Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Greatschools.net

Useless.

How so? It's a great tool to pick a neighborhood and school.

Here's the thing--there is no best.

Do not waste energy and fret and fret and wring your hands for the BEST school...as if there is one that would even meet that description.

There are many, many great public schools in the DC Metro area (DC, VA and MD--all included). Look for a nice solid school with a good parent reputation and be very careful of the 'intense' ones.

I say this as somebody that did not attend 'the best' Fairfax Co schools. Mine were considered mid-pack, but the education I received fabulous. The community fabulous and my friends and I ended up at some truly great universities...yes a few ivies sprinkled in. It was also a very nice group of kids--no mean girls, clicks, etc. I attribute a bit of that (and I may get flamed) to a nice middle of the road student body--no real extreme wealth, etc.

DH went to a public HS where only 5% of the kids go onto a 4-year college. His mom was a single mom, Kindergarten teacher with a night job too. He was not in GT, etc..mainly because his mom never followed through. He got perfect SAT and into an exclusive private university. The guy is naturally smart---taught himself two languages which he speaks like a native, etc..

I think people in this area are so caught up in the 'best, most exclusive' this and that and can't see the forest for the trees. I also am a firm believer that it is much MUCH BETTER to be the big fish in the small pond when applying to a University and not an entire Senior class of Big Fishes. The environment can also be much more toxic for the fish...all those tiger mom fish.

So--for own kids---we picked a good school pyramid. Top-notch but certainly not 'the best' according to the many posts on here. We pretty much could afford to live in any school district, but we looked into lifestyle and a bit of diversity for the kids. I've seen that on another thread of only looking at location and forgoing schools..but trust me we studied the schools hard. We even moved from another area for these schools.

It also depends on the kind of education you want with the kind of kids you have (ie, special needs, gifted). We were in DC, and found the school system too dysfunctional to invest $$$ for the long-term MS and HS options. We didn't want to pay for private school either. The charters have some good programs, but they are a work in progress and we didn't think the quality of the education was there yet. Depending on your budget, I'd look in Arlington and Bethesda.

Anonymous wrote:Greatschools.net

Useless.

Greatschools.net

Look at the Ballston area of Arlington. Very urban, but much better schools than DC.

There is no single best when it comes to a school.

OP, I just don't think you will get a valuable answer this way. Do searches on DCUM about specific neighborhoods with school districts you might be interested in, but just a blanket "which is best?" Not going to happen.
For example, Fairfax County is HUGE, one of the biggest in the country. It's a good school system, but of course there is variety in the experiences among the different schools.
I think you also need to consider the other factors, such as commute. Figure out where your job(s) are, and use that as a starting point to figure out potential neighborhoods, districts to explore.

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a loaded question, but I'm just trying to figure out where to move, and we don't currently live in the area. We like urban living so if we don't choose DC, it would be Arlington or somewhere in MD that feels as urban as possible. But schools are a factor. How can I get insight into truly which school system is the strongest, for elementary? (For MS, HS- we will worry about that later and might go private- who knows). Do I need to personally tour them? Is there any insight you ladies can provide? By looking at Greatschools.org and the likes, all of the top DC schools and top Arlington schools all score very well so it's hard to understand whether they are the same, or not. Any thoughts appreciated!

(Also posted on DC board).

There are plenty of good schools in the area. Fairfax and Montgomery are the biggest. Huge. Fairfax is the 11th or 12th largest school system in the country. Montgomery ranks high in population too. They are not homogeneous.

My suggestion is to look around the neighborhoods you like and then tour those schools to see which has the best fit for your children. Commute time is important. Count on at least a doubling of time required during rush hour (which is really 3-4 hours in the am and 3-4 hours in the evening). Housing cost is another.

OP- fair answers. I suspect we will just have to tour them and get our own gut feelings, based on what we look for in schools, which could vary greatly from others. And yes, of course- commute, etc. is a major factor. Thanks.

I don't think anyone really knows, and I would caution that for most people commute (and less tangible things) play a very big role in where they decide to live. That said, we decided the best compromise for good schools and a very walkable (quasi-urban) lifestyle was close-in MoCo.

I would like to know to, but it is too emotional for many to make any comparisons... And for a good comparison you would have to have experience in each of the systems...

OP - Not the only factor, but the factor I am trying to learn about via this question.

Is schools the only factor in your decision?

You don't care about housing costs, commutes, traffic, amenities, etc.?

I know this is a loaded question, but I'm just trying to figure out where to move, and we don't currently live in the area. We like urban living so if we don't choose DC, it would be Arlington or somewhere in MD that feels as urban as possible. But schools are a factor. How can I get insight into truly which school system is the strongest, for elementary? (For MS, HS- we will worry about that later and might go private- who knows). Do I need to personally tour them? Is there any insight you ladies can provide? By looking at Greatschools.org and the likes, all of the top DC schools and top Arlington schools all score very well so it's hard to understand whether they are the same, or not. Any thoughts appreciated!

(Also posted on DC board).