Anonymous wrote:OP: Researching IB and l feel like AP will be a better fit for my kids. What about West Potomac or Lake Braddock?

Between those two, I would pick Lake Braddock, but YMMV.

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Anonymous wrote:For similar location proximity to DC as a McLean pyramid but more liberal, I’d look at falls church city. They have their own local school district (not FCPS) and everyone I know who lives there love the community and schools.

Falls Church City owes its very existence to people who didn’t want Black people to have a vote in local elections many years ago and, years later, the residents go to great lengths to make sure you know their schools are “Falls Church City schools” rather than the more diverse schools in Fairfax County like Marshall, Falls Church, and Justice with Falls Church mailing addresses. If that’s what you consider “progressive,” go for it.

Fairfax County has its share of racist history. I would not pick a school system based on decisions made generations ago.

The second part of the post refers to current behavior by FCC residents. It goes beyond just letting people know FCC is its own jurisdiction.

Maybe, they make that distinction because Fairfax County has a high school called Falls Church and the city of Falls Church has a high school called Meridian. For many new people, it can be confusing.

Falls Church HS is in Fairfax and not City of Falls Church because of segregation.

Yes, more than 60 years ago.

OP: Researching IB and l feel like AP will be a better fit for my kids. What about West Potomac or Lake Braddock?

Anonymous wrote:Do you want AP or IB in high school?

If you want IB and close-ish to DC, you may want to consider the Edison pyramid, specifically homes zoned for Clermont Elementary. The price of housing in that area is lower than other pyramids, and Clermont is quite close to the border of Alexandria. You can bike to the King Street Metro station and Old Town Alexandria in a few minutes by going through the hole in the 495 sound-deadening wall at the end of Clermont Ave. It does take longer to drive.

Anonymous wrote:You want Marshall - a really good set of families who all share the same progressive values as us. Great school.

Make sure you want the IB curriculum rather than AP. We found it overly prescriptive and we moved out of the Marshall district so our younger kids could attend an AP school.

It sounds like George C. Marshall is your match.

AIM for Freedom Hill ES as that is not a split feeder.

You want Marshall - a really good set of families who all share the same progressive values as us. Great school.

Anonymous wrote:OP here — we do ideally want VA because it’s closer to family but sadly it doesn’t appear we can afford Arlington…

If you can't afford Arlington, you can't afford McLean, but given what you say you value it seems you should be looking in South Arlington areas zoned to Wakefield HS.

Anonymous wrote:We just found out we need to relocate and are looking at Fairfax county. What’s the best school pyramid that has great academics and community but isn’t too much of a competitive and overly wealth-obsessed area. We are moving from a progressive area and have heard that some of the “better” schools in McLean, etc. run probably a little bit more conservative than we’re used to. We would like to be as close to DC as possible as well. Thank you!

The best schools are in the more moderate areas, but if you are "progressive" please move to the most liberal areas.

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Anonymous wrote:For similar location proximity to DC as a McLean pyramid but more liberal, I’d look at falls church city. They have their own local school district (not FCPS) and everyone I know who lives there love the community and schools.

Falls Church City owes its very existence to people who didn’t want Black people to have a vote in local elections many years ago and, years later, the residents go to great lengths to make sure you know their schools are “Falls Church City schools” rather than the more diverse schools in Fairfax County like Marshall, Falls Church, and Justice with Falls Church mailing addresses. If that’s what you consider “progressive,” go for it.

Fairfax County has its share of racist history. I would not pick a school system based on decisions made generations ago.

The second part of the post refers to current behavior by FCC residents. It goes beyond just letting people know FCC is its own jurisdiction.

Maybe, they make that distinction because Fairfax County has a high school called Falls Church and the city of Falls Church has a high school called Meridian. For many new people, it can be confusing.

Falls Church HS is in Fairfax and not City of Falls Church because of segregation.

Mclean HS pyramid is from my experience mostly democrat-leaning and more progressive than the western part of the county. Not as progressive as Arlington though.
The Langley pyramid in Mclean is more conservative

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Anonymous wrote:We just found out we need to relocate and are looking at Fairfax county. What’s the best school pyramid that has great academics and community but isn’t too much of a competitive and overly wealth-obsessed area. We are moving from a progressive area and have heard that some of the “better” schools in McLean, etc. run probably a little bit more conservative than we’re used to. We would like to be as close to DC as possible as well. Thank you!

The closest you will get to DC is the Justice Pyramid. We have a middle schooler at Glasgow, and they have thrived so far.

This board will tell you that Justice (and Glasgow) are terrible and poor, and you should avoid them.

If you want a diverse population and a good community without being overbearing like McLean, I think it's a great choice.

+1.

I have one at Glasgow and one of Justice and both are thriving.

OP here — we do ideally want VA because it’s closer to family but sadly it doesn’t appear we can afford Arlington…

I love Fairfax City. It's racially and socioeconomically diverse for the area, had great community amenities and events, and excellent schools. Northern Virginia leans liberal, but is more moderate than some other areas of the country, so depending on where you're coming from, ymmv. Check out the Daniels Run - Katherine Johnson - Fairfax HS pyramid.

But others are correct that if it's in your budget, you should look at Arlington for more progressive communities that are closer to DC.

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Anonymous wrote:For similar location proximity to DC as a McLean pyramid but more liberal, I’d look at falls church city. They have their own local school district (not FCPS) and everyone I know who lives there love the community and schools.

Falls Church City owes its very existence to people who didn’t want Black people to have a vote in local elections many years ago and, years later, the residents go to great lengths to make sure you know their schools are “Falls Church City schools” rather than the more diverse schools in Fairfax County like Marshall, Falls Church, and Justice with Falls Church mailing addresses. If that’s what you consider “progressive,” go for it.

The main difference in the populations between high schools like McLean and Meridian are the Asian populations. For whatever reason, Meridian has fewer Asian students. The other difference is the McLean is AP and Meridian is IB.