Hoffman Boston Elementary vs Oakridge vs ??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP Here: so far based on these reviews, we are considering Glebe, HB, Oakridge, Ashlawn . Some of these are far away for pick up and drop off say to and from L'enfant.. I wish I could pare it down further.

Took off ASFS from our list (based on principal and the mess with teachers leaving)..
As someone pointed the new key site school will have growing pains and there are too many unknowns..Area is super convenient for commute though...

I would just stay away from Randolph, Carlin Springs, Campbell, Barrett, Barcroft and HB. I’d be fine sending my kid to any of the others. Is this only for a year or permanent move?

Campbell is a lottery school, very hard to win, and not close to where OP would live.

Pp just said to steer clear of the title 1 schools.

Well, in that case PP’s list isn’t exhaustive of all Title 1 schools and seems a little silly to mention HB and Campbell in the same way as the others, given test scores. Unless that’s not really the reason PP thinks OP should avoid those schools.

I thought HB was Title 1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP Here: so far based on these reviews, we are considering Glebe, HB, Oakridge, Ashlawn . Some of these are far away for pick up and drop off say to and from L'enfant.. I wish I could pare it down further.

Took off ASFS from our list (based on principal and the mess with teachers leaving)..
As someone pointed the new key site school will have growing pains and there are too many unknowns..Area is super convenient for commute though...

I would just stay away from Randolph, Carlin Springs, Campbell, Barrett, Barcroft and HB. I’d be fine sending my kid to any of the others. Is this only for a year or permanent move?

I’d say that Barrett isn’t quite in the same category as the others.

Why? Because it’s in North Arlington? It has a higher poverty rate than a HB and Campbell, and equal to Barcroft, and lower test scores than a couple of those, too.

[Anonymous]

Please take all of the information here with a grain of salt. A lot of parents who haven't had experience with the title 1 schools (or a few who had a bad experience with one school and removed their children) like to post and denigrate all of them. They sayt that all of the attention is at the "bottom" and that kids who are in the middle or more privileged will be left behind. I have a child in upper elementary at one of the schools on the list to "avoid" from a previous post. My daughter has 18 kids in her class. The teacher has offered to do check ins (which often last 30 minutes) weekly with the student and a parent for any family who is interested. These are mostly slotted into Mondays. DD (who is white, English speaking and not identified as gifted and generally at, just behind or just above grade level) has regular interventions in small groups and one on on with the teacher to target math, reading and writing skills where she needs support and/or to ensure understanding. The teacher sends an update through seesaw every day on what work should have been done, congratulating kids who finished and reminder others to complete it. DD is behind where I would like her to be academically but this has more to do with the pandemic and last spring and the world then our specific school. In fact, our experience has been much better than that of parents I've talked to from some of the welathier N. Arlington schools. One experience, but just food for thought. No direct experience with Hoffman Boston.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please take all of the information here with a grain of salt. A lot of parents who haven't had experience with the title 1 schools (or a few who had a bad experience with one school and removed their children) like to post and denigrate all of them. They sayt that all of the attention is at the "bottom" and that kids who are in the middle or more privileged will be left behind. I have a child in upper elementary at one of the schools on the list to "avoid" from a previous post. My daughter has 18 kids in her class. The teacher has offered to do check ins (which often last 30 minutes) weekly with the student and a parent for any family who is interested. These are mostly slotted into Mondays. DD (who is white, English speaking and not identified as gifted and generally at, just behind or just above grade level) has regular interventions in small groups and one on on with the teacher to target math, reading and writing skills where she needs support and/or to ensure understanding. The teacher sends an update through seesaw every day on what work should have been done, congratulating kids who finished and reminder others to complete it. DD is behind where I would like her to be academically but this has more to do with the pandemic and last spring and the world then our specific school. In fact, our experience has been much better than that of parents I've talked to from some of the welathier N. Arlington schools. One experience, but just food for thought. No direct experience with Hoffman Boston.

I have heard of title 1 schools having issues with “teaching to the bottom,” but I have never heard that complaint when it comes to Arlington title 1 schools. In fact I have heard better things from the parents of HB parents than I have from a lot north Arlington schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please take all of the information here with a grain of salt. A lot of parents who haven't had experience with the title 1 schools (or a few who had a bad experience with one school and removed their children) like to post and denigrate all of them. They sayt that all of the attention is at the "bottom" and that kids who are in the middle or more privileged will be left behind. I have a child in upper elementary at one of the schools on the list to "avoid" from a previous post. My daughter has 18 kids in her class. The teacher has offered to do check ins (which often last 30 minutes) weekly with the student and a parent for any family who is interested. These are mostly slotted into Mondays. DD (who is white, English speaking and not identified as gifted and generally at, just behind or just above grade level) has regular interventions in small groups and one on on with the teacher to target math, reading and writing skills where she needs support and/or to ensure understanding. The teacher sends an update through seesaw every day on what work should have been done, congratulating kids who finished and reminder others to complete it. DD is behind where I would like her to be academically but this has more to do with the pandemic and last spring and the world then our specific school. In fact, our experience has been much better than that of parents I've talked to from some of the welathier N. Arlington schools. One experience, but just food for thought. No direct experience with Hoffman Boston.

I have heard of title 1 schools having issues with “teaching to the bottom,” but I have never heard that complaint when it comes to Arlington title 1 schools. In fact I have heard better things from the parents of HB parents than I have from a lot north Arlington schools.

Often that is the result of which parents you are talking to. Here is what I have observed over the years

Grades K - 1 - "We LOVE the school! It's awesome. The teachers are amazing. My child is reading 3 grade levels ahead!

Grade 2 - "We really like the school. The teachers try their best to accommodate our child. We are looking into the TAG program because we really feel it will benefit Larlo..."

Grade 3 - "The teachers really do their best but with so many kids behind it can be difficult. The principal is responsive when I raise a concern. We thought the TAG program would be more robust. We have started tutoring/Mathnasium/Kumon/ just for extra challenge."

Grade 4 - 5 "It's a nice school. Our kids have made some really good friends. They do a lot for the community and make sure that FARMS kids have school supplies and reading books at home. There is a lot of focus on catching up the kids that are behind. It's seems to be overwhelming to the teachers at times to juggle all those needs. We are looking forward to middle school and checking out the options available to us. " OR "We are looking at private schools for next year. Just trying to think ahead to high school" OR " We are planning to put our house on the market in the spring. Prices are really skyrocketing and we think now is a good time to sell"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please take all of the information here with a grain of salt. A lot of parents who haven't had experience with the title 1 schools (or a few who had a bad experience with one school and removed their children) like to post and denigrate all of them. They sayt that all of the attention is at the "bottom" and that kids who are in the middle or more privileged will be left behind. I have a child in upper elementary at one of the schools on the list to "avoid" from a previous post. My daughter has 18 kids in her class. The teacher has offered to do check ins (which often last 30 minutes) weekly with the student and a parent for any family who is interested. These are mostly slotted into Mondays. DD (who is white, English speaking and not identified as gifted and generally at, just behind or just above grade level) has regular interventions in small groups and one on on with the teacher to target math, reading and writing skills where she needs support and/or to ensure understanding. The teacher sends an update through seesaw every day on what work should have been done, congratulating kids who finished and reminder others to complete it. DD is behind where I would like her to be academically but this has more to do with the pandemic and last spring and the world then our specific school. In fact, our experience has been much better than that of parents I've talked to from some of the welathier N. Arlington schools. One experience, but just food for thought. No direct experience with Hoffman Boston.

I have heard of title 1 schools having issues with “teaching to the bottom,” but I have never heard that complaint when it comes to Arlington title 1 schools. In fact I have heard better things from the parents of HB parents than I have from a lot north Arlington schools.

Often that is the result of which parents you are talking to. Here is what I have observed over the years

Grades K - 1 - "We LOVE the school! It's awesome. The teachers are amazing. My child is reading 3 grade levels ahead!

Grade 2 - "We really like the school. The teachers try their best to accommodate our child. We are looking into the TAG program because we really feel it will benefit Larlo..."

Grade 3 - "The teachers really do their best but with so many kids behind it can be difficult. The principal is responsive when I raise a concern. We thought the TAG program would be more robust. We have started tutoring/Mathnasium/Kumon/ just for extra challenge."

Grade 4 - 5 "It's a nice school. Our kids have made some really good friends. They do a lot for the community and make sure that FARMS kids have school supplies and reading books at home. There is a lot of focus on catching up the kids that are behind. It's seems to be overwhelming to the teachers at times to juggle all those needs. We are looking forward to middle school and checking out the options available to us. " OR "We are looking at private schools for next year. Just trying to think ahead to high school" OR " We are planning to put our house on the market in the spring. Prices are really skyrocketing and we think now is a good time to sell"

Thanks for posting from Maryland in the 1980s! They don’t call it TAG here! OP, this person has no personal experience in Arlington schools. Also, look at the test scores by demographic for individual schools . There are major discrepancies between students eligible for fr/l and those who are not, as well as major discrepancies by race and English speaking status. If they only taught to the bottom or middle, the scores of the non disadvantaged non ELL students wouldn’t be as high as they are, and wouldn’t be on par with the students at non Title 1 schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP Here: so far based on these reviews, we are considering Glebe, HB, Oakridge, Ashlawn . Some of these are far away for pick up and drop off say to and from L'enfant.. I wish I could pare it down further.

Took off ASFS from our list (based on principal and the mess with teachers leaving)..
As someone pointed the new key site school will have growing pains and there are too many unknowns..Area is super convenient for commute though...

I would just stay away from Randolph, Carlin Springs, Campbell, Barrett, Barcroft and HB. I’d be fine sending my kid to any of the others. Is this only for a year or permanent move?

Campbell is a lottery school, very hard to win, and not close to where OP would live.

Pp just said to steer clear of the title 1 schools.

Well, in that case PP’s list isn’t exhaustive of all Title 1 schools and seems a little silly to mention HB and Campbell in the same way as the others, given test scores. Unless that’s not really the reason PP thinks OP should avoid those schools.

I thought HB was Title 1

It is. But this PP didn’t include all Title 1 schools and didn’t look at test scores. So really, it would seem to not be simply about poverty rates or test scores. OP, look for a school with a strong PTA, a well-regarded principal, and good test scores for your child’s demographic (a number of Title 1 schools have all of these). APS has its issues, as all systems do, but leaving behind the kids of DCUM posters is not (barring dyslexia, which is a failure across the system) one of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please take all of the information here with a grain of salt. A lot of parents who haven't had experience with the title 1 schools (or a few who had a bad experience with one school and removed their children) like to post and denigrate all of them. They sayt that all of the attention is at the "bottom" and that kids who are in the middle or more privileged will be left behind. I have a child in upper elementary at one of the schools on the list to "avoid" from a previous post. My daughter has 18 kids in her class. The teacher has offered to do check ins (which often last 30 minutes) weekly with the student and a parent for any family who is interested. These are mostly slotted into Mondays. DD (who is white, English speaking and not identified as gifted and generally at, just behind or just above grade level) has regular interventions in small groups and one on on with the teacher to target math, reading and writing skills where she needs support and/or to ensure understanding. The teacher sends an update through seesaw every day on what work should have been done, congratulating kids who finished and reminder others to complete it. DD is behind where I would like her to be academically but this has more to do with the pandemic and last spring and the world then our specific school. In fact, our experience has been much better than that of parents I've talked to from some of the welathier N. Arlington schools. One experience, but just food for thought. No direct experience with Hoffman Boston.

I have heard of title 1 schools having issues with “teaching to the bottom,” but I have never heard that complaint when it comes to Arlington title 1 schools. In fact I have heard better things from the parents of HB parents than I have from a lot north Arlington schools.

Often that is the result of which parents you are talking to. Here is what I have observed over the years

Grades K - 1 - "We LOVE the school! It's awesome. The teachers are amazing. My child is reading 3 grade levels ahead!

Grade 2 - "We really like the school. The teachers try their best to accommodate our child. We are looking into the TAG program because we really feel it will benefit Larlo..."

Grade 3 - "The teachers really do their best but with so many kids behind it can be difficult. The principal is responsive when I raise a concern. We thought the TAG program would be more robust. We have started tutoring/Mathnasium/Kumon/ just for extra challenge."

Grade 4 - 5 "It's a nice school. Our kids have made some really good friends. They do a lot for the community and make sure that FARMS kids have school supplies and reading books at home. There is a lot of focus on catching up the kids that are behind. It's seems to be overwhelming to the teachers at times to juggle all those needs. We are looking forward to middle school and checking out the options available to us. " OR "We are looking at private schools for next year. Just trying to think ahead to high school" OR " We are planning to put our house on the market in the spring. Prices are really skyrocketing and we think now is a good time to sell"

This is a prime example of what I was talking about (parents who removed their kids or know who others who did or have no experience] badmouthing.

-PP with the 3rd grader at one of the schools to be a"avoided" who is not identified as gifted and is very happpy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP Here: so far based on these reviews, we are considering Glebe, HB, Oakridge, Ashlawn . Some of these are far away for pick up and drop off say to and from L'enfant.. I wish I could pare it down further.

Took off ASFS from our list (based on principal and the mess with teachers leaving)..
As someone pointed the new key site school will have growing pains and there are too many unknowns..Area is super convenient for commute though...

I would just stay away from Randolph, Carlin Springs, Campbell, Barrett, Barcroft and HB. I’d be fine sending my kid to any of the others. Is this only for a year or permanent move?

Campbell is a lottery school, very hard to win, and not close to where OP would live.

Pp just said to steer clear of the title 1 schools.

Well, in that case PP’s list isn’t exhaustive of all Title 1 schools and seems a little silly to mention HB and Campbell in the same way as the others, given test scores. Unless that’s not really the reason PP thinks OP should avoid those schools.

I thought HB was Title 1

It is. But this PP didn’t include all Title 1 schools and didn’t look at test scores. So really, it would seem to not be simply about poverty rates or test scores. OP, look for a school with a strong PTA, a well-regarded principal, and good test scores for your child’s demographic (a number of Title 1 schools have all of these). APS has its issues, as all systems do, but leaving behind the kids of DCUM posters is not (barring dyslexia, which is a failure across the system) one of them.

Excellent points.

[Anonymous]

OP: Any thoughts on Long branch?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One way Oakridge "dealt" with its overcrowding situation was by not complaining at all when APS re-zoned all of Pentagon City (multi-family residences, at least) to Hoffman-Boston during the most recent South Arlington ES zone shake up 2 autumns ago, taking them from 770 kids down to 531 (K-5).

Hoffman-Boston is 45% Free/Reduced Lunch. We know a few families with kids there. They say it's like a United Nations there - every race/ethnicity group is somewhere in the 20's in terms of percentage. They love the principal and seem to be having a good experience there. The one family we know who didn't like the place has college-aged kids now.

Oakridge is 21% FRL. We've heard nothing but strange stories about the current principal, but we know several families who've had a great experience there regardless.

A former Arlington-wide teacher of the year who used to work at Oakridge, now works at Hoffman-Boston, FWIW.

Wow That kind of diversity is unheard of . I would love for my kid to have that cultural exposure. Alas!!

I came across something similar about the Oakridge principal on one of the rating websites..And only good things about the HB principal..

Some of these websites list Oakridge as 784. I guess that's old data. " by not complaining at all when APS re-zoned"

I have one at Hoffman Boston and one who went there and is now in MS. We love it there! It's a really special place with wonderful, caring teachers. The principal is friendly and cheerful, highly accessible, and seems to really care about the teachers and the kids. The diversity is phenomenal, as others have said, and my kids have friends from all over the world. Yes, many are immigrants and still learning English so their test scores are not as high, but by and large they are good students and their parents really care about education, even if they have to work two jobs to live in an apartment in the area. We are MC/UMC and my kids are in the "gifted services" program, and they feel challenged. They haven't gone to any other APS schools so not sure how it really compares, but for me, elementary school should be about nurturing a love of school and good relationships with others, and that's what I feel my kids have gained by going there. Distance learning has not been ideal, of course, but is it anywhere? Hopefully next year will be back to in-person.

The current principal is also as good as the one that just left?

[Anonymous]

How about Fairlington? The commute to DC is great and people seem to like Abington ES. I have taken an express bus plus metro from pentagon and it is painless.

Could also look at rental buildings along Lee highway in north Arlington. All of the elementaries are well rated and you have bus, metro or driving options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about Fairlington? The commute to DC is great and people seem to like Abington ES. I have taken an express bus plus metro from pentagon and it is painless.

Could also look at rental buildings along Lee highway in north Arlington. All of the elementaries are well rated and you have bus, metro or driving options.

We are in Fairlington. It’s fine. No metro. Lots of people crammed close together in townhomes. Almost everyone has a dog, and people aren’t great about cleaning up after them.

Abingdon is overcrowded. I wish we were in Oakridge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about Fairlington? The commute to DC is great and people seem to like Abington ES. I have taken an express bus plus metro from pentagon and it is painless.

Could also look at rental buildings along Lee highway in north Arlington. All of the elementaries are well rated and you have bus, metro or driving options.

We are in Fairlington. It’s fine. No metro. Lots of people crammed close together in townhomes. Almost everyone has a dog, and people aren’t great about cleaning up after them.

Abingdon is overcrowded. I wish we were in Oakridge.

Housing inventory for Oakridge is very sparse...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about Fairlington? The commute to DC is great and people seem to like Abington ES. I have taken an express bus plus metro from pentagon and it is painless.

Could also look at rental buildings along Lee highway in north Arlington. All of the elementaries are well rated and you have bus, metro or driving options.

We are in Fairlington. It’s fine. No metro. Lots of people crammed close together in townhomes. Almost everyone has a dog, and people aren’t great about cleaning up after them.

Abingdon is overcrowded. I wish we were in Oakridge.

Housing inventory for Oakridge is very sparse...

That’s because it’s a good area. Metro, easy commute to DC, walking to shops, good elementary school.