There are lots of military families in the West Springfield/Burke area. Many of our neighbors are military and commute to the Pentagon. Great schools with active PTA's too!

Lots of military folk in Fairlington -- feeds to Abingdon Elementary. Abingdon parents (especially those who live in Fairlington) are very excited about the school and despite being overcrowded (and getting ready for a renovation) the kids/teachers seem very happy and tight-knit. They recently have been raising money for a young child at the school with a rare disease and the whole school and Fairlington community has been supportive. Likewise, they had a 3rd grader (and her mom) die in a horrific house fire this year and her sister who survived the fire (in 5th) was very well supported by the kids/teachers.

Anonymous wrote:What about schools in Burke?

Schools in Burke are good. You can get either the W. Springfield or LB or Robinson pyrmid.
I'd avoid the AAP center schools since you want happy. (White Oaks, Sangster)
They are good schools, but they have more pockets of "stress"

Anonymous wrote:Patrick Henry. Lots of military families. Less than 10 minute bus ride to the Pentagon.

Great school. Another school in S Arl I would look at is Campbell.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stay in North Arlington and check out tuckahoe, Ashlawn , science focus, jamestown or nottingham

http://www.schooldigger.com/go/VA/district/00270/search.aspx?level=1

ASFS is not a "happy" school. All of the kids and half of the parents are scared of the principal.

Very true. The teachers are, too!

What about schools in Burke?

Patrick Henry. Lots of military families. Less than 10 minute bus ride to the Pentagon.

Anonymous wrote:Tuckahoe is great!

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe Ashlawn or Tuckahoe would come the closest? Or Key School? The only schools that truly have what you're looking for are privates.

I think Key fits the bill. but since it's Spanish immersion with half the day taught in Spanish, a 2nd grader couldn't transfer in unless he/she was already partially bilingual.

Oh yes - good catch!

The Pentagon express bus from West Springfield/Burke is a 30 ride.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I appreciate the response about S. Fairfax. Our goal was to keep the commute to the Pentagon at 30 minutes or less. I was under the impression those areas exceed that. If I'm incorrect, please let me know. It would be great to broaden the search area. As someone guessed, yes we're military. It would be nice to be around military families, but our present neighborhood/school is very non-military. If we moved into a similar situation it wouldn't be a problem. I think we'd be in more of a culture shock if the area was full of military folks.

slugging (carpooling) to the Pentagon from Rolling Valley or Sangster park & ride is 30 minutes due to the hov lanes.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I appreciate the response about S. Fairfax. Our goal was to keep the commute to the Pentagon at 30 minutes or less. I was under the impression those areas exceed that. If I'm incorrect, please let me know. It would be great to broaden the search area. As someone guessed, yes we're military. It would be nice to be around military families, but our present neighborhood/school is very non-military. If we moved into a similar situation it wouldn't be a problem. I think we'd be in more of a culture shock if the area was full of military folks.

In addition to having a number of Pentagon employees, Ft. Myer is in the attendance zone for Long Branch so we have a lot of military families from there too. My (non-military) kids are very used to the idea of military families coming and going and friends dealing with parental deployments. It's a nice balance.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe Ashlawn or Tuckahoe would come the closest? Or Key School? The only schools that truly have what you're looking for are privates.

I think Key fits the bill. but since it's Spanish immersion with half the day taught in Spanish, a 2nd grader couldn't transfer in unless he/she was already partially bilingual.

OP here. I appreciate the response about S. Fairfax. Our goal was to keep the commute to the Pentagon at 30 minutes or less. I was under the impression those areas exceed that. If I'm incorrect, please let me know. It would be great to broaden the search area. As someone guessed, yes we're military. It would be nice to be around military families, but our present neighborhood/school is very non-military. If we moved into a similar situation it wouldn't be a problem. I think we'd be in more of a culture shock if the area was full of military folks.

You should look at Waynewood in the Alexandria section of fairfax County. Also schools in Burke or west springfield like Sangster, hunt valley, cherry run, etC.