Anonymous wrote:don't pick a place by being racist and looking for "diversity" pick it based on income, working professionals and test scores.

Unfortunately that doesn't work for those of us in the minority. Believe it or not most people want to live someplace where they and their children see some people who look like them. I'm guessing that's not something you have a clue about.

Here's the elementary school map for Arlington:

http://www.apsva.us/cms/lib2/VA01000586/Centricity/Domain/166/Elementary_Schools_Boundary_Map_2008.pdf

The AA enrollment at Abingdon, Drew, Hoffman-Boston and Randolph ranges from 15-40%.

don't pick a place by being racist and looking for "diversity" pick it based on income, working professionals and test scores.

Thanks for the info everyone. This kind of confirms what we thought was the case re: N Arlington. That whatever diversity there may be, it generally doesn't include AA families. Are there many AAs in S Arlington? I had always been under the impression that the diveristy there was mostly latino, but that's just based on my own anecdotal observations.

I have a 1st grade student at Glebe. First off, we have been happy with the school so far and I would hardly say it is a bad school. However, I know that sometimes it is perceived that way and part of the reason for that is because it has traditionally been one of the more diverse schools and has more students than the other N. Arlington schools who are from less affluent families. However, for better or for worse, that is definitely changing at Glebe. In my son's class there are 19 students. He had one African American student in the class at the beginning of the year, but he moved to Maryland. His class now has one Hispanic girl and the rest is white. This is true of many of the K and 1 classes in the school. I would also add that the diversity I do see is generally not African American. There are quite a few SE Asian students and some Hispanic students. In general, there really aren't a lot of African Americans in N. Arlington at all except for that one area off Lee Highway mentioned above, but that is also changing to be less diverse. I do feel like I see a lot of Asian families (Korean, Indian, etc) coming into the area. We also have a fairly large Mongolian population.

South Arlington is the way to go. You get diversity and an area that's improving vs. North Arlington, which many people think is overpriced. And, when it's finished, the new Wakefield HS building in South Arlington will be very nice.

Arlington has done a very good job of ridding itself of lower income, high need AA families and Hispanic families through economic discrimination. Arlington needs the tax base to support the now-majority white schools throughout the County. One only needs to look at the Buckingham apartment complex (general boundaries Pershing Drive between Glebe and George Mason and north to Henderson Rd.) to see how Arlington has encouraged development of more upscale housing. You will not find much racial diversity in Arlington's schools -- even Glebe -- which a PP poster pointed out actually has a low AA population. The Halls Hill/Highview Park neighborhood which feeds into Glebe is an historically AA neighborhood started as a Freedman's Village. Houses had stayed in the same families for years. However, as AA became more affluent, younger family members wanted nicer houses and started to sell family properties to builders. There are also a few AAs in the community who are buying houses and tearing them down for new houses. Relative to other housing prices in North Arlington, new houses in Halls Hill are inexpensive. In Hall Hill you now have mostly an aging population with few children in Glebe and a growing Hispanic population renting the older apartments. Sorry for going on, but I find what Arlington has done with housing fascinating!

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure there are quite a few, outside of the more northern parts of 22207. Much of S. Arlington is pretty diverse, having lived there a number of years ago. We're in 22205 now. On our block we have 2 biracial families, 1 lesbian couple, 4 SAHMs, 2 international families, 5 heterosexual WOH families, 1 divorcee, and 4 older child-free or retiree households.

I think the Arlington County Schools website gives you the racial breakdown and FARMS count at each elementary school. That might help give you an indicator of general areas that are more or less diverse in those particular demographics.

This sounds like our street too, also in 22205. Hello, neighbor? In terms of race on our street we have an AA family, 2 Asian, and I think the rest is Caucasian. I'd say our hood overall is 60% white, 25% latino, 10% Asian, 5% AA. More diverse than other N Arlington neighhoods we know.

People don't move to North Arlington for diversity and the schools reflect that. If you want diversity, look south.

Anonymous wrote:I'd be interested in the answer to this as well. The PP mentions S Arlington, but I'm more interested in N Arlington. I'm AA and we lived in N Arlington before we had kids. We loved it (we were in the Courthouse area), but we were always struck by how lily white the area was. We'd be interested in moving back to the area, but don't want to raise our kids somewhere they would be the only AA kids. Are there any AA families in N Arlington? I mean, I'm sure there's one or two, but are there any neighborhoods with more?

I live in North Arlington.

I don't know how diverse you want exactly, and a lot of people are throwing Glebe at you as an example of a diverse school. I suppose relative to the others, it may be, but it's not exactly a bastion of diversity.

http://virginia.webschoolpro.com/glebe-elementary-school_VA0130070100/school-enrollment-characteristics.html

57 black kids in a school of 459 students (of which 275 are white).

Figure some of those kids are almost certainly siblings, and that reduces the number of black families. I don't really think you'll find a lot of childless black households in the area.

That said, this is proof that your kids won't necessarily be the only black kid in the class, but there's more than a decent chance he will be. That's less than 10 black kids per grade, over how many classrooms?

Another thing to consider is that of the North Arlington schools, Glebe ES's reputation is relatively poor. I'm not saying it is deserved, I'm saying that's how it's perceived.

Highview Park/Halls Hill in 22207. This neighborhood feeds into Glebe Elementary. Other neighborhoods that feed into Glebe are Waverly Hills and a majority of Waycroft/Woodlawn. I also believe part of Cherrydale.

My kids are at Glebe and I couldn't be happier. It is probably going to be your most diverse school in N. Arlington. In my daughter's class of 20 we are definitely not lilly white

Here is some history on Highview Park/Halls Hill:

http://johnmlangston.org/Membership/highview_park

I'd be interested in the answer to this as well. The PP mentions S Arlington, but I'm more interested in N Arlington. I'm AA and we lived in N Arlington before we had kids. We loved it (we were in the Courthouse area), but we were always struck by how lily white the area was. We'd be interested in moving back to the area, but don't want to raise our kids somewhere they would be the only AA kids. Are there any AA families in N Arlington? I mean, I'm sure there's one or two, but are there any neighborhoods with more?

I'm sure there are quite a few, outside of the more northern parts of 22207. Much of S. Arlington is pretty diverse, having lived there a number of years ago. We're in 22205 now. On our block we have 2 biracial families, 1 lesbian couple, 4 SAHMs, 2 international families, 5 heterosexual WOH families, 1 divorcee, and 4 older child-free or retiree households.

I think the Arlington County Schools website gives you the racial breakdown and FARMS count at each elementary school. That might help give you an indicator of general areas that are more or less diverse in those particular demographics.

Do they exist? We are an African American family considering a move, but would like a somewhat diverse neighborhood. Our DS starts Kindergarten next fall.