Let's talk about the lower performing schools in FFX

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is your budget and where do you need to commute? We live in the Woodson pyramid (between little River and braddock) and there are houses in the 500k range that are close to major roads to DC.

600K max and we want a single family home. I work in Old Town and DH works across the river in Maryland. We don't want to live in PG county, so we are looking for places along the beltway. Hence the Edison, West Potomac, Hayfield, Annadale, Falls Church questions.

We are renting right now and have considered the West of the beltway neighborhoods, but in terms of getting on the beltway, we can't go too far west before running into serious commute issues.

600K will give you a nice single family home feeding into West Springfield HS with uniformly excellent elementary schools.

+1 or Chantilly HS, with Rocky Run & Franklin for MS (maybe Carson for AAP) and lots of great ES options (Oak Hill & Lees Corner come to mind). Tons of GS 9 ESs & MSs.

I can't imagine wanting to live that far out if commuting to both Alexandria and Maryland like OP. West Springfield/Burke would be about as far as I'd consider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. 2 to W&M and 7 to UVA-- that's sobering.

That doesn't mean those are the only kids. The listing in the mag is only those who wanted it publicized. It might be the full number, but it might not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. 2 to W&M and 7 to UVA-- that's sobering.

That doesn't mean those are the only kids. The listing in the mag is only those who wanted it publicized. It might be the full number, but it might not.

Different edition from another year has 5 going to W&M and 6 to U. Va., not much different.

https://issuu.com/thecurrent02/docs/binder1_full_pdf_29250182fa33c9

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. 2 to W&M and 7 to UVA-- that's sobering.

It's hard to say whether it's sobering or not. There are other high schools that routinely send over a dozen grads to W&M and over 30 to U. Va. Clearly Edison isn't attracting as many top-achieving kids as other schools - we all knew that already - but it still leaves open the question whether a particular child does any better (greater chance of admission with the same stats) or worse (unlikely to end up with as good stats as students elsewhere) at Edison than at other schools.

Is W&M considered a good school?

I grew up in NY. Boston and NYC and NE - Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, NYU, Tufts, Boston College, etc. I can't recall anyone mentioning or going to UVA. I realized it is a good school after I moved down here.

[Anonymous]

We are in Kingstowne zoned for Twain/Edison, DS attends AAP at Springfield Estates. I'm happy with SEES and have heard positive things about Twain from neighbors, friends, and AAP parents.

I've had relatives attend Edison and they are solidly in the middle - attended good state schools like JMU. I graduated from another local district and attended UVA.

I think kids who are in a strong cohort with engaged, supportive parents tend to do well anywhere. That being said, we will consider all our options once DS is closer to HS.

Currently I'm leaning to having him attend Hayfield instead for AP classes. Then again, there's lots of chatter about low performance concerns there because of the various Rt. 1 neighborhoods that are zoned for Hayfield.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. 2 to W&M and 7 to UVA-- that's sobering.

It's hard to say whether it's sobering or not. There are other high schools that routinely send over a dozen grads to W&M and over 30 to U. Va. Clearly Edison isn't attracting as many top-achieving kids as other schools - we all knew that already - but it still leaves open the question whether a particular child does any better (greater chance of admission with the same stats) or worse (unlikely to end up with as good stats as students elsewhere) at Edison than at other schools.

less about "attracting" good students and more about the neighborhoods zoned for Edison. Most of the kids don't start out with lots of advantages. Some do. It makes a difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. 2 to W&M and 7 to UVA-- that's sobering.

It's hard to say whether it's sobering or not. There are other high schools that routinely send over a dozen grads to W&M and over 30 to U. Va. Clearly Edison isn't attracting as many top-achieving kids as other schools - we all knew that already - but it still leaves open the question whether a particular child does any better (greater chance of admission with the same stats) or worse (unlikely to end up with as good stats as students elsewhere) at Edison than at other schools.

Is W&M considered a good school?

I grew up in NY. Boston and NYC and NE - Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, NYU, Tufts, Boston College, etc. I can't recall anyone mentioning or going to UVA. I realized it is a good school after I moved down here.

UVA is ranked higher than Boston College, Tufts and NYU by US News and World Report. W&M is ranked #34, versus NYU at #32.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. 2 to W&M and 7 to UVA-- that's sobering.

It's hard to say whether it's sobering or not. There are other high schools that routinely send over a dozen grads to W&M and over 30 to U. Va. Clearly Edison isn't attracting as many top-achieving kids as other schools - we all knew that already - but it still leaves open the question whether a particular child does any better (greater chance of admission with the same stats) or worse (unlikely to end up with as good stats as students elsewhere) at Edison than at other schools.

Is W&M considered a good school?

I grew up in NY. Boston and NYC and NE - Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, NYU, Tufts, Boston College, etc. I can't recall anyone mentioning or going to UVA. I realized it is a good school after I moved down here.

UVA is ranked higher than Boston College, Tufts and NYU by US News and World Report. W&M is ranked #34, versus NYU at #32.

Doesn't matter -- if it's not in NY or Boston then it's not worth it to PP. There are actually good schools all over the country, but many people don't know and don't care.

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised W&M is ranked below Nyu. I would be Definitely consider W&M to be more prestigious, and certainly much more difficult to gain admittance.
Everybody knows NYU, while perfectly fine, is for kids that mommy and daddy can pay to get in. All about the $$$.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the suggestion to check out Wilton Woods. Lovely neighborhood and commutes would be easy. Here is a current listing:

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/3314-Sharon-Chapel-Rd-22310/home/9758711

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.weichert.com/64627616/
http://www.weichert.com/60191545/
http://www.weichert.com/61044745/

These are Edison cluster. Most Edison grads go to community college. The very top of the class goes anywhere. This year grads were accepted at Stanford and Cornell (that's all I know word of mouth, not a full list, and given only as examples). Some kids make in-state choices for financial reasons. The building is in good shape. Activities are accessible to all, including a number of sports. Teachers care, though I'd say some of the assignments are graded formulaically, rather than with deep analysis and highly personalized feedback. It's a large public high school, so that's probably standard. Also, my kids have not had many IB courses yet, so that's subject to change. It's diverse and inclusive and almost a stereotype of a suburban American HS except for the diversity. My kids are happy.

Where did you get the statistic that "most Edison grads go to community college" - I don't see that anywhere on the Edison site. Anecdotally, I doubt that's true.

[Anonymous]

Edison is a fine school and is getting better. I think n time t will edge out Hayfield. Honestly, if you are unhappy move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. 2 to W&M and 7 to UVA-- that's sobering.

It's hard to say whether it's sobering or not. There are other high schools that routinely send over a dozen grads to W&M and over 30 to U. Va. Clearly Edison isn't attracting as many top-achieving kids as other schools - we all knew that already - but it still leaves open the question whether a particular child does any better (greater chance of admission with the same stats) or worse (unlikely to end up with as good stats as students elsewhere) at Edison than at other schools.

Edison is a lot smaller than most of the other high schools in the county - according to this PDF http://www.fcps.edu/it/studentreporting/historical/pdfs/Ethnicity_Race_Gender/2015-16%20EthnicRaceGenderReport.pdf they had 1,934 students in 2015-2016. The only smaller schools were Falls Church and Lee (and TJ). Proportionally they still send fewer than the other top HS to W&M and UVA but you can't directly compare their numbers to the bigger schools like Lake Braddock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. 2 to W&M and 7 to UVA-- that's sobering.

It's hard to say whether it's sobering or not. There are other high schools that routinely send over a dozen grads to W&M and over 30 to U. Va. Clearly Edison isn't attracting as many top-achieving kids as other schools - we all knew that already - but it still leaves open the question whether a particular child does any better (greater chance of admission with the same stats) or worse (unlikely to end up with as good stats as students elsewhere) at Edison than at other schools.

Edison is a lot smaller than most of the other high schools in the county - according to this PDF http://www.fcps.edu/it/studentreporting/historical/pdfs/Ethnicity_Race_Gender/2015-16%20EthnicRaceGenderReport.pdf they had 1,934 students in 2015-2016. The only smaller schools were Falls Church and Lee (and TJ). Proportionally they still send fewer than the other top HS to W&M and UVA but you can't directly compare their numbers to the bigger schools like Lake Braddock.

Looks like your chances to go would be high then! UVA is only going to take but so many kids from 1 HS. Also, maybe kids got in but couldn't afford it. Edison is not in a very high socioeconomic area. This would not sway me for choosing Edison for my child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. 2 to W&M and 7 to UVA-- that's sobering.

It's hard to say whether it's sobering or not. There are other high schools that routinely send over a dozen grads to W&M and over 30 to U. Va. Clearly Edison isn't attracting as many top-achieving kids as other schools - we all knew that already - but it still leaves open the question whether a particular child does any better (greater chance of admission with the same stats) or worse (unlikely to end up with as good stats as students elsewhere) at Edison than at other schools.

Edison is a lot smaller than most of the other high schools in the county - according to this PDF http://www.fcps.edu/it/studentreporting/historical/pdfs/Ethnicity_Race_Gender/2015-16%20EthnicRaceGenderReport.pdf they had 1,934 students in 2015-2016. The only smaller schools were Falls Church and Lee (and TJ). Proportionally they still send fewer than the other top HS to W&M and UVA but you can't directly compare their numbers to the bigger schools like Lake Braddock.

Looks like your chances to go would be high then! UVA is only going to take but so many kids from 1 HS. Also, maybe kids got in but couldn't afford it. Edison is not in a very high socioeconomic area. This would not sway me for choosing Edison for my child.

But that's the issue. Edison appears to send few kids to U. Va. and W&M on both an absolute and a proportionate basis. Do you have any actual evidence that students with similar credentials benefit from attending Edison, due to admissions quotas for other schools?