My kids love George Mason. We were new here a few years ago and because of its small size, they were able to pretty immediately integrate. The other great thing about Falls Church City's schools is their sports program. Now, I know that a lot of parents don't like their kids having to travel to play other small schools. But, it really has not been a problem and, honestly, I don't know if my DD would have been able to make it on to one of the big HS's teams. But, at GM she in on the JV team and absolutely loving the camaraderie!

Yeah, I'm not sure larger high schools are a bad thing. Most are still tiny even compared to the smallest colleges. I don't think though that high schools need to be nearly as large as those in this area to operate efficiently. The better publics in MA and CT are several hundred students smaller in total than the ones around here. They are hardly tiny, but noticeably smaller, and they still have great course selections, etc.

Very few privates offer classes like linear algebra, or do so only alternative years, for the same reason. They don't have enough kids to take them.

see, DCUM solves problems! Move to FCC OP. Done.

Anonymous wrote:How big is the high school in Falls Church city? I think it is pretty small.

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yep-- 750 students in the high school total. http://www.fccps.org/gm/images/stories/pdfs/2013-2014%20School%20Profile.pdf

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine goes to one of the top MoCo high schools-500 in his class. No problems with being lost. He knows his teachers and vice versa. Has lots of friends, even across grades.

If it does not affect me then what is the problem?

Just pointing out that large high schools are not necessarily bad and one does not necessarily get lost. Those seemed to be the OPs area of concern. Frankly I was concerned about the size before DC started as she was coming from a small private school but as noted it has not been an issue.

But your comment was super helpful to the OP.

How big is the high school in Falls Church city? I think it is pretty small.

You have to go private and pay $$$$$ to get a small excellent school.

Public schools are designed for maximum efficiency--it is more cost effective to have a large school.

Anonymous wrote:Mine goes to one of the top MoCo high schools-500 in his class. No problems with being lost. He knows his teachers and vice versa. Has lots of friends, even across grades.

If it does not affect me then what is the problem?

Anonymous wrote:are any of the good high schools in the area fewer than 400 kids a class? It seems that every time I hear of a topnotch school--and our choice in DC is really only Wilson--it is 600 kids a class. That seems insanely large. Why can't a school offer things like Linear ALgebra or AP Physics without being that big?

We're in the city so perhaps I haven't heard of good schools in the burbs except of course, TJ, BLair, etc. the big programs that get national attention. Suggestions? 600 seems like your kid would be lost..

I am not sure why you think the only choice in DC is Wilson.
Have you looked into the DC Magnets -
School without Walls?
Banneker?

or DC Charters -
Latin?
EL Haynes?
CCPCS?
BASIS?

Many feel that the ideal size for a HS is 2000-2500 students. Or 500- 625 per grade. It is large enough to have a wide vareity of classes and sports/clubs and small enough to manage well.

Mine goes to one of the top MoCo high schools-500 in his class. No problems with being lost. He knows his teachers and vice versa. Has lots of friends, even across grades.

Anonymous wrote:are any of the good high schools in the area fewer than 400 kids a class? It seems that every time I hear of a topnotch school--and our choice in DC is really only Wilson--it is 600 kids a class. That seems insanely large. Why can't a school offer things like Linear ALgebra or AP Physics without being that big?

We're in the city so perhaps I haven't heard of good schools in the burbs except of course, TJ, BLair, etc. the big programs that get national attention. Suggestions? 600 seems like your kid would be lost..

PP is correct about the connection between school size and class offerings. Small schools just don't have the budget to offer classes that only a few students would take. Large high schools are the norm in the surrounding counties as well. Whitman, Churchill, Wootton etc. in MoCo all exceed 500 students/grade and have done so for more than 20 years. I hear that VA schools are similarly sized. As for DC options, what about School Without Walls or a charter high school like Latin?

Funding for teachers us based on a per student basis

are any of the good high schools in the area fewer than 400 kids a class? It seems that every time I hear of a topnotch school--and our choice in DC is really only Wilson--it is 600 kids a class. That seems insanely large. Why can't a school offer things like Linear ALgebra or AP Physics without being that big?

We're in the city so perhaps I haven't heard of good schools in the burbs except of course, TJ, BLair, etc. the big programs that get national attention. Suggestions? 600 seems like your kid would be lost..