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I read you to be referring to Pinecrest, not something in Alexandria City. And, in fact, a builder is constructing new homes now near Pinecrest on the other side of 236. It is not the investment-free zone that the other poster suggests, but would certainly benefit from better transit options and redevelopment further east towards Landmark.
I've commented on this topic before, so I'll try to keep my remarks brief. I don't think anyone disputes the fact that school quality has an effect on real estate values - it clearly does. But, the assertion that there are school pyramids in Fairfax County that should be avoided at all costs because buying real estate in such a pyramid is high risk is absurd, in my opinion. One, if the schools are already poorly regarded, that is baked into the price at which you're purchasing the home - really, there's only potential upside to be had if you think the schools are of such low quality that you have to do private. Two, we're simply not talking about areas that are otherwise undesireable. Contrary to fcyolo's assertion that the demographics within a school pyramid mirror the demographics of the schools, even the "poorest" parts of Fairfax County have significant wealth and the demographics of an area can be much different than the schools to which they're zoned. An example I like to cite is that the Springfield CDP within the dreaded Lee HS pyramid has a median household income that exceeds that of the Beverly Hills CDP. Moreover, almost all areas of Fairfax County have other attributes that make them desirable - Fairfax County will always be closer to DC and likely continue to be closer to other major job centers than Loudoun or Prince William, and is otherwise a great place to live. Even homes in "lesser" regarded pyramids are fairly liquid investments. This doesn't change because you live a few blocks in one direction in a school pyramid that has lower average test scores. Sure, the homes might be priced a little less to reflect the school quality, but there are still willing buyers and sellers in a real estate market as robust as the one we have here.
The schooling decisions one makes for their family is certainly important one and I don't think anyone can be faulted for looking closely at that before purchasing a home. But, in both my opinion and my personal experience, I think there few areas in Fairfax County that necessitate being completely ruled out as options. If anyone wants to read more about my own personal experience, look at some of my previous posts, including the very first one I made on this forum because I was worried about purchasing a home in the Lee HS pyramid. Personally, I have always found the personal experience of someone to be more helpful than someone who can tell me a bunch of statistics about average school test scores.
That was a good move - the Springfield redevelopment came to fruition, and is drawing people like me, who live in neighboring areas, to spend money there once again after a long period of not having much of a reason to go there.
I've commented on this topic before, so I'll try to keep my remarks brief. I don't think anyone disputes the fact that school quality has an effect on real estate values - it clearly does. But, the assertion that there are school pyramids in Fairfax County that should be avoided at all costs because buying real estate in such a pyramid is high risk is absurd, in my opinion. One, if the schools are already poorly regarded, that is baked into the price at which you're purchasing the home - really, there's only potential upside to be had if you think the schools are of such low quality that you have to do private. Two, we're simply not talking about areas that are otherwise undesireable. Contrary to fcyolo's assertion that the demographics within a school pyramid mirror the demographics of the schools, even the "poorest" parts of Fairfax County have significant wealth and the demographics of an area can be much different than the schools to which they're zoned. An example I like to cite is that the Springfield CDP within the dreaded Lee HS pyramid has a median household income that exceeds that of the Beverly Hills CDP. Moreover, almost all areas of Fairfax County have other attributes that make them desirable - Fairfax County will always be closer to DC and likely continue to be closer to other major job centers than Loudoun or Prince William, and is otherwise a great place to live. Even homes in "lesser" regarded pyramids are fairly liquid investments. This doesn't change because you live a few blocks in one direction in a school pyramid that has lower average test scores. Sure, the homes might be priced a little less to reflect the school quality, but there are still willing buyers and sellers in a real estate market as robust as the one we have here.
The schooling decisions one makes for their family is certainly important one and I don't think anyone can be faulted for looking closely at that before purchasing a home. But, in both my opinion and my personal experience, I think there few areas in Fairfax County that necessitate being completely ruled out as options. If anyone wants to read more about my own personal experience, look at some of my previous posts, including the very first one I made on this forum because I was worried about purchasing a home in the Lee HS pyramid. Personally, I have always found the personal experience of someone to be more helpful than someone who can tell me a bunch of statistics about average school test scores.
I am sorry but the sprindfield CDP doesn't exceed Beverly Hills
Springfield CDP as of 2010 is $81,037.
Beverly Hills had a median household income of $86,141
If anyone follows the FCPS budget short falls, historical exponential increase of at disadvantaged and ESOL children, and general decline of FCPS in national rating you will notice that there is a major problem with schools outside of the standard high scoring pyramids. It is a new trend and it will continue to drag down the entire school system's budget. If you do an analysis of schools state wide (not with in fairfax county) you will notice many of the schools in the most ESOL and poverty stricken areas of FCPS are in fact the WORST rated in the state, that's right STATE.
I am sure there are stories of shinning stars and personal experiences of making it but those are again bias to the facts that those stories come from people with an interest to prop up their own financial investments with in their neighborhoods.
If you think school boundaries and/or program assignments don't change frequently in FCPS, you aren't really paying attention. In the Tysons area, within the past few years, there was a reassignment of students from Freedom Hill ES to Lemon Road ES and a reassignment of AAP students from Haycock to Lemon Road ES. This fall there will likely be a reassignment of students from Freedom Hill to Vienna ES. Within the next two or three years, AAP students at Kilmer and Longfellow will probably get moved to Cooper MS. And so on. Over half of the high schools in FCPS have seen boundary adjustments since 2008: Annandale, Falls Church, Woodson, Lake Braddock, Edison, Robinson, Stuart, Oakton, Fairfax, Chantilly, Madison, South Lakes, and Westfield.
And, again, there is a difference between caring about your own car (or school), and running around constantly telling everyone else constantly their car (or school) must be a lemon because it's not a Lexus (or its educational equivalent).
Who's running around disparaging schools? Most people here are just responding to others questions asking about schools. If it bothers you so much you should avoid C-D. Just like anything else, people will have opinions about schools. I typically don't worry about any FFX county schools, even the ones people complain about like South Lakes or Falls Church HS. However, Stuart is the exception. I wouldn't send my kids there regardless of how many Harvard attendees you know. I'm sorry if that offends you.
If anyone follows the FCPS budget short falls, historical exponential increase of at disadvantaged and ESOL children, and general decline of FCPS in national rating you will notice that there is a major problem with schools outside of the standard high scoring pyramids. It is a new trend and it will continue to drag down the entire school system's budget. If you do an analysis of schools state wide (not with in fairfax county) you will notice many of the schools in the most ESOL and poverty stricken areas of FCPS are in fact the WORST rated in the state, that's right STATE.
If you think this is such a problem, which it may well be, what should be done? If you take Stuart HS, for example - there were a lot of apartments built in certain FCPS school catchment areas in the 1960s, 1970s etc. that are now by their market rate, not by county policy, affordable. Naturally, people are attracted to living in these older, more affordable dwellings.
Please bother to at least look at the reasons why certain groups of individuals are moving into certain areas.
Langley has no multi-family dwellings in its entire catchment area, if I am remembering correctly.
This thread is hilarious. If people have an issue with one high school in the entire county of Fairfax, they're labeled Lexus driving snobs.
I think you took an analogy far too literally, but on this thread alone we have you and fcyolo issuing dire warnings about Falls Church, Stuart and Lee between you. I'm sure if the OP asked about some other schools the list would continue to expand.
I am sorry but the sprindfield CDP doesn't exceed Beverly Hills
Springfield CDP as of 2010 is $81,037.
Beverly Hills had a median household income of $86,141
People are free to look up census date here: American FactFinder. According to the 2009-2013 American Community Survey data, the median household income in the Springfield CDP is $88,253. Beverly Hills, CA is $86,141. Regardless of whether one exceeds the other, my point is simply that there is more to an individual area than data on average school test scores.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fcyolo
You are mixing apples and oranges, with in Springfield there is also West Sprinfield High pyramids which are highly rated and skew the median incomes with in Springfield.
You might want to go back to school and take a geography class. As best I can tell, the Springfield VA CDP does not include any areas in the West Springfield HS pyramid. It is almost entirely within the Lee HS pyramid with a few pieces of it being zoned for either Annandale HS or Edison HS.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fcyolo
If anyone follows the FCPS budget short falls, historical exponential increase of at disadvantaged and ESOL children, and general decline of FCPS in national rating you will notice that there is a major problem with schools outside of the standard high scoring pyramids. It is a new trend and it will continue to drag down the entire school system's budget. If you do an analysis of schools state wide (not with in fairfax county) you will notice many of the schools in the most ESOL and poverty stricken areas of FCPS are in fact the WORST rated in the state, that's right STATE.
And, your point is what exactly? That the average test scores at some of these schools are lower because of an influx of low income, ESL immigrants? If I need someone to tell me the sky is blue, I'll be sure to ask you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fcyolo
I am sure there are stories of shinning stars and personal experiences of making it but those are again bias to the facts that those stories come from people with an interest to prop up their own financial investments with in their neighborhoods.
The only one who seems to have bias on this board is you. You continually denigrate certain school pyramids with which you have no personal, direct experience and you actively discourage people from buying homes zoned for those schools as being bad investments. I'm not here to denigrate any schools or neighborhoods. I'm here to provide other posters impartial data (as best I can) and to share my own experiences about living in NoVA. If it's helpful to someone, fine. If not, that's fine too. I'm more than wiling to tell a poster about the perceived differences between a school like West Springfield HS and a school like Lee HS, and I'm also more than willing to admit where the facts end and where my opinion begins. If someone agrees with my reasoning, great. If not, no offense taken.
People are free to look up census date here: American FactFinder. According to the 2009-2013 American Community Survey data, the median household income in the Springfield CDP is $88,253. Beverly Hills, CA is $86,141. Regardless of whether one exceeds the other, my point is simply that there is more to an individual area than data on average school test scores.
You might want to go back to school and take a geography class. As best I can tell, the Springfield VA CDP does not include any areas in the West Springfield HS pyramid. It is almost entirely within the Lee HS pyramid with a few pieces of it being zoned for either Annandale HS or Edison HS.
And, your point is what exactly? That the average test scores at some of these schools are lower because of an influx of low income, ESL immigrants? If I need someone to tell me the sky is blue, I'll be sure to ask you.
The only one who seems to have bias on this board is you. You continually denigrate certain school pyramids with which you have no personal, direct experience and you actively discourage people from buying homes zoned for those schools as being bad investments. I'm not here to denigrate any schools or neighborhoods. I'm here to provide other posters impartial data (as best I can) and to share my own experiences about living in NoVA. If it's helpful to someone, fine. If not, that's fine too. I'm more than wiling to tell a poster about the perceived differences between a school like West Springfield HS and a school like Lee HS, and I'm also more than willing to admit where the facts end and where my opinion begins. If someone agrees with my reasoning, great. If not, no offense taken.
I have no a bias. I simply state the facts based on numerical analysis of household incomes, housing prices and school zones. The definition of bias is "a particular tendency, trend, inclination, feeling, or opinion, especially one that is preconceived or unreasoned" I have no feelings I state published test scores and facts whether you like them or not. What other data do you need to determine whether my factual statements are correct? SAT scores? Challenge Index? US News Top High Schools? Charts comparing housing price falls during recession? If you would like to search the archives or need me to rehash all of those I can.
I stand corrected on West Springfield it is not in the Springfield CDP.
I do enjoy the insults, take a geo class, take english, maybe if I was more like graduates from certain schools etc... you will notice that I don't use insults to try to undermine an incorrect opinion, I just state facts and that does enrage people.
There is a reason why people pay 700K to live in a tiny 3 bedroom house in McLean or Falls Church City, it is for the school zone and quality neighborhoods that feed into them due to higher incomes and housing prices.
Again you can't argue with facts, just like 2+2=4, these are facts not opinions.
I think you took an analogy far too literally, but on this thread alone we have you and fcyolo issuing dire warnings about Falls Church, Stuart and Lee between you. I'm sure if the OP asked about some other schools the list would continue to expand.
I asked about Falls Church high school because I just moved to the area (22042) and all I heard from my neighbors were complains about the schools (and that they are opting for private schools). Then I read that article about the SOL and it didn't make sense to me. I never realized that the school serving the City of Falls Church was not Falls Church High School. Who knew .
I didn't mean to cause such a ruckus. That being said, this thread has been highly informative. Thank you everybody for your feedback about Falls Church and northern Virginia schools!
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