We are zone for Edison but have sent all our kids to Hayfield. We have been very happy there. We like the new principal. He's strict but I guess maybe some kids need that. I think teachers like him more than the kids and maybe that's a good thing. My kids are honors/AP kids who never get in trouble so it doesn't matter to them one way or the other but happy teachers = more stability/less attrition. We're white but really like the diversity the school has to offer. It's not heavily anything. We didn't love being a transfer family when we had to drive to school everyday but now that my oldest has a license, we couldn't be happier having transfered the kids to Hayfield.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I commented that Hayfield is not a good school. I am zoned for Hayfield. I have talked to other parents. Some people are happy, but I have also heard of many who don’t want their children there, would rather have their child at Edison (yes, it is IB with few AP classes but is still preferred by some), and those who sent their child to private just to avoid Hayfield. Teachers from Mark Twain Middle said it wasn’t good and advised sending kids to Edison instead. I realize some people don’t have a choice, but the original poster apparently does and is asking.

What's wrong with Hayfield? They offer a full array of college-credit classes just like all other FCPS schools. They're arguably one of the most well-balanced FCPS schools as far as demographics and performance with nearly 30% split between White, Black, Hispanic, and 10% Asian and a 30% FARMs rate which is roughly the FCPS average. They're a school that truly represents the diversity of the county's population. Most other schools are either concentrated White or concentrated Hispanic which leads to significant disparity.

I just don't understand why demographics makes Hayfield a bad school.

So you live in a very homogenous bubble where you support diversity, but don't actually have much diversity in your life?

The demographics for a school like Island Creek ES (feeder) vs. Lorton Station ES (feeder) --- VERY Different socially and economically, and therefore, academically. Even within LSES, there are different segments depending on SES and AAP.

You can have a 30% split for X, Y, and Z... but it's the economic and academic-mindset of the different areas, that makes all the difference. It's not the racial make up -- ICES is diverse racially, but not economically.

Lorton Station is 49% FARMS -- and the FARMS passrate for SOLs is a "2" on GreatSchools. Even with an AAP center in the school, it's a "4" on GS for test scores (alone, not factoring in the "equity"). Island Creek ES has 11% FARMS. Their GS test scores only rating is 9. They do NOT have an AAP center. Their FARMS pass rate is a "7" on GS ratings.

That pretty much tells you what you need to know and where the difficulty is coming from. Two different worlds. Read the reviews of these two schools on GS and you'll see that kids are coming to Hayfield from very different situations.

The “middle range” FCPS middle and HS are all like that though. A wide disparity between the wealthier schools and poorer ones. Nearby South County has the same thing with kids coming from low income housing or small townhomes/condos, and kids in million dollar + homes and everything in between. Same story at Fairfax HS and South Lakes. It does make things more challenging. What sticks out to me about Hayfield is the stories I’ve heard there about fights and bullying. It seems to be worse there than at similar SES schools in the county, not sure why. Hopefully they can figure out a solution. West Potomac has a similar rep for bullying and bad student behavior but kids still go there and are successful.

We're at Hayfield at the end. 7th grade.
He is on honers classes for math, sience .. English is our second language but its realy easy for him to understand.
As I wrote, we are from all white European country, capital city, and still it was strange at first how much different nations and races is in the school and in the neighborhood. But, neighborhood is soooo welcoming, so nice, and about school-my son, who was straight A student back home, and still is - he loves his teachers, he said that they're great-he loves how they teach and how they communicate with students. He doesn't talk about different races and nations at all-he doesn't see that. And I'm so happy because of that.
I was on Back to school night, and every teacher knew who is my son, they could talk about him-it's so great 'couse they are really big school.
My only problem is, so far, school program, but I think that is a difference between European and American schools in general. He had so much more classes, homeworks in our country ...
So, my conclusion is, for now, that the middle school in Hayfield Secondary is really ok. It's up to you or your kid.
if it is a knowledge what is important to you, your child can get it if he wants.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I commented that Hayfield is not a good school. I am zoned for Hayfield. I have talked to other parents. Some people are happy, but I have also heard of many who don’t want their children there, would rather have their child at Edison (yes, it is IB with few AP classes but is still preferred by some), and those who sent their child to private just to avoid Hayfield. Teachers from Mark Twain Middle said it wasn’t good and advised sending kids to Edison instead. I realize some people don’t have a choice, but the original poster apparently does and is asking.

What's wrong with Hayfield? They offer a full array of college-credit classes just like all other FCPS schools. They're arguably one of the most well-balanced FCPS schools as far as demographics and performance with nearly 30% split between White, Black, Hispanic, and 10% Asian and a 30% FARMs rate which is roughly the FCPS average. They're a school that truly represents the diversity of the county's population. Most other schools are either concentrated White or concentrated Hispanic which leads to significant disparity.

I just don't understand why demographics makes Hayfield a bad school.

So you live in a very homogenous bubble where you support diversity, but don't actually have much diversity in your life?

The demographics for a school like Island Creek ES (feeder) vs. Lorton Station ES (feeder) --- VERY Different socially and economically, and therefore, academically. Even within LSES, there are different segments depending on SES and AAP.

You can have a 30% split for X, Y, and Z... but it's the economic and academic-mindset of the different areas, that makes all the difference. It's not the racial make up -- ICES is diverse racially, but not economically.

Lorton Station is 49% FARMS -- and the FARMS passrate for SOLs is a "2" on GreatSchools. Even with an AAP center in the school, it's a "4" on GS for test scores (alone, not factoring in the "equity"). Island Creek ES has 11% FARMS. Their GS test scores only rating is 9. They do NOT have an AAP center. Their FARMS pass rate is a "7" on GS ratings.

That pretty much tells you what you need to know and where the difficulty is coming from. Two different worlds. Read the reviews of these two schools on GS and you'll see that kids are coming to Hayfield from very different situations.

GS is BS.

Upper middle class white family with a 9th and 11th grader. We are very happy at Hayfield. Son's best friend is an Edison transfer. I think everyone has different perspectives but there are certainly many of us who are beyond happy with Hayfield.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I commented that Hayfield is not a good school. I am zoned for Hayfield. I have talked to other parents. Some people are happy, but I have also heard of many who don’t want their children there, would rather have their child at Edison (yes, it is IB with few AP classes but is still preferred by some), and those who sent their child to private just to avoid Hayfield. Teachers from Mark Twain Middle said it wasn’t good and advised sending kids to Edison instead. I realize some people don’t have a choice, but the original poster apparently does and is asking.

What's wrong with Hayfield? They offer a full array of college-credit classes just like all other FCPS schools. They're arguably one of the most well-balanced FCPS schools as far as demographics and performance with nearly 30% split between White, Black, Hispanic, and 10% Asian and a 30% FARMs rate which is roughly the FCPS average. They're a school that truly represents the diversity of the county's population. Most other schools are either concentrated White or concentrated Hispanic which leads to significant disparity.

I just don't understand why demographics makes Hayfield a bad school.

So you live in a very homogenous bubble where you support diversity, but don't actually have much diversity in your life?

The demographics for a school like Island Creek ES (feeder) vs. Lorton Station ES (feeder) --- VERY Different socially and economically, and therefore, academically. Even within LSES, there are different segments depending on SES and AAP.

You can have a 30% split for X, Y, and Z... but it's the economic and academic-mindset of the different areas, that makes all the difference. It's not the racial make up -- ICES is diverse racially, but not economically.

Lorton Station is 49% FARMS -- and the FARMS passrate for SOLs is a "2" on GreatSchools. Even with an AAP center in the school, it's a "4" on GS for test scores (alone, not factoring in the "equity"). Island Creek ES has 11% FARMS. Their GS test scores only rating is 9. They do NOT have an AAP center. Their FARMS pass rate is a "7" on GS ratings.

That pretty much tells you what you need to know and where the difficulty is coming from. Two different worlds. Read the reviews of these two schools on GS and you'll see that kids are coming to Hayfield from very different situations.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I commented that Hayfield is not a good school. I am zoned for Hayfield. I have talked to other parents. Some people are happy, but I have also heard of many who don’t want their children there, would rather have their child at Edison (yes, it is IB with few AP classes but is still preferred by some), and those who sent their child to private just to avoid Hayfield. Teachers from Mark Twain Middle said it wasn’t good and advised sending kids to Edison instead. I realize some people don’t have a choice, but the original poster apparently does and is asking.

I have a feeling that your kids are young and I would bet a million dollars that you cannot name one actual person who opted to go to Edison instead. That's actually very unusual. Hayfield is far from perfect, but both of my kids are thriving there (they are admittedly taking almost all honors and AP classes). Most kids find their village through sports, drama, music, etc.

No dog in this fight but it looks like 63 Hayfield kids transferred to Edison this year and 43 Edison kids transferred to Hayfield. On the other hand, overall, Hayfield had more kids living out of bounds transferring into the school than Edison did, because there were over 150 Mount Vernon-zoned kids who transferred to Hayfield.

Anonymous wrote:I commented that Hayfield is not a good school. I am zoned for Hayfield. I have talked to other parents. Some people are happy, but I have also heard of many who don’t want their children there, would rather have their child at Edison (yes, it is IB with few AP classes but is still preferred by some), and those who sent their child to private just to avoid Hayfield. Teachers from Mark Twain Middle said it wasn’t good and advised sending kids to Edison instead. I realize some people don’t have a choice, but the original poster apparently does and is asking.

I have a feeling that your kids are young and I would bet a million dollars that you cannot name one actual person who opted to go to Edison instead. That's actually very unusual. Hayfield is far from perfect, but both of my kids are thriving there (they are admittedly taking almost all honors and AP classes). Most kids find their village through sports, drama, music, etc.

Anonymous wrote:I commented that Hayfield is not a good school. I am zoned for Hayfield. I have talked to other parents. Some people are happy, but I have also heard of many who don’t want their children there, would rather have their child at Edison (yes, it is IB with few AP classes but is still preferred by some), and those who sent their child to private just to avoid Hayfield. Teachers from Mark Twain Middle said it wasn’t good and advised sending kids to Edison instead. I realize some people don’t have a choice, but the original poster apparently does and is asking.

What's wrong with Hayfield? They offer a full array of college-credit classes just like all other FCPS schools. They're arguably one of the most well-balanced FCPS schools as far as demographics and performance with nearly 30% split between White, Black, Hispanic, and 10% Asian and a 30% FARMs rate which is roughly the FCPS average. They're a school that truly represents the diversity of the county's population. Most other schools are either concentrated White or concentrated Hispanic which leads to significant disparity.

I just don't understand why demographics makes Hayfield a bad school.

I commented that Hayfield is not a good school. I am zoned for Hayfield. I have talked to other parents. Some people are happy, but I have also heard of many who don’t want their children there, would rather have their child at Edison (yes, it is IB with few AP classes but is still preferred by some), and those who sent their child to private just to avoid Hayfield. Teachers from Mark Twain Middle said it wasn’t good and advised sending kids to Edison instead. I realize some people don’t have a choice, but the original poster apparently does and is asking.

Anonymous wrote:Hayfield is not a good school. Read the negative comments on Niche. People who are zoned for this school try to get out of sending their kids there. Edison has a better reputation. Neither are good schools for Fairfax County. Google best high schools in Fairfax County. You can still live close to DC in a different area to get a better school for your children. At the least, try to get Edison.

I have 2 HS kids in Hayfield and 1 who graduated. We're very happy there. Oldest is a junior at VA Tech studying computer science with a minor in physics. He graduated with 9 AP classes and had mostly good teachers. He was a Varsity athlete and genuinely happy there. Daughter is a junior. 5 APs in total, active in a lot of clubs. She's quiet but has a core group of good friends. Has not had a bad teacher yet. Youngest is a freshman. All honors classes. Will take 2 APs next year. All Varsity sports. He has had 2 dud teachers, but the rest have been great. They just hired a new principal. We have enjoyed our many years at Hayfield. My advice is to make sure your kids are active in clubs or sports to really develop friendships. It's a very diverse school and it's one of our favorite parts about the school. We are a white family, but we like that are kids have friends from so many different races and cultures. Most Hayfield families are happy with the school. It's people outside Hayfield who suggest we're all trying to leave.

Anonymous wrote:Hayfield is not a good school. Read the negative comments on Niche. People who are zoned for this school try to get out of sending their kids there. Edison has a better reputation. Neither are good schools for Fairfax County. Google best high schools in Fairfax County. You can still live close to DC in a different area to get a better school for your children. At the least, try to get Edison.

Not everyone has the financial resources to pick & choose where they’ll live.

Anonymous wrote:Hayfield is not a good school. Read the negative comments on Niche. People who are zoned for this school try to get out of sending their kids there. Edison has a better reputation. Neither are good schools for Fairfax County. Google best high schools in Fairfax County. You can still live close to DC in a different area to get a better school for your children. At the least, try to get Edison.

Edison does NOT have a better reputation, and it has a crappy IB program so there aren't many AP courses.

Hayfield is not a good school. Read the negative comments on Niche. People who are zoned for this school try to get out of sending their kids there. Edison has a better reputation. Neither are good schools for Fairfax County. Google best high schools in Fairfax County. You can still live close to DC in a different area to get a better school for your children. At the least, try to get Edison.

Hayfield along with Edison are considered the stronger high schools (academically) in Alexandria. If you like that part of the DC area, both are fine choices. Metro rail into the city is convenient. Closer to DC, Falls Church City has Meridian HS which is highly regarded. McLean HS in McLean is sought after. Arlington has three comprehensive high schools, but note that house prices are more expensive closer in.

^ All of the above are convenient to Metro Rail for commuting.