OP here. Thank you for the thoughts. We did decide to go with the Ashlawn house in the end (variety of reasons). Hope that everything goes smoothly for our son with the transition.

I heard someone else mention that Science Focus can be cliquish - even in elementary school? Hope that Ashlawn isn't like that.

Test scores do not mean anything because all the scores in Arlington are very close. My kids go to Science Focus. Very crowded, tiny playground, and very cliquish. If I can do it all over again, I would choose Ashlawn.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the process of moving to the DC area, specifically Arlington. Last weekend we narrowed our house search down to a few finalists. And we are looking for some insights into the cultures of the schools. Our son is in second grade and has a large scar on his face and we are worried about teasing/bullying. Our realtor brushed off our concerns.

Does anyone have experience at Ashlawn, Taylor, or Science Focus?  How would you describe the culture at the school?  Any experience with how they handle bulling/teasing?

From a parent's perspective, how active are the parents?  

Anything else we should know to help our decision?  We looked at test scores and all three seem fine on paper. 

Thank you! So glad to find this site!!

I can't speak to Ashlawn but your chances of getting your kids into Science Focus are approximately nil.

I think Science Focus is supposed to be a great school. Don't know about Key or Ashlawn. The top Arlington neighborhood schools are Taylor, Jamestown, Nottingham.

You won't get into Science Focus unless you live within the boundaries -- the wait list for outside transfers is simply too big. Culturally I suspect Science Focus is populated by many parents who believe it is a ticket to TJ (which it isn't necessarily)

What makes those schools the "top" neighborhood schools? I could have sworn McKinley has the highest SOL scores. What's better about these other schools? Or are they just in fancier neighborhoods? We're househunting too so would appreciate any feedback on this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Culturally I suspect Science Focus is populated by many parents who believe it is a ticket to TJ (which it isn't necessarily)

which middle school would they send their TJ-ticketed kids to?

Most go to Swanson or Williamsburg. There are a fair number of TJ stickers on cars in Arlington. The stats on the total number of Arlington TJ kids and the middle schools they attended are buried somewhere within the APS website.

But I highly doubt that more than a small minority of parents think Sci Focus is a ticket to TJ. Most families that move to Northern Virginia specifically for TJ, move to Fairfax County.

Anonymous wrote:Culturally I suspect Science Focus is populated by many parents who believe it is a ticket to TJ (which it isn't necessarily)

which middle school would they send their TJ-ticketed kids to?

Anonymous wrote:14:25 also meant to say thank you for sharing your experience - very appreciated.

And meant to say realtor was pushing the science school, not the immersion school. Sorry that wasn't clear.

does that house happen to have a bigger price tag too?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the process of moving to the DC area, specifically Arlington. Last weekend we narrowed our house search down to a few finalists. And we are looking for some insights into the cultures of the schools. Our son is in second grade and has a large scar on his face and we are worried about teasing/bullying. Our realtor brushed off our concerns.

Does anyone have experience at Ashlawn, Taylor, or Science Focus?  How would you describe the culture at the school?  Any experience with how they handle bulling/teasing?

From a parent's perspective, how active are the parents?  

Anything else we should know to help our decision?  We looked at test scores and all three seem fine on paper. 

Thank you! So glad to find this site!!

I can't speak to Ashlawn but your chances of getting your kids into Science Focus are approximately nil.

I think Science Focus is supposed to be a great school. Don't know about Key or Ashlawn. The top Arlington neighborhood schools are Taylor, Jamestown, Nottingham.

You won't get into Science Focus unless you live within the boundaries -- the wait list for outside transfers is simply too big. Culturally I suspect Science Focus is populated by many parents who believe it is a ticket to TJ (which it isn't necessarily)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the process of moving to the DC area, specifically Arlington. Last weekend we narrowed our house search down to a few finalists. And we are looking for some insights into the cultures of the schools. Our son is in second grade and has a large scar on his face and we are worried about teasing/bullying. Our realtor brushed off our concerns.

Does anyone have experience at Ashlawn, Taylor, or Science Focus?  How would you describe the culture at the school?  Any experience with how they handle bulling/teasing?

From a parent's perspective, how active are the parents?  

Anything else we should know to help our decision?  We looked at test scores and all three seem fine on paper. 

Thank you! So glad to find this site!!

I can't speak to Ashlawn but your chances of getting your kids into Science Focus are approximately nil.

You can get into Science Focus if you live in the boundary for Science Focus or Key.

Yes. If you are in the Key/Immersion school district you get AUTOMATIC entry to Science Focus if you want that since they can't force dual-immersion.

This is our first year at Science Focus and we are very happy so far--but I have no idea about the teasing/bully aspect--but will agree that it seems kids are taught compassion, acceptance and lots of diversity iniitiatives. Incredibly active PTA and parent involvement at the school.

14:25 also meant to say thank you for sharing your experience - very appreciated.

And meant to say realtor was pushing the science school, not the immersion school. Sorry that wasn't clear.

14:25 - we have not arranged for him to see a therapist yet, but that is a wonderful idea. At his current school it hasn't been an issue yet (aside from a few questions). Just anticipating more issues as he grows older and more self-aware.

One of the homes we are considering is in the key boundary, but we are not interested in immersion. Our realtor also was pushing it because of high test scores. But for elementary school that isn't as important to us as the social aspects. Which are really difficult to gauge!

Thank you for the insights!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in the process of moving to the DC area, specifically Arlington. Last weekend we narrowed our house search down to a few finalists. And we are looking for some insights into the cultures of the schools. Our son is in second grade and has a large scar on his face and we are worried about teasing/bullying. Our realtor brushed off our concerns.

Does anyone have experience at Ashlawn, Taylor, or Science Focus?  How would you describe the culture at the school?  Any experience with how they handle bulling/teasing?

From a parent's perspective, how active are the parents?  

Anything else we should know to help our decision?  We looked at test scores and all three seem fine on paper. 

Thank you! So glad to find this site!!

I can't speak to Ashlawn but your chances of getting your kids into Science Focus are approximately nil.

You can get into Science Focus if you live in the boundary for Science Focus or Key.

Anonymous wrote:We are in the process of moving to the DC area, specifically Arlington. Last weekend we narrowed our house search down to a few finalists. And we are looking for some insights into the cultures of the schools. Our son is in second grade and has a large scar on his face and we are worried about teasing/bullying. Our realtor brushed off our concerns.

Does anyone have experience at Ashlawn, Taylor, or Science Focus?  How would you describe the culture at the school?  Any experience with how they handle bulling/teasing?

From a parent's perspective, how active are the parents?  

Anything else we should know to help our decision?  We looked at test scores and all three seem fine on paper. 

Thank you! So glad to find this site!!

I can't speak to Ashlawn but your chances of getting your kids into Science Focus are approximately nil.

Good idea to look into the schools. But if you are thinking about possible issues your son might face because of his appearance -- and perhaps you are already doing this -- has your son seen a counselor/therapist? And was it recently?

I grew up with a facial scar as well, and I wish I had been given the chance to talk about it with someone like that. My parents were great and supportive, but we never really discussed it, and I just never wanted to discuss it with them . . . so they took this as evidence that I was fine . . . At some ages it bothered me more than others, so keep in mind that however your child feel now, he might become more or less sensitive about it later.

As an adult, I have no problems. And overall, a very happy childhood. But childhood/adolescence had some rough patches that I think might have been greatly ameliorated by more openess and discussions with parents and/or other trusted adult.

Best wishes!

Close friends of mine went to Ashlawn and Taylor, and loved both schools. Parents are extremely active at all three schools. Ashlawn has something called the Global Citizen Project that you might want to look into. The school participates in the annual No Name-Calling Week.

In general Arlington kids are pretty accepting of others' differences. A friend of mine also had a very noticeable scar, but there were never any problems that I recall.

We are in the process of moving to the DC area, specifically Arlington. Last weekend we narrowed our house search down to a few finalists. And we are looking for some insights into the cultures of the schools. Our son is in second grade and has a large scar on his face and we are worried about teasing/bullying. Our realtor brushed off our concerns.

Does anyone have experience at Ashlawn, Taylor, or Science Focus?  How would you describe the culture at the school?  Any experience with how they handle bulling/teasing?

From a parent's perspective, how active are the parents?  

Anything else we should know to help our decision?  We looked at test scores and all three seem fine on paper. 

Thank you! So glad to find this site!!