I am glad not the only wondering what FARMS is. We are moving back to NoVa and have a 2 and 4 yo so this conversation is a little off for me but we are hoping to buy a house to get us to atleast middle school so I will be looking at that too.

I am sure I will get some comments on this and Yes, I want to give my kids the best education and possiblity available to them. But you just said... the neighborhood, kids, community they currently have is what is keeping them. THAT IS GREAT! Stay and enjoy that, in the long run that is probably a better motivator for your kids than up rooting them to a new place and school.

Sounds fine to me.

Op - I understand your concerns. We all want what is best for our kids. But some diversity should be good for your kid. Also, close to 1/3 of all kids born in the US are now born below what we consider the poverty line . . . So this school is doing okay, as far as FARM rate goes.
In Loudoun, kids can choose what level of classes they take in middle school and high school. So, if you are worried about academics, your children will be surrounded by kids who want to learn in the majority of their classes, if they choose to take classes designed for kids who are on a college track.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what is FARMS?

Free and Reduced-price Meals. It is the % of students in a school that qualify for this through the county. Like it or not, it is closely correlated with a schools overall performance on standardized tests.

OP is talking about a school with over 90% pass rate. I'm just not seeing the problem with this school.

Anonymous wrote:what is FARMS?

It's...it's...the POORS!

~faints~

Anonymous wrote:what is FARMS?

Free and Reduced-price Meals. It is the % of students in a school that qualify for this through the county. Like it or not, it is closely correlated with a schools overall performance on standardized tests.

Anonymous wrote:what is FARMS?

where they grow COWS and CHICKENS

what is FARMS?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm very curious what school you're talking about. Most MS in FCPS are less than 50% Caucasian, and of those that are 50% or higher, I can't think of one with such a contrast of FARMS families.

I am guessing it is Franklin MS:

http://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:13:595835070579960:::0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID:331

OP here. It is actually the very eastern edge of Loudoun: Seneca Ridge MS. The HS is Dominion, and the ethnicity, low income and SOL rates are very similar there. I wasn't being evasive, just figured no one had heard of them.

We are in the small part of Loudoun that is actually diverse. I have several friends who think I'm nuts for not moving to Ashburn for the schools. (<5% Farms, SOLs all in the mid-upper 90's with almost 100% on time graduation.) BUT, we love our short commutes and really enjoy our friends and our neighborhood. We are in the nerve wracking process of preparing to offer on a house and I'm just trying to think things through. I'm sorry if I sound elitist. Really, I just want the best for my kids - who on this board doesn't?

Anonymous wrote:I'm very curious what school you're talking about. Most MS in FCPS are less than 50% Caucasian, and of those that are 50% or higher, I can't think of one with such a contrast of FARMS families.

I am guessing it is Franklin MS:

http://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:13:595835070579960:::0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID:331

I'm very curious what school you're talking about. Most MS in FCPS are less than 50% Caucasian, and of those that are 50% or higher, I can't think of one with such a contrast of FARMS families.

What are the ES and HS like? Honestly, NoVA is so incredibly diverse in every sense of the word, that 2 years; 7 and 8 grade, are not going to make or break the sale of a house that I like. HS is by far the most important, IMO. If the HS has low numbers then I would maybe think again about the house. Also, I live in Fairfax County and have never heard of FARMS, is this the free and reduced meal program? I wouldn't worry too much about that. As long as you are an on top of it parent and actively involved, your child will succeed regardless of the demographic of the school.

I feel bad for the kids who get free meals. Imagine how poor they must be. Very sad. I am so thankful that I am able to put food on my kids table. I am thankful that the county feeds these kids as they may otherwise go hungry. And yes, before anyone replies, I realize that it is a parents responsibility to feed their offspring, but sometimes...just read the metro section and understand that some lives are truly hard and unimaginable to most of us.

OP, your DH is right and you are are starting to sound like an elitist snob.
23.7% is not high. Those pass rates are good. Will some kids in HS drop out? Yes.
Will kids lucky enough to have the stability and focus on college prep that you no doubt provide do just fine? Yep.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the pass rates were the same as noted but the ethnic make up was 90% white would you still be asking?

OP here. My concern is the FARMS. There is a large low income neighborhood that feeds into this MS/HS, along with 2 high end neighborhoods and several in between. Among the Hispanic group in HS, a full 30% drop out and never graduate. THAT concerns me. It has to affect the dynamic of thhe school. The problem is, we really like one of the mid-level neighborhoods and the neighborhood elementary is excellent.

I am just hung up on the MS/HS, but my DH thinks they are fine and we want to stay put through HS in whatever house we buy next.

They likely drop out when they are 18 to work in order to support their families, most of whom are extremely poor. The dropout rate does not usually correlate with the quality of teaching or apathy among the students (not in this area at least).

Anonymous wrote:If the pass rates were the same as noted but the ethnic make up was 90% white would you still be asking?

OP here. My concern is the FARMS. There is a large low income neighborhood that feeds into this MS/HS, along with 2 high end neighborhoods and several in between. Among the Hispanic group in HS, a full 30% drop out and never graduate. THAT concerns me. It has to affect the dynamic of thhe school. The problem is, we really like one of the mid-level neighborhoods and the neighborhood elementary is excellent.

I am just hung up on the MS/HS, but my DH thinks they are fine and we want to stay put through HS in whatever house we buy next.