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Well, you get into the "What is actually Vienna?" question. As with Falls Church, there is a sizable area that has a Vienna mailing address but is nowhere near the actual town limits. Freedom Hill (which is actually well east of Vienna) basically serves the Tysons Corner area. The same is true for Luther Jackson MS. It's in Yorktown, which is on the other side of Dunn Loring from Vienna and has a Falls Church mailing address. Obviously, if you had kids, you'd want to know the pyramid that any property you were looking at was in, but you'd need to be a fair ways out from actual Vienna to fall into any of these.
A huge swath of Vienna, specifically Vienna Woods, actually is in the Freedom Hill district. That includes the area East of Electric Ave including the Madrillion Oaks area...22182. Tysons Corner is actually considered Vienna.
Generally speaking, the Southwestern end of Vienna sends its kids to Luther Jackson. That includes the area bordering Oakton, Mosby Woods, and near the townhomes near the Vienna Metro Station. This is actually shocking to me and I'm surprised Vienna residents haven't pushed to make Thoreau and Kilmer the only two options. Speaking of which, Thoreau and Kilmer are great middle schools, but Kilmer sends exponentially more kids to TJ. Thoreau is in the lower single digits while Kilmer sent about 40 last year.
A huge swath of Vienna, specifically Vienna Woods, actually is in the Freedom Hill district. That includes the area East of Electric Ave including the Madrillion Oaks area...22182. Tysons Corner is actually considered Vienna.
Vienna Woods lies between Park and Nutley Streets north of Cedar Lane. None of Vienna Woods is in the Freedom Hill ES district. The eastern half goes to Cunningham Park, the western half goes to Marshall Road. The only actual bit of Vienna proper that attends Freedom Hill is a small block across 123 from the golf course (Mashie Drive, Niblick Drive, Wolftrap Road, etc.)
None of zip code 22182 is in Vienna, and neither is any of 22181. The entire town itself is wihin 22180, which goes back to the point that, like the cities of Falls Church and Fairfax (but unlike anywhere else in the immediate vicinity), Vienna is an incorporated entity. There are actual boundaries. If you live inside them, you pay taxes to Vienna. If you live outside them, you don't. The areas that lie outside of Vienna proper aren't anything. They are simply unincorporated areas of Fairfax County. They can and do call themselves whatever they like. Some areas that are just over the town line and that are plainly oriented to Vienna are aptly referred to as being part of "greater Vienna" if you will, but this would hardly extend to homes across the street from the Reston Zoo, even though they are included in 22182. Tysons is definitely not Vienna, just as it is definitely not McLean, regardless of what mailing address any of its buildings might have.
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Originally Posted by handy man88
Generally speaking, the Southwestern end of Vienna sends its kids to Luther Jackson. That includes the area bordering Oakton, Mosby Woods, and near the townhomes near the Vienna Metro Station.
No children who live anywhere in Vienna attend Luther Jackson MS. The LJMS district lies entirely either south of 66 or well west of Nutley Street. It comprises south Oakton and areas east of Fairfax City. The townhomes across the street from Oakton HS attend Jackson. Those near the Vienna Metro station attend Thoreau. None of these is actually in Vienna.
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Originally Posted by handy man88
This is actually shocking to me and I'm surprised Vienna residents haven't pushed to make Thoreau and Kilmer the only two options.
Their seeming lack of agitation may result from Vienna residents not being in the situation you suggest for them.
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Originally Posted by handy man88
Speaking of which, Thoreau and Kilmer are great middle schools, but Kilmer sends exponentially more kids to TJ. Thoreau is in the lower single digits while Kilmer sent about 40 last year.
Kilmer's advantage results from the cluster's GT program being housed there. At that, TJ serves the needs of advanced students in science and technology only. If there were a TJ for History and Social Sciences, the ratio might well be reversed.
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None of this goes in any direct manner to the OP's initial inquiry, so I will simply state again that all of Vienna's elementary schools are safe, enjoy a strong reputation, and are more representative of the upper-middle and upper class end of things than is the case in most places. There is a modest edge in income demographics for the north side of town over the south side, but any comparison would be similar to debating the relative merits of bottles of wine that all retail for more than $100. There's no Boone's Farm to be found anywhere in the lot of it.
Vienna Woods lies between Park and Nutley Streets north of Cedar Lane. None of Vienna Woods is in the Freedom Hill ES district. The eastern half goes to Cunningham Park, the western half goes to Marshall Road. The only actual bit of Vienna proper that attends Freedom Hill is a small block across 123 from the golf course (Mashie Drive, Niblick Drive, Wolftrap Road, etc.)
None of zip code 22182 is in Vienna, and neither is any of 22181. The entire town itself is wihin 22180, which goes back to the point that, like the cities of Falls Church and Fairfax (but unlike anywhere else in the immediate vicinity), Vienna is an incorporated entity. There are actual boundaries. If you live inside them, you pay taxes to Vienna. If you live outside them, you don't. The areas that lie outside of Vienna proper aren't anything. They are simply unincorporated areas of Fairfax County. They can and do call themselves whatever they like. Some areas that are just over the town line and that are plainly oriented to Vienna are aptly referred to as being part of "greater Vienna" if you will, but this would hardly extend to homes across the street from the Reston Zoo, even though they are included in 22182. Tysons is definitely not Vienna, just as it is definitely not McLean, regardless of what mailing address any of its buildings might have.
No children who live anywhere in Vienna attend Luther Jackson MS. The LJMS district lies entirely either south of 66 or well west of Nutley Street. It comprises south Oakton and areas east of Fairfax City. The townhomes across the street from Oakton HS attend Jackson. Those near the Vienna Metro station attend Thoreau. None of these is actually in Vienna.
Their seeming lack of agitation may result from Vienna residents not being in the situation you suggest for them.
Kilmer's advantage results from the cluster's GT program being housed there. At that, TJ serves the needs of advanced students in science and technology only. If there were a TJ for History and Social Sciences, the ratio might well be reversed.
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None of this goes in any direct manner to the OP's initial inquiry, so I will simply state again that all of Vienna's elementary schools are safe, enjoy a strong reputation, and are more representative of the upper-middle and upper class end of things than is the case in most places. There is a modest edge in income demographics for the north side of town over the south side, but any comparison would be similar to debating the relative merits of bottles of wine that all retail for more than $100. There's no Boone's Farm to be found anywhere in the lot of it.
The homes in the Madrillion Oaks area is called Vienna, and they do send their kids to Freedom Hill.
If the townhomes near the metro isn't considered Vienna, then what is it considered? I know people who live there and their zip code and mailing address says Vienna, and the MS is Luther Jackson.
Again, if I was moving to Vienna, and had the choice of Archer, Westbriar, Wolftrap or Marshall Road, it sure as heck wouldn't be Marshall Road.
The homes in the Madrillion Oaks area is called Vienna, and they do send their kids to Freedom Hill.
Madrillon Farms, Fox Creek, Ashgrove Plantation, Kidwell Downs...they all go to Freedom Hill ES. But not only are they not in the actual town of Vienna, they aren't oriented to Vienna. The history of the whole area is that it was on "the wrong side of the tracks". Those tracks are now the W&OD Trail, which is still a significant geographic boundary, but in the days when the trains ran there (and also on the electric railway from which Electric Avenue took its name), there was a marked separation between the east and west sides of the tracks and that still persists today. The Madrillon area is meanwhile not a part of any incorporated entity. What to call it? People to the west say they are in Vienna, to the south it's Dunn Loring, to the east Falls Church, and to the north McLean. Choosing one does not make the area a part of any of them.
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Originally Posted by handy man88
If the townhomes near the metro isn't considered Vienna, then what is it considered? I know people who live there and their zip code and mailing address says Vienna, and the MS is Luther Jackson.
Then they live at the western end of the Country Creek townhouse corridor, close to Oakton High School. If they lived toward the Virginia Center end to the east (where the Metro station is), they would go to Thoreau. The zip for the whole area is 22181, none of which is actually in the town of Vienna. What to call that? Well, to the north you'll get a mix, to the west they'll all say Oakton, to the south it's Fairfax, and to the east it's Vienna.
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Originally Posted by handy man88
Again, if I was moving to Vienna, and had the choice of Archer, Westbriar, Wolftrap or Marshall Road, it sure as heck wouldn't be Marshall Road.
I don't know. Some people might be influenced toward Marshall Road and the James Madison HS pyramid rather than Westbriar and the George Marshall HS pyramid. For others, the choice might be influenced more by the cost of housing than by any notable difference in the elementary schools.
Madrillon Farms, Fox Creek, Ashgrove Plantation, Kidwell Downs...they all go to Freedom Hill ES. But not only are they not in the actual town of Vienna, they aren't oriented to Vienna. The history of the whole area is that it was on "the wrong side of the tracks". Those tracks are now the W&OD Trail, which is still a significant geographic boundary, but in the days when the trains ran there (and also on the electric railway from which Electric Avenue took its name), there was a marked separation between the east and west sides of the tracks and that still persists today. The Madrillon area is meanwhile not a part of any incorporated entity. What to call it? People to the west say they are in Vienna, to the south it's Dunn Loring, to the east Falls Church, and to the north McLean. Choosing one does not make the area a part of any of them.
Then they live at the western end of the Country Creek townhouse corridor, close to Oakton High School. If they lived toward the Virginia Center end to the east (where the Metro station is), they would go to Thoreau. The zip for the whole area is 22181, none of which is actually in the town of Vienna. What to call that? Well, to the north you'll get a mix, to the west they'll all say Oakton, to the south it's Fairfax, and to the east it's Vienna.
I don't know. Some people might be influenced toward Marshall Road and the James Madison HS pyramid rather than Westbriar and the George Marshall HS pyramid. For others, the choice might be influenced more by the cost of housing than by any notable difference in the elementary schools.
The post office recognizes both those areas as Vienna, although it's clearly not the town of Vienna (Vienna City).
The post office recognizes both those areas as Vienna, although it's clearly not the town of Vienna (Vienna City).
The post office creates zip codes. These have to do with efficient mail routing and delivery. Houses across the street from the Reston Zoo are not in Vienna simply because the post office put them in 22182.
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Originally Posted by handy man88
Westbriar feeds into Madison also.
A few around the edges of the golf course, for instance. But there is a reason why FCPS includes Westbriar in the Marshall HS Pyramid.
The post office creates zip codes. These have to do with efficient mail routing and delivery. Houses across the street from the Reston Zoo are not in Vienna simply because the post office put them in 22182.
A few around the edges of the golf course, for instance. But there is a reason why FCPS includes Westbriar in the Marshall HS Pyramid.
Whether you want to associate with "the other side of the tracks" is your personal issue, but Freedom Hill is considered in Vienna.
You can nitpick that some homes that send kids to Westbriar also will send them to Marshall, but for that matter, some homes send that send kids to Wolftrap will also send kids to Marshall or South Lakes.
Given that, I'd much rather pick Westbriar/Archer/Wolftrap/Vienna-Thoreau/Kilmer-Madison triangle any day over Marshall Road/Thoreau/Madison.
The north side of Vienna is the more upscale side of town, though the south side is already quite upscale, particularly SE. Westbriar and Louise Archer are on the northside, as are Flint Hill and Wolftrap, though neither of the latter is actually within the town limits. Vienna ES is basically in the center of town and serves the near southside. Cunningham Park and Marshall Road are the other ES's on the southside, serving SE and SW respectively. CPES has a more diverse student body than the others, as it serves apartment complexes along the SE town line that are predominantly Hispanic. All of these schools are quite good.
There is actually only one Middle School in Vienna (though it's not within the town limits either), and that is Thoreau, whose graduates move on to James Madison High School. Kilmer MS is only a couple of miles down the road from Thoreau, but its graduates attend Marshall HS, which is a perfectly good school, but it doesn't enjoy the reputation that James Madison does. All of the ES's mentioned above feed into Thoreau/Madison, with the exception of Westbriar, which is in the Kilmer/Marshall pyramid.
As for private pre-schools, several local churches run one, and they are by and large just fine. The Town & Country School is well outside of actual Vienna, and there were recent developments there that resulted in significant staff and student turnover. Green Hedges has an excellent reputation but is somewhat expensive. Appletree II is well thought of, but some find it a little too "Christian" oriented. The landmark pre-school in Vienna is the Parkwood School, which has has an uninterupted gang of enthusiastic parents and graduates stretching back for decades. It is also reasonably priced in comparison to most others.
What church based preschools have good reputations? I'd love to hear that- we are considering andrew chapel.. any insights?
Andrew Chapel is pretty much at the other side of town from me, so no personal experience there, but it's one of several area church pre-schools that have been around for a while and have established good records. Others would include Wesley Methodist, Vienna Presbyterian, Holy Comforter Episcopal, and Emmanuel Lutheran. This is one of those "your mileage may vary" items though, so obviously go talk to people and current parents if possible. If you find a logistical and philosophical fit, any of these would be expected to do a good job for you. My personal experience would be with Wesley from my kids having attended and I was very satisfied, but that's long ago enough now not to be so relevant. I also know some of the people who are involved at Holy Comforter and would not hesitate to endorse them...
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