McLean HS vs. Bishop O'connell

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are districted for McLean, and we chose private for my kid. Coming out of Longfellow, there was concern about the size of McLean and while it is an excellent academic school, that creates a lot of stress within the student body, and that can really affect a kid. We have a strong student, was straight As at Longfellow, NJHS, etc. and I think those two years of ubercompetitiveness in all things was a lot. Additionally, most MHS classes are 30-32 students.

I do know kids that diverted from Longfellow to BOC and they are happy there. I think you *have* to be on board with the Catholic doctrine and social beliefs, to include abortion, and a lot of Catholic Families have strong feelings about that and political issues.

McLean is big and as we all know from this board, FCPS isn't doing much about it. The building is in bad repair - It's understood that on a daily basis, a toilet is going to be flooding a bathroom, there are rats in the cafeteria and a ceiling tile might fall from the ceiling during class. The trailer situation is real - a lot of them (probably in the neighborhood of 20 classrooms) and most students will spend a lot of time "not in the building" as a result.

Most McLean classes are not 30-32 kids; there are only 4 trailers this year; and they are getting money to renovate the bathrooms next summer. FCPS ought to be spending more money on the school, especially with the growth in Tysons, but the quality of the education is still very strong. The band, crew, and student publications are all really strong and McLean had more National Merit Semifinalists this fall than any other high school in the state besides TJ. The idea that it’s a “pressure cooker” are overblown, but there are a lot of bright kids there doing different things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
We are districted for McLean, and we chose private for my kid. Coming out of Longfellow, there was concern about the size of McLean and while it is an excellent academic school, that creates a lot of stress within the student body, and that can really affect a kid. We have a strong student, was straight As at Longfellow, NJHS, etc. and I think those two years of ubercompetitiveness in all things was a lot. Additionally, most MHS classes are 30-32 students.

I do know kids that diverted from Longfellow to BOC and they are happy there. I think you *have* to be on board with the Catholic doctrine and social beliefs, to include abortion, and a lot of Catholic Families have strong feelings about that and political issues.

McLean is big and as we all know from this board, FCPS isn't doing much about it. The building is in bad repair - It's understood that on a daily basis, a toilet is going to be flooding a bathroom, there are rats in the cafeteria and a ceiling tile might fall from the ceiling during class. The trailer situation is real - a lot of them (probably in the neighborhood of 20 classrooms) and most students will spend a lot of time "not in the building" as a result.


Most McLean classes are not 30-32 kids; there are only 4 trailers this year; and they are getting money to renovate the bathrooms next summer. FCPS ought to be spending more money on the school, especially with the growth in Tysons, but the quality of the education is still very strong. The band, crew, and student publications are all really strong and McLean had more National Merit Semifinalists this fall than any other high school in the state besides TJ. The idea that it’s a “pressure cooker” are overblown, but there are a lot of bright kids there doing different things.

I never said it wasn't great academically. You can't deny it's at 125% capacity, academics or not, and that this year's freshman class is 600 students.

They aren't using the brand new, 14 classroom trailer complex close the softball fields this year? What is the average class size?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We are districted for McLean, and we chose private for my kid. Coming out of Longfellow, there was concern about the size of McLean and while it is an excellent academic school, that creates a lot of stress within the student body, and that can really affect a kid. We have a strong student, was straight As at Longfellow, NJHS, etc. and I think those two years of ubercompetitiveness in all things was a lot. Additionally, most MHS classes are 30-32 students.

I do know kids that diverted from Longfellow to BOC and they are happy there. I think you *have* to be on board with the Catholic doctrine and social beliefs, to include abortion, and a lot of Catholic Families have strong feelings about that and political issues.

McLean is big and as we all know from this board, FCPS isn't doing much about it. The building is in bad repair - It's understood that on a daily basis, a toilet is going to be flooding a bathroom, there are rats in the cafeteria and a ceiling tile might fall from the ceiling during class. The trailer situation is real - a lot of them (probably in the neighborhood of 20 classrooms) and most students will spend a lot of time "not in the building" as a result.


Most McLean classes are not 30-32 kids; there are only 4 trailers this year; and they are getting money to renovate the bathrooms next summer. FCPS ought to be spending more money on the school, especially with the growth in Tysons, but the quality of the education is still very strong. The band, crew, and student publications are all really strong and McLean had more National Merit Semifinalists this fall than any other high school in the state besides TJ. The idea that it’s a “pressure cooker” are overblown, but there are a lot of bright kids there doing different things.

I never said it wasn't great academically. You can't deny it's at 125% capacity, academics or not, and that this year's freshman class is 600 students.

They aren't using the brand new, 14 classroom trailer complex close the softball fields this year? What is the average class size?

The capacity % depends on whether you include or exclude the 12 modular classrooms. The modular is exterior to the main building, but it's also got its own bathrooms and climate control, which can't be said for trailers. Some kids will tell you they like going outside for a breath of fresh air between classes. It's not a long walk.

The average class sizes in core academic areas ranged from 25 to 29 kids last year.

The freshman class is about 600 kids. That's smaller than the number of 8th graders at Longfellow last year due to the kids going to TJ and privates. It's a bit hard to predict what the future class sizes will be. On the one hand, there's a big drop off now in the number of kids in ES in FCPS, including in most of the feeders to McLean except for Kent Gardens and Spring Hill. On the other hand, they keep building in Tysons, and all of that feeds into Marshall or McLean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are districted for McLean, and we chose private for my kid. Coming out of Longfellow, there was concern about the size of McLean and while it is an excellent academic school, that creates a lot of stress within the student body, and that can really affect a kid. We have a strong student, was straight As at Longfellow, NJHS, etc. and I think those two years of ubercompetitiveness in all things was a lot. Additionally, most MHS classes are 30-32 students.

I do know kids that diverted from Longfellow to BOC and they are happy there. I think you *have* to be on board with the Catholic doctrine and social beliefs, to include abortion, and a lot of Catholic Families have strong feelings about that and political issues.

McLean is big and as we all know from this board, FCPS isn't doing much about it. The building is in bad repair - It's understood that on a daily basis, a toilet is going to be flooding a bathroom, there are rats in the cafeteria and a ceiling tile might fall from the ceiling during class. The trailer situation is real - a lot of them (probably in the neighborhood of 20 classrooms) and most students will spend a lot of time "not in the building" as a result.

Most McLean classes are not 30-32 kids; there are only 4 trailers this year; and they are getting money to renovate the bathrooms next summer. FCPS ought to be spending more money on the school, especially with the growth in Tysons, but the quality of the education is still very strong. The band, crew, and student publications are all really strong and McLean had more National Merit Semifinalists this fall than any other high school in the state besides TJ. The idea that it’s a “pressure cooker” are overblown, but there are a lot of bright kids there doing different things.

did they get rid of the ten classroom mega trailer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are districted for McLean, and we chose private for my kid. Coming out of Longfellow, there was concern about the size of McLean and while it is an excellent academic school, that creates a lot of stress within the student body, and that can really affect a kid. We have a strong student, was straight As at Longfellow, NJHS, etc. and I think those two years of ubercompetitiveness in all things was a lot. Additionally, most MHS classes are 30-32 students.

I do know kids that diverted from Longfellow to BOC and they are happy there. I think you *have* to be on board with the Catholic doctrine and social beliefs, to include abortion, and a lot of Catholic Families have strong feelings about that and political issues.

McLean is big and as we all know from this board, FCPS isn't doing much about it. The building is in bad repair - It's understood that on a daily basis, a toilet is going to be flooding a bathroom, there are rats in the cafeteria and a ceiling tile might fall from the ceiling during class. The trailer situation is real - a lot of them (probably in the neighborhood of 20 classrooms) and most students will spend a lot of time "not in the building" as a result.

Most McLean classes are not 30-32 kids; there are only 4 trailers this year; and they are getting money to renovate the bathrooms next summer. FCPS ought to be spending more money on the school, especially with the growth in Tysons, but the quality of the education is still very strong. The band, crew, and student publications are all really strong and McLean had more National Merit Semifinalists this fall than any other high school in the state besides TJ. The idea that it’s a “pressure cooker” are overblown, but there are a lot of bright kids there doing different things.

did they get rid of the ten classroom mega trailer?

If you want to claim modular classroom are the same as a "mega trailer," go ahead. People who've been inside a modular know the classrooms are more like regular classrooms, even if the exteriors are bland and the modulars are detached from the main building. They aren't ideal, nor should they be a long-term solution to crowding, but they also aren't trailers.

The modular at McLean has 12 classrooms. There were 20 other schools in FCPS last year (over 10% of the total) with 10 or more modular classrooms last year.

[Anonymous]

NP. A modular is not the same as a trailer. It's very nice inside with bathrooms and climate control. And why is someone who has no kids at McLean purporting to explain the conditions at McLean?

[Anonymous]

We were over at McLean for a basketball game over the weekend and, while parts of the school look old, on the inside it looked like a school that the staff and custodians take pains to make look as good as possible. Lots of art work and photos of sports teams on display, stenciled mottos on the walls, etc. I left thinking I'd be happy for my kid to go there, even if it's not recently renovated like Oakton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could anyone with experience at Mclean please give an opinion of how it might compare to Bishop O'Connell? I'm a graduate of Catholic schools and my husband is a graduate of Mclean - he believes Mclean is just as good as a private, but I don't. However, he never went to private, and I didn't experience public. So we don't really know. DS is very introverted, and a good but not great student. He's at a small private now and doing really well. Any opinions or experiences at Mclean to share?

My sister sent her kids to private catholic schools like Gonzaga even though she was zoned for McLean. I'm sure you get a fine education at either, but would pick McLean unless you value religious indoctrination. My niece went to Bishop Oconnel and mainly complained about all the pro-life teachings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could anyone with experience at Mclean please give an opinion of how it might compare to Bishop O'Connell? I'm a graduate of Catholic schools and my husband is a graduate of Mclean - he believes Mclean is just as good as a private, but I don't. However, he never went to private, and I didn't experience public. So we don't really know. DS is very introverted, and a good but not great student. He's at a small private now and doing really well. Any opinions or experiences at Mclean to share?

My sister sent her kids to private catholic schools like Gonzaga even though she was zoned for McLean. I'm sure you get a fine education at either, but would pick McLean unless you value religious indoctrination. My niece went to Bishop Oconnel and mainly complained about all the pro-life teachings.

Oh wow. That’s pretty obnoxious to send a kid to a Catholic school and then complain that they teach Catholic teachings. She probably wasn’t a good candidate for catholic school. Lol.