Reviving this thread to learn if current Oakridge families have heard anything about capacity options for Oakridge. I know the community forums on capacity start tonight but I cannot attend. The current Work Session presentation (1/28/14) for planning the CIP Framework shows an 8-10 classroom addition option for Oakridge to address overcrowding but I don't see that happening. The school would become a mega-school with those enrollment numbers. I'm concerned since my DC would be starting K there in a year, 2015. Does anyone have any updates or knowledge to share on the capacity issue at Oakridge?

Our oldest currently goes to Oakridge (in first grade now) and we could not be happier there. Diverse population, extremely warm and caring teachers and staff, involved PTA and parents. We have neighbors whose kids go to Gunston for middle school and they have raved about it as well. A couple of teenagers from the neighborhood who babysit for us go to Wakefield, and they are loving their time there and it seems to be solid school. OP, you should speak to the people who actually send their children to these schools rather than listening to others who have opinions but don't really know the ins and outs of these schools. Either way, I don't think you can really go wrong with any Arlington County schools. Best of luck!

Anonymous wrote:My neighbor is an INS official, and she stated that Wakefield has a problem with illegals and gangs. Sadly, I think that is common with schools in low-income areas.

Was she clutching her pearls as she said this?

OP, trust the people who are actually sending their kids to these schools. They are all fine, Wakefield included.

My neighbor is an INS official, and she stated that Wakefield has a problem with illegals and gangs. Sadly, I think that is common with schools in low-income areas.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I'd be looking at privates if I bought in Arlington Ridge. Wakefield is a rough place.

I'm sorry but you don't know what you're talking about. Wakefield is not a rough place. I know a good number of students there from my neighborhood and they love it. There are great teachers and many opportunities for all students. Yes, students are immigrants and many are poor. These same students work full or part time jobs as well as going to school full time because they need to help put food on the table for their family.

In my opinion, Yorktown is rougher than Wakefield because the students there are entitled, spoiled little asses. There are also a lot more drugs at Yorktown.

I would never send my children to Yorktown.

My neighbor is an Arlington County cop, and he has stated that Yorktown has a drug problem. Sadly, I think that is common with a lot of affluent high schools.

We are in the 22202 ZIP. Our children are at Claremont (Spanish Immersion) and will continue immersion in middle school. We could not imagine a better fit for our children or for our family. Our friends in the neighborhood with children at Oakridge are very happy there as well. Most, if not all of us, are planning to continue up the pyramid through high school. We will send our children to Wakefield without hesitation.

I would recommend that you check out the neighborhoods you're interested in through experience - spend time at the library, the park, attend a civic association meeting - and make up your mind after you've met the people who live there. Please don't base a decision off of test scores or anonymous comments on a message board.

Everyone on my street sends their kids to Oakridge and they all give rave reviews. And I disagree with PP; Arlington Ridge (and Aurora Heights) is filled with families with young kids, and I'm pretty sure they're not all going private, judging from the morning pedestrian traffic headed to Oakridge.

That area is hemmed in by 395. If you go south, you hit Arlandria, which is ghetto. Heading west, Nauck and the Four Mile Run area are better, but not much. Good for older military types with grown kids who spend all their time at the Pentagon or Army-Navy, but not so great for families.

Anonymous wrote: I'd be looking at privates if I bought in Arlington Ridge. Wakefield is a rough place.

I'm sorry but you don't know what you're talking about. Wakefield is not a rough place. I know a good number of students there from my neighborhood and they love it. There are great teachers and many opportunities for all students. Yes, students are immigrants and many are poor. These same students work full or part time jobs as well as going to school full time because they need to help put food on the table for their family.

In my opinion, Yorktown is rougher than Wakefield because the students there are entitled, spoiled little asses. There are also a lot more drugs at Yorktown.

I would never send my children to Yorktown.

I'd be looking at privates if I bought in Arlington Ridge. Wakefield is a rough place.

No one should pick any high school because they think it will get them into MIT; as you note, it is almost a crapshoot. The issue is, can a kid attending Wakefield succeed to such a level as to be a candidate for admission? Answer: yes.

You could pick out other schools where McLean and Yorktown students fared considerably better last than W-L and Wakefield. The top schools like MIT and the Ivies are also a crap shoot every year. No one picks Wakefield over the other schools because they think it will somehow give them an advantage in getting into MIT.

I don't know much about Oakridge, but know a little about Gunston and Wakefield. Both schools have higher shares of students from poor families than other Arlington middle and high schools (except possibly Kenmore?). Because test scores are highly correlated with family income, test scores at the three schools are correspondingly lower. That said, both schools offer opportunities for students to excel, as evidenced by the MIT acceptance mentioned above. (FTR, W-L did have 2 acceptances to MIT as well. Yorktown and McLean had 15 applicants to MIT between them and 0 acceptances. HBW had no applicants to MIT.) Wakefield also had 8 (out of 28) acceptances to UVA.

Our neighbor's DC attended Gunston's Spanish immersion program and had a very good experience there.

Well, it's not among what is universally regarded as one of the more "desirable" pyramids in Arlington.

That said, Wakefield was the only one among McLean, Yorktown, W-L, and HB Woodlawn to have a student accepted at MIT.

We are looking at areas to move in the next two to three years. I have only looked at the Yorktown high school areas in Arlington but saw a house i liked in the Arlington ridge area which would be an option
I just don't know a thing about the schools in that area. Can anyone give me a general sense of the schools in this pyramid?