OP, we were in your shoes and moved last year. We loved our neighbors, and many had kids that were just leaving for college from JEB. The stories they told us seemed balanced (some good, some bad), and most admitted that if they were going to do it again they might have considered private. Some indeed ended up sending their kids to catholic schools. In the end we talked to several teachers and two school administrators (including two family members that teach in NoVa), and as much as we know there are some kids that thrive in that school pyramid - we decided that we would rather stake the odds in their favor by moving to a better school pyramid. Looking back we have no regrets.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's fine if they are in IB. If they are Gen Ed they are going to have 20 year old ESOL students in their class and be taught to the lowest kids in the class. Gangs are not a problem, a few kids on the ESOL side but not much.

It's also "fine" if you know nothing about a topic, but still post ignorant conclusions as though you have a clue. It's fine as long as someone else comes along to correct your ignorant posts with real facts.

Fact: Falls Church High School is an AP school, not IB.

The person is talking about Justice high school, not Falls Church.

It's fine...
https://www.fcps.edu/node/33265

Anonymous wrote:It's fine if they are in IB. If they are Gen Ed they are going to have 20 year old ESOL students in their class and be taught to the lowest kids in the class. Gangs are not a problem, a few kids on the ESOL side but not much.

It's also "fine" if you know nothing about a topic, but still post ignorant conclusions as though you have a clue. It's fine as long as someone else comes along to correct your ignorant posts with real facts.

Fact: Falls Church High School is an AP school, not IB.

It's fine if they are in IB. If they are Gen Ed they are going to have 20 year old ESOL students in their class and be taught to the lowest kids in the class. Gangs are not a problem, a few kids on the ESOL side but not much.

If you are looking at test scores on the SOLs, the white, asian, and multi-race group are doing VERY well. They are a little less than half of the population. Yes, the Hispanic kids are not doing as well -- but they have other barriers to overcome before they can really excel on SOLs.

I can't get their SAT breakdowns right now b/c FCPS has the school profiles under construction or something. But, Falls Church's pass rates on the AP tests is higher than Hayfield or West Potomac's -- and pretty close to South County's, Westfields, West Springfield, as well as Herndon, Centerville and Fairfax. (all in the mid-to upper 60's%). FCHS is at 63% passing the AP exams.

(I'm referencing overall pass rate on all AP tests taken at that school in 2017. I'm not using the FCPS statistic of percentage of juniors and seniors who have passed at least one test.)


So, by those objective standards, the students on the college track who are motivated to learn and take challenging classes, ARE getting as good an education as many other kids in FCPS. What is the environment like re: safety and what is the support from the parents/community? That, I don't know.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the basis for moving? We know a handful of families whose kids go to Glasgow and they seem satisfied.

Low test scores, gangs, remedial education vs. enrichment...

Where is this cited?

Fairfax Underground

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the basis for moving? We know a handful of families whose kids go to Glasgow and they seem satisfied.

Low test scores, gangs, remedial education vs. enrichment...

Where is this cited?

Anonymous wrote:What is the basis for moving? We know a handful of families whose kids go to Glasgow and they seem satisfied.

Low test scores, gangs, remedial education vs. enrichment...

Anonymous wrote:Yes, you are making the right choice.

Which is the right choice? Either?

What is the basis for moving? We know a handful of families whose kids go to Glasgow and they seem satisfied.

We send our kids to private school.

Yes, you are making the right choice.

My kids are still in elementary but we are facing the same decision. I love our elementary community, but worry about the bigger schools.

Our kids are in elementary school right now and we are deciding if we need to move out of the Glasgow/justice pyramid. Can anyone share their current experiences at these two schools. Moving would be a bit of a hardship, so we want to be sure we’re making the right choice.