Public Elementary Schools in Fairfax County
Public Schools 101 ..
Personal experience by a Parent...
Public (ie state) Elementary schools in Fairfax County cater for children in Grades K (Kindergarten, which is UK Year 1) to 6 (UK Year 7). Schools here are generally thought to be very good (and rate very high in national public school tables), and I know of nobody locally who has removed
their child from public elementary school because they thought they could get a better education privately. In many areas, middle school starts at 6th Grade, but in Fairfax County they are for two years only – 7th and 8th Grade.
Public schools have rigorous catchment areas. Where you live absolutely determines the school your child will attend, with one specific rider which I will mention later. If you move house on a Tuesday, and your new house is in a different school area, then your children must go to the new school on Wednesday. You just turn up at the school office with your child, proof of your new address, their immunisation records and their birth
certificate, and the child will be admitted to the school. You cannot keep your child at their old school.
Before children can start at school, two things are very different from the UK: children have to have a medical form ( make sure you access current forms) signed by their doctor, and they must be fully up to date (or as up to date as can be, given the need for spaced boosters) with all the required vaccinations. We managed to persuade the children’s UK GP to complete and stamp the medical paperwork. I went through the children’s immunisation records with the practice nurse, to get that part signed and stamped also. After a fruitless effort to get the children vaccinated against chicken pox (which they had had, but – naturally – did not see a doctor, so there was no record) we also managed to get blood tests done which proved that they were immune.
That left one child to begin a Hepatitis B vaccination course. All this could have been done in country (and at much more expense), but we did not have the time as we only arrived in the US four days before the new school year, and we wanted to ensure that the boys could be admitted on day one.
their child from public elementary school because they thought they could get a better education privately. In many areas, middle school starts at 6th Grade, but in Fairfax County they are for two years only – 7th and 8th Grade.
Public schools have rigorous catchment areas. Where you live absolutely determines the school your child will attend, with one specific rider which I will mention later. If you move house on a Tuesday, and your new house is in a different school area, then your children must go to the new school on Wednesday. You just turn up at the school office with your child, proof of your new address, their immunisation records and their birth
certificate, and the child will be admitted to the school. You cannot keep your child at their old school.
Before children can start at school, two things are very different from the UK: children have to have a medical form ( make sure you access current forms) signed by their doctor, and they must be fully up to date (or as up to date as can be, given the need for spaced boosters) with all the required vaccinations. We managed to persuade the children’s UK GP to complete and stamp the medical paperwork. I went through the children’s immunisation records with the practice nurse, to get that part signed and stamped also. After a fruitless effort to get the children vaccinated against chicken pox (which they had had, but – naturally – did not see a doctor, so there was no record) we also managed to get blood tests done which proved that they were immune.
That left one child to begin a Hepatitis B vaccination course. All this could have been done in country (and at much more expense), but we did not have the time as we only arrived in the US four days before the new school year, and we wanted to ensure that the boys could be admitted on day one.
To see what your child will be doing in their school, Fairfax have a curriculum resource for elementary schools: http://www.fcps.edu/is/elemprogreport/gradelevelinfo.shtml#iv
Our two boys started at Westbriar Elementary in Vienna in September 2011, in 3rd and 5th Grade. We had faxed all the paperwork to the school administrators over the summer, so they just checked the originals and all was well. They settled in quickly, although teaching methods are a little different and a great deal of weight is placed on the responsibility of the individual: to follow instructions, to be organised and to do their own homework. And physical education is just that. Children are tested on their physical prowess based on speed, strength and flexibility, and are given a grade on that basis. (Sport is generally done outside school hours, separately.)
There are no uniforms (“we don’t use uniforms here”)but Fairfax County Schools have a dress code which bars inappropriate clothing.
This is part of the Student Rights and Responsibilities document, a hefty tome running to over 40 pages which parents and children must sign each
year. That way, you can’t say “but we didn’t know he shouldn’t take a machete to school” and expect to be let off.
Stationery is not provided. Before the beginning of each school year, each school will advise students what they need to supply (keep this list – you need it rather than receipts for your flat-rate $45 claim). This will vary widely between schools and teachers, and may also be divided up on the basis of surname, as some items (eg tissues or wet wipes) will be shared. Often the whole cache of one item (eg pencils – one child had to take five dozen last year!) will be grouped and drawn on as required. Some things like scissors and calculators are best marked with your child’s name.
One interesting wrinkle to prepare your children for is America’s continuing use of “US Standard” measures. Mine were
thrown completely by feet, inches, yards, miles, ounces, pints (NB only 16 fluid ounces!), quarts, gallons and pounds.
But they shone when metric measures were introduced to the class.
Breaks are also another issue – in Fairfax County, children in elementary school have only 20 minutes of “recess” a day in addition to a short lunchbreak. And because the cafeterias are not large enough for even half the children to sit down togther, many of the children eat lunch at a peculiarly early hour. But there are snack breaks to compensate.
Musical education is brilliant. All children learn to play the recorder from 3rd Grade, and can start a stringed instrument (generally, violin, viola or cello) from 4th Grade. They can move to brass, wind or percussion (“Band”) in 5thGrade. Parents need to supply the instrument and – sometimes – music, but there is no charge for music lessons. There are at least two music lessons a week –in my sons’ case, they have a general music lesson and a group lesson on their instrument. In addition, my older son has joined the chorus, open to 5th and 6th Graders. The best singers and instrumentalists have the opportunity to practise and perform with the best students from other schools in area bands and choirs, but all will perform several times a year at school and other functions elsewhere.
Another difference is the school hours. Within the county, hours for elementary schools vary somewhat to allow for school bus timetable planning, but start times are usually around 9am (much earlier for middle school, and ridiculously early for high school). At the boys’current school, hours are 9.15am-3.55pm except on Mondays, when school finishes at 1.25pm. They ride the school bus both ways (except when they have an after school
activity), and are picked up at about 8.20am and return home at about 4.40pm or 2.10pm on Mondays. Their bus ride is quite long for an elementary school in this area, but that is partly because they have switched schools. I will now explain why.
All children at Fairfax County Public Schools take Cognitive Ability Tests in Grade 2, or in the autumn after their arrival if later. The results are sent to parents in late spring, and parents seem to be given very little time to decide what to do, if there is a decision to be made. If your children do well in
the tests, they will be offered Advanced Academic Program (AAP) services. These are at four levels, but I am not sure what levels 1 and 2 really mean in practice. Level 3 means children stay at their current school and have some special lessons. Level 4 means they go to a school where all the children in their class (not the whole school) will be “GT” (gifted and talented). Our boys did well enough that we decided it was worth applying for Level 4, which would mean their moving to Sunrise Valley ES, an elementary school in Reston rather than Vienna (though it’s actually slightly closer to home than their original school). We filled in the forms, assembled our“evidence” and waited until the various boards had sat to
decide which children should be accepted. Our boys were very happy at their old school so it was not an easy decision, but every parent we spoke to had felt the same but did not regret the move. And it was easier than it might have been for our children as they already had friends at the new school, and were (on our request) placed in classes with them.
The boys are very happy at their new school. The main difference is that they do mathematics a year above their grade, which we hope will help when they move back to UK secondary school in 2014. One thing which worries us slightly is that they do not do any languages at school, (for a list of schools that actively teach foreign languages in Fairfax county see http://www.fcps.edu/is/worldlanguages/fles.shtml ) so we will have to work on that at home to avoid their being left behind. And I do wonder how my very active, sporty son will cope with middle school next year, when there will be no statutory breaks at all during the school day. We shall see. But so far, so really very good.
There are no uniforms (“we don’t use uniforms here”)but Fairfax County Schools have a dress code which bars inappropriate clothing.
This is part of the Student Rights and Responsibilities document, a hefty tome running to over 40 pages which parents and children must sign each
year. That way, you can’t say “but we didn’t know he shouldn’t take a machete to school” and expect to be let off.
Stationery is not provided. Before the beginning of each school year, each school will advise students what they need to supply (keep this list – you need it rather than receipts for your flat-rate $45 claim). This will vary widely between schools and teachers, and may also be divided up on the basis of surname, as some items (eg tissues or wet wipes) will be shared. Often the whole cache of one item (eg pencils – one child had to take five dozen last year!) will be grouped and drawn on as required. Some things like scissors and calculators are best marked with your child’s name.
One interesting wrinkle to prepare your children for is America’s continuing use of “US Standard” measures. Mine were
thrown completely by feet, inches, yards, miles, ounces, pints (NB only 16 fluid ounces!), quarts, gallons and pounds.
But they shone when metric measures were introduced to the class.
Breaks are also another issue – in Fairfax County, children in elementary school have only 20 minutes of “recess” a day in addition to a short lunchbreak. And because the cafeterias are not large enough for even half the children to sit down togther, many of the children eat lunch at a peculiarly early hour. But there are snack breaks to compensate.
Musical education is brilliant. All children learn to play the recorder from 3rd Grade, and can start a stringed instrument (generally, violin, viola or cello) from 4th Grade. They can move to brass, wind or percussion (“Band”) in 5thGrade. Parents need to supply the instrument and – sometimes – music, but there is no charge for music lessons. There are at least two music lessons a week –in my sons’ case, they have a general music lesson and a group lesson on their instrument. In addition, my older son has joined the chorus, open to 5th and 6th Graders. The best singers and instrumentalists have the opportunity to practise and perform with the best students from other schools in area bands and choirs, but all will perform several times a year at school and other functions elsewhere.
Another difference is the school hours. Within the county, hours for elementary schools vary somewhat to allow for school bus timetable planning, but start times are usually around 9am (much earlier for middle school, and ridiculously early for high school). At the boys’current school, hours are 9.15am-3.55pm except on Mondays, when school finishes at 1.25pm. They ride the school bus both ways (except when they have an after school
activity), and are picked up at about 8.20am and return home at about 4.40pm or 2.10pm on Mondays. Their bus ride is quite long for an elementary school in this area, but that is partly because they have switched schools. I will now explain why.
All children at Fairfax County Public Schools take Cognitive Ability Tests in Grade 2, or in the autumn after their arrival if later. The results are sent to parents in late spring, and parents seem to be given very little time to decide what to do, if there is a decision to be made. If your children do well in
the tests, they will be offered Advanced Academic Program (AAP) services. These are at four levels, but I am not sure what levels 1 and 2 really mean in practice. Level 3 means children stay at their current school and have some special lessons. Level 4 means they go to a school where all the children in their class (not the whole school) will be “GT” (gifted and talented). Our boys did well enough that we decided it was worth applying for Level 4, which would mean their moving to Sunrise Valley ES, an elementary school in Reston rather than Vienna (though it’s actually slightly closer to home than their original school). We filled in the forms, assembled our“evidence” and waited until the various boards had sat to
decide which children should be accepted. Our boys were very happy at their old school so it was not an easy decision, but every parent we spoke to had felt the same but did not regret the move. And it was easier than it might have been for our children as they already had friends at the new school, and were (on our request) placed in classes with them.
The boys are very happy at their new school. The main difference is that they do mathematics a year above their grade, which we hope will help when they move back to UK secondary school in 2014. One thing which worries us slightly is that they do not do any languages at school, (for a list of schools that actively teach foreign languages in Fairfax county see http://www.fcps.edu/is/worldlanguages/fles.shtml ) so we will have to work on that at home to avoid their being left behind. And I do wonder how my very active, sporty son will cope with middle school next year, when there will be no statutory breaks at all during the school day. We shall see. But so far, so really very good.
Please note: this is a personal account of the Fairfax County Educational system. Please make sure you access up to date school entry medical forms and requirements from the Virginia Commonwealth & Fairfax county- as forms and requirements are updated by them. All web links above are just a guide.
