Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do these schools compare to the other middles in APS? There are 6 of them, right?

Dorothy Hamm MS has the best facilities in Arlington since it’s a brand new middle school. It’s made up of students that formerly went to Swanson and Williamsburg. It is still too new to compare to the other 5 middle schools, but the principal is popular and the school is centered around a walkable community with a small town feel like Swanson. The shops at Cherrydale and Lee Hts are nearby. It is also very socio-economically and culturally diverse. It splits between W-L and Yorktown. TJ was mentioned earlier and it is the only middle school with the IB program. It is generally well regarded, and splits between all three Arlington high schools.

Not really. There are a handful of kids who transfer to TJ for the IB program who then go to Yorktown but most of TJ is zoned to Wakefield except for the students who attended Long Branch ES who are zoned to W-L. In the current 6th grade, I believe around a quarter came from Long Branch. But then there are always some TJ kids who will want to follow IB to W-L. Still, the majority typically go to Wakefield. My kids are Long Branch/TJ/W-L and now in HS. A couple of their LB friends chose to transfer to Wakefield to stay with middle school friends.

Hoffman Boston ES / TJ kids were just rezoned back to W-L from Wakefield so most TJ kids now go to W-L. The area off Barton Street in Courthouse zoned to Innovation ES goes to TJ then Yorktown. The remainder of TJ goes to Wakefield.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson is right next to a small commercial district (Westover). Very different feel than Williamsburg which is more car-centric and suburban. Most of Swanson kids are walkers (not all) and there a big culture of after school in-person socializing in and around Westover. That could be a pro or con depending on your views.

Swanson is no longer over enrolled. But the building is older and smaller, as mentioned.

Swanson just got a new principal, who is a returning principal who many people liked.

Williamsburg is less socio-economically diverse than Swanson.

Williamsburg all goes to Yorktown. Swanson splits to W-L and Yorktown.

Academically, same difference.

A good portion of WMS Students walk up to the Harrison Shopping Center similar to how Swanson students walk over to Westover. It’s a longer walk but they do get that experience. WMS kids also hang out at the Yorktown fields after school. So saying it’s a car centric environment might be true for the morning, but not the afternoon.

I guess. It's a mile away and a big Yorktown hangout too. I wouldn't let my 6th grader at least do that on any kind of regular basis.

I wish more parents felt that way. Harrison shopping center gets overrun with rowdy WMS kids around 2:45/3:00 during the school year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson is right next to a small commercial district (Westover). Very different feel than Williamsburg which is more car-centric and suburban. Most of Swanson kids are walkers (not all) and there a big culture of after school in-person socializing in and around Westover. That could be a pro or con depending on your views.

Swanson is no longer over enrolled. But the building is older and smaller, as mentioned.

Swanson just got a new principal, who is a returning principal who many people liked.

Williamsburg is less socio-economically diverse than Swanson.

Williamsburg all goes to Yorktown. Swanson splits to W-L and Yorktown.

Academically, same difference.

A good portion of WMS Students walk up to the Harrison Shopping Center similar to how Swanson students walk over to Westover. It’s a longer walk but they do get that experience. WMS kids also hang out at the Yorktown fields after school. So saying it’s a car centric environment might be true for the morning, but not the afternoon.

I guess. It's a mile away and a big Yorktown hangout too. I wouldn't let my 6th grader at least do that on any kind of regular basis.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do these schools compare to the other middles in APS? There are 6 of them, right?

Dorothy Hamm MS has the best facilities in Arlington since it’s a brand new middle school. It’s made up of students that formerly went to Swanson and Williamsburg. It is still too new to compare to the other 5 middle schools, but the principal is popular and the school is centered around a walkable community with a small town feel like Swanson. The shops at Cherrydale and Lee Hts are nearby. It is also very socio-economically and culturally diverse. It splits between W-L and Yorktown. TJ was mentioned earlier and it is the only middle school with the IB program. It is generally well regarded, and splits between all three Arlington high schools.

Not really. There are a handful of kids who transfer to TJ for the IB program who then go to Yorktown but most of TJ is zoned to Wakefield except for the students who attended Long Branch ES who are zoned to W-L. In the current 6th grade, I believe around a quarter came from Long Branch. But then there are always some TJ kids who will want to follow IB to W-L. Still, the majority typically go to Wakefield. My kids are Long Branch/TJ/W-L and now in HS. A couple of their LB friends chose to transfer to Wakefield to stay with middle school friends.

Anonymous wrote:Swanson is right next to a small commercial district (Westover). Very different feel than Williamsburg which is more car-centric and suburban. Most of Swanson kids are walkers (not all) and there a big culture of after school in-person socializing in and around Westover. That could be a pro or con depending on your views.

Swanson is no longer over enrolled. But the building is older and smaller, as mentioned.

Swanson just got a new principal, who is a returning principal who many people liked.

Williamsburg is less socio-economically diverse than Swanson.

Williamsburg all goes to Yorktown. Swanson splits to W-L and Yorktown.

Academically, same difference.

A good portion of WMS Students walk up to the Harrison Shopping Center similar to how Swanson students walk over to Westover. It’s a longer walk but they do get that experience. WMS kids also hang out at the Yorktown fields after school. So saying it’s a car centric environment might be true for the morning, but not the afternoon.

Anonymous wrote:How do these schools compare to the other middles in APS? There are 6 of them, right?

Dorothy Hamm MS has the best facilities in Arlington since it’s a brand new middle school. It’s made up of students that formerly went to Swanson and Williamsburg. It is still too new to compare to the other 5 middle schools, but the principal is popular and the school is centered around a walkable community with a small town feel like Swanson. The shops at Cherrydale and Lee Hts are nearby. It is also very socio-economically and culturally diverse. It splits between W-L and Yorktown. TJ was mentioned earlier and it is the only middle school with the IB program. It is generally well regarded, and splits between all three Arlington high schools.

Anonymous wrote:Swanson is right next to a small commercial district (Westover). Very different feel than Williamsburg which is more car-centric and suburban. Most of Swanson kids are walkers (not all) and there a big culture of after school in-person socializing in and around Westover. That could be a pro or con depending on your views.

Swanson is no longer over enrolled. But the building is older and smaller, as mentioned.

Swanson just got a new principal, who is a returning principal who many people liked.

Williamsburg is less socio-economically diverse than Swanson.

Williamsburg all goes to Yorktown. Swanson splits to W-L and Yorktown.

Academically, same difference.

Agree with this posted (DD goes to Swanson).

Swanson is right next to a small commercial district (Westover). Very different feel than Williamsburg which is more car-centric and suburban. Most of Swanson kids are walkers (not all) and there a big culture of after school in-person socializing in and around Westover. That could be a pro or con depending on your views.

Swanson is no longer over enrolled. But the building is older and smaller, as mentioned.

Swanson just got a new principal, who is a returning principal who many people liked.

Williamsburg is less socio-economically diverse than Swanson.

Williamsburg all goes to Yorktown. Swanson splits to W-L and Yorktown.

Academically, same difference.

Anonymous wrote:How do these schools compare to the other middles in APS? There are 6 of them, right?

Is this OP or another person's question?

The responder mentioning the demographic differences is your best answer. Other than that, there's not a lot of difference between the two schools; so it doesn't matter how either of them compare to any of the other middle schools.

FWIW, Parents I know at WMS are not particularly fond of the principal. I wasn't particularly fond of the principal at my kids' middle school (TJ) either; but the proximity (kids able to walk) and some fabulous teachers and counseling staff overrode the mediocrity of the principal. I hear very positive things about the principals of Kenmore and Hamm (who was a great assistant principal at TJ prior to becoming Hamm's principal); but not much praise for the principals of Gunston or williamsburg. (Doesn't Swanson have a new one? but I always heard how much everyone loved Swanson over the years). It just depends on what you want and like and need.

Does Swanson split into WL and YHS for high school? If that matters to you, find out what the current high school boundaries are.

How do these schools compare to the other middles in APS? There are 6 of them, right?

Both schools have made local headlines for unfortunate incidents concerning small groups of students. But overall both schools are generally the same, i.e., well regarded academically and socially. Swanson has a tight knit community centered around the Westover neighborhood and is Arlington’s oldest middle school. It’s also more culturally and socio economically diverse. Like Williamsburg, Swanson sent a large contingent of students to the brand new Dorothy Hamm MS, so Swanson should not be overcrowded.

WM without question.

You're splitting hairs. The bottom line is that both schools are good academically, and both suck socially. Why? Because middle school sucks generally for almost all kids socially, regardless of where you go.

Flip a coin.

just don’t expect either school to help with the issues he’s facing, unless you have a documented 504/IEP, and even then I know many kids, whose needs like those are not being met. But all things considered I would choose Williamsburg since it is less crowded, when Dorothy ham was opened a couple years ago they lost a percentage of the school so it’s not overcrowded like Swanson.

We are moving to the area and looking at homes that are zoned for Swanson or Williamsburg. If your decision came down to the school, which would you choose and why?

We've read some concerning things about Swanson, but recognize that middle school is an adjustment for all kids and no school is perfect.

Our son sometimes struggles with anxiety and focus, so particularly interested in which school might be the best fit for someone with those
challenges.

Thank you for any advice!