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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While officials want the new school to offer a comprehensive curriculum for the children living in its boundaries, Superintendent Michelle Reid said they’re also considering a “school within a school” model as well. That would allow students outside the boundaries to attend the facility for certain specialized programs.
...

“It’s reasonable to think that we could have anywhere from 30, 60 to 90 students in one or two such pathways within a western high school while maintaining the comprehensive nature of the school and a traditional boundary,” Reid said. “There are all kinds of possibilities. And simply because we’re visiting some of those … does not imply that they’re the only possibilities. These are just some that have been suggested.”

https://www.ffxnow.com/2025/10/15/fcps-leans-toward-traditional-model-for-new-western-high-school-near-herndon/

If KAA ended up having 1900 seats for kids within the catchment area and 100 seats for some specialized program that kids outside the boundary might be able to attend that’s still going to allow at least 1900 kids to attend a closer school.

You cannot get Reid to say it’s just going to be Langley West or McLean West - traditional schools with strong academics but no academies or special programs. It doesn’t interest her.

LOL. Highly unlikely to have demographics of those schools. Who thinks that?

It was less about the demographics than the type of school. Some just want a traditional high school that has zero bells and whistles (no IB, no academy programs, no "school within a school" program) and serves as many neighborhood kids as possible with a strong AP program. That's the situation at Langley, McLean, Oakton, Woodson, and Madison.

They won't quite get that as long as Reid is around to push for some type of specialized program. But KAA can come fairly close, even if the percentage of low-income kids is higher due to Coates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While officials want the new school to offer a comprehensive curriculum for the children living in its boundaries, Superintendent Michelle Reid said they’re also considering a “school within a school” model as well. That would allow students outside the boundaries to attend the facility for certain specialized programs.
...

“It’s reasonable to think that we could have anywhere from 30, 60 to 90 students in one or two such pathways within a western high school while maintaining the comprehensive nature of the school and a traditional boundary,” Reid said. “There are all kinds of possibilities. And simply because we’re visiting some of those … does not imply that they’re the only possibilities. These are just some that have been suggested.”

https://www.ffxnow.com/2025/10/15/fcps-leans-toward-traditional-model-for-new-western-high-school-near-herndon/

If KAA ended up having 1900 seats for kids within the catchment area and 100 seats for some specialized program that kids outside the boundary might be able to attend that’s still going to allow at least 1900 kids to attend a closer school.

You cannot get Reid to say it’s just going to be Langley West or McLean West - traditional schools with strong academics but no academies or special programs. It doesn’t interest her.

LOL. Highly unlikely to have demographics of those schools. Who thinks that?

It was less about the demographics than the type of school. Some just want a traditional high school that has zero bells and whistles (no IB, no academy programs, no "school within a school" program) and serves as many neighborhood kids as possible with a strong AP program. That's the situation at Langley, McLean, Oakton, Woodson, and Madison.

They won't quite get that as long as Reid is around to push for some type of specialized program. But KAA can come fairly close, even if the percentage of low-income kids is higher due to Coates.

I think Reid needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Get the traditional school started and then figure out any further needs/programs.

First things first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While officials want the new school to offer a comprehensive curriculum for the children living in its boundaries, Superintendent Michelle Reid said they’re also considering a “school within a school” model as well. That would allow students outside the boundaries to attend the facility for certain specialized programs.
...

“It’s reasonable to think that we could have anywhere from 30, 60 to 90 students in one or two such pathways within a western high school while maintaining the comprehensive nature of the school and a traditional boundary,” Reid said. “There are all kinds of possibilities. And simply because we’re visiting some of those … does not imply that they’re the only possibilities. These are just some that have been suggested.”

https://www.ffxnow.com/2025/10/15/fcps-leans-toward-traditional-model-for-new-western-high-school-near-herndon/

If KAA ended up having 1900 seats for kids within the catchment area and 100 seats for some specialized program that kids outside the boundary might be able to attend that’s still going to allow at least 1900 kids to attend a closer school.

You cannot get Reid to say it’s just going to be Langley West or McLean West - traditional schools with strong academics but no academies or special programs. It doesn’t interest her.

LOL. Highly unlikely to have demographics of those schools. Who thinks that?

It was less about the demographics than the type of school. Some just want a traditional high school that has zero bells and whistles (no IB, no academy programs, no "school within a school" program) and serves as many neighborhood kids as possible with a strong AP program. That's the situation at Langley, McLean, Oakton, Woodson, and Madison.

They won't quite get that as long as Reid is around to push for some type of specialized program. But KAA can come fairly close, even if the percentage of low-income kids is higher due to Coates.

I think Reid needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Get the traditional school started and then figure out any further needs/programs.

First things first.

She's looking for some signature "special" thing that she can take credit for. It's all about that, and not at all about if it makes sense or if it actually helps FCPS as a whole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oak Hill is such a dumb name though. A bunch of people ashamed of their Herndon addresses got together and tried to sound more like Oakton. Discovery sounds good to me. It sounds educational / inspirational without played out political or nationalistic names like other Nova schools (Independence and Freedom high schools in Loudoun, Liberty HS in Fauquier, Freedom and Patriot HS in Prince William, etc).

I live in Oak Hill but we use Herndon on our address and when we tell people where we live. Oak Hill is based off of the Post Office in 20171 and no one really knows where it is. That said, Herndon isn't a great descriptor given that it takes me the same amount of time to get to Herndon as it does Reston Town Center. Neither really fit particularly well, but saying Herndon gives people an area that they can zoom in on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oak Hill is such a dumb name though. A bunch of people ashamed of their Herndon addresses got together and tried to sound more like Oakton. Discovery sounds good to me. It sounds educational / inspirational without played out political or nationalistic names like other Nova schools (Independence and Freedom high schools in Loudoun, Liberty HS in Fauquier, Freedom and Patriot HS in Prince William, etc).

I live in Oak Hill but we use Herndon on our address and when we tell people where we live. Oak Hill is based off of the Post Office in 20171 and no one really knows where it is. That said, Herndon isn't a great descriptor given that it takes me the same amount of time to get to Herndon as it does Reston Town Center. Neither really fit particularly well, but saying Herndon gives people an area that they can zoom in on.

Ok, you all have convinced me. If we give the school the Oak Hill name then maybe people will start to recognize it as a place and know generally where it is when they hear it. Kind of like how when I hear Westfield I think of the area south of 50 where the school is and not the area east of the airport that also goes there. Right now (to me at least) Franklin Farm and Oak Hill are the same thing because everyone I knew growing up who used the term Oak Hill was a Franklin Farm kid.
I still like Discovery better. It has an educational connotation, plus it has a tie to the airport and Udvar-Hazy which will be in the news while we fight to keep our shuttle here where it belongs. Not that it matters since we won't get a vote. If the county puts up a site for people to vote or weigh in then some tech savvy person will just figure out how to vote enough times to win or overwhelm the comments. Schooly McSchoolface it is in that case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oak Hill is such a dumb name though. A bunch of people ashamed of their Herndon addresses got together and tried to sound more like Oakton. Discovery sounds good to me. It sounds educational / inspirational without played out political or nationalistic names like other Nova schools (Independence and Freedom high schools in Loudoun, Liberty HS in Fauquier, Freedom and Patriot HS in Prince William, etc).

I live in Oak Hill but we use Herndon on our address and when we tell people where we live. Oak Hill is based off of the Post Office in 20171 and no one really knows where it is. That said, Herndon isn't a great descriptor given that it takes me the same amount of time to get to Herndon as it does Reston Town Center. Neither really fit particularly well, but saying Herndon gives people an area that they can zoom in on.

Ok, you all have convinced me. If we give the school the Oak Hill name then maybe people will start to recognize it as a place and know generally where it is when they hear it. Kind of like how when I hear Westfield I think of the area south of 50 where the school is and not the area east of the airport that also goes there. Right now (to me at least) Franklin Farm and Oak Hill are the same thing because everyone I knew growing up who used the term Oak Hill was a Franklin Farm kid.
I still like Discovery better. It has an educational connotation, plus it has a tie to the airport and Udvar-Hazy which will be in the news while we fight to keep our shuttle here where it belongs. Not that it matters since we won't get a vote. If the county puts up a site for people to vote or weigh in then some tech savvy person will just figure out how to vote enough times to win or overwhelm the comments. Schooly McSchoolface it is in that case.

It's been 30 years since you were in elementary school, things have changed. For one thing, nobody wants a school named after a space shuttle except some lady stuck int he 80s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oak Hill is such a dumb name though. A bunch of people ashamed of their Herndon addresses got together and tried to sound more like Oakton. Discovery sounds good to me. It sounds educational / inspirational without played out political or nationalistic names like other Nova schools (Independence and Freedom high schools in Loudoun, Liberty HS in Fauquier, Freedom and Patriot HS in Prince William, etc).

I live in Oak Hill but we use Herndon on our address and when we tell people where we live. Oak Hill is based off of the Post Office in 20171 and no one really knows where it is. That said, Herndon isn't a great descriptor given that it takes me the same amount of time to get to Herndon as it does Reston Town Center. Neither really fit particularly well, but saying Herndon gives people an area that they can zoom in on.

Ok, you all have convinced me. If we give the school the Oak Hill name then maybe people will start to recognize it as a place and know generally where it is when they hear it. Kind of like how when I hear Westfield I think of the area south of 50 where the school is and not the area east of the airport that also goes there. Right now (to me at least) Franklin Farm and Oak Hill are the same thing because everyone I knew growing up who used the term Oak Hill was a Franklin Farm kid.
I still like Discovery better. It has an educational connotation, plus it has a tie to the airport and Udvar-Hazy which will be in the news while we fight to keep our shuttle here where it belongs. Not that it matters since we won't get a vote. If the county puts up a site for people to vote or weigh in then some tech savvy person will just figure out how to vote enough times to win or overwhelm the comments. Schooly McSchoolface it is in that case.

It's been 30 years since you were in elementary school, things have changed. For one thing, nobody wants a school named after a space shuttle except some lady stuck int he 80s.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oak Hill is such a dumb name though. A bunch of people ashamed of their Herndon addresses got together and tried to sound more like Oakton. Discovery sounds good to me. It sounds educational / inspirational without played out political or nationalistic names like other Nova schools (Independence and Freedom high schools in Loudoun, Liberty HS in Fauquier, Freedom and Patriot HS in Prince William, etc).

I live in Oak Hill but we use Herndon on our address and when we tell people where we live. Oak Hill is based off of the Post Office in 20171 and no one really knows where it is. That said, Herndon isn't a great descriptor given that it takes me the same amount of time to get to Herndon as it does Reston Town Center. Neither really fit particularly well, but saying Herndon gives people an area that they can zoom in on.

Ok, you all have convinced me. If we give the school the Oak Hill name then maybe people will start to recognize it as a place and know generally where it is when they hear it. Kind of like how when I hear Westfield I think of the area south of 50 where the school is and not the area east of the airport that also goes there. Right now (to me at least) Franklin Farm and Oak Hill are the same thing because everyone I knew growing up who used the term Oak Hill was a Franklin Farm kid.
I still like Discovery better. It has an educational connotation, plus it has a tie to the airport and Udvar-Hazy which will be in the news while we fight to keep our shuttle here where it belongs. Not that it matters since we won't get a vote. If the county puts up a site for people to vote or weigh in then some tech savvy person will just figure out how to vote enough times to win or overwhelm the comments. Schooly McSchoolface it is in that case.

Most people think of Westfield as east of Dulles and points south.

Discovery is lame for a traditional high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oak Hill is such a dumb name though. A bunch of people ashamed of their Herndon addresses got together and tried to sound more like Oakton. Discovery sounds good to me. It sounds educational / inspirational without played out political or nationalistic names like other Nova schools (Independence and Freedom high schools in Loudoun, Liberty HS in Fauquier, Freedom and Patriot HS in Prince William, etc).

I live in Oak Hill but we use Herndon on our address and when we tell people where we live. Oak Hill is based off of the Post Office in 20171 and no one really knows where it is. That said, Herndon isn't a great descriptor given that it takes me the same amount of time to get to Herndon as it does Reston Town Center. Neither really fit particularly well, but saying Herndon gives people an area that they can zoom in on.

Ok, you all have convinced me. If we give the school the Oak Hill name then maybe people will start to recognize it as a place and know generally where it is when they hear it. Kind of like how when I hear Westfield I think of the area south of 50 where the school is and not the area east of the airport that also goes there. Right now (to me at least) Franklin Farm and Oak Hill are the same thing because everyone I knew growing up who used the term Oak Hill was a Franklin Farm kid.
I still like Discovery better. It has an educational connotation, plus it has a tie to the airport and Udvar-Hazy which will be in the news while we fight to keep our shuttle here where it belongs. Not that it matters since we won't get a vote. If the county puts up a site for people to vote or weigh in then some tech savvy person will just figure out how to vote enough times to win or overwhelm the comments. Schooly McSchoolface it is in that case.

Most people think of Westfield as east of Dulles and points south.

Discovery is lame for a traditional high school.

Hard disagree. East of the airport is Chantilly to most people, and that's what their address says anyway. No one calls that area Westfield.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oak Hill is such a dumb name though. A bunch of people ashamed of their Herndon addresses got together and tried to sound more like Oakton. Discovery sounds good to me. It sounds educational / inspirational without played out political or nationalistic names like other Nova schools (Independence and Freedom high schools in Loudoun, Liberty HS in Fauquier, Freedom and Patriot HS in Prince William, etc).

I live in Oak Hill but we use Herndon on our address and when we tell people where we live. Oak Hill is based off of the Post Office in 20171 and no one really knows where it is. That said, Herndon isn't a great descriptor given that it takes me the same amount of time to get to Herndon as it does Reston Town Center. Neither really fit particularly well, but saying Herndon gives people an area that they can zoom in on.

Ok, you all have convinced me. If we give the school the Oak Hill name then maybe people will start to recognize it as a place and know generally where it is when they hear it. Kind of like how when I hear Westfield I think of the area south of 50 where the school is and not the area east of the airport that also goes there. Right now (to me at least) Franklin Farm and Oak Hill are the same thing because everyone I knew growing up who used the term Oak Hill was a Franklin Farm kid.
I still like Discovery better. It has an educational connotation, plus it has a tie to the airport and Udvar-Hazy which will be in the news while we fight to keep our shuttle here where it belongs. Not that it matters since we won't get a vote. If the county puts up a site for people to vote or weigh in then some tech savvy person will just figure out how to vote enough times to win or overwhelm the comments. Schooly McSchoolface it is in that case.

Most people think of Westfield as east of Dulles and points south.

Discovery is lame for a traditional high school.

Hard disagree. East of the airport is Chantilly to most people, and that's what their address says anyway. No one calls that area Westfield.

Look at a map. Westfield is south of the airport and on western edge of fairfax county. It has a Chantilly address.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oak Hill is such a dumb name though. A bunch of people ashamed of their Herndon addresses got together and tried to sound more like Oakton. Discovery sounds good to me. It sounds educational / inspirational without played out political or nationalistic names like other Nova schools (Independence and Freedom high schools in Loudoun, Liberty HS in Fauquier, Freedom and Patriot HS in Prince William, etc).

I live in Oak Hill but we use Herndon on our address and when we tell people where we live. Oak Hill is based off of the Post Office in 20171 and no one really knows where it is. That said, Herndon isn't a great descriptor given that it takes me the same amount of time to get to Herndon as it does Reston Town Center. Neither really fit particularly well, but saying Herndon gives people an area that they can zoom in on.

Ok, you all have convinced me. If we give the school the Oak Hill name then maybe people will start to recognize it as a place and know generally where it is when they hear it. Kind of like how when I hear Westfield I think of the area south of 50 where the school is and not the area east of the airport that also goes there. Right now (to me at least) Franklin Farm and Oak Hill are the same thing because everyone I knew growing up who used the term Oak Hill was a Franklin Farm kid.
I still like Discovery better. It has an educational connotation, plus it has a tie to the airport and Udvar-Hazy which will be in the news while we fight to keep our shuttle here where it belongs. Not that it matters since we won't get a vote. If the county puts up a site for people to vote or weigh in then some tech savvy person will just figure out how to vote enough times to win or overwhelm the comments. Schooly McSchoolface it is in that case.

Most people think of Westfield as east of Dulles and points south.

Discovery is lame for a traditional high school.

Hard disagree. East of the airport is Chantilly to most people, and that's what their address says anyway. No one calls that area Westfield.

East of the airport is where the new high school is going to be. In Oak Hill.

[Anonymous]

Westfield is the area around the car dealers, Costco, the high school, and Cub Run rec center.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oak Hill is such a dumb name though. A bunch of people ashamed of their Herndon addresses got together and tried to sound more like Oakton. Discovery sounds good to me. It sounds educational / inspirational without played out political or nationalistic names like other Nova schools (Independence and Freedom high schools in Loudoun, Liberty HS in Fauquier, Freedom and Patriot HS in Prince William, etc).

I live in Oak Hill but we use Herndon on our address and when we tell people where we live. Oak Hill is based off of the Post Office in 20171 and no one really knows where it is. That said, Herndon isn't a great descriptor given that it takes me the same amount of time to get to Herndon as it does Reston Town Center. Neither really fit particularly well, but saying Herndon gives people an area that they can zoom in on.

Ok, you all have convinced me. If we give the school the Oak Hill name then maybe people will start to recognize it as a place and know generally where it is when they hear it. Kind of like how when I hear Westfield I think of the area south of 50 where the school is and not the area east of the airport that also goes there. Right now (to me at least) Franklin Farm and Oak Hill are the same thing because everyone I knew growing up who used the term Oak Hill was a Franklin Farm kid.
I still like Discovery better. It has an educational connotation, plus it has a tie to the airport and Udvar-Hazy which will be in the news while we fight to keep our shuttle here where it belongs. Not that it matters since we won't get a vote. If the county puts up a site for people to vote or weigh in then some tech savvy person will just figure out how to vote enough times to win or overwhelm the comments. Schooly McSchoolface it is in that case.

Most people think of Westfield as east of Dulles and points south.

Discovery is lame for a traditional high school.

Hard disagree. East of the airport is Chantilly to most people, and that's what their address says anyway. No one calls that area Westfield.

East of the airport is where the new high school is going to be. In Oak Hill.

Yes. Closer to the Air and Space Museum than the terminal.

[Anonymous]

"Westfield" is not really a place. No one refers to a location of "Westfield". "Chantilly HS" was already taken and they had to scrounge something up.

Oak Hill is too similar to Oakton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Westfield" is not really a place. No one refers to a location of "Westfield". "Chantilly HS" was already taken and they had to scrounge something up.

Oak Hill is too similar to Oakton.

No. It describes where it is and the likely population of the membership.

We have South Lakes and South County.