Western High School Boundary Map options (A/B/C/D)

[Anonymous]

Moon did get clarification that if you opt out for a sport that you will be allowed to continue to go to and play that sport at your chosen school, even if your home later becomes in boundary at the new school. However, if you decide to go to the new school you would have to play your sport there once it is offered.
It seems like anyone who opts out the first year will be allowed to opt out for all 4 years, even if their home becomes part of the boundary for the new school in the future.

[Anonymous]

Am I getting this right?

Year 1 you can opt in or opt out but you have to do so without knowing if your in boundary or out?

So what happens if you end up in boundary but you already opted out and then the boundary becomes firm in year or 3? Do you have to switch high schools at that point or find your own transportation to the original school?

What happens if you opt in but you end up out of boundary? When the boundary becomes firm do you have to switch schools to your old school or you get to stay with no transportation?

If I'm right, this makes zero sense and could be alleviated by just releasing the boundary BEFORE kids have to opt in or opt out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Moon did get clarification that if you opt out for a sport that you will be allowed to continue to go to and play that sport at your chosen school, even if your home later becomes in boundary at the new school. However, if you decide to go to the new school you would have to play your sport there once it is offered.
It seems like anyone who opts out the first year will be allowed to opt out for all 4 years, even if their home becomes part of the boundary for the new school in the future.

This doesn't even make sense. What if they opt out for a spring sport and don't make the team. Too many what ifs and loop holes. This is a shit show. She's also throwing in plans for the the school within a school with AI and aviation tracks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moon did get clarification that if you opt out for a sport that you will be allowed to continue to go to and play that sport at your chosen school, even if your home later becomes in boundary at the new school. However, if you decide to go to the new school you would have to play your sport there once it is offered.
It seems like anyone who opts out the first year will be allowed to opt out for all 4 years, even if their home becomes part of the boundary for the new school in the future.

This doesn't even make sense. What if they opt out for a spring sport and don't make the team. Too many what ifs and loop holes. This is a shit show. She's also throwing in plans for the the school within a school with AI and aviation tracks

I don't think your decision to opt out has any requirement that it be for a sport. They mentioned many reasons people may want to including things like competition marching band or something like that. I think anyone can opt in or out from the 5 likely affected pyramids and then can continue with their choice but may or not have bussing depending on what the final boundary ends up being.

[Anonymous]

The opt out option makes sense to me. People who are worried about programs being available at the school the day that it opens will have the choice to stay at their current school. This allows people worried about sports or the arts and option. If they chose their current school, they stay there for four years.

If kids opt in to the school, they will be allowed to play a sport at their base school if it is not available at the new school. Once the sport becomes available at the new school, they will have to play at the new school. I don't see many people taking advantage of this. Maybe SLHS families who want AP, so they want to attend the new school but play sports at SLHS because the sport is not available at the new school. By Junior year, the sport might be available at the new school, and they might have to switch schools. Just an example that makes sense to me.

If kids opt in to the school and don't care as much about sports and the like then no worries.

Three years from now, there is no opt in option. Sixth graders will have to attend the new school. They can try and pupil place if they want to attend a different school, but parents provide transportation.

The only thing that makes no sense to me is the lack of boundaries by January. This push to wait until June is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The opt out option makes sense to me. People who are worried about programs being available at the school the day that it opens will have the choice to stay at their current school. This allows people worried about sports or the arts and option. If they chose their current school, they stay there for four years.

If kids opt in to the school, they will be allowed to play a sport at their base school if it is not available at the new school. Once the sport becomes available at the new school, they will have to play at the new school. I don't see many people taking advantage of this. Maybe SLHS families who want AP, so they want to attend the new school but play sports at SLHS because the sport is not available at the new school. By Junior year, the sport might be available at the new school, and they might have to switch schools. Just an example that makes sense to me.

If kids opt in to the school and don't care as much about sports and the like then no worries.

Three years from now, there is no opt in option. Sixth graders will have to attend the new school. They can try and pupil place if they want to attend a different school, but parents provide transportation.

The only thing that makes no sense to me is the lack of boundaries by January. This push to wait until June is ridiculous.

So complicated and so much coddling. Everything Reid does is half-assed so why should this be any exception.

[Anonymous]

So complicated and so much coddling. Everything Reid does is half-assed so why should this be any exception.

This. Instead of solving problems, they are creating them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:...
The only thing that makes no sense to me is the lack of boundaries by January. This push to wait until June is ridiculous.

I agree that the opt in scheme is one reasonable solution to the fact that the school won't initially have a full set of program offerings like sports teams. I think they could still set the hard boundary and have students do those other offerings at the other schools too like they are saying they can do with sports if they opt in to the new school - but maybe some are during the school day so that isn't logistically feasible?

Regardless, there is no reason they can't make a decision on the boundary and have it available sooner when families are making the opt in / out decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The opt out option makes sense to me. People who are worried about programs being available at the school the day that it opens will have the choice to stay at their current school. This allows people worried about sports or the arts and option. If they chose their current school, they stay there for four years.

If kids opt in to the school, they will be allowed to play a sport at their base school if it is not available at the new school. Once the sport becomes available at the new school, they will have to play at the new school. I don't see many people taking advantage of this. Maybe SLHS families who want AP, so they want to attend the new school but play sports at SLHS because the sport is not available at the new school. By Junior year, the sport might be available at the new school, and they might have to switch schools. Just an example that makes sense to me.

If kids opt in to the school and don't care as much about sports and the like then no worries.

Three years from now, there is no opt in option. Sixth graders will have to attend the new school. They can try and pupil place if they want to attend a different school, but parents provide transportation.

The only thing that makes no sense to me is the lack of boundaries by January. This push to wait until June is ridiculous.

So complicated and so much coddling. Everything Reid does is half-assed so why should this be any exception.

It is not complicated, it is pretty easy to follow.

It is not coddling; it is acknowledging that a new school will not have the sports and arts programs that are an important part of the HS experience in the US. This allows kids to have the opportunity to participate in sports and arts like all the other kids in FCPS HSs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The opt out option makes sense to me. People who are worried about programs being available at the school the day that it opens will have the choice to stay at their current school. This allows people worried about sports or the arts and option. If they chose their current school, they stay there for four years.

If kids opt in to the school, they will be allowed to play a sport at their base school if it is not available at the new school. Once the sport becomes available at the new school, they will have to play at the new school. I don't see many people taking advantage of this. Maybe SLHS families who want AP, so they want to attend the new school but play sports at SLHS because the sport is not available at the new school. By Junior year, the sport might be available at the new school, and they might have to switch schools. Just an example that makes sense to me.

If kids opt in to the school and don't care as much about sports and the like then no worries.

Three years from now, there is no opt in option. Sixth graders will have to attend the new school. They can try and pupil place if they want to attend a different school, but parents provide transportation.

The only thing that makes no sense to me is the lack of boundaries by January. This push to wait until June is ridiculous.

I thought that in 3 years there is still an opt in option, not no opt out. So if you’re in 6th grade now, and your home is in one of the 5 pyramids but doesn’t end up in boundary, you could choose to opt in (presumably with no transportation). But if you’re a 6th grader whose home is in boundary you can’t opt out.

This is based on that slide with the schools and arrows. Did they say something different last night?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The opt out option makes sense to me. People who are worried about programs being available at the school the day that it opens will have the choice to stay at their current school. This allows people worried about sports or the arts and option. If they chose their current school, they stay there for four years.

If kids opt in to the school, they will be allowed to play a sport at their base school if it is not available at the new school. Once the sport becomes available at the new school, they will have to play at the new school. I don't see many people taking advantage of this. Maybe SLHS families who want AP, so they want to attend the new school but play sports at SLHS because the sport is not available at the new school. By Junior year, the sport might be available at the new school, and they might have to switch schools. Just an example that makes sense to me.

If kids opt in to the school and don't care as much about sports and the like then no worries.

Three years from now, there is no opt in option. Sixth graders will have to attend the new school. They can try and pupil place if they want to attend a different school, but parents provide transportation.

The only thing that makes no sense to me is the lack of boundaries by January. This push to wait until June is ridiculous.

I thought that in 3 years there is still an opt in option, but no opt out. So if you’re in 6th grade now, and your home is in one of the 5 pyramids but doesn’t end up in boundary, you could choose to opt in (presumably with no transportation). But if you’re a 6th grader whose home is in boundary you can’t opt out.

This is based on that slide with the schools and arrows. Did they say something different last night?

Edited the “not” to “but” above

[Anonymous]

None of this makes any sense.

For instance, they are moving hundreds of CVHS kids to Westfield to fill seats vacated by kids moved to KAA. When will those boundary changes be in effect?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The opt out option makes sense to me. People who are worried about programs being available at the school the day that it opens will have the choice to stay at their current school. This allows people worried about sports or the arts and option. If they chose their current school, they stay there for four years.

If kids opt in to the school, they will be allowed to play a sport at their base school if it is not available at the new school. Once the sport becomes available at the new school, they will have to play at the new school. I don't see many people taking advantage of this. Maybe SLHS families who want AP, so they want to attend the new school but play sports at SLHS because the sport is not available at the new school. By Junior year, the sport might be available at the new school, and they might have to switch schools. Just an example that makes sense to me.

If kids opt in to the school and don't care as much about sports and the like then no worries.

Three years from now, there is no opt in option. Sixth graders will have to attend the new school. They can try and pupil place if they want to attend a different school, but parents provide transportation.

The only thing that makes no sense to me is the lack of boundaries by January. This push to wait until June is ridiculous.

I thought that in 3 years there is still an opt in option, not no opt out. So if you’re in 6th grade now, and your home is in one of the 5 pyramids but doesn’t end up in boundary, you could choose to opt in (presumably with no transportation). But if you’re a 6th grader whose home is in boundary you can’t opt out.

This is based on that slide with the schools and arrows. Did they say something different last night?

I think at that point you aren't "opt in", but rather it is the same transfer option that exists at every high school. If there is something you want (AP, language, etc) then you can try to transfer / pupil place in, and assuming there is space at the school that would be approved but you would have to provide your own transportation. This is how it already works at every school right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So complicated and so much coddling. Everything Reid does is half-assed so why should this be any exception.

This. Instead of solving problems, they are creating them.

I think they will vote to adopt county-wide changes in January but postpone the effective date for any changes for the five pyramids potentially affected by Western. Then they'll deal with Westfield, South Lakes, Chantilly, Oakton, and Centreville boundaries in mid-2026. Meanwhile they'll move forward with their convoluted opt-in scheme to Western. No one knows how many kids Western will have for its first few years, which undercuts the argument that the overcrowding is acute and requires immediate action.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So complicated and so much coddling. Everything Reid does is half-assed so why should this be any exception.

This. Instead of solving problems, they are creating them.

I think they will vote to adopt county-wide changes in January but postpone the effective date for any changes for the five pyramids potentially affected by Western. Then they'll deal with Westfield, South Lakes, Chantilly, Oakton, and Centreville boundaries in mid-2026. Meanwhile they'll move forward with their convoluted opt-in scheme to Western. No one knows how many kids Western will have for its first few years, which undercuts the argument that the overcrowding is acute and requires immediate action.

Just like pushing out the Coates changes a year magically made their overcrowding less of a problem?