Reply to My massive dilemma about school pyramids - low income vs. more affluent? HELP ME!!

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]FOR YEARS now my family been struggling with a major issue. Do we stay in our current house in a fairly low-income school pyramid or move just a mile away to a more affluent pyramid with a "great" reputation? Seriously, I have been questioning this for YEARS and cannot make a decision -- but there are other issues at play as well. I just want to get feedback from people, please only respond if you have good intentions and don't make nasty remarks!

I have 3 kids, oldest will be in kindergarten in 2016-2017 (so we have a year to decide). We are in a decent neighborhood in the Camelot/Luther Jackson/Falls Church HS pyramid. If we move to my father's neighborhood just a few miles away, we are in Wakefield Forest/Frost/Woodson pyramid. We can afford to do this, although moving requires we sell our home first, live with my dad for awhile while we wait for the right house to come on the market.

Anyway, our motivators for moving would be the following: 
1. better schools (supposedly) 
2. Closer to my ailing dad who I will have to care for 
3. A nicer neighborhood with a more community feel (lots of social events, nice HOA, pool)

Anyway, I hear different things about the schools. Some tell me the lower income schools (like Luther Jackson/Falls Church) receive more resources, money, smaller classes, and that my child will have a better chance of "standing out" because not every kid is trying to be Captain of the football team and in honor society and in a million clubs. Basically, there are not as many over-achievers. Downside is that the parents are not as involved because many are working 2 or 3 jobs and have little to NO time to be involved with their kids' lives at school. The kids my kids would be friends with may come from poverty.... and some may come from unconventional home situations like many families living in one apartment. There will be much more diversity, but Falls Church HS is very small, for example - maybe only 1000 kids? But the school has not been renovated mostly bc the parents don't push for it, because they aren't involved.

On the other hand, if we move, We would send our kids to Wakefield Forest (which I love), but then to Frost in Woodson which seems to be filled with overachievers and high-income kids. The competition seems to be intense, class sizes are larger, less diversity, but is considered one of the finest schools in the area. My kids may not have the chance to "stand out" because most the kids are being cheered on my motivated parents. That being said, my kids would be hanging out with kids from more affluent backgrounds with more involved parents. Woodson also has seen suicides recently and is a HUGE school. Seems like a child could easily get lost there.

Two other issues -- if we move to Woodson district, my kids could walk to Wakefield Forest instead of bussing it. I would be close to my ailing dad, making it easier for me to care for him (along with 3 kids), and we would live in a slightly nicer neighborhood -- houses a little nicer, more parks, pool, etc.

Mostly, I would like opinions about the school situation. What is your opinion on a low-income pyramid vs. affluent pyramid?

My child is "affluent," attending a "less affluent" high school with an enormously diverse student body, and stands out, and not in a good way. It is making our whole family miserable.

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