I just moved into the Fairfax area 3 days ago. I'm stuck between two school districts, Thomas Edison High School Or Lee High School. I was wondering if anybody who has children attending this school could give me some background information about these schools. Thanks so much!

edit by Cary: Added "[Thomas Edison High School or Lee High School]" to the subject line for list-page clarity.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2012 03:53PM by Cary.

Ha, I can put it very simple terms..

Move to another neighborhood.

Sorry

 

I was in your situation last year around this time. I sent my 15 year old daughter to Edison, and that was probably the worst choice I've made as a parent. That school has a HORRIBLE drug problem. There was multiple number of students last year expelled for drugs such as marijuana and crack/cocaine. A lot of girls that go there are the "Risk Taker" Types, They enjoy fighting. I let my daughter finish off the year and this year she now attends Lee, and she said Its not the best school but is much better than Edison!

edison sucks.
a lot of pregnant bitches and a lot of weed smokers
if u want ur kid to fail at life go to edison

EDISON SUCKS Wrote:
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> I was in your situation last year around this
> time. I sent my 15 year old daughter to Edison,
> and that was probably the worst choice I've made
> as a parent. That school has a HORRIBLE drug
> problem. There was multiple number of students
> last year expelled for drugs such as marijuana and
> crack/cocaine. A lot of girls that go there are
> the "Risk Taker" Types, They enjoy fighting. I let
> my daughter finish off the year and this year she
> now attends Lee, and she said Its not the best
> school but is much better than Edison!


I also forget to mention, the school is a complete mess on the inside! Last year my daughter complained when she walked through the academy she had stuff falling on her from the ceiling! and you couldn't walk through the hall ways without being approached by a construction worker.

I attended Edison my freshman year (2008) and I switched out right after the 1st semester. The teachers are beyond horrible. There was many gangs and smokers there, but that was the "cool" thing to do. Please, for the sake of your child; don't send them to Edison.

im n 10 grade at edison now n that joint is the best skewl dog!! i got mi a sexi ass boifriend from their and the teachers r cool lyk shit dey dun b givn a fuck at all. i got pregnant my freshmen year and dey was mad cool. come to edison!!

fuck yall niggas! Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> im n 10 grade at edison now n that joint is the
> best skewl dog!! i got mi a sexi ass boifriend
> from their and the teachers r cool lyk shit dey
> dun b givn a fuck at all. i got pregnant my
> freshmen year and dey was mad cool. come to
> edison!!


This is probably why you wouldn't want to chose Edison. Looks like they have girls who get pregnant as a 9th grader, teachers that "dun b givn a fuck" and kids who can't spell. I say Lee.

fuck yall niggas! Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> im n 10 grade at edison now n that joint is the
> best skewl dog!! i got mi a sexi ass boifriend
> from their and the teachers r cool lyk shit dey
> dun b givn a fuck at all. i got pregnant my
> freshmen year and dey was mad cool. come to
> edison!!


This may be the definition of stupid.

Agree with friskydingo, but if that's not possible, go with Lee.

My son is in 11th grade this year and he has been at Edison since his 9th grade year. From the beginning he has done nothing beside complain about Edison. Kids can't even keep a friend there because almost everyone who is your "friend" ends up being some drug dealer, and pressures you into doing it. There has been multiple complaints about bullying and the administrators/principal have failed to do anything. The only reason why I keep my son in Edison is because of there IB program. They are the only school who offers in this area. Although, He was taking English 11 IB with a teacher named Ms.Grady and I had to file a complaint about her because from what my son was telling me she has no business being a teacher.

As a parent Edison students (one graduated, two still attending), I don't believe it is the best school. My children all have complained about the rudeness of teachers, and not being able to walk down the hallway without someone talking about "pot".

why hate on edison? i been here sense my freshman year(im a senior now) and i wouldnt rather be n any other schhool. everybodys cool. we got the best fights goin on and teachers let u do w/e.

Good luck. Many Fairfax public schools are going to shit thanks to the influx of illegal immigrants and incompetent teachers, administrators and staff. Home schooling looks better all the time.

Parent of 2, I have two words for you: Private. School.

I'm a senior at Lee and I've gone there since freshman year and I love it.

Like any school there are drug problems and fights and such, but as long as your kid isn't a nut they'll be fine. You'll hear a lot about how shitty of a school Lee is but most of that is BS. Most everybody gets along here and there is no drama whatsoever, probably because there are no rich white kids to start it. It's very diverse, I believe only 25% white and something like 47% are on free or reduced lunch, but that doesn't really matter since everybody is relaxed.

only 33% of the students that attend Edison eat Free Lunch. The only problem is that only 33% (the one paying for lunch) of the school populations are white. the Rest are Blacks,Hispanics,Indian, Asian. Test scores are not bad and either is the suspension rate.

edit by Cary (the admin): This post was originally a separate thread but has been merged into the thread "High Schools?" as that thread was likely this post's intended destination.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2012 03:54PM by Cary.

Learn to spell.

I am a parent who has had expereince with Fairfax School System for many years now. My experience has been overall pretty good except for the senior year when my family ran into to some difficult problems part of it had to do with "bullying" part of it other issues where communications with school admin did not work for us.

When a child reaches that age, of course social issues become critical, including culture issues.

We are Asians, of course, schools do not have appropriate mechanism yet to encourage elements that has a "culture element" of learning for kids.

Finally, not all 'learning" be it in science or some other fields, is via text book learning. "Informal learning" via story telling, conversations among peers, and social learning in the context of home and community are equally important for kids and for communities.


These issues are addresssed poorly currenlty and I am trying to get a dialogue with several FCPS board members and connect with the Student Parent Teachers Association . But I have not made any meaningful sustainable communications.

If anyone can help me to have sustainable communications and would be interested in participating , that would be most valuable.

Creativity and Rote learning , a good balance for enjoyable learning rather than forced learning for kids ?

What is Creativity and Who Needs It
http://www.squidoo.com/whoneedcreativity
Attachments:

A choice between Lee or Edison is like having a choice between winning 4 cents or a whole nickel. Edison is recently (currently?) renovated, so there will be new and better facilities (including technology, computers & stuff). Edison is known for drug/violence issues.

I'd say Lee.

Back in the day Edison was a respected school with high academics. I wonder what could have caused the change?

>> I wonder what could have caused the change?

4 syllables.

Demographics.

^^^ I guess the same thing that caused the Backlick Rd area in Springfield to go in the toilet and the Springfield Mall.

Every school in this county has a drug problem or fights. Just because it is white, does not make it right. At least these east county schools are not putting out murderers like westfield high (60% white). I have never heard of anyone selling crack at a FCPS school, what is this 1986?? If you are White or Black send your kid to Edison. If you are Asian or Latino send your kid to Lee.

Look on the FCPS web site. The % of free or reduced lunch is all you need to know.

Send them to Lee. Make sure they are in IB classes (helps get them ready for college and they can even get college credit for it) and are involved in sports so that they don't hang out with the Lee low-lifes. Lee has some really good teachers and a handful of bad ones.... but all in all a decent school. A lot better than Edison, apparently. I graduated there in 2008 and have a bright future ahead of me :)

I think it depends on your child. My kids were at Hayfield. It was not a good fit for them. I decided to move into the Edison district over Lee, West Potomac and Mount Vernon. I have had one child graduate from Edison and have 2 kids going there now. 2 of the 3 have scholarships. Hopefully the 3rd will have one when he is a senior. This is something I know would not have happened at Hayfield. The building is under construction however it will be completed by end of this school year. Lastly when looking at the school districts keep in mind the neighborhood where you will live is also equally important.

Every school has problems Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Every school in this county has a drug problem or
> fights. Just because it is white, does not make
> it right. At least these east county schools are
> not putting out murderers like westfield high (60%
> white). I have never heard of anyone selling
> crack at a FCPS school, what is this 1986?? If you
> are White or Black send your kid to Edison. If
> you are Asian or Latino send your kid to Lee.

Via wikipedia Edison has roughly 370 blacks and Lee has roughly 320 blacks. Not a big difference. The biggest difference in demographics is the white ratio, 653 at Edison and only 578 at Lee.

As much as I hate that school, allow me to clarify that there was NO crack cocaine last year. Not even a little.

And if you're going to move your child to a new school because of some Marijuana, you'd probably be better off homeschooling them. There's potheads at TJ.

jump ball.

Edisonpupil Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As much as I hate that school, allow me to clarify
> that there was NO crack cocaine last year. Not
> even a little.
>
> And if you're going to move your child to a new
> school because of some Marijuana, you'd probably
> be better off homeschooling them. There's potheads
> at TJ.


LOL. Just because you didn't see it doesn't mean it wasn't there. Shit it was in LB back in the eighties. I seriously doubt you couldn't get it at Edison if you asked the right people.

Jeez you guys are so picky. Try walking into Edison, than an Inner-City High School. It's gotten much better now. Alot of parents contacted the adminstration and have complained about all these things (no, there was no cocaine). Although their are still problems, such as a certain teacher selling wal-mart food at inflated prices, and the fact there are so many......hormone-ish girls. But other than that it is pretty good. They pretty much expelled most of the bad apples.

Kendall Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jeez you guys are so picky. Try walking into
> Edison, than an Inner-City High School. It's
> gotten much better now. Alot of parents contacted
> the adminstration and have complained about all
> these things (no, there was no cocaine). Although
> their are still problems, such as a certain
> teacher selling wal-mart food at inflated prices,
> and the fact there are so many......hormone-ish
> girls. But other than that it is pretty good. They
> pretty much expelled most of the bad apples.

Sweetie, You need to go back to English class. First, A lot is two words administration is spelled with an i after the n and you used the wrong type of their, it should be there.
Anyway, I graduated from Edison last year and to be precise, three kids in my class got expelled for crack cocaine, So I suggest you don't say there was none when you don't know the truth. Back to my point, My dad is in the military so we moved around quite often and throughout my 9-12 grade years, I attended six different high schools and to be honest Edison was the WORST. So many 9th graders getting pregnant by there 20 year old boyfriends and so many weed smokers, it was ridiculous. I have never seen such rude people before in my life. The hallways are WAY to packed. I'm not sure if it is still like this but last year they had a different hallway blocked off every other week and that meant everyone had to squeeze down one tiny little hall. So many of the guys were totally perverted. The teachers didn't care to much for education, more of being the "cool teacher." I gladly say I'm done with Edison, because it has to be the worst school. =]

i hurd 2 spanish girls got caught smokin in the bathroom upstairs on wensday or somthen like that.?!?!?!

Sounds like Edison needs new leadership who will clean house. Instead they'll just get a renovated building.

TC Williams got a brand new building and, within a few years, the state had declared the school a failure and put it in the equivalent of receivership. That tells you something, since presumably there was stiff competition for that honor with schools in Richmond and Hampton Roads.

Edisonpupil Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As much as I hate that school, allow me to clarify
> that there was NO crack cocaine last year. Not
> even a little.
>
> And if you're going to move your child to a new
> school because of some Marijuana, you'd probably
> be better off homeschooling them. There's potheads
> at TJ.


Actually, let me clarify and tell you that your wrong.YES there was crack cocaine last year. How do I know? Because, my cousins fiance was one of the 3 or 4 seniors who got expelled last year for it. Don't say that there was none if you don't know the real truth. I don't get why people on here are trying to defend Edison, that shit sucks!!

Who the F smokes crack now a days? And your cousin is an idiot if she's still engaged to a crack dealer. You put down a school while basically admitting your family is part of the problem. Does the school suck because they caught him? I think what some people don't realize is Edison is catching these students and holding them accountable. Even when it was a football player with a D1 scholarship the security team who was mostly coaches at the time held him to the same standard as other students. The only difference between the drugs at Edison and the drugs at Langley are the ones at Langley are better quality.

Edison swags hard as shit homi

CRACK??? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Who the F smokes crack now a days? And your
> cousin is an idiot if she's still engaged to a
> crack dealer. You put down a school while
> basically admitting your family is part of the
> problem. Does the school suck because they caught
> him? I think what some people don't realize is
> Edison is catching these students and holding them
> accountable. Even when it was a football player
> with a D1 scholarship the security team who was
> mostly coaches at the time held him to the same
> standard as other students. The only difference
> between the drugs at Edison and the drugs at
> Langley are the ones at Langley are better
> quality.

Dumb ass how is MY family part of the problem? There not if nobody BLOOD related to me got expelled. The school sucks for many different reasons. Edison isn't even holding every accountable either because they made some new dumb rule shit that if its a first offense you only get suspension. Edison is just full of horrible teachers,pointblank. That's not even including students.

Does anyone know the girls that got caught smoking in the upstairs bathroom about a week or two ago?

Why are you guys acting like you'll get shanked over a crack deal or something. There are bad parts of Edison but it's up to the kid to make the right choices and do well. Some teacher aren't great, some are but don't just say "Oh people there smoke weed and do coke" or whatever...there's always a few extreme people anywhere you go, even places like Langley. Chill the fuck out.

Nuttsack Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Edison swags hard as shit homi


ok james, get in yo daddys car and take your short ass back to being a 40 year old wigger

who knows? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does anyone know the girls that got caught smoking
> in the upstairs bathroom about a week or two ago?


you suckin deck dick bitch?

I go to Edison, and yes there are a lot of drugs, but all high schools have drugs and teen pregnancies. No matter what school you place your children in it'll have problems. If you're children decide to ignore them or get involved is their choice, it's not the school's fault if your kids start doing drugs. Edison isn't that bad,and Lee isn't that much better either.

I'm amused by the comments insinuating that things have "gotten" bad at Edison because of "demographics" and "illegals." I was a student there in the early 90s and it was a shithole then, too. And the assholes, drug dealers, rapists, and bullies came in every hue of the rainbow, every socioeconomic bracket, every country of origin. The administration and a large percentage of the teachers there were apathetic dickbags, many of whom seemed more concerned than the students about being down with the popular crowd. If any of those so-called adults, or anyone they trained and left in their stead, are still running the place, it probably still sucks, and you can have all the demographic changes your bigoted heart desires, and it will continue to suck.

Move and enroll them at Hayfield. Good school with a principal that really gives a damn about the students and the school. Most of the teachers care and show it. The school was renovated for way more students than it currently has enrolled.

I'm a senior at Edison right now, moved here from a very good school district in the Midwest, and I can say with 100% confidence that it is as good of a school as you make it. If you want to be a good student and prepare yourself for college, almost all of the teachers are very good at what they do and will do whatever it takes to help you learn (disregard the Foreign Language department, many of them are pretty bad, with the exception of a few). I cannot speak for Lee, but it also has the IB program, which is a much better way to prepare your child for college compared to AP, which is what Hayfield has. There certainly are problems at Edison (see: drugs) but there are not nearly as many fights and pregnancies as people say. We got a new principal this year, to the dismay of many students, however she is doing a great job in cleaning up the school. Because both of these schools are IB, I would say that whichever one you feel most comfortable at will be great, just make sure that your child gets to "shadow" a student for the day, if they still allow that, as this will ensure that they can see what the school is really like. As long as your child is not going to Mount Vernon I think that they will be able to do whatever they like with their 4 years, but at all of these schools you get out what you put in, due to the tremendous amount of students that do not care about learning as much as they do having sex and drinking.

Are you serious you filled a complaint because of what your son was telling you? No wonder we can't keep good teachers. Sounds like your kid has you wrapped around his little finger.


From Experience. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My son is in 11th grade this year and he has been
> at Edison since his 9th grade year. From the
> beginning he has done nothing beside complain
> about Edison. Kids can't even keep a friend there
> because almost everyone who is your "friend" ends
> up being some drug dealer, and pressures you into
> doing it. There has been multiple complaints about
> bullying and the administrators/principal have
> failed to do anything. The only reason why I keep
> my son in Edison is because of there IB program.
> They are the only school who offers in this area.
> Although, He was taking English 11 IB with a
> teacher named Ms.Grady and I had to file a
> complaint about her because from what my son was
> telling me she has no business being a teacher.

Exactly, why do people think it is the schools job to parent. It isn't there job to parent your kids it is your job as a parent. If you don't want to have parents then don't have kids or if you have a little accident you don't want put it up for adoption. If you teach your kid to be strong and an individual they probably won't do drugs. If you teach your kid to be a follower by buying the new gas guzzler all the other soccer moms have and give your kid everything they want and never teach them consequences then they will probably become a druggie.


Edison student Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I go to Edison, and yes there are a lot of drugs,
> but all high schools have drugs and teen
> pregnancies. No matter what school you place your
> children in it'll have problems. If you're
> children decide to ignore them or get involved is
> their choice, it's not the school's fault if your
> kids start doing drugs. Edison isn't that bad,and
> Lee isn't that much better either.

There isn't one school in Fairfax that doesn't have drugs including TJ. I know people who went to TJ and did drugs and I went to the local school and didn't even though they were certainly present. It is about teaching your kids life lessons and even more importantly set a good example. If you are a follower than your kid is probably going to be too. If you go get the new ugly gas guzzler because everybody else does, if you think you are cute and creative because you create or join some group about how your kids make you drink then what do you think your kids are going to turn out like. You tell your kids you drink because of them-guess what they are going to drink and then eventually get to drugs as a way to deal with you and life in general. Real cute now, huh?

Edisonpupil Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As much as I hate that school, allow me to clarify
> that there was NO crack cocaine last year. Not
> even a little.
>
> And if you're going to move your child to a new
> school because of some Marijuana, you'd probably
> be better off homeschooling them. There's potheads
> at TJ.

Lee's principal, Abe Jeffers serves on two "leadership" committees.

1. where he strongly advocated for the installation of surveillance cameras

2. where he advocates that kids receive very harsh disciplinary treatment for minor infractions.

If you want your kids to go to a school that is run by a prison warden, then send them to Lee.

What do you expect from a school that is more worried about happy hour after work than our kids education and safety? Edison is a joke!

Mr. Jeffers is not a bad Principal. He is just in way over his head, and does not get any help from his staff or teachers.

He needs to learn to listen, be flexible, and know that other people have good ideas also.He should shut up and listen to them once in a while.

Hi,

As a recent student who went to both Lee, and Edison (Lee freshman year Edison somphore year) I believe that botg schools are very similar. Lee high school seems to have a more friendly and involved student body, but so does Edison. But then again I suggest Edison who's student body is also very nice, and their 4x4 schedule helps students have a choice of 8 classes unlike lee where only 7 is available. But both schools are very good, and a lot of seniors have been in accepted to many great universities from either school, but it really depends on the student themselves both academically, and their desire to achieve a good education.

An old post, but I think I could still answer it for other parents.

I attended Edison High School for my freshman year during 2011-2012. -Amazingly- I somehow failed (sarcasm). It's partly my fault, and partly because some of the teachers are very slack. It's very cool, up until the point where you get your report card back.

It is common to find petty drug dealings like small amounts (and crap quality) of marijuana. After attending two other different high schools, I've come to the conclusion that while Edison is more "chill," it is also filled with very unintelligent kids and adults alike.

I would not recommend sending your child to that school, unless it is his/her senior year -- then it's like a ferry ride through calm water.

Sorry, 2010-2011. Things may have changed after two years, who knows. I sure as hell don't!

not a bad schoool