Boundary logic?

[Anonymous]

Rare indeed. I'm still amazed how basically all of Fairfax county north of Rt 7 goes to Langley, even the folks who live on the Loudoun border. Wouldn't it make more sense for all those in the western half go to Herndon? (I know it will never happen) .

Years ago, some did go to Herndon from that area of Great Falls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
It is not intentional if that is what you are asking. Wealth and poverty tend to clump together.

Plus county services are determined by the county government and school districts are decided by the school board. They are separate entities with little overlap (social services in the schools is where the overlap occurs).

I would disagree. The last two times the boundaries for Lee High School were changed the two wealthiest elementary schools feeding it were rezoned for West Springfield. The FCPS School Board has contributed to the problem (it is not entirely on them, because the County Supervisors also contribute to the problem).

[Anonymous]

It is not intentional if that is what you are asking. Wealth and poverty tend to clump together.

You didn't follow the South Lakes boundary issue, did you?

The PTA at South Lakes turned down the McNair community because it didn't have the right income. SB member Stu Gibson helped them. Definite collusion.

They only wanted higher income kids.

Of course, it depends on your base. During the same redistricting, Janie ponied up her Madison Island for South Lakes. Janie is the worst offender--and, one of the most vocal proponents of the disadvantaged. Hypocrite.

[Anonymous]

Funny. McNair used to be Title 1 but they changed the boundary around the same time and sent most of their disadvantaged students to Herndon ES. Now McNair is 15% poverty. Neighboring Carson middle is 10% poverty and 5% ELL. Most of the poverty is concentrated in the town of Herndon or around Worldgate. How does that make sense? Oh right, metro is coming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, the immigrants and poor people are making the schools poor, not the other way around. My grandmother went to McKinley Tech like 90 years ago when it was brand new and a good school.

What a poor judgement and low education you have.

[Anonymous]

The percentage of low-income students at McLean would go down if Pimmit Hills went there and the Timber Lane area went to Marshall, which is closer, or stayed at Falls Church, where it was zoned until the mid-80s. This is a rare example of a good attempt by FCPS to add some SES diversity to a school by gerrymandering the boundaries a little bit.

I live in the weird Timber Lane section of the McLean cluster and $1.5 million homes are popping up right and left. There are a small handful of kids in one or two apartment complexes that might add some diversity to McLean, but the bulk of the lower SES immigrant kids at Timber Lane live on the other side of 29 and go to Falls Church High.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless you're talking about McLean HS (boundary map: http://virginia.hometownlocator.com/schools/profiles,n,mclean%20high,z,22101,t,pb,i,1118971.cfm) where they somehow managed to cut out all of Pimmit Hills but still pick up the swath of Falls Church between 29 and 7 and another chunk near Arlington? I think they're an outlier. Most other schools have contiguous boundaries.

I went to McLean many years ago and I don't think the boundary has changed so I can speak on it. That broken off section towards the bottom is the main reason that Mclean High has any income diversity at all, and as someone else said, it's mainly the Hollywood Road complex and the other one, whose name escapes me. I can see the argument for including it since it is really just wrapping the McLean boundary around the city of Falls Church.

Pimmit Hills...that neighborhood is starting to spring up giant houses now, and while I could see why part of Pimmit Hills would go to McLean, it is right across the street from Marshall, also a good school, on the other side. The kids aren't getting shorted going to Marshall.

The part that doesn't make sense to me is the helix looking part, the Wolf Trap kids and the part of the boundary that sends all the Rotunda kids from Tysons to McLean. I have no idea why that is included in McLean's boundary, but it has been for at least two decades. It seems like that area would make more sense with Marshall, Madison, or South Lakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you're talking about McLean HS (boundary map: http://virginia.hometownlocator.com/schools/profiles,n,mclean%20high,z,22101,t,pb,i,1118971.cfm) where they somehow managed to cut out all of Pimmit Hills but still pick up the swath of Falls Church between 29 and 7 and another chunk near Arlington? I think they're an outlier. Most other schools have contiguous boundaries.

I went to McLean many years ago and I don't think the boundary has changed so I can speak on it. That broken off section towards the bottom is the main reason that Mclean High has any income diversity at all, and as someone else said, it's mainly the Hollywood Road complex and the other one, whose name escapes me. I can see the argument for including it since it is really just wrapping the McLean boundary around the city of Falls Church.

Pimmit Hills...that neighborhood is starting to spring up giant houses now, and while I could see why part of Pimmit Hills would go to McLean, it is right across the street from Marshall, also a good school, on the other side. The kids aren't getting shorted going to Marshall.

The part that doesn't make sense to me is the helix looking part, the Wolf Trap kids and the part of the boundary that sends all the Rotunda kids from Tysons to McLean. I have no idea why that is included in McLean's boundary, but it has been for at least two decades. It seems like that area would make more sense with Marshall, Madison, or South Lakes.

It's zoned for McLean because 30 years ago FCPS wanted to move some Langley neighborhoods (Shouse Village, in particular) to Marshall. The families didn't want to go to Marshall and convinced FCPS to move them to McLean instead. To avoid creating an island some then-Marshall neighborhoods (Wolf Trap Woods) were also moved to McLean as well. However, it became an island in the late 90s when the Spring Gate condos opened near Tysons and FCPS assigned them to Marshall, which was seriously under-enrolled at the time. It wouldn't be an island if FCPS moved the area south of Lewinsville Road and north of the Toll Road from Langley to McLean.