Alexandria area & schools (Arlington, Williamsburg: apartments, condos, credit)

[coro]

My wife and I are considering moving to Alexandria. I will be working near Union Station. Also, my wife's little sister will be living with us, going to middle school. We are looking at some apartments in Alexandria, and I am wondering if it is a good location. It is located a half mile from the Eisenhower metro stop, and the address is:

Avalon
2700 Williamsburg Street
Alexandria, VA 22314

Is this a safe area? Is it a decent (less than 40 minutes) commute to D.C? Lastly, I believe that the middle school for this area is George Washington. Is this a decent school???

Thanks for your help

[eastli84]

Hey - The neighborhood you are asking about is very nice and safe. Two of my friends live in that exact complex, so I have been there several times. Lots of young professionals around. It's a new development located a stone's throw away from the metro stop and the beltway.

A new "town center" type development is being constructed about 0.5 miles to the east, which has condos, restaurants, and shops. Old Town is a quick drive away where there are tons of good restaurants (not chains either) and shops. Great location!

For the commute into DC, the easiest and quickest way would be to take Metro. Depending on how long you have to wait to transfer to the red line at Gallery Place, the entire ride should be between 25 and 35 minutes. Very doable and comfortable.

I can't comment on schools as I have no children and did not grow up in this area.

Good luck!

[seldomseen]

Just in case you haven't already heard the public school system in NoVa is top notch at provides some of the best education in the United States. And it's safe to say that the most if not all the schools in NoVa are safe as well. Of course the schools are still going to be dealing with thier bouts of drugs, bullying, etc.

Check out the following websites for more researchable information about the school you're inquiring about.

GreatSchools.net
Schools, High School, Public Schools, School District, Public High Schools - SchoolMatters
PSK12 Public School Rankings

[csread]

Excellent information and resources sites!

[marathontony]

City of Alexandria has ridiculously high property taxes, even for NOVA. And while schools in many parts of NOVA are quite good, Alexandria sweats out accreditation every year. This year GW Middle School and a couple of other elementary schools did not receive accreditation. The plus side is TC Williams HS, the only HS in the city, has new buildings. I have lived in Alexandria for almost a decade and while it has its charms, I would rather live in Arlington or just a bit outside the Beltway, and simply visit Old Town Alexandria - which has its share of Popeye's, Gap and several Starbucks. But schools - no way.

[scotty2987]

I agree with the poster above me. Yes, old town is amazing, but the schools in alexandria are...far behind the rest in northern virginia. Even though they did build a new high school, the same students are going to go there. they didn't get a new population, people. I've worked with bus drivers for Alexandria, and they have told me horror stories of fights, drug use, sexual intercourse, gangs, and tobacco use (even in the middle schools) on the buses. you can find a nice complex like that elsewhere that has better schools. I've heard George Washington is the WORST for the middle schools there.

[marathontony]

Hi - posting here, two years later. Alexandria just had elections for school board a couple of days ago. New faces on the board now, and we have a new school superintendent. Many folks who could afford private school before are sending their kids to the public schools. So - not perfect by far, but much better than the mess that it was just a couple of years ago.

[eleng]

My son went here for a year in the 90s, and we lived in an adjoining neighborhood for a number of years. I got special permission from the school board to transfer my son out and over to Francis Hammond Middle School, after he was targeted by some tough boys who lived in our neighborhood, getting consistently stalked, mugged, beat up, and generally bullied by these boys on and around school property. Even well before that, I will never forget my first experience at GW, coming in for a parent-teacher conference. It was downright scary. As the bell rang and hundreds of students started moving around me at the same time I entered the building, I was nearly overwhelmed by the swaggering, pushy, foul-mouthed surge of adolescents that threatened to mow me down and whose only response to my queries about where the office was located, was to give me the evil eye. I was shocked that the sweet little 5th graders of last year had been plunged into this at 12 years old.

A few facts:
-- Middle school starts with 6th grade in Alexandria.
-- GW separates the grades by floor, so that the 6th graders mostly intermingle with other 6th graders, and are largely separated from the 7th and 8th graders. (Ninth grade has its separate school, like a transitional school, called Minnie Howard.)
-- GW's attendance zone includes some of the poorest neighborhoods in Alexandria.
-- Many students coming out of GW, both at present and historically, do/have done very well in school and go/have gone on to be successful scholars and attend prestigious universities.

Somebody else on this forum mentioned GW did not get accredited this year -- that's pretty bad. I don't know if, in view of that, parents have any recourse to alternative schools. It used to be you could not choose which middle school your child attended, but if you're paying taxes and your school is not getting accredited, it seems like you should have some choices, no?

There are some really good Catholic schools in the area, if you're Christian.

If students have acquired a solid moral and ethical foundation in their upbringing, you can be hopeful that they will behave according to the values they learn at home, not the ones they witness at school. Maybe that's too optimistic, I don't know. I kind of still believe that, as corny as it sounds.

Good luck and hope you enjoy your new home.

[car54]

Originally Posted by eleng

-- Many students coming out of GW, both at present and historically, do/have done very well in school and go/have gone on to be successful scholars and attend prestigious universities.

And some GW alumni have achieved immortality...at least among their generation.

Jim Morrison of the Doors
John Phillips and Mama Cass Elliott, both of the Mamas & Papas

(you young 'uns are forgiven if you've never heard of them...)

[irvine]

I always thought GW in recent years had the better reputation. Definitely a larger upper middle class demographic at GW, in the 90s anyway. Relevant current stats on websites like greatschools et al. In the news: Alexandria is currently reorganizing the 2 middle schools into 5 smaller ones.

Another GW alum, when it was a senior high school, is Willard Scott of the Today Show.