18:16, OP said I was thinking Falls Church City because he/she cared about small good schools and did not care if there was or was not diversity-how on earth does that translate to wanting to be around rich white people? Troll!

Anonymous wrote:Diversity is neither here nor thee for me-really good schools that aren't huge and are located close in to DC in an area I can afford are what I am primarily concerned with.

So what's your budget? Sounds like North Arlington might be your best bet, particularly if you're indifferent to diversity.

Anonymous wrote:Close In:
McLean has about 2000 students
Marshall has about 1600
Yorktown (might be a budget buster) has about 1900

If you go down this list it gives you a good idea of the top performing schools

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/rankings?int=985c08

Those numbers are out of date. McLean has about 2100 students, while Marshall has over 1800 students, and Yorktown has just under 1800 students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you're looking for diversity, you're not going to find it at George Mason HS.

...Where did OP mention wanting diversity?

Why do so many people around here think it's such a wonderful thing and that everyone desires it? Get over yourselves.

And this is why people avoid Falls Church City. They value their upper class Caucasian community a little too much.

Arlington is a good choice if you are concerned about class size.

Anonymous wrote:If you're looking for diversity, you're not going to find it at George Mason HS.

...Where did OP mention wanting diversity?

Why do so many people around here think it's such a wonderful thing and that everyone desires it? Get over yourselves.

Arlington. Shorter commutes mean easier family/work balance and that has a much better impact on children than which highly ranked school is better than the next.

Diversity is neither here nor thee for me-really good schools that aren't huge and are located close in to DC in an area I can afford are what I am primarily concerned with.

Anonymous wrote:If you're looking for diversity, you're not going to find it at George Mason HS.

Total Minority Enrollment (% of total) 33%

Not sure what you are talking about. Most people claim diversity to hide poor performance.

If you're looking for diversity, you're not going to find it at George Mason HS.

Yes I know that list, George Mason is in Falls Church City and it's the #1 non test in public HS according to US News (and let's be honest, with a 6% acceptance rate! the likelihood of even the most stem-gifted child getting into TJ is pretty slim!)

Close In:
McLean has about 2000 students
Marshall has about 1600
Yorktown (might be a budget buster) has about 1900

If you go down this list it gives you a good idea of the top performing schools

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/rankings?int=985c08

Pp-taxes are more than DC? Comparing what our 3br Upper NW DC house will be listed at vs what we can get for it in VA, it's amazing what we would be able to afford. And what are the projections for school size? The MS was about 500 and the HS in the 800's how much will that change? My area in DC' public school population is supposed to double by decades end, from what I hear also.

Falls Church City is a good choice if you want to stay close in, but be aware that their class sizes are swelling as the city struggles to keep up with growth. Also be aware that taxes there are astronomical

Hi-I have a rising first grader and 6th grader and am considering moving to VA. I am a DC native who has been in a good DC school cluster and charter, but with all the instability of the new boundary changes, we think it is finally time to move. We considered MOCO, as they and FairFax/Falls Church Schools were awesome, but the school sizes are a bit much for one of our DC, so Falls Church City is the big contender now. Is there another area I should consider? We want to remain as close in as possible.