Anonymous
11/26/2011 15:40
Subject: Fairfax versus Arlington schools
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
Really? How do you do that? Homes in the Yorktown district are more expensive.
Perhaps W-L's profile will look better by the time the kids crowding the feeder schools reach HS age.
W-L has always had a very large population of very affluent kids, today and 10, 20, 30 years ago, before the recent gentrification. Those houses off Lorcom Lane or in Lyon Village were always some of the most expensive areas in the county. Sure Yorktown has posh Country Club Hills and Chain Bridge forest but also modest areas like Westover and E Falls Church. Yorktown just never had a significant group of esol/esl/hilt kids. In fact the esl program didn't even exist at Yorktown until the mid-90s, and it remains very small.
So no one was ever priced out of Williamsburg and Yorktown, and had to settle for "lesser" Swanson and W-L. That's ridiculous. People find houses they like in areas with good schools, and for the most part anywhere in N Arlington has sufficed. That's true today, and was true 30 years ago. People would not be buying into the W-L pyramid if the schools were bad.
Both schools' SAT scores ranked in the top 10 of northern Va public schools last year and both schools were among the few in the US to have natl merit finalists (class of '11). If the higher scores at Yorktown compel a young couple to buy only in the Yorktown district, there's nothing wrong with that. But most homebuyers in Arlington aren't that focused on finding the high school with the best scores in the region. They just want good schools with solid reputations.
W-L has always had a good reputation, and as the PP wrote, will only continue to look better with all the kids crowding into the feeder schools like Science Focus and Taylor. And to take the argument further, I suspect Wakefield will grow in prominence with a new building and with couples looking for more affordable homes. S Arlington has been overlooked for decades, but that will soon change. That's my prediction.
Most homebuyers in Arlington are very focused on the reputations of their schools, as evidenced by the hyping of W-L, which was not among the top 10 in Northern Virginia last year. Nice try.
Anonymous
11/26/2011 14:05
Subject: Fairfax versus Arlington schools
Anonymous wrote:
Really? How do you do that? Homes in the Yorktown district are more expensive.
Perhaps W-L's profile will look better by the time the kids crowding the feeder schools reach HS age.
W-L has always had a very large population of very affluent kids, today and 10, 20, 30 years ago, before the recent gentrification. Those houses off Lorcom Lane or in Lyon Village were always some of the most expensive areas in the county. Sure Yorktown has posh Country Club Hills and Chain Bridge forest but also modest areas like Westover and E Falls Church. Yorktown just never had a significant group of esol/esl/hilt kids. In fact the esl program didn't even exist at Yorktown until the mid-90s, and it remains very small.
So no one was ever priced out of Williamsburg and Yorktown, and had to settle for "lesser" Swanson and W-L. That's ridiculous. People find houses they like in areas with good schools, and for the most part anywhere in N Arlington has sufficed. That's true today, and was true 30 years ago. People would not be buying into the W-L pyramid if the schools were bad.
Both schools' SAT scores ranked in the top 10 of northern Va public schools last year and both schools were among the few in the US to have natl merit finalists (class of '11). If the higher scores at Yorktown compel a young couple to buy only in the Yorktown district, there's nothing wrong with that. But most homebuyers in Arlington aren't that focused on finding the high school with the best scores in the region. They just want good schools with solid reputations.
W-L has always had a good reputation, and as the PP wrote, will only continue to look better with all the kids crowding into the feeder schools like Science Focus and Taylor. And to take the argument further, I suspect Wakefield will grow in prominence with a new building and with couples looking for more affordable homes. S Arlington has been overlooked for decades, but that will soon change. That's my prediction.
Anonymous
11/26/2011 10:39
Subject: Re:Fairfax versus Arlington schools
There are people paying high prices now for houses zoned to Washington-Lee. Of course they post that W-L is "great." People who pay less money for similar or better schools in other parts of NoVa just say their schools are good and get on with it.
Anonymous
11/25/2011 18:33
Subject: Fairfax versus Arlington schools
Anonymous wrote:
If families wanted to avoid Washington-Lee they would just move "across the street" to the Yorktown neighborhoods, and that's not the trend with kids crowding the feeder schools all over N Arlington.
Really? How do you do that? Homes in the Yorktown district are more expensive.
Perhaps W-L's profile will look better by the time the kids crowding the feeder schools reach HS age.
Anonymous
11/25/2011 18:04
Subject: Fairfax versus Arlington schools
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:You should take your commute into account, too. A lot of the better Fairfax schools are farther from DC. And houses in the best Fairfax school districts are not always much cheaper than Arlington. I recently moved from Fairfax into Arlington and the commute to DC is better.
If you're in South Arlington, it might be worth moving to certain areas of Fairfax. But I wouldn't move to Fairfax from North Arlington, personally. The schools in North Arlington are almost uniformly great.
I can certainly understand why someone would take a longer commute and Fairfax schools over the areas of North/Central Arlington that feed into Washington-Lee.
If families wanted to avoid Washington-Lee they would just move "across the street" to the Yorktown neighborhoods, and that's not the trend with kids crowding the feeder schools all over N Arlington.
Anonymous
11/25/2011 16:41
Subject: Fairfax versus Arlington schools
Anonymous wrote:You should take your commute into account, too. A lot of the better Fairfax schools are farther from DC. And houses in the best Fairfax school districts are not always much cheaper than Arlington. I recently moved from Fairfax into Arlington and the commute to DC is better.
If you're in South Arlington, it might be worth moving to certain areas of Fairfax. But I wouldn't move to Fairfax from North Arlington, personally. The schools in North Arlington are almost uniformly great.
I can certainly understand why someone would take a longer commute and Fairfax schools over the areas of North/Central Arlington that feed into Washington-Lee.
Anonymous
11/25/2011 15:21
Subject: Re:Fairfax versus Arlington schools
I wish I could move out of Fairfax into N. Arlington for the schools 
and I'm in Mclean. Both are good school systems, and I do think the GT program in Fairfax is a plus, but the class sizes in Arlington are smaller, the magnets offer interesting options and the smaller school system has less bureaucracy.
and I'm in Mclean. Both are good school systems, and I do think the GT program in Fairfax is a plus, but the class sizes in Arlington are smaller, the magnets offer interesting options and the smaller school system has less bureaucracy.
Anonymous
11/24/2011 23:36
Subject: Fairfax versus Arlington schools
You should take your commute into account, too. A lot of the better Fairfax schools are farther from DC. And houses in the best Fairfax school districts are not always much cheaper than Arlington. I recently moved from Fairfax into Arlington and the commute to DC is better.
If you're in South Arlington, it might be worth moving to certain areas of Fairfax. But I wouldn't move to Fairfax from North Arlington, personally. The schools in North Arlington are almost uniformly great.
If you're in South Arlington, it might be worth moving to certain areas of Fairfax. But I wouldn't move to Fairfax from North Arlington, personally. The schools in North Arlington are almost uniformly great.
Anonymous
11/24/2011 09:23
Subject: Re:Fairfax versus Arlington schools
Anonymous wrote:Both Arlington and Fairfax have schools ranging from very good to excellent. You'd have to compare two specific schools to meaningfully say which is "better.". I think a lot of people move out to Fairfax because it's cheaper and you get much more house for your money.
Agreed - plus a lot of people move to Fairfax because they work there and/or don't like the small lots typical of Arlington.
Anonymous
11/24/2011 00:24
Subject: Re:Fairfax versus Arlington schools
Both Arlington and Fairfax have schools ranging from very good to excellent. You'd have to compare two specific schools to meaningfully say which is "better.". I think a lot of people move out to Fairfax because it's cheaper and you get much more house for your money.
Anonymous
11/18/2011 11:49
Subject: Re:Fairfax versus Arlington schools
Anonymous wrote:But Arlington elementary schools ends at 5th grade and Fairfax 6th grade, doesn't it make a difference?
If you look across the country, many school systems start middle school in 6th grade. There are also many school systems that start middle school in 7th grade. It's a difference and some might think it's a major difference, but I would guess that a majority of people would say it's minor.
Anonymous
11/18/2011 11:36
Subject: Re:Fairfax versus Arlington schools
But Arlington elementary schools ends at 5th grade and Fairfax 6th grade, doesn't it make a difference?
Anonymous
11/18/2011 11:24
Subject: Fairfax versus Arlington schools
I wouldn't plan a move just to switch schools/districts unless you are very dissatisfied with the local schools. Arlington schools are very good overall, and most families seem quite satisfied.
Anonymous
11/18/2011 11:12
Subject: Fairfax versus Arlington schools
Both school systems are good. FCPS is probably better for the smaller subset of gifted kids, but overall, the Arlington schools are fine.
Anonymous
11/18/2011 10:59
Subject: Fairfax versus Arlington schools
We are currently in N Arlington public elementary schools. I see people moving to Fairfax and I would like to know if Fairfax County public schools are better and why? I really need your honest advice because we are considering buying a house.