Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


Bullying at Gunston. Principal very disliked...but she's moving on to Arlington Community HS next year. Way overcrowded. Band director popular.
Kenmore principal very well liked and respected. Arts program praised. Active and engaged Hispanic parents group.
Williamsburg principal not well liked by many parents, staff. But positive things about certain instruction (which may be happening elsewhere, too; we're out of MS so I don't know).
Swanson overcrowded, bullying. Better diversity than Williamsburg.
Hamm - under-enrolled, so lots of space and small classes; excellent principal.
TJ - fine. Meh principal, but not the negative comments like others. Excellent counseling staff, though the director of counseling left a year or two ago. World language earlier (v. language wheel) due to IB program (that can be a positive or negative depending on personal viewpoint). Hamm's principal was AP at TJ.



Agree with these assessments/opinions.

Interesting focus on principal popularity.

Principals are a rather important factor affecting the school experience via staff morale, instruction, atmosphere, sense of community, disciplinary actions and responsiveness to student/parent questions/needs.

In the case of Gunston, the principal is a champion of a grading policy that is ridiculous and setting kids up for problems later on. Plus she seems to be allowing gym classes to be a complete failure - entire class regularly sitting for entire gym class because a few kids misbehave.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


Bullying at Gunston. Principal very disliked...but she's moving on to Arlington Community HS next year. Way overcrowded. Band director popular.
Kenmore principal very well liked and respected. Arts program praised. Active and engaged Hispanic parents group.
Williamsburg principal not well liked by many parents, staff. But positive things about certain instruction (which may be happening elsewhere, too; we're out of MS so I don't know).
Swanson overcrowded, bullying. Better diversity than Williamsburg.
Hamm - under-enrolled, so lots of space and small classes; excellent principal.
TJ - fine. Meh principal, but not the negative comments like others. Excellent counseling staff, though the director of counseling left a year or two ago. World language earlier (v. language wheel) due to IB program (that can be a positive or negative depending on personal viewpoint). Hamm's principal was AP at TJ.



Agree with these assessments/opinions.

Interesting focus on principal popularity.

Principals are a rather important factor affecting the school experience via staff morale, instruction, atmosphere, sense of community, disciplinary actions and responsiveness to student/parent questions/needs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:


Bullying at Gunston. Principal very disliked...but she's moving on to Arlington Community HS next year. Way overcrowded. Band director popular.
Kenmore principal very well liked and respected. Arts program praised. Active and engaged Hispanic parents group.
Williamsburg principal not well liked by many parents, staff. But positive things about certain instruction (which may be happening elsewhere, too; we're out of MS so I don't know).
Swanson overcrowded, bullying. Better diversity than Williamsburg.
Hamm - under-enrolled, so lots of space and small classes; excellent principal.
TJ - fine. Meh principal, but not the negative comments like others. Excellent counseling staff, though the director of counseling left a year or two ago. World language earlier (v. language wheel) due to IB program (that can be a positive or negative depending on personal viewpoint). Hamm's principal was AP at TJ.



Agree with these assessments/opinions.

Interesting focus on principal popularity.

Particularly because some of the reasons they aren’t “popular“ are low key offensive. Eg Complaints about grammatical errors in emails, etc. If you ever took the time to talk to the principals or step foot in the school, you would realized what an amazing job they’re doing. This is such a difficult age to manage in middle school. Most of the people that are complaining about our principal have kids that have nightmare behavior issues, or never bothered to attend a PTA meeting/volunteer. They really don’t have a clue.

Anonymous wrote:


Bullying at Gunston. Principal very disliked...but she's moving on to Arlington Community HS next year. Way overcrowded. Band director popular.
Kenmore principal very well liked and respected. Arts program praised. Active and engaged Hispanic parents group.
Williamsburg principal not well liked by many parents, staff. But positive things about certain instruction (which may be happening elsewhere, too; we're out of MS so I don't know).
Swanson overcrowded, bullying. Better diversity than Williamsburg.
Hamm - under-enrolled, so lots of space and small classes; excellent principal.
TJ - fine. Meh principal, but not the negative comments like others. Excellent counseling staff, though the director of counseling left a year or two ago. World language earlier (v. language wheel) due to IB program (that can be a positive or negative depending on personal viewpoint). Hamm's principal was AP at TJ.



Agree with these assessments/opinions.

Interesting focus on principal popularity.

Anonymous wrote:The classes at the schools are basically the same with some small differences- like dance PE and Showtime electives at Kenmore, and more language options at Swanson (I think). Minor differences.

The difference in ratings is due to the higher FARMS percentage at Kenmore. This also equates to many more English learners, and these groups score lower on standardized tests.

If your kid is a high achiever they will be with the same cohort of kids at either school. If they are one who struggles or is in cotaught classes for an IEP, there will possibly be more behavior issues at Kenmore. But truly, but the house you prefer for your family! Or focus more on high school options, which are also good at all 3 APS neighborhood high schools.

No, more language options are at TJ, and from 6th (IB program).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson would be a safer bet home-value wise. And overall it’s held in higher esteem than Kenmore.

+1

I think Kenmore is considered the worst middle school in all of APS. If you see the kids walking n/S along carlin springs after school, the differences are striking.

Differences in what, pray tell?? Kenmore kids v. other middle schoolers; or kids walking south from Kenmore v. kids walking north from Kenmore?
I would argue Gunston is looked down upon more than Kenmore; but maybe that's because it's too far away from the white North for those people to see those kids walking n/s along Glebe.
I hear more positives about Kenmore than about Gunston; and more negatives about Gunston than about Kenmore. But then I hear different negative things about Swanson and Williamsburg. Maybe another poster is right - perhaps Hamm really is the best, because I've yet to hear anything negative about Hamm.

Can you tell us more about what you hear about each school?

Bullying at Gunston. Principal very disliked...but she's moving on to Arlington Community HS next year. Way overcrowded. Band director popular.
Kenmore principal very well liked and respected. Arts program praised. Active and engaged Hispanic parents group.
Williamsburg principal not well liked by many parents, staff. But positive things about certain instruction (which may be happening elsewhere, too; we're out of MS so I don't know).
Swanson overcrowded, bullying. Better diversity than Williamsburg.
Hamm - under-enrolled, so lots of space and small classes; excellent principal.
TJ - fine. Meh principal, but not the negative comments like others. Excellent counseling staff, though the director of counseling left a year or two ago. World language earlier (v. language wheel) due to IB program (that can be a positive or negative depending on personal viewpoint). Hamm's principal was AP at TJ.

Agree with these assessments/opinions.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kenmore is 49% Farms and Gunston is 36% farms.

Your point is....????

Kenmore students are poorer than Gunston students.

......And your point is....????

Gunston also has a rich school reputation due to the Arlington Ridge families, and before the latest ES and MS boundary changes, the Lyon Village Spanish immersion families that were also zoned there. Kenmore has a significant upper middle class but does not draw from high end neighborhoods like Arlington Ridge or Lyon Village. Both schools also have significant numbers of students on subsidized lunches. Calling one school “poorer” than another is not that helpful. There is always more nuance.

Hi poster - we LOVE Kenmore!! We have a 6th and 8th grader there and my kids also walk North. It's a great school and they're well-supported!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kenmore is 49% Farms and Gunston is 36% farms.

Your point is....????

Kenmore students are poorer than Gunston students.

Anonymous wrote:Kenmore is 49% Farms and Gunston is 36% farms.

Your point is....????

The classes at the schools are basically the same with some small differences- like dance PE and Showtime electives at Kenmore, and more language options at Swanson (I think). Minor differences.

The difference in ratings is due to the higher FARMS percentage at Kenmore. This also equates to many more English learners, and these groups score lower on standardized tests.

If your kid is a high achiever they will be with the same cohort of kids at either school. If they are one who struggles or is in cotaught classes for an IEP, there will possibly be more behavior issues at Kenmore. But truly, but the house you prefer for your family! Or focus more on high school options, which are also good at all 3 APS neighborhood high schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson would be a safer bet home-value wise. And overall it’s held in higher esteem than Kenmore.

+1

I think Kenmore is considered the worst middle school in all of APS. If you see the kids walking n/S along carlin springs after school, the differences are striking.

No, that would be Gunston

What's wrong with Gunston?

There are black and brown kids there. According to DCUM, that’s the kiss of death.

The post at the top of this page is excellent.

There are so many dogwhistles in this thread and on this site when you talk about certain APS schools.

Yes, there are many folks who post here who are terrified of sending their kids to school with black and brown (and poor) children because they are convinced they will suck up resources for their DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Swanson would be a safer bet home-value wise. And overall it’s held in higher esteem than Kenmore.

+1

I think Kenmore is considered the worst middle school in all of APS. If you see the kids walking n/S along carlin springs after school, the differences are striking.

No, that would be Gunston

What's wrong with Gunston?

There are black and brown kids there. According to DCUM, that’s the kiss of death.

I have an 8th grader at Kenmore. We’ve had a good experience and are very happy with it. But my kid is one the “different” ones walking south on Carlin Springs after school.

I suppose the “look at the differences” PP has seen my son walking home with his friends, having fun like any other kid, and come to their own racist conclusions. My son is gifted-ID’d in all subjects, gets straight A’s, and is a leader in his extracurricular activities. But he’s Black, so PP doesn’t want her kids to go to school with him and his buddies. That’s her loss.

My son’s teachers have been providing him with an appropriate level of challenge (except the pandemic year, which was an anomaly everywhere). His IEP case manager is excellent. The school has been very supportive of his needs relating to his disability. He’s also really enjoyed the arts focus, like Dance PE and the after-school drama program.

Are there fights, vaping, etc? Yes of course, but it’s easy for kids to avoid it. Only a handful of the students engage in that kind of behavior. I’d only be worried if your child is a follower. If they are, then you need to be worried at ANY school you choose (public or private), because rich kids engage in destructive/dangerous behavior too. The difference is that their drugs are more expensive.

*source: I’ve attended and taught at a variety of schools, rich and poor.