Are Falls Church schools underrated? (Alexandria, Annandale: 2013, apartment, homes)

[JD984]

Originally Posted by FCNova

School districts rarely change in most established neighborhoods, so you really are buying the school district along with the house. The analogy is accurate. If people care so greatly about every detail in their car or TV purchase there's nothing wrong with being 'unkind' and caring about your child's school.

If you think school boundaries and/or program assignments don't change frequently in FCPS, you aren't really paying attention. In the Tysons area, within the past few years, there was a reassignment of students from Freedom Hill ES to Lemon Road ES and a reassignment of AAP students from Haycock to Lemon Road ES. This fall there will likely be a reassignment of students from Freedom Hill to Vienna ES. Within the next two or three years, AAP students at Kilmer and Longfellow will probably get moved to Cooper MS. And so on. Over half of the high schools in FCPS have seen boundary adjustments since 2008: Annandale, Falls Church, Woodson, Lake Braddock, Edison, Robinson, Stuart, Oakton, Fairfax, Chantilly, Madison, South Lakes, and Westfield.

And, again, there is a difference between caring about your own car (or school), and running around constantly telling everyone else constantly their car (or school) must be a lemon because it's not a Lexus (or its educational equivalent).

[fcyolo]

Originally Posted by JEB77

If you think school boundaries and/or program assignments don't change frequently in FCPS, you aren't really paying attention. In the Tysons area, within the past few years, there was a reassignment of students from Freedom Hill ES to Lemon Road ES and a reassignment of AAP students from Haycock to Lemon Road ES. This fall there will likely be a reassignment of students from Freedom Hill to Vienna ES. Within the next two or three years, AAP students at Kilmer and Longfellow will probably get moved to Cooper MS. And so on. Over half of the high schools in FCPS have seen boundary adjustments since 2008: Annandale, Falls Church, Woodson, Lake Braddock, Edison, Robinson, Stuart, Oakton, Fairfax, Chantilly, Madison, South Lakes, and Westfield.

And, again, there is a difference between caring about your own car (or school), and running around constantly telling everyone else constantly their car (or school) must be a lemon because it's not a Lexus (or its educational equivalent).

The above schools are moved within nearby schools with nearly the same quality schools or involve AAP.

You don't know what you are talking about.

Most of the risk is if you bought somewhere near a poor quality school and are a far away feeder and could be rezoned (ex. south lakes).

Or annandale areas got lucky and moved to woodson.

Again, if you live near the school or have been zoned to a school for decades the risk is very low. Any changes in boundaries for high quality schools into a lower will face massive outcry from parents and involves a lot of politics because of the plummet in real estate values and worry of putting children into a subpar zone.

[fcyolo]

Originally Posted by JEB77

You make frequent assertions without the facts to back them up. This is another example.

As for the Stuart and Falls Church students, I've reported on the students I've met. If you want to cite examples of bright, motivated kids with parental support who've fallen by the wayside because they attended Stuart or Falls Church, please do so.

I am not touting any areas. I am responding to posters like you who tout areas, and suggesting that those looking at housing options in NoVa have more choices than they may think, and should not be dissuaded by posters like you who are shills for particular neighborhoods like Pimmit Hills.

The article speaks for itself and probably everyone but you can subjectively understand why those areas are undesirable and will continue to be so.

[TheWatchmen]

Originally Posted by fcyolo

The article speaks for itself and probably everyone but you can subjectively understand why those areas are undesirable and will continue to be so.

Neighborhoods like Pimmit Hills are dumpy compared to my nice neighborhood behind a certain Alexandria golf course that happens to feed into a mediocre school pyramid. I wouldn't call all neighborhoods that feed into OKAY school pyramids as undesirable - there ARE pockets of nicer neighborhoods where educated professionals, etc. reside.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by fcyolo

The above schools are moved within nearby schools with nearly the same quality schools or involve AAP.

You don't know what you are talking about. All you want to do is convince people they should invest in a neighborhood like Pimmit Hills that many find visually unattractive (see TheWatchmen's post) because the schools elsewhere are "sub-par."

Most of the risk is if you bought somewhere near a poor quality school and are a far away feeder and could be rezoned (ex. south lakes).

Or annandale areas got lucky and moved to woodson.

Again, if you live near the school or have been zoned to a school for decades the risk is very low. Any changes in boundaries for high quality schools into a lower will face massive outcry from parents and involves a lot of politics because of the plummet in real estate values and worry of putting children into a subpar zone.

I was addressing the comment by another poster that school assignments in established neighborhoods don't change. That's not the case, and I gave specific examples. And, of course, if you're in an established AAP program and get moved to a brand-new program at a different school, that matters just as much to you as moving from the General Education program at one school to another.

The angst that people may feel about getting moved from a higher-rated school to a lower-rated school is real, but it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Ask the parents zoned for Westfield, Oakton and Madison who got moved to South Lakes in 2008. That also doesn't mean that, in a few years, most have worked through their issues when they realize the new school has its advantages as well.

[fcyolo]

Originally Posted by TheWatchmen

Neighborhoods like Pimmit Hills are dumpy compared to my nice neighborhood behind a certain Alexandria golf course that happens to feed into a mediocre school pyramid. I wouldn't call all neighborhoods that feed into OKAY school pyramids as undesirable - there ARE pockets of nicer neighborhoods where educated professionals, etc. reside.

True but there is a tipping point of private vs public in cost of housing and private school. Most families I know who live in Alexandria go to private school or are DINKS or gay/lesbian couples with out children.

If you analyze the market demand a good indicator of desirability is new construction activity. McLean, Falls Church City, North Arlington, Vienna, and Pimmit Hills (the dump as you call it) have a substantial amount of that. As a young family you want a sound investment and want to use the public schools to minimize education costs. If you are rich you can use private school. Not everyone is rich and can take advantage of a private school.

[TheWatchmen]

Originally Posted by fcyolo

True but there is a tipping point of private vs public in cost of housing and private school. Most families I know who live in Alexandria go to private school or are DINKS or gay/lesbian couples with out children.

If you analyze the market demand a good indicator of desirability is new construction activity. McLean, Falls Church City, North Arlington, Vienna, and Pimmit Hills (the dump as you call it) have a substantial amount of that. As a young family you want a sound investment and want to use the public schools to minimize education costs. If you are rich you can use private school. Not everyone is rich and can take advantage of a private school.

A lot of that new construction has everything to do with metro expansion/access and Tyson's revitalization, not school quality. Fairfax County absolutely needs to focus more on revitalization and improving transportation in other corridors - the schools will improve as a result.

[fcyolo]

Originally Posted by TheWatchmen

A lot of that new construction has everything to do with metro expansion/access and Tyson's revitalization, not school quality. Fairfax County absolutely needs to focus more on revitalization and improving transportation in other corridors - the schools will improve as a result.

I was mainly referring to the tear down of old homes and new construction in the above neighborhoods as an indicator of desirability and demand.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by TheWatchmen

Neighborhoods like Pimmit Hills are dumpy compared to my nice neighborhood behind a certain Alexandria golf course that happens to feed into a mediocre school pyramid. I wouldn't call all neighborhoods that feed into OKAY school pyramids as undesirable - there ARE pockets of nicer neighborhoods where educated professionals, etc. reside.

I read you to be referring to Pinecrest, not something in Alexandria City. And, in fact, a builder is constructing new homes now near Pinecrest on the other side of 236. It is not the investment-free zone that the other poster suggests, but would certainly benefit from better transit options and redevelopment further east towards Landmark.

[airjay75]

I've commented on this topic before, so I'll try to keep my remarks brief. I don't think anyone disputes the fact that school quality has an effect on real estate values - it clearly does. But, the assertion that there are school pyramids in Fairfax County that should be avoided at all costs because buying real estate in such a pyramid is high risk is absurd, in my opinion. One, if the schools are already poorly regarded, that is baked into the price at which you're purchasing the home - really, there's only potential upside to be had if you think the schools are of such low quality that you have to do private. Two, we're simply not talking about areas that are otherwise undesireable. Contrary to fcyolo's assertion that the demographics within a school pyramid mirror the demographics of the schools, even the "poorest" parts of Fairfax County have significant wealth and the demographics of an area can be much different than the schools to which they're zoned. An example I like to cite is that the Springfield CDP within the dreaded Lee HS pyramid has a median household income that exceeds that of the Beverly Hills CDP. Moreover, almost all areas of Fairfax County have other attributes that make them desirable - Fairfax County will always be closer to DC and likely continue to be closer to other major job centers than Loudoun or Prince William, and is otherwise a great place to live. Even homes in "lesser" regarded pyramids are fairly liquid investments. This doesn't change because you live a few blocks in one direction in a school pyramid that has lower average test scores. Sure, the homes might be priced a little less to reflect the school quality, but there are still willing buyers and sellers in a real estate market as robust as the one we have here.

The schooling decisions one makes for their family is certainly important one and I don't think anyone can be faulted for looking closely at that before purchasing a home. But, in both my opinion and my personal experience, I think there few areas in Fairfax County that necessitate being completely ruled out as options. If anyone wants to read more about my own personal experience, look at some of my previous posts, including the very first one I made on this forum because I was worried about purchasing a home in the Lee HS pyramid. Personally, I have always found the personal experience of someone to be more helpful than someone who can tell me a bunch of statistics about average school test scores.