Seems like N. Arlington homes have held their value a lot better that those in Fairfax (esp. areas further out) during the fluctuations of the last 7-8 years. Given that the schools in both areas are quite excellent, it might be wise to focus on making a good long-term financial decision for your family.

Quick correction to 11:07 -- APS now "pushes in" with gifted services; kids who have been IDed now get special activities in their regular classes.

Some of the gifted teachers still really suck, though. Regular teachers tend to be great and challenging, so there's that.

I agree w/ PPs that there are not significant differences in school quality between the districts. Where there is variation it is within district based on SES. Buy based on housing type/commute.

However, there are two notable differences between the districts you should be aware of:

1. If you will need after-school care it is a lot easier to get into Extended Day in Arlington than to get into SACC in Fairfax. Long waitlists for SACC so most parents have to make alternate arrangements for a few years. Extended Day you pretty much will get a spot as long as you register well ahead of the deadline each year. On the flip side, if you CAN get into SACC, it operates on days when schools are closed which Extended Day does not.

2. Gifted services is handled differently. Fairfax has AAP to pull out advanced kids into different schools. APS handles gifted services via pull-outs at your usual school but, in my experience, that is inconsistent and highly dependent on the quality of the gifted teacher at the school (there's just one "gifted" teacher at our ES - we have a great one now but the prior one didn't seem very good and my kids didn't like her). Both my kids have been ID for gifted services (one in math, one in math and language arts) I've felt that they have been appropriately challenged by differentiation in the classroom combined with the time they spend with the gifted teacher. This has worked fine for us but I know parents who've complained about it and would prefer the AAP model.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I could afford to buy into N. Arlington, I would. I like their long-term prospects much better than FCPS.

We could have easily afforded either, but at the end of the day we simply did not like the housing stock in North Arlington compared to Fairfax County.

I do agree FCPS is facing some near-term challenges, but the large influx of students into APS will present significant challenges for that system as well.

Arlingtonian here (I didn't like Fairfax housing stock or the commute), and I agree.

Look, there are some very vocal proponents and critics on both sides, and an alarming number of them seem to come here to post, but I don't see any significant differences for most families. Buy the house that works for your situation. School will be fine.

Anonymous wrote:If I could afford to buy into N. Arlington, I would. I like their long-term prospects much better than FCPS.

We could have easily afforded either, but at the end of the day we simply did not like the housing stock in North Arlington compared to Fairfax County.

I do agree FCPS is facing some near-term challenges, but the large influx of students into APS will present significant challenges for that system as well.

Anonymous wrote:The differences are minimal. Pick the place that has the shortest commute- that will impact your and your children's lives more.

This x1000.

If I could afford to buy into N. Arlington, I would. I like their long-term prospects much better than FCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

We are debating between the two (Falls Church is a posibility but lower inventory) we are leaning toward Fairfax over Arlington because it seems there are better offerings but we just aren't sure.

Nothing good ever comes of threads like this that don't include details about an OP's budget, housing preferences and commuting preferences.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax County and North Arlington schools are both very good.

Some would say S. Arlington schools are not as good. I don't have any direct experience there so take that FWIW.

The SOuth Arlington schools are just a good as the Fairfax school in similar neighborhoods. Fairfax has 139 elementary schools. Arlington has 23. The mix is about the same though. The schools with the "best" scores are in the wealthier neighborhoods. The schools with the "worst" scores are in the neighborhoods with the most challenges.

On the whole Arlington's class sizes are lower and they spend quite a bit more per student- but they have been creeping up.

True South Arlington and Low Scoring Areas like Falls Church High/Stuart etc... are both he same and poorly rated and full of challenges of ESOL and FARMS

Anonymous wrote:Really?

Really.

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax County and North Arlington schools are both very good.

Some would say S. Arlington schools are not as good. I don't have any direct experience there so take that FWIW.

The SOuth Arlington schools are just a good as the Fairfax school in similar neighborhoods. Fairfax has 139 elementary schools. Arlington has 23. The mix is about the same though. The schools with the "best" scores are in the wealthier neighborhoods. The schools with the "worst" scores are in the neighborhoods with the most challenges.

On the whole Arlington's class sizes are lower and they spend quite a bit more per student- but they have been creeping up.

Fairfax County and North Arlington schools are both very good.

Some would say S. Arlington schools are not as good. I don't have any direct experience there so take that FWIW.

Really?

The differences are minimal. Pick the place that has the shortest commute- that will impact your and your children's lives more.

We are debating between the two (Falls Church is a posibility but lower inventory) we are leaning toward Fairfax over Arlington because it seems there are better offerings but we just aren't sure.