Fairview Elementary School (Arlington, Burke, Springfield: houses, neighborhood, buyer)

[jeksmom062405]

Hi All,

Can anyone tell me their experience with Fairview Elementary in Fairfax Station? We are looking at a house that feeds into that school in Burke. We love the neighborhood. Do they have a full-day kindergarten? Do they happen to have an integrated preschool program? My son has dyspraxia, so we will be utilizing Fairfax County Childfind. Also, what's the commute like from Burke? I work in DC, and my husband works in Arlington. We know the commute will be difficult, but I work 3 day a week in the city 9months of the year (4 days for 3 months). I would appreciate anyone's thoughts or comments.

Thanks,s
Tara

[car54]

My retirement gig is driving a school bus....and I sub on Fairview runs regularly. As of last school year, Fairview still had half day Kindergarten. I think the budget situation has delayed the changeover to all-day K. (You do know that all FFX elementary schools close early on Mondays...)

Fairview kids are pretty well behaved on the bus, so Fairview admin must run a pretty tight ship there....

Where in Fairfax Station? Maybe I can suggest routes to Fairrview. It's pretty centrally located right on the corner of Burke Centre Pkwy and Rt 123.

[mlv311]

Originally Posted by jeksmom062405

Also, what's the commute like from Burke? I work in DC, and my husband works in Arlington.

We live in the area and my husband drives to work every day. It takes him about an hour on average, but he leaves at 9:00 am and gets home around 7:30 pm so he isn't driving in the midst of "real" rush hour traffic. The good thing about the area is that you have the option of commuting to work via the VRE if its schedule works for you.

[tgbwc]

Fairview is not scheduled for full day k this year. You can find out a lot of info on the FCPS website. Look under "Schools and Centers", then run the search for the school you want. Look under the school's profile for all kinds of information.

[MacUser85]

Your commute is a bit daunting to me. I'll be honest. Is it the worst, no, but since you do have a child with special needs that could need you at any time, I would want to move closer to Arlington/DC if possible. I understand North Arlington and Falls Church would be more expensive, but I think it is worth your while to look at it in the very least. Especially with it being a buyer's market, you could potentially score a deal.

Looking at this further...let's divide your commute by the part of it that is inside the Beltway and outside the Beltway. You are looking at probably 20-25 minutes just to get yourself to the Beltway. Maybe you'll connect into Braddock Road and meet 495 there, or maybe you'll take Old Keene Mill Road into the center of Springfield and then join 95/395/495 there. So right there that is 20-25 (that number might even be a bit low...) and then you have 30 minutes at least into Arlington from the time you cross inside the Beltway. DC...whoa...let's just say 1 hr 15 mins to be safe total. And this is on good weather days--what about when it snows?

I don't want to sound negative, I just want to give you the total picture as I know it is not fun when commuting bites into family time. I hope this is helpful and my best recommendation again is to see if you could find something in FC or Arlington. Even Vienna would be better. Just something that gets you inside the Beltway quick, so you don't have a big chunk of "outside the Beltway commuting." Best of luck and welcome to the area!

[jeksmom062405]

Thanks everyone to the responses.

CaseyMac, we already looked in both Falls Church and Arlington, and unfortunately cannot afford housing there. The houses in Arlington cost $670k for a 2.5 bedroom house. It would be great to live close in, but I really don't want to have to live paycheck to paycheck. I really like Burke, it's really idyllic, and I think that I could take FFX county parkway to 95, if I am not mistaken. Since I only work 3 days a week in the office the majority of the year, I think it might be worth it.

Is there parking at the VRE station?

Thanks again, everyone.
Tara

[mlv311]

Originally Posted by jeksmom062405

Is there parking at the VRE station?

There is plenty of parking and free.