Jefferson Houston Elementary School (Alexandria: renting, transfer, preschool)

[mcmommy]

Hi to all -
Looking at the greatschools.net at Jefferson Houston Elementary School, it says it is rated a 1.

Can anyone please tell me it is not that bad?!

Thanks for any info.

[alexandrian]

I don't have direct experience with it, but J-H generally has the worst reputation out of the elementary schools in Alexandria.

[claremarie]

No personal experience here either, but I looked up the greatschools site. This school is mostly black and mostly poor, with abysmal SOL scores, which explains the low greatschools ranking.
Whether it could be "not that bad" depends on what your other options are, and what kind of student you have. If your child is performing at or above grade level, my guess is that this school, which has so many needy students, would not be a great choice.

[Alanboy395]

Originally Posted by mcmommy

Hi to all
Looking at the greatschools.net at Jefferson Houston Elementary School, it says it is rated a 1.

Can anyone please tell me it is not that bad?!

Thanks for any info.

even though i think Alexandria public schools have a very undeserved reputation (even by some on this site,) I gotta agree with the others that it is the worst elementary school in the city of Alexandria. Dont quote me on this but i think there was an alternative elementary public school that the city runs if you dont want to do JH, i think it was Cora Kelly but again dont quote me on this.

[mcmommy]

Are there any relatively inexpensive private kindergartens in the area? We are totally new to the area but are renting in the Potomac Greens and I am unsure as to where to look for schools. I have a soon to be kindergartener and a three year old who I would like to attend a preschool a couple of mornings per week. Any suggestions?

Thanks so all of you who posted!

[alexandrian]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

Dont quote me on this but i think there was an alternative elementary public school that the city runs if you dont want to do JH, i think it was Cora Kelly but again dont quote me on this.

I think it's harder to opt out of JH now that the school isn't an "arts and academics focus" school--my understanding is that you can still send your kids to a different school for now because of NCLB issues, but if JH starts making AYP I'm not sure what happens.

There seems to be a pretty active mailing list for J-H parents, maybe the original poster can get some info there:

jeffersonhouston : Jefferson Houston

[LauraH831]

You can apply to other schools in the city of Alexandria that are Lottery Schools. They are John Adams, Cora Kelly Math, Science and Technology, and Lyles Crouch Traditional school. Children that are accepted under the lottery system are provided with school transportation. If you are unsure what to do, go and visit the schools and see how they work and which might be a good fit for your family. Schools are open to giving parents tours and you are able to meet many of the teachers.

[slim04]

Option 1: Apply for lottery. Hope for Lyles Crouch. I personally wouldn't bother with Adams (its just OK, but really far away) or Kelly, but both are better than J-H.

Option 2: For the 2008-09 school year, you are allowed to apply for schools outside your district. You can apply anywhere, but it is based on space availability and the students with the lowest test scores gets priority. So for K if your child isn't on city supported preschool, I don't think he or she would get priority. Also, once they do a transfer they can stay at the school until middle school, but they will not receive any bus transportation. I don't know if it is true, but I've been told most transferees will go to Kelly.

Private School: Blessed Sacrement and Grace Episcopal aren't that far from Old Town, but are not that cheap either. Parishioners pay a discounted rate. Burgundy Farms, Alexandria Country Day, and St. Stephens & St. Agnes are really expensive ($20K+) and have a competitive admissions process. One thing that isn't cool about the private schools is that you usually have to register and pay the deposit (and be liable for a year's tuition) BEFORE you find out if you win the lottery to Lyles Crouch or find out if the transfer request if approved. This makes it difficult to use the private school route as a backup choice.

I obviously have had to think a lot about my options and I am not very happy with either choice, so I feel your pain. I'm also thinking of moving to avoid making these decisions, but my family really loves Old Town and where we live.

[sbmsam]

Hi,

Just saw the earlier postings and wanted to respond. J-H is on its way back after a rough few years! The principal and staff are great--and I hear they're thinking about making it an IB (International Baccalaureate) school. It's true that the scores in the past were low, but they've made some major improvements in the past 2 years and their state and federal "pass" rates are now equivalent or better than most of the other ACPS schools.

I don't have a student there yet--but my child will start kindergarten there next year. There is a group of parents in the district who are working closely with the school system to increase parental and community involvement. PLEASE do some research before you judge this school. At the very least, talk to someone whose kid actually goes there or go visit the school yourself. I was incredibly pessimistic a year ago and now I'm one of it's biggest cheerleaders!

For more information, look for the Jefferson Houston group under yahoo groups.

[lokahi]

One of my friends is a teacher and she said that the kids from Jeff. Houston are terrible. Jeff. Houston is the type of school that Maury was a few years ago. Long ways to go, even tho they're turning things around.