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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]South Arlington public schools get a bad rap. Is this deserved? Does the reputation apply to all the elementary/middle/high schools, or are there some good ones? [/quote]

Honestly, OP? It all depends on what you define as a "bad rap" and what you are using as a basis of comparison. Compared to North Arlington schools, South Arlington schools are [i]generally[/i] regarded as worse. There are some exceptions, with Patrick Henry and Oakridge (elementary schools) among them. Thomas Jefferson is generally a well-regarded middle school, and many, many parents are also fine with Wakefield (high school), but note that Wakefield is also considered the worst of Arlington's three (main) high schools.

So, no, South Arlington schools are not all universally "bad," but nor are they considered as "good" as those in North Arlington. (A lot of the bickering you will read on DCUM boils down to that simple statement.) You probably already know this, but North Arlington schools tend to be "whiter," richer, and have better test scores than South Arlington schools. That doesn't necessarily make South Arlington schools "bad," per se, but again, not as "good" relative to North Arlington schools.

The key word is "relative." South Arlington schools are, by-and-large, safe, caring environments with good teachers, the same curriculum as North Arlington schools, few behavioral problems, and parents who care for and love their children. (Again, to varying degrees across schools, and again, with fewer parental resources than in North Arlington.)

I went to much, much worse schools in my own childhood. (Schools with serious safety issues, drugs, race riots, etc. Schools where, sadly, sometimes the teachers cared more about the students than their own strung-out/absentee parents.) The comparison between my childhood schools and South Arlington schools is night and day. We are not talking inner city Detroit here. In most South Arlington schools the kids are simply poorer, browner, and the test scores are not as good. A bit simplistic, perhaps, but that's the basic "bad rap" in a nutshell.[/quote]

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