PP: and the reason why most people in Vienna prefer Thoreau over LJ is location. Not racial issues. We would rather our kids go to a school in Vienna. Why? because we live in Vienna.


I have no doubt that LJ is a good school. I also have no doubt that it will take my DD 25 min or more each way to get to LJ.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS goes to LJ and he feels safe at the school. No gang and no violence. Stop spreading bad rumors. LJ has done very well in the academic area. 15 kids were accepted to TJ. The Science Olympiad team won 2nd place at States this year behind Longfellow and ahead of Kilmer, Lake Braddock, etc... The Odyssey of the Mind team won state in Division II and going to National. The music department earned the state’s prestigious Blue Ribbon Award for the 4th year in a row. There were other numerous other honors that the school achieved. Go to Luther Jackson website to check out what is going on at the school. http://www.fcps.edu/LutherJacksonMS/newsYouCanUse.html The teachers are excellent and caring. Come to Luther Jackson and don't listen to people bad mouthing it.

+1 Don't understand why those w/o kids in the school insist on "bearing false witness" - a sin you know. Maybe b/c they have to justify paying more for the same house they could get for $400K o less in the "bad" part of Falls Church?

I suspect most people bad-mouthing LJ are people in Vienna who want an AAP center at Thoreau and don't want to send their kids to LJ.

Anonymous wrote:My DS goes to LJ and he feels safe at the school. No gang and no violence. Stop spreading bad rumors. LJ has done very well in the academic area. 15 kids were accepted to TJ. The Science Olympiad team won 2nd place at States this year behind Longfellow and ahead of Kilmer, Lake Braddock, etc... The Odyssey of the Mind team won state in Division II and going to National. The music department earned the state’s prestigious Blue Ribbon Award for the 4th year in a row. There were other numerous other honors that the school achieved. Go to Luther Jackson website to check out what is going on at the school. http://www.fcps.edu/LutherJacksonMS/newsYouCanUse.html The teachers are excellent and caring. Come to Luther Jackson and don't listen to people bad mouthing it.

+1 Don't understand why those w/o kids in the school insist on "bearing false witness" - a sin you know. Maybe b/c they have to justify paying more for the same house they could get for $400K o less in the "bad" part of Falls Church?

My DS goes to LJ and he feels safe at the school. No gang and no violence. Stop spreading bad rumors. LJ has done very well in the academic area. 15 kids were accepted to TJ. The Science Olympiad team won 2nd place at States this year behind Longfellow and ahead of Kilmer, Lake Braddock, etc... The Odyssey of the Mind team won state in Division II and going to National. The music department earned the state’s prestigious Blue Ribbon Award for the 4th year in a row. There were other numerous other honors that the school achieved. Go to Luther Jackson website to check out what is going on at the school. http://www.fcps.edu/LutherJacksonMS/newsYouCanUse.html The teachers are excellent and caring. Come to Luther Jackson and don't listen to people bad mouthing it.

So, where does the rumor come from that there are gangs at LJ? My DD is an 8th grader there and she laughed hysterically when Imaskedvher about it,

Anonymous wrote: So what? You can spin this any way you want. Thoreau is across the street from a strip mall and 7-11 where day laborers hang out. LJ is near Fairfax Hospital, in case there's an emergency. And, of course, no other middle school is so close to the world-renowned Mosaic District. You can get some gelato, or a sub at Taylor Gourmet, and relax.

You're hilarious! I hope I know you in real life.

Anonymous wrote:The beautiful Mosaic is a plus, but it's not the nicest walk from Luther Jackson. It is unfortunate how the area around the school is dominated by the 50 overpass. And the traffic is ridiculously bad.

1. If bad traffic is such a problem for you, you live in the wrong metropolitan area.

2. Students at Luther Jackson, or any middle school, are not going for walks in the middle of the school day, to the Mosaic District or anywhere else.

3. If you have another school you can choose and that you and your child prefer, so that you don't feel dominated by an overpass, that's fine. But don't be one of those people who makes up a spurious crime problem to justify your decision. Claims like that unjustly malign a great school full of hardworking and high-achieving students and staff who deserve credit for their accomplishments.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of coarse they look like prisons. People want the most value. Guess what? Style costs money.

My complaint about luther jackson is the location....50 and gallows is a horrible place for a school. And for us, when driving to Luther Jackson, we go right by Thoreau.

So what? You can spin this any way you want. Thoreau is across the street from a strip mall and 7-11 where day laborers hang out. LJ is near Fairfax Hospital, in case there's an emergency. And, of course, no other middle school is so close to the world-renowned Mosaic District. You can get some gelato, or a sub at Taylor Gourmet, and relax.

The beautiful Mosaic is a plus, but it's not the nicest walk from Luther Jackson. It is unfortunate how the area around the school is dominated by the 50 overpass. And the traffic is ridiculously bad.

Anonymous wrote:Of coarse they look like prisons. People want the most value. Guess what? Style costs money.

My complaint about luther jackson is the location....50 and gallows is a horrible place for a school. And for us, when driving to Luther Jackson, we go right by Thoreau.

So what? You can spin this any way you want. Thoreau is across the street from a strip mall and 7-11 where day laborers hang out. LJ is near Fairfax Hospital, in case there's an emergency. And, of course, no other middle school is so close to the world-renowned Mosaic District. You can get some gelato, or a sub at Taylor Gourmet, and relax.

I figure it is b/c there are higher numbers of FARMS and ESOL students at LJ and some folks are afraid that their little snowflake will be harmed by going to school with a darker skinned element.

Anonymous wrote:Son just got into AAP full time at Jackson. Is it safe?
What classes should he take to avoid riff-raff? How were your expierences at AAP Jackson?

You can't be serious....would it help you to know that there are regular fights at both Thoreau and Kilmer, two middle schools which are also very security conscious? All the kids I knew who went there for GT loved it. Don't judge a book by it's cover -- and perhaps your child would benefit from classes with others different from himself. Less likely to grow into the type of person who would refer to others as riff-raff.

Anonymous wrote:I lived in a townhouse zoned for Luther Jackson. A couple of the neighbors mentioned they were concerned about the gang violence at the shool.

If you go to fcps.edu website, click a school's profile, there is a folder called "safe and secure" which gives you the "school safety report card." I found that information helpful when i was trying to decide on schools. personally, a school I felt was safe to me would be more important than an AAP program.

My DD is at LJ. We have had nothing but good experience with the school, as have our neighbors with kids there, and the Gil's in DD's Girl Scout troop. Where do these rumors come from? And why are they perpetuated?

Of coarse they look like prisons. People want the most value. Guess what? Style costs money.

My complaint about luther jackson is the location....50 and gallows is a horrible place for a school. And for us, when driving to Luther Jackson, we go right by Thoreau.

Anonymous wrote:LJ looks alike a prison to me. Inmates locked in for their own saftey. Or something.

Yes, I have been to the school and several others. That one, just not what I wanted in a MS.

Anonymous wrote:LJ looks alike a prison to me. Inmates locked in for their own saftey. Or something.

Have you ever set foot inside the school? Or a prison, for that matter?