Anonymous wrote:We're relocating from out of state and looking at a neighborhood that is zoned for Lyles Crouch. I will call the school to learn more about their teaching philosophy etc. but I'd love to hear about experiences from current families who attend. Also, we're Jewish, will will be the only Jewish family in the school (I assume it's not a super Jewish area but I'd love if we're not the only ones)?

Lyles Crouch hands down. Uses the "traditional" or classical approach to education and it makes a difference. Second choices might be George Mason Elementary or Charles Barrett.

You are right not a big Jewish population in Alexandria but there is are a couple of temples that I can think of and one has a popular preschool. We knew lots of kids who attended - mostly non-Jewish but there were also a few who were.

This is several years old but gives general feedback on LC:

Lyles Crouch vs Private
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/502650.page

You might also find helpful info here which was started several years ago but has comments up through 2020:

Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy - Alexandria
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/73108.page

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will you have a commute?

25 minutes on the metro, which seems reasonable for the area?

Given metros issues I’d double that estimate

Hmmm, does that rule of thumb apply to all of the metro lines?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're relocating from out of state and looking at a neighborhood that is zoned for Lyles Crouch. I will call the school to learn more about their teaching philosophy etc. but I'd love to hear about experiences from current families who attend. Also, we're Jewish, will will be the only Jewish family in the school (I assume it's not a super Jewish area but I'd love if we're not the only ones)?

If Jewish communities are important to you, look at Montgomery County, MD.

Lyles Crouch is in Alexandria Public City Schools. There's a lot of information about that system in the archives here. It's a touchy subject, though. Generally, most of the elementaries are considered good but a lot of families bail out before middle school and the high school is considered to be problematic. Some of that is unfair and controversial, but them's the optics.

Unfortunately Montgomery County isn't a convenient commute but I have heard that it's an active Jewish community.
I did a search on Lyles-Crouch here and didn't find much but it sounds like I need to learn more about Alexandria Public Schools in general. Can you elaborate on why it's a touchy subject or point me to where I can learn more. Thank you.

High levels of poverty in the system that converge in the secondary schools. The system only has one high school (Alexandria City High School -- erstwhile known as T.C. Williams High School, the school of "Remember the Titans" fame). Essentially, the income inequality in the city is at extremes, so there's a lot of advanced kids and a lot of struggling kids and the system is oriented to the struggling kids. Some racial subtext there as well.

Again, much of the hate is a bit of a caricature -- TC Williams had the moniker "Yale of Jail." And it absolutely produces fantastic outcomes for some students. But the ones who success also kind of operate in a bit of a bubble of privilege within the school ecosystem, with all of the tensions that go along with that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will you have a commute?

25 minutes on the metro, which seems reasonable for the area?

Given metros issues I’d double that estimate

Anonymous wrote:Will you have a commute?

25 minutes on the metro, which seems reasonable for the area?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're relocating from out of state and looking at a neighborhood that is zoned for Lyles Crouch. I will call the school to learn more about their teaching philosophy etc. but I'd love to hear about experiences from current families who attend. Also, we're Jewish, will will be the only Jewish family in the school (I assume it's not a super Jewish area but I'd love if we're not the only ones)?

If Jewish communities are important to you, look at Montgomery County, MD.

Lyles Crouch is in Alexandria Public City Schools. There's a lot of information about that system in the archives here. It's a touchy subject, though. Generally, most of the elementaries are considered good but a lot of families bail out before middle school and the high school is considered to be problematic. Some of that is unfair and controversial, but them's the optics.

Unfortunately Montgomery County isn't a convenient commute but I have heard that it's an active Jewish community.
I did a search on Lyles-Crouch here and didn't find much but it sounds like I need to learn more about Alexandria Public Schools in general. Can you elaborate on why it's a touchy subject or point me to where I can learn more. Thank you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you the same person considering Hoffman Boston?

prob stick with that

Can you please elaborate.

We're renting and will likely leave the area before our kids are middle school age so I'm not worried about middle or high school.

Anonymous wrote:We're relocating from out of state and looking at a neighborhood that is zoned for Lyles Crouch. I will call the school to learn more about their teaching philosophy etc. but I'd love to hear about experiences from current families who attend. Also, we're Jewish, will will be the only Jewish family in the school (I assume it's not a super Jewish area but I'd love if we're not the only ones)?

If Jewish communities are important to you, look at Montgomery County, MD.

Lyles Crouch is in Alexandria Public City Schools. There's a lot of information about that system in the archives here. It's a touchy subject, though. Generally, most of the elementaries are considered good but a lot of families bail out before middle school and the high school is considered to be problematic. Some of that is unfair and controversial, but them's the optics.

Anonymous wrote:Are you the same person considering Hoffman Boston?

prob stick with that

Will you have a commute?

I am. We're moving from out of state and I feel out of my element trying to figure out where to live, schools etc.

Are you the same person considering Hoffman Boston?

We're relocating from out of state and looking at a neighborhood that is zoned for Lyles Crouch. I will call the school to learn more about their teaching philosophy etc. but I'd love to hear about experiences from current families who attend. Also, we're Jewish, will will be the only Jewish family in the school (I assume it's not a super Jewish area but I'd love if we're not the only ones)?