Arlington Virginia Schools (McLean, Jefferson, Fairfax: middle-class, house, neighborhoods)

[edland]

As a long time (12 of the last 14 years) resident of Arlington County, I am dismayed by some of the mis-information and at times prejudice represented in a few of the posts on this site. This is particularly true wrt the school system and to a lesser extent regarding places to live.

Arlington is a small county whose extreme northern part tends to be more affluent than not only the rest of the county but the majority of the US. Some see this and find the rest of the county lacking. However, the county as a whole is safe, prosperous and the possessor of what has been argued to be one of the top school systems in the country. This is true whether the school is in "North" Arlington or "South" Arlington. My son has attended a 22204 zip elementary school (Patrick Henry) for the past 6 years where he has excelled. I also have nieces in North Arlington schools who likewise have excelled.

There is a persistent belief, perpetuated by some with no direct knowledge, that the schools south of route 50 are lacking in some way. Although the schools in the northern part of the county are less diverse both ethnically and economically, that does not make them better. In fact, with few exceptions, the students in all of Arlington's schools come from very solid middle class families. They go to schools with highly involved and caring educators and they live in a community that provides them with a wonderful place to grow up in. If you want to live somewhere close in and a great school system choose Arlington - North or South... While the price of a shorter commute may well be a smaller house and yard, you'll get more time to enjoy it.

[ACWhite]

Thanks for your post, edland. I agree with you.

[irvine]

Originally Posted by edland

As a long time (12 of the last 14 years) resident of Arlington County, I am dismayed by some of the mis-information and at times prejudice represented in a few of the posts on this site. This is particularly true wrt the school system and to a lesser extent regarding places to live.

I grew up in North Arlington so I am biased towards that which I am most familiar--the northside. And so, I'd probably recommend Cherrydale over Aurora Hills to a friend or family looking to relocate. But, Arlington as a whole was my home and I do have fond memories the old South Arlington. It's a shame that most of the local landmarks I knew as a kid are now gone.

The 50s era Bob's Big Boy coffee shop/drive-in with its overly expressive googie architecture was very reminiscent of the coffee shops of Southern California, and stood as a landmark for decades at the corner of Columbia Pike and Walter Reed. I think I have some photos of it somewhere from a junior high photography class I took at the Career Center. The Career Center, like other 70s era "brutalist" buildings around DC is sadly slated to be torn down; I do however hope that the 60s-era mid-rise bank building on the corner of Glebe and Columbia Pike will remain unchanged. The county is losing a lot of its architectural heritage to redevelopment.

Another South Arlington business I enjoyed as a kid was the old Brenner's Bakery at Glebe and Columbia Pike. They made the best birthday cake; Heidelberg Bakery doesn't even come close.

...the old KB cinemas. I could go on. South Arlington, like much of the county, has definitely changed, but the North vs. South rhetoric edland mentions has not. When Wakefield HS opened in the 50s, many North Arlington parents protested new boundaries that sent their kids to Wakefield in south Arlington instead of W-L. The protests had little effect and for a few years portions of North Arlington, as far north as McLean, were zoned to Wakefield. And Wakefield, although it lacked the traditions of W-L, quickly gained the respect of the community. Perhaps if the high school boundaries were redrawn to the extent they were in the 50s (a likely unpopular idea), perceptions would change. But, as edland said, there are quality schools and neighborhoods in both South and North Arlington.

[notinnj]

Those modest looking brick cape cods in South Arlington cost as much as much larger homes elsewhere. It is easy to be fooled about the relative wealth in these "modest" neighborhoods.

[ArizonaBear]

To run with everyone's ball even further: there was/is still that nasty rivalry between Yorktown and Washington-Lee high schools, I went to Yorktown (10th grade, 11-12th grades as Woodlawn, thank God) but, in retrospect was more 'at home' with the W-L kids. I went to many a dance at the Little Theatre at W-L from 1973-75 (which apparently has been torn down)

[NOVANative1]

Arizona -- my kids go to Yorktown, even though we live closer to W-L. I'm not a kid, so I can't answer the rivalry question from their perspective, but since so many of the elementary schools split between W-L and Yorktown, it's kind of hard to maintain a fierce rivalry when the kids all went to elementary school together. At the sports tournaments, it seems that all the Arlington schools cheer for one another (unless they are playing each other!) W-L would probably like to win a football game against Yorktown (haven't beat them since 1984), but on the other hand, Yorktown would like to do as well at crew as W-L has for the past 50 years ;o)

I may be clueless, but it seems that the kids like to give each other good-natured ribbing but they don't seem nasty about it. I'd say there's more of a rivalry between Williamsburg Middle School and Swanson Middle School ... (WMS kids go to Yorktown; Swanson splits).

regardless, you're way lucky to be living in the shadow of Piestewa Peak...

[JD984]

It's great to see that schools in South Arlington have dedicated teachers, concerned parents, and high-achieving students. On the other hand, it's a stretch to suggest that all the South Arlington schools are composed principally of upper and middle-class students and that the students in those schools are generally achieving the same degree of academic success as their peers in North Arlington.

For example, roughly half of Wakefield's current student body is receiving federally subsidized meals and the average SATs at that school are almost 300 points lower than the scores at Yorktown (and lower than the SATs at any of the 25 high schools in neighboring Fairfax County, as well as the state and national averages). Until the gap between Wakefield's performance metrics and those at schools such as Yorktown (which is comparable to McLean High in Fairfax) starts to narrow, posters shouldn't be surprised when the North Arlington schools are perceived to be the county's top schools. Stated differently, the South Arlington schools will continue to have make much more of an effort to sell their strengths to prospective students and parents.

[theamericanguy]

I used to live in Arlington and pretty much grew up there. Although there are a few uncommon schools (cough..cough Jefferson Middle School), that need renovation on the outside, most of the schools are state of the art fantastic, probably some of the best in the country. I went to Long Branch Elementary and miss it so much. When the high school ranks come out every year, I am definitely not suprised to find 3 High Schools in the top 30, 20, and even at 1st with H-B Woodlawn. I wish I could come back and raise my kids there. There is so much opportunity...People that read school scores and the schools for their face value without any personal experience aren't looking at the schools, they are looking at those dang ghetto kids that ruin the average of the school's state test scores. You can't change kids like this, so it doesn't really reflect the school
I used to live right near Long Branch in the Lyon Park Neigborhood just across the street from the park. It is perfect there and I would recommend it to anybody.

[JD984]

Why shouldn't we expect a school to use its best efforts to bring up the test scores of minority students and/or students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds? White students do extremely well at Wakefield (a school where 48% of the students received subsidized meals), but Black and Hispanic students do not perform nearly as well at Wakefield on college entrance exams as they do, for example, at neighboring Stuart High (where 57% of the students receive subsidized means) in Fairfax County.

This is an issue that deserves serious attention - and can't be ignored by simply claiming (as did the original poster) that students in South Arlington generally come from upper or middle-class families or asserting (as does AmericanGuy) that nothing can be done about "ghetto kids." If parents don't think South Arlington schools are committed to addressing these disparities - they will look elsewhere in NoVa.

[theamericanguy]

Yeah, I lived in Arlington for 8 years and went to school there. They are excellent and from what I have heard from high school ratings, they are also recognized as such.
...Actually, I kind of agree with the thing about the south. I remember going to Patrick Henry a few times and it definitely wasn't as nice as other elementary schools. I think Thomas Jefferson Middle School, where your son will most likely go and also the one I attended, was also not as nice as some other schools in North Arlington. Kids from poorer backgrounds seem to go to these schools. I'm not sure which part Wakefeild high school, but I know from experience that it DEFINITELY does not compare to better high schools like the state-of-the-art Washington-Lee High School. There are many schools as "fancy" as this one, like Carlin Springs Elementary that are much better (at least looking) than schools like Patrick Henry. I went to school with kids from Patrick Henry at Thomas Jefferson and it did seem like a lot of the "ghetto" kids came from that school, but it still seemed like a good school in general.