Question regarding schools in Fairfax county for special education (Vienna: appointed, apartments)

[srivij]

Hello,
I am mother of 2 special needs children. We are planning to move to fairfax county by this fall. I checked the fcps website for school information.

Can anyone suggest me which city has the best schools in fairfax county? I want a city with schools which is more technology based and better place to live in.

Thanks for your help and support.

[michgc]

"Best" schools are always subject to debate on this board. There are schools within the county that are known for their gifted and talented program, their IB program, for their special education program, and for other things. So obviously you need the schools that are best for your children's needs. Depending on your children's special needs, it may be possible for them to attend a school within the county that is not their base school. I really don't know much about it, but there are definitely some schools that specialize in special needs programs. And there might be some that are need-specific - not sure about that, though.

Are your children in elementary school? Overall, I don't know which schools specialize in special needs children, but I do know here in Vienna, Marshall Road has a well-regarded program that even students from outside the boundaries can attended if they qualify. Vienna Elementary has services, too along with a special needs preschool that qualified children can attend. If you have time to kill, you can browse through all of the elementary schools and look under the "overview" to see if they list special education services. That would eliminate at least some schools. But even if some schools say they have it, it might not be as in-depth as in other schools.

I'm sure others who have special needs children might know which schools are best off the top of their head, but this is a way to start before they reply. Good luck!

[Denton56]

I believe the Marshall road center is for children with emotional problems. Madison high school also has an ED center. I think most schools have special ed services. Those children who can't be served at their local school are bused to the appropriate schools in the county.

[algia]

Do you know why Marshall is so poorly rated in greatschools.org?


I was looking for a similar elementary and found that Hayfield had what we were looking for, but I am still re-searching...

Originally Posted by Denton56

I believe the Marshall road center is for children with emotional problems. Madison high school also has an ED center. I think most schools have special ed services. Those children who can't be served at their local school are bused to the appropriate schools in the county.

[michgc]

Originally Posted by algia

Do you know why Marshall is so poorly rated in greatschools.org?


I was looking for a similar elementary and found that Hayfield had what we were looking for, but I am still re-searching...

Marshall Road receives a "7" on Greatschools.org so it's not poorly rated. Other schools in Vienna do get higher ratings (Louise Archer, Wolf Trap, and Flint Hill) - primarily because the north side of town tends to have the bigger houses and richer families, which in general leads to higher test scores. Also, Marshall Road draws children from Fairfax apartments such as Circle Towers on Route 29 - again more lower income families. I don't know any other Vienna school that draws students from outside Vienna.

Marshall Road also has a high number of special education children (20%) that draws from out-of-school boundaries. This might factor into lower test scores than schools that send their kids out of boundary. And until two years ago all gifted and talented children were sent to other schools - generally about 15 or so students per year. Now they have a local gifted program which keeps more of its best students at the school, which should lead to a rise in test scores. Lastly, on a personal note, there is a new principal at Marshall Road as of two years ago. The old principal was a bit domineering and I heard she lost some good teachers because of that.

I believe test scores are an important factor to consider when looking at a school but they must be taken with a grain of salt. You need to know more about a school. For example, a school which takes special needs kids into their boundaries versus a school that takes gifted kids into their boundaries are going to have different test scores even if all else is equal. Also, scores on greatschools change frequently. When I moved into Vienna about 10 years ago, Vienna Elementary did not have the greatest reputation. Now it gets a "9" on greatschools and its reputation is good. If we had paid attention to greatschools only, we would have been sorely disappointed because Vienna Elementary is a great school. Sometimes just a small change at the school makes a difference in test scores.

I wouldn't hesitate to send my child to any of the Vienna area elementary schools.

[Yankeesfan]

I suggest that you contact FCPS and describe your children's needs. (Do they have similar special needs or would they need different programs?) Get an idea of which schools would be suitable. FCPS has around 225 schools so different needs are addressed at different schools.

After you have an idea of which schools could assist with your children's needs (probably several in different parts of the county), then you could start looking at neighborhoods around those schools to see which would work best with your budget and commute.

What is your budget and to where will you (and/or your husband) be commuting?

[Dazed&Confused]

I hear great things about PACE but it's in Prince William.