FCPS School Pyramid Recommendations
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Anonymous
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We are at Shrevewood, and while it's around 7% AA, it's also a good blend of ethnicities. I think it's around 20% Asian, 20% Hispanic, 7% AA, 40% white, and the rest more than one race. International night showed that the students come from 85 countries. The boundaries are such that it also have SES diversity.
The lower grades are almost all taught by white women, but the upper grades have some AA teachers, including men. And the principal is AA as well. |
Anonymous
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Agree with the PP, as another family looking for some diversity in an excellent school. My pick would still be Kent Gardens, because it draws from a very diverse base. It has a French immersion program option, which is a magnet for many African families during their diplomatic stay here, as well as many local families with old ties to french speaking parts of the world. That makes for a fairly diverse and exciting environment for a child to grow into. They also have a FLES program for french in their GE classes. If the immersion program is of any interest, add yourself to the waiting list NOW. We also know a number of families in the school, since we share summer at the pool in their community, and I have the highest opinion on the quality of their education, PTA, and students and teachers.
We opted to go to a school in Vienna. which on paper looked fairly diverse. We're in the 8% range, meaning the kids *may* have an AA classmate. It's a roll of the dice f that is who they end up with, and if the kids do, in fact, get along with that particular child. The school went through some changes and is starting a big building project, so I'm not sure that's the school I would go for again. But also in Vienna, Vienna Elementary, Louise Archer, Spring Hill or Flint Hill are all good school with some diversity. Oakton is up and coming these days as well. Looking further out, Arlington has a few excellent schools that are organized to take in a more diverse population. I don't have specifics, and they are a mixed bag, but I've heard rave reviews from some parents in that corner. One more thing. Beyond diversity in numbers, try to find out how kids from minority families are *really* treated in the classroom. If the one AA or the 3 Hispanic children in your kid's classroom are the kids who always end up disciplined and with the poor student label, it may not be such an advantage for your own child. Be ready to reach out to the other parents in the community and watch out for each other children, volunteer at school etc. You want to help your kid, but also the other 5 kids in his grade that look like him, succeed. That only works if all the families involved decide this is something they want to tackle. I would look for diversity in the teacher corp, not just the students, and I would take the school with younger teachers. OP, you have a tough choice, because ultimately, the education gap is still alive and well, even in an affluent place like Fairfax County. The big problem is that schools are so segregated still that the "good" schools have too few minority students to really report on their achievements. So they often get quietly left behind. Go talk to the principal, attend a PTA meeting, try to meet some parents before you make a decision. We moved our child to private a few years ago, and there are more AA kids in her private school than in public. Which is a sad state of affairs for bridging that gap in the public schools. But you can't play with your kid's education. Hope this helps... |
Anonymous
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One more thing -- take the scores with a spoonful of salt. SOL scores start in 3rd grade, at the same time with the AAP program segregation. This means that schools without the program see a brain-drain, which certainly affects their scores, while schools with the program will see an inflation of scores, unrelated to the actual achievement of the GE neighborhood population outside that program. (AAP is Advanced Academics Program -- kids are selected n 2nd grade and start in 3rd. Tests and teacher recommendations get kids in, which is why it's important to have a teacher open to the idea of a minority child doing well.).
With that in mind, you may also want to consider Lemon Road, in McLean/Pimmit hill, which has a strong diversity (used to have a strong ESOL program) and now that is hosts an AAP program, the scores on GreatSchools jumped from 6-7 t 10. Some of it is the new kids coming in, but I also heard good things about the school before the AAP program started. |
Anonymous
| Take a look at Louise Archer in Vienna. There is a smallish AA population in the school, but the school as a whole is very diverse. Your child definitely will not be sitting in class with all white kids. It is also a very welcoming school in general. Some of my (super white) DS's best friends are AA, from the Middle East, and Asian. Best of luck to you OP. |
Anonymous
Except for a small handful of schools in McLean and Great Falls, children in ANY Fairfax County school will not be sitting in class with all white kids. There are only 18 AA students in all of Louise Archer and very little socio-economic diversity. |
Anonymous
Wrong. Not one of the five whitest elementary schools is FCPS is in McLean or Great Falls. Waynewood (Alexandria) 86.6% Wolftrap (Vienna) 71.3% Vienna (Vienna) 70.9% Fairview (Fairfax Station) 69.7% Flint Hill (Vienna) 69.5% Cooper MS in McLean has the highest percentage of white students (70.6%), but only because it sends so many Asian kids who live in Great Falls and McLean to the Kilmer and Longfellow AAP programs. The whitest high school is Madison HS in Vienna (68.1%). |
Anonymous
Not even in McLean or Great Falls. |
Anonymous
True. And those aren't even the five "whitest elementary schools" in FCPS. According to the school profiles, there is at least one in Springfield with a higher percentage than Flint Hill, Fairvew and Vienna. |
Anonymous
| I second Louise archer. It's in the historically black part of town and is quite diverse in all aspects. |
Anonymous
There are quite a few historically black parts of NoVa that turned over years ago and are now among the least diverse areas. NW Vienna is one of them. |
Anonymous
| Not really. There's quite a bit of diversity in NW Vienna. Perhaps you don't like diversity, but it's there. Just pop into the cafeteria and you'll see. Good luck OP. |
Anonymous
I checked again and, while there are few AAs at Archer, it does seem like the Hispanic and Asian enrollments have grown a lot. Vienna is still one of the least diverse parts of the county, but the county is very diverse compared to most places in the country. |
Anonymous
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Thanks again for the feedback...this is such a tough decision. You raised some good points - my husband is concerned about the number of AA teachers/admin in the schools as well. We plan to attend a few PTA meetings. So far my short list of ES are: Kent Gardens, Mosby Woods, Keene Mill, West Springfield, Old Creek, Island Creek and Mantua. I need to look into Lemon Hill, Louise Archer and Shrevewood. Out of the schools listed above, which have good representation of AA teacher/admin? Thanks!!!
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Anonymous
When you visit the schools, you might want to look at the surrounding neighborhoods as well for differences in the housing, traffic congestion and access to trails/green space and useful retail. All are pieces of the puzzle for finding a place that fits your whole family... it's not ALL about the kids. School is important, but lifestyle and happy parents are important too! |
Anonymous
| Better than a PTA meeting is the local neighborhood as these are the folks you and your family will be interacting with. We are a MW family. I'm white and from the states, my husband is Caucasian and from another country. In our very small neighborhood we have white American, Asian, Arab, African American, African, Indian, Swiss and Russian. And my neighborhood is very, very small, MW pulls from a very culturally diverse area. Good luck OP |