Not Happy With Public Schools (Arlington, Alexandria: middle-class, school district, income)

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

I haven't noticed any difficulty with the kids here getting into and doing well in good colleges and then getting out and getting good jobs. That's the true measure of a school system. On that score, the Fairfax County schools are doing very well.

I agree. The Fairfax kids are doing well on SATs/ACTs and are being admitted into great colleges. In other words, nationally, they are competing just fine and, I would bet, above average.

I also believe/agree that standardized test scores have more to do with the background of the student versus what is going on day-to-day in the classroom. I stand by my opinion that there is very little, if any, difference in the curriculum taught between Fairfax and Prince William County school systems. Test scores tell a different story though and that all comes down to MONEY. Overall, Fairfax kids come from more advantaged homes and their test scores reflect what all the good things in life have had to offer them. I believe between the two counties, a student will get the same education.

As to the OP's predicament, I think it's really hard to look at the "snapshot" of your child's particular school year or grade. Your child may have had a phenomenal teacher(s) in his last school but maybe, this year, not so much. You may find things change dramatically from year to year. I know that my coworker has two kids in the Fairfax county school system GT program (grades 4 and 6). He comes from a family of 8 valedictorians and very smart, highly educated people. He has been very please, so far, with what the schools have offered his kids in these programs.

I think in the earlier grades it is very hard not to want to push them harder. The kids are at so many different levels and it's very difficult for the schools to teach to them all. You will probably notice some improvements at the 4th grade level where they really start making a separation.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

So if Fairfax County Public Schools are NOT living up to the "hype," then what are all of the high taxes here paying for? Why are housing prices so high? I just found out that due to my vehicle's value I'll likely be paying a $700 "car tax." If 50% of the county's budget is devoted to education, then I want a refund of $350 if the money is not being well spent.

Average per pupil spending is actually quite low for the high level of the college admissions test scores. I'd say we're getting a bargain.

[SteelCityRising]

News flash to Fairfax County parents: I went to a school district in Pennsylvania that had below-average test scores and only offered a small handful of AP offerings. The townspeople filled the football stadiums to capacity while disavowing the existence of science fairs, engineering competitions, international food expos, etc. Guess what? I graduated coom laude (intentionally misspelled to avoid the profanity filter) with a Bachelor's Degree from an AACSB-accredited business college, had two job offers, and plan to pursue my Master's Degree soon. I want to open my own business someday and run for elected office to help make society better. Some friends of mine, also from this "horrible" public school district, are going to medical school or law school. Some are planning to open their own businesses or also run for elected office. Some are serving our nation valiantly in the armed services. There are success stories coming out of PA's poor public school systems left and right (and sadly 99.9% of them, like myself, are leaving).

What's the moral here? You need not spend an arm and a leg in tax revenues or inflated housing prices to send your child to the Harvard of high schools to "guarantee" their success in life. If he or she is dedicated and empowered enough to grab the reins and take control of his or her own future, then he or she will succeed anywhere. This has MUCH more to do with their home environment and how supportive parents/guardians are than the "prestige factor" of going to a school where the students drive better cars than the teachers. I always chuckle when I ask why the cost-of-living here is so much higher than much of Maryland and am told "great schools" as a response (as if that's supposed to impress me). Some of you people don't mind paying a $200,000 premium on a home in a county with much higher property taxes for the "prestige" factor of telling others where your child goes to school? It just seems like a huge waste of your financial resources to me.

For that matter what's the big push for Ivy-League schools? I know Ivy-League graduates who are still job-hunting right now. I find those who started off at community colleges for two years before transferring to a state school to be the wisest---earning the same degree and receiving the same opportunities to ultimately apply for the same positions for a fraction of the price. What do you call the accountant earning a $45,000 salary who spent $75,000 altogether for his or her degree? An accountant. What do you call the accountant earning a $45,000 salary who spent $200,000 altogether for his or her degree? An accoutant. Funny, isn't it?

I suppose I really should reserve judgment. It's not my money to waste. All I know for certain is that when I adopt in the future I'll gladly send my children to any SAFE public school. I'll be one of those dreaded "helicopter" parents hovering around my child as much as possible and drawing the ire of his or her teachers for being too supportive. How many of you rely upon the school system exclusively to educate your children because you're too busy working overtime to help pay for the high mortgage on the home in the supposedly "best" school district? Wouldn't it be better if you had moved to an "average" school district, paid a REASONABLE price for a home, and then spent less time at work busting your hump and more time at home nurturing them? I can tell you that growing up I'd much rather have had parents who were there for me whenever I needed them instead of parents working 60-hour weeks to pay the bills of "keeping up with the Jones's" in an affluent area just to send me to a school that would afford me the same opportunities as any other school.

Do you really think colleges will take a look at your child's high school and throw their applications into the garbage? No. Ever see the movie Good Will Hunting? There is potential talent and success to be found everywhere, be it Great Falls or Oxon Hill.

[CAVA1990]

I think parents of younger children may have a lot more anxiety than those whose kids have gone through the system. Sure there are ups and downs and they'll have some not so great teachers (not many) but after it's all said and done they'll come out just fine. I can't think of any friends of my kids who were done wrong by our schools. They've pretty much all turned out to be happy, well adjusted, successful young adults.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

What's the moral here? You need not spend an arm and a leg in tax revenues or inflated housing prices to send your child to the Harvard of high schools to "guarantee" their success in life.

No, but it's sure easier when all the other kids they're around are as well adjusted and success driven as your kids. You're much more likely to find that in places like Fairfax County than in most others. Don't underestimate the social networking benefits of having gone through school with a lot of other motivated kids from more educated homes. The greatest benefit of a Harvard (or UVA or JMU) education isn't the classroom learning they'll receive but the contacts they'll make while they're there. Those can yield a lifetime of benefits.

[SteelCityRising]

Before too many start taking offense to that prior comment please bear in mind it was intended for nobody in particular, and any similarities to the lives of anyone on this forum is purely coincidental. I just tire of people thinking that their children are destined for failure in life if they don't work overtime to afford a home in a "posh" school district when if given the right support and motivation these children will also become very successful in life if derived from the environment of an "average" (or in my case below-average) school. Money can't buy you success in life. You can't buy your way into Harvard (well, you shouldn't be able to anyways from an ethical standpoint, but I'm sure that still happens). A stand-out from Langley High School is just as likely to be considered as a potential new Freshman at Georgetown as a stand-out from a school in Prince William County. Something like 48% of my graduating class at my own undergraduate school were derived from families where they were the first generation to earn a degree. I would like to see some empirical evidence that suggests that external factors (i.e. going to a "good school") are superior to having a strong solid internal locus of control to take command of your future and strive for success. If you want to do well in life, you can, regardless of your zip code. I should know. Been to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA lately? It's rather impoverished.

[CAVA1990]

ScranBarre - I certainly don't disagree with what you're saying here. Motivated, hard working kids will do well whereever they're from.

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

So if Fairfax County Public Schools are NOT living up to the "hype," then what are all of the high taxes here paying for? Why are housing prices so high? I just found out that due to my vehicle's value I'll likely be paying a $700 "car tax." If 50% of the county's budget is devoted to education, then I want a refund of $350 if the money is not being well spent.

A big issue, as I see it, is that Fairfax County receives very little in return for every tax dollar it sends to Richmond. 73.8% of the FCPS budget is funded by Fairfax County. When compared with other school divisions in Virginia, Fairfax County funds a much larger portion of its school budget with local funds. (The average VA district receives approximately half of its financial support from its local government). FCPS receives 19% of its funding from the state. This is significantly less than the average 48% share other VA school divisions receive because the state has equalized payments using the local composite index. Because Fairfax County’s true values of real estate and public service corporations, adjusted gross income, and taxable retail sales are higher than other jurisdictions in Virginia, FCPS receives less aid.

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Average per pupil spending is actually quite low for the high level of the college admissions test scores. I'd say we're getting a bargain.

See page 30 of this report.

http://www.acps.k12.va.us/board/wabe.pdf (broken link)

FCPS per pupil spending is much lower than Alexandria City, Arlington and Falls Church, and is just a bit lower than Montgomery.

[cdmurphy]

Most of the teens I know around here aren't busting their humps to get into an Ivy League school - they're trying to get into UVA, Tech, or William & Mary. UVA is a top-25 school and tuition is less than 10K a year. It is harder to get in from Northern Virginia than from other parts of the state (I don't have time to dig for stats, but they're out there somewhere) because the pool is more competitive, and they don't want UVA to be UNoVA. They also want to increase the number of out-of-state students who pay a lot more tuition, which cuts the number of in-state slots.

I agree that motivated students can succeed from any school, but as CAVA1990 mentioned, the networking and contacts from a top school are invaluable. That's not limited to Ivy League or top-25 schools; depending on your field, a school with a great local reputation (like GMU) can serve the same function. Some people complain that they feel like DC-area people are trying to compete by asking them where they went to school, but that's part of networking. And believe me, it pays off.

I went to Georgetown (heavily subsidized by the school itself with grants; they only give need-based aid, and we were poor) and it was a wonderful education and experience, but unless I win the lottery in the next 17 years, I would rather my twins go to UVA. We make too much money to get the kind of aid I got from GU, but not enough to pay for one kid to go there, much less two. But assuming they do well in school and want to major in something that GU offers, they might have a better chance of getting in there (especially as two-parent legacies; legacies comprise about 10% of each entering class at GU) than to UVA.