Anonymous
Post 07/15/2025 14:38     Subject: Best small(ish) middle schools in FCPS
Avoid Franklin MS. My kid hated it. If you are near the area, try Rachel Carson instead. They have both AAP, and non AAP program. Seriously, don’t go to Franklin middle school, very much overrated. None of the teachers actually care, and the kids are really mean. Happy to be leaving!
Anonymous
Post 07/15/2025 13:50     Subject: Best small(ish) middle schools in FCPS
Anonymous wrote:Robinson is great!


Not small, but my kids have loved Robinson.
Anonymous
Post 07/15/2025 13:32     Subject: Re:Best small(ish) middle schools in FCPS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP—it’s two years. Your kid will be fine at any middle school. The differences are negligible.

Focus on the things that will impact your kid a lot more: Your presence at home. If you buy a house that you can’t afford or are unhappy with, that will make you stressed out around your kid. Or if you buy a house that results in an awful commute which results in precious time away from your middle schooler, that’s problematic.


No they are not.

You want to avoid Herndon Middle School, Hughes MS, and anything in Annandale. Figure out what high school you would be going to also.


Herndon Middle School is just like every other middle school in the county. The teachers are excellent and the new-ish Principal is beyond excellent.

Of course, if you are scared of diversity then you might want to steer clear. Non-white students = manufactured outrage.
Anonymous
Post 07/15/2025 13:04     Subject: Best small(ish) middle schools in FCPS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The smallest middle schools are:

Key (691 students)
Stone (726 students)
Whitman (805 students)
Franklin (819 students)
Poe (877 students)
Herndon (888 students)
Rocky Run (896 students)
Holmes (902 students)
Liberty (919 students)
South County (951 students)
Hayfield (968 students)


Holmes and Poe serve grades 6-8, so they actually feel even smaller than most of the schools (think 250-300 students per grade rather than 400-450 on the "small" size). We have had an amazing experience at our "poor" Annandale pyramid schools. Since students are with the school for 3 rather than just 2 years, the administration and teachers really invest in getting to know their strengths and weaknesses. My kids have flourished; teachers know how to differentiate up and down. And both were able to take Algebra I as 7th graders (and excel in the math courses) despite not having the county minimum scores because they could get 6th grade teacher recommendations.

Truthfully, I value empathy and confidence-building in middle school even more so than academics. It's a hard time and having an emotionally and physically safe environment to learn actually allows learning to occur.


I have a friend who had a terrible experience with Holmes when it came to meeting the needs of her son with an IEP. And Poe had a principal at one point who was arrested for embezzlement.

Caveat emptor.
Anonymous
Post 07/15/2025 12:57     Subject: Best small(ish) middle schools in FCPS
Anonymous wrote:The smallest middle schools are:

Key (691 students)
Stone (726 students)
Whitman (805 students)
Franklin (819 students)
Poe (877 students)
Herndon (888 students)
Rocky Run (896 students)
Holmes (902 students)
Liberty (919 students)
South County (951 students)
Hayfield (968 students)


Holmes and Poe serve grades 6-8, so they actually feel even smaller than most of the schools (think 250-300 students per grade rather than 400-450 on the "small" size). We have had an amazing experience at our "poor" Annandale pyramid schools. Since students are with the school for 3 rather than just 2 years, the administration and teachers really invest in getting to know their strengths and weaknesses. My kids have flourished; teachers know how to differentiate up and down. And both were able to take Algebra I as 7th graders (and excel in the math courses) despite not having the county minimum scores because they could get 6th grade teacher recommendations.

Truthfully, I value empathy and confidence-building in middle school even more so than academics. It's a hard time and having an emotionally and physically safe environment to learn actually allows learning to occur.
Anonymous
Post 07/09/2025 20:38     Subject: Best small(ish) middle schools in FCPS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid was happy at Kilmer.


Same. Loved the teachers and the activities the school held throughout the year.


We had a poor experience with Kilmer and moved so our younger kids wouldn’t have to go there.


+1
Steer clear.
Anonymous
Post 07/09/2025 20:14     Subject: Best small(ish) middle schools in FCPS
Stay away from Sandburg and Glasgow. Student misbehavior is out of control.
Anonymous
Post 07/05/2025 23:43     Subject: Best small(ish) middle schools in FCPS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kid was happy at Kilmer.


Same. Loved the teachers and the activities the school held throughout the year.


We had a poor experience with Kilmer and moved so our younger kids wouldn’t have to go there.
Anonymous
Post 07/05/2025 23:38     Subject: Best small(ish) middle schools in FCPS
The smallest middle schools are:

Key (691 students)
Stone (726 students)
Whitman (805 students)
Franklin (819 students)
Poe (877 students)
Herndon (888 students)
Rocky Run (896 students)
Holmes (902 students)
Liberty (919 students)
South County (951 students)
Hayfield (968 students)



The medium sized middle schools are:

Jackson (1000 students)
Hughes (1011 students)
Cooper (1019 students)
Twain (1022 students)
Johnson (1176 students)
Robinson (1205 students)
Kilmer (1212 students)
Irving (1220 students)
Longfellow (1236 students)
Thoreau (1252 students)
Frost (1288 students)



The largest middle schools are:

Glassgow (1664 students)
Lake Braddock (1453 students)
Sandburg (1399 students)
Carson (1351 students)
Anonymous
Post 07/05/2025 22:59     Subject: Best small(ish) middle schools in FCPS
Robinson is great!
Anonymous
Post 07/05/2025 07:54     Subject: Best small(ish) middle schools in FCPS
You have to be looking at the MS/HS combo since MS is only two years.
Anonymous
Post 07/05/2025 06:37     Subject: Best small(ish) middle schools in FCPS
Anonymous wrote:My kid was happy at Kilmer.


Same. Loved the teachers and the activities the school held throughout the year.
Anonymous
Post 07/04/2025 22:56     Subject: Best small(ish) middle schools in FCPS
My kid was happy at Kilmer.
Anonymous
Post 07/04/2025 22:42     Subject: Re:Best small(ish) middle schools in FCPS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP—it’s two years. Your kid will be fine at any middle school. The differences are negligible.

Focus on the things that will impact your kid a lot more: Your presence at home. If you buy a house that you can’t afford or are unhappy with, that will make you stressed out around your kid. Or if you buy a house that results in an awful commute which results in precious time away from your middle schooler, that’s problematic.


No they are not.

You want to avoid Herndon Middle School, Hughes MS, and anything in Annandale. Figure out what high school you would be going to also.


What PP is saying is to stay away from the poors.


Some of these schools are very poor quality. Our neighborhood middle school has 23% of the 6th graders meeting state math standards. They won’t be able to offer much beyond remedial education in such an environment, since they need to teach to where the majority of students are.
Anonymous
Post 07/04/2025 19:54     Subject: Best small(ish) middle schools in FCPS
Key Middle gets a bad rap, but my kids liked it and did very well there.