Reply to Top Elementary Schools in Fairfax County

Forum Index » Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)

Reply to "Top Elementary Schools in Fairfax County"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
We both work in DC.  I would like to keep it at 600k.  It's been overwhelming toggling between different reports on the fairfax county page and different real estate sites.  I have no idea which of those schools are good.  I'm looking at schools like Bush Hill, Clermont, Hunt Valley?  for elementary.  I'm really lost.  Oh, and I had no idea that was a loaded question.  I would've been more specific but clearly I'm a newbie to all of this.[/quote]

So, you need to set some parameters for yourself:

- How far out is too long a commute for you?  With a $600K budget, Fairfax probably would be as far out as I'd personally be willling to go, so I'd cross off places like Chantilly, Centerville and Fairfax Station

- How big a house do you want/need?  If you are OK with a smaller house, you could probably find something in West Falls Church (22043) or Vienna in an area with good schools.  If you want a newer home (1970s or later), you might want to look at western Annandale, Burke, Fairfax or West Springfield.

- Are schools with large numbers of students learning English acceptable to you or not?  Some people wouldn't consider Bush Hill for that reason; others might not care.  Be honest with yourself, or with others here if you're looking for advice.

If you aren't specific, the "default" approach that most people will take will be to point you in the direction of neighborhoods with schools that, whether they know it or not, typically all have GS ratings of at least "7" or more.  So the area around Bush Hill in Alexandria won't make the cut because Bush Hill ES gets a "4."  Or the area around Clermont won't make the cut because, even though Clermont gets a "9," Edison HS only gets a "5."  But Hunt Valley will make the cut, because all the schools in that pyramid (Hunt Valley/Irving/West Springfield) are highly rated.  Which is fine, if that's what you're looking for, but it might turn out that you'd be fine with schools with lower, average test scores so long as they provide your kids with the right opportunities.  [/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