Langley/McLean/Marshall Boundaries

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean beat Langley at girls and boys varsity basketball last Friday. You can see how much school spirit there is at McLean and why people wouldn't want to be rezoned out of the school in this clip:

https://twitter.com/jonroetman/status/1083890067221942273

We were at both those games with friends and what your clip doesn't show is how rude McLean was to the Langley visitors. All sorts of profane chants directed at them. Not welcoming in the least, and if that's their version of "school spirit," count us out.

I think you're just upset you lost both games. I've been to a lot of contests at different schools, and there's no group of kids that knows how to dish out trash talk to other schools more so than "Otto's Army" from Langley. The profanity, while regrettable, was in response to the Langley students who showed up at McLean early in the morning of the day of the game and defaced the rock in front of the school building with "FU*K MCLEAN"

https://twitter.com/edthe_iii/status/1083725279653183489

The girls game was not much of a contest, but the Langley boys played tough against a more experienced McLean squad. It was disappointing to see the Langley students walk out towards the end, rather than see the game to its conclusion and give their classmates a well-deserved round of applause.

A. I don't have kids at Langley, so have no dog in this fight. I've attended McLean games before with our friends who live near the school, and this is the treatment McLean usually gives visiting teams. I realized there is a big rivalry between McLean and Langley, but the reception they gave Langley was over-the-top and unnecessary.

B. I have no idea what "Otto's Army" is.

C. It was clear from where we were sitting that the Langley students left before the game ended because of the verbal abuse McLean was heaping onto them. Can't say I blame them.

You don't sound very knowledgeable about either these events or high school kids.

A. When McLean students arrived at school on the morning of Friday's game, they found Langley students had shown up and painted the spirit rock in front of McLean HS in Langley's colors, with "F*CK MCLEAN" on the rock. The rock was painted over later in the day, but it created some hard feelings and a level of verbal insults from both directions that was greater than usual. The Langley students certainly gave as good as they got.

B. Otto's Army is the unofficial name of Langley's student cheering section. There's also Otto's Army merchandise for sale on the Langley boosters page.

C. The Langley students left before the game ended because McLean was up by nine with about a minute left, and they knew their team was going to lose. Had the score been closer, and many Langley-McLean games have come down to the wire, no amount of "verbal abuse" from the other side would have pried them from their seats. By walking out in that manner, they failed to applaud their own team's efforts, which was kind of sad to watch.

I already stated that I don't have kids at either school - why on earth would I be "knowledgeable" about their traditions or their kids? It sounds like you're a little *too* knowledgeable about Langley, considering you've checked out their boosters page and apparently your kids attend McLean... hmmm.

The rock painting is a shame, but according to our friends, McLean certainly gives as good as they get and have painted the Langley rock many times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given the dynamics between the two schools, McLean will always take more joy from beating Langley than Langley will feel relief at not losing to McLean.

I think the Langley poster needs to unclench and congratulate McLean for having a good night. There have been plenty of other times Langley won.

Again, I'm the poster I believe you're talking about and I don't have kids at Langley. We were simply watching the game with friends and as such, were neutral observers of both sides. It didn't matter to us which school won, though it clearly does to you. What stuck with us was how rude the McLean kids were.

And how polite the Langley kids were?

When Langley experienced a tragedy a few years ago, the McLean kids painted the McLean spirit rock Langley's colors and wrote "Saxon Strong" and "Two Schools, One Town" on the side of the rock. It didn't sit well for McLean kids to come to school Friday morning and be greeted with "F*CK* MCLEAN" painted on the rock, courtesy of some Langley students.

This is true (about the tragedies a few years ago), but you can't possibly pretend that - aside from that very generous instance - McLean hasn't painted Langley's rock just as often as Langley paints theirs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope the school board is making decisions based on long term goals and not the result of a single sports game. Sounds like both sets of students have made some poor decisions in the past. Can we move on?

Maybe moving some Marshall students into those schools will help their behavior a bit and solve some other problems.

Just curious - why would moving students from Marshall "help" either Langley or McLean? The bad behavior is usually only a small group of kids on both sides. The student bodies as a whole are good kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean beat Langley at girls and boys varsity basketball last Friday. You can see how much school spirit there is at McLean and why people wouldn't want to be rezoned out of the school in this clip:

https://twitter.com/jonroetman/status/1083890067221942273

We were at both those games with friends and what your clip doesn't show is how rude McLean was to the Langley visitors. All sorts of profane chants directed at them. Not welcoming in the least, and if that's their version of "school spirit," count us out.

I think you're just upset you lost both games. I've been to a lot of contests at different schools, and there's no group of kids that knows how to dish out trash talk to other schools more so than "Otto's Army" from Langley. The profanity, while regrettable, was in response to the Langley students who showed up at McLean early in the morning of the day of the game and defaced the rock in front of the school building with "FU*K MCLEAN"

https://twitter.com/edthe_iii/status/1083725279653183489

The girls game was not much of a contest, but the Langley boys played tough against a more experienced McLean squad. It was disappointing to see the Langley students walk out towards the end, rather than see the game to its conclusion and give their classmates a well-deserved round of applause.

A. I don't have kids at Langley, so have no dog in this fight. I've attended McLean games before with our friends who live near the school, and this is the treatment McLean usually gives visiting teams. I realized there is a big rivalry between McLean and Langley, but the reception they gave Langley was over-the-top and unnecessary.

B. I have no idea what "Otto's Army" is.

C. It was clear from where we were sitting that the Langley students left before the game ended because of the verbal abuse McLean was heaping onto them. Can't say I blame them.

You don't sound very knowledgeable about either these events or high school kids.

A. When McLean students arrived at school on the morning of Friday's game, they found Langley students had shown up and painted the spirit rock in front of McLean HS in Langley's colors, with "F*CK MCLEAN" on the rock. The rock was painted over later in the day, but it created some hard feelings and a level of verbal insults from both directions that was greater than usual. The Langley students certainly gave as good as they got.

B. Otto's Army is the unofficial name of Langley's student cheering section. There's also Otto's Army merchandise for sale on the Langley boosters page.

C. The Langley students left before the game ended because McLean was up by nine with about a minute left, and they knew their team was going to lose. Had the score been closer, and many Langley-McLean games have come down to the wire, no amount of "verbal abuse" from the other side would have pried them from their seats. By walking out in that manner, they failed to applaud their own team's efforts, which was kind of sad to watch.

I already stated that I don't have kids at either school - why on earth would I be "knowledgeable" about their traditions or their kids? It sounds like you're a little *too* knowledgeable about Langley, considering you've checked out their boosters page and apparently your kids attend McLean... hmmm.

The rock painting is a shame, but according to our friends, McLean certainly gives as good as they get and have painted the Langley rock many times.

You can stop trolling now, because this latest post pretty much gives you away as a Langley parent/student (and disappointed basketball fan Friday night).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in Potomac Hills which is currently Chesterbrook/Longfellow/McLean and are hearing rumors we may be moved to the Langley pyramid. I was wondering when this would all happen and if kids were already at Longfellow or McLean if they would finish there or have to switch schools between grades?

It makes more sense for more of Franklin Sherman to go to Langley. They are closer and it is already a split school.

Better to move most of Tysons to Langley and create some diversity there. McLean would still have all the garden apartments off Lee Highway near Timber Lane.

That's so far away, why is it zoned to McLean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in Potomac Hills which is currently Chesterbrook/Longfellow/McLean and are hearing rumors we may be moved to the Langley pyramid. I was wondering when this would all happen and if kids were already at Longfellow or McLean if they would finish there or have to switch schools between grades?

It makes more sense for more of Franklin Sherman to go to Langley. They are closer and it is already a split school.

Better to move most of Tysons to Langley and create some diversity there. McLean would still have all the garden apartments off Lee Highway near Timber Lane.

That's so far away, why is it zoned to McLean?

It was reassigned from Falls Church to McLean in 1984, the last time there was a county-wide redistricting. Both McLean and Marshall had much lower enrollments back then. Falls Church was picking up some areas that had been at Oakton, so FCPS also moved some areas that had been zoned for Falls Church to McLean, Marshall, and Stuart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean beat Langley at girls and boys varsity basketball last Friday. You can see how much school spirit there is at McLean and why people wouldn't want to be rezoned out of the school in this clip:

https://twitter.com/jonroetman/status/1083890067221942273

We were at both those games with friends and what your clip doesn't show is how rude McLean was to the Langley visitors. All sorts of profane chants directed at them. Not welcoming in the least, and if that's their version of "school spirit," count us out.

I think you're just upset you lost both games. I've been to a lot of contests at different schools, and there's no group of kids that knows how to dish out trash talk to other schools more so than "Otto's Army" from Langley. The profanity, while regrettable, was in response to the Langley students who showed up at McLean early in the morning of the day of the game and defaced the rock in front of the school building with "FU*K MCLEAN"

https://twitter.com/edthe_iii/status/1083725279653183489

The girls game was not much of a contest, but the Langley boys played tough against a more experienced McLean squad. It was disappointing to see the Langley students walk out towards the end, rather than see the game to its conclusion and give their classmates a well-deserved round of applause.

A. I don't have kids at Langley, so have no dog in this fight. I've attended McLean games before with our friends who live near the school, and this is the treatment McLean usually gives visiting teams. I realized there is a big rivalry between McLean and Langley, but the reception they gave Langley was over-the-top and unnecessary.

B. I have no idea what "Otto's Army" is.

C. It was clear from where we were sitting that the Langley students left before the game ended because of the verbal abuse McLean was heaping onto them. Can't say I blame them.

You don't sound very knowledgeable about either these events or high school kids.

A. When McLean students arrived at school on the morning of Friday's game, they found Langley students had shown up and painted the spirit rock in front of McLean HS in Langley's colors, with "F*CK MCLEAN" on the rock. The rock was painted over later in the day, but it created some hard feelings and a level of verbal insults from both directions that was greater than usual. The Langley students certainly gave as good as they got.

B. Otto's Army is the unofficial name of Langley's student cheering section. There's also Otto's Army merchandise for sale on the Langley boosters page.

C. The Langley students left before the game ended because McLean was up by nine with about a minute left, and they knew their team was going to lose. Had the score been closer, and many Langley-McLean games have come down to the wire, no amount of "verbal abuse" from the other side would have pried them from their seats. By walking out in that manner, they failed to applaud their own team's efforts, which was kind of sad to watch.

I already stated that I don't have kids at either school - why on earth would I be "knowledgeable" about their traditions or their kids? It sounds like you're a little *too* knowledgeable about Langley, considering you've checked out their boosters page and apparently your kids attend McLean... hmmm.

The rock painting is a shame, but according to our friends, McLean certainly gives as good as they get and have painted the Langley rock many times.

You can stop trolling now, because this latest post pretty much gives you away as a Langley parent/student (and disappointed basketball fan Friday night).

Sure, whatever you say, even though I've already said in another post that we were there with our friends who live near McLean HS. As I've also already said, I don't have kids at either school, so I wasn't disappointed one way or the other. But it's clear that not only do you take HS sports just a tad too seriously, you're also weirdly obsessed with Langley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean beat Langley at girls and boys varsity basketball last Friday. You can see how much school spirit there is at McLean and why people wouldn't want to be rezoned out of the school in this clip:

https://twitter.com/jonroetman/status/1083890067221942273

We were at both those games with friends and what your clip doesn't show is how rude McLean was to the Langley visitors. All sorts of profane chants directed at them. Not welcoming in the least, and if that's their version of "school spirit," count us out.

I think you're just upset you lost both games. I've been to a lot of contests at different schools, and there's no group of kids that knows how to dish out trash talk to other schools more so than "Otto's Army" from Langley. The profanity, while regrettable, was in response to the Langley students who showed up at McLean early in the morning of the day of the game and defaced the rock in front of the school building with "FU*K MCLEAN"

https://twitter.com/edthe_iii/status/1083725279653183489

The girls game was not much of a contest, but the Langley boys played tough against a more experienced McLean squad. It was disappointing to see the Langley students walk out towards the end, rather than see the game to its conclusion and give their classmates a well-deserved round of applause.

A. I don't have kids at Langley, so have no dog in this fight. I've attended McLean games before with our friends who live near the school, and this is the treatment McLean usually gives visiting teams. I realized there is a big rivalry between McLean and Langley, but the reception they gave Langley was over-the-top and unnecessary.

B. I have no idea what "Otto's Army" is.

C. It was clear from where we were sitting that the Langley students left before the game ended because of the verbal abuse McLean was heaping onto them. Can't say I blame them.

You don't sound very knowledgeable about either these events or high school kids.

A. When McLean students arrived at school on the morning of Friday's game, they found Langley students had shown up and painted the spirit rock in front of McLean HS in Langley's colors, with "F*CK MCLEAN" on the rock. The rock was painted over later in the day, but it created some hard feelings and a level of verbal insults from both directions that was greater than usual. The Langley students certainly gave as good as they got.

B. Otto's Army is the unofficial name of Langley's student cheering section. There's also Otto's Army merchandise for sale on the Langley boosters page.

C. The Langley students left before the game ended because McLean was up by nine with about a minute left, and they knew their team was going to lose. Had the score been closer, and many Langley-McLean games have come down to the wire, no amount of "verbal abuse" from the other side would have pried them from their seats. By walking out in that manner, they failed to applaud their own team's efforts, which was kind of sad to watch.

I already stated that I don't have kids at either school - why on earth would I be "knowledgeable" about their traditions or their kids? It sounds like you're a little *too* knowledgeable about Langley, considering you've checked out their boosters page and apparently your kids attend McLean... hmmm.

The rock painting is a shame, but according to our friends, McLean certainly gives as good as they get and have painted the Langley rock many times.

You can stop trolling now, because this latest post pretty much gives you away as a Langley parent/student (and disappointed basketball fan Friday night).

Sure, whatever you say, even though I've already said in another post that we were there with our friends who live near McLean HS. As I've also already said, I don't have kids at either school, so I wasn't disappointed one way or the other. But it's clear that not only do you take HS sports just a tad too seriously, you're also weirdly obsessed with Langley.

Troll fail.

[Anonymous]

I live on Kurtz road which is 2 blocks from Franklin Sherman and I would prefer Mclean HS over Langley HS because of the diversity at Mclean HS. I have nothing against Langley but Mclean HS has a much more diverse student population. I think that will benefit society in general and my kids specifically, in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live on Kurtz road which is 2 blocks from Franklin Sherman and I would prefer Mclean HS over Langley HS because of the diversity at Mclean HS. I have nothing against Langley but Mclean HS has a much more diverse student population. I think that will benefit society in general and my kids specifically, in the long run.

If you can, please come to the meeting at McLean HS this Thursday at 7 PM and let Janie Strauss and the FCPS representatives know how you feel.

[Anonymous]

Part of the issue here is that FCPS has no coherent framework for considering high school boundary changes or additions, and its default approach over the past decade has been cowardly.

McLean currently has an enrollment of 2251 kids, which is slightly lower than average in FCPS (it's #13 out of the 25 high/secondary schools). The school is crowded now, but that's because FCPS invests less in the school than it does in other schools (it gets a bunch of trailers, but no modulars, and there are no permanent additions currently planned, as at other schools). If they move kids to Langley, they'll leave McLean one of the smallest schools in the county.

In comparison, FCPS plans to build an addition at West Potomac, even though West Potomac has 600 more kids than Mount Vernon and Mount Vernon has capacity. In addition, FCPS is expanding West Springfield as part of its renovation, even though West Springfield has 550 more kids than nearby Lee and Lee has capacity. FCPS also has plans to expand Justice and Madison, even though neither of those schools currently has, or is projected to have, as many students as McLean, and both Justice and Madison sit on less land than McLean.

In McLean's case, it appears FCPS, with Janie Strauss's support, has decided McLean parents would be fine moving to Langley. That's consistent with FCPS's practice over the past decade of moving kids from one high school to another school only when the new high school is considered at least as strong academically as the old high school. Recent examples include moving Annandale kids to Lake Braddock and Woodson, moving Fairfax kids to Woodson, and moving some Lee kids to West Springfield. The only guiding philosophy appears to be that it's OK to move kids if they don't expect many parents to complain, regardless of the effect on the high school that loses students.

McLean parents should ask why FCPS is spending money on expansions and additions at other schools, but not McLean, and exactly how FCPS plans to go about identifying redistricting options, if a boundary change is ultimately determined to be necessary.

[Anonymous]

There are also issues that FCPS needs to address from Langley's perspective.

Right now, Langley's enrollment is down, but how much of that is cyclical and due to neighborhoods with older residents that are gradually turning over to younger owners? Langley has the largest attendance area in the county by far (only Robinson comes close, and Robinson's zone isn't nearly as large as Langley's). If FCPS moves kids to Langley, and the cycle plays out, could they end up greatly overcrowding Langley in 5-10 years?

In addition, to what extent has FCPS addressed the fact that an increasing number of parents in the Langley neighborhoods may be pulling their kids out of FCPS and sending their kids to privates due to the large class sizes in McLean and Great Falls? What if they tried to address that and took concrete steps to reduce the class sizes? They might find that more parents in those neighborhoods sent their kids to the public schools, and then they wouldn't have to bus kids who live closer to other schools to Langley to fill the building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Part of the issue here is that FCPS has no coherent framework for considering high school boundary changes or additions, and its default approach over the past decade has been cowardly.

McLean currently has an enrollment of 2251 kids, which is slightly lower than average in FCPS (it's #13 out of the 25 high/secondary schools). The school is crowded now, but that's because FCPS invests less in the school than it does in other schools (it gets a bunch of trailers, but no modulars, and there are no permanent additions currently planned, as at other schools). If they move kids to Langley, they'll leave McLean one of the smallest schools in the county.

In comparison, FCPS plans to build an addition at West Potomac, even though West Potomac has 600 more kids than Mount Vernon and Mount Vernon has capacity. In addition, FCPS is expanding West Springfield as part of its renovation, even though West Springfield has 550 more kids than nearby Lee and Lee has capacity. FCPS also has plans to expand Justice and Madison, even though neither of those schools currently has, or is projected to have, as many students as McLean, and both Justice and Madison sit on less land than McLean.

In McLean's case, it appears FCPS, with Janie Strauss's support, has decided McLean parents would be fine moving to Langley. That's consistent with FCPS's practice over the past decade of moving kids from one high school to another school only when the new high school is considered at least as strong academically as the old high school. Recent examples include moving Annandale kids to Lake Braddock and Woodson, moving Fairfax kids to Woodson, and moving some Lee kids to West Springfield. The only guiding philosophy appears to be that it's OK to move kids if they don't expect many parents to complain, regardless of the effect on the high school that loses students.

McLean parents should ask why FCPS is spending money on expansions and additions at other schools, but not McLean, and exactly how FCPS plans to go about identifying redistricting options, if a boundary change is ultimately determined to be necessary.

Moving students from McLean to Langley makes sense because McLean is over crowded and Langley is undercrowded. It makes sense because McLean's current district includes part of Tysons and that is slated to grow.

It makes sense to transfer some of Franklin Sherman students to Langley because it is closer to their house (eg the developments off of RT123 from Arlington boarder to Old Dominion). It also make sense for Langley to take up some of the Tyson's footprint so that they can absorb some of the increase of students from there when they appear rather than wait until McLean is overcrowded again.

It also does not make sense that Potomac Hills is being considered to be transfer to Langley if the above areas are not, as that would make Chesterbrook a split feeder. It may make sense for the houses off of Kirby after Lady Bird to be transferred to Franklin Sherman and then Cooper/Langley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are also issues that FCPS needs to address from Langley's perspective.

Right now, Langley's enrollment is down, but how much of that is cyclical and due to neighborhoods with older residents that are gradually turning over to younger owners? Langley has the largest attendance area in the county by far (only Robinson comes close, and Robinson's zone isn't nearly as large as Langley's). If FCPS moves kids to Langley, and the cycle plays out, could they end up greatly overcrowding Langley in 5-10 years?

In addition, to what extent has FCPS addressed the fact that an increasing number of parents in the Langley neighborhoods may be pulling their kids out of FCPS and sending their kids to privates due to the large class sizes in McLean and Great Falls? What if they tried to address that and took concrete steps to reduce the class sizes? They might find that more parents in those neighborhoods sent their kids to the public schools, and then they wouldn't have to bus kids who live closer to other schools to Langley to fill the building.

Some of Langley's elementary schools are overcrowded, so it is only a matter of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Part of the issue here is that FCPS has no coherent framework for considering high school boundary changes or additions, and its default approach over the past decade has been cowardly.

McLean currently has an enrollment of 2251 kids, which is slightly lower than average in FCPS (it's #13 out of the 25 high/secondary schools). The school is crowded now, but that's because FCPS invests less in the school than it does in other schools (it gets a bunch of trailers, but no modulars, and there are no permanent additions currently planned, as at other schools). If they move kids to Langley, they'll leave McLean one of the smallest schools in the county.

In comparison, FCPS plans to build an addition at West Potomac, even though West Potomac has 600 more kids than Mount Vernon and Mount Vernon has capacity. In addition, FCPS is expanding West Springfield as part of its renovation, even though West Springfield has 550 more kids than nearby Lee and Lee has capacity. FCPS also has plans to expand Justice and Madison, even though neither of those schools currently has, or is projected to have, as many students as McLean, and both Justice and Madison sit on less land than McLean.

In McLean's case, it appears FCPS, with Janie Strauss's support, has decided McLean parents would be fine moving to Langley. That's consistent with FCPS's practice over the past decade of moving kids from one high school to another school only when the new high school is considered at least as strong academically as the old high school. Recent examples include moving Annandale kids to Lake Braddock and Woodson, moving Fairfax kids to Woodson, and moving some Lee kids to West Springfield. The only guiding philosophy appears to be that it's OK to move kids if they don't expect many parents to complain, regardless of the effect on the high school that loses students.

McLean parents should ask why FCPS is spending money on expansions and additions at other schools, but not McLean, and exactly how FCPS plans to go about identifying redistricting options, if a boundary change is ultimately determined to be necessary.

Moving students from McLean to Langley makes sense because McLean is over crowded and Langley is undercrowded. It makes sense because McLean's current district includes part of Tysons and that is slated to grow.

It makes sense to transfer some of Franklin Sherman students to Langley because it is closer to their house (eg the developments off of RT123 from Arlington boarder to Old Dominion). It also make sense for Langley to take up some of the Tyson's footprint so that they can absorb some of the increase of students from there when they appear rather than wait until McLean is overcrowded again.

It also does not make sense that Potomac Hills is being considered to be transfer to Langley if the above areas are not, as that would make Chesterbrook a split feeder. It may make sense for the houses off of Kirby after Lady Bird to be transferred to Franklin Sherman and then Cooper/Langley.

Yeah, but PH has a history with Langley, whereas the others do not.