That's great, PP. But every title I school is different, so you are comparing apples and oranges. As an example, you can't compare GF to nearby Weller Road (which is upwards of 80%hispanic, whereas GF is a bit more diverse). And I agree that many white kids in title I schools do well academically, at least in the early grades. But if I were considering a home in GF, I would want to know more about the social aspect, rough behavior, etc. There are other options.

My kids go to another Title I school with a high FARMS and high ELL rate. For the record, my white DH and I both work and our parents do not live locally, so they can't attend grandparents day either, and it is a real challenge for me to volunteer at school because of my work schedule. DS was the only white kid in his and he had no idea that he was the only white kid in his class. He thinks its pretty cool that his classmates speak two languages. DS finished 1st grade reading on a level M (end 2nd) and there was a reading group above his in his class. 2 of the kids in his class were sent to another class for reading, not sure if they were higher than everyone or lower than everyone. He had an amazing teacher and while our principal is kind of a dud, the teachers all seem pretty united because of it.

Playdates and birthday parties didn't really happen. We had a little party in DS's class, which plenty of other kids did but there were no out of school class parties that I know of. My oldest is going into 2nd, so maybe it will be harder as he gets into upper grades. But for now I have no complaints educational or otherwise.

Why did the principal get let go?

We moved to a better school district right before our oldest started K. Our neighbor used to work at the school, and she told us not to send our kid there. While we could have gone the private route, we really wanted a true neighborhood school where our kids would have lots of friends, play dates, kids from class on sports teams, etc. Which neighborhood are you looking at? What's your $$$ range?

OP here- thanks PP. hopefully things will improve with new principal. Do your kids go to private then?

And the last principal was abruptly let go right before the end of the school year. While no one knows why (no official announcement), the rumor at the neighborhood pool (from a person who was associated with the school) is NOT good. Now that the portables are gone and a new principal is coming in, hopefully the school will be fine. There are obvious challenges with Title I schools...and this school in particular. Perspective of current Georgian Forest parent: her kid was the only white kid in the class. There were a few others in the grade, but they split them up into different classes (which doesn't seem right). Those kids come together for reading group each day. There are serious behavior issues with older kids (not so much in K through 2). Having said that, little ones will come in contact with older ones in the halls and bathrooms (and the boys room is a real issue). If your kid is bright, they will strive to meet his needs. But he will be one of a few kids in the category, so the teacher will have her hands full trying to get the kids who are struggling on grade level. There aren't a lot of parents who can actively volunteer in the school (because everyone is working or there are language barriers). Grandparents day is a ghost town (not sure why they bother with it) since most grandparents don't live in the US (or are working). Socialization will likely be an issue. Play dates are tough (parents work or don't speak English). It's not like your average neighborhood school where all the kids on the street go there (if you are considering Strathmore bel Pre or fox hall, lots of kids go to private school or move before K) and everyone plays sports on the same team.

The person who was the principal intern at my kid's school last year will be the new principal at Georgian Forest this fall. As far as I know, she did a good job as the principal intern.

You should ask your friend to ask on her neighborhood listserv for opinions of the school.

Considering purchasing a house in the neighborhood zoned for this school. Anyone have any first or second-hand experience there? I've read the schools-at-a-glance already, I know the test scores aren't great and that's there are a lot of FARMS kids. But I also know that's not the whole story at a school. We've chatted with a few neighbors but they either don't have school age kids or their kids went there many years ago (but those all had positive things to say). We have a friend there in the neighborhood with a 2 yr old and they don't seem all that concern and figure they'll try it and if they're not happy, go private. We can't afford private, so I want to be comfortable with the public option. Visiting the school isn't really an option since its summer.

Any insight??