Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:West Springfield is far superior in many ways. It is also slated to be completely rebuilt in a couple of years. The neighborhoods zoned for it are so nice - walkable and family-friendly. It is a good time to buy there, but do it soon as prices are on the way up - or so says DCUM.

Care to elaborate on the many ways in which you think West Springfield is far superior? I'm not saying it isn't true, I would just appreciate some actual perspective. And, no, I don't mean the rating of Lee vs. WS on greatschools, I mean actual first or second hand experience with either school.

Sure. From firsthand experience. We are in Lee and do not tell teachers are invested in the school. My sister and her family are at WSHS and so many of the teachers are part of the community, living in the neighborhoods. The PTA is great and families are encouraged to be involved. I am desperate to get over there before my second starts high school. Just wish we had been there for MS, too. Irving is great. ES was okay for us, but Cardinal Forest seemed great. I hate that she was right! Now we just need to find a house. C'mon spring market!!!

Anonymous wrote:West Springfield is far superior in many ways. It is also slated to be completely rebuilt in a couple of years. The neighborhoods zoned for it are so nice - walkable and family-friendly. It is a good time to buy there, but do it soon as prices are on the way up - or so says DCUM.

Care to elaborate on the many ways in which you think West Springfield is far superior? I'm not saying it isn't true, I would just appreciate some actual perspective. And, no, I don't mean the rating of Lee vs. WS on greatschools, I mean actual first or second hand experience with either school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:West Springfield is far superior in many ways. It is also slated to be completely rebuilt in a couple of years. The neighborhoods zoned for it are so nice - walkable and family-friendly. It is a good time to buy there, but do it soon as prices are on the way up - or so says DCUM.

It sounds like you have a house to sell in West Springfield. ?

Nope...but looking!

Anonymous wrote:West Springfield is far superior in many ways. It is also slated to be completely rebuilt in a couple of years. The neighborhoods zoned for it are so nice - walkable and family-friendly. It is a good time to buy there, but do it soon as prices are on the way up - or so says DCUM.

It sounds like you have a house to sell in West Springfield. ?

West Springfield is far superior in many ways. It is also slated to be completely rebuilt in a couple of years. The neighborhoods zoned for it are so nice - walkable and family-friendly. It is a good time to buy there, but do it soon as prices are on the way up - or so says DCUM.

I live in the Lee High School pyramid and my kids attend Saratoga Elementary. I've been very pleased with the education my kids are receiving at Saratoga and I've heard good things about Key Middle. Lee High School is not the best in Fairfax County, but still better than the rest of VA. Also, things can change before my kids hit high school age. The school could improve or be redistricted. I'm not worried. I love my neighborhood and living in this part of the county.

Anonymous wrote:With the Ft Belvouir realignment and people moving into the area, I see it as a positive for Lee HS.

Agreed. Springfield and Alexandria in the Edison/Hayfield areas are going to see positive growth in the next few years with the redevelopment of the mall and the new Wegmans going in. They're also a lot closer to 95 and the beltway than Burke/Fairfax.

Anonymous wrote:With the Ft Belvouir realignment and people moving into the area, I see it as a positive for Lee HS.

I agree. I also think the redevelopment of the Springfield Mall is a positive, and there is the possibility of the FBI relocating to Springfield. I think Springfield has a lot going for it to draw young families like me and my wife to the area. All of that said, I am also amazed sometimes at just how much people will avoid schools in the Lee HS pyramid and do everything they can to get into the West Springfield HS pyramid instead - and, usually, that seems to be based solely on something like the GS rating or the FARMS statistics and without any first or second hand knowledge of the schools themselves.

Another thing to note about Lee HS and most of its feeder schools is that they are among the least crowded schools in FCPS. Last I checked, I believe Lee was something like around 15 percent under capacity. Seems like a positive to me, although it probably also means that, at some point in the future, kids from some of the more crowded pyramids around Lee could be redistricted into Lee.

With the Ft Belvouir realignment and people moving into the area, I see it as a positive for Lee HS.

NP here. For 8:34, we're in the Edison pyramid and to many people on this board, it's a school to be avoided for the same reasons Lee should be avoided. However, our experience has been very positive as has our neighbors whose kids go/went there. Only one family we know of send their kids to Catholic school because they think the pyramid is awful. However, they're also the same family that can never say anything good about anything (including their own kids!). I can't imagine we'd be any happier at a different school - and we like that we were able to get more house for the money!

OP - I live in the Lee HS pyramid. What bad things have you heard? I know the ratings for Lee HS are not as good as many of the other HSs in FFX County, but whenever I have spoken to neighbors or people who actually send or have sent their kids to Lee, I hear pretty good things. Everything I have heard indicates that Lee is able to serve both the more underprivileged and the wealthier kids that live in the pyramid. My wife and I don't have kids yet, so we're a ways from sending kids to Lee, but we definitely thought about it when we bought our house last year. Aside from some numerical ratings on websites, I have yet to hear anything truly negative about Lee HS, Key MS, or the ES we're zoned for, Saratoga. To the contrary, most things I hear from people with actually experience with Lee are pretty positive.

D'OH! here's the correct link:

http://www.greatschools.org/virginia/springfield/533-Lee-High-School/?tab=ratings

Ok... so the pass rates for non-FARMS and non-minority are "6" out of 10... that's slightly better than the average for the whole state. WSHS is a notable step up in the passrates. Doesn't mean your kid can't pass all his/her tests and get a good education. Just means that fewer peers are passing every test. It could be better (even in a diverse school). Only you can decide if moving is worth the cost and the benefits.

PP linked to the Lee HS in Staunton, not Springfield.

My nephew graduated from Lee 5 years ago (IB program) and got a perfectly good education.

http://www.greatschools.org/virginia/staunton/1686-Robert-E.-Lee-High-School/?tab=ratings

Note the significant difference between the passrates for kids who are not economically disadvantaged vs. those who are. 50% of the kids are FARMs. That's high. But, that fact hasn't stopped the non-FARMS kids from passing their state tests at a very high rate. The number of poorer kids (lower scoring kids) will have a significant pull down effect on the composite score (and reputation) of the school. Doesn't mean the teaching or curriculum is poor. The social scene is definitely going to be different in a school with 50% poor kids. If you move to West Springfield, which is a well -regarded school, you're getting a passrate for white and non-FARMS kids that is a "9" rather than an "8" -- you're getting a more uniformly middle class and white social group. (WSHS = 60% white, 12% Farms; Lee = 23% white, 50% Farms). But, don't be fooled into believing you are getting so much more in terms of educational quality. White kids and non-poor kids at Lee = 8 (out of 10). White kids and non-poor kids at WSHS = 9 (out of 10).

We are zoned for this high school but I haven't heard good things about. We are currently in a great elementary school but thinking we might want to move to a neighbors zoned for West Springfield High. Any experience with. Lee?