Reply to Woodson for a non competitive family?

Forum Index » Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)

Reply to "Woodson for a non competitive family?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
No, I'd of course like there to be great educational opportunities, good teachers, etc. I guess I'd describe it as a challenging environment, not a competitive one. I guess at the heart of the matter is we make a good living in our eyes, but maybe not for the DC area. Is it the kind of school where everyone takes fancy vacations, buys their kids iPhones, everyone's obsessed with comparing college choice, etc? Or put another way, is it a pressure cooker? I'm having a really hard time describing what I'm worried about. Let's put it this way. I taught at one of the high end private schools in Maryland for a couple of years until I couldn't stand it anymore. The parents there just have this philosophy that their child is entitled to whatever will help them get ahead no matter the cost. I'm not sure if any public school has that environment, but I certainly want to avoid it and I'm wondering if Woodson edges towards that kind of family?[/quote]

I think you'll be fine if you allow yourself to be.  Woodson HS does not serve the wealthiest parts of Fairfax County.  Those kids go to Langley, McLean, Madison, Oakton, Marshall and Robinson.

Woodson has a top academic reputation because it has high test scores.  It has high test scores because almost all the kids come from stable families and nice neighborhoods.  There aren't many kids who go to Woodson who live in low-income apartments or who are just learning English, unlike at some other schools.  It also has, for Fairfax, a high number of Asian and Jewish families who emphasize education.  Put it together, and you end up with an environment that is academically challenging, but not one where all the families take family vacations.  It has many kids who take multiple AP courses in their junior and senior years of high school, and many families who are heavily invested in making sure that their kids get into "good" schools or the "right" schools.  It also has many kids who end up at NoVa or a lesser-known school.  If you and your child take responsibility for your child's education, and decide what your priorities are, the opportunities are there.  If you allow others to decide what your priorities should be, you might be unhappy, but that would be the case at other schools as well.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics