Lake Braddock vs West Springfield

[MacUser85]

One thing that I'd like to mention here is that there is a MAJOR (or at least in my mind major) difference between WS and LB and that is the 7-12 setup of LB. I've never been a fan of combining middle and high school into one and therefore elected to go to private school from 7-12 because of being in the LB district. I'm a big fan of traditional elementary, middle and high school setups and the 1970s idea behind LB, Robinson and Hayfield never appealed to me. Many people go through LB and do just fine--no question there--but a school with that number of kids just seems too much in my mind. So in short, I'm West Springfield all the way!!!

[JD984]

Originally Posted by CaseyMac

One thing that I'd like to mention here is that there is a MAJOR (or at least in my mind major) difference between WS and LB and that is the 7-12 setup of LB. I've never been a fan of combining middle and high school into one and therefore elected to go to private school from 7-12 because of being in the LB district. I'm a big fan of traditional elementary, middle and high school setups and the 1970s idea behind LB, Robinson and Hayfield never appealed to me. Many people go through LB and do just fine--no question there--but a school with that number of kids just seems too much in my mind. So in short, I'm West Springfield all the way!!!

Each of the middle and high schools at Lake Braddock Secondary would, on its own, be one of the larger middle and high schools in the county, so when you combine them you definitely have a lot of students in one location. In addition, FCPS's most recent capacity projections conclude that Lake Braddock is UNDER-CAPACITY, and that neighboring Robinson Secondary will be OVER-CAPACITY, so even more students may be sent to Lake Braddock in the future.

It's all, of course, a matter of perspective. I remember (as a student at another middle school) traveling to Robinson for the first time in the 1970s and being awed at its size and amenities. Lake Braddock was built about five years later, when big secondary schools were still in vogue.

[PatoVa]

Thanks ...all of you opinions help confirm this house is the one!! WS will be the HS of

[car54]

From a bus drivers' standpoint secondary schools are the way to go!

Regular middle school runs are the WORST....you ought to hear the radio calls requesting the police, or that the bus is turning around and going back to school! But for some reason, middle schoolers are much, much better behaved when they're riding with the high schoolers.

My theory for this is....middle schoolers know that mommy and daddy will never believe they are capable of wrongdoing, school administrators are afraid of the parents, and they certainly know the bus driver can't do anything. But, there's one thing that gives them pause....they know that annoying the big kids can result in a fat lip!

[Skapov]

To the OP, I also have chosen to live in the heart of WEST SPRINGFIELD, as I prefer the more traditional 3 school Pyramid and don't like the idea of Middle Schoolers mixing with the older kids. I hope this has been helpful to you, despite the "veering off of topics" that have occured on this thread.