Opinions on Graham Park Middle School? (Manassas, Woodbridge: daycare, home, transfer)

[Larae_N]

I am seeking for anyone who has children attending Graham Park Middle School and their experiences there.

We have recently placed a contract on a home in Montclair, VA. We currently reside in Lake Ridge near the The Rolling Brook area.

We loved it here at one time, but times are a changing as they say. The area is becoming gang trodden with MS-13 grafitti on the play grounds, break-in's during the day, and gangs of kids who stand in the road and will not even move out of the way when you are trying to turn down the main road to get to your home.

My daughter is terrified to even catch the commuter bus to go to work at the top of the hill because of the cat calling and obscene things shouted at her. It's definitely a whole new animal here and we feel it's best to move some where a little more safe. So we have chosen Montclair. It seems so community oriented, serene and calm.

My only concern with Montclair is that it looks like one of my children is slated for Graham Park Middle School in Triangle, VA. My children tell me it's known to be one of the worst schools, outside of Freedom and Rippon. We have taken a trial run to the school to determine distance and location, and I must say that the neighborhood surrounding the school did not leave me feeling very safe.

Can anyone offer me any information? We don't want to go from one bad situation to the next if we can avoid it.

Thanks in advance.

[ChristineVA]

I do not have a child who went to that school but, you are correct, it does not have a good reputation. Never has. We were zoned for Rippon and could have gone to Graham Park on a specialty program. We chose private school. I think Montclair is a very nice neighborhood but I would not be happy about the Graham Park issue.

[Bigfoot424]

As a retired PWC police officer I will only say I would have never sent one of my kids to Graham Park. There are dedicated staff at the school like any school around but it's the neighborhood that is the issue. Some of the kids are seasoned well beyond their age at this school.

[Larae_N]

Thank you for your quick replies. It certainly helps to be forewarned.

I see Potomac Middle is close, actually closer than Graham Park. Can anyone offer me any guidance on how to get my child enrolled there even if we are zoned for Graham Park? My current middle school child is a good kid and gets along with everyone fairly well, I don't want that to change that about him.

I am really concerned about my youngest as he will be placed in middle school next year. He has Asperger's syndrome. His social skills are not up to the standards of his peers and as result, he is often beat up and alienated. He was sexually assualted by another student in school and he has been quite apprehensive about school ever since. I can't say I don't feel the same myself after his experiences. I want to make sure that I don't fail them again and do my best to place them in a safe and sound environment. Thank you for helping me with that.

[ChristineVA]

Once you hit middle school, you just can't transfer into another one easily. In elementary school, they are more flexible due to daycare issues. That stops in middle school.

PWC has specialty programs at the middle school level. Graham Park currently has a math/science specialty program that kids from surrounding middle schools can apply to.
http://pwcs.edu/Curriculum/Specialty...oolprogram.pdf

There are two other specialty programs: International Baccaulaureate (sp???) and Foreign Language. Since you are zoned for Graham Park, you can only attend the IB program at Godwin Middle School or Fred Lynn Middle School for Language. There are other middle schools that offer these programs but you can only get into them based on your base school.

I don't think you will be able to just transfer into Potomac. Besides, I was just talking to a mother of a student at my son's high school. He went to Potomac and she couldn't get him out fast enough and put him in private for high school. He had learning issues/social issues and the school did NOT A THING FOR HIM despite all their efforts.

It sounds as if you have signed your contract and it's a done deal? Can you consider private school?

The better middle schools are in Lake Ridge and Benton is another one on the Manassas/Woodbridge border.

Middle school is three short years--I might go private for that time.

[Muffy62]

I would agree that Benton and Lakeridge would be the better middle schools. The middle schools are the weak link in the county. You have more choices once you hit high school with the specialty programs but who knows what will happen in the future (they had the specialty busing on the chopping block until they found money for it). If you need the busing, I would defintely consider which high school you are zoned for just in case, they actually cut the specialty busing in the future.

[Super123]

Does anyone know what the worst middle school in Prince William County is? Trying to avoid problems by staying away from rough schools.

[lordntaylor]

Originally Posted by Super123

Does anyone know what the worst middle school in Prince William County is? Trying to avoid problems by staying away from rough schools.

Fred Lynn MS