FCPS Boundary Review Updates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So all those Herndon kids transferring to South Lakes for IB should be graduating with fulll IB diplomas right?

They should

But they just have to take a couple of IB (or AP in the case of IB to AP) over the course of their high school career.

It is a wink, wink way to get out od a poor performing school

Whether you think that is bad or good probably depends on whether your kid is at risk of getting rezoned to backfill those IB/AP transfers.

This exactly. I support going back to home base schools because we bought for our current base and now risk rezoning because of the over-capacity caused by these transfer loopholes.

The next zoned school could really benefit from its neighborhoods not fleeing and would tremendously help having its community back but it doesn’t offer any enticing programs.

[Anonymous]

I’m dying to know how the meeting today went!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m dying to know how the meeting today went!

Shhh. It's a secret. At least, they've set it up that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So all those Herndon kids transferring to South Lakes for IB should be graduating with fulll IB diplomas right?

They should

But they just have to take a couple of IB (or AP in the case of IB to AP) over the course of their high school career.

It is a wink, wink way to get out od a poor performing school

Whether you think that is bad or good probably depends on whether your kid is at risk of getting rezoned to backfill those IB/AP transfers.

What's to stop the kids who get redistricted into a new school with IB from transfering back to what would have been their home HS for the AP program?

Their home schools are closed to transfers.

For example, a WSHS AP junior gets rezoned to Lewis IB.

The WSHS junior does not want to leave WSHS and does not want IB.

They apply to transfer back to an AP school, hoping to stay at WSHS.

WSHS is supposedly (on paper) closed to transfers and has been since before renovations, at least a decade or more.

The WSHS junior will be denied their transfer request back to WSHS, and will be given the option of the next closest AP school.

It might be South County, Lake Braddock or Hayfield, depending on which AP school has space.

The WSHS junior will not even be given the option to remain at WSHS, due to the school being closed to transfers.

The only way for them to possibly remain at WSHS is if the student is enrolled in German..irving families and parents of class of 2028 and below should make their kids take German for their foreign language to maximize their chances at remaining at WSHS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So all those Herndon kids transferring to South Lakes for IB should be graduating with fulll IB diplomas right?

They should

But they just have to take a couple of IB (or AP in the case of IB to AP) over the course of their high school career.

It is a wink, wink way to get out od a poor performing school

Whether you think that is bad or good probably depends on whether your kid is at risk of getting rezoned to backfill those IB/AP transfers.

What's to stop the kids who get redistricted into a new school with IB from transfering back to what would have been their home HS for the AP program?

Their home schools are closed to transfers.

For example, a WSHS AP junior gets rezoned to Lewis IB.

The WSHS junior does not want to leave WSHS and does not want IB.

They apply to transfer back to an AP school, hoping to stay at WSHS.

WSHS is supposedly (on paper) closed to transfers and has been since before renovations, at least a decade or more.

The WSHS junior will be denied their transfer request back to WSHS, and will be given the option of the next closest AP school.

It might be South County, Lake Braddock or Hayfield, depending on which AP school has space.

The WSHS junior will not even be given the option to remain at WSHS, due to the school being closed to transfers.

The only way for them to possibly remain at WSHS is if the student is enrolled in German..irving families and parents of class of 2028 and below should make their kids take German for their foreign language to maximize their chances at remaining at WSHS.

Or if you are UMC and can afford the couple of thousands of dollars per month to rent in the desired pyramid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m dying to know how the meeting today went!

I believe it’s typically in the evening to account for BRAC members’ day jobs. Probably occurring right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s a BRAC meeting tonight. Will see what comes out of it! I do feel like they post content fairly quick

How do we attend the BRAC meeting? FOIA requires those meetings to be open, right?

They’ve all been closed thus far. They do post the materials afterwards though no recordings.

I’m sure content from tonight will be FOIA requested if posted materials do not suffice. Times are spicy

Yeah, but from a plain reading of FOIA these meetings are supposed to be open to the public.

Then show up and try to enter.

If they call the Fairfax police, ask the police to please arrest the committee members for violating the law.

Ask the officer to file a police report. Demand it. Create a paper trail.

Let the committee know we know they are violating the law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So all those Herndon kids transferring to South Lakes for IB should be graduating with fulll IB diplomas right?

They should

But they just have to take a couple of IB (or AP in the case of IB to AP) over the course of their high school career.

It is a wink, wink way to get out od a poor performing school

Whether you think that is bad or good probably depends on whether your kid is at risk of getting rezoned to backfill those IB/AP transfers.

What's to stop the kids who get redistricted into a new school with IB from transfering back to what would have been their home HS for the AP program?

We are in this situation. Current home school is AP and next school is IB. We want to stay AP and moved to this pyramid for that reason.

[Anonymous]

What’s happening with Flint Hill Elementary’s boundaries? Some kids going to South Lakes or Oakton?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So all those Herndon kids transferring to South Lakes for IB should be graduating with fulll IB diplomas right?

They should

But they just have to take a couple of IB (or AP in the case of IB to AP) over the course of their high school career.

It is a wink, wink way to get out od a poor performing school

Whether you think that is bad or good probably depends on whether your kid is at risk of getting rezoned to backfill those IB/AP transfers.

What's to stop the kids who get redistricted into a new school with IB from transfering back to what would have been their home HS for the AP program?

I don’t think “what would have been their home HS” factors in. I think kids who got rezoned to SLHS had the option of moving to Herndon for AP, but not Oakton or Marshall. FCPS doesn’t care what your old school was once you’ve been rezoned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So all those Herndon kids transferring to South Lakes for IB should be graduating with fulll IB diplomas right?

They should

But they just have to take a couple of IB (or AP in the case of IB to AP) over the course of their high school career.

It is a wink, wink way to get out od a poor performing school

Whether you think that is bad or good probably depends on whether your kid is at risk of getting rezoned to backfill those IB/AP transfers.

What's to stop the kids who get redistricted into a new school with IB from transfering back to what would have been their home HS for the AP program?

I don’t think “what would have been their home HS” factors in. I think kids who got rezoned to SLHS had the option of moving to Herndon for AP, but not Oakton or Marshall. FCPS doesn’t care what your old school was once you’ve been rezoned.

I recall this at the time of redistricting. I remember hearing that they had to go to another school for AP. I think it was Herndon instead of the school their siblings attended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It needs to be paused. Too many changes at once.

The incompetence that FairFACTS Matters has uncovered relating to the selection of BRAC members raises bigger issues as to whether those currently running FCPS and on the School Board could possibly be trusted with fair and valid county-wide boundary changes.

FCPS has never had a more incompetent Superintendent and School Board and they need to pause the boundary study, figure out how to improve their processes, and form a new advisory committee (one where obnoxious School Board shills aren't rewarded with seats for their long history of sucking up to the School Board) before doing any further work.

Fairfax matters discovered a typo on a spreadsheet, maybe. Theres a reason no legitimate new outlet is running that “story” except a local blog.

I see what you did there. What makes a news outlet “legitimate”? Is WaPo “legitimate” under Bezos. Is WTOP legitimate in their “hard hitting” reporting? Would a larger news outlet national (WaPo) or even regional (pick one) outlet report on such a local issue? Or would you expect a local, county news outlet to report on it:

https://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/area-residents-ask-what-happened-to-mother-no-35/article_b904ab6c-faac-11ef-9d3c-c3bb6b474982.html

Ah, but this particular reporter and this publication has reported on FCPS in the past so this must not be “legitimate.”

That is hilarious. Legitimately hilarious.

Thanks.

I really do not see how anyone can support the current boundary adjustment, given how obviously corrupted and biased the process has been shown to be:

“Scott Jones, a member of the local group FairFACTS Matters, which advocates on education issues, received a copy of the video and other documents in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by a local father. Parents and community members are now expressing outrage at the sequence of events captured in the video as they watch the segment on social media postings in local neighborhood groups.

The disclosure underscores deeper issues into the integrity, legitimacy, and transparency of the FCPS boundary review committee selection process, which requires members to sign non-disclosure agreements. The documents in the public records request included a file marked “Superintendent’s Boundary Review Committee,” which included a comment from Tracey Wynne, FCPS director of community relations, stating, “Each member has signed a limited non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in order to participate on the committee.”

For Jones, the selection process is “invalid” due to how FCPS officials allegedly mishandled it. He said the incident raises questions about whether FCPS officials intentionally selected only people who would rubber stamp the school district’s remapping of the district.

The public records documents released for the first time revealed all of the committee's members. A Dec. 11 Excel spreadsheet titled “Advisory Committee” includes the names of 87 people in a list marked “Confirmation NDA.” Of those listed, 22 are FCPS employees.

That poster doesn’t care about facts. She’s got her own alternative facts to fit her narrative of unwavering support for corrupt FCPS.

Gaslight much? “That poster,” was me, and you failed to realize I quoted a reputable media source:

https://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/area-residents-ask-what-happened-to-mother-no-35/article_b904ab6c-faac-11ef-9d3c-c3bb6b474982.html


Question for you PP: You work for FCPS don’t you?

I don't work for FCPS, because I know you will ask and I am not the poster you are responding to.

Fairfax Times is not a reputable source, it is pretty biased in its reporting. And the FairFacts group, or whatever it is call, is pretty biased. I was on the FairFacts FB page for a while and there is a real bias there.

I don't think kids should be moved to rebalnace economic imbalances in the county. I do think that kids need to be moved to decrease enrollment at schools that are over capacity.

I think that IB should be dropped, and students should return to their base schools.

I think that we should be using the existing space that we have instead of expanding capacity at overcrowded schools. I don't think schools udnergoing a renovation should be expanded just because there is a renovation ongoing.

I think that schools that need to be renovated should be renovated, although that is technically a different conversation. It is a legitimate complaint that schools like McLean are falling apart and should be moved up in the renovation cue.

I understand that boundrary changes are disruptive and people don't like them but that doesn't mean there are not valid reasons for doing them. I don't think that FCPS is talking about these shifts for the right reasons, the focus on moving kids to balance FARMs rates in inappropriate. Some kids might be shifted to reduce overcrowding to a school that is a lower FARMs rate because the school closest by has a higher percentage of FARMs kids but a geographic shift possible.

The efforts of the people strongly opposed to redistricting to shut down anyone whose opinion disagrees with theirs is problematic. FCPS didn't need to hrie consultants to do this, they needed maps and people to look at the maps and make adjustments based on relieving overcrowded schools based on geography.

Of course alarm bells go off when a massive number transfer out of AP Herndon to IB South Lakes. Unprecedented anywhere else in this county. 11% of the base school transfers out net TJ. Are they coming primarily from the Reston schools Aldrin and Armstrong? Ex Hughes AAP transfers? Irresponsible on the part of Strauss and Tholen to NOT have put in Herndon MS AAP Center. Not having it could also be a function of Hunter Mill rep snarfing up potential IB Diploma candidates for South Lakes. Senior/diploma candidates IB enrollment should be roken down by base ES

What happened in prior boundary changes to boost academics? Kilmer was a base school only and in poor condiition. FCPS did not want to change base school boundaries to load the site. Longfellow was a mega AAP center- all non Mclean HS or Mclean address schools got moved to Kilmer. Renovated and a desirable tech course plus great band director from Longfellow. Extrapolate that to the HS level. Meanwhile some South Lakes pyramid schools get exhorbitant extra funding- IB, magnet $.
Herndon pyramid gets no bonus cash. Bonus cash for Langley pyramid is the JIP extra staffing due to class size problems. Mclean pyramid Kent Gardens immersion problem was not solved but that program is so large there should be zero extra staff in a budget or staff reallocated.

Edison transfer numbers need to be scrapped or broken down by reason- isolating tech course. IB Edison gets a huge number from IB Lewis. Were SB members historically residing in the Edison pyramid? Some pyramids appear to have had sequential school board members with exhorbitant subjective focus on their base schools plus some special programs.

And there are a good number of students who principal place from SLHS to Langley, Oakton, and Herndon. The Langley and Oakton are folks placing for AP and a language. The Herndon are folks placing for AP without a language.

SLHS test scores improved after the boundary change 20 years ago but I have never seen anything that shows that the scores for the FARMs or ELL kids have actually improved or if the improvement is because of the few hundred kids moved from other schools into SLHS. I suspect tha latter.

Moving the MC/UMC into the high FARMs schools will make the scores look better without fixing the real issues. And, truth be told, no one has the slightest clue of how to fix the real problem. The generationally poor and the uneducated immigrant families tend not value education for a variety of reasons. Their kids don't see school as important because their parents don't care. Teachers and Administration cannot make them care so the cycle continues. We have been discussing this as a society since the 1950's, probably even before then. You can make it look prettier with some window-dressing, but it doesn't address the larger problem.

Trying to balance out FARMs rates is a crappy reason for redistricting. Dealing with overcrowded schools is a legitimate reason for re-districting. Start with getting rid of IB and get kids back to their base schools. See what the numbers look like. Draw maps that start to relieve the numbers at the schools that are crowded. The bigger issue is that FCPS is trying to rebalance based on SES and is trying to pretend that isn't what is happening.

You are assuming that what the school board has thought, and thinks are the "real issues" and what the parents think are "the real issues" are one and the same.

The board is concerned with demographic mix, capacity imbalance (somewhat) and the threat of losing accreditation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So all those Herndon kids transferring to South Lakes for IB should be graduating with fulll IB diplomas right?

They should

But they just have to take a couple of IB (or AP in the case of IB to AP) over the course of their high school career.

It is a wink, wink way to get out od a poor performing school

Whether you think that is bad or good probably depends on whether your kid is at risk of getting rezoned to backfill those IB/AP transfers.

What's to stop the kids who get redistricted into a new school with IB from transfering back to what would have been their home HS for the AP program?

I don’t think “what would have been their home HS” factors in. I think kids who got rezoned to SLHS had the option of moving to Herndon for AP, but not Oakton or Marshall. FCPS doesn’t care what your old school was once you’ve been rezoned.

I think you mean Madison, not Marshall. Marshall is IB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So all those Herndon kids transferring to South Lakes for IB should be graduating with fulll IB diplomas right?

They should

But they just have to take a couple of IB (or AP in the case of IB to AP) over the course of their high school career.

It is a wink, wink way to get out od a poor performing school

Whether you think that is bad or good probably depends on whether your kid is at risk of getting rezoned to backfill those IB/AP transfers.

What's to stop the kids who get redistricted into a new school with IB from transfering back to what would have been their home HS for the AP program?

I don’t think “what would have been their home HS” factors in. I think kids who got rezoned to SLHS had the option of moving to Herndon for AP, but not Oakton or Marshall. FCPS doesn’t care what your old school was once you’ve been rezoned.

I think you mean Madison, not Marshall. Marshall is IB.

Yes, sorry. I mixed up the M high schools in Vienna.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It needs to be paused. Too many changes at once.

The incompetence that FairFACTS Matters has uncovered relating to the selection of BRAC members raises bigger issues as to whether those currently running FCPS and on the School Board could possibly be trusted with fair and valid county-wide boundary changes.

FCPS has never had a more incompetent Superintendent and School Board and they need to pause the boundary study, figure out how to improve their processes, and form a new advisory committee (one where obnoxious School Board shills aren't rewarded with seats for their long history of sucking up to the School Board) before doing any further work.

Fairfax matters discovered a typo on a spreadsheet, maybe. Theres a reason no legitimate new outlet is running that “story” except a local blog.

I see what you did there. What makes a news outlet “legitimate”? Is WaPo “legitimate” under Bezos. Is WTOP legitimate in their “hard hitting” reporting? Would a larger news outlet national (WaPo) or even regional (pick one) outlet report on such a local issue? Or would you expect a local, county news outlet to report on it:

https://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/area-residents-ask-what-happened-to-mother-no-35/article_b904ab6c-faac-11ef-9d3c-c3bb6b474982.html

Ah, but this particular reporter and this publication has reported on FCPS in the past so this must not be “legitimate.”

That is hilarious. Legitimately hilarious.

Thanks.

I really do not see how anyone can support the current boundary adjustment, given how obviously corrupted and biased the process has been shown to be:

“Scott Jones, a member of the local group FairFACTS Matters, which advocates on education issues, received a copy of the video and other documents in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by a local father. Parents and community members are now expressing outrage at the sequence of events captured in the video as they watch the segment on social media postings in local neighborhood groups.

The disclosure underscores deeper issues into the integrity, legitimacy, and transparency of the FCPS boundary review committee selection process, which requires members to sign non-disclosure agreements. The documents in the public records request included a file marked “Superintendent’s Boundary Review Committee,” which included a comment from Tracey Wynne, FCPS director of community relations, stating, “Each member has signed a limited non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in order to participate on the committee.”

For Jones, the selection process is “invalid” due to how FCPS officials allegedly mishandled it. He said the incident raises questions about whether FCPS officials intentionally selected only people who would rubber stamp the school district’s remapping of the district.

The public records documents released for the first time revealed all of the committee's members. A Dec. 11 Excel spreadsheet titled “Advisory Committee” includes the names of 87 people in a list marked “Confirmation NDA.” Of those listed, 22 are FCPS employees.

That poster doesn’t care about facts. She’s got her own alternative facts to fit her narrative of unwavering support for corrupt FCPS.

Gaslight much? “That poster,” was me, and you failed to realize I quoted a reputable media source:

https://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/area-residents-ask-what-happened-to-mother-no-35/article_b904ab6c-faac-11ef-9d3c-c3bb6b474982.html


Question for you PP: You work for FCPS don’t you?

I don't work for FCPS, because I know you will ask and I am not the poster you are responding to.

Fairfax Times is not a reputable source, it is pretty biased in its reporting. And the FairFacts group, or whatever it is call, is pretty biased. I was on the FairFacts FB page for a while and there is a real bias there.

I don't think kids should be moved to rebalnace economic imbalances in the county. I do think that kids need to be moved to decrease enrollment at schools that are over capacity.

I think that IB should be dropped, and students should return to their base schools.

I think that we should be using the existing space that we have instead of expanding capacity at overcrowded schools. I don't think schools udnergoing a renovation should be expanded just because there is a renovation ongoing.

I think that schools that need to be renovated should be renovated, although that is technically a different conversation. It is a legitimate complaint that schools like McLean are falling apart and should be moved up in the renovation cue.

I understand that boundrary changes are disruptive and people don't like them but that doesn't mean there are not valid reasons for doing them. I don't think that FCPS is talking about these shifts for the right reasons, the focus on moving kids to balance FARMs rates in inappropriate. Some kids might be shifted to reduce overcrowding to a school that is a lower FARMs rate because the school closest by has a higher percentage of FARMs kids but a geographic shift possible.

The efforts of the people strongly opposed to redistricting to shut down anyone whose opinion disagrees with theirs is problematic. FCPS didn't need to hrie consultants to do this, they needed maps and people to look at the maps and make adjustments based on relieving overcrowded schools based on geography.

Of course alarm bells go off when a massive number transfer out of AP Herndon to IB South Lakes. Unprecedented anywhere else in this county. 11% of the base school transfers out net TJ. Are they coming primarily from the Reston schools Aldrin and Armstrong? Ex Hughes AAP transfers? Irresponsible on the part of Strauss and Tholen to NOT have put in Herndon MS AAP Center. Not having it could also be a function of Hunter Mill rep snarfing up potential IB Diploma candidates for South Lakes. Senior/diploma candidates IB enrollment should be roken down by base ES

What happened in prior boundary changes to boost academics? Kilmer was a base school only and in poor condiition. FCPS did not want to change base school boundaries to load the site. Longfellow was a mega AAP center- all non Mclean HS or Mclean address schools got moved to Kilmer. Renovated and a desirable tech course plus great band director from Longfellow. Extrapolate that to the HS level. Meanwhile some South Lakes pyramid schools get exhorbitant extra funding- IB, magnet $.
Herndon pyramid gets no bonus cash. Bonus cash for Langley pyramid is the JIP extra staffing due to class size problems. Mclean pyramid Kent Gardens immersion problem was not solved but that program is so large there should be zero extra staff in a budget or staff reallocated.

Edison transfer numbers need to be scrapped or broken down by reason- isolating tech course. IB Edison gets a huge number from IB Lewis. Were SB members historically residing in the Edison pyramid? Some pyramids appear to have had sequential school board members with exhorbitant subjective focus on their base schools plus some special programs.

And there are a good number of students who principal place from SLHS to Langley, Oakton, and Herndon. The Langley and Oakton are folks placing for AP and a language. The Herndon are folks placing for AP without a language.

SLHS test scores improved after the boundary change 20 years ago but I have never seen anything that shows that the scores for the FARMs or ELL kids have actually improved or if the improvement is because of the few hundred kids moved from other schools into SLHS. I suspect tha latter.

Moving the MC/UMC into the high FARMs schools will make the scores look better without fixing the real issues. And, truth be told, no one has the slightest clue of how to fix the real problem. The generationally poor and the uneducated immigrant families tend not value education for a variety of reasons. Their kids don't see school as important because their parents don't care. Teachers and Administration cannot make them care so the cycle continues. We have been discussing this as a society since the 1950's, probably even before then. You can make it look prettier with some window-dressing, but it doesn't address the larger problem.

Trying to balance out FARMs rates is a crappy reason for redistricting. Dealing with overcrowded schools is a legitimate reason for re-districting. Start with getting rid of IB and get kids back to their base schools. See what the numbers look like. Draw maps that start to relieve the numbers at the schools that are crowded. The bigger issue is that FCPS is trying to rebalance based on SES and is trying to pretend that isn't what is happening.

You are assuming that what the school board has thought, and thinks are the "real issues" and what the parents think are "the real issues" are one and the same.

The board is concerned with demographic mix, capacity imbalance (somewhat) and the threat of losing accreditation.

The SB judges students on the color of their skin and the size of the parent(s) bank accounts.

They are obsessed with it. Their weird equity-of-outcome obsession is 100% behind this whole redistribution / redistricting scheme.