FCPS is turning the new high school purchased to fix crowding into an Aviation magnet school instead of a high school??

[Anonymous]

Can someone please help make this $150,000,000 and rapidly growing boondoggle make sense?

Wasn't this school purchased as a cheaper option for the new high school already approved years ago to relieve overcrowding?

Include FCPS Baord Docs links if available please.

[Anonymous]

Where did you hear about it being an aviation school?

[Anonymous]

It is in last few pages of that latest giant boundary rezoning discussion.

Supposedly the board docs for the August 26 work session says the board will discuss the school board's plan to turn the newly purchased high school into an Aviation Magnet school instead of a regular high school?

[Anonymous]

Found it.

Here is the document from Board Docs for 8/26/25 school board work session.

https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/DKU2X6040159/$file/Draft%20Dual%20Purpose%20Strategy.pdf

"DUAL-PURPOSE STRATEGY FOR THE NEW HIGH SCHOOL This document outlines a strategic framework for the proposed new high school near Dulles International Airport. The plan addresses two parallel objectives: (1) advancing a future-ready curriculum focused on aerospace and aviation, and (2) relieving overcrowding at existing high schools in western Fairfax County. The recommendations follow a dual-purpose design approach, aligning programmatic innovation with enrollment capacity management. "


And

"...this new high school will serve as a dual-purpose investment: a relief valve for overcrowded schools in western Fairfax County and future technologies and innovation. This ensures the school can draw a balanced population from overcrowded feeder high schools while maintaining enrollment stability and providing room for the specialized programs to grow. By aligning program design with capacity management, FCPS can:

● Relieve enrollment pressure in adjacent high schools.
● Build a high-visibility academic program that attracts and retains students.
● Position the division as a first-in-the-nation leader in secondary-level aerospace and aviation education integrated with emerging technologies...."


And


"...Program–Capacity Alignment Priority Program Strategy Alleviate Overcrowding Designate partial boundary-based enrollment to draw students from overcrowded western high schools.

Capacity Strategy Adjust boundaries and feeder patterns; stagger implementation to balance enrollment.

Establish Innovative, Future-Ready Program Ensure Equity and Access Develop nationally distinctive aerospace/aviation program with integrated AI, robotics, ML, and data science pathways.

Offer magnet-style application seats alongside neighborhood seats to balance diversity and opportunity.

Open program access divisionwide to attract students from multiple high schools, easing pressure at crowded sites.

Maintain enrollment flexibility to respond to shifting demographic patterns.

Building on the program–capacity alignment, the next step is to consider structural models that can deliver these innovations while effectively addressing enrollment pressures.

The following potential models vary in the degree of specialization, integration with existing schools, and scalability, providing multiple options for balancing instructional quality with operational feasibility.

1. “School-within-a-School” Model The new high school would operate as both a boundary-based comprehensive high school and a regional specialty program in leading regional institutions:

● Academic Partnerships: Collaborate with George Mason University's School of Engineering and the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus to offer dual-enrollment courses in robotics, AI, and data science. This provides students with advanced academic rigor and a direct pathway to higher education.

● Industry Collaboration: Partner with Amazon HQ2 to develop a talent pipeline. This could include mentorship programs, internships, and data-driven projects that give students hands-on experience in logistics and cloud computing (AWS), skills highly relevant to both Amazon and the aerospace industry.

This model allows students from designated attendance areas to attend as their base school while also drawing students from across Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) for the specialty program. The approach supports enrollment balancing and creates a magnet-like pull that reduces pressure on other high schools without forced reassignment.

2. Flexible Enrollment Zones Boundary adjustments would ensure the new high school absorbs students from the most overcrowded high schools while also offering choice-based admissions into the aerospace/aviation program. This approach allows full utilization of capacity from opening day while maintaining community choice (Holmes et al., 2019).

3. Shared Programming to Pull Students Voluntarily A half-day or part-day aerospace/aviation program for juniors and seniors could operate similarly to existing Career and Technical Education (CTE) models. This arrangement would allow students from overcrowded schools to participate without requiring full boundary changes, easing capacity constraints while preserving school connections (Castellano et al., 2012).

4. Multi-Pathway Programming to Broaden Appeal To expand the program’s appeal, the aerospace/aviation curriculum could be complemented with pathways in related fields such as data science, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), and robotics. These interconnected fields would attract a broader student population and promote cross-disciplinary learning

5. Scheduling and Facility Design for Dual Use Facility spaces should be designed for flexible use. STEM labs, makerspaces, and flight simulation rooms could be used for both specialty and general education courses, ensuring maximum utilization and cost-effectiveness (OECD, 2022).

6. Early and Transparent Community Engagement Community engagement should include planning workshops and open forums to show how the programmatic vision aligns with capacity relief goals. Sharing projected enrollment scenarios with and without the regional program will help build trust and stakeholder ..."

[Anonymous]

They are opening the new high school until 2026 at the earliest.

From Board docs

"2025-26 Planning year

2026-27 School opens for 9thand 10th graders

2027-28 School opens for new 9thgraders; now includes grades 9-11

2028-29 School opens for new 9thgraders; now includes grades 9-12

June 2029 First graduating class"


https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/DKU2UA03D7A8/$file/New%20Western%20High%20School_%20Programs%20Discussion.pdf

[Anonymous]

“School within a school” sounds like the stem academy at Edison. Mostly a neighborhood school with an optional magnet program for a few. I don’t see this as a major source of anger.

[Anonymous]

Michigan already has a charter school like this aviation magnet proposal. Courtesy of the DeVos family.

So seems like someone thought some kind of Republican-pleasing/business-friendly/Dulles-leveraging STEM magnet would be a fit. Perhaps.

https://www.westmichiganaviation.org/about/dick-devos-founders-letter

[Anonymous]

Kyle McDaniel or his company should not be allowed to have any involvement in this magnet.

He should be removed from any discussion or votes on this topic.

He is too entangled in this world due to the fraud lawsuits against him.

[Anonymous]

Is this April Fools joke?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Michigan already has a charter school like this aviation magnet proposal. Courtesy of the DeVos family.

So seems like someone thought some kind of Republican-pleasing/business-friendly/Dulles-leveraging STEM magnet would be a fit. Perhaps.

https://www.westmichiganaviation.org/about/dick-devos-founders-letter

What an idiotic thing to say.

[Anonymous]

The word "dual" there is key. Regular HS to relieve overcrowding PLUS magnet program for STEM. Deep breath.

[Anonymous]

Magnet program is silly and unnecessary and NO ONE wants it.

Fcps can't get the basics right. They need to focus on whats important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The word "dual" there is key. Regular HS to relieve overcrowding PLUS magnet program for STEM. Deep breath.

But its a small building for a neighborhood school already, why add a magnet program? It doesnt make sense.0

[Anonymous]

This is a stupid idea that does meet the needs of the school division. We need western county capacity relief not some bit of capacity relief plus an aviation academy nobody except the member sued for embezzlement wants.

I hope people contact their rep and the at large members and kill this idea. It blows the mind that a school that could solve a decades long issue plopped into their laps and they still find a way to not solve the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The word "dual" there is key. Regular HS to relieve overcrowding PLUS magnet program for STEM. Deep breath.

Too small for that. All capacity should be used to resolve the need not someone’s whim.