Can Someone Explain School Systems in VA Please

[lucyem]

My DH is looking for a new job and most are in the MD and VA area.  He has an interview in Charlottesville VA this week.  I have never lived outside of New England.  Here each school system is town run or a couple of towns get together and share high schools.  That kind of thing.  So if someone moved here they would want to know what town to look for a house in.  But when I ask people about schools in VA I am getting told counties to look in, not towns.  Can someone explain to me how the school systems are set up?  Thank you!  I feel a bit overwhelmed that we could be moving south and good schools are important.  I just want to make sure I have a clue on where to start looking for a town if DH finds a job he likes.

[beanma]

I'm in NC, but my sister lives in VA. In NC some school systems are town/city based, but many town/city systems have merged with the county systems so that there is just one big county system rather than a city system and a county system. 

In Charlottesville, it looks like they have a city system (http://www.ccs.k12.va.us/). Charlottesville is in Albemarle county which looks to have a separate school system (http://schoolcenter.k12albemarle.org/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectionid=9897), so if you bought a house in Charlottesville your kids would be districted for Charlottesville schools, but if you lived in the country on a little farm you'd most likely be in Albemarle schools. Your realtor would be able to advise you. I couldn't tell you which is more desirable, but I'm in Chapel Hill, NC (very similar college town compared to Charlottesville) and our city system is preferred over the county system, although I think the county system is pretty good.

[AnnieA]

I live in C'ville and it's set up like the PP said. If you live in the city limits, your kids attend City of Charlottesville schools. There are multiple elementary schools, a middle school (might be more than one) and a high school. If you live in Albemarle County, your kids attend the county schools. There are a lot of elementary schools, 4 or 5 middle schools and 3 high schools. The county school system tends to be better than the city school system but there are individual schools in each that perform very well. My kids attend Stone-Robinson  Elementary, Burley Middle School and Monticello High School. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.