That house is freaking ridiculously overpriced. Early 1990s blah.

The neighborhood near Lake Barcroft is Ravenwood, not Ravensworth. A house currently on the market there:

http://franklymls.com/FX9001102

Anonymous wrote:The neighborhood of Lake Barcroft itself is nice; however, everything else surrounding it is basically public housing - or one slight step above - with one of the highest number of gang members in the Metro area. Couple that with the absolutely craptastic traffic in that area - anywhere on 7 or 50 or worse navigating that intersection of those two - is horrible.

This is BS.

On the north side of Lake Barcroft, the Sleepy Hollow and Ravensworth neighborhoods to the north and west are upper-income areas. Culmore, to the east, has the run down garden apartments with the gangs, but the crime in Lake Barcroft itself is quite low.

On the south side of Lake Barcroft, the neighborhoods to the east, Barcroft Woods and Sleepy Hollow Woods, are almost as expensive as Lake Barcroft. To the south of Lake Barcroft is the older Belvedere neighborhood of single-family homes. Some of those homes are nicer than others, but it's nothing like public housing.

People who live in that area avoid Seven Corners and take Columbia Pike and Sleepy Hollow Road to avoid the Route 7/Route 50 intersection.

Culmore is not a nice area, but it's no more a reason to avoid Lake Barcroft than the housing projects in Alexandria are a reason to avoid living in Del Ray or Old Town.

Anonymous wrote:The neighborhood of Lake Barcroft itself is nice; however, everything else surrounding it is basically public housing - or one slight step above - with one of the highest number of gang members in the Metro area. Couple that with the absolutely craptastic traffic in that area - anywhere on 7 or 50 or worse navigating that intersection of those two - is horrible.

Since you know the neighborhood so well, you surely also know that Lake Barcroft area residents take the backroads and alternate routes so they avoid 7 Corners altogether. It is quite easy once you know the neighborhood and the best ways around.

The neighborhood of Lake Barcroft itself is nice; however, everything else surrounding it is basically public housing - or one slight step above - with one of the highest number of gang members in the Metro area. Couple that with the absolutely craptastic traffic in that area - anywhere on 7 or 50 or worse navigating that intersection of those two - is horrible.

11:11 again. Yes, this was our actual experience. I didn't want to be too critical as others I know have had a good experience.

Anonymous wrote:We moved out of the Falls Church/Belvedere school district for a better public school. Why? Belvedere's scores are skewed b/c it is an AAP center. If you have a middle-of-road-kid s/he may get lost, particularly in the early years, as there is a very high percentage of ESL kids. It's a Title I school - which means smaller class sizes - but the teacher resources may be stretched too thin to help a kid that needs a bit of extra attention but not so much as to stand out to qualify for services. If you have a bright, motivated kid, s/he will do great anywhere including at Belvedere. You get a lot for your money in the Falls Church/Barcroft area so if the school is the right fit for your kid it can be a great location.

There are lots of parents who don't want their little darlings near ESOL students, but are more than happy if other families and their children help acclimate and socialize them. Saying "I'm afraid a middle of the road kid will get lost" is much more PC than saying "I think poor Hispanic students will drag my kid down." Frankly, I wish that people who have this attitude would just join the Tea Party and fight for electric fences, rather than leave it to others to do the hard work.

Belvedere, like other schools in FCPS, has different levels of instruction, including Levels II, III and IV, ESOL and Special Education. If you advocate for your child, he or she will not fall through the cracks.

Anonymous wrote:We moved out of the Falls Church/Belvedere school district for a better public school. Why? Belvedere's scores are skewed b/c it is an AAP center. If you have a middle-of-road-kid s/he may get lost, particularly in the early years, as there is a very high percentage of ESL kids. It's a Title I school - which means smaller class sizes - but the teacher resources may be stretched too thin to help a kid that needs a bit of extra attention but not so much as to stand out to qualify for services. If you have a bright, motivated kid, s/he will do great anywhere including at Belvedere. You get a lot for your money in the Falls Church/Barcroft area so if the school is the right fit for your kid it can be a great location.

Was this your actual experience there or did you just fear that might be the case? Just wondering since there are a lot of "mays" in your post.

We moved out of the Falls Church/Belvedere school district for a better public school. Why? Belvedere's scores are skewed b/c it is an AAP center. If you have a middle-of-road-kid s/he may get lost, particularly in the early years, as there is a very high percentage of ESL kids. It's a Title I school - which means smaller class sizes - but the teacher resources may be stretched too thin to help a kid that needs a bit of extra attention but not so much as to stand out to qualify for services. If you have a bright, motivated kid, s/he will do great anywhere including at Belvedere. You get a lot for your money in the Falls Church/Barcroft area so if the school is the right fit for your kid it can be a great location.

Hi. We are current residents of Lake Barcroft, and have a son who is 9 years old. Nothing like it inside the beltway. Easy commutes to many areas, including DC. Neigborhood itself is beautiful with mature trees, decent size lots, and of course a lake. 5 beaches, with 4 fully lifeguarded all day from mid-may through labor day. Close community with several clubs if that is your sort of thing. That and the beaches makes it very easy to meet and interact with all the wonderful neighbors. The community has been experiencing a turnover for the past several years, with younger families with kids moving in. Just amazes me when I see the tons of kids in the community who march in the 4th of July parade, or participate in the Easter Egg hunt, Labor Day games, etc. The beaches are a great place for the kids to play and meet others in the neighborhood. Plus a great place just to hang out. We feel very safe, and do not have any concerns about the surrounding neighborhoods. I think it is a fantastic place to raise a kid with all the activities the lake can provide.

I must say we were a little concerned that our son would be attending Bailey's Elementary becasue of the high percentage of low income hispanic kids, where for many families English is a second language. But the more we found out about the school the more comfortable we became. Not only that, but we looked at many private schools in the area and decided Bailey's would likely provide at least as good of an education, and likely a better education than what we saw. Afterall, it is a magnant school that is impressively rich with programs and resources. We could not be happier with the school. We were torn when our son tested for the AP program, meaning he would have to switch schools to Belvedere which has a full time level 4 AP program. Bailey's does not presently, but does offer level 3 and below. Ultimately we decided it was best that he go to Belvedere, but we would have stayed in Bailey's without a doubt if they offered the AP. He is also doing very well at Belvedere and we are very happy with the school, even though they do not have the resources and programs that Bailey's has. But not many schools do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:stuart is one of the worse schools in FCPS. I would avoid it, high FARMS, ESL and gangs.

Once the real estate markets turn, they raise Culmore and build McMansions, this will no longer be an issue. However, there is an issue with Culore feeding into Stuart. However, while diverse, the schools is segregated. Lake Barcroft/Sleepy Hollow kids are not targeted by "gang" members. As I recall there was a thread about this a year ago on this forum.

I wouldn't count on Culmore being razed any time soon. Those garden apartment complexes have been around for a long time.

There are some schools in the area where a decent number of high-income families send their kids to schools that have high ESOL/FARMS rates. Stuart is one. West Potomac is another. In Maryland, Einstein's a pretty good example of this. There are a lot of ESOL and FARMS kids still at W-L, too, even as Arlington gets more expensive.

The "issue" for Stuart is whether, at some point, the percentage of low-income Hispanics/ESOL students gets so high that other families bail on the school en masse. That hasn't happened yet; whether it happens in the future is unclear. One thing that is clear is that no one will be able to replicate communities like Lake Barcroft, with a lake and a large number of contemporary houses from the 1950s and 1960s, any closer to DC.

Anonymous wrote:stuart is one of the worse schools in FCPS. I would avoid it, high FARMS, ESL and gangs.

Once the real estate markets turn, they raise Culmore and build McMansions, this will no longer be an issue. However, there is an issue with Culore feeding into Stuart. However, while diverse, the schools is segregated. Lake Barcroft/Sleepy Hollow kids are not targeted by "gang" members. As I recall there was a thread about this a year ago on this forum.

stuart is one of the worse schools in FCPS. I would avoid it, high FARMS, ESL and gangs.

I think if you're in the Lake Barcroft area, you'll be fine. 16:04 raises a good point, middle/upper class Hispanics and blacks here may have a different experience than high-flying whites/Asians.

Of course not all Asians are created equal, weren't the Vietnamese gangs going to take over in the 1980s?