Anonymous wrote:Me too, desperately seeking a good middle school for my special needs child in Arlington County. Please help me. Which schools have the best programs for autistic kids? I request all, please share your thoughts and experiences. Among Kenmore, Williamsburg and Dorothy Hamm, which one has best programs for autistic kids? Thank you in advance.

Not WMS!!!

Perhaps Kenmore

Maybe Hamm

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Me too, desperately seeking a good middle school for my special needs child in Arlington County. Please help me. Which schools have the best programs for autistic kids? I request all, please share your thoughts and experiences. Among Kenmore, Williamsburg and Dorothy Hamm, which one has best programs for autistic kids? Thank you in advance.

Jefferson for autistic.

No

I think that you will be disappointed coming to APS from abroad. If strong academics are your focus, I would suggest looking at Fairfax or Montgomery Counties, but your commute will be longer.

Anonymous wrote:Me too, desperately seeking a good middle school for my special needs child in Arlington County. Please help me. Which schools have the best programs for autistic kids? I request all, please share your thoughts and experiences. Among Kenmore, Williamsburg and Dorothy Hamm, which one has best programs for autistic kids? Thank you in advance.

Jefferson for autistic.

^^ Post in the Special Needs forum if you haven't done so already.

My son is at Swanson which is crowded and noisy so I don't recommend it if your child has sensory issues. But I have been impressed with the teachers.

Me too, desperately seeking a good middle school for my special needs child in Arlington County. Please help me. Which schools have the best programs for autistic kids? I request all, please share your thoughts and experiences. Among Kenmore, Williamsburg and Dorothy Hamm, which one has best programs for autistic kids? Thank you in advance.

A Kenmore mob jumped a kid on the basketball team from Hamm. WTF.

https://www.arlnow.com/2023/01/25/police-investigating-after-student-attacked-by-group-outside-of-kenmore-middle-school/

Anonymous wrote:We had our kids at Swanson and Hamm and know a ton of kids that did WMS and TJ.

Hands-down Hamm.

+1

The principal and (most) teachers at Hamm are awesome! Middle school is full of challenges, but they do their best to help kids grow and feel supported.

Gunston has had some problems this year. Huge fights between female students and the student suicide. The principal let the bullies of the child come to the memorial service even though they didn’t go to the school!

We had our kids at Swanson and Hamm and know a ton of kids that did WMS and TJ.

Hands-down Hamm.

Hi, OP. We raised our children in Arlington public schools and one of them is now a teacher there. I would not worry about which Arlington school your child goes to -- they ALL offer an excellent education and with involved parents like you you will have nothing to worry about.

Pay no attention to "reviews" or "ratings." What matters is the quality of the school system as a whole and the qualification and experience of the teachers. Arlington is committed to education and some of the schools with the lowest "ratings" or "rankings" have those scores only because the schools have fewer rich kids than other schools in the county and these school actually end up getting more attention and help from the system than the richer schools.

While you may believe this is a helpful website, and in many ways it can be, it also attracts too many rich and white people who are afraid to send their kids to schools with kids who have different backgrounds than them.

You absolutely DID pick the right school system. Your child will be taken good care of. Focus on the neighborhood in Arlington that you can best afford and do not worry about which school it happens to be located in.

Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:Hi,

Thanks.We are from Mauritius.

Welcome!

https://afctigers.swimtopia.com/winter-swim-programs
Swim clubs in Arlington.

https://www.mynvsl.com/teams
Swim clubs in Northern Virginia, including summer only pools

If you want to be in a walkable area and are interested in swimming, you may want to be close to Yorktown/Washington Liberty/Wakefield highs schools because that is where the public pools and clubs are primarily. Maybe Long Branch Aquatic center too. If your child is a good swimmer, the middle school programs aren't enough - most good swimmers train at clubs. There are also summer swim leagues through local pools like Overlee and Donaldson Run and Dominion Hills.

I am an international person living in Arlington. I agree with others that people who want to moan write reviews. If I believed them, our local middle school would have been a cesspit of drugs, sex and bullying, when in fact it was a nice place with great teachers. The benefit of the public schools over private is that a kid can find like minded friends because there are more kids.

You might ask about HB Woodlawn too, but you might have to wait for the high school lottery for that.

Will your child require any ESOL help?

fran83 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

fran83 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

fran83 wrote:Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post. We are looking for good academic records, conducive environment for learning, diversity, good discipline, extracurricular activities(swimming would be a plus), 'friendly' educators/teachers. We have been looking at ratings on several platforms and some reviews are concerning. We are worried about bullying since she will be joining in March. So a school with welcoming students will be great. Now, someone mentioned IB, this would be a plus since she has been studying in a british style framework.

If leaning towards IB, I’d go for a home in the boundaries for Hamm/Washington-Liberty.

Hamm has a nice environment for kids - less toxic than Swanson. No significant bullying.

Thank you. We are reassured. Do you have any suggestion for such a region please. Ideally near the metro for commuting to DC?Thank you

Are you looking for apartment, townhouse, or house?

Maps at bottom of this page:
https://www.apsva.us/boundary-locator/

Closer to Clarendon, VA Square, Courthouse, and Ballston metro stops would be ideal. Check specific location though because boundaries are close.

Where is work location approx located?

^ asking for location because some of the bus routes might be better than metro.

Location of work is Pennsylvania Avenue. And our preference is Dorothy Hamm i think. But will a closer look at Thomas Jefferson

IMF/World Bank?