Yorktown High -- Is It a Pressure Cooker?

[Anonymous]

I have a highly motivated child who is bright but not GT. He is currently in a nice pk - 8 private and is doing well. We would very much like to switch to public for high school for a variety of reasons, but are a little worried about child going from such a small school to a relatively large school. I have done a search on DCUM for Yorktown and have read good things. I am just curious to hear from parents about the culture of the school. Would it be a reasonable choice for an above average yet still very average child?! As an aside, it feels so funny/odd to describe my lovely child as average given all the supposedly 99.9 percent children in this area!!! Thanks for any input.

[Anonymous]

i hope you get some answers! i wish we lived in yorktown(e?) area - it's supposed to be a great school and i love the neighborhoods that feed into it. (I'm in Fairfax near Falls Church but love North Arlington.) I haven't heard about it being a pressure cooker. It is generally the best-ranked in the county, but Arlington's a small-ish county compared to Montgomery and Fairfax (only 19,000 school children) so even the best school in the county doesn't necessarily have to be a pressure cooker.

My brother and sister were both bright but not gifted and they did very well in a larger high school. (around 600 per class.) I was gifted and liked the variety of people and classes a big school had to offer.

good luck!

[Anonymous]

I really don't think any of the Arlington high schools can be described as "pressure cookers" like Whitman or Churchill in Montgomery County. Yorktown has the most upper-income students of any Arlington school, but it's still diverse and the student body is not nearly as big as some of the Fairfax schools, such as Oakton or Westfield.

[Anonymous]

Our child went to Yorktown, but was in the "bright but didn't apply himself" category, so we might not be the best people to ask. But...

Anyway, it's a big enough high school that you can find all kinds. If your child thrives on competition and wants to be valedictorian, he will feel as much pressure as he might anywhere else. If he's happy being a solid performer (top 10 or 20%), there will be plenty to challenge him but not make him feel like he has to live and breathe academics 24/7.

Plenty of AP classes and interesting electives. I was very impressed with most of the teachers. Even for a large public school, I feel as though we got contact with them both for the good stuff and the occasional challenge (as I said, our's tended to be a slacker in high school so heads-up that DC had "forgotten" to do homework for a week were appreciated!). Great guidance counseling staff - you may want to meet with one of them to get their take on the school's environment and how kids make the transition from a smaller private school to a large public.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for everyone's input. The last PP gave me a good chuckle ... by the time high school rolls around, none of us parents have nearly the influence we'd like regarding our kids level of applying themselves, I'm sure!

Coming from a private, I'm not so worried about the level of affluence of the families ... I've grown used to being a source of socioeconomic diversity!! But what I've heard about schools such as Langley where the competition amongst the kids is said to be quite cut throat is a concern. I am pleased that AP classes are available, but I want my child to have time for enjoying his remaining years of just being a kid ... the days of endless work and responsibility will come soon enough, for better and for worse.

[Anonymous]

Hi- I don't have kids yet, but we live in the Yorktown District and will probably continue to live here once we have kids in HS. Yorktown is supposed to be the best HS in Arlington. (Washington-Lee is supposed to be the 2nd best, Wakefield the 3rd--- that being said, I have a girlfriend who graduated from Wakefield and went to UVa and is doing great... the point being, Wakefield may be 3rd in Arlington but it is still a fine school, esp compared to the rest in the country.)

My perspective- I grew up in Vienna and graduated from Madison HS- is that surrounding yourself with good competition will make you perform better. My husband and I want to (eventually) give our kids a loving and supportive environment, but a lot to measure themselves up against. I believe that it is best to have a realistic idea of your place in the world, but to find your 'niche' area of talent and passion.

Where I went to college, there were some kids who were valedictorians of small out-of-the-way schools, who many times found that they were average or even behind the curve in the real world. I think it is better to work hard and be average in the "big pond," and then be pleasantly surprised with where you end up.

-A medium-sized fish in a big pond