218) and definitely less than McLean or Langley (222587). It's higher than Chantilly (110917) and West Springfield (127578). So higher than the overall average of FCPS schools, but close to what people think of the middle.

To be sure, some of Oakton's slightly lower HHI is because there are younger people living in apartments so only have 1 income starting out so not that relevant to the school, but some of it is families in rentals/condos whose income is not FARMS but more solidly middle class.

That said, the wealthy portion of Oakton is more like the wealthy portions of McLean/Langley. Oakton, I think, is a good example of a solid more socioeconomically diverse school that is very successful.

I don’t think that Niche data is meaningful. For example, they report the same median income for Langley and McLean, but Langley is definitely more affluent than McLean. They are just pulling some information for the immediate area where the schools are located, and lacking the ability to determine the median incomes of the specific neighborhoods that feed into a school. In Oakton’s case, the area close to Oakton includes moderate-income areas in Fairfax, but the neighborhoods further west off Vale, Hunter Mill, etc., are more expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious what you think modest income is

Under 300K. At that income, and taking into account that Oakton HS neighborhoods are not where trust funders live, the parents cannot afford the things that will make other kids feel out of place because of income - expensive cars, yearly vacations to Europe, school breaks skiing in Colorado, condo in the Caribbean etc.

AThe wealthy kids at Oakton objectively come from high-income families in Vienna and Oak Hill that can afford all the extras. The FARMS kids at Oakton may qualify for FARMS but live in nicer housing than the FARMS kids in many other parts of the county. And then there are families in between.

That’s also the case at many other FCPS high schools. It’s a mix - skewed towards the affluent but with some diversity- that many families find attractive. There’s no reason to mischaracterize or run away from the demographics there.

I don't. However, I don't want OP to get an impression that Oakton is full of rich kids. It is not. For DC area, Oakton is solidly middle class and the vast majority of the kids are LMC and MC. It is not an affluent area, however there's nothing unattractive about that. Most people want diversity and middle class, and this is exactly what Oakton is. It is not bad. I'm not sure why are you trying to sell Oakton as a rich area, like it would be a plus for OP.