Wife is looking for a home in northern virginia with good high schools (Fairfax: townhouses, transfer)

[midlifeman]

jeb77,

Great information. You should be a consultant. I'm sure the alpha moms/tiger moms would pay you good money for this information. Keep up the info!

[OrangeFish]

Originally Posted by JEB77

Give them a few years (or, as Matt Damon almost said in Good Will Hunting, "how you like 'dem rotundas?"):


TJHSST 2.0 Virtual Walk Through - YouTube

There are some other renovations to get through first. I think the practice rotundas have to be built first so they can get them right for TJ. ;-)

[IndiaLimaDelta]

Originally Posted by globalburgh

Your price range and house wants (i.e. square footage) will get you the best Loudoun County has to offer.

First of all, are there really a lot of new homes in Loudoun that are 2500 sq.ft. range?

I don't think $650K is quite "the best Loudoun County" has to offer (unless you mean a $650K home that is 2500 sq.ft., even then, it's not quite "the best") but in any case, then the issue is scarcity.

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

however the quality of teachers, facilities, and curriculum across the county system is uniform as is the funding. Your student will likely achieve pretty much the same SAT score regardless which high school he/she attends.

Yes, except you left out perhaps the most important component of the performance equation: students/parents. They do differ greatly from pyramid to pyramid in some cases.

Originally Posted by OrangeFish

My thought, too -- for example, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology is a pretty amazing high school, but the facilities are not as modern as those in Loudoun County.

I attended Stuyvesant High School in NYC at the old building. Talk about dilapidated. Still produced some of the highest performing high school students in the country in many disciplines. Shiny buildings are nice, but can't trump involved parents and motivated students. Due to the funding mechanism the two go together in many cases, but where there is divergence, I'd choose good demographics over gold-plated equipment any day.

[kww]

Originally Posted by IndiaLimaDelta

First of all, are there really a lot of new homes in Loudoun that are 2500 sq.ft. range?

quick search of the county for homes built after 2000, with atleast 2500 tax square footage, returns over 60 possibles..priced from $500,000-675,000

incorporating a basement to get to a minimum of 2500 sq ft total would add additional homes of course

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by JEB77

(go ask someone at Falls Church HS whether they'd like their building to be in the same condition as recently renovated Woodson);

Falls Cnurch HS isn't part of the Fairfax County school system.

[CapsChick]

Originally Posted by SallyField

I'll give a specific recommendation: live in WT Woodson HS district. I think you can find a decent house for $650K and it's an excellent high school, has a reputation as one of the top two or three in the area (along with McLean and Langley) and a little smaller than the other FFX County public HS.

I graduated from Woodson -- more than a few years ago -- and I turned out OK.

[OrangeFish]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Falls Cnurch HS isn't part of the Fairfax County school system.

Huh?

Falls Church High School

[pcity]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Falls Cnurch HS isn't part of the Fairfax County school system.

You're thinking of George Mason HS, which is part of the Falls Church system.

Falls Church HS is part of the Fairfax County system.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by pcity

You're thinking of George Mason HS, which is part of the Falls Church system.

Falls Church HS is part of the Fairfax County system.

They really need to do something about that source of my confusion.

[marie5v]

Originally Posted by JEB77

While your first sentence is true, I would challenge the accuracy of the second sentence. Some schools have more teacher attrition than others (as discussed in Marie5v's recent post); while the facilities are more or less adequate throughout the county, their quality is uneven (go ask someone at Falls Church HS whether they'd like their building to be in the same condition as recently renovated Woodson); the curriculum varies, particularly at the high school level; some schools have extra-curricular programs that are much stronger than similar programs at other schools or programs (club sports, for example) that do not exist at all at other school; and some high schools in Fairfax now go years without having a single National Merit Semifinalist named, which at least raises a question as to whether the school environments are uniformly stimulating.

Every school in the county will offer substantial opportunities for those interested and capable of learning, which maybe should be the key point, but they really are not as fungible as you suggest.

I agree. It is a mistake to think everything is equal. While I do think that there are too many schools that are, in fact, more or less equal (if not the same), there will certainly be some significant differences at the extreme ends of the spectrum (most and least desirable). However, it's not necessarily obvious to a casual observer. Because of the way the county operates, the actual facilities at a school don't correspond to the income of the local residents. The poorest school might actually have the newest facilities. However, academics and social atmosphere will differ significantly. Teacher quality as well. I think one really has to first decide on a budget for a home, and then some preferred areas, and then check out the schools. I've seen people try to narrow it down first by school, and it never seems to work out that way. Just too many schools, especially if one isn't even limiting oneself to one county.