I am moving to Fort Belvoir at the end of June. My daughter will be a freshman in High school and my son will be a Senior. My youngest daughter will start 2nd grade. We are station in Texas right now. Is it True that school in Fairfax County are the best schools in the County?

edit by Cary: Removed extraneous, accidentally posted data.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2013 02:24PM by Cary.

Yes, but not Hayfield, Edison, Lee, or Mt. Vernon which are some of the closest to Belvoir. If you want to gauge the quality of the individual school, go to the FCPS website and check out the percentage of free meals handed out for that school. Don't move near those.

Depends on which part of Texas you're moving from...

Move to Burke. It's a nice middle income area, and it's not terribly far from Ft. Belvoir, if you use the Fairfax County Parkway to commute. The elementary schools are pretty good and depending on which neighborhood you live in, your older kids will either go to Robinson or Lake Braddock.

They said the high school is called "Mount Vernon High School" is that a good school?

MVHS has the highest rate in Fairfax County for Suspension/Expulsion. I'm sure a resident fact checker on FU can find a link for you.

I know one guy that went there and he's turned out pretty well, but I can't imagine how run-down it would be now with all the illegal immigrants in the area. It's probably overrun with gangs and people from Rose Hill who stab each other over iPods.

@Seith - Mt Vernon is considered one of the "bad" schools in the county - that being said, it's better, cleaner, and safer than MOST of the schools in this country. So you gotta take what you hear with a grain of salt LoLz

you'll hear rumours of the "bad" schools having gangs, crime, etc. but it's simply not true - yr kid has as much chance (if not greater) of being a victim of a crime at a school in a "richie-rich" community like Westfields or Langley as they would at Hayfield or Mount Vernon.

What the "bad" schools DO have are a lot more lower-income ppl. If that's something that gets you all butthurt (oh noes - my child may have to TALK to one of those POOR CHILDREN OH DEAR!!!) then it's something to consider when thinking about living ANYWHERE along the Rte 1 corridor where the base is located. It's classically been the Section 8 part of the county for decades.

Anywho, that's all. ANY school in Fairfax County will be a good one fir yr kid if yr kid really wants to learn - that's really the only thing. If yr kid wants to be smart and learn stuff, and you want to help them out with that, you really wont find a bad school. WELCOME TO FAIRFAX COUNTY! And stay off our Parkway, do you hear me? ;)

...and stay in the right lane unless you're passing someone.

It's as true as every Ford/Chevy/etc. dealer being the largest/bestest/mostest greatest ever in the whole wide world. They play up the measures that make them look best and conveniently don't mention those that don't. Lots of others are "better" by various measures as independent, objective rankings by related groups reflect. Also as noted, it's not some constant which necessarily runs across all schools and educational levels.

The above said, they are well funded and relatively good by most measures.

It is interesting to me that back ion the day (70's and at least early 80's) Mt Vernon and Ft Hunt (now part of West Potomac) were very good high schools...as a matter of fact, I believe Ft Hunt sent more students to West Point than any other high school in the country, and many Mt V grads went to ivy league and UVa.

I think that was due in large part to the military population of the area...both Belvoir and the Pentagon.

Maybe the pendulum starts swinging back that way with the expansion of Belvoir.

Yes the FFX schools are good. It's a big county though so some are much better than others. Stay away from and homes near and schools near Route 1.

Fairfax Station, Burke and West Springfield, Centerville, Fairfax are all nice areas. Mount Vernon is nice but the schools there aren't very good.

don't go to Mt. Vernon......basketball team sucks

I would not advise moving to Centreville or Fairfax Station if you are going to work at Ft. Belvior. Your commute will be a nightmare and the base is nice itself. As for Mount Vernon I know a lot of people who went there many years ago (as in almost 20 years ago). They are mostly doing fine. It is not one of the better schools in the area, but as others have said you have to take things you hear with a grain of salt because there are a lot of helicopter parents in this area.

fairfaxian Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes the FFX schools are good. It's a big county
> though so some are much better than others. Stay
> away from and homes near and schools near Route
> 1.
>
> Fairfax Station, Burke and West Springfield,
> Centerville, Fairfax are all nice areas. Mount
> Vernon is nice but the schools there aren't very
> good.

PS. Also keep in mind if you are coming from Texas, the amount of traffic is going to be a shock to you when you move here. A trip mapquest will tell you takes x amount of time during rush hour (which lasts for hours here) can easily take you 2 to 3 times that time. Plus you always have lots of soccer moms and dads in their SUVs and Minivans who can't drive delaying traffic.



katiesmith Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I would not advise moving to Centreville or
> Fairfax Station if you are going to work at Ft.
> Belvior. Your commute will be a nightmare and the
> base is nice itself. As for Mount Vernon I know a
> lot of people who went there many years ago (as in
> almost 20 years ago). They are mostly doing fine.
> It is not one of the better schools in the area,
> but as others have said you have to take things
> you hear with a grain of salt because there are a
> lot of helicopter parents in this area.
>
> fairfaxian Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Yes the FFX schools are good. It's a big
> county
> > though so some are much better than others.
> Stay
> > away from and homes near and schools near Route
> > 1.
> >
> > Fairfax Station, Burke and West Springfield,
> > Centerville, Fairfax are all nice areas.
> Mount
> > Vernon is nice but the schools there aren't
> very
> > good.

Ravensworth Farm is perfect for Fort Belvoir. Great elementary school @ Ravensworth and top-notch Lake Braddock Middle & H.S. Ten to 15 minute drive to Fort Belvoir.

Do not move to Lorton. It is the most convenient to Ft. Belvoir, but it is infested with gangs. Especially in the Hagel Circle area. You are better going to Burke or Fairfax City area. Robinson and Woodson are probably the high schools with the least amount of juvenile arrests, but with the higher income areas, the exposure to drugs is more widespread. Good luck.

"Also keep in mind if you are coming from Texas, the amount of traffic is going to be a shock to you when you move here"

Not if he is from Houston. What a cluster that traffic is, plus lots more crime. Unless the guy is driving into DC or Maryland he will be ok. Just stay away from 95 and Rt 1.

military wife Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Do not move to Lorton. It is the most convenient
> to Ft. Belvoir, but it is infested with gangs.
> Especially in the Hagel Circle area.

Celebrate the diversity!

katiesmith Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I would not advise moving to Centreville or
> Fairfax Station if you are going to work at Ft.
> Belvior. Your commute will be a nightmare and the
> base is nice itself. As for Mount Vernon I know a
> lot of people who went there many years ago (as in
> almost 20 years ago). They are mostly doing fine.
> It is not one of the better schools in the area,
> but as others have said you have to take things
> you hear with a grain of salt because there are a
> lot of helicopter parents in this area.
>
> --------------------------------------------------

I work at Ft. Belvoir and live in Fairfax Station. My commute is anything but a nightmare. It's about 11 miles or so and takes me about 25 minutes - no matter what time of day I go to work. I don't go on any major highways except for a short bit on Fairfax County Parkway.

Centerville is a long ways away but I can't really comment on the commute.

As with anything in this area, be aware of what roads you will need to take and the hours that you will travel. If you go on I-95 you will find that it gets pretty congested around 0600 and again at 1600.

My son is in the 9th grade at Mount Vernon High School.
To judge the school as bad or good depends on how you, (the parent) are. I’m not advocating being a helicopter parent, but let the teachers know that you are available, and that you support their efforts at home and it will all work out beautifully!
For my child, who is a special needs kid, Mount Vernon HS is a good school.
As for living near Fort Belvoir; a lot of people put this area down, because of all the apartment complexes along Route 1. I live in about 1.5 miles from Fort Belvoir, if you drive more than one block away from Route 1 there are a lot of nice single family homes.
I like it this area versus the more snooty (well to do) parts of Fairfax.

Turn back the clock and bring back the Federals! Instead of one big crappy West Pot the county needs to restore Fort Hunt and leave all the trash back at Groveton.

Burke Res Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Move to Burke. It's a nice middle income area, and
> it's not terribly far from Ft. Belvoir, if you use
> the Fairfax County Parkway to commute. The
> elementary schools are pretty good and depending
> on which neighborhood you live in, your older kids
> will either go to Robinson or Lake Braddock.

Burke or West Springfield are better places to live than Mt. Vernon. I graduated from Mt. Vernon H.S. in the eighties and even back then there was a lot of racial B.S. going on in the school. All areas along the Rte 1 corridor are kinda shifty. Even though some areas on the east side of Rte. 1 seem nice, you still have to deal with the section 8 people anytime you go shopping or to a restaurant near your house. The county has used this corridor as their section 8 dumping ground for years. Also, the majority of homeless people live in this area. There's a homeless shelter right by one of the Rte 1 gates to Ft. Belvoir. Burke and West Springfield are both close to Ft. Belvoir with better neighborhoods, better shopping and better restaurants. West Springfield and Lake Braddock High Schools are both good schools for your kids. Stay away from homes which would put you in Lee High School though.

Any recommendations on private schools near Ft belvoir. Catholic or Christian.

Pope John Paul the Great is in Dumfries. Their student base draws from all areas and carpools are available around the Belvoir area. PJPTG has been a fantastic experience for our daughter. We are military also and have had our his in both private and public schools based on where we lived. Check out their website - beautiful school and it's growing every year…..it's a great mix of kids and teachers.

check wit the zoning deptartment to see if there's a whooters going in next door

make sure you can extort the county gov if they make a move to lower the value of where you are or refuse work

they extort me and skip court, so i'm pretty sure it's legal

jot down some quick notes of where the county executives and rich staff live

bet on dishonest gov

you'll come out ahead i'd imagine

I live east of Rt. 1 in a single family home area (near Waynewood). This attitude is appalling. God forbid you have to brush elbows with someone who isn't in your demographic. Are you afraid you'll catch a disease? I shop all the time on Rt. 1 and never have any problems, unless the mere sight of a non-white, non-middle class person is somehow damaging to you. (This whole message board is disgustingly racist - what's wrong with you people?)

The river is beautiful, there's the Parkway and bike path, it's a convenient distance from the District. I personally would love more interesting restaurants and a bookstore. The restaurants are all chains, blergh.


> Even though some areas on the east side of Rte. 1
> seem nice, you still have to deal with the section
> 8 people anytime you go shopping or to a
> restaurant near your house. The county has used
> this corridor as their section 8 dumping ground
> for years. Also, the majority of homeless people
> live in this area. There's a homeless shelter
> right by one of the Rte 1 gates to Ft. Belvoir.
> Burke and West Springfield are both close to Ft.
> Belvoir with better neighborhoods, better shopping
> and better restaurants. West Springfield and Lake
> Braddock High Schools are both good schools for
> your kids. Stay away from homes which would put
> you in Lee High School though.