Fairfax County Schools (Annandale, McLean, Jefferson: homes, homebuyer, school districts)

[05c6400]

From reading the posts on here I would say that Fairfax County schools are okay and based on my experience and to be very blunt - They stink.

However, does the school district have an affect the cost of housing?

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by 05c6400

From reading the posts on here I would say that Fairfax County schools are okay and based on my experience and to be very blunt - They stink.

However, does the school district have an affect the cost of housing?

I'm sorry to hear that your experience in FCPS was not ideal. However, contrary to your point of view, the consensus on various threads on the subject seems to be that the perception of the school district as a whole is that it's one of the best in the country.

One popular theory here is that the better that one's school pyramid is perceived, the higher the cost of housing as already affluent households push the asking price for homes even higher.

[05c6400]

That is the problem "Perception" and not based on actual experience.

Just because the perception is that Fairfax County has better schools does not mean that home prices should be any higher.

[tankdude]

Originally Posted by 05c6400

That is the problem "Perception" and not based on actual experience.

Just because the perception is that Fairfax County has better schools does not mean that home prices should be any higher.

Huh?

The perception that the schools are great drives demand. This perception is verified with some of the highest performing schools in the US (ref. US News and Newsweek).

Over the past few years, high demand with average supply resulted in higher prices.

That's Economics 101.

[05c6400]

Just me - I do not think schools should have an affect on home prices.

Yes, I agree High demand with average supply will result in higher home prices; that makes sense.

Newsweek:
Fairfax County Schools are in the top 1,300 public schools in the US and only 5 (Langley, McLean, WT Woodson, George Mason and Lake Braddock) schools broke into the top 100.

In the Top 50 #16 HB Woodlawn in Arlington, Va and #48 Clark County in Berryville, VA.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Va was ranked in the Best Highschools: The Public Elites.

Robinson, where I attended ranked #219. To me it was average.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by 05c6400

Just me - I do not think schools should have an affect on home prices.

Yes, I agree High demand with average supply will result in higher home prices; that makes sense.

Newsweek:
Fairfax County Schools are in the top 1,300 public schools in the US and only 5 (Langley, McLean, WT Woodson, George Mason and Lake Braddock) schools broke into the top 100.

In the Top 50 #16 HB Woodlawn in Arlington, Va and #48 Clark County in Berryville, VA.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Va was ranked in the Best Highschools: The Public Elites.

Robinson, where I attended ranked #219. To me it was average.

When you say Robinson was "average" to you, are you saying that it didn't seem like a particularly challenging or inspiring environment to you?

I ask because, in a sense, whatever school you attended will seem "average" to you, because you may not have attended other schools and can't know whether they're better or worse. I certainly felt like my FCPS high school was "average" in many respects when I was there (some teachers were better than others, the cafeteria could be iffy if you sat at the wrong table at the wrong time), but gained a different perspective once I arrived at college and was generally able to hold my own with students who'd attended elite prep schools and already seen Paris first-hand.

Interestingly, Robinson is a school that continues to attract a lot of students zoned to different high school attendance areas (including Centreville, Fairfax, Woodson, and West Springfield), although it sends more students to West Springfield than it receives from that school. They must be doing something right on Sideburn Rd.

[05c6400]

It seemed like most of the stuff we learned was spoon fed to us. There were some good teachers that kept your attention, where as with other teachers you ended up falling asleep or staring out the window. Never really thought any of the teachers I had were motivating, maybe to other students they were.

Yes, college is a different world and that is where I think the real education starts and it becomes very challenging.

I do not think that FCPS highschools really prepare most kids for college or the reality of college. Unfortunately, Jefferson Highschool for Science and Tech opened during my senior year. That school might have been more challenging. Oddly enough the houses next to Thomas Jefferson Highschool do not cost nearly as much as the houses in McLean or Langley. And yet, Thomas Jefferson is considered one of the Public Elites.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by 05c6400

It seemed like most of the stuff we learned was spoon fed to us. There were some good teachers that kept your attention, where as with other teachers you ended up falling asleep or staring out the window. Never really thought any of the teachers I had were motivating, maybe to other students they were.

Yes, college is a different world and that is where I think the real education starts and it becomes very challenging.

I do not think that FCPS highschools really prepare most kids for college or the reality of college. Unfortunately, Jefferson Highschool for Science and Tech opened during my senior year. That school might have been more challenging. Oddly enough the houses next to Thomas Jefferson Highschool do not cost nearly as much as the houses in McLean or Langley. And yet, Thomas Jefferson is considered one of the Public Elites.

You raise a lot of good points - neither parents nor students should get lulled into thinking that graduating from a Fairfax County high school, the system's generally solid reputation aside, necessarily willl make either college or other future endeavors come easy.

I have an enormous amount of respect for teachers, their dedication and the financial sacrifices that many of them make to do something they love, but I know both first-hand and second-hand that some do not know how to motivate students and are just passing time until their retirement. I remember one teacher, in particular, whose tests consisted solely of requiring us to "fill in the blanks" from passages taken from the textbook. You had to use the exact language in the textbook - if you used a perfectly good synonym for the term in the textbook, he would still mark your answer wrong! I do see a lot of energetic teachers, younger and older, in the schools my kids currently attend.

TJHSST is a magnet school that draws students from all over the county, so it really doesn't matter where it's located. The School Board could relocate the school to Hybla Valley and, as long as it was a selective school that offered challenging courses, motivated students would flock there. At the time TJ was established as a magnet school, it made a lot of sense to locate it there, since there was excess capacity in the "regular" schools in the immediate area (in particular, Annandale, Jefferson and Stuart).

[05c6400]

"TJHSST is a magnet school that draws students from all over the county, so it really doesn't matter where it's located. The School Board could relocate the school to Hybla Valley and, as long as it was a selective school that offered challenging courses, motivated students would flock there. At the time TJ was established as a magnet school, it made a lot of sense to locate it there, since there was excess capacity in the "regular" schools in the immediate area (in particular, Annandale, Jefferson and Stuart)."

I understand your point, but I do not understand why people still justify that a good school means that home prices need to be higher??? That does not make sense! The two should remain separate.

[ZakAttack]

Be happy you got into GMU. With an EE major and good grades, you will be marketable, especially in the DC metro area. High school in Fairfax County is what you make of it. Teachers aren't going to hold your hand, and most parents will not do so, either.

GMU was ranked by the Princetown Review as one of the best 100 "best value" colleges for 2009. It was also named the #1 university to watch by U.S. News and World Report.

But, then of course, they also just crowned a male homecoming queen at a televised basketball game.