OP I’m like you. Small town, elite college, even an engineer.

Did fine? So your HHI is like $200k — guessing from being in a condo looking at lower price SFH.

That is fine but going to a better pyramid opens up a network of people to learn and benefit from, peers who succeed and can refer you, parents with even more successful careers to give advice to their kids friends. I saw it at my elite college, having others from your circle helps a lot.

You did fine, but a better school let’s your kids do better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A small upstate city is way different than underperforming semi-suburban school district.

Most importantly, you will be lumped in Washington DC demographics so will not have geographic edge to get into excellent college like you did.

And peer effects. It’s fine if your kids truly are like you, but if kids aren’t influenced by peers, I want academics and college to be priority (unlike where I grew up where drinking was priority and no career plans)

Pretty much every HS in NoVA will have a good-sized cohort of smart, achievement-oriented kids.

Stated differently, every school in NoVa will have at least as many smart, achievement-oriented kids as the school with the fewest.

You don’t need DCUM’s permission to buy in a district with poor scores or ratings, OP. But neither are you going to convince the majority of people that they shouldn’t opt for a strong pyramid if they can afford one. That’s just what most people do, and the real estate prices reflect that.

We have been in both an average pyramid and a top pyramid in FCPS, and the differences were very noticeable: lower teacher turnover, more students who took their academics seriously, stronger extra-curricular activities, and a greater sense of community support for the school. Even though we moved primarily for a shorter commute, rather than to get into a better pyramid, the differences became clear fairly quickly.

I would like my children surrounded by kids who care about school, have parents who care and do well. It's like having potential with a sport and then playing with people who want to play just for fun all the time. You get better when you play with those who play as well or better than you.

We were in a school with kids who were constantly not prepared and not doing well. They, too, had potential, but the parents were not behind them. One of my DCs would not want to do the work, saying, "if nobody else is doing it, why should I?" I have to admit, it's much easier for me as a parent to not have to go against the tide, so we left the school.

Well, think about what type of friends and friendship you would like your kids to have. I wouldn't try to aim for the top 20 schools but definitely would stay away from the bottom 20. I wouldn't worry about the elementary school but yes for high school.

Anonymous wrote:A small upstate city is way different than underperforming semi-suburban school district.

Most importantly, you will be lumped in Washington DC demographics so will not have geographic edge to get into excellent college like you did.

And peer effects. It’s fine if your kids truly are like you, but if kids aren’t influenced by peers, I want academics and college to be priority (unlike where I grew up where drinking was priority and no career plans)

Pretty much every HS in NoVA will have a good-sized cohort of smart, achievement-oriented kids.

A student’s ultimate success depends upon his/her home life and how he/she is raised.

It’s Yale or jail vs Yale or JMU.

A small upstate city is way different than underperforming semi-suburban school district.

Most importantly, you will be lumped in Washington DC demographics so will not have geographic edge to get into excellent college like you did.

And peer effects. It’s fine if your kids truly are like you, but if kids aren’t influenced by peers, I want academics and college to be priority (unlike where I grew up where drinking was priority and no career plans)

Some good friends of ours live in the Justice district and their daughter was admitted to Cornell.

Think about resale even if you don’t care where you kids go to school. Other people will.

I still like this article:

Does it pay to obsess on where your kid goes to school?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/04/25/does-it-pay-to-obsess-on-where-your-kid-goes-to-college/%3foutputType=amp

OP here - also asking because I see amazing homes in Falls Church, but they are in the Justice school district (which has low rated elementaries). I also understand Wakefield is great too.

Not really. A student at one of the worst high schools in our county got accepted to Columbia.

It's more about the student than the schools.

Honestly asking - Does the school pyramid really make a difference in the long run? I grew up in a small city in upstate NY and there was no moving around to a better school district. I got into a great engineering school and have done fine in life. But now, as my family is looking to move from a condo to SFH in NOVA with 2 kids, I'm feeling like I'm missing something. I'm feeling like the competition and school hunting that I see my peers doing when singling out a SFH is too much. My husband I are very engineering and math focused and see our children headed in that direction as well. Do I really need to be in the top school district, 7's and above on great schools?? Top 20 in the state? Will it make a difference in school experience or getting into college depending on what HS you went to? Any hidden gem schools that aren't rated great on GS but are, in fact, great?

For perspective, we are looking for a SFH with decent sized yard and 2000+ sq for $950k or less. Arlington, Falls Church, McLean, Vienna, Alexandria, Annandale, or closer in Fairfax