Can you pay for tutors? That's what many parents at our school quietly did for years. Even pre-covid. And then they went private anyway.

I wouldn't drink the Lyles Crouch Koolaid. From what I hear the classrooms are tiny and the class sizes are at capacity. Most of the elementary school are pretty good though.

I have one at Brooks and one at GW and have been happy with their experience. There's the occasional bad teacher, but that happens everywhere.

If you have a student with a disability or disabilities, run, don't walk, away from ACPS.

Barrett. Principal is "okay" - was not a fan of the teachers in the earlier grades, but a Kinder teacher doesn't have to be great.

Brooks family here. We really love our school and I think ACPS is actually very strong at a building level. It's the central office that is the concern. Right now, we have an interim superintendent. We have heard mixed reviews about GW but most of our neighbors go there and thrive! The curriculum options sound outstanding. The facilities are horrible (but also at Brooks--school is the oldest in the district). I think the HS is too big and that there needs to be 2-3 HS. I also think that GW might be too large too. The facilities are gross. We like the Brooks principal and the staff seem to like her too. My kids have excellent teachers but are in lower goods.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Barrett has been fantastic for us. It seems to not be suffering a teacher turnover fate of many schools. The principal is sub-par, but he is made up for by a phenomenal AP and staff. If you would need after school care, there is a rec center on-site. so that has been a great benefit.

I’m sorry he has turned out to be sub-par. We were there before the old principal left. He left big shoes to fill and I’m sure it was hard to start in a new system in the middle of the pandemic.

DP Barrett family. He means well, but just is not assertive or charismatic. Although, the students seem to love him. I do not sense the teachers respect him. But, since he is a nice person he makes up for that. Barrett is a truly special place. A neighborhood school that really is the center of this community. We are a military family that hears a lot about elementary school experiences, and ours sticks out as being really special.

Brooks is great! Our kid has had excellent teachers every year and loves school.

I am assuming they had different teachers for 5th than my kids did. One was totally crazy, constantly singing, and taught very little. The other was slightly better, but pretty much checked out.

Brooks is great! Our kid has had excellent teachers every year and loves school. Older DC went through k-12 in ACPS and is now rocking college. Avoided drama and aligned with motivated classmates.

Anonymous wrote:Barrett has been fantastic for us. It seems to not be suffering a teacher turnover fate of many schools. The principal is sub-par, but he is made up for by a phenomenal AP and staff. If you would need after school care, there is a rec center on-site. so that has been a great benefit.

I’m sorry he has turned out to be sub-par. We were there before the old principal left. He left big shoes to fill and I’m sure it was hard to start in a new system in the middle of the pandemic.

Barrett has been fantastic for us. It seems to not be suffering a teacher turnover fate of many schools. The principal is sub-par, but he is made up for by a phenomenal AP and staff. If you would need after school care, there is a rec center on-site. so that has been a great benefit.

The problems are at the middle and high school level


Exactly. You can’t escape those no matter where you end up in Alexandria City limits.

Actually, my son has liked GW for the most part. He is in a mix of honor and non-honors classes (he has an IEP, but his disability affects some subjects more than others).
I think if you have a straightforward kid with no disabilities, and can provide a lot of support at home, ACPS is ok through middle. However, I have perpetually had to insert myself into failure to comply with his IEP, which has been kind of miserable for me (vs. him, he is happy enough).

Anonymous wrote:The problems are at the middle and high school level

Exactly. You can’t escape those no matter where you end up in Alexandria City limits.

The problems are at the middle and high school level

It's looking likely that we will return to the DC area mid July. I grew up in Old Town and would really love to make that our home but private school isn't an option for our two elementary age kids.

So, if you had to send your kids through ACPS, what track would you put them on? I hear Barret and Brooks are both good options along with Lyles Crouch