APS: Jamestown, Discovery, Nottingham& McKinley
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Anonymous
My daughter will be attending kindergarten in 2019 and we are zoned for Tuckahoe. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the school from our neighbors. Since it looks like we may be rezoned, I was wondering what the reputation is of Jamestown, Discovery, Nottingham and McKinley. I know nothing about them other than the fact that Discovery is new and McKinley is overcrowded 
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Anonymous
| We love Nottingham. I highly doubt you would be rezoned for Jamestown from Tuckahoe. Are you South of Lee Highway or closer to Sycamore? |
Anonymous
| I’ve had kids at both Discovery and McKinley. Both are great schools. Discovery wins in the awesome building category, and McKinley wins in the strong school community category. I think Discovery is still finding its way there, as would be expected with a new school. The overcrowding at McKinley only really affected my kids in one noticeable way- weird lunch hours. Neither kid ever had a class with more than 23 students in it, and the trailers were nice (quieter, with fewer distractions than the main building). I can highly recommend both schools. |
Anonymous
They are pretty much interchangeable except for the two things you noted -- newer building at Discovery, more crowded at McKinley (which annoys the parents but the kids don't seem to mind) |
Anonymous
| Don't forget about the potentiality of Reed. Right now, it's not even a hole in the ground. |
Anonymous
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Depending upon where you are in the Tuckahoe zone, you may get rezoned for Reed. You don't need to tell us where you live, but it would be helpful to know which side of Washington and which side of Lee.
The Discovery vs. McKinley info above is spot on. I don't see any Tuckahoe units ever moving to Jamestown. |
Anonymous
| OP agree. I’m south of Lee Highway next to Washington blvd and Sycamore. I’m guessing we might get rezoned to Reed but I was wondering what the other schools were like. I’m also thinking of applying to the Montessori program in Jamestown and Discovery though I doubt we would get in. |
Anonymous
| Meant to say OP here not OP agree. |
Anonymous
| We know families at all of those schools. You really can't go wrong, though I would probably skip McKinley due to overcrowding. We are zoned for discovery but go to ATS. I admit I felt a little remorse when I saw how beautiful Discovery is inside! (It hadn't been built yet when we were applying for kindergarten.) |
Anonymous
| If your kid is starting K next year, then you will be at Tuckahoe for K-2. Reed will open the year your child is in 3rd grade. Watch the ES boundary process this spring, but based on the general location you just gave, I would guess you will be rezoned to Reed or McKinley-- with Reed being the more likely scenario if you are in the HPOK civic association boundary (to the east of Quantico St.) |
Anonymous
Any specific reasons for ATS over Discovery? We are looking at making a similar decision. |
Anonymous
If you win the lottery for ATS, you go to ATS, plain and simple. If your zoned for Discovery, you really can't lose. Both are great, but there's something in the water at ATS |
Anonymous
| All good schools. Reed will be pulling from the same neighborhoods so it should be fairly similar, and it’s opening will also alleviate the overcrowding at McKinely so that wouldn’t be an issue for OP. Looking at the maps, they have a pretty high likelihood of being in the Reed walk zone though so I’d be paying attention to the process. |
Anonymous
Former ATS parent here: There's nothing in the water. Having a lottery, there are more Type A parents and more driven kids. This could be good or bad. If you get in, you can suck it up, but don't forget to tuck in your shirt. |
Anonymous
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16:23 PP here. My daughter would have been at Nottingham for a year and then Discovery. I didn't feel especially "wow" about Nottingham when I did the tour. But when I walked into ATS, for some reason I felt right at home. It's older and a little cozy and I just got a good vibe. We were lucky enough to get one of only 22 lottery spots that year. Daughter would have been fine at Nottingham and Discovery, but we love the community of ATS. There's a lot of homework at times, and a heavy focus on reading and the arts. The PTA is active. The rules aren't really that strict and the kids aren't expected to be little robots. (thank God - my daughter would not have survived!)
That said, if we'd been applying one year later and had toured Discovery instead, it would have been a harder decision. The school is gorgeous, and it's closer to us than ATS. One thing I do miss is being part of our neighborhood - we feel left out at times because everyone else knows each other from the school bus and we're the odd man out. |