Anonymous wrote:We have a daughter at Oakridge. We love, love the school! The principal is very young, vibrant and incredibly responsive to issues such as overcrowding. The reason it is not ranked high on "Great Schools" is because a lot of children who attend the school do not speak English well and therefore do not score well on standardized tests.

+1 It's a fantastic school, and you definitely need to look beyond the scores. My daughter is finishing up K, and before the school year started I had similar reservations about scores (We were in the lottery for ATS because of it, and didn't get in.) I'm glad it turned out the way it did -- I have no complaints at all. The school, as a pp mentioned, has a significant international population (I don't know if my daughter's class is the exception or the rule, but from talking to her classmates' parents at different events, the majority of her international classmates are here as part of military or diplomatic assignments. That could be one drawback if you are concerned about churn - the kids your child starts with might not be there in a few years.)

The principal, Lynne Wright, is energetic and full of wonderful ideas, and as PP said, incredibly responsive. The kids seem to really like her. The PTA is a large, active group of very committed neighborhood parents. My daughter loves all of her teachers - while I haven't had much interaction with her "specials" (art, music, library, etc) her classroom teacher is awesome and very responsive to our questions.

I've lived in the neighborhood for 10 years, so I'm biased, but it really is a wonderful community. The neighborhood is full of kids. Most of our neighbors send their kids to Oakridge, although there are several at Claremont (Spanish immersion) and Drew (Montessori) as well. Both are also well regarded. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Oakridge, though. Good luck!

We have a daughter at Oakridge. We love, love the school! The principal is very young, vibrant and incredibly responsive to issues such as overcrowding. The reason it is not ranked high on "Great Schools" is because a lot of children who attend the school do not speak English well and therefore do not score well on standardized tests.

NP here. I, too, am looking for feedback on Oakridge. It sounds like it gets support from Arlington Ridge families, but I'm looking for some additional thoughts/experiences with the school. I know some people take issue with Schooldigger and GreatSchools rankings, but it concerned me that Oakridge ranked rather low. I'm really interested in the neighborhood, so if there are positive experiences with it, I'd love to hear about them.

Our child has not reached elementary school age yet, but, FWIW, I've noticed that the school receives a lot of support from neighborhood parents. I've been to the school because our child is involved in an APS preschool program and got a good vibe off the school and the administrators we've dealt with. I'm actually very happy that it is our local school and that our child will be going there. As far as the international aspect, I think that's more of a focus on the diversity the school offers versus having some sort of structured program that is international, if that's what you're asking about. Since our child was internationally-adopted, I'm really excited that he will be at such a diverse school, particularly since I feel it reflects the globalization that I expect my child will experience looking ahead to a professional life, etc.

My son is a first grader at Oakridge and it is a wonderful school. Excellent principal and assistant principal. VERY involved PTA and parents. Loving teachers and staff. The student body is diverse and representative of countries around the world. It is a great neighborhood and school.

Does anyone have experience with this school? Their website calls it an "international school", but aside from a diverse student body, what does this mean?