Reply to Oakton HS v/ Woodson HS / Chantilly HS

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]How about Chantilly and Fairfax high?[/quote]

We are zoned for Chantilly and it is excellent. If the top 5 HSs are Langley, McLean, Oakton, Madison and Woodson, then the next 3 are probably Chantilly, Marshall and W. Springfield.  Chantilly has had rising test scores every year for a while, and depending onwhat metric you use (NMSFs, vs SAT scores vs GS rating) they are ahead of Oakton, and maybe Madison and/or Woodson.   Inevitably, someone will jump in with, but Oakton is better!  But that’s a pointless argument. By the numbers, Chantilly is academically on par with Oakton, Madison, Woodson, Marshall and W. Springfield.

Practically speaking, it’s a large HS.  But, it is divided into sub-schools.  It does particularly well in STEM.  It has the Governor’s STEM Academy, which adds extra class options.  And it has an excellent FRC robotics team (and a really good robotics program/lab/classes), usually wins it’s division in VHSL academics bowl, etc.  It has a large Indian/ STEM smart Asian population and academically serious white families.  RRMS and Carson feed in, so many of the kids at Chantilly went through strong AAP programs, were TJ finalists and just missed getting into TJ. It is not a wealthy school, like McLean or Langley, but it is solidly DCUM UMC—the land of 2 white collar job professional parents.  In many families, both parents are very involved in raising the kids (vs a SAHM and a biglaw partner working 70 hour weeks). There are a lot of parents in tech/CS, a lot of teachers and a lot of feds.  Some Indian tech professionals with a SAHM.   Many of the parents gravitated there because of the Dulles Tech corridor and/or TJ admissions and/or the Asian community and/or great schools in a location when they can still afford a SFH.

Our family is very typical for Chantilly.  One girl and one boy.  We have one parent in software development, one white collar fed. Both parents telework 50% of the time or more.  Both parents are very involved in kids activities.  HHI of 330k and a SFH worth about 650-700k.  One kid at TJ . One at Chantilly who was a TJ finalist.   Chantilly kid plays strings, draws and does robotics. Loves STEM and hates English.   Both kids got their first smartphone at the beginning of MS and did not start social media until the beginning of HS— and were right in line with their peers.  Their peers’ parents are genuinely nice and down to Earth and I feel like my kids are safe ain their homes.  They place a lot of emphasis on family and education. A lot of the kids study hard, stay out of trouble and focus on getting into a good college— with an emphasis on VT, UVA & WM, because a lot of the families are financial aid donut hole.

In a school the size of Chantilly, I’m sure there is also drinking, drugs, sex, etc.  but my kid and their friends have had no problem steering clear.

Chantilly has a strong music program. Strong drama program. My kids and their friends are not really into sports, so IDK how it stacks up.  FCPS has no MS sports teams, so I think kids also opt to stay with their rec/travel program.

That’s the download on Chantilly.  I have heard meh things about Fairfax HS.  But, I have no first hand experience, and 5 year old anticdotes aren’t of a lot of value.  I do think Fairfax gets some value out of being a part of a Fairfax City.  They also have an Academy, but it is a weird mix of Asian languages, dance and social media classes.  My impression is that it is less of a resource for serious students than the  Chantilly Academy. But I could be wrong. 
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