Going to Annandale ~ sure!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be more concerned about elementary

There are at least five elementaries that feed into AHS. Columbia and North Springfield ES are both pretty balanced. At present, students at the other three - Annandale Terrace, Braddock and Weyanoke - mostly come from low-income apartments right inside the Beltway (Annandale Terrace and Braddock) or over near Landmark (Weyanoke). That could change over time if more of the older residents in the single-family homes in those districts sell to younger families.

Weyanoke is next door to TJ. Kids from TJ come over and tutor and do science projects with the elementary kids. It's fun for the little kids to have the teens helping them and can be inspiring in terms of developing an interest in STEM subjects.

The statistics don't suggest that many Weyanoke students end up at TJ (they go either to Holmes MS or the AAP program at Glasgow MS, neither of which has placed 10 or more students to TJ in recent years), but it's nice that TJ students are giving back to the local community.

Anonymous wrote:Annandale has the best reputation in that area in terms of high schools. I'd say it's better than Stuart or Lee and probably better (at this point) than Falls Church.

It really does not, and its reputation is likely to decline further as the impact of the various redistrictings that stripped Poe MS and Annandale HS of many of their single-family neighborhoods sinks in over the next few years.

Woodson has the best reputation in that area, followed by Falls Church, whose reputation is improving.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be more concerned about elementary

There are at least five elementaries that feed into AHS. Columbia and North Springfield ES are both pretty balanced. At present, students at the other three - Annandale Terrace, Braddock and Weyanoke - mostly come from low-income apartments right inside the Beltway (Annandale Terrace and Braddock) or over near Landmark (Weyanoke). That could change over time if more of the older residents in the single-family homes in those districts sell to younger families.

Weyanoke is next door to TJ. Kids from TJ come over and tutor and do science projects with the elementary kids. It's fun for the little kids to have the teens helping them and can be inspiring in terms of developing an interest in STEM subjects.

Annandale has the best reputation in that area in terms of high schools. I'd say it's better than Stuart or Lee and probably better (at this point) than Falls Church.

Some people in that area send their kids to St. Michael's, which is a K-8 parochial school right off Ravensworth Road.

Anonymous wrote:I would be more concerned about elementary

There are at least five elementaries that feed into AHS. Columbia and North Springfield ES are both pretty balanced. At present, students at the other three - Annandale Terrace, Braddock and Weyanoke - mostly come from low-income apartments right inside the Beltway (Annandale Terrace and Braddock) or over near Landmark (Weyanoke). That could change over time if more of the older residents in the single-family homes in those districts sell to younger families.

I would be more concerned about elementary

There's probably nothing wrong with Annandale HS. It doesn't have a greatschools score of 9 or 10, so it isn't good enough for most of the dc nazimoms, but keep in mind that almost every high school in Fairfax County has classes and curriculum designed to be for students of all levels. There will be plenty of opportunities for a student who wants to excel to do so and plenty of opportunities for a student that wants to fail to do so as well. If you want your kid surrounded by as many rich white/Asian kids as possible, well, look elsewhere. If you're fine with a shool that has more diversity but likely still has plenty of opportunities for your kid no matter his or her level, Annandale will probably be just fine.

Hell hole.

I would be more concerned about the elementary school than the high school.

Annandale very likely could improve over time. Houses in that area have been selling quickly.

Annandale also offers the IB program. FCPS currently has a policy where you can transfer to the nearest high school offering the opposite program from what your assigned school has. So a student assigned to Annandale could attend the nearest high school offering the AP program. Depending on the location of the house, the student could potentially attend Woodson, Lake Braddock, or Falls Church.

The only thing "wrong" with Annandale is that it has a high percentage of FARMS and all that comes along with that -- smaller cohort of high-achieving students, etc.

That is unlikely to change appreciably in the next decade.

What is bad about Annandale HS? Teachers? Administration? Popes?

We are looking at a house zoned for Annandale HS. We have two kids (2 and 4) so would not be starting high school for a while. Will Annandale improve over time?

Elementary school is Braddock ES.