Obviously a lot of trolling on here. Either middle school is good. The issues with bullying at Swanson have been nipped in the bud. It is a strong community school which is nice.

All roads lead to Yorktown. There are kids in Arlington that go to Yorktown and those that don't and wish they did...

Anonymous wrote:both sound horrendous....

exactly

Anonymous wrote:I have a child at Gunston and he has really enjoyed it so far. I have been very impressed with how committed the staff is to the students. I also like the administration and think they are trying to make it a genuinely enjoyable experience for kids.

My kid is in immersion

School within a school, and carried her friends from elementary in a bubble (ie they have lots of classes together by nature of immersion schedule).

Anonymous wrote:both sound horrendous....

What do you suggest? OP why are you set on Arlington some place in Tysons would be cheaper and have better schools.

I have a child at Gunston and he has really enjoyed it so far. I have been very impressed with how committed the staff is to the students. I also like the administration and think they are trying to make it a genuinely enjoyable experience for kids.

My kid is in immersion

both sound horrendous....

I’d say go with the neighborhood and community you like. Both middle schools are fine. It’s pretty easy to transfer among all three high schools—based on current population trends it’s easier to transfer out of Wakefield than in at the moment. The IB diploma program at W-L does have a transfer cap, but I think most get in. Do note that W-L has two types of transfers: 1) for the IB diploma program, and not the school’s AP or gen ed programs, and 2) regular neighborhood transfers for AP, IB or gen ed

Also consider that after middle school, some students usually want to stay with their friend groups at whatever high school.

Anonymous wrote:Both MS are over capacity; however, for HS if you are in the Wakefield zone and want to go to W-L you can currently do so by choice without going in the IB program (Wakefield is also significantly over capacity). You could not go the other way. Both Gunston and Wakefield have new principals who are making positive changes from what I've heard.

Basically: Depending on the age of your child, buying in the Wakefield zone should give you the option for both Wakefield & W-L while buying in W-L locks you in there.

NP here. This a good point. But how old are your kids? Middle school boundaries are changing in a couple of years, and things like transfer allowances fluctuate from year to year based on enrollment.

For what it’s worth, we chose the immersion track & are so far happy with Gunston & Wakefield (zoned for Hamm & YHS).

As a fact check, here are enrollment vs. capacity figures for these two schools.

Enrollment (June 2024): 933 at Swanson and capacity is 948
Enrollment (June 2024): 974 at Gunson and capacity is 992

Both schools feel very full. No doubt about it.

Both MS are over capacity; however, for HS if you are in the Wakefield zone and want to go to W-L you can currently do so by choice without going in the IB program (Wakefield is also significantly over capacity). You could not go the other way. Both Gunston and Wakefield have new principals who are making positive changes from what I've heard.

Basically: Depending on the age of your child, buying in the Wakefield zone should give you the option for both Wakefield & W-L while buying in W-L locks you in there.

Anonymous wrote:Swanson had an issue with a kid with autism getting bullied right after covid. I can only hope and assume that the SpEd kids are being more closely protected by the new admin but I left for private rather than send my ADHD kid there since they were already bullied by the ES crowd. As for time-lines, that kid being bullied and my kid mentioned here are the same age so I am reference the same group of kids who are now at W-L. Also, Swanson is overcrowded this year by a lot. Not sure of Gunston.

Gunston is basically at capacity

Swanson had an issue with a kid with autism getting bullied right after covid. I can only hope and assume that the SpEd kids are being more closely protected by the new admin but I left for private rather than send my ADHD kid there since they were already bullied by the ES crowd. As for time-lines, that kid being bullied and my kid mentioned here are the same age so I am reference the same group of kids who are now at W-L. Also, Swanson is overcrowded this year by a lot. Not sure of Gunston.

W-L should be an option either way if you do IB

I’m looking at two houses (or actually one condo and one TH). Those are the school options. I prefer the TH that’s zoned for Wakefield but I think I’d prefer W-L. I don’t like what I hear about either middle school. My child has a 504 for autism and is strong academically. Any thoughts?