New HS and impact on boundaries

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this has been in the talks for a while. I read in the latest CIP that it is likely going to be in the area West of Silver line metro vicinity and will impact boundaries for South lake, Westfield, Chantilly, Centreville, and Oakton HS. Any additional information or thoughts or speculation on this as to how it will impact the boundaries for the mentioned schools? Also, when is the construction currently targeted for, if there are any specifics, and how long does the school construction usually take?

We were considering buying in Oakton HS and are worried about redistricting. Especially the western end of the Oakton HS zone (Crossfield ES, Navy ES, Waples Mill ES). I read somewhere that this area has recently been redistricted. Not sure when but maybe around 2010?

In 2008 the Fox Mill ES area was moved from Oakton to South Lakes and part of the Navy ES area was moved from Chantilly to Oakton.

I would not worry about anything zoned for Waples Mill being moved out of Oakton if/when a new HS is built. There might be a greater risk that Crossfield or Navy would move to Chantilly if part of Westfield near the Silver Line moved to a new school and part of Chantilly then moved to Westfield. It's all conjectural, but some might welcome that change given that some of those areas are closer to Chantilly than Oakton.

The biggest risk from an investment perspective might be if you live in the Floris or Fox Mill areas and you got reassigned to a new high school that pulled primarily from low-income schools like Hutchison, Coates and Dogwood, all of which are near the path of the Silver Line in western Fairfax.

no new high school is going to pull primarily from low income neighborhoods. the school board won't allow it -- they've already got their hands full with other struggling high schools and won't add to the problem. any new school will be mixed income.

Maybe yes, maybe no. If they build near a Silver Line station in Herndon, the new school will necessarily pull from some low-income areas. And the last new school they built in that area was Coates ES, which is about 45% FARMS. So it is entirely possible that opening the new HS, depending on its location, could reassign students to a high-FARMS school.

Again, some low income areas is not "mostly" low income areas. I wouldn't want to attend a high school that didn't have some diversity of income. FCPS will NOT build a new high school and then condemn it to poor performance and affluent flight by making it a defacto low SES school. They are already struggling with too many existing high schools that have this problem -- Stuart, Falls Church, etc. It's a non-starter.

I think any neighborhoods on the outlying borders of nearby high schools would be potentially redistricted.

[Anonymous]

I meant "could" be. ^^^

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this has been in the talks for a while. I read in the latest CIP that it is likely going to be in the area West of Silver line metro vicinity and will impact boundaries for South lake, Westfield, Chantilly, Centreville, and Oakton HS. Any additional information or thoughts or speculation on this as to how it will impact the boundaries for the mentioned schools? Also, when is the construction currently targeted for, if there are any specifics, and how long does the school construction usually take?

We were considering buying in Oakton HS and are worried about redistricting. Especially the western end of the Oakton HS zone (Crossfield ES, Navy ES, Waples Mill ES). I read somewhere that this area has recently been redistricted. Not sure when but maybe around 2010?

In 2008 the Fox Mill ES area was moved from Oakton to South Lakes and part of the Navy ES area was moved from Chantilly to Oakton.

I would not worry about anything zoned for Waples Mill being moved out of Oakton if/when a new HS is built. There might be a greater risk that Crossfield or Navy would move to Chantilly if part of Westfield near the Silver Line moved to a new school and part of Chantilly then moved to Westfield. It's all conjectural, but some might welcome that change given that some of those areas are closer to Chantilly than Oakton.

The biggest risk from an investment perspective might be if you live in the Floris or Fox Mill areas and you got reassigned to a new high school that pulled primarily from low-income schools like Hutchison, Coates and Dogwood, all of which are near the path of the Silver Line in western Fairfax.

no new high school is going to pull primarily from low income neighborhoods. the school board won't allow it -- they've already got their hands full with other struggling high schools and won't add to the problem. any new school will be mixed income.

Maybe yes, maybe no. If they build near a Silver Line station in Herndon, the new school will necessarily pull from some low-income areas. And the last new school they built in that area was Coates ES, which is about 45% FARMS. So it is entirely possible that opening the new HS, depending on its location, could reassign students to a high-FARMS school.

Again, some low income areas is not "mostly" low income areas. I wouldn't want to attend a high school that didn't have some diversity of income. FCPS will NOT build a new high school and then condemn it to poor performance and affluent flight by making it a defacto low SES school. They are already struggling with too many existing high schools that have this problem -- Stuart, Falls Church, etc. It's a non-starter.

I think any neighborhoods on the outlying borders of nearby high schools would be potentially redistricted.

I think you are conflating your personal wishes with FCPS policy. It is entirely possible the new school, if built, will have a higher FARMS rate than the schools from which it draws, if FCPS builds it where it says it might (western Fairfax near the Silver Line). From an investment perspective, that is a risk that some may wish to consider, just as people currently are looking at the spike in ESOL/FARMS rates at Herndon (now close to or over 40% FARMS).

[Anonymous]

As a fairfax County family, my cousins are all 3-4 years apart and all went to different high schools while living in the same house. Redistricting happens. You can't really game the system multiple years out.

My parents bought a house in the late 80s in southern Fairfax, zoned for Lake Braddock, but then by the time it was built if got moved to another, hayfield.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a fairfax County family, my cousins are all 3-4 years apart and all went to different high schools while living in the same house. Redistricting happens. You can't really game the system multiple years out.

My parents bought a house in the late 80s in southern Fairfax, zoned for Lake Braddock, but then by the time it was built if got moved to another, hayfield.

It really depends on the part of the county and the slated development. Some areas see more changes than others, with the areas that now form the western parts of the Oakton and South Lakes area particularly affected by shifts. On the other hand, there are parts of Vienna that realistically will always be zoned for Madison, parts of Falls Church that will always attend Marshall, etc.

[Anonymous]

Our housing values did go up slightly when we were redistricted from Chantilly to Oakton. But people do complain that Oakton is too far.

[Anonymous]

OP,

They don't even have a site yet. The new high school is years out from now. In ten years the neighborhoods change and property values and demographics change. With the advent of the new metro to Dulles, chances are that some of the very poor areas will gentrify and be much more expensive--and the schools will have fewer needy kids. Right now, there is a huge influx of unaccompanied immigrant kids in the area. I would think that it is possible, in this political atmosphere, that that could change dramatically. Who knows what the next few years will bring?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this has been in the talks for a while. I read in the latest CIP that it is likely going to be in the area West of Silver line metro vicinity and will impact boundaries for South lake, Westfield, Chantilly, Centreville, and Oakton HS. Any additional information or thoughts or speculation on this as to how it will impact the boundaries for the mentioned schools? Also, when is the construction currently targeted for, if there are any specifics, and how long does the school construction usually take?

We were considering buying in Oakton HS and are worried about redistricting. Especially the western end of the Oakton HS zone (Crossfield ES, Navy ES, Waples Mill ES). I read somewhere that this area has recently been redistricted. Not sure when but maybe around 2010?

In 2008 the Fox Mill ES area was moved from Oakton to South Lakes and part of the Navy ES area was moved from Chantilly to Oakton.

I would not worry about anything zoned for Waples Mill being moved out of Oakton if/when a new HS is built. There might be a greater risk that Crossfield or Navy would move to Chantilly if part of Westfield near the Silver Line moved to a new school and part of Chantilly then moved to Westfield. It's all conjectural, but some might welcome that change given that some of those areas are closer to Chantilly than Oakton.

The biggest risk from an investment perspective might be if you live in the Floris or Fox Mill areas and you got reassigned to a new high school that pulled primarily from low-income schools like Hutchison, Coates and Dogwood, all of which are near the path of the Silver Line in western Fairfax.

no new high school is going to pull primarily from low income neighborhoods. the school board won't allow it -- they've already got their hands full with other struggling high schools and won't add to the problem. any new school will be mixed income.

Maybe yes, maybe no. If they build near a Silver Line station in Herndon, the new school will necessarily pull from some low-income areas. And the last new school they built in that area was Coates ES, which is about 45% FARMS. So it is entirely possible that opening the new HS, depending on its location, could reassign students to a high-FARMS school.

Again, some low income areas is not "mostly" low income areas. I wouldn't want to attend a high school that didn't have some diversity of income. FCPS will NOT build a new high school and then condemn it to poor performance and affluent flight by making it a defacto low SES school. They are already struggling with too many existing high schools that have this problem -- Stuart, Falls Church, etc. It's a non-starter.

I think any neighborhoods on the outlying borders of nearby high schools would be potentially redistricted.

I think you are conflating your personal wishes with FCPS policy. It is entirely possible the new school, if built, will have a higher FARMS rate than the schools from which it draws, if FCPS builds it where it says it might (western Fairfax near the Silver Line). From an investment perspective, that is a risk that some may wish to consider, just as people currently are looking at the spike in ESOL/FARMS rates at Herndon (now close to or over 40% FARMS).

I have no stake in this at all and hence no personal wishes. My kids go to completely other high schools and will be out by the time this school is built. I just know what I have been told by school board members. FCPS will not build a majority poor school. Period. As another poster noted, some lower income areas are likely to gentrify by then anyway. So don't conflate what you want with what will actually happen either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this has been in the talks for a while. I read in the latest CIP that it is likely going to be in the area West of Silver line metro vicinity and will impact boundaries for South lake, Westfield, Chantilly, Centreville, and Oakton HS. Any additional information or thoughts or speculation on this as to how it will impact the boundaries for the mentioned schools? Also, when is the construction currently targeted for, if there are any specifics, and how long does the school construction usually take?

We were considering buying in Oakton HS and are worried about redistricting. Especially the western end of the Oakton HS zone (Crossfield ES, Navy ES, Waples Mill ES). I read somewhere that this area has recently been redistricted. Not sure when but maybe around 2010?

In 2008 the Fox Mill ES area was moved from Oakton to South Lakes and part of the Navy ES area was moved from Chantilly to Oakton.

I would not worry about anything zoned for Waples Mill being moved out of Oakton if/when a new HS is built. There might be a greater risk that Crossfield or Navy would move to Chantilly if part of Westfield near the Silver Line moved to a new school and part of Chantilly then moved to Westfield. It's all conjectural, but some might welcome that change given that some of those areas are closer to Chantilly than Oakton.

The biggest risk from an investment perspective might be if you live in the Floris or Fox Mill areas and you got reassigned to a new high school that pulled primarily from low-income schools like Hutchison, Coates and Dogwood, all of which are near the path of the Silver Line in western Fairfax.

no new high school is going to pull primarily from low income neighborhoods. the school board won't allow it -- they've already got their hands full with other struggling high schools and won't add to the problem. any new school will be mixed income.

Maybe yes, maybe no. If they build near a Silver Line station in Herndon, the new school will necessarily pull from some low-income areas. And the last new school they built in that area was Coates ES, which is about 45% FARMS. So it is entirely possible that opening the new HS, depending on its location, could reassign students to a high-FARMS school.

Again, some low income areas is not "mostly" low income areas. I wouldn't want to attend a high school that didn't have some diversity of income. FCPS will NOT build a new high school and then condemn it to poor performance and affluent flight by making it a defacto low SES school. They are already struggling with too many existing high schools that have this problem -- Stuart, Falls Church, etc. It's a non-starter.

I think any neighborhoods on the outlying borders of nearby high schools would be potentially redistricted.

I think you are conflating your personal wishes with FCPS policy. It is entirely possible the new school, if built, will have a higher FARMS rate than the schools from which it draws, if FCPS builds it where it says it might (western Fairfax near the Silver Line). From an investment perspective, that is a risk that some may wish to consider, just as people currently are looking at the spike in ESOL/FARMS rates at Herndon (now close to or over 40% FARMS).

I have no stake in this at all and hence no personal wishes. My kids go to completely other high schools and will be out by the time this school is built. I just know what I have been told by school board members. FCPS will not build a majority poor school. Period. As another poster noted, some lower income areas are likely to gentrify by then anyway. So don't conflate what you want with what will actually happen either.

I don't want FCPS to build a majority poor high school any more than I want FCPS to have more kids living in poverty. But sometimes new schools are needed in areas with a lot of poor kids and they get built. Realistically, if FCPS built a new school near the planned Silver Line station off 267 and Route 28, it would probably be around 40% FARMS, which is about where Herndon HS is now. It wouldn't be as high-poverty as some schools further east, but it could result in people moving from schools like Westfield and South Lakes that are more like 25-33% FARMS to one that's got a higher percentage of FARMS students. And that could impact real estate values in areas like the Floris and Fox Mill ES areas, just like moving the "Madison Island" to South Lakes in 2008 impacted home values there. Of course, this is speculative until the school identified in the CIP is built and the boundary lines are drawn, but the OP asked for feedback.

[Anonymous]

Isn't that location too close to Herndon High School?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't that location too close to Herndon High School?

It would be further from HHS than the distance from Madison to Oakton. Moving the southern part of the Herndon district to a new school might open up space for Forestvilke to move from Langley to Herndon.