Ann41

At first I was concerned about this not being travel-related, but then I saw the massive posting about flood insurance, so here goes...

Although I previously lived in Alexandria for several years, I'm moving back there now with a child. I need advice on schools. Have no idea whatsoever how to go about assessing neighborhoods based on the quality of the schools. Any suggestions?

Ann41

anyone?

Budman

Ann, I grew up in Alexandria. My children live in Fairfax and went to Fairfax County schools, and now my grandchildren go to Fairfax County schools. Additionally, my daughter is a teacher in Fairfax County Schools.

I can tell you that Fairfax County schools are some of the best in the country.

It's been a while since I lived in Alexandria, so the neighborhoods have changed. I guess schools depends upon the neighborhood. I can remember that Braddock Heights was very community/upscale.

jnn1964

This is a link to the Alexandria school system. Check all the links on the left for more info.

http://www.acps.k12.va.us/index.php

jnn1964

Also... be aware that there is the CITY of Alexandria, and there is also the Alexandria section of Fairfax County. They are two separate governments and two separate school systems.

emd

I second the observation that Alexandria schools and Faifax county schools are two separate entities. We recently made a move within Fairfax County, and our decision on where to move was made based on the schools. We were able to get several things from the county school district offices to help us: maps of the school district boundaries, test scores from each school, etc. I would suggest you call either the Fairfax County or Alexandria School District office (depending on which one you are actually interested in) and talk to them and see what tools they can offer you. After we got the paper stuff, I went to each school I was interested in and had appointments w/them, usually w/either the registrar or assistant principal in the elememtary and middle schools (or guidance counselors in the high schools), and I asked all the questions I needed to know answers to and even sat in on some classes. I did this for three sets of schools (3 different elementary schools, middle schools and high schools in three different zones). That way I got the flavor of the school (and I observed the change of periods for the high schools, boy did I see alot that way). If you are planning on buying a home (or know anyone who knows a realtor in Alexandria) a good realtor can also give you advice on what schools are like, which schools are desirable, and what the realtor hears about the schools from other clients, but I would not let that substitute for the school visits. Our realtor was big on a set of schools that sounded good and had good test scores, but when I went there I realized the magnitude of having a combined middle and high school (as these two schools did) that each had over 4000 kids in them apiece. I knew that one of my children would not do well in that environment but would not have known that til I visited the schools.
Good luck. I hope you are able to visit the schools before you decide where to move. It is really worth it.

Ann41

Thanks for the advice. I'm aware of the Alexandria city and Fairfax County distinctions, as it took me more than a week to have one jurisdiction finally confirm for me that I previously lived in Alex city, not Fairfax county.

Part of the problem is that we won't really have the opportunity to visit schools before buying a house, as we'll be moving from Ireland. And I know that while the Fairfax system as a whole is excellent, there are always some schools that aren't quite up to scratch. At the same time, Alexandria city schools don't have a great reputation, but I've heard that there are some gems.

My realtor doesn't have kids, and none of our friends with kids live in the areas in which we'd be looking.

I also don't want to rely on test scores. Both of my parents were teachers, and I know scores really don't tell you too much about a school.

MikeT

I think your task is going to be a challenge if you aren't here to really see the schools.

The thing that you have to remember about Alexandria is that it is a very diverse, racially-mixed community with significant numbers of non-English speaking students. Hot neighborhoods like Del Ray, for instance, are going to have schools with large numbers of Latinos, many who don't speak English at home. The same happens near Landmark.

Even in "Old Town," million dollar homes are within blocks of public housing, meaning there are going to be schools with kids facing all sorts of challenges.

Cassandra

Ann41, despite the obvious flaws in using test scores, I doubt that any other source of information will be as objectively comparative - partly because other sources are pretty much word-of-mouth and also because other sources are likely to know a lot more about one or two schools than the whole system. Moreover, if you dismiss the test scores, you invite the question of what you consider a "good" school -- one not in a crime area? one that doesn't need a metal detector? one with a particular racial, class, or political profile? one with state-of-the-art technological facilities? one with strong sports?

As to interpreting test scores, they certainly won't tell you where the teachers are gifted or burned-out, nor will they tell you where half of the teachers are good but the teacher for your child's grade is terrible.

But you can pretty much guess that a school with the lowest set of test scores for an entire school system probably has problems or at the very least has a high percentage of poor families; and a school with comparatively high scores for the district probably has more upscale families and may also have good teachers. In the middle, it's more of a crapshoot, for sure.

And ask any realtor: housing prices in areas with better schools will almost always be higher than areas with more questionable schools. Without going into whether this is cause or effect, just figure there's a correlation.

Budman

Ann, your realtor, whether he has kids or not, should have some knowledge of the school system, or someone in their main office should have knowledge of where the best school districts are located.

If they can't help you with this, I would get another realtor. I feel that is part of their job in selling you a house -- to sell you one where you want to live, which happens to be in a good school district.

obxgirl

Ann41, I have a suggestion for you. Look at the neighborhoods which feed into Waynewood Elementary School, Fairfax Cty with an Alexandria mailing address, just south of Old Town off of the GW Parkway. It's a super little school. Can't speak for the middle or high school it feeds into however.

I assumed realtors hand you test scores when you ask about "good schools" because they have to be so careful about appearing to discriminate. And while I agree that test scores don't give you real insight into a school, they are one objective data point. I would want to do more checking into schools with good scores but I probably would need an extraordinary reason to want to send my kid to a school with really bad scores.