Anonymous
Post 02/03/2026 16:10     Subject: Moving from Arlington to Mclean
For more space (ie. a house) because currently we are living in a condo and looking for sold schools.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2026 16:06     Subject: Moving from Arlington to Mclean
Anonymous wrote:We are thinking of moving from Arlington to McLean. We really love our small neighborhood elementary school - Innovation Elementary in N. Arlington. We are considering Langley/Mclean school district but keep hearing how big the class sizes are in Churchill Elementary and Springhill Elementary. Is that true? What’s the vibe at these schools? My son’s current Kg class at Innovation has 17 kids with 2 teachers and we’re very happy with it. It’s ranked 6/10 but the Mclean schools are ranked 8 and 9 out of 10. There is no AAP in Arlington, so that’s a motivation for us to move to Mclean. Are there any smaller elementary schools in Mclean/Vienna that feed to solid high schools?


Why move if these things are true?
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2026 16:05     Subject: Moving from Arlington to Mclean
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:If you like your house and your commute do NOT move. First, AAP isn’t all that, and it’s watered down from its original intent. These programs were designed to support exceptionally smart kids who could not cope in a regular classroom with tracked coursework. It was not supposed to be for the relatively bright, wealthy kids with tons of coaching that it’s turned into. The social division in FCPS schools is awful and this BS creates a stigma against GenED kids. Also, Arlington consistently has much smaller class sizes in elementary school. Your kids will have comparable peers in N. Arlington. It will be okay, I promise.


As someone who used to live in Arlington, I disagree with this. For motivated kids, FCPS is still stronger than APS.


In what specific ways?
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2026 15:05     Subject: Moving from Arlington to Mclean
Anonymous wrote:what are the school hours for Sherman elementary? And does a school bus service Hallcrest heights?
I think 9:10 am to 4 pm
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2026 15:04     Subject: Moving from Arlington to Mclean
Anonymous wrote:Thanks for sharing about Sherman, I had no idea about that school. Is it renovated ?

Completely expanded maybe 12 years ago. I love this school. However, finding house for this school is hard because the area is small and price is a bit higher.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2026 14:43     Subject: Moving from Arlington to Mclean
what are the school hours for Sherman elementary? And does a school bus service Hallcrest heights?
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2026 14:41     Subject: Moving from Arlington to Mclean
Thanks for sharing about Sherman, I had no idea about that school. Is it renovated ?
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2026 14:39     Subject: Moving from Arlington to Mclean
Anonymous wrote:Is it better to move to FCPS in the earlier grades before eligibility for AAP like in 2nd grade? Is it easier to get in at the start as opposed to later grades?


I don't have data but knowing the process, I think it might be easier to get in at the older grades (fewer applications that need to be screened).
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2026 14:31     Subject: Moving from Arlington to Mclean
Anonymous wrote:Is Sherman Elementary less competitive than Spring Hill or Churchill?


My kids went to Sherman, they were both in advanced math, we didn’t opt for Haycock because it’s overcrowded. Franklin Sherman is an awesome school, small class sizes, great parent body and excellent teachers.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2026 14:06     Subject: Moving from Arlington to Mclean
Is Sherman Elementary less competitive than Spring Hill or Churchill?
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2026 14:05     Subject: Moving from Arlington to Mclean
Is it better to move to FCPS in the earlier grades before eligibility for AAP like in 2nd grade? Is it easier to get in at the start as opposed to later grades?
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2026 13:58     Subject: Re:Moving from Arlington to Mclean
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Moving for AAP could be a mistake, especially with the schools you are targeting. Those are the schools with far higher scores required to be in pool because so many parents prep for the NNAT and new test and then work hard to curate the perfect work samples and parent referral packet. The number of families that end up on the AAP Forum complaining that their kid with a 140 test score was not selected for AAP in the Langley and McLean pyramids is surprisingly high. Those are the pyramids with the highest number of rejected kids.

Move because you want a different school experience. Move because you want a different community. Move for commute or a bigger house or whatever but moving for AAP is a gamble. Only move if you are going to be happy if your child doesn't get into AAP. If you are hell bent on AAP, move to a different pyramid where the parents are less AAP obsessed.


Have they changed something recently?

Because every school in the county has the same cut off scores to qualify for AAP.

Your elementary school in McLean has the same AAP score cut off as Garfield Elementary in central Springfield.


Three or four years ago they moved to local norms for the in-pool scores. The top 10% at each school, based on the test scores, are in-pool. They have not released the in-pool scores based on schools but there is an annual thread in the AAP forum where parents post their pyramid and scores and in or not in pool. The scores for Langley and McLean that are self reported as not in tend to be in the high 130's and low 140's. The guess is that the in-pool scores for the ES feeding into those pyramids is around 145. Plenty of parents reporting scores in the mid to high 130's and not being in-pool.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2026 11:07     Subject: Moving from Arlington to Mclean
Anonymous wrote:If you like your house and your commute do NOT move. First, AAP isn’t all that, and it’s watered down from its original intent. These programs were designed to support exceptionally smart kids who could not cope in a regular classroom with tracked coursework. It was not supposed to be for the relatively bright, wealthy kids with tons of coaching that it’s turned into. The social division in FCPS schools is awful and this BS creates a stigma against GenED kids. Also, Arlington consistently has much smaller class sizes in elementary school. Your kids will have comparable peers in N. Arlington. It will be okay, I promise.


As someone who used to live in Arlington, I disagree with this. For motivated kids, FCPS is still stronger than APS.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2026 11:06     Subject: Moving from Arlington to Mclean
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We moved from an average FCPS pyramid into Langley/McLean. The differences in the peer groups and academic expectations were quickly noticeable, and it served our kids very well in terms of college preparedness and developing a solid work ethic.


This. As a parent of kids at McLean HS, I can confirm that an academically solid peer group is by far the single biggest benefit of moving to this pyramid. I guess at certain point there’s not much difference between schools but being with high achieving, like minded peers is the most important aspect for us.

There's no reason to think that Arlington doesn't have a similarly academically minded peer set. That doesn't seem like a factor here.


We researched schools quite a bit before purchasing in McLean and Yorktown seemed more like Madison - very white and sports-oriented and not as academically focused as Langley or McLean.

W-L is very large and the IB program, which didn't interest us, seemed to take center stage there, although W-L also offers AP courses.

The Asian enrollments are also significantly higher at Langley and McLean than at the APS schools, although both Langley and McLean are plurality (not majority, like Yorktown) white.
Anonymous
Post 02/03/2026 10:53     Subject: Moving from Arlington to Mclean
If you like your house and your commute do NOT move. First, AAP isn’t all that, and it’s watered down from its original intent. These programs were designed to support exceptionally smart kids who could not cope in a regular classroom with tracked coursework. It was not supposed to be for the relatively bright, wealthy kids with tons of coaching that it’s turned into. The social division in FCPS schools is awful and this BS creates a stigma against GenED kids. Also, Arlington consistently has much smaller class sizes in elementary school. Your kids will have comparable peers in N. Arlington. It will be okay, I promise.