Anonymous wrote:I don’t think OP is coming back, but if you do OP and the school is Potowmack I would absolutely try it, at least for a year or two. The community of families that live around the school - the Esterbrook area and the homes off of Cutwater and Hampshire Station - are very involved. If your child likes to swim I’d also recommend joining the summer swim team and she will meet lots of school friends there as well and it’s a great program.

NP- those are districted to Horizon

I actually wanted to know about Potowmack too. It seems gerrymandered that all the townhouses and apartments go to that school. Whereas algonkian, horizon and Lowes Island elementary have no apartments. The boundaries are even cut strange. Why are its score tanking year after year?

I don’t think OP is coming back, but if you do OP and the school is Potowmack I would absolutely try it, at least for a year or two. The community of families that live around the school - the Esterbrook area and the homes off of Cutwater and Hampshire Station - are very involved. If your child likes to swim I’d also recommend joining the summer swim team and she will meet lots of school friends there as well and it’s a great program.

Anonymous wrote:I'm not really sure what rating OP is using. It can't be any of the south Sterling schools because they do not go to a good MS/HS and OP says she does. And anyway even those schools are a 4 on Great Schools.

Cool Spring in Leesburg is a 3. Sugarland is a 3. Potowmack is a 3. (The school "right behind" Potowmack could be Horizon. Its extremely close and off the same road.)

So the more I think about it maybe it is Potowmack. I wish OP would just come tell us.

FWIW OP I know a ton of families at Potowmack and all are happy with the school. I'm in Lowes Island.

There is a lot more to a good school than scores and school digger. Do you have a good school community? Good leadership? Happy teachers? All of that is way WAY more important and influential than other kids scores or school digger ratings. If it’s Potowmack, it serves a population of lower income students who may also be EL. That doesn’t necessarily mean OP’s kid can’t get a good education and be happy there. If it feeds into good MS/HS, it will really probably be fine. In any case, theydiffferentiate a lot, especially in k, so it’s really not worth freaking out over before your child even goes!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schooldigger also shows changes over many years - it may help OL divine why their school has slipped in recent years and identify schools that are in more stable footing.

Op here. Yikes school digger looks bad but says 36% farms. I don’t care about poverty, but about academics. It seems the real problem is the language barrier. I see that the score has slipped and I just have no idea why. I feel like there must have been something the county did that made the numbers change so much.

My neighbor said she was happy with it, but she has a middle schooler now. The vast majority of my neighbors have 1-5 year olds who would be heading off soon. We love our house and neighbors so much, but many of them are thinking of moving away too.

What is the school choice program?

It’s Potowmack - 36.3% Farms on school digger.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would guess Potomack.

The only thing is there’s no school “right behind” Potowmack. Cedar Lane is a good guess as it does heavily serve section 8 housing but feeds to a good MS and HS. But it’s FAR from title I or being near it as OP seems to think her school is.

Horizon is like 3 blocks down the steel from horizon. And horizon does have excellent scores whereas potowmack is abysmal. Same neighborhoods

I still think Potowmack is a good school and I know many happy families there. They just have the apartments across Cascades from them and also the ones down by Target and Horizon doesn't have any apartments.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would guess Potomack.

The only thing is there’s no school “right behind” Potowmack. Cedar Lane is a good guess as it does heavily serve section 8 housing but feeds to a good MS and HS. But it’s FAR from title I or being near it as OP seems to think her school is.

Horizon is like 3 blocks down the steel from horizon. And horizon does have excellent scores whereas potowmack is abysmal. Same neighborhoods

I'm not really sure what rating OP is using. It can't be any of the south Sterling schools because they do not go to a good MS/HS and OP says she does. And anyway even those schools are a 4 on Great Schools.

Cool Spring in Leesburg is a 3. Sugarland is a 3. Potowmack is a 3. (The school "right behind" Potowmack could be Horizon. Its extremely close and off the same road.)

So the more I think about it maybe it is Potowmack. I wish OP would just come tell us.

FWIW OP I know a ton of families at Potowmack and all are happy with the school. I'm in Lowes Island.

Hmm, you're right. Horizon is very close but yeah, I guess it's not "right behind" Potomack. Good luck to the OP!

Anonymous wrote:I would guess Potomack.

The only thing is there’s no school “right behind” Potowmack. Cedar Lane is a good guess as it does heavily serve section 8 housing but feeds to a good MS and HS. But it’s FAR from title I or being near it as OP seems to think her school is.

I would guess Potomack.

Or Cedar Lane.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think LIES, Seneca Ridge and Dominion have space though. Check with LCPS admin.

I’m starting to think op is zoned for rolling ridge. If she can swing transport LI might be more what she wants but she needs to move by middle school then.

Nah, because rolling ridge was not good 5 years ago or whenever OP moved in. Also she said her MS and HS are “excellent” and closed to special permission. That does not describe Sterling Park and Park View.

I’m wondering if it’s Stewart Weller. Wherever she is, she has “excellent” and full MS and HS.

Anonymous wrote:I think LIES, Seneca Ridge and Dominion have space though. Check with LCPS admin.

I’m starting to think op is zoned for rolling ridge. If she can swing transport LI might be more what she wants but she needs to move by middle school then.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]A mom friend told me they test incoming kindergartners. Not sure if that’s true in loudoun [/quote]

It’s not [/quote]

They absolutely screen incoming kindergarteners. They don’t turn anyone away of course, but they want to know what they are dealing with coming in and start the ball rolling on getting services if needed. It’s amazing how many kids show up to K and their parents seem shocked that they have special needs.[/quote]

That’s not testing! [/quote]


They are absolutely tested. But as a public school they are not able to turn people away.