Just because they have lots of FARMS kids doesn't mean that they do not high achieving school.

I have one kid in South Lakes HS because of IB program, and one in Herndon High for AP program. Both takes honor programs because its challenging for them, even though they were not in AAP during ES. Both are in active in school's leadership and clubs. Mostly As students.

We not qualified for FARMS but not able to enrol them into extra curriculars that require money. Both schools are still engaging for them. They are thriving.

For me, HHS is still a great school.

OP here. Herndon is an ideal location for us b/c of a Reston office. The 40% FARMS at Herndon HS concerns us. I'm not saying that it is a complete deal-breaker, but I do wonder how that plays out day to day for the kids who want to achieve (or for kids who are ambivalent about achieving, but come from families where they want their kids to achieve).

My kids aren't necessarily the most self-motivated. So, I want the school environment to create a sort of peer pressure (in a positive sense) that studying is important and doing well is desirable. That's why I'm asking about what it's really like at HHS. The location would be good for us.... but 40% needy kids is a lot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in Herndon and attend Langley. It's a 50 minute bus ride in the mornings. Not sure if it's a bit less in the afternoons, as my DC does sports after school. I usually plan on it taking me 45 minutes each way to pick up after sports.
Would love a redistricting.

That sounds pretty inconvenient. I have to ask... would you really give up the peer group and test scores (i.e. teaching level) at Langley for Herndon (where the peer group is much more diverse in its academic interest and the scores are good, but not stellar)?

That drive sounds terrible, but you are getting something in return.

Not the PP, but I'll give my answer. We're in Great Falls and our commute to Langley is about the same - roughly 40-50 min. Picking up in the late afternoon rush hour after activities, the traffic is a nightmare.

It's true, however, that Langley is an excellent school - our kids have been receiving fabulous educations there and each have a great group of friends. My husband and I have debated moving though, because while we know how fortunate the kids are to go to this school, living so far away does take its toll. However, we'd actually welcome a redistricting. I'm sure kids in this area receive a great education at any of the high schools. At this point, I think I'd take a closer school over the long commute.

If they redistricted Herndon with North Reston and the pocket of Herndon that now goes to Langley, that would add more non-Hispanics to Herndon. I would expect Herndon's teachers to be on par with Langley's, or any other school. Are Langley teachers superior to any other area high school, or do they just teach students that are higher scoring students to begin with? If it's an honors class or an AP class using the same textbook across the county, I wouldn't think instruction would differ so much.
It's pretty much a moot point since Herndon is over capacity and Langley is under.

Anonymous wrote:We live in Herndon and attend Langley. It's a 50 minute bus ride in the mornings. Not sure if it's a bit less in the afternoons, as my DC does sports after school. I usually plan on it taking me 45 minutes each way to pick up after sports.
Would love a redistricting.

That sounds pretty inconvenient. I have to ask... would you really give up the peer group and test scores (i.e. teaching level) at Langley for Herndon (where the peer group is much more diverse in its academic interest and the scores are good, but not stellar)?

That drive sounds terrible, but you are getting something in return.

We live in Herndon and attend Langley. It's a 50 minute bus ride in the mornings. Not sure if it's a bit less in the afternoons, as my DC does sports after school. I usually plan on it taking me 45 minutes each way to pick up after sports.
Would love a redistricting.

How long is "long" one way? Is there an upper limit on how many minutes a child's bus ride can be scheduled to be?

I also live in Great Falls, near Reston, and it is a long bus ride for kids to Cooper and Langley. I, too, would rather be zoned for Herndon - it would be against traffic AND closer to us.

This may be an unpopular view... we don't live in North Herndon, but we do live in Great Falls and our kids go to Cooper/Langley. It's a HIKE. I would personally be fine with a boundary change to Herndon Middle and High School. Several years back, FCPS considered building a new middle and high school in North Reston, which I'm pretty sure we would have been zoned for. We (and our neighbors) were all for it, but nothing ever came of it. Cooper and Langley are just so far away, it takes forever to get there. A lot of wasted time is spent on the road.

I know this is a sore point for some who think (probably rightly so) that Those Great Falls kids and North Herndon kids should be zoned for Herndon HS rather than Langley, but setting that aside....

how long does it actually take for kids to be bused to the schools they are assigned to (Cooper and Langley)? It seems pretty far!