Need more info on Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria (Springfield: house, transfer)

[jml5466]

We are military, but we've been lucky with locations (well, it hasn't just been luck, I've researched every possible location and vetoed the worst ones). It would be a shame to move to Fairfax county and not get into an excellent school, but I'm learning that I can't have the best of everything. I'm looking for the balance between affordable housing, short commute times, and good schools and the reality is that something has to give. I haven't made up my mind yet as to what I'm willing to sacrifice, but I really appreciate all the feedback I've received from this site. You've been very helpful and on the whole, very encouraging and positive.

[Denton56]

I would not send a child to Hayfield. Scores reflect who is in a school and how much emphasis there is on academics. Peer groups are VERY important and so are academics. I would not send my child to Hayfield. No way, no how.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by Denton56

I would not send a child to Hayfield. Scores reflect who is in a school and how much emphasis there is on academics. Peer groups are VERY important and so are academics. I would not send my child to Hayfield. No way, no how.

Standardized test scores do tend to reflect the socio-economic demographics of the student body, but many Fairfax schools are quite diverse and there can be multiple peer groups within a particular middle or high school.

[Yankeesfan]

I think that's part of the reason my neighbors have been satisfied with Hayfield. Kids tend to find their peer group and so those who are academically- and goal-oriented find each other. I asked once who were the troublemakers and was told that it is the kids who don't participate in extracurriculars and also don't have anyone home for them after school. (Not trying to push Hayfield as I don't have any first-hand experience there, just saying that I know people who had some trepidation that seems to have been unfounded.)

[Skapov]

The OP gives off the "SAHM-vibe", and so I second Yankeesfan that if you're gonna be home for the kids after school, and be a super-involved parent, then your kids will probably be fine at a subpar school and may indeed thrive at Hayfield. The situation, however, with so many DC-Metro area families is that most families spend large chunks of time away from home, and are double-income couples with a one-hour-each-way commute. That's honestly the BIGGEST problem with schools here in PG County, you've got so many single-parent households and hardly any SAHMs, and there are really not many good jobs in the county so most people must find work in DC/Montgomery/Fairfax counties, which means an even longer commute. With no one at home, and with no one having the time to be engaged with what is happening in the schools, the youngter's education suffer and many kids go astray.

Most important note: BE AN INVOLVED PARENT, and all other things will fall in place, no matter where you choose to send you kids for their education.

[al8050]

I graduated from Hayfield a few years ago. It wasn't the best high school, but it wasn't the worst. If you have any specific questions feel free to message me.

[adctvmonkey]

Hi there, I live in the Hayfield district and my student is currently a senior there.

Hayfield has had an undeserved bad reputation for decades. Someone else on city-data said it before, but Hayfield has a lot of everything - you have children coming from wealthy neighborhoods who drive brand new Lexuses and BMWs and children coming from poorer neighborhoods. You have large numbers of children from all over the world. The end result is a beautifully diverse school.

Now, when South County first opened, Hayfield was very empty and under-capacity, and many viewed the school as being negative since so many neighborhoods wanted to get into South County. The school lacked some programs, but after the rezoning with SoCo in 2007, the population has increased steadily and classes and programs have expanded. There may be some undesirable elements in the school, but if your child is a hard worker, takes challenging classes, and makes good friends, he or she will succeed anywhere (granted you are an involved parent).

Hayfield has also risen over 20 spots to #68 on the Challenge Index this year. I know that the Index doesn't tell the whole story about a school, but it's still a good indication of how challenged the students of a particular school are.

[Skapov]

Originally Posted by adctvmonkey

Hayfield has also risen over 20 spots to #68 on the Challenge Index this year. I know that the Index doesn't tell the whole story about a school, but it's still a good indication of how challenged the students of a particular school are.

That Challenge Index doesn't mean anything, and did you see how Washington Post split the list this year? Because turns out, some schools were gaming the system! All the Challenge Index tells is what percentage of students sit for the AP/IB exams, but in some cases only 15% of them actually get a passing score. Funny, but WP did not print the pass rate for schools on "the main list", and as long as at least 10% of the students passed, they made the main list. And so how do we know that Hayfield HS didn't come in just above the bar, but with a low pass rate still? IMO, the pass rate is what counts, not how many bodies we can put in a seat to fill an AP class.

[Yankeesfan]

Skapov, you are right on the money about the Challenge Index. It measures ONLY how many students take AP classes but not how many pass. I have heard repeatedly from parents that guidance counselors and teachers push students into AP classes to drive up their rating on the Challenge Index (which then becomes the basis for Newsweek's Best High Schools in America list). I saw an article somewhere (sorry, I know that's vague, but I really can't remember) recently about a school that shot way up on the index but almost no one in the school actually passed the AP test. (I don't think the school was in Fairfax County but it was somewhere in this region.)

There is of course correlation between AP participation and school quality, but an increasing number of schools are, as Skapov said, gaming the system.

Since the Challenge Index comes up fairly often on this board, here's a really interesting discussion from 2005 about it:

Is AP Good for Everybody? It's Debatable (washingtonpost.com)

[bangorme]

This poster hit the nail on the head, school boards like to keep affluent people happy by creating exclusive (taxpayer funded private) schools within the public school system. They do it by altering school districts and creating "gifted and talented" programs. You've seen it, 80% of the kids are gifted and talented... Money must grow young brains I guess. I know what I'm talking about, I served for six years on a school board.

So, the brutally honest truth is, if you want the best school in the area, go to the one where the children have the highest household income. These schools will be the safest, have the most qualified and most motivated teachers, offer the most opportunities. Forget about all the politically correct stuff, it won't educate your child. However, just as a warning, don't think that going to a a wealthy school will keep your kids away from drugs or pregancy. Some of the best schools in the country also have major drug and alcohol problems, and lots of pregnant students. Even kids attending exclusive schools need parents, real involved parents.

Originally Posted by JEB77

It is great that there are Hayfield boosters that can speak to their children's or friends' actual experience at the school. Unfortunately, in Fairfax, the School Board not infrequently takes actions that damage the reputations of schools. When it establishes school boundaries that look like gerry-mandered congressional districts, and creates attendance "islands" outside the normal boundaries, it often reflects the efforts of particular School Board members to grant favors to particular neighborhoods or keep certain neighborhoods out of a particular school. Some of the negative perceptions about Hayfield arose not only because parents in Fairfax Station understandibly wanted their kids to attend a new school closer to their homes (South County), but also because there was a perception that some neighborhoods (not Kingstowne) that logically should be assigned to South County were instead assigned to Hayfield, while other neighborhoods that should be assigned to Lake Braddock were assigned to South County. Fortunately, most parents, teachers and children generally rise above the School Board's shenanigans and make the best of the situation.