Reply to Stratford Landing vs. Waynewood Schools

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[quote=Anonymous]I live in WW, kids have gone to both WW and SL, and now Sandburg. Don't know about rankings - if that's important to you, look elsewhere in FC - up toward McLean, out toward Reston etc.

If you believe that schools are much more than rankings, this area may be for you.  It is true that WW is not very diverse, Sandburg and WestPo are. SL is more diverse both socio-economically and racially than WW.  WW is no more "pretentious" than most other areas of FC that are economically similar. Many 2 working parent households but also a sizable stay at home group. Same at SL.  Yes, Sandburg and WestPo draw from lower income and more racially diverse Rte. 1 and get routinely bashed here along with WW, but the reality is that the education is better than fine and yes, the kids who are college bound do actually get into great colleges and go off and generally become productive citizens. These schools also do a really good job at educating those who may not go as far academically - hence the lower test scores/rankings.

-class size - SL - about 26 per class grades 3-6.  WW a bit higher. Principals at both schools seem to work the system as much as possible to keep class sizes down but lots of older "original" owners are moving on/passing away so the houses are turning over to families with younger kids so class sizes have crept upward some the past few years.

-number of classes per grade, WW 3-4 classes, SL 5-6 because of the center, usually 3 AAP and 2 GE per grades 3-6

-specials like art, music etc. and how many times per week, WW has 1 more PE per week, I think art is same for both schools. Not sure why there's a difference

-extracurricular activities, SL has more activities than WW. Parents seem more into volunteering to make that happen. Kiwanis, OM, geography club, chess club, robotics, Mad Science type classes, languages, running club. WW, running club, girls on the run, soccer, sometimes robotics, sometimes OM, Mad Science type program.

-school leadership, WW currently has more personable principals than SL. SL seems to have a bit more teacher turnover. Principals at both seem to turn over every few years although WW's may stay put for a while.

-over all impressions of each school - there are pros to both. We prefer the diversity at SL and that there are more activities offered after-school.  WW is smaller in overall number of students. Kids at both schools come mainly from educated, fairly high income families.  WW has lots of assistance for special needs kids and SL has a special needs preschool.

-AAP/GT classes - you didn't ask but here it its. WW is trying to do what it can to keep AAP eligible kids at WW. Some years lots of AAP kids stay at WW, other years they leave for SL. There are differences to be sure between level 4 centers and the in school services. WW has pull-out and compacted math but lacks some of the academic offerings of AAP. Both groups of kids do fine and likely end up in the same place when it's all said and done. That said, we're grateful there are AAP centers available - for some kids they are the right place.

Finally, there are lots of students at both schools who are the grandchildren of original owners - people love the area and often come back to raise their kids here. Yes, the houses are pretty basic but it's a really nice place to raise your kids.

HTH[/quote]

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