Recommendations needed for great FCPS elementary school that is NOT a center school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hunt Valley or Orange Hunt.

Great neighborhoods, great people with smart kids that seemingly could care less about AAP.

Wow, the anti-AAP attitude on DCUM is finally becoming, "I want to avoid any chance of my child being in a school with an AAP center even if my child is in general ed." Without regard for the quality of the general ed in that school, or the overall "community feel." Yes, center schools are also community schools with community involvement.

Seriously, OP, look at any school as a whole. AAP students are just kids, and in four years when my child has been in an AAP center I haven't seen the kind of elitism or crazed intensity that DCUM posters constantly claim exists in the kids and the parents. I just never saw it, and I spent a lot of time in the school every week working directly with kids and teachers.

Don't make assumptions about an entire school just because it has a center or Level IV classes, and don't dismiss a school outright for just that reason. You might be denying your child a very good general ed program just because it is under the same roof as a center.

No, this is not it. The OP was looking for a non-CENTER, not for mediocrity. Non-center also still may mean local Level IV, and more freedom for the principal and the teachers to provide advanced education to whoever might benefit from it, without the crazy structure imposed from the county. Little known fact that I have come to realize since our school became a "center" this year -- a child in GE at a center school has access to way fewer resources than a child at a school with Local Level IV AAp, or even a school without Level IV resources at all. Most schools will try to maximize education, its just that in a center, that effort seems exclusively focused on the AAP classes. The GE no longer even gets the pull-outs that were standard before. There is no such thing as L3 anymore. And good luck trying to get a principal's ear when concerned about the drop in education level for the GE group. The fact is, the school will get their inflated SOLS, and they cease to care about GE.

In addition, the community is split between the "locals" and the folks outside the neighborhood. Since so many schools already have their own Local Level IV education, those families who came to our center are those who don;t really care for a community, and who have chosen to drive across town just to be in a "center".

So there are really good reasons for actively pursuing a school with local Level IV education, rather than a center. Knowing what I know now, I should have fought tooth and nail against our school becoming a center. It destroyed a wonderful school and will probably ruin the value of our house in proximity of the school.

[Anonymous]

While the Franklin Sherman area is pretty expensive, I'd also consider that school. It's small, like Vienna ES in Vienna, and very friendly. They have a fair number of speical needs kids there, and that tends to create an environment where not everyone is super academically intense, expected to be gunning for TJ, etc. The families I know there are very happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:While the Franklin Sherman area is pretty expensive, I'd also consider that school. It's small, like Vienna ES in Vienna, and very friendly. They have a fair number of speical needs kids there, and that tends to create an environment where not everyone is super academically intense, expected to be gunning for TJ, etc. The families I know there are very happy.

Until they get to Longfellow....

[Anonymous]

11:51 I think you're correct in your thinking and why a lot of LLIV schools wanted to keep the status quo verses becoming a center, but there are typically more AAP resources at a center school than LLIV and it's easier to run things like Science Olympiad and Odyssey of the Mind and just things in general with a larger population. Some of the smaller schools really have a hard time filling PTA positions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While the Franklin Sherman area is pretty expensive, I'd also consider that school. It's small, like Vienna ES in Vienna, and very friendly. They have a fair number of speical needs kids there, and that tends to create an environment where not everyone is super academically intense, expected to be gunning for TJ, etc. The families I know there are very happy.

Until they get to Longfellow....

If AAP parents are that scary, I'd avoid any Vienna or Falls Church schools feeding into Kilmer. too, and maybe look at Vienna schools that feed into Thoreau. Of course, as Kilmer gets more crowded, FCPS may end up opening a center at Thoreau, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My list would be (in no paricular order): Oakton (LLIV), Vienna, Marshall Road (LLIV), Cunningham Park, Freedom Hill (LLIV), Shrevewood, Stenwood, Wolftrap (LLIV), Westgate (LLIV)

Westbriar -- now is a center -- not sure what it will be like. Flint Hill has a lot of LLIV classrooms. People have mentioned their concerns about Wolftrap, but we have not heard these from our friends w/ kids there. We have friends (and ours attend one of these) at Vienna, Marshall Road, Freedom Hill, Flint Hill and Cunningham Park. Each of these school communities I would say from our conversations is great but each is different culturally, social-economically, so has a different feel. Having been to these schools when looking for our house I would also caution against just looking at something like Great Schools because boiling things down to one number can hide great things happening in the classroom.

Btw, Shrevewood now has LLIV for third grade, with the intention of adding one grade every year...

[Anonymous]

westgate is also highly rated http://www.greatschools.org/virginia/falls-church/588-Westgate-Elementary-School/

[Anonymous]

What about Crossfield or Waples Mill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hunt Valley or Orange Hunt.

Great neighborhoods, great people with smart kids that seemingly could care less about AAP.

Wow, the anti-AAP attitude on DCUM is finally becoming, "I want to avoid any chance of my child being in a school with an AAP center even if my child is in general ed." Without regard for the quality of the general ed in that school, or the overall "community feel." Yes, center schools are also community schools with community involvement.

Seriously, OP, look at any school as a whole. AAP students are just kids, and in four years when my child has been in an AAP center I haven't seen the kind of elitism or crazed intensity that DCUM posters constantly claim exists in the kids and the parents. I just never saw it, and I spent a lot of time in the school every week working directly with kids and teachers.

Don't make assumptions about an entire school just because it has a center or Level IV classes, and don't dismiss a school outright for just that reason. You might be denying your child a very good general ed program just because it is under the same roof as a center.

No, this is not it. The OP was looking for a non-CENTER, not for mediocrity. Non-center also still may mean local Level IV, and more freedom for the principal and the teachers to provide advanced education to whoever might benefit from it, without the crazy structure imposed from the county. Little known fact that I have come to realize since our school became a "center" this year -- a child in GE at a center school has access to way fewer resources than a child at a school with Local Level IV AAp, or even a school without Level IV resources at all. Most schools will try to maximize education, its just that in a center, that effort seems exclusively focused on the AAP classes. The GE no longer even gets the pull-outs that were standard before. There is no such thing as L3 anymore. And good luck trying to get a principal's ear when concerned about the drop in education level for the GE group. The fact is, the school will get their inflated SOLS, and they cease to care about GE.

In addition, the community is split between the "locals" and the folks outside the neighborhood. Since so many schools already have their own Local Level IV education, those families who came to our center are those who don;t really care for a community, and who have chosen to drive across town just to be in a "center".

So there are really good reasons for actively pursuing a school with local Level IV education, rather than a center. Knowing what I know now, I should have fought tooth and nail against our school becoming a center. It destroyed a wonderful school and will probably ruin the value of our house in proximity of the school.

PP, you have totally nailed it, in every way. Our school was built about ten years ago, as a center. At the time, I didn't even have kids in school yet and was excited at the prospect of them attending a center school (regardless of whether or not the kids would later be in GT, as it was called at the time). I so regret that we weren't able to see what was coming and move to a non-center school when we had the chance. It's like one big AAP factory with little thought for the few GE classes in each grade. Like the OP, I would definitely consider a move to a neighborhood with a "normal" school atmosphere. Local Level IV would be ok, because as you pointed out, it's much more fluid and kids are able to get enrichment in the areas they need it. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20, as they say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While the Franklin Sherman area is pretty expensive, I'd also consider that school. It's small, like Vienna ES in Vienna, and very friendly. They have a fair number of speical needs kids there, and that tends to create an environment where not everyone is super academically intense, expected to be gunning for TJ, etc. The families I know there are very happy.

Until they get to Longfellow....

If AAP parents are that scary, I'd avoid any Vienna or Falls Church schools feeding into Kilmer. too, and maybe look at Vienna schools that feed into Thoreau. Of course, as Kilmer gets more crowded, FCPS may end up opening a center at Thoreau, too.

This is the reverse of why we were so happy when DD finished elementary school at a center school (she was Gen Ed). She went on to Cooper, a great non-center middle school and it was wonderful having no AAP center there! In fact, lots of her friends who had been in AAP chose to go to Cooper because they were tired of AAP and just wanted to be in their community school. DD is taking honors classes and couldn't be happier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:westgate is also highly rated http://www.greatschools.org/virginia/falls-church/588-Westgate-Elementary-School/

But Shrevewood and most of Westgate feed into Kilmer, which has a huge AAP center.

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty sure the plan is to move a lot of those kids from Kilmer back to Cooper in the next couple of years if not this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Vienna Elementary - great school & community feeling within the town of Vienna.

Must pay vienna town taxes though.

[Anonymous]

colvin run is another school I was looking at. We ended up at Westbriar -- but it became a center this year...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hunt Valley or Orange Hunt.

Great neighborhoods, great people with smart kids that seemingly could care less about AAP.

Wow, the anti-AAP attitude on DCUM is finally becoming, "I want to avoid any chance of my child being in a school with an AAP center even if my child is in general ed." Without regard for the quality of the general ed in that school, or the overall "community feel." Yes, center schools are also community schools with community involvement.

Seriously, OP, look at any school as a whole. AAP students are just kids, and in four years when my child has been in an AAP center I haven't seen the kind of elitism or crazed intensity that DCUM posters constantly claim exists in the kids and the parents. I just never saw it, and I spent a lot of time in the school every week working directly with kids and teachers.

Don't make assumptions about an entire school just because it has a center or Level IV classes, and don't dismiss a school outright for just that reason. You might be denying your child a very good general ed byprogram just because it is under the same roof as a center.

No, this is not it. The OP was looking for a non-CENTER, not for mediocrity. Non-center also still may mean local Level IV, and more freedom for the principal and the teachers to provide advanced education to whoever might benefit from it, without the crazy structure imposed from the county. Little known fact that I have come to realize since our school became a "center" this year -- a child in GE at a center school has access to way fewer resources than a child at a school with Local Level IV AAp, or even a school without Level IV resources at all. Most schools will try to maximize education, its just that in a center, that effort seems exclusively focused on the AAP classes. The GE no longer even gets the pull-outs that were standard before. There is no such thing as L3 anymore. And good luck trying to get a principal's ear when concerned about the drop in education level for the GE group. The fact is, the school will get their inflated SOLS, and they cease to care about GE.

In addition, the community is split between the "locals" and the folks outside the neighborhood. Since so many schools already have their own Local Level IV education, those families who came to our center are those who don;t really care for a community, and who have chosen to drive across town just to be in a "center".

So there are really good reasons for actively pursuing a school with local Level IV education, rather than a center. Knowing what I know now, I should have fought tooth and nail against our school becoming a center. It destroyed a wonderful school and will probably ruin the value of our house in proximity of the school.

You had me until the last part about ruining the value of your house. This isn't usually the case. Usually because of the increase in SOL scores the value of the houses over time increase.