Anonymous
Post 06/09/2023 10:31     Subject: Changing school pyramids in Middle School
I don't think changing school pyramids in middle school is a huge deal. But I don't understand why you would do two moves instead of one.
Anonymous
Post 06/08/2023 23:38     Subject: Changing school pyramids in Middle School
Anonymous wrote:Its going to be hard to move your kids at that age because not only will they have friends, but you will have a “community” by then. You will have met a lot of other parents and neighbors and such. Your kids could also be in activities that are location-specific (scouts, swim, etc) and they would have to switch teams/troops/whatever.


Exactly... forget about the better schools, your kids aren't going to want to leave the friends they've made by that point.

I can't believe the OP is acting so blasé about how difficult this will likely be on them.

Nice parent.
Anonymous
Post 06/08/2023 23:38     Subject: Changing school pyramids in Middle School
Anonymous wrote:This area is very transient, OP. Lots of kids moving in and out at all ages. Your child will be totally fine.

*Ignore all the crazy Arlington mommies on this board who think they made the best choices. They may have made the best choices for their families, but you should make the best choices for YOUR family.


You are an idiot, and you are completely missing the point. My only point is that there is no reason to pack up and move out of Arlington after elementary school for high school. If you were going to do that, you might as well just move to Fairfax from the beginning.

And the idea that this is a transient area so all kids are fine if they are moved around is equally stupid. It’s a transient area in the sense that people move to the Washington area from other parts of the country and then move away with frequency. It’s not transient in the sense that people move from one county to another because of the schools. When it comes to Arlington and Fairfax, no one does that, ever. It is the stupidest thing I ever heard of. You are a complete idiot.
Anonymous
Post 06/08/2023 23:36     Subject: Changing school pyramids in Middle School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP your premise is wrong. North Arlington middle and high schools are easily on par with the best of what Fairfax has to offer.

Yorktown is not as good as at least: Langley, McLean, Oakton, Woodson, Madison, Marshall, and Chantilly.


Citation needed


DP. PP probably based this on US News rankings. Those schools and also West Springfield in Fairfax are all rated higher than Yorktown.


And those rankings change every year.

Take your pick: SAT scores, US News, national merit semi finalists, college placement. Consistently year after year.


There are variations. Over the past decade since roughly 2013, Yorktown and W-L have traded places a few times with these metrics and moved up and down the US News list. Marshall, West Springfield, Lake Braddock, Robinson, Fairfax, etc., have also moved up and down. McLean and Langley however have been the top two public schools in Northern Va in since the early 90s in terms of academics and reputation. That hasn’t changed. Notwithstanding past variability, Marshall continues to improve and is now one of the top FCPS schools academically. Its future looks very strong.

College placement is hard to quantify, but the N Arlington high schools have excellent college placement with a solid number going to the ivies, international unis like McGill, Oxford, St Andrew’s, and top state and private colleges around the country, etc., every year.

TJHSST (Thomas Jefferson HS Science and Tech) is the only school that blatantly outranks all the others in terms of college placement year after year.

The reality is that any of these high schools are fine. And Arlington (APS) also sends students to TJHSST (FCPS). With top grades now ensuring entry, APS students can gain admission to that top magnet school without the former onerous entrance exam.


TJHSST is starting to go downhill. Court ruling last month upheld admissions, they school will end up being 25-50% hispanic/black.
Anonymous
Post 06/08/2023 23:32     Subject: Changing school pyramids in Middle School
This area is very transient, OP. Lots of kids moving in and out at all ages. Your child will be totally fine.

*Ignore all the crazy Arlington mommies on this board who think they made the best choices. They may have made the best choices for their families, but you should make the best choices for YOUR family.
Anonymous
Post 06/08/2023 21:17     Subject: Changing school pyramids in Middle School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP your premise is wrong. North Arlington middle and high schools are easily on par with the best of what Fairfax has to offer.

Yorktown is not as good as at least: Langley, McLean, Oakton, Woodson, Madison, Marshall, and Chantilly.


Citation needed


DP. PP probably based this on US News rankings. Those schools and also West Springfield in Fairfax are all rated higher than Yorktown.


And those rankings change every year.

Take your pick: SAT scores, US News, national merit semi finalists, college placement. Consistently year after year.


I just took a look at the Niche rankings. There are 320 neighborhood/non-magnet high schools in Virginia. All of the Fairfax County schools listed above except for Marshall are in Niche’s top 10. Yorktown is 11th, and Washington-Liberty is 14th. (Marshall is in the 20s, while another Fairfax school, West Springfield, isn’t listed above but ranks 15th.)

Niche ranks all of these schools as A+ overall and A+ for college prep.

But hey, if you think it makes sense to sell your house in Arlington and rip your 5th grader away from his friends just so he can attend the 8th best high school in the state out of 320 instead of the 11th, have at it.
Anonymous
Post 06/08/2023 20:59     Subject: Changing school pyramids in Middle School
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP your premise is wrong. North Arlington middle and high schools are easily on par with the best of what Fairfax has to offer.

Yorktown is not as good as at least: Langley, McLean, Oakton, Woodson, Madison, Marshall, and Chantilly.


Citation needed


DP. PP probably based this on US News rankings. Those schools and also West Springfield in Fairfax are all rated higher than Yorktown.


And those rankings change every year.

Take your pick: SAT scores, US News, national merit semi finalists, college placement. Consistently year after year.


There are variations. Over the past decade since roughly 2013, Yorktown and W-L have traded places a few times with these metrics and moved up and down the US News list. Marshall, West Springfield, Lake Braddock, Robinson, Fairfax, etc., have also moved up and down. McLean and Langley however have been the top two public schools in Northern Va in since the early 90s in terms of academics and reputation. That hasn’t changed. Notwithstanding past variability, Marshall continues to improve and is now one of the top FCPS schools academically. Its future looks very strong.

College placement is hard to quantify, but the N Arlington high schools have excellent college placement with a solid number going to the ivies, international unis like McGill, Oxford, St Andrew’s, and top state and private colleges around the country, etc., every year.

TJHSST (Thomas Jefferson HS Science and Tech) is the only school that blatantly outranks all the others in terms of college placement year after year.

The reality is that any of these high schools are fine. And Arlington (APS) also sends students to TJHSST (FCPS). With top grades now ensuring entry, APS students can gain admission to that top magnet school without the former onerous entrance exam.