Hearing Testimony on FCPS Proposed CIP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was a lot of political wheeling and dealing going on prior to construction of South County. Lots of neighborhoods were competing to get included in the new school boundary. The public meetings were very contentious. The Hunt Valley area was slated to move to Lake Braddock but at the last minute politicians kept them at West Springfield; however, County staff was directed to look into redrawing school boundaries in that area. Fairfax Connection newspaper archives are a good resource.

If they are moving schools from WS to LB, Orange Hunt makes more sense that Hunt Valley since they are the closest.

Boundary decisions need to be made based of geography to keep commutes short, and nothing else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The boundary for Rolling Valley was extended to pick up single-family neighborhoods south of the Fairfax County Parkway during school board hearings when South County HS boundaries were being formed. See the FCPS boundary map.

I meant to type “The boundary for Hunt Valley ...” not Rolling Valley. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The boundary for Rolling Valley was extended to pick up single-family neighborhoods south of the Fairfax County Parkway during school board hearings when South County HS boundaries were being formed. See the FCPS boundary map.

Yes but she is talking about Hunt Valley.

Almost all of the Hunt Valley homes along that part of the parkway are town houses. There are very few single family homes until you get to Gambrill.

Pretty much all of the single family homes off of Gambrill Road went to Lee. Plus some other single family homes that are directly off the Parkway/Hooes (such as Medford Leas). I believe only a couple of townhouse neighborhoods, like Westwater Point, went to Hunt Valley and then Lee. I don't believe Olde Oak Ridge (townhouses on the north/west side of the Parkway) went to Lee.

So there were lots of HV single family homes moved from Lee to West Springfield. And seeing that at the time HV was only 9% F/R lunch and Lee was 27% F/R lunch, the loss of of those HV students and some of the students who were switched to South County caused the F/R lunch rate at Lee to go up rapidly, never to come down again.

[Anonymous]

^^^ It sounds like that rezoning was just a side effect of South County and general long term planning/rezoning. That sounds very different that what happened with Daventry and what is being proposed for those few Rollng Valley homes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ It sounds like that rezoning was just a side effect of South County and general long term planning/rezoning. That sounds very different that what happened with Daventry and what is being proposed for those few Rollng Valley homes.

The move to WS was a last minute decision - not aware that any demographic considerations were taken into account. Only split feeder was addressed, which is just one of many factors. Brad Center, former Lee District SB member, tried to delay the move while a study took place, but the delay was voted down.

So I don't think long-term planning/rezoning was really considered, just a neighborhood's desire to leave Lee (27% F/R rate) to go to West Springfield (somewhere around an 8% F/R lunch rate at the time). After the changes in 2005 Lee's F/R lunch rate rose to 40% in 2009. To this day WS F/R lunch rate is only around 12% - 45% lower than Lee's rate on FCPS.edu of 57%.

Now add the Daventry moves to Rolling Valley moves and suddenly you probably will have 150-180 students (across 4 grades) who would have been at Lee now at WS - breaking it into two moves allows them to get around the School Board because the Superintendent can approve moves of less than 5% of the student body.

This county has become a joke when it comes to have and have not schools considering where it was just 15 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Split feeders where the fewer than 10 to 15% of the kids go out of pyramid for high school and middle school should not exist and should be fixed by moving the small group to their local high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Split feeders where the fewer than 10 to 15% of the kids go out of pyramid for high school and middle school should not exist and should be fixed by moving the small group to their local high school.

In some cases the solution would be to change the high school boundaries to align with existing middle school boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Split feeders where the fewer than 10 to 15% of the kids go out of pyramid for high school and middle school should not exist and should be fixed by moving the small group to their local high school.

In some cases the solution would be to change the high school boundaries to align with existing middle school boundaries.

There is so much to be said about keeping a uniform path within a pyramid from elementary through high school. It builds a sense of pride and ownership in the schools within the community, not just by people with kids in the school but empty nesters whose kids have long moved on. That continuity is important at giving the community pride in the school, creating continuity with the students and making this huge district feel smaller.

In the West Springfield pyramid for example, they have a day where graduating seniors go back to their in pyramid elementary schools, visiting with former teachers and talking to the kids. Both the older kids and the elementary kids look forward to this event. It makes all the kids feel connected, and makes the high school "our" school and not just one of many that some of the kids might end up.

You feel more pride for and are more vested in something you are connected to and have a history with, which makes the school and it's quality a priority for the whole community

Gerrymandering boundaries to achieve some social engineering backfires because it takes away that sense of community and ownership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Split feeders where the fewer than 10 to 15% of the kids go out of pyramid for high school and middle school should not exist and should be fixed by moving the small group to their local high school.

In some cases the solution would be to change the high school boundaries to align with existing middle school boundaries.

There is so much to be said about keeping a uniform path within a pyramid from elementary through high school. It builds a sense of pride and ownership in the schools within the community, not just by people with kids in the school but empty nesters whose kids have long moved on. That continuity is important at giving the community pride in the school, creating continuity with the students and making this huge district feel smaller.

In the West Springfield pyramid for example, they have a day where graduating seniors go back to their in pyramid elementary schools, visiting with former teachers and talking to the kids. Both the older kids and the elementary kids look forward to this event. It makes all the kids feel connected, and makes the high school "our" school and not just one of many that some of the kids might end up.

You feel more pride for and are more vested in something you are connected to and have a history with, which makes the school and it's quality a priority for the whole community

Gerrymandering boundaries to achieve some social engineering backfires because it takes away that sense of community and ownership.

^^ I am not sure if this is a formal visit or an informal tradition that a bunch of kids do, but it is a great way for the kids to connect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Split feeders where the fewer than 10 to 15% of the kids go out of pyramid for high school and middle school should not exist and should be fixed by moving the small group to their local high school.

In some cases the solution would be to change the high school boundaries to align with existing middle school boundaries.

There is so much to be said about keeping a uniform path within a pyramid from elementary through high school. It builds a sense of pride and ownership in the schools within the community, not just by people with kids in the school but empty nesters whose kids have long moved on. That continuity is important at giving the community pride in the school, creating continuity with the students and making this huge district feel smaller.

In the West Springfield pyramid for example, they have a day where graduating seniors go back to their in pyramid elementary schools, visiting with former teachers and talking to the kids. Both the older kids and the elementary kids look forward to this event. It makes all the kids feel connected, and makes the high school "our" school and not just one of many that some of the kids might end up.

You feel more pride for and are more vested in something you are connected to and have a history with, which makes the school and it's quality a priority for the whole community

Gerrymandering boundaries to achieve some social engineering backfires because it takes away that sense of community and ownership.

But these boundaries were in place for a long time - they were not gerrymandered for social engineering purposes. People knew what they were buying. And how does it always seem to work out in Fairfax that the people who want to change their split feeder situation always want to move to the wealthier school?

Solution for Rolling Valley - move those students to Saratoga Elementary. They will then be completely in the Lee Pyramid. Could have done the same for Daventry - they could have taken a short bus ride down to Garfield, but that would never be acceptable to the wealthy folks.

[Anonymous]

If they were to close Lee, wealthier students on the west side of West Springfield would likely be pushed to Lake Braddock so that West Springfield could absorb hundreds of students from Garfield (64% F/R lunch) and Crestwood (68% F/R lunch).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Split feeders where the fewer than 10 to 15% of the kids go out of pyramid for high school and middle school should not exist and should be fixed by moving the small group to their local high school.

In some cases the solution would be to change the high school boundaries to align with existing middle school boundaries.

There is so much to be said about keeping a uniform path within a pyramid from elementary through high school. It builds a sense of pride and ownership in the schools within the community, not just by people with kids in the school but empty nesters whose kids have long moved on. That continuity is important at giving the community pride in the school, creating continuity with the students and making this huge district feel smaller.

In the West Springfield pyramid for example, they have a day where graduating seniors go back to their in pyramid elementary schools, visiting with former teachers and talking to the kids. Both the older kids and the elementary kids look forward to this event. It makes all the kids feel connected, and makes the high school "our" school and not just one of many that some of the kids might end up.

You feel more pride for and are more vested in something you are connected to and have a history with, which makes the school and it's quality a priority for the whole community

Gerrymandering boundaries to achieve some social engineering backfires because it takes away that sense of community and ownership.

But these boundaries were in place for a long time - they were not gerrymandered for social engineering purposes. People knew what they were buying. And how does it always seem to work out in Fairfax that the people who want to change their split feeder situation always want to move to the wealthier school?

Solution for Rolling Valley - move those students to Saratoga Elementary. They will then be completely in the Lee Pyramid. Could have done the same for Daventry - they could have taken a short bus ride down to Garfield, but that would never be acceptable to the wealthy folks.

Langley was gerrymandered. The entire area has been zoned for single family residential. No surprise that it is doing well compared to other districts.

[Anonymous]

Lee HS pyramid -
Crestwood Elementary School, Free/Reduced 79%
Forestdale Elementary School, Free/Reduced 49%
Garfield Elementary School, Free/Reduced 65%
Lynbrook Elementary School, Free/Reduced 85%
Saratoga Elementary School, Free/Reduced 45%
Springfield Estates Elementary School (AAP Center), Free/Reduced 32%

Boundary changes needed in this pyramid? YES. Not easy to get done. I do like the options discussed so far - closing the school or make it a magnet school.

The closed school site can be converted into a recreation center (closest are Lee ReC and Audrey Moore). The area lacks fields and community center.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Split feeders where the fewer than 10 to 15% of the kids go out of pyramid for high school and middle school should not exist and should be fixed by moving the small group to their local high school.

In some cases the solution would be to change the high school boundaries to align with existing middle school boundaries.

There is so much to be said about keeping a uniform path within a pyramid from elementary through high school. It builds a sense of pride and ownership in the schools within the community, not just by people with kids in the school but empty nesters whose kids have long moved on. That continuity is important at giving the community pride in the school, creating continuity with the students and making this huge district feel smaller.

In the West Springfield pyramid for example, they have a day where graduating seniors go back to their in pyramid elementary schools, visiting with former teachers and talking to the kids. Both the older kids and the elementary kids look forward to this event. It makes all the kids feel connected, and makes the high school "our" school and not just one of many that some of the kids might end up.

You feel more pride for and are more vested in something you are connected to and have a history with, which makes the school and it's quality a priority for the whole community

Gerrymandering boundaries to achieve some social engineering backfires because it takes away that sense of community and ownership.

On the flip side, there tends to be more bullying and social infighting at schools with complete intact boundaries. It's better to have around 2 middle school feeders which also makes it easier for incoming children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lee HS pyramid -
Crestwood Elementary School, Free/Reduced 79%
Forestdale Elementary School, Free/Reduced 49%
Garfield Elementary School, Free/Reduced 65%
Lynbrook Elementary School, Free/Reduced 85%
Saratoga Elementary School, Free/Reduced 45%
Springfield Estates Elementary School (AAP Center), Free/Reduced 32%

Boundary changes needed in this pyramid? YES. Not easy to get done. I do like the options discussed so far - closing the school or make it a magnet school.

The closed school site can be converted into a recreation center (closest are Lee ReC and Audrey Moore). The area lacks fields and community center.

The thought is that the additional seats from students who want to pursue IB and the cost saving of having a single IB school (including less IBO fees) is a factor.

The other factor is that Lee's growing ESOL population and SOL performance is going to eventually get it in the state's cross hairs.

Crestwood Elementary School, Free/Reduced 79% -- West Springfield
Forestdale Elementary School, Free/Reduced 49% -- Hayfield
Garfield Elementary School, Free/Reduced 65% -- West Springfield
Lynbrook Elementary School, Free/Reduced 85% -- Annandale or West Springfield
Saratoga Elementary School, Free/Reduced 45% -- South County
Springfield Estates Elementary School (AAP Center), Free/Reduced 32% -- Edison or Hayfield
Rolling Valley -- West Springfield.

Obviously some West Springfield seats would move to lake braddock and some of lake braddock's seats would move to Robinson. Some edison seats would move to Annandale as well.

It's all theoretical now, but it's definitely something that could happen if the circumstances call for it.