APS schools are more walkable. FCPS are more professionally run and offer the benefits of a large school system. APS doesn’t have schools comparable to Langley or McLean. If this APS parent had to d it again, I’d love to McLean.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Meridian would be a good fit. Though it is true that it is small, we get a lot of students here from state department families fir one or two year blocks, especially as an IB school. Your teen wouldn’t be out of place.

Meridian doesn't have AP classes? Does that mean every student is eligible to do the IB diploma, or are there certain prerequisites?

Any student can pursue the IB diploma (some pre-Rees, you may need to take an extra math class over the summer).
But almost all students take IB classes without pursuing the diploma.

They also offer a CP (career path) diploma.

But yeah, almost every student takes IB English, math, etc because that is all there is.

My slightly introverted DS is a freshman and did an IB transfer from Yorktown to WL so didn't have many friends to start with but he's happy there. He doesn't seem overwhelmed by the size or crowds and is finding his circle.

Anonymous wrote:Lots of kids walk to Meridian from all points in the city, including mine from about 20 minutes away. The police provide crossing and traffic control for the middle and high school every morning.

That’s good to know! Even though Meridian is still a bit removed from the city’s residential neighborhoods. But as the town center develops around the school, it will become an attractive neighborhood. The original 50s-era school was built on then rural land in Fairfax County just outside the city limits for expediency. Schools in APS reflect the pattern of school development in an older, denser urban / suburban core like DC.

Lots of kids walk to Meridian from all points in the city, including mine from about 20 minutes away. The police provide crossing and traffic control for the middle and high school every morning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s nice about APS, is that most all the schools, including all three high schools, are walkable from the surrounding neighborhoods with decent pedestrian (and bike) infrastructure. While not the most important deciding factor, this does set APS apart from surrounding districts. Meridian HS, Langley HS, Alexandria City HS, Marshall HS, and the list goes on, are not comfortably walkable.

And there are other schools in FCPS that are walkable from the surrounding neighborhoods, including Falls Church HS, McLean HS and Madison HS. I think you just picked some schools off Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) or another commuter route like Route 193 (Georgetown Pike) with heavy traffic.

Between FCCPS and APS, Arlington’s schools are walkable at all levels. Where most in-bounds students walk to W-L for example, Meridian HS is removed from the walkable parts of Falls Church City where families live. Walkability is a quality of life issue for some, but not all families. FCPS does (or did back in the day) tend to locate most schools off of busy roads, but you’re right that there are some exceptions like in the Town of Vienna, and a few others.