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Thanks so much for all of the suggestions!! I'm looking in to all of them right now. It looks like Stuart High and Falls Church High got poor ratings on Zillow (a 3 and a 4 respectively). Does anyone know if those schools are good schools with low test takers or just generally poor schools? I have no idea how much weight to give zillow school ratings.
Sigh. I graduated from Falls Church 10+ years ago, live in a house zoned for Annandale High, and am literally 1 street over from houses zoned for Stuart, so we'll see how the zoning boundaries hold up. TJ High School, one of the best in the nation, is about a mile from my house, but I doubt that very many kids from the neighborhoods that surround it actually attend it.
There are great pockets of neighborhoods in these areas. Really. But by and large, these schools are host to FAR more recent immigrants, and otherwise low-income families, than other high schools in the county. They just are. And they lower every metric that is used to determine what a good school is.
And while these schools like to tout diversity as a strength, having a 60% Hispanic population is not diverse. It just isn't.
All of them do offer AP or IB programs, though, and those shouldn't be going anywhere. The bright kids at these schools will end up on a AP/IB/honors class track.
Stuart High School is about to lose its accreditation. Falls Church High School is under capacity, which pushes its spot in the renovation queue further and further down, due to Fairfax County's ass backwards logic (schools should be renovated according to both the number of students, and based on the school's age).
This pains me - but I'd say strongly consider looking outside of these school boundaries.
Edit: My house is 2,000 SF (3,000 including basement) and is valued in the mid $500ks, so I can see why many people would look to starter homes here. I love, love, love my house. We feel safe, and are very happy here. I'm being a little harsh. But I will have to think long and hard about if we will stay put when we have kids. I thought that knowing the landscape as long and well as I do might help, but many times I still feel as unsure as a new family moving here who has never even visited, in terms of are the schools okay? type of questions.
Last edited by TheWatchmen; 02-05-2015 at 12:12 PM..
Sigh. I graduated from Falls Church 10+ years ago, live in a house zoned for Annandale High, and am literally 1 street over from houses zoned for Stuart, so we'll see how the zoning boundaries hold up. TJ High School, one of the best in the nation, is about a mile from my house, but I doubt that very many kids from the neighborhoods that surround it actually attend it.
There are great pockets of neighborhoods in these areas. Really. But by and large, these schools are host to FAR more recent immigrants, and otherwise low-income families, than other high schools in the county. They just are. And they lower every metric that is used to determine what a good school is.
And while these schools like to tout diversity as a strength, having a 60% Hispanic population is not diverse. It just isn't.
All of them do offer AP or IB programs, though, and those shouldn't be going anywhere. The bright kids at these schools will end up on a AP/IB/honors class track.
Stuart High School is about to lose its accreditation. Falls Church High School is under capacity, which pushes its spot in the renovation queue further and further down, due to Fairfax County's ass backwards logic (schools should be renovated according to both the number of students, and based on the school's age).
This pains me - but I'd say look outside of these school boundaries.
Just some additional facts (at the end of the day, both you and the OP will do what they think is best for their families):
1. Both Falls Church and Stuart are under 50% Hispanic, and many Hispanic students in FCPS today were born in the United States and/or fluent in English.
2. There are other schools in the county that over 50 or 60% white or Asian. FCPS is now a majority-minority district, but relatively few schools roughly mirror the FCPS demographics as a whole. There are only a handful of high schools in FCPS that have seen an increase in the absolute number of white students in the past five years, and Falls Church and Stuart are among them. [Annandale is a different story, but that's because of various redistrictings that moved single-family neighborhoods previously zoned for Annandale to Falls Church, Edison, Lake Braddock and Woodson.]
3. Stuart could not be denied its accreditation for at least two more years, and if it did it could still offer the IB diploma program.
4. The enrollment at Falls Church is growing, and its place on the renovation queue is now fixed in the Capital Improvement Plan. There are five other HS scheduled to be renovated before FC, but it should be renovated in the next 5-10 years. [Not a fact, but I do think there was a recognition that the formula for prioritizing school renovations created a vicious cycle, whereby schools in crappy shape might end up with more kids transferring to other schools in better condition.]
1. Both Falls Church and Stuart are under 50% Hispanic, and many Hispanic students in FCPS today were born in the United States and/or fluent in English.
2. There are other schools in the county that over 50 or 60% white or Asian. Relatively few schools mirror the country demographics as a whole, and FCPS is a majority-minority district. There are actually only a handful of high schools in FCPS that have seen an increase in the absolute number of white students, and Falls Church and Stuart are among them.
3. Stuart could not be denied its accreditation for at least two more years, and if it did it could still offer the IB diploma program.
4. The enrollment at Falls Church is growing, and its place on the renovation queue is now fixed in the Capital Improvement Plan. There are five other HS scheduled to be renovated before FC, but it should be renovated in the next 5-10 years. [Not a fact, but I do think there was a recognition that the formula for prioritizing school renovations created a vicious cycle, whereby schools in crappy shape might end up with more kids transferring to other schools in better condition.]
3. It is a damn shame that ANY school in Fairfax County will go unaccredited. I don't see any evidence of Stuart getting any better, and they will most likely lose their accreditation. I will be going to this event next week, and will see what Superintendent Garza and Penny Gross have to say, and see what their infinite wisdom has in store for us the next couple of years. Garza is a small fish in a big pond, who is making crappy decisions, mostly to the detriment of the children of the Eastern side of the county.
4. Sure. And by 2024 or whatever year they are slated to start renovated, it will still have that 1960s era look to it, while Marshall, Woodson, TJ, and I haven't been in any of the other county high schools lately but I'm sure they are similar, have open, airy spaces, bathrooms that aren't disgusting, and a look and feel befitting of a county that spends over $2.5 billion a year on education. Falls Church is a sad, outlier example of the misjudgment that went into the renovation queue, but they did paint the roof recently, which looks nice. I'd like to see the school board make some hard, unpopular decisions, and move them up on the renovation queue, even at the expense of other schools.
3. It is a damn shame that ANY school in Fairfax County will go unaccredited. I don't see any evidence of Stuart getting any better, and they will most likely lose their accreditation. I will be going to this event next week, and will see what Superintendent Garza and Penny Gross have to say, and see what their infinite wisdom has in store for us the next couple of years. Garza is a small fish in a big pond, who is making crappy decisions, mostly to the detriment of the children of the Eastern side of the county.
4. Sure. And by 2024 or whatever year they are slated to start renovated, it will still have that 1960s era look to it, while Marshall, Woodson, TJ, and I haven't been in any of the other county high schools lately but I'm sure they are similar, have open, airy spaces, bathrooms that aren't disgusting, and a look and feel befitting of a county that spends over $2.5 billion a year on education. Falls Church is a sad, outlier example of the misjudgment that went into the renovation queue, but they did paint the roof recently, which looks nice. I'd like to see the school board make some hard, unpopular decisions, and move them up on the renovation queue, even at the expense of other schools.
Thanks for posting that link - I might attend that session, too.
You may be closer to goings-ons at Stuart now than I am. I know that some parents wanted the principal dismissed, and that Karen Garza decided instead to keep her on board, but provide Stuart with an additional Assistant Principal (who came from TJHHST, the magnet school). I also know that they recently hired a new Director of Student Services, who has been at McLean for several years as a guidance counselor and has an excellent reputation. My sense is that Sandy Evans, the local School Board member, advocates as hard as she can on behalf of both Stuart and Falls Church.
The issues with accreditation arise, in part, because the SOL exams and expectations have become more rigorous. 30% of the schools in the state received an "accreditation with warning" this past year. As I understand it, Stuart couldn't lose its accreditation for two more years, and even then it could apply for provisional accreditation. And, if it lost state accreditation, it would have to take various corrective actions required by the state Department of Education, but I wonder whether that would have much practical impact on a hard-working student at the school with good grades and test scores. They are definitely telling people that they'd continue with the IB program.
From looking at the CIP, it appears that the renovations at Falls Church will begin at some point between 2021-24. I'm sure it will look very nice when it's done, but I agree 100% with you that the School Board should have moved FCHS up the queue, even at the risk of angering folks at other schools. There's no way that either TJ or Langley, both of which are currently getting renovated, were in worse shape than FCHS. And, with Marshall now close to being fully renovated, some FCHS families will opt to pupil place there for several years to come if they can.
Yes, the schools question can certainly open quite the can of worms on this board, and I have done my fair share to contribute to that can of worms. I will just add that I think JEB77's thoughts on this subject are very balanced and well informed. I would listen to them in making your decision. From what I can tell, he knows more about the particulars of Fairfax County Public Schools than anyone else on this board.
The schools question is one that many struggle with when buying a home in this area - in fact, one of the first threads I started on this forum was on this topic just before I bought my home (Fairfax County Public Schools and Demographics). The view I currently hold is that a motivated student will have opportunities available to them in just about any school in Fairfax County - the main difference will be how many similar kids surround them at each school. But, others are adamant that once schools reach a certain threshold of low-income or ESL populations (and the corresponding lower average test scores that generally accompany such percentages), such schools are best avoided.
You should look into Annandale. Vienna and Oakton are way out of your bugdet for a decent home. I literally found the most perfect home for you in Annadanle, it's freshly renovated! It's in the fall church HS district as well which is better than Stuart and offers rigorous AP classes. You're very close to your husbands job as well. You should really check this home out, it's also below your budget! Good luck
Also found a home for you in Fairfax. Which is around a 20 minute commute to falls church, this home is a little bit over your budget at 510k BUT it's districted with Woodson HS. Which is one of the top schools in the state, also nationally ranked as well. This is very rare to found a home this cheap near Woodson. It's a really nice home and seems very spacious for your dog and kids. It's 5 beds 3 baths! It even comes with a deck and pretty decent backyard
You should look into Annandale. Vienna and Oakton are way out of your bugdet for a decent home. I literally found the most perfect home for you in Annadanle, it's freshly renovated! It's in the fall church HS district as well which is better than Stuart and offers rigorous AP classes. You're very close to your husbands job as well. You should really check this home out, it's also below your budget! Good luck
I pass this house a lot. It is one that I would consider looking at, if I was house hunting in this area again.
It has been on the market for quite a while - maybe I'll go check it out and see what the heck is going on with it, if they have an open house again. It has a garage, which was surprisingly hard to find when we were looking for a house in our price range. It is on a semi-busy road that I (and I'm sure others as well) use as a through-way from Columbia Pike to 495, and the road gets pretty busy during rush hour. There is a private school on that road too, which is an option for your kids. The private school creates some traffic jams, occasionally, for passerbys like me.
Personally, the road that it is on is just too busy for my taste, but I also don't like that I now live on a dead end cul-de-sac road, so maybe I'm just too picky about things like that. If hubby and I got this house, we'd definitely put a fence in front for the dogs, in case they escaped out the front door.
The commute to Falls Church would be an absolute breeze, though. Even if you hit a few patches of traffic, it would be so short, and stress-free.
I pass this house a lot. It is one that I would consider looking at, if I was house hunting in this area again.
It has been on the market for quite a while - maybe I'll go check it out and see what the heck is going on with it, if they have an open house again. It has a garage, which was surprisingly hard to find when we were looking for a house in our price range. It is on a semi-busy road that I (and I'm sure others as well) use as a through-way from Columbia Pike to 495, and the road gets pretty busy during rush hour. There is a private school on that road too, which is an option for your kids. The private school creates some traffic jams, occasionally, for passerbys like me.
Personally, the road that it is on is just too busy for my taste, but I also don't like that I now live on a dead end cul-de-sac road, so maybe I'm just too picky about things like that. If hubby and I got this house, we'd definitely put a fence in front for the dogs, in case they escaped out the front door.
The commute to Falls Church would be an absolute breeze, though. Even if you hit a few patches of traffic, it would be so short, and stress-free.
It's a very beautiful home. I would definitely add a white picket fence to it for the dogs, it's also not in the middle of nowhere. You're very close to many restaurants, DC, Arlington, Falls Church, and the job. Many amentities near the home and its spacious inside in a decent school pyramid. I had to really give myself a pat on the back for coming across this, really hope the OP takes a look at this home!
Also found a home for you in Fairfax. Which is around a 20 minute commute to falls church, this home is a little bit over your budget at 510k BUT it's districted with Woodson HS. Which is one of the top schools in the state, also nationally ranked as well. This is very rare to found a home this cheap near Woodson. It's a really nice home and seems very spacious for your dog and kids. It's 5 beds 3 baths! It even comes with a deck and pretty decent backyard
Actually - the closeness to Fair City Mall and downtown Fairfax are nice. That house is in about a 15-20 minute drive of a lot of things. Well, most places in N. VA are! You can easily drive to GMU from there as well.
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