No horse in this race. However, I find the comments on here remarkable in their lack of sensitivity and would not take any of these at its face value.

OP. Do your own research.

And, I have no idea if Lake Anne is safe or not. It is a pleasant area in the daytime. But, to the poster who said the Senior living facility was built there due to the safety--that is just wrong.

Yes, there is a new Senior living facility across from it. However, it is basically the same facility that has been there for many, many years. It is "affordable housing" and was built to replace an old rundown building. That building was torn down and there are expensive new townhouses there--some are still being built.

As for a school that one poster said is mostly upper middle class, it has a very large FARMS rate. That would not stop me, but it is not accurate to use the description PP posted.

All of the schools are good and diverse. The only issue I see is AP vs IB.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yes, I drove through Marshall parking lot and was concerned about the more city feel around it of Tysons, that it wouldn't be as safe for walking around in , from a pedestrian/car safety standpoint. Also the building looked older... I am also not sure about IB and my daughter, I don't think she would have enough interest in the program to complete the IB diploma...

DP. You are completely wrong regarding safety. But Tyson's is (luckily for us) not a total white suburbia. I hope you find what you are looking for.

Tysons is divided by Route 7 and I-495. There are pockets that are walkable but fears of it being dangerous to pedestrians aren’t unfounded. It’s a high traffic area where cars are king.

Anonymous wrote:yes, I drove through Marshall parking lot and was concerned about the more city feel around it of Tysons, that it wouldn't be as safe for walking around in , from a pedestrian/car safety standpoint. Also the building looked older... I am also not sure about IB and my daughter, I don't think she would have enough interest in the program to complete the IB diploma...

DP. You are completely wrong regarding safety. But Tyson's is (luckily for us) not a total white suburbia. I hope you find what you are looking for.

Madison is going to give you more expensive housing options - it pulls from a small pocket of Vienna and the homes are expensive than the same home would be in Reston or Herndon. Even though Oakton and Madison are only about five minutes away from each other, Madison pulls from a smaller area, and it’s all Vienna. Think of the center of a circle and the circle being the area. Oakton pulls from a long skinny boundary map. It goes from Oakton, a little bit of Vienna, all the way to Oak Hill Area, and Franklin Farms. Because of this, it has a much more diverse population of students, whereas Madison is basically the same student copied and pasted.

Some people may be posting outdated info. South Lakes High School today is a largely upper middle class school that has solid academics with a good reputation. It may not be one of the top FCPS high schools, or among the wealthiest. But you don’t appear to be concerned with that.

Also, a large senior living community was just built across from Lake Anne Plaza, due to its walkability and safety.

If you check out Oakton HS, it is walkable to some of the townhouse communities near the Vienna Metro Stop. The school was just renovated so it looks really nice.

Metro from Reston or Vienna is convenient for trips into the city or to the airports.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI. The Lake Anne Plaza area is part of Reston. Hickory Cluster is another ver popular neighborhood a short walk from the lake, but there is nothing for sale there currently.

There are nice, shaded walking paths from this area to Reston Town Center itself. All the Reston neighborhoods are connected by walking trails.

Note that some areas of Reston are zoned to Herndon HS and not South Lakes. Herndon is an AP school.

Lake Anne is considered the older, run down part of Reston. It’s not safe. I grew up in Reston and hardly ever went there. The elementary school is awful, too.

We were just there visiting friends, eating al fresco on the plaza. What you’re saying is not true at all. It is a very safe, in-demand community, and those houses around Lake Anne plaza when they hit the market sell very fast. Also the retail there has vastly improved over the last decade. New cafes, coffee shops, etc. The whole plaza was spruced up. It is literally one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in northern Va.

OP stated this is a move for high school, so the local elementary would not factor into the equation.

South Lakes has great theatre shows, I don't know anything about the program but they win awards if you are into that thing. I think most are pretty happy with SLHS as long as you are ok with IB.

Anonymous wrote:yes, I drove through Marshall parking lot and was concerned about the more city feel around it of Tysons, that it wouldn't be as safe for walking around in , from a pedestrian/car safety standpoint. Also the building looked older... I am also not sure about IB and my daughter, I don't think she would have enough interest in the program to complete the IB diploma...

FCPS does not force students at IB schools into pursuing the IB diploma. (There are DC area schools with specialized IB magnet programs for a select few, and those students are required to pursue the IB diploma or drop out.)

I advise looking into the neighborhoods/schools you are targeting, like South Lakes v Madison for example, and weigh the pros and cons.

Madison is an AP school which you say you prefer, but it is the most sports oriented high school in the region.

Whilst you don’t care for IB, South Lakes has a strong IB Arts program, and is a less sports oriented school.

Both schools are located in walkable communities which you desire.

Anonymous wrote:Have you looked at Marshall? Better ranked than all the school listed, but also diverse. It's IB. Not sure how you feel about that.

Marshall is not a better school than Madison or Oakton. The only reason it’s higher ranked than Madison is that they game the U.S. News ratings by automatically enrolling most juniors and seniors in an IB English class. That boosts the U.S. News “college readiness” score. At Madison kids get to decide whether to take AP courses.

If your kid doesn’t want to do the full IB diploma program there is no benefit to attending an IB school like Marshall.

My kids go to Herndon, and we live within walking distance to the quaint downtown area. The school has some issues,but my kids have participated in sports (you can try a new sport without previous experience: think volleyball, track, wrestling, football, softball, dive, tennis and golf) and clubs. There are volunteer opportunities, and I have heard the theatre and band departments are wonderful.

It is a diverse school, majority Hispanic, by just over half. My eldest graduated with nine AP courses and her lowest grade was only one 3. She was well-prepared for the exams, and is thriving in college. It is easier to stand out among their peers, as there is less competition for leadership positions. Housing is less expensive, but there is a a good sense of community. We have our own mayor, a few festivals and a fun homecoming parade. We enjoy going to the local family owned restaurants, and running into friends.

Anonymous wrote:yes, I drove through Marshall parking lot and was concerned about the more city feel around it of Tysons, that it wouldn't be as safe for walking around in , from a pedestrian/car safety standpoint. Also the building looked older... I am also not sure about IB and my daughter, I don't think she would have enough interest in the program to complete the IB diploma...

South Lakes is an IB school.

yes, I drove through Marshall parking lot and was concerned about the more city feel around it of Tysons, that it wouldn't be as safe for walking around in , from a pedestrian/car safety standpoint. Also the building looked older... I am also not sure about IB and my daughter, I don't think she would have enough interest in the program to complete the IB diploma...

Have you looked at Marshall? Better ranked than all the school listed, but also diverse. It's IB. Not sure how you feel about that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:is there a big difference between the Fairfax schools like Madison and Oakton, and high schools in Loudoun like Independence and Briar Woods?

Not really. Independence, Madison, and Oakton are large schools (Oakton being the biggest, followed by Independence, and then Madison) that are very sports oriented with solid academics. Madison is much whiter than the other three schools and not a very diverse place. Briar Woods is somewhat smaller due to the other high schools opened up near Ashburn over the years.

Why is Madison so much whiter? It says it is 7 minutes away from Oakton on the map...

Because it serves the Town of Vienna. Madison for decades has been the whitest school in FCPS.

Its also a more sports oriented high school and white people are drawn to that type of high school more.

Anonymous wrote:You do NOT want your child attending South Lakes or Herndon HS either.

Oh no why not? I was literally getting ready to go do the drive out to see south lakes today and drive around Reston. We have a week max to decide.

By the way thanks all for the helpful info and links!