<p>I sent a more detailed PM but I must agree with other posters the importance of estimating commuting time and access to public transportation. Happiness is a reasonable commute! You define reasonable, and then start looking at what that implies for where you could live. Just because it is “only 15 miles” to work doesn’t translate into a reasonable commute.</p>
<p>If the work location is Herndon/Reston area, you should check out Loudoun County. Good schools and they are a bit smaller (fewer than 2K students).</p>
<p>Yeah, my 16 miles to work = anywhere between 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on the vagaries of traffic. There are two blessed weeks in late August whre I can get there in 30 minutes.</p>
<p>Robin,
Do get exact address of place of employment; H works for a federal agency with 202 area code but his office is physically on the Virginia side of the Potomac.
My 12 mile commute varies by time of day; when my shift starts at 7am, I am there in 25-30 minutes; to get there for 8am, I leave 15 minutes later and it takes 45 minutes; if I leave 30 minutes later, it takes an hour and there’s no parking left!</p>
<p>Robin, As a newly married girl from a small southern Va town, when we first moved to Northern Va, I was shocked at the size of the high schools. They are even bigger now.</p>
<p>One that I really liked back then was Brentsville District High School in Nokesville. It is a Prince William County School, but is right near Fauquier County, which is a very beautiful county. Back then it was very rural out that way and the school I sure was smaller, but I don’t think it is anywhere close to those in Fairfax or even in other parts of Prince William. I am sure it has changed a lot; the folks on here hopefully will share more up to date info about it with you. It just seemed like a neat area and Brentsville seemed like a school that was holding onto the rural, small town community feeling of the past. It may be too much of a drive, but I would check it out. </p>
<p>Husband has family in Woodbridge and we lived in Manassas. Not to insult anyone who lives there, but personally I couldn’t live in either place for all of the tea in China.</p>
<p>"3. ifyou live in south arlington you can go to Wakefield HS which is incredibly diverse (70% kids of color, 50% low income) "</p>
<p>If that’s an advantage you’d love Detroit Public Schools!</p>
<p>Given that my children contribute to what is often viewed as “bad” statistics…you’re d*** right it is advantageous to be at a colorful school where some kids get their only square meal at lunchtime! If you see teachers who care as much about the darker, poorer children (descendents of slaves and new immigrants) as they do for the apparent direct descendents of the Mayflower you know you have found a good school. If you find that all the children are taught well, kept safe, and encouraged to excel then you know that you have found a great school. If you find that brown and white children graduate as good citizens and grateful/joyful that they are part of the wonderful diversity that is America then you have found educational nirvana. Our low income/diverse school is definitely great and working towards Nirvana…(it took Buddha a long time too)</p>
<p>Each of my kids have attended schools (ES, MS and HS) that are highly ethnically and SES diverse. It is totally natural and comfortable to them and they have learned so much from the cultures and backgrounds of their classmates and friends. Is it perfect? No. But I’ll tell you, when they went out and looked at colleges that touted being “diverse,” they definitely noticed the discrepancy between words and numbers.</p>
<p>^
countingdown, my experience has been very similar and I agree with you 100%.</p>
<p>Lots of good suggestions from all, especially about a commute. Westfield HS is in the western part of Fairfax County where there are tons of townhouses that are (mostly) affordable. A kid can get involved in so many things at Westfield (great theatre, sports etc…) or just get by fairly unnoticed. For your younger student, if things click at the big high schools, that’s great. If you find he tunes out, just be aware that there’s an awesome alternative HS called Mountain View in Centreville (western fairfax). It’s a school of choice (i.e. NOT a school for bad kids) for kids, age 17+ that just want to finish HS without the drama. The school holds 300 kids from all walks of life all over fairfax county. The school’s motto is “family, love and respect.” Sounds corny but it really is a family and the reluctant learner or the kid that just can’t take the drama of a big school tends to thrive. It is a fully accedited HS so the diploma is the same as any FCPS school. I know you are probably not thinking in this direction but it’s worth knowing for the future.</p>
<p>HB Woodlawn in Arlington: small, “alternative”, very unusual (creative graffiti is encouraged, kids call teachers by first names, kids are very high achieving, do lots of independent projects, achieve despite lack of rules, and go to great colleges). Students CAN get in during high school, even in the middle of the year at times. There is a waiting list as it is a magnet, but they go down the list and kids get in. Not for everyone. The kids can play sports at their neighborhood Arlington school.
Wakefield: I am not from Arlington but had a really bad experience when my daughter tried to take the SAT there. They were VERY disorganized, did not have enough tests for the kids who had signed up, no one was there who could answer any questions, person greeting us did not speak English and just pointed to a sheet to sign up, then just left everyone sitting there in the hall without any information about what to do. We finally had to look all over the place to find a person who told us that there were not enough tests for the kids that had signed up.
By contrast, we high-tailed it over to Yorktown, where they were organized, had greeters explaining what to do, had more than enough tests.
This was just a first impression, but could be indicative. Sorry, finarts, but I am just sharing my experience!</p>
<p>Well the SAT is run by the college board so it is up to them to get sufficient tests to the site on time. That being said, we had a similar issue at TC Williams when S signed up for SAT very late for a very popular date (June test) so he had to take the test far from home school in arlington. He didn’t even get in the door until 1 hour after it had supposedly started. </p>
<p>The school, I think, supplies the people to administer the test and probably the school gets some money for this. The lack of tests can only be blamed on the college board, but poor organization reflects on the school. Definitely, Yorktown is going to be well organized but remember…at Yorktown you are dealing with SAT savy parents and kids so most show up with their id, pencils and calculators and know exactly what to do. Half of them, I am sure, took several SATs in the JHU talent search stuff while they were in middle school…after all, kids in North Arlington are all above average!</p>
<p>I am so used to the SAT regime now (friends of S call in a panic asking me – parents without car, don’t own good calculator, etc–to help them with missing items) that when S took the SAT IIs I just took extra calculators, batteries and pencils and sat outside for about 1/2 hour…S kept sending friends out before the exam started to get supplies. Is this enabling poor teen organization? absolutely but the kids just freak on SAT day so they are entitled to some babying and most of them don’t have parents who have taken SATS and know to do a supply check before leaving home. </p>
<p>Are the poorer schools administering SATs dealing with less test-seasoned kids and parents…and themselves less seasoned…? absolutely and I am sure they don’t always host the best organized test days! I don’t think this reflects on the quality of the teaching or experience at the school, but Wakefield HS is unlikely to be the well-oiled machine that is Yorktown HS when it comes to some aspects of management because they are dealing with a very different demographic–many students and parents are new to the country, new to US high school, college application experiendce etc. so the administration can’t rely on people knowing what to do with regard to college applications/testing.</p>
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<p>If you are relocating in the next month or two, wait until May 1 to schedule a physical. The forms you will need can be found at the link below.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.vhsl.org/files/adm-physical-form-rev-4-07.pdf[/url]”>http://www.vhsl.org/files/adm-physical-form-rev-4-07.pdf</a></p>
<p>Thanks, everybody! This is all great information. Does anyone know anything about Vienna or Reston? I really like everything I’ve read about James Madison High School.</p>
<p>Robin - Langley Madison, Oakton, Westfield, Chantilly, Herndon, South County, McLean and Woodson are all schools in which a good education can be had. Parental involvement is key. Kids in the middle can perform in a mediocre fashion and no one will pull them up by the bootstraps - these schools are large. Most of them appear like sports teams with schools attached. There is no question - the ball sports are really important to the culture of the schools. This is not to say they don’t have good fine arts offerings - they do - but athletics is the center of the universe. By the way, I am a former competitive athlete and like sports and understand them - but there is too much focus on sports and not enough on academics. I suspect this is not different than at many high schools across the country; I am just a bit disappointed over it. </p>
<p>One thing that will surprise you in wealthy Fairfax county is how poorly minority students perform. It is very disappointing. They perform worst than similar students in inner city Richmond - no doubt Richmond teaches to the tests - but still, incredibly disappointing. One would think that with the wealth and money here the gap would be far less. </p>
<p>I mention South Lakes, Marshall and Robinson separately - they are IB schools and while the IB program is fine for the relative handful of students that get the full IB diploma, I am not so sure it benefits the rest of the student body. Boys with a mathematical and engineering bent are not particularly drawn to IB, and I would think they would opt for an AP school. Live in these pyramids and don’t like IB? Be prepared to drive the kids to a different school. And AP placement is always not so easy. Robinson is an athletic powerhouse - a grade 7-12 school - the largest in the Commonwealth. Fairfax High School is OK - it is in Fairfax City where good real estate deals can be had. </p>
<p>Woodbridge and Manassas have some very tough populations (although there is a nice part of each) with many kids who don’t have English aptitude and kids with socio-economic challenges. I would stay away, but it is possible to take high level courses and obtain admission to a decent university - lots of distractions at these schools. Haymarket is in Prince William County and Battlefield High School is new - but the commute is awful - and so are the taxes. Housing costs in Woodbridge and Manassas have plummeted in the past three years due to their controversial immigration policies, but many of the homes that can be had cheaply are in neighborhoods where the homes were not treated well. </p>
<p>Loudoun County has good schools - but the commutes are difficult and the taxes are very high - they have been raised again and again to cover the huge building boom. I have a 5 bedroom home in Fairfax County and taxes would be double for the same value of home in Loudoun. </p>
<p>Thomas Jefferson High School is the ultimate lottery ticket - no better school I believe in the US. Very hard to get in, but incredibly challenging. My own attended there. You can live anywhere in NOVA but Alexandria proper and have your child eligible for admission. </p>
<p>I agree with the previous poster about Mountain View - they seem to work miracles. But it is an option for exceptional kids - and I mean that in the broadest possible way - it won’t be (and likely shouldn’t be) the first choice for most - but it is a bright spot in the county and illustrates the resources we have here. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of parental involvement at these large schools. Even with it, I have friends who are paying through the note for private school (Flint Hill, etc.) because of the individualized attention and discipline that is sometimes hard to get at a large public school. </p>
<p>Drugs and alcohol are problems all over. Another area of concern, with parents the first line of defense.</p>
<p>Thanks! One last area we’re considering is the Kingstowne area of Alexandria. I believe the high school there is Hayfield. If anyone knows anything about it, I’d love to hear it!</p>
<p>robin - Reston residences can feed into South Lakes (which is an IB school) or Herndon (AP school). Both are good schools that are fairly diverse. James Madison is a terrific school and Vienna is a good community.</p>
<p>All of the schools in the area are good, but of course they are all slightly different. I would suggest you figure out where you are willing to commute from and see which schools are available, making sure you get in an AP school pyramid.</p>
<p>And long term (not a case for your kids) you should keep in mind that school districting can change, so buying a house based on school district in terms of long term investment return is not necessarily a sound strategy.</p>
<p>you can peruse fairfaxunderground.com if you want. I will warn you that you have no idea who the posters are and they range from drug dealing teenagers to normal parents to who knows what.</p>
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<p>… these schools send multiple kids to top private colleges each year (Ivies, Hopkins, GTown, etc) in addition to tons of kids to the very good Virginia public universities, which says a lot since TJ already took the top kids that would’ve attended these base schools. It is a disservice to call those schools “sports teams with schools attached” IMO. They are some of the best public high schools in the country.</p>
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<p>taking 1 (or 2, 3, 4) AP class[es] is not magically more beneficial than taking 1 (or 2, 3, 4) IB class[es].</p>
<p>I’ll put in another vote for Arlington! We are a great location to most everything and as county only 26 square miles so you really feel connected to the whole county. I have kids in 2 of the 3 high-schools (we moved between boundaries) and have nothing but positive things to say about the programs and the offerings here. We also have the Career Center in Arlington county that allows students to take cooperative education in so many topics. While the county is not cheap, the rental market is good and you can likely find options comparable to other areas.</p>
<p>I also agree on being mindful of the commute - I work 6 miles from home and my commute can take 30-45 minutes some days at rush hour. It can be very important to not live where there is only one main route in/out. </p>
<p>Any questions, let me know! I have a very math/science kid and a very drama/fine arts kid and a younger one coming up through the MS.</p>
<p>I’m also a proud Arlington graduate :)</p>
<p>First question that really should be asked is where are you working? Are you working on 66 corridor, 495 corridor, 95 corridor, or the Pentagon?</p>
<p>Like mom above stated, that really plays into your scenario. People who do not live here, do not understand the traffic situation…to put it mildly 5:30 A.M. looks like most cities 5:30P.M. traffic. Yes, it starts that early in the morning and goes until 9…bumper to bumper 10 mph.</p>
<p>If you are commuting into the Pentagon I would say your commute from PW 25 miles away will be just as fast as the 6 mile commute into Arlington. The reason why is the “slug lines”, you park your car in a lot and walk up to someone elses car, and they drive you to the door of the Pentagon. It is successful because of HOV lanes. Bullet does this everyday, and even though we live in Nokesville, from leaving our house to sitting at his desk it is a total of 1 hr. Meanwhile, we have a 10 acre home that is brand new, pay less taxes than Fairfax, and less for the home, best yet, we have no city traffic on the weekends or at night. AND YES, we have Harris Teeters, Costco, Best Buy, etc.</p>
<p>It is the 2nd time we have lived here in 5 yrs. (military moved us in between). Our eldest went To CD Hylton and loved it. Our youngest go to BDHS, it has a great school system including the Cambridge Program (ICSCE), IB and AP. The school is small with only 1300 students. I would say 30% of the parents are military. They opt to live in Bristow, and take the VRE to the Pentagon. The other parents who are not military opt here because they use 66 to get to Fairfax.
If you look at PW, the rule of them is stay on the West side of 95. </p>
<p>I also agree you do not want Manassas City or Park schools. Manassas is like Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church, some parts of them belong to Fairfax school system, and some belong to the town. On a whole, you really need to look into that when you decide to go off the Fairfax grid.</p>
<p>I think Fairfax County is a great school system. For yrs all of their hs have made at least one national magazine (Time, Newsweek, USNWR) top 100. Their budget is bigger than the lowest 8 states in the nation. </p>
<p>As a realtor, I can tell you the rental market is drying up, because people are not buying. To find a garage TH and a good district is not as easy as you think. </p>
<p>Finally, I am guessing you are looking at Vienna and Springfield because of the Metro, if not then you need to re-think again. Vienna and Springfield are very far away from each other via commuting purposes. Vienna is 66 and Springfield is 95.</p>
<p>I would stay away from anything on 66 if you have to get on 495 to get to work. 495 is a mess with the construction of HOT lanes and will be that way for at least 5-10 more yrs. I would rather shoot myself in the eyeball than have to get on 495 from 66 for Chain Bridge road.</p>
<p>Springfield on a whole is in need of renovation. The only place around Springfield that I would consider would be Kingstowne.</p>
<p>My final piece that is the little known problem Fairfax is facing, is that PW created new laws regarding illegals, and this law has created a problem in Fairfax. Fairfax is a sanctuary county, and many parents, not saying they are illegals, moved up the rte 1 corridor to Alexandria, which includes Springfield and now the school system has a problem with overcrowding.</p>
<p>pima, </p>
<p>Costco, Harris Teeter, Best Buy in Nokesville? Oh my! I can’t imagine that. It’s been 22 years since we lived/I worked up there. Nokesville and the surrounding area-best part of PWC as far as I am concerned, hope it hasn’t gotten too commercialized…</p>