Which school pyramids are considered "desirable" in Fairfax County?

[ScranBarre]

While some of you are clamoring over the best "pyramid," people like my parents are laughing all the way to the bank with lower mortgage payments by sending their children (of which I am one) to a school with a poor reputation, high percentage of financially-disadvantaged students, and poor SAT average while still raising quality success stories as offspring. My sister and I both graduated from this high school in PA, which is ranked well below both the national and state averages, and yet we both made it into the college of our first choice; we are both embarking upon some of the same very rewarding career opportunities for the fraction of the cost that was spent by the parents of some of our peers who felt the compulsion to either pay a heftier mortgage payment to live in an exclusive suburban school district or pay a premium to send their children to private school.

My SAT score was only 1300 (out of the former 1600) scale, and numerous friends of mine eclipsed the 1400 and even 1500 milestones. There were seven perfect GPA valedictorians in my graduating class in high school, and competition was very fierce to rise to that level with students obtaining as much tutoring for their AP classes as possible. I was not even in the top 10% of my graduating class in terms of GPA just to give you some background into how many solid, goal-oriented, and successful students were bred from our supposedly "horrible" school district.

As only a few in this thread have astutely mentioned if a student has an internal locus of control that motivates him or her to strive for success and if he or she is given enough parental support/guidance/supervision through his or her academic career, then your child can truly excel in nearly any environment. Considering most schools in Fairfax County are above both the state and national averages I've found this thread to be quite amusing, actually, to see people arguing, more or less, "my great school is better than your great school." If dozens of peers and I can lead very successful lives while being derived from "sub-par" public school districts and unheard of undergraduate institutions of higher learning, then I just don't understand why everyone is so uber-competitive and obsessed about paying as much as possible to snag the "best" public school district to get their children enrolled into the "best" Ivy-League universities. I'm an upcoming product of a small NEPA college and had two great job offers (one in each the private and public sectors) as far back as March while some friends of mine who went to tonier private schools and on to more expensive and exclusive universities are now having difficulty obtaining a job offer. What does this tell you? You don't need to spend an arm and a leg to guarantee success for your child, as he or she can live out their dreams making the best of what they're given sometimes.

I don't want to become the target yet again of the snarks hurling personal attacks at me for pointing out a valid point that is divergent to that of their own, but I'm a 22-year-old product of a below-average public school district and a small undergraduate business college and am going on to lead quite a happy and productive life. I don't see why so many of you think you "have" to work two jobs in order to buy an over-priced home in the toniest of school districts in order to "give my child the best shot." Need I remind you that the worst school district in Fairfax County is still considerably BETTER than the one I was derived from? Need I remind you that I can easily run circles around some of my private school brethren in academic debates? If you care about your child's education, and, more importantly, if YOUR CHILD cares enough about his or her OWN future, then they'll succeed regardless of what school district you're able to afford.

[DunnLauren]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

I'm an upcoming product of a small NEPA college and had two great job offers (one in each the private and public sectors) as far back as March while some friends of mine who went to tonier private schools and on to more expensive and exclusive universities are now having difficulty obtaining a job offer. What does this tell you?

To be honest, it tells me that your prospective employers didn't really spend too much time with you. Do you have to make every single thread all about YOU?

We really do appreciate your perspective - but it's not the only valid one nor is it one shared by everyone who is seeking advice on relocation decisions.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by DunnLauren

To be honest, it tells me that your prospective employers didn't really spend too much time with you. Do you have to make every single thread all about YOU?

We really do appreciate your perspective - but it's not the only valid one nor is it one shared by everyone who is seeking advice on relocation decisions.

I made this about ME to show prospective newcomers to Northern Virginia that they need not be so obsessive about "buying the best education that money can buy" because if so many success stories are being churned out of below-average Pennsylvania schools then I can only imagine who many similar bright minds are being graduated annually from "average" schools in Fairfax County. I don't see any sort of merit in spending an additional $250,000 on your mortgage to upgrade yourself from an "above-average" to an "excellent" school district when a student with dedicated and devoted parents and an internal drive to succeed will be a star anywhere in Fairfax County.

I hope to adopt children someday myself, and I'll have plenty of time to hound them daily about schoolwork, talk one-on-one with faculty at their schools, help them with their homework, and generally guide them on a path towards an enriching future. I don't care if they're going to an "average" school where the homes cost $400,000 or a "Gold Medal" school where the homes cost $700,000 because in my eyes I'm dedicated enough as a parent to ensure that my child will be able to be successful and happy in EITHER environment. In my far below-average public school district in Pennsylvania all of the students who are now productive members of society can attribute this to their own internal locus of control that drove them to WANT to do well in life first and foremost that was followed as a close second with dedicated and devoted parental/guardian involvement. The ones who are now mothers of several children through wedlock with multiple unmarried partners, didn't go to college, enlist in the military, or go to trade school to build a good career, are in prison, etc. are the very same ones who just DIDN'T CARE while they were in school and had parents who were just as slovenly. In my school district you could buy a nice home for around $100,000. You'd pay roughly $225,000 for an average home in the "best" school district in my area, and I still don't see just what "edge" those students get.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by DunnLauren

We really do appreciate your perspective - but it's not the only valid one nor is it one shared by everyone who is seeking advice on relocation decisions.

By the way, if you'd like I'd be happy to forward you the contact information and/or Facebook profiles to the many friends of mine who graduated from the public school district in my area that parents from the ritzier suburban school districts scoff at to show you just how successful they, too, are now doing in their lives. Tonier schools don't necessarily beget the best and brightest, contrary to popular belief, and you can't "buy" success. You're correct MY experience is not the "only" valid one. However, I think many people will start changing their attitudes that the only path to their childrens' impending future successes in life are forged upon fighting tooth-and-nail to get into the best schools, regardless of the financial strain via the correspondingly over-inflated housing prices, when they can relate to me, my sister, and many of my friends who are all doing better in our own lives now than many whose parents thought they were "too good" to send THEIR children to our school.

[stepdisney]

Originally Posted by tankdude

Unfortunately, parents are really only responsible for their own kids.

You don't see Obama putting his kids into DC Public Schools to make any statement. He's paying big money ($50-60k cash money total each year not including summer) to put them through an exclusive, elite school.

Tell him about haves and have nots.

No different than any other president. I'm sure it is a security issue for presidents.

[stepdisney]

As you can see, I am a newbie. I am disappointed by what this thread has become. I came here for information, real information, like some have tried to post near the beginning. Everyone wants the best for their children, even those who cannot afford what some on this thread consider "the best." If many of us look back a few generations, (in my case 1 generation), we will find someone who wanted the best, did the best they could and encouraged someone to do the same. If I considered some of the posts on this thread as absolute truth, I nor my husband would have been able to achieve anything at all as we both graduated from high schools where we ate a good, healthy lunch purchased daily with our lunch tickets. Our parents, who were not afforded an "equal" education moved north for what they considered a a better quality of life but both I and my husband had to achieve on our own. Unless we are the legacy of a legacy of a legacy, lets not throw stones into districts where people work hard and are providing the best they can for their families. Teach your children to achieve "THEIR" personal best and not to squash those around them who are doing the same, even if "THEIR" personal best is not "YOURS."

I'm out of here.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by stepdisney

As you can see, I am a newbie. I am disappointed by what this thread has become. I came here for information, real information, like some have tried to post near the beginning. Everyone wants the best for their children, even those who cannot afford what some on this thread consider "the best." If many of us look back a few generations, (in my case 1 generation), we will find someone who wanted the best, did the best they could and encouraged someone to do the same. If I considered some of the posts on this thread as absolute truth, I nor my husband would have been able to achieve anything at all as we both graduated from high schools where we ate a good, healthy lunch purchased daily with our lunch tickets. Our parents, who were not afforded an "equal" education moved north for what they considered a a better quality of life but both I and my husband had to achieve on our own. Unless we are the legacy of a legacy of a legacy, lets not throw stones into districts where people work hard and are providing the best they can for their families. Teach your children to achieve "THEIR" personal best and not to squash those around them who are doing the same, even if "THEIR" personal best is not "YOURS."

I'm out of here.

NOTE: Those who don't wish to "read" can feel free to flash-forward to my final paragraph for a summary devoid of any vignettes, personal commentary, or opinions that will once again be called "not allowed", "invalid", "wrong", etc.

The argument I have been presenting isn't one of "don't try to better the lives of your children," and I'm sorry some haven't been able to read thoroughly enough to discern that. My side of this debate has been and will always continue to be that there is no need for parents to over-extend themselves with unnecessarily high mortgage payments through paying a premium on inflated real estate prices to live in the "best of the best" when Fairfax County's schools to begin with are already better than both the state and national averages. This is synonymous in many cases to being able to send your kids to an "A" school for $450,000 or an "A+" school for $550,000. In both cases if you, as parents, are actively-engaged in your child's academic career and encourage them to work hard, then they'll ultimately be just as successful in life being derived from either the "A" or "A+" district. Why, then, do people feel as if it is necessary to make financial sacrifices to live in the district that looks better on paper and has the correspondingly higher housing prices while the other one is still just as capable of cultivating a young mind into a model citizen? I just don't understand it, nor do I understand why people are becoming so offended by me point this out.

Is it really worth the added financial pressures to enroll your students in a public school district with an SAT average of 1300 (assuming former SAT scoring scale) instead of the district with the average of 1250 if your child would score 1350 on the SAT regardless of which district they were enrolled in due to the dedication of themselves and from you, as parents? High school is supposed to be one of the best eras of your child's life, but with the uber-competitiveness I sense from so many on this forum so many children are so stressed from trying to become elected president of every other extra-curricular club, trying to excel at multiple sports, trying to attain valedictorian status, trying to "outdo" their peers, etc. I just want to sit back and wonder why they feel as if their high school years have to be treated like a job in the military in which they aren't really free to decide their own course.

I was president of one high school club (FBLA) that I committed myself to and succeeded in advancing our team to the state finals. I worked nearly full-time to help ease my financial burden on my parents so I didn't have time for a sport given the unreasonable expectations placed upon working students for making frequent and often last-minute practices. I "only" scored a 1300 on my SAT, which, judging by some of the ultra-competitive on here, wouldn't hack it. I was only in the top 20% of my class---not the top 10%. You want to know something though? I can say the same about many of my peers who were likewise "above-average" but not "stand-out" students, and even though we didn't stress ourselves to the max due to having parents with unrealistic expectations of us we're all on the verge of embarking upon successful career paths while I can name SEVERAL in the former "creme de la creme" category who are without a job offer right now and are wallowing around the house all day, unsure of what to do with themselves. I'm not trying to act smugly, but it is a delight for my friends and I to be able to rub our impending successes into the faces of those parents who scoffed at our parents for not sending us to a private/parochial school instead of to our "awful" public school district.

What's my ultimate point? (For those who continuously complain on here that they don't like to read): There's no "guarantee" that paying top dollar for a home in a "superior" school district will equate to your child's professional success, and contrary to popular belief there are MANY case studies to prove it, hence why I find it amusing that many will discredit perfectly acceptable public school districts under that very same premise that I've just discounted. Why not pursue the most affordable path for your child's success and then devote those educational savings to more enjoyable endeavors to enhance the lives of your families?

[camer]

........None of these options are ideal at all during rush hour.

What hours are considered rush hour in DC?

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by camer

........None of these options are ideal at all during rush hour.

What hours are considered rush hour in DC?

What options are you referring to?

If you go by the Metrorail's system of charging more for peak times, then rush hour is 5:30-9:30am then 3:00-7:00pm.