Which school pyramids are considered "desirable" in Fairfax County? (Annandale: transfer, buy)

[arabellava]

Trying to figure out which Elementary and middle schools are good that feed in top High Schools. I am pretty sure anything into Langley is good- but what other combinations are good? Thank you!

[novanative75]

As far as high schools go, you should be pretty safe with Madison, Oakton, Westfield, Lake Braddock, Woodson, Chantilly, Centreville and of course their corresponding elementary and middle schools. There are great schools in Fairfax County, you will be looking hard to find one you do not like and one that is not good, people in fairfax County are very lucky! The only two I would stay away from are Jeb Stuart and Annandale.

[claremarie]

I would also avoid the Falls Church and Mount Vernon pyramids. Also South Lakes -- but be advised that FCPS is definitely changing the attendance zones for South Lakes and several adjacent pyramids (including Oakton, Chantilly, and several others) in order to put more students in South Lakes, which is under capacity. Marshall can be iffy too, but it has an IB program, which is a plus for some families.
Other good schools are McLean and Robinson.

[novanative75]

Originally Posted by claremarie

I would also avoid the Falls Church and Mount Vernon pyramids. Also South Lakes -- but be advised that FCPS is definitely changing the attendance zones for South Lakes and several adjacent pyramids (including Oakton, Chantilly, and several others) in order to put more students in South Lakes, which is under capacity. Marshall can be iffy too, but it has an IB program, which is a plus for some families.
Other good schools are McLean and Robinson.

Yeah, I would agree, avoid Mount Vernon and South Lakes too. Although, you are right, the redistricting is going to be crazy!! I would stomp my foot if my kids were districted to go to Westfield and then they told me I had to go to South Lakes, it is going to be a fight!!

[sweetpotater58]

all the county high schools are above the state average-but you need to know that some schools are so culturally diverse that your children, should they not be of the dominant culture-especially with regard to language, may find things a challenge. This is Stuart, Annandale and a few others. This statement isn't to be mean spirited, as said, even those two high schools mentioned are still better than most high schools throughout the state.

[Fern435]

Originally Posted by novanative75

Yeah, I would agree, avoid Mount Vernon and South Lakes too. Although, you are right, the redistricting is going to be crazy!! I would stomp my foot if my kids were districted to go to Westfield and then they told me I had to go to South Lakes, it is going to be a fight!!

Why do so many people want to avoid South Lakes High School in Fairfax County? They did an article about this situation a few weeks ago in the Washington Post, and it was rather sad to read the comments from the current students who felt like their school was been slammed by a lot of "elitist" parents. Test scores and percentage of free/reduced lunch students do not make a school bad. Being a diversity-tolerant area, shouldn't NoVA parents be able to know to look beyond that and become part of something better for all students?

Novanative75--weren't you a Fairfax County public school counselor?

[novanative75]

Originally Posted by walkingnoelle

Why do so many people want to avoid South Lakes High School in Fairfax County? They did an article about this situation a few weeks ago in the Washington Post, and it was rather sad to read the comments from the current students who felt like their school was been slammed by a lot of "elitist" parents. Test scores and percentage of free/reduced lunch students do not make a school bad. Being a diversity-tolerant area, shouldn't NoVA parents be able to know to look beyond that and become part of something better for all students?

Novanative75--weren't you a Fairfax County public school counselor?

Yes, for several years and I would not send my kids to South Lakes. Sadly, test scores and free/reduced lunch percentages do have an effect on the rankings and quality of a school. It is the way it is and I do not like it any more than you do. I think schools that are having to deal with those issues get bogged down with them and less attention is payed to other areas of education and schooling. The overall school experience will be better at other schools in Fairfax County.

[Jackattack09]

Even if you get redistricted into a less-desirable school's district, it's not a big problem to switch schools. I live less than a mile from Mount Vernon but I attend West Potomac because I went to Stratford Landing Elementary for the GT program and came up through that pyramid to WP. The only thing you have to do is fill out a form to request a transfer once a year (because you automatically get enrolled at your district's school each year if you don't) and put a good reason on there. I always say it's for the AP program. Mostly they just accept your request automatically and only require the request form as a formality. Also, in FCPS parents hold A LOT of sway at schools, so if you complain they'll bend over backwards for you. You wouldn't really need to put up a fuss if you were in a less-desirable district; FCPS is very accomodating to your wants and needs

[claremarie]

Unless your local high school is an IB program (no AP classes offered), it is actually not that easy to transfer out, especially if the school you want is over-enrolled, and you should not buy into a less-desirable school pyramid under the assumption that you will be able to transfer into the high-scoring pyramid in a neighboring community.

[slim04]

The schools with the highest test scores are Langley, McLean, Woodson, Oakton, Madison, Lake Braddock, and Robinson, in that order. Any lower schools that feeds into these schools should be pretty good.