Best NURTURING Schools within range of a commute to Fairfax?

[Yankeesfan]

I'm honestly not trying to brush off your concerns, because you are obviously a concerned and conscientious parent. But you may be over-thinking this to the point where it causes you needless anxiety. Find a house and neighborhood you like and can afford with a reasonable commute and, as long as it's in one of the well-rated school pyramids, your children will be fine. Probably even much better than fine. If you like the idea of Oakton and can afford it, go for it and count your blessings. If you can't afford it, the next choice would still be excellent. It's easy to get caught up in trying to figure out which option is "more perfect" than the others but really, it's just a matter of choosing one from among a variety of nice options, and then not second-guessing your decision. So enjoy the move and the search with anticipation rather than letting it stress you out. Good luck!

[saganista]

Originally Posted by movingtova

Loudoun County sounds interesting and so tempting, but it seems that the other posters thought it would be an inconvenient commute for us (to western Fairfax right off of the 66). With the traffic being so bad, we ruled it out. Wise?

I would think it wise. There are certainly plenty of nice Loudon areas, but why buy a commute?

Originally Posted by movingtova

We're concentrating on the Vienna, Falls Church, Oakton area -looking at homes in the best school pyramids. Slim pickings- but there are a few options. We might start out in a rental. Vienna is at the top of my list, but Oakton is just so darn close to work. i like a pretty urban feel. (Trader Joes within 5 minutes would be my preference ) Are these cities similar in that way?

They are all vaguely similar, but none of them is urban. Falls Church is a little denser than the other two. Oakton was developed considerably later than Vienna, and is currently a bit of a mess, as they are renovating the major downtown shopping center. Should be done soon. As for Trader Joe's, from the Waples Mill area, you would follow Jermantown Road into Oakton. It becomes Blake Lane south of 123 (or 'the 123' if you prefer...the use of 'the' in front of route numbers is not typical in NoVa). Blake Lane becomes Pickett Road south of 50, and then it's a straight shot over to 236, which is where the closest Trader Joe's is. Not 5 minutes...maybe 15. If you were in Vienna, there is another one that might be closer on Route-7 between Tysons and downtown Falls Church.

Originally Posted by movingtova

If we go to Oakton, we're zeroing in on Waples Mill as the elementary. Any Waples parents who can rate the kindergarten program? Other "holy grail" schools for us -Kent Gardens, Haycock, Cunningham Park, Wolftrap, Archer

Waples Mill is a nice area. Lots of trees, lots of space, lots of wildlife. At least for now. Curvy, hilly, two-lane roads...stay alert. Don't know about the elementary school, as it's hard to judge one from the outside. The only one that might raise an eyebrow with me would be Haycock. I think I'd try to sneak over the line into Kent Gardens, if I could. ClareMarie would know better than I whether that impression should still hold.

Originally Posted by movingtova

We might have to add Fairfax and Burke to our list to see what possibilities that opens up, but we'd rather not. That's just our impression. Is that right?

Couldn't hurt to look, but I don't know how much more you'd be adding. Fairfax is a tad more 'urban-like' than Oakton, otherwise the areas are all at least similar.

Originally Posted by movingtova

Keep reading that Western Springfield High (?) is a good one - worth considering? Should I add it to my previous list of high schools or not?

West Springfield is a perfectly good school in a perfectly nice area, but I don't see where you would actually be gaining anything except commuting time over Oakton or Madison.

Originally Posted by movingtova

And finally, a question about the Fairfax Parks & Rec - are the community programs (classes etc.) easily accessible to residents in pretty much all ciites of the county, or are there certain cities that don't have facilities to participate? It was mentioned that Falls Church has it's own school district. Does the city have access to the Park & Rec ammenities?

Anyone at all can use any of the county Park & Rec facilities. If you are a county resident, you get reduced fees for all the things that have a fee. Falls Church is not a part of the county.

[sue tanner]

Oakton kids generally go to Oakton High school. Fairfax County has generally good schools. Reston has good schools. You can get a nice and a large home for 600-700K.

The schools are excellent in Loudoun County. Eastern Loudoun County is not a horrible commute to Fair Oaks, probably within 30-45 mins. You could use Fairfax County Pakrway.

Originally Posted by movingtova

My husband and I are moving from CA to VA with our three young kids. New office is in Fairfax off of the 665 near 66 (East of Fair Oaks Shopping Ctr.) IDEALLY, we are looking for the best package of town/school that we can find within 30 - 45 min. commute time of the office. We can consider homes from the $600-700 price range. Is this realistic? I'm really picky about schools - Schools are my number one priority. Is there anyone who can help us figure out which school - town package is best within that commute distance? We're looking at the complete school pyramid - elementary to high school and looking for a "family friendly" area.

Oakton, Fairfax, Vienna, Falls Church, Burke, Springfield, Annandale- are these within decent commute time? Can we consider Arlington and Alexandria or Ashburn, or are these too far? Mapquest times just aren't reliable when you factor in traffic.

Which schools are the best? I'm looking for a school that is nurturing and child oriented (not a test score driven machine - test scores are not my number one priority when looking at a school.) My ideal school (ha ha ha) would have teachers with advanced degrees, would value creativity and allow the child some self directed, hands on learning - not just sit, copy, listen. I can have it all, right?
THANK YOU FOR REPLYING!!!!!!!!!!

Oh - and one more question - on Greatschools, it doesn't list any public middle or high schools in Oakton. Is this accurate info? Which public high do the Oakton students go to?

[claremarie]

Haycock has a gifted and talented center, which accounts for the high test scores you're probably seeing. My son went to the GT center for one year (he hated it), but there was definitely a clear divide in the school between the "regular" kids and the GT kids. This is true of every county school that houses a GT center, btw. Haycock is a perfectly fine school, but it desperately needs renovation. Kent Gardens is renowned primarily for its French immersion program, for which admission is limited. Unless your child is already fluent in French AND there is space available, it's probably not possible to enter that program after 1st grade. (And there are more than a few French-national families who send their kids there, which can make the immersion thing a struggle for the non-native French kids.) Kent Gardens is located in one of the few neighborhoods in McLean with houses available in the $700K and under range (they are pretty small); Haycock is located in a similar neighborhood, though many of the little bungalows have been torn down and replaced by mini-mansions.

[scotty2987]

I work in FCPS around that area that you're talking about. I am a sub teacher, and work in the after-school programs at Carson Middle, which is in the Waples Mill pyramid.

You should look into the following pyramids:
Oakton High
Chantilly High
Centreville High
Woodson High
Robinson High
Westfield High
Madison High

Woodson and Robinson are actually in Fairfax, both near GMU. Centreville is a good option and has good feeder schools, as does Westfield. I'm particularly fond of Deer Park and Floris elementary schools in the Westfield Pyramid. Bull run, Union Mill, and Powell are good for Centreville pyramid. The others I'm not as familiar with, but are probably decent.

[ainva]

movingtova - First off Congrats! East Coast is a wonderful place to live (I'm not thrilled about snow. Moved from California about 3 1/2 years ago. Now residing in Ashburn. Loudoun County has some of the best school in the nation. I've spoken to many families through geneal conversation that had located from CA to VA and the curriculum is wondeful and so are the teachers. Loudoun County school system is wonderful and I can't say enough good things about!

www.greatschools.net

Check it out! Good Luck

[mroy]

I disagree about a nightmare commute from eastern loudoun to western fairfax. It would be absolutely doable in 20-30 minutes rush hour, but that would be from the Potomac Falls/Cascades area. The area is right between Fairfax County Parkway and Rt 28 which are both straight shots south to Rt 66. Many people are commuting up to the Reston/Herndon/Dulles area from Fairfax actually so it could be a bit of a reverse commute. Agree with everything that lpa711 says!

[movingtova]

THANK YOU THANK YOU for all of the input - We're flying out next week and take all of this into account as we make a final decision. I still very much appreciate any opinions posted on this thread.

Our realtor wants us to include Centreville as an option so I thought that it was interesting that scotty2987 mentioned it.

Everyone has told us to avoid Route 66 into the district like the plague. (Work is just east of Fair Oaks Mall on the 66 (south of Waples Mill area) But, I'll check out the areas that you mentioned.

Thank you.

[scotty2987]

to get to Waples Mill from Centreville, you can take Lee Highway (rt. 29) to Waples Mill. It's probably five miles down Lee Highway, which is much better than 66. Centreville is clean and affordable. I like the Centre Ridge, Deer Park, Bull Run, Powell, and Union Mill pyramid. Bull run and Union Mill are my favorites. Centreville has really good schools. The Union Mill district is fairly expensive, but I live in a section of townhouses that's districted to go there that is fairly affordable. It's the Union Mill subdivision, which is technically in Clifton, but right on the border with Centreville. I've lived in Centreville and Clifton for two years and love it. Good luck!

[goldenmom7500]

Yes, I was going to say ... look at Clifton ...