Is Langley HS in McLean Really that Great?? (Fairfax: homes, neighborhood)

[car54]

No.

The ultimate statement in this region is: "My child goes to TJ".

That would be Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology...a nationally known Fairfax County school that even other area Counties pay to send their best students to.

Admissions are extremely competitive and seemingly uncorrupted by the Langley/McLean money crowd. The IB and AP programs are consolation prizes for these parents whose kids couldn't get into TJ.

I work for FCPS and have frequent contact with TJ students...they are truly the elite.

[mroy]

I know this might be slightly off topic, but thought the OP might like to know, that one of the reason I like living and sending my kids to school in eastern Loudoun is that I feel like they are getting a more balanced perspective of individual backgrounds, including economic. I have heard horror stories of kids that have gone to McLean and Langley from parents that have pretty high level, high paying jobs, but are not "wealthy", and the kids really feel the pain. The peer pressure is pretty significant in almost every way - from academics, to athletics, to recreational activities, to monetary items, and including drugs/alcohol.

Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of money in parts of Loudoun too, but it is typically not at the concentrated and at the same level that you will see in Langley/Mclean. We are really talking about the most wealthy and powerful families in the country.

The eatern loudoun area generally speaking is what you would call middle to upper class - with most people in the nice neighborhoods working high paying white collar, professional jobs. Based on my experience living in Loudoun, many are transplants from other areas, and have "worked their way up" in their fields. It seems to be a good fit for our family, as this is what we come from as well.

[claremarie]

Admissions are extremely competitive and seemingly uncorrupted by the Langley/McLean money crowd.

Well, not really. The stats for TJ show that virtually none of their students qualify for free or reduced price lunches -- there are no "poor" students there. There are virtually no black or Hispanic students there. There are a disproprotionate number of Asian students there. Until FCPS started giving students from "under-represented" middle schools an admissions edge, the biggest feeder school was Longfellow, which is in the McLean pyramid and also houses the GT center for the Langley pyramid. Longfellow might well still be the biggest feeder school -- I haven't checked that number recently.

But, in short, you'll find a lot of students at TJ who would otherwise have been attending McLean and Langley. These are the students whose parents have gamed the system to get them into GT programs in second grade, hired tutors, sent them to admissions test prep classes, and provided the general privileged background that helps students both score well on the admissions test and present the most compelling "other" factors to gain an acceptance to TJ.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by car54

No. The ultimate statement in this region is: "My child goes to TJ".

Not so much for those whose kids are interested in History or Literature.

Originally Posted by car54

That would be Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology...a nationally known Fairfax County school that even other area Counties pay to send their best students to.

Well, Fairfax County pays to send its best S&T students there also. As elsewhere, the taxpayers of the district served pay the bulk of the freight. TJ serves students in Fairfax County, Arlington County, Loudon County, Fauquier County, Prince William County, and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church.

Originally Posted by car54

Admissions are extremely competitive...

Which is why it typically isn't included in discussions of area high schools. TJ admits approximately 500 students per year from an area with a population of about 1.8 million people, and has a rejection rate of 80% against the limited pool that can so much as meet the application requirements.

Originally Posted by car54

...and seemingly uncorrupted by the Langley/McLean money crowd.

Seemingly to whom? The income and ethnic demographics at TJ would parallel perhaps no other area more closely than Langley/McLean.

Originally Posted by car54

The IB and AP programs are consolation prizes for these parents whose kids couldn't get into TJ. I work for FCPS and have frequent contact with TJ students...they are truly the elite.

Pretty dismissive. TJ serves those with high-level talents and ambitions in math, science, and technology. The 'truly elite' in other fields need not apply and don't...

[Fern435]

Originally Posted by claremarie

Admissions are extremely competitive and seemingly uncorrupted by the Langley/McLean money crowd.

Well, not really. The stats for TJ show that virtually none of their students qualify for free or reduced price lunches -- there are no "poor" students there. There are virtually no black or Hispanic students there. There are a disproprotionate number of Asian students there. Until FCPS started giving students from "under-represented" middle schools an admissions edge, the biggest feeder school was Longfellow, which is in the McLean pyramid and also houses the GT center for the Langley pyramid. Longfellow might well still be the biggest feeder school -- I haven't checked that number recently.

But, in short, you'll find a lot of students at TJ who would otherwise have been attending McLean and Langley. These are the students whose parents have gamed the system to get them into GT programs in second grade, hired tutors, sent them to admissions test prep classes, and provided the general privileged background that helps students both score well on the admissions test and present the most compelling "other" factors to gain an acceptance to TJ.

Wow. Being a lowly military spouse whose oldest child was accepted into TJ (despite not being a product of the FCPS elementary GT programs), I find the above post to be unpleasant and inaccurate. I guess I should be amazed that my child, despite having one of the top admissions test scores, got into TJ at all, considering that we are nobodies here. And by Fairfax County standards, we are poor.

To the original poster: coming from the San Francisco Bay area, you will find a much different mindset here in the Northern Virginia/DC region than along the California coast. You are wise to be concerned about the clique mentality in your future neighborhood school. It is definitely here. Watch out for the moms here in Northern Virginia. They do not welcome newcomers if you do not already fit their limited notions of what being "successful" means. Money and ambition do not guarantee grace and quality in the parents or their children.

[claremarie]

Wow. Being a lowly military spouse whose oldest child was accepted into TJ (despite not being a product of the FCPS elementary GT programs), I find the above post to be unpleasant and inaccurate.

It may be unpleasant, but it is not inaccurate. As a group, the students at TJ are undeniably richer, more Asian, and drawn from more highly-educated families than the average in Fairfax County schools. That your particular family doesn't happen to fit that profile doesn't mean that the profile isn't accurate. The numbers speak for themselves.

Watch out for the moms here in Northern Virginia. They do not welcome newcomers if you do not already fit their limited notions of what being "successful" means.

Wow, now who is being "unpleasant and inaccurate"? You will find all kinds of moms here. Some are cliquish, some are welcoming, and others have enormous chips on their shoulders...

[Fern435]

Originally Posted by claremarie

Wow. Being a lowly military spouse whose oldest child was accepted into TJ (despite not being a product of the FCPS elementary GT programs), I find the above post to be unpleasant and inaccurate.

It may be unpleasant, but it is not inaccurate. As a group, the students at TJ are undeniably richer, more Asian, and drawn from more highly-educated families than the average in Fairfax County schools. That your particular family doesn't happen to fit that profile doesn't mean that the profile isn't accurate. The numbers speak for themselves.

Watch out for the moms here in Northern Virginia. They do not welcome newcomers if you do not already fit their limited notions of what being "successful" means.

Wow, now who is being "unpleasant and inaccurate"? You will find all kinds of moms here. Some are cliquish, some are welcoming, and others have enormous chips on their shoulders...

Classic. Thanks!

[novaman]

Having lived here for close to 20 years, and having lived in both the Langley and Mclean school districts, I can honestly say that you can't go wrong with any of the afore mentioned choices. I chose to leave the Langley district and move back to the Mclean district because I didn't want my kids to lose their sense of perspective. There is a lot of money around Langley. Mclean is much more down to earth. Mclean is also a much smaller high school (I believe it is the 2nd smallest HS in fairfax county).

[househunter6]

I think McLean had almost 1800 students last year, Langley had over 2000. That's one of my biggest complaints about most of the schools around here...they are just too big.

FYI, I have a child at Langley. We came here in 2004 and chose to live here specifically to be in Langley area...based on test scores and reputation. Honestly, I wish we had looked further into Falls Church City. Now that I have a kid in high school (a junior) I realize I much prefer a smaller campus size.

Another weird thing about Langley is that the actual school is situated at the Eastern end of it's attendance area...minutes from McLean HS boundary. So kids from the western end of the Langley attendance area (Great Falls, some areas of Herndon and Reston, all the way out to the Loudoun County line) are getting on the bus at 6:00 am.

People have mentioned the middle schools that feed Langley and McLean HS...Cooper and Longfellow. I have heard kids from the middle schools say that "the smart kids go to Longfellow, the rich kids go to Cooper."

[claremarie]

I have heard kids from the middle schools say that "the smart kids go to Longfellow, the rich kids go to Cooper."

That is most likely because Longfellow houses the gifted and talented center for both the McLean and Langley pyramids, so Cooper is losing many (but not all) of its strongest students to the GT center at Longfellow. Those kids do go on to Langley for high school.
You are right about the extreme commute for the students who live in the further reaches of Great Falls. But my guess is that most of them are NOT riding the bus. Not many high schoolers ride the bus in these parts, especially the juniors and seniors....