Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yorktown high school ranked #585 in US News. I grew up in an area that wasn’t as high cost but my high school was ranked under 200. It’s depressing to pay this much for substandard schools.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/districts/arlington-county-public-schools/yorktown-high-school-20365

US News says they rate over 24,000 high schools. So being #585 puts it in the top 2.5% of all high schools in the country. I can live with that. And, I would guess that there's not really any substantive difference between most schools within hundreds of each other in the rankings. As a PP said the top schools are generally gifted magnet schools. Below that are the mostly indistinguishable affluent neighborhood high schools.

Your standards are pretty low. Arlington is approximately the 5th richest county in the country (and remember that includes south arlington which pulls the average down). Having your best high school ranked 585 for such an affluent area definitely makes arlington an outlier in a bad way.

I think that APS elementary schools for the most part are > FCPS and MCPS because the class size is slightly smaller. It all falls apart in middle school and high school.

As for LP, it’s convenient for commuting and to shopping and the lots are slightly bigger and it’s cheaper than LV. You’re focusing on “why would you want to spend 2.5 M here” rather then what would the same thing cost somewhere else.

Anonymous wrote:Yorktown high school ranked #585 in US News. I grew up in an area that wasn’t as high cost but my high school was ranked under 200. It’s depressing to pay this much for substandard schools.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/districts/arlington-county-public-schools/yorktown-high-school-20365

US News says they rate over 24,000 high schools. So being #585 puts it in the top 2.5% of all high schools in the country. I can live with that. And, I would guess that there's not really any substantive difference between most schools within hundreds of each other in the rankings. As a PP said the top schools are generally gifted magnet schools. Below that are the mostly indistinguishable affluent neighborhood high schools.

Anonymous wrote:Yorktown high school ranked #585 in US News. I grew up in an area that wasn’t as high cost but my high school was ranked under 200. It’s depressing to pay this much for substandard schools.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/districts/arlington-county-public-schools/yorktown-high-school-20365

What specifically is “substandard”?

I wouldn't pay to live in Fairfax and deal with the AAP nonsense. Go to that forum and you'll come running back to APS (or any other school system for that matter).

Anonymous wrote:Yorktown high school ranked #585 in US News. I grew up in an area that wasn’t as high cost but my high school was ranked under 200. It’s depressing to pay this much for substandard schools.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/districts/arlington-county-public-schools/yorktown-high-school-20365

The US News rankings started to look different once they began to include small charter schools across the country. So now many of the top-ranked schools nationally are charters in states like Florida and Arizona with a few hundred kids. What that doesn't tell you is how the other schools in a state with a bunch of small charters may perform.

It's a bit easier to draw conclusions when you look at the rankings in individual states. One could justifiably be a bit miffed that Arlington is an expensive as it is and that Yorktown, in particular, punches below its weight compared to schools in FCPS with similar demographics (W-L, the assigned school for Lyon Park, actually does at least as well as one might expect given its more diverse demographics). But most people know APS doesn't put as much emphasis on advanced academics as FCPS, and that there aren't many Asian kids in APS to boost the US News and other ratings as in FCPS and LCPS.

Anonymous wrote:Yorktown high school ranked #585 in US News. I grew up in an area that wasn’t as high cost but my high school was ranked under 200. It’s depressing to pay this much for substandard schools.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/districts/arlington-county-public-schools/yorktown-high-school-20365

Yorktown isn't the zone school for Lyon Park. This has quickly devolved into a debate about Arlington schools in general even though there are other reasons people pick a neighborhood (not everyone even has kids in public schools)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Arlington and am very happy with the schools so far. They are not as competitive as FCPS, I think (based on what I hear), so if that’s what you’re looking for, then Arlington isn’t the right fit. But I was looking for less competition. My elementary-schooler has learned a TON in a lower-pressure environment.

I don't totally agree... the AAP schools in FFX are obviously super competitive but WL and YHS are pretty competitive. Majority of kids have straight As, play sports, win national contests, etc.

While I agree that WL and Yorktown have competitive environments, no, the majority of students do not get straight As. They post the All-As and A-B honor roll at WL and the All-A list is not that big. Yes, about a third of the class will have 4.0+ GPAs but that includes lots of AP/IB classes that get the 5.0 weighting. My DD works very hard to get a mix of As and Bs, taking several AP/IBs and just managed to keep a 4.0 weighted at the end of junior year. DS was mostly Bs in 9th grade but worked up to mostly As by the end of the year. I don't think they are unusual in their friend groups. Yes, there is the high achieving tier, esp in the IB diploma program, but that is not the majority of the school.

All-in-all they've had a good experience at W-L, good teachers and nice kids. One was involved in band and the other did some theater and other clubs. We've had a great counselor, although I know that's hit-and-miss. Senior DD said her friends had started going to DD's counselor with questions because their own counselors were not helpful. DS was very well prepared for Virginia Tech where he has a 4.0 in a STEM major. DD is happy with her college options right now. Neither of them was aiming for elite schools but there are always a handful of students who are aiming for those who are successful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People move to north Arlington in spite of the schools not because of them. In areas like Bethesda and Chevy chase, it’s the opposite.

What’s wrong with the schools?

Nothing. People believe that bogus great rankings site a bit too much.

Yorktown high school ranked #585 in US News. I grew up in an area that wasn’t as high cost but my high school was ranked under 200. It’s depressing to pay this much for substandard schools.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/districts/arlington-county-public-schools/yorktown-high-school-20365

Its definitely top 5 'hoods in close-in DC. And it comes with the haters who cant live there.

Anonymous wrote:I live in Arlington and am very happy with the schools so far. They are not as competitive as FCPS, I think (based on what I hear), so if that’s what you’re looking for, then Arlington isn’t the right fit. But I was looking for less competition. My elementary-schooler has learned a TON in a lower-pressure environment.

I don't totally agree... the AAP schools in FFX are obviously super competitive but WL and YHS are pretty competitive. Majority of kids have straight As, play sports, win national contests, etc.

I live in Arlington and am very happy with the schools so far. They are not as competitive as FCPS, I think (based on what I hear), so if that’s what you’re looking for, then Arlington isn’t the right fit. But I was looking for less competition. My elementary-schooler has learned a TON in a lower-pressure environment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People move to north Arlington in spite of the schools not because of them. In areas like Bethesda and Chevy chase, it’s the opposite.

What’s wrong with the schools?

Nothing - just a bunch of haters. High income highly educated families tend to have pretty good schools because they demand it. We don't need to send our kids to private the way they do in Bethesda and DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People move to north Arlington in spite of the schools not because of them. In areas like Bethesda and Chevy chase, it’s the opposite.

What’s wrong with the schools?

Despite the good test scores and impressive college placements, those that live outside NA will tell you the schools aren't great...