Anonymous wrote:Op - what I am most nervous about is the size of the middle and high schools. I went to a very small school (not in Virginia) and the student population of Sandburg and west Potomac seems insane to me! I just can’t imagine my kids being able to handle 800+ person graduating classes.

Sandberg is something that kids have to get through. The latest communication form the school implies a strong shift to harsher discipline which is really need with the amount of fights. I disagree with PP about needing to be in AA. An honors schedule will keep a kid away from the worst of it.

Anonymous wrote:Can you tell me your thoughts on this pyramid? Do most people send their kids to private school? If you are in the public school in this pyramid what are your thoughts? Good? Bad? Ugly?

There are almost 3000 kids at WestPo, so a significant number of people do not send their kids to private school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op - what I am most nervous about is the size of the middle and high schools. I went to a very small school (not in Virginia) and the student population of Sandburg and west Potomac seems insane to me! I just can’t imagine my kids being able to handle 800+ person graduating classes.

I think this is consistent across FCPS.

Not at all. West Potomac is one of the bigger high schools in FCPS and was created from the merger of two high schools in the mid-80s.

And FCPS recently expanded the school to 3000 seats, which is definitely at the very high end for FCPS. But the current enrollment is around 2640, so the graduating classes do not have 800 kids.

Anonymous wrote:Op - what I am most nervous about is the size of the middle and high schools. I went to a very small school (not in Virginia) and the student population of Sandburg and west Potomac seems insane to me! I just can’t imagine my kids being able to handle 800+ person graduating classes.

I think this is consistent across FCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids go to Fort Hunt. We really like it. They are both in Spanish immersion, which is a cool program. My DD got into AAP but we opted to stay for Spanish.

Can’t opine on the middle or high schools but I know some kids who have gone to great schools out of WestPo. I think it’s what you make of it, like anything else. It’s not as if private school is some utopia either.

How is the new admin?

Fine! I liked the old principal a lot but my interactions with the new one have been okay. There was an issue with another student and my DD and they were pretty responsive.

Op - what I am most nervous about is the size of the middle and high schools. I went to a very small school (not in Virginia) and the student population of Sandburg and west Potomac seems insane to me! I just can’t imagine my kids being able to handle 800+ person graduating classes.

Anonymous wrote:My kids go to Fort Hunt. We really like it. They are both in Spanish immersion, which is a cool program. My DD got into AAP but we opted to stay for Spanish.

Can’t opine on the middle or high schools but I know some kids who have gone to great schools out of WestPo. I think it’s what you make of it, like anything else. It’s not as if private school is some utopia either.

How is the new admin?

My kids go to Fort Hunt. We really like it. They are both in Spanish immersion, which is a cool program. My DD got into AAP but we opted to stay for Spanish.

Can’t opine on the middle or high schools but I know some kids who have gone to great schools out of WestPo. I think it’s what you make of it, like anything else. It’s not as if private school is some utopia either.

We moved away from this pyramid several years ago because of the schools. I pulled my kids out of Stratford Landing (both AAP) and put them in private. There was a new principal and the school went downhill. I tried Sandburg for a few weeks, but the hallways were too rough for my kid. DC actually liked the classes and teachers. West Po has SBG grading which is awful. The high school in our new "better" pyramid just implemented this as well, same thing, new principal and school is going downhill academically anyway. I wish we had just stayed in private but we are almost through with FCPS. I know so many people that planned to move to a better school pyramid once kids got through elementary, but it's really hard to do that when you and your kids have friends and love an area.

You are going to find people that think the schools in that area are fine and others that will try it and switch to private. What people think of as fine varies. Some people always think FCPS is fine. It is a wonderful area, and we miss it. I will add that with one kid in college, DC ended up at same place as West Po friends and some private school friends.

Parents in Waynewood seem happier with their school, and I like their neighborhood park better and their pool is used by everyone in the neighborhood. In SL, some kids go to Fort Hunt Elementary and some go to SL and then some join SL pool and others join the Riverside pool.

What is your education level? Are you involved in the lives of your children? Those things are very important to the success of your children, no matter the school.*

*In FCPS.

The West Potomac pyramid is pretty good. It's one of the more solid pyramids of FCPS. Sandburg MS can be a little dicey at times due to its large size, but overall it's not bad. I recommend it.

Anonymous wrote:Which private schools do kids go to?

Do people stay for elementary and then move for upper grades to private?

St Mary’s, St Stephen’s St Agnus, or a host of other schools in Va or DC.

Depends on resources how soon they go private.

Anonymous wrote:Which private schools do kids go to?

Do people stay for elementary and then move for upper grades to private?

I would assume the same ones around my area in FFX; religious based schools, other private academies

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get back!

* throws holy water on this thread*

Pope reference? Catholic By chance? Just asking

I think I would be, perhaps inclined not to make the joke if I were Catholic.

Which private schools do kids go to?

Do people stay for elementary and then move for upper grades to private?