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

[Anonymous]

A question for the person who listed Fairview. I see all of 26 children listed as part of the LLIV program there. How does a LLIV program work with so few students there? That would be about 6-7 per grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I agree, PP. People are attracted to the center schools because they get 10s on Great Schools (not saying that's a reliable source) because of their test scores, but the super high test scores are because of the concentration of AAP students. Then they get to the school and complain about the center (unless, of course, their child is in AAP). I think it increases housing values because people who are looking perceive the school to be better because the center skews the numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Reeeaallly hope not. Love Cooper as is.

[Anonymous]

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

Colvin Run is a huge center and totally AAP focused.

[Anonymous]

So if the center schools were neglecting the non AAP kids how would the schools end up with 10s on GS?

[Anonymous]

Spring Hill ES -- hands down! best non-aap ES!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spring Hill ES -- hands down! best non-aap ES!

And so full of down-to-earth, humble parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Colvin Run is a huge center and totally AAP focused.

Agreed. You're better off at Westbriar. Yes, it became a center this year -- unfortunately -- but the school only has AAP 3rd graders this year. It will a few year before there are enough AAP classes to change the community feel of the place. And hopefully, if Principal Lisa Pilson stays true to her word and parents stay vigilant, it won't become a divided community like Louise Archer and Haycock.

Sadly, I agree with PP that no matter what it turns into home values will only go up. Too many folks want the exclusivity of a center and Westbriar is close to Tysons metro, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Spring Hill ES -- hands down! best non-aap ES!

But Spring Hill is huge for an elementary school. Doesn't it have 700+ kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spring Hill ES -- hands down! best non-aap ES!

But Spring Hill is huge for an elementary school. Doesn't it have 700+ kids?

What is the average in Fairfax? 700 kids sounds about average. Aren't they building the new schools with a capacity of 850?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Colvin Run is a huge center and totally AAP focused.

Agreed. You're better off at Westbriar. Yes, it became a center this year -- unfortunately -- but the school only has AAP 3rd graders this year. It will a few year before there are enough AAP classes to change the community feel of the place. And hopefully, if Principal Lisa Pilson stays true to her word and parents stay vigilant, it won't become a divided community like Louise Archer and Haycock.

Sadly, I agree with PP that no matter what it turns into home values will only go up. Too many folks want the exclusivity of a center and Westbriar is close to Tysons metro, etc.

The Westbriar "island" off Beulah near the Toll Road likely will get redistricted to Colvin Run and/or Wolftrap in a few years. It also now has the AAP center and is getting an addition. Between this and the new construction in Tysons, it will have a very different feel not too far from now - bigger, more urban, and more AAP-focused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spring Hill ES -- hands down! best non-aap ES!

But Spring Hill is huge for an elementary school. Doesn't it have 700+ kids?

What is the average in Fairfax? 700 kids sounds about average. Aren't they building the new schools with a capacity of 850?

Yes, but FWIW Spring Hill is more like 950-1000 kids than 700.

[Anonymous]

Holy hell - our school has over 1000 students. You are complaining about 700 being too big?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Holy hell - our school has over 1000 students. You are complaining about 700 being too big?

I know, right!

We have some of our kids at the local neighborhood school of about 600-ish kids, and some of our kids at the center school of over 1000 kids.

Really, with the exception of the sucky lunch times and overcrowded buses at the larger school, both schools are equally wonderful. It all depends on the quality of the staff, the culture and personality of the school and community, and the same type of students attending both. We are thrilled with both options for our kids.

[Anonymous]

12:59 again - granted, our neighborhood school IS a center school and that probably ups the student population by a couple hundred. But, I really thought that 700+ was pretty normal in FCPS.

Anyone have a list of enrollment #s at all FCPS elementary schools?

Our school still feels like a community, even with that many kids. Everyone seems to know everyone. I have always had wonderful interactions with teachers/staff/administrators.