Anonymous
Post 07/23/2012 16:57     Subject: visiting elementary school
Anonymous wrote:We bought in a very good public school district before my child was born. When it was time for him to go to kindergarten we went to the orientation and were glad we did. After that meeting we decided that it would not be a good fit for our child and then enrolled him in private.


What was it about the public school system that you did not like?
Anonymous
Post 07/23/2012 15:32     Subject: visiting elementary school
We bought in a very good public school district before my child was born. When it was time for him to go to kindergarten we went to the orientation and were glad we did. After that meeting we decided that it would not be a good fit for our child and then enrolled him in private.
Anonymous
Post 07/19/2012 11:19     Subject: visiting elementary school
To add to my response above (11:17) I didn't like those principals just because they recommended redshirting, but rather because they didn't give me an automatic answer and instead asked questions and for more details before giving any answer.
Anonymous
Post 07/19/2012 11:17     Subject: visiting elementary school
I'm the PP with the "difficult situation" - and it's not really that big of a deal or unique. I asked everyone how they would handle my son - mid September birthday, diagnosed ADHD, academically average - enroll him when his birthdate suggested, or redshirt. Then I asked why they recommended that course of action, and if I chose the course they didn't recommend, what could I expect my school year to look like. Of the eight principals I spoke with, six said to send him "on time" and all six of those K teachers didn't answer the question at all. The other two principals asked more follow up questions about my son specifically to get a better gage, then said that while they would, of course, be able to meet his needs whenever, he sounded like a good redshirting candidate. One K teacher was very blunt with the positives and negatives I could expect to find either way and tailored her response to the things I had mentioned specifically about my son.
Anonymous
Post 07/18/2012 22:07     Subject: visiting elementary school
Anonymous wrote:To answer your questions - no I didn't visit the elementary school before I bought a house, but I knew it was a new facility (5yo building) so I figured it would be nice, and I didn't know enough to think about different principals affecting teachers/school philosophy differently. That said, I don't know if you'd pick that up on a tour either - better to try to find someone who knows someone in the neighborhood and ask what people think of the schools. I can only speak for Arlington, but you can do tours outside of scheduled orientation, it just may take some planning. I went to the big county Kindergarten Information night where all the elementary schools in the county had posters and a principal and K teacher from each school was available to answer questions. I tried to come up with a few questions that might show how they'd deal with a difficult situation. Based on their answers, two schools really stood out to me. Luckily for me, we ound a house that happened to be zoned for one of those schools. I didn't specifically look for the school, but was pleased to find that's where the house was.


thanks, PP!
Which difficult situation/scenario did you ask about? Just wondering...
Anonymous
Post 07/18/2012 05:10     Subject: visiting elementary school
No, PP, Fairfax does not have a similar event. There are 138 elementary schools in FCPS, including 2 schools with over 1000 students. Where would such an event be held as it would be widely attended?

Arlington as 20 elementary schools.
Anonymous
Post 07/17/2012 20:38     Subject: visiting elementary school
Anonymous wrote:To answer your questions - no I didn't visit the elementary school before I bought a house, but I knew it was a new facility (5yo building) so I figured it would be nice, and I didn't know enough to think about different principals affecting teachers/school philosophy differently. That said, I don't know if you'd pick that up on a tour either - better to try to find someone who knows someone in the neighborhood and ask what people think of the schools. I can only speak for Arlington, but you can do tours outside of scheduled orientation, it just may take some planning. I went to the big county Kindergarten Information night where all the elementary schools in the county had posters and a principal and K teacher from each school was available to answer questions. I tried to come up with a few questions that might show how they'd deal with a difficult situation. Based on their answers, two schools really stood out to me. Luckily for me, we ound a house that happened to be zoned for one of those schools. I didn't specifically look for the school, but was pleased to find that's where the house was.


Does anyone know whether fairfax county has a similar event.
Anonymous
Post 07/17/2012 20:38     Subject: Re:visiting elementary school
If you might enroll, you should visit. If you visit, you should try to visit during a school day, not right at the immediate beginning or absolute end of the school year. If you visit, you should meet with an admin (principal, ass't principal), even if it's brief. You'll pick a lot up. We positively swear by the Alexandria public schools, but you and your DCs will get much more from the program if you communicate and invest. It's a school, not just a building.


Anonymous
Post 07/17/2012 19:10     Subject: visiting elementary school
We did visit the new school (sans the kids), but our kids were older and would be transferring in once we moved.
Anonymous
Post 07/17/2012 17:56     Subject: Re:visiting elementary school
I think you would get a good view of the facility and a feel for what the school district offers at the time and perhaps learn one thing unique about a particular school. Not much more. Luckily the public schools publish a lot of data online to learn more about them.
Anonymous
Post 07/17/2012 16:25     Subject: visiting elementary school
To answer your questions - no I didn't visit the elementary school before I bought a house, but I knew it was a new facility (5yo building) so I figured it would be nice, and I didn't know enough to think about different principals affecting teachers/school philosophy differently. That said, I don't know if you'd pick that up on a tour either - better to try to find someone who knows someone in the neighborhood and ask what people think of the schools. I can only speak for Arlington, but you can do tours outside of scheduled orientation, it just may take some planning. I went to the big county Kindergarten Information night where all the elementary schools in the county had posters and a principal and K teacher from each school was available to answer questions. I tried to come up with a few questions that might show how they'd deal with a difficult situation. Based on their answers, two schools really stood out to me. Luckily for me, we ound a house that happened to be zoned for one of those schools. I didn't specifically look for the school, but was pleased to find that's where the house was.
Anonymous
Post 07/16/2012 20:44     Subject: visiting elementary school
Did you visit the elementary school before you bought a house Do the schools do tours outside of the scheduled kindergarten orientation. DC is 2 years away from starting school. The youngest is 3 years away. Did you find the tour useful?