Comparing and contrasting the culture at different FCPS high schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any other thoughts about Woodson aside from the stress issue?

Also, very little has been said about Marshall aside from comments on its demographics. What's the culture like there and how does it compare to the other schools mentioned?

Again, there is no over-riding "culture" at any of the HS, they are too large and too diverse. You will find the "culture" you seek at any of them.

If you want IB, then you want Marshall. If you want AP, then you do not want Marshall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any other thoughts about Woodson aside from the stress issue?

Also, very little has been said about Marshall aside from comments on its demographics. What's the culture like there and how does it compare to the other schools mentioned?

Again, there is no over-riding "culture" at any of the HS, they are too large and too diverse. You will find the "culture" you seek at any of them.

If you want IB, then you want Marshall. If you want AP, then you do not want Marshall.

This. My DD is at madison, I see different cultures. There is a sports culture, a band culture, a drama culture, a chorus culture, etc. They all interact during classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any other thoughts about Woodson aside from the stress issue?

The administration is focusing a great deal of effort on mental health issues (supports) due to the CDC work and the suicide cluster.

http://wjla.com/news/health/feds-fairfax-county-look-into-northern-virginia-suicides-following-3-deaths-since-september-109169

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any other thoughts about Woodson aside from the stress issue?

Also, very little has been said about Marshall aside from comments on its demographics. What's the culture like there and how does it compare to the other schools mentioned?

Again, there is no over-riding "culture" at any of the HS, they are too large and too diverse. You will find the "culture" you seek at any of them.

If you want IB, then you want Marshall. If you want AP, then you do not want Marshall.

This. My DD is at madison, I see different cultures. There is a sports culture, a band culture, a drama culture, a chorus culture, etc. They all interact during classes.

+2
I'm so glad there are some people with common sense here. My DC is at Langley. Just like all the other schools mentioned, there are various cultures within the school - which is why it's easy to find your group. There's something for everyone at any of these schools. It's silly to ask about the "culture" at one school or another, or how they vary, because there honestly isn't that much difference between any of them. They're all good schools with plenty to offer. And - it's high school. We've all been there, so it's not too hard to imagine what it's like nowadays.

[Anonymous]

Madison=band/goth/emo
Langley=drugs
Oakton=poor kids
Marshall=gangs
McLean=competition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any other thoughts about Woodson aside from the stress issue?

Also, very little has been said about Marshall aside from comments on its demographics. What's the culture like there and how does it compare to the other schools mentioned?

Again, there is no over-riding "culture" at any of the HS, they are too large and too diverse. You will find the "culture" you seek at any of them.

If you want IB, then you want Marshall. If you want AP, then you do not want Marshall.

This. My DD is at madison, I see different cultures. There is a sports culture, a band culture, a drama culture, a chorus culture, etc. They all interact during classes.

+2
I'm so glad there are some people with common sense here. My DC is at Langley. Just like all the other schools mentioned, there are various cultures within the school - which is why it's easy to find your group. There's something for everyone at any of these schools. It's silly to ask about the "culture" at one school or another, or how they vary, because there honestly isn't that much difference between any of them. They're all good schools with plenty to offer. And - it's high school. We've all been there, so it's not too hard to imagine what it's like nowadays.

So you would disagree, for example, that Woodson is any more stressful or competitive than any other FCPS HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Madison=band/goth/emo
Langley=drugs
Oakton=poor kids
Marshall=gangs
McLean=competition

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any other thoughts about Woodson aside from the stress issue?

Also, very little has been said about Marshall aside from comments on its demographics. What's the culture like there and how does it compare to the other schools mentioned?

Again, there is no over-riding "culture" at any of the HS, they are too large and too diverse. You will find the "culture" you seek at any of them.

If you want IB, then you want Marshall. If you want AP, then you do not want Marshall.

This. My DD is at madison, I see different cultures. There is a sports culture, a band culture, a drama culture, a chorus culture, etc. They all interact during classes.

+2
I'm so glad there are some people with common sense here. My DC is at Langley. Just like all the other schools mentioned, there are various cultures within the school - which is why it's easy to find your group. There's something for everyone at any of these schools. It's silly to ask about the "culture" at one school or another, or how they vary, because there honestly isn't that much difference between any of them. They're all good schools with plenty to offer. And - it's high school. We've all been there, so it's not too hard to imagine what it's like nowadays.

So you would disagree, for example, that Woodson is any more stressful or competitive than any other FCPS HS?

I would agree that Woodson is not any more stressful -overall- than any FCPS HS. Every school has its core of competitive students. You can't get away from it if your child tends to lean that way. It does not have more stressed students than many of the HS OP mentioned. Unfortunately, every HS has had its share of suicides, if that is what you are referring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any other thoughts about Woodson aside from the stress issue?

Also, very little has been said about Marshall aside from comments on its demographics. What's the culture like there and how does it compare to the other schools mentioned?

I do not have a kid at Marshall, but lots of DC's ES friends go. Talking to their parents, it is regarded, and apparently a small, personal environment. The parents are generally very happy. The one complaint I hear (generally from parents of non-athletes) is that Marshall places too much emphasis on athletics/athletes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any other thoughts about Woodson aside from the stress issue?

Also, very little has been said about Marshall aside from comments on its demographics. What's the culture like there and how does it compare to the other schools mentioned?

I do not have a kid at Marshall, but lots of DC's ES friends go. Talking to their parents, it is regarded, and apparently a small, personal environment. The parents are generally very happy. The one complaint I hear (generally from parents of non-athletes) is that Marshall places too much emphasis on athletics/athletes.

One of our kids went there, and we still have friends with children there. The school has gotten much larger, and is no longer the "small, personal environment" that it used to be. The current administration places a huge emphasis on standardized tests and ways to boost the school's rankings (like requiring all students to take an IB English course, which probably has more to do with boosting the school's ratings than anything else).

The sports teams are doing very well, but that's largely because Marshall was put in a less competitive district a few years ago, and now competes mostly against smaller schools like Lee and Stuart where fewer kids play sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would agree that Woodson is not any more stressful -overall- than any FCPS HS.

I disagree with this statement as this has not been our experience. Our kids have attended both Woodson HS and another FCPS HS and the stress at Woodson was far greater than the other FCPS high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Langley: good school but drug problem.

Seriously? You, again?

My kids have all gone to Langley. There is no "drug problem" there - any more than there is at any high school on this list, or in this country, for that matter.

We found Langley to be large enough for all our kids to find their various niches and people. None of them were particularly athletic, and yet all found groups of like-minded kids in theatre, academics, band, and other extracurriculars. Lots of interesting and nice kids, mostly fantastic teachers, and a fabulous academic experience. Highly recommend.

This is the first time I have ever posted about Langley. But EVERY PARENT, every single one that I have talked with says this. I have yet to talk with a single parent that does not say this. they all act relieved that their kids are out and have not been in the drug culture.

Interesting. I've had kids at Langley for twelve years and haven't heard of this so-called "drug culture." Are there kids there who do drugs? Sure. Same as any high school. But to claim there is some kind of drug "culture" is just sheer fabrication.

Langley is more alcohol than drugs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would agree that Woodson is not any more stressful -overall- than any FCPS HS.

I disagree with this statement as this has not been our experience. Our kids have attended both Woodson HS and another FCPS HS and the stress at Woodson was far greater than the other FCPS high school.

Yep. A friend of mine had daughters at Woodson and Lake Braddock. She reported a similar experience. It sounds as though Woodson is working to address the issue, which is great but clearly there is something about the culture that differs from many other FCPS schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would agree that Woodson is not any more stressful -overall- than any FCPS HS.

I disagree with this statement as this has not been our experience. Our kids have attended both Woodson HS and another FCPS HS and the stress at Woodson was far greater than the other FCPS high school.

Yep. A friend of mine had daughters at Woodson and Lake Braddock. She reported a similar experience. It sounds as though Woodson is working to address the issue, which is great but clearly there is something about the culture that differs from many other FCPS schools.

Woodson is more diverse now than it used to be, now that FCPS has moved part of Fairfax to Woodson. Maybe that helps prevents the kids from feeling like there is only one path to success. It used to be kind of uniform - no one was poor, but it wasn't as affluent as McLean or Vienna either, so maybe the kids felt they absolutely had to fit one mold. Lake Braddock has long had a bit more diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would agree that Woodson is not any more stressful -overall- than any FCPS HS.

I disagree with this statement as this has not been our experience. Our kids have attended both Woodson HS and another FCPS HS and the stress at Woodson was far greater than the other FCPS high school.

Why not say the name of the other HS?