My son's friend has had a difficult time at kenmore. 6th grade this yr. they are not happy with the education and the students. The child is minority so it's not a white thing.

The Arlington school system is so segregated. They really need to have a bussing program.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there much crime or gang activity at Jefferson or Kenmore?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What percentage of Jefferson is ESL?

Anonymous wrote:We're at Jefferson and have friends at Kenmore and some who are zoned Kenmore and chose Jefferson. I'd say we're similarly happy with the schools. Kenmore is particularly good if you have a kid focused on music since that's part of their focus. One thing I think is unique about Jefferson because of IB is that it has a very strong writing focus. Other components of the IB program include a community service requirement and a different structure for electives, including everyone starts foreign language in 6th grade.

Chances of getting into HB Woodlawn are very, very low.

Just looked it up - 16%, same as Kenmore. Detailed here: http://www.apsva.us/cms/lib2/VA01000586/Centricity/Domain/59/2015-2016%20Survey%20of%20LEP%20Students.pdf
TJ is about 1/3 white, 1/3 Hispanic.

If you look at SOL scores, Jefferson is a tad higher than Kenmore. Looking just at White students (as a proxy for not-poor), Jefferson tends to be 95+ in pass rates while Kenmore is 90+, not a difference I'd worry about. Data here: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/statistics_reports/accreditation_federal_reports/sol_test_results_pass_rates/2014-15_school_subject.xlsx

I've never seen or heard of any at Jefferson. DS has been very happy there and made a lot of new friends from a variety of elementary schools. We were listening to a program recently about how difficult MS is for lots of kids and he was surprised that it could be so difficult since that hasn't been his experience at all.

This approach is probably common across all the APS schools, but I like that they divide the kids up into smaller teams so they have their core classes with a consistent group of kids, plus they have a homeroom ("teacher advisory") to start each day with a small group. I felt that the TA teacher at least got to know DS well quite quickly.

Anonymous wrote:Is there much crime or gang activity at Jefferson or Kenmore?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What percentage of Jefferson is ESL?

Anonymous wrote:We're at Jefferson and have friends at Kenmore and some who are zoned Kenmore and chose Jefferson. I'd say we're similarly happy with the schools. Kenmore is particularly good if you have a kid focused on music since that's part of their focus. One thing I think is unique about Jefferson because of IB is that it has a very strong writing focus. Other components of the IB program include a community service requirement and a different structure for electives, including everyone starts foreign language in 6th grade.

Chances of getting into HB Woodlawn are very, very low.

Just looked it up - 16%, same as Kenmore. Detailed here: http://www.apsva.us/cms/lib2/VA01000586/Centricity/Domain/59/2015-2016%20Survey%20of%20LEP%20Students.pdf
TJ is about 1/3 white, 1/3 Hispanic.

If you look at SOL scores, Jefferson is a tad higher than Kenmore. Looking just at White students (as a proxy for not-poor), Jefferson tends to be 95+ in pass rates while Kenmore is 90+, not a difference I'd worry about. Data here: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/statistics_reports/accreditation_federal_reports/sol_test_results_pass_rates/2014-15_school_subject.xlsx

I've never seen or heard of any at Jefferson. DS has been very happy there and made a lot of new friends from a variety of elementary schools. We were listening to a program recently about how difficult MS is for lots of kids and he was surprised that it could be so difficult since that hasn't been his experience at all.

This approach is probably common across all the APS schools, but I like that they divide the kids up into smaller teams so they have their core classes with a consistent group of kids, plus they have a homeroom ("teacher advisory") to start each day with a small group. I felt that the TA teacher at least got to know DS well quite quickly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS has one more year in elementary school, and then he is slated to move on to Kenmore middle school. We have heard mixed anecdotal reports about the school. The test results, which I know are not the best measure of success, are bad. There also have been reports of some pretty rough behavior. We can't afford private school so we are considering whether to move. We'd prefer not to do so but we also don't want him to have a terrible middle school experience. For those whose kids have gone to Kenmore, what have been your experiences?

you have other options - HBW, TJ, Gunston, or maybe even Williamsburg if it's not full.

Dude. Williamsburg will have 28 classrooms in trailers next year. It's beyond full.

oh wow, didn't know that, DD's a couple of years away. sounded like it's worse than SMS which we're zoned for...

Is there much crime or gang activity at Jefferson or Kenmore?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What percentage of Jefferson is ESL?

Anonymous wrote:We're at Jefferson and have friends at Kenmore and some who are zoned Kenmore and chose Jefferson. I'd say we're similarly happy with the schools. Kenmore is particularly good if you have a kid focused on music since that's part of their focus. One thing I think is unique about Jefferson because of IB is that it has a very strong writing focus. Other components of the IB program include a community service requirement and a different structure for electives, including everyone starts foreign language in 6th grade.

Chances of getting into HB Woodlawn are very, very low.

Just looked it up - 16%, same as Kenmore. Detailed here: http://www.apsva.us/cms/lib2/VA01000586/Centricity/Domain/59/2015-2016%20Survey%20of%20LEP%20Students.pdf
TJ is about 1/3 white, 1/3 Hispanic.

If you look at SOL scores, Jefferson is a tad higher than Kenmore. Looking just at White students (as a proxy for not-poor), Jefferson tends to be 95+ in pass rates while Kenmore is 90+, not a difference I'd worry about. Data here: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/statistics_reports/accreditation_federal_reports/sol_test_results_pass_rates/2014-15_school_subject.xlsx

I am friends with two families zoned for Williamsburg that selected Kenmore instead. Overall they were happy at Kenmore and their children had no problem transitioning to Yorktown.

Anonymous wrote:What percentage of Jefferson is ESL?

Anonymous wrote:We're at Jefferson and have friends at Kenmore and some who are zoned Kenmore and chose Jefferson. I'd say we're similarly happy with the schools. Kenmore is particularly good if you have a kid focused on music since that's part of their focus. One thing I think is unique about Jefferson because of IB is that it has a very strong writing focus. Other components of the IB program include a community service requirement and a different structure for electives, including everyone starts foreign language in 6th grade.

Chances of getting into HB Woodlawn are very, very low.

Just looked it up - 16%, same as Kenmore. Detailed here: http://www.apsva.us/cms/lib2/VA01000586/Centricity/Domain/59/2015-2016%20Survey%20of%20LEP%20Students.pdf
TJ is about 1/3 white, 1/3 Hispanic.

If you look at SOL scores, Jefferson is a tad higher than Kenmore. Looking just at White students (as a proxy for not-poor), Jefferson tends to be 95+ in pass rates while Kenmore is 90+, not a difference I'd worry about. Data here: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/statistics_reports/accreditation_federal_reports/sol_test_results_pass_rates/2014-15_school_subject.xlsx

What percentage of Jefferson is ESL?

Anonymous wrote:We're at Jefferson and have friends at Kenmore and some who are zoned Kenmore and chose Jefferson. I'd say we're similarly happy with the schools. Kenmore is particularly good if you have a kid focused on music since that's part of their focus. One thing I think is unique about Jefferson because of IB is that it has a very strong writing focus. Other components of the IB program include a community service requirement and a different structure for electives, including everyone starts foreign language in 6th grade.

Chances of getting into HB Woodlawn are very, very low.

We're at Jefferson and have friends at Kenmore and some who are zoned Kenmore and chose Jefferson. I'd say we're similarly happy with the schools. Kenmore is particularly good if you have a kid focused on music since that's part of their focus. One thing I think is unique about Jefferson because of IB is that it has a very strong writing focus. Other components of the IB program include a community service requirement and a different structure for electives, including everyone starts foreign language in 6th grade.

Chances of getting into HB Woodlawn are very, very low.

Is Jefferson much better than Kenmore?

And what are the chances of getting a spot at a Woodlawn?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS has one more year in elementary school, and then he is slated to move on to Kenmore middle school. We have heard mixed anecdotal reports about the school. The test results, which I know are not the best measure of success, are bad. There also have been reports of some pretty rough behavior. We can't afford private school so we are considering whether to move. We'd prefer not to do so but we also don't want him to have a terrible middle school experience. For those whose kids have gone to Kenmore, what have been your experiences?

you have other options - HBW, TJ, Gunston, or maybe even Williamsburg if it's not full.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS has one more year in elementary school, and then he is slated to move on to Kenmore middle school. We have heard mixed anecdotal reports about the school. The test results, which I know are not the best measure of success, are bad. There also have been reports of some pretty rough behavior. We can't afford private school so we are considering whether to move. We'd prefer not to do so but we also don't want him to have a terrible middle school experience. For those whose kids have gone to Kenmore, what have been your experiences?

you have other options - HBW, TJ, Gunston, or maybe even Williamsburg if it's not full.

Dude. Williamsburg will have 28 classrooms in trailers next year. It's beyond full.

Anonymous wrote:DS has one more year in elementary school, and then he is slated to move on to Kenmore middle school. We have heard mixed anecdotal reports about the school. The test results, which I know are not the best measure of success, are bad. There also have been reports of some pretty rough behavior. We can't afford private school so we are considering whether to move. We'd prefer not to do so but we also don't want him to have a terrible middle school experience. For those whose kids have gone to Kenmore, what have been your experiences?

you have other options - HBW, TJ, Gunston, or maybe even Williamsburg if it's not full.

Here is my feedback from that thread....

I have one kid who went there and one who is currently there. Both are good students that pull from the relatively more affluent Arlington Forest neighborhood.

Overall, we thought the school was/is a good experience. The facility itself is great and the class sizes are on the small side. About 80% of the teachers are good/excellent. That said, both kids had one or two bad teachers - which required a outside intervention (private tutoring) on our part to address.

While I do think the school make up is evolving, it is still the case that white kids are in the minority. The diverse make-up of the schools didn't appear to cause problems though. In fact, overall, I would say it was a positive for my kids.

While I thought Dr. Work was a pretty decent Principal, his departure might be a good thing. He made some pretty questionable hiring decisions over the years. I also thought his obsession with equality of opportunity meant that differentiation opportunities were largely limited to math.

There is one feature of Kenmore that really stands out - remarkably little homework. We know kids that went to Swanson and it sounded like they would often have two hours or more of homework a night. At Kenmore. it was/is typically one hour or less. There are some advantages to this (more opportunity to explore other endeavors), but it does mean that the homework at W-L was something of a shock to my eldest

See this recent thread on this topic.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/534823.page#8383251

DS has one more year in elementary school, and then he is slated to move on to Kenmore middle school. We have heard mixed anecdotal reports about the school. The test results, which I know are not the best measure of success, are bad. There also have been reports of some pretty rough behavior. We can't afford private school so we are considering whether to move. We'd prefer not to do so but we also don't want him to have a terrible middle school experience. For those whose kids have gone to Kenmore, what have been your experiences?