Rising K LoCo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think OP is coming back, but if you do OP and the school is Potowmack I would absolutely try it, at least for a year or two. The community of families that live around the school - the Esterbrook area and the homes off of Cutwater and Hampshire Station - are very involved. If your child likes to swim I’d also recommend joining the summer swim team and she will meet lots of school friends there as well and it’s a great program.

NP- those are districted to Horizon

No, Cutwater is definitely Potowmack. I know several people who live there. Hampshire Station is split. I’m talking about the west side (on the other side of Cascades) - they also go to Potowmack. I know families there too. The side of Hampshire over by Horizon goes to Horizon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually wanted to know about Potowmack too. It seems gerrymandered that all the townhouses and apartments go to that school. Whereas algonkian, horizon and Lowes Island elementary have no apartments. The boundaries are even cut strange. Why are its score tanking year after year?

I’m not really sure what seems gerrymandered about it. It is the closest school to both of the apartment complexes I am thinking of. It wouldn’t make sense for those kids to go to one of the other schools. But all three of the other schools (Horizon, Lowes and Algonkian) all have loads of townhomes in their districts. I’m in Lowes and probably close to half the families we know live in townhomes.

[Anonymous]

Townhouses =/= apartments

And yes of course all the apartments go to one school. Communities come out hard for boundary meetings because of that. They do it in Arlington too. Shove the poorer kids and neighborhoods all into one school so the upper middle class kids don’t have to share resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Townhouses =/= apartments

And yes of course all the apartments go to one school. Communities come out hard for boundary meetings because of that. They do it in Arlington too. Shove the poorer kids and neighborhoods all into one school so the upper middle class kids don’t have to share resources.

Well, in this one instance the school is still doing a great job and I know 10+ happy families there. We are all on the same summer swim team. The house we ended up buying fed to another school nearby but I’d send my kids to Potowmack without hesitation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Townhouses =/= apartments

And yes of course all the apartments go to one school. Communities come out hard for boundary meetings because of that. They do it in Arlington too. Shove the poorer kids and neighborhoods all into one school so the upper middle class kids don’t have to share resources.

I didn’t say townhouses = apartments. The PP above me said “all the townhouses and apartments” go this one school. It’s not true, and there are also a lot of SFH at that school. And the townhomes are $450k so nothing to sneeze at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My oldest is heading off to K next year in Loudoun county. I’m getting more anxious because our parents and friends keep telling us horror stories (although they don’t have kids at my particular school). My elementary school is 2/10. It’s 40% esol. It was a 6/10 5 years ago when we bought our home but they started some school choice program. Family and friends are urging us to move or to do private. They say my daughter will be overlooked and class sizes will be extraordinarily large next year. I think the main issue is that so many kids don’t speak English and this hits harder at the early grades. I don’t agree with my family, but have so many questions.

Are K classes differentiated at all? My daughter is reading well. Are their separate classes for kids learning English or are they all together?

What would you all do? I am worried she won’t get any attention and will get ignored because so many others need more help. I just don’t feel ready to move though. We love our neighborhood. Also, the school one street over (our house backs to the school) is 7/10. Why aren’t they leveling the two schools out? That’s the part I don’t understand. Why do they only bus kids into our school and not all?

We pulled from our high ESL school.

Imagine a class where every single instruction is repeated in English and Spanish. Its a very awful education for all kids involved.

[Anonymous]

I know this is an older thread from last year, but we're looking into homes in Cascades/Potomac Falls area now, and wondering about the schools. There is one house we like that goes to Potowmack. Any more feedback on that area and the schools?

[Anonymous]

We sold our house and moved to escape River Bend MS and Pot Falls HS. The whole area is changing, and there are lots of renters. The school population will explode with the coming builds at the old Regal center. I’m sure that Cascades Marketplace will also be made into residential.

Do your research before buying in the area. There’s old Loudoun Times-Mirror, The Burn, and Loudoun Now articles that cover these changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this is an older thread from last year, but we're looking into homes in Cascades/Potomac Falls area now, and wondering about the schools. There is one house we like that goes to Potowmack. Any more feedback on that area and the schools?

I live in Lowes Island and we like it fine. Potowmack does have the highest % of low income of the 4 Cascades ES (Lowes Island, Horizon, Algonkian, Potowmack.) Is one of you trying to commute east? My husband refused to move any further out due to his job, but if not for that I think I'd prefer Lansdowne (21076, Riverside HS) or one of the newer neighborhoods in Ashburn districted to Briar Woods HS.