could West Potomac become a Marshall in 10 years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't Marshall a wealthy school just like all of the other fcps high schools minus the Lee/Stewart/Mt. Vernon type schools?

This is a very affluent area and almost all of the high schools are overflowing with upper middle class kids.

FARMS Percentages at FCPS High Schools (Virginia DOE stats for October 2016)/# of $1.0 million property sales over past 12 months.

Langley 1.4 (350)
TJHSST 1.8 (n/a)
McLean 8.5 (267)
Madison 9.2 (169)
Robinson 9.2 (30)
West Springfield 10.8 (0)
Woodson 10.9 (17)
Oakton 11.7 (88)
Lake Braddock 13.8 (12)
South County 16.7 (17)
Chantilly 17.1 (6)
Marshall 17.3 (103)
Westfield 22.9 (10)
Fairfax 23.3 (17)
Centreville 24.2 (11)
South Lakes 27.9 (34)
Hayfield 28.3 (0)
Edison 34.4 (0)
Herndon 38.1 (8)
West Potomac 38.6 (32)
Falls Church 49.6 (8)
Mount Vernon 50.5 (12)
Lee 52.6 (0)
Annandale 53.7 (6)
Stuart 59.1 (20)

Langley and TJ are the outliers in terms of almost no poverty; Falls Church, Mount Vernon, Lee, Annandale and Stuart are the five schools with the most poverty. In terms of high-end property sales, however, there are five school districts with the lion's share; Langley, McLean, Madison, Marshall and Oakton. There's also another subset of schools with little poverty, but also few super-expensive neighborhoods, West Springfield being the prime example.

Marshall may roughly be in the middle of FCPS schools in terms of the percentage of lower-income students, but it's now 4 out of 25 in terms of the number of $1.0M-plus property sales. West Potomac won't "become a Marshall in 10 years" unless Route 1 becomes another Tysons, and there's next to no prospect of that happening.

That's interesting. Where did you find the home sales data by school district?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't Marshall a wealthy school just like all of the other fcps high schools minus the Lee/Stewart/Mt. Vernon type schools?

This is a very affluent area and almost all of the high schools are overflowing with upper middle class kids.

FARMS Percentages at FCPS High Schools (Virginia DOE stats for October 2016)/# of $1.0 million property sales over past 12 months.

Langley 1.4 (350)
TJHSST 1.8 (n/a)
McLean 8.5 (267)
Madison 9.2 (169)
Robinson 9.2 (30)
West Springfield 10.8 (0)
Woodson 10.9 (17)
Oakton 11.7 (88)
Lake Braddock 13.8 (12)
South County 16.7 (17)
Chantilly 17.1 (6)
Marshall 17.3 (103)
Westfield 22.9 (10)
Fairfax 23.3 (17)
Centreville 24.2 (11)
South Lakes 27.9 (34)
Hayfield 28.3 (0)
Edison 34.4 (0)
Herndon 38.1 (8)
West Potomac 38.6 (32)
Falls Church 49.6 (8)
Mount Vernon 50.5 (12)
Lee 52.6 (0)
Annandale 53.7 (6)
Stuart 59.1 (20)

Langley and TJ are the outliers in terms of almost no poverty; Falls Church, Mount Vernon, Lee, Annandale and Stuart are the five schools with the most poverty. In terms of high-end property sales, however, there are five school districts with the lion's share; Langley, McLean, Madison, Marshall and Oakton. There's also another subset of schools with little poverty, but also few super-expensive neighborhoods, West Springfield being the prime example.

Marshall may roughly be in the middle of FCPS schools in terms of the percentage of lower-income students, but it's now 4 out of 25 in terms of the number of $1.0M-plus property sales. West Potomac won't "become a Marshall in 10 years" unless Route 1 becomes another Tysons, and there's next to no prospect of that happening.

So yes, your data confirms with just a few exceptions the vast majority of high schools in fcps are highly affluent.

And to list those five schools as taking a "lion's share" of poor students is laughable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't Marshall a wealthy school just like all of the other fcps high schools minus the Lee/Stewart/Mt. Vernon type schools?

This is a very affluent area and almost all of the high schools are overflowing with upper middle class kids.

FARMS Percentages at FCPS High Schools (Virginia DOE stats for October 2016)/# of $1.0 million property sales over past 12 months.

Langley 1.4 (350)
TJHSST 1.8 (n/a)
McLean 8.5 (267)
Madison 9.2 (169)
Robinson 9.2 (30)
West Springfield 10.8 (0)
Woodson 10.9 (17)
Oakton 11.7 (88)
Lake Braddock 13.8 (12)
South County 16.7 (17)
Chantilly 17.1 (6)
Marshall 17.3 (103)
Westfield 22.9 (10)
Fairfax 23.3 (17)
Centreville 24.2 (11)
South Lakes 27.9 (34)
Hayfield 28.3 (0)
Edison 34.4 (0)
Herndon 38.1 (8)
West Potomac 38.6 (32)
Falls Church 49.6 (8)
Mount Vernon 50.5 (12)
Lee 52.6 (0)
Annandale 53.7 (6)
Stuart 59.1 (20)

Langley and TJ are the outliers in terms of almost no poverty; Falls Church, Mount Vernon, Lee, Annandale and Stuart are the five schools with the most poverty. In terms of high-end property sales, however, there are five school districts with the lion's share; Langley, McLean, Madison, Marshall and Oakton. There's also another subset of schools with little poverty, but also few super-expensive neighborhoods, West Springfield being the prime example.

Marshall may roughly be in the middle of FCPS schools in terms of the percentage of lower-income students, but it's now 4 out of 25 in terms of the number of $1.0M-plus property sales. West Potomac won't "become a Marshall in 10 years" unless Route 1 becomes another Tysons, and there's next to no prospect of that happening.

So yes, your data confirms with just a few exceptions the vast majority of high schools in fcps are highly affluent.

And to list those five schools as taking a "lion's share" of poor students is laughable.

You can decide what makes a school "highly affluent," but I never said five schools have a "lion's share" of poor students. I said the lion's share of high-end property sales over $1M can be found within the boundaries for five schools: Langley, McLean, Madison, Marshall and Oakton. There are 977 such transactions within the boundaries for those five schools, and 240 in the catchment areas for the 19 other high or secondary schools in the county combined.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't FCPS deal with overcrowding at WestPo by redistricting some areas to under-enrolled MV?

Will be voting against 2019 bond because making WestPo even bigger makes no sense. Get rid of IB at MV so people stop using it as an excuse to pupil place out of the school.

As for Marshall they spend far more time on SOL prep there than at other schools, because they've had two principals in a row who are very focused on ratings.

SOL prep?
I have two kids at Marshall and I haven't heard a peep about SOLs or SOL prep since elementary. High schoolers don't care about SOLs, and I'm pretty sure there is zero prep going on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS is at Mt Vernon. He has had a fabulous experience at Mt. Vernon. Dr. Terrell, our principal says he signs every request for transfers that comes across his desk. I agree with him - if you don't want to be at Mt. Vernon, we don't want you either. However, as a taxpayer, I am furious that West Po continues to allow out of bound students in when its "closed." Supposedly, they "closed" four years ago because of overcrowding, but they continue to let students in. Hayfield is also under enrolled and is our next closest AP school. If West Po is closed, why aren't they forcing the students over to Hayfield???? Until they start turning away students, I too, will not be voting for the bond. And I'm telling everyone I know to vote NO for the bond.

Ms. King was a good principal at Mount Vernon the problem I had with her was when she changed the grading scale to boost graduation rates, students will pass with very little effort, it seems teachers are also always transferring out at that school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't FCPS deal with overcrowding at WestPo by redistricting some areas to under-enrolled MV?

Will be voting against 2019 bond because making WestPo even bigger makes no sense. Get rid of IB at MV so people stop using it as an excuse to pupil place out of the school.

As for Marshall they spend far more time on SOL prep there than at other schools, because they've had two principals in a row who are very focused on ratings.

SOL prep?
I have two kids at Marshall and I haven't heard a peep about SOLs or SOL prep since elementary. High schoolers don't care about SOLs, and I'm pretty sure there is zero prep going on.

Have you really missed the huge display on SOL scores that greets you as soon as you walk inside Marshall? Or been oblivious to the initiative to enroll all students in IB English classes to improve the school's IB participation ratings?

It's a good school, but both Pearson and then Litz are very focused on ratings, which matters a great deal to many of the parents. As I said, I've heard it used to be more child-friendly and less ratings-focused. It's a fairly big, anonymous HS now.

[Anonymous]

I thought you could not transfer from Mount Vernon to West Potomac anymore? My understanding is all transfers are sent to Hayfield. Is this not accurate?

[Anonymous]

Nope, WestPo is still letting out of bound students in. I know of at least 5 rising freshman this year who live within Mt Vernon but are going to WestPo. Two coming from the Catholic elementary schools and 3 who were in the AAP program. I'm sure there are others I don't know about. One parent told me she didn't want her DD at Hayfield because it was out of her way to drive her to school so she insisted she had to be placed at WestPo.

[Anonymous]

The FCPS capacity dashboard ranks WestPo as 2 out of 25 (most crowded), and Mount Vernon as 25 out of 25 (least crowded); the schools are adjacent to one another; there is no proposal to redistrict part of West Po to Mount Vernon; and FCPS wants part of the 2017 bond offering to pay for an expansion at WestPo.

Sorry, that makes no sense, so I'll be voting against the 2017 school bond and urging others to do likewise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nope, WestPo is still letting out of bound students in. I know of at least 5 rising freshman this year who live within Mt Vernon but are going to WestPo. Two coming from the Catholic elementary schools and 3 who were in the AAP program. I'm sure there are others I don't know about. One parent told me she didn't want her DD at Hayfield because it was out of her way to drive her to school so she insisted she had to be placed at WestPo.

Are you and the other MVHS PP aware that the principals HAVE TO accept curriculum transfer requests? If someone is zoned for MVHS (which is an IB school), they have an absolute right to opt out of the IB program school and into an AP school (i.e. West Po). I don't think you should be getting upset that people are allowed into West Po or allowed out of MVHS when it is simply the way the rules work. If you want to stop the practice, get a bunch of MVHS parents together and start pestering your school board reps to change MVHS into AP. That will stop the transfers immediately. The only remaining reasons for transfers will be the academy programs offered at West Po... so there may be an increase in the number of kids from MVHS who suddenly find a love of dance!

[Anonymous]

We live in hollin hills and I def think so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The FCPS capacity dashboard ranks WestPo as 2 out of 25 (most crowded), and Mount Vernon as 25 out of 25 (least crowded); the schools are adjacent to one another; there is no proposal to redistrict part of West Po to Mount Vernon; and FCPS wants part of the 2017 bond offering to pay for an expansion at WestPo.

Sorry, that makes no sense, so I'll be voting against the 2017 school bond and urging others to do likewise.

can you post the list of the other schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The FCPS capacity dashboard ranks WestPo as 2 out of 25 (most crowded), and Mount Vernon as 25 out of 25 (least crowded); the schools are adjacent to one another; there is no proposal to redistrict part of West Po to Mount Vernon; and FCPS wants part of the 2017 bond offering to pay for an expansion at WestPo.

Sorry, that makes no sense, so I'll be voting against the 2017 school bond and urging others to do likewise.

It never makes sense to vote no on school bonds. If you need convincing, look at Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope, WestPo is still letting out of bound students in. I know of at least 5 rising freshman this year who live within Mt Vernon but are going to WestPo. Two coming from the Catholic elementary schools and 3 who were in the AAP program. I'm sure there are others I don't know about. One parent told me she didn't want her DD at Hayfield because it was out of her way to drive her to school so she insisted she had to be placed at WestPo.

Are you and the other MVHS PP aware that the principals HAVE TO accept curriculum transfer requests? If someone is zoned for MVHS (which is an IB school), they have an absolute right to opt out of the IB program school and into an AP school (i.e. West Po). I don't think you should be getting upset that people are allowed into West Po or allowed out of MVHS when it is simply the way the rules work. If you want to stop the practice, get a bunch of MVHS parents together and start pestering your school board reps to change MVHS into AP. That will stop the transfers immediately. The only remaining reasons for transfers will be the academy programs offered at West Po... so there may be an increase in the number of kids from MVHS who suddenly find a love of dance!

But wouldn't the transfer to Hayfield suffice as they have AP? If a school is overcapacity, doesn't that become a factor as well?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't FCPS deal with overcrowding at WestPo by redistricting some areas to under-enrolled MV?

Will be voting against 2019 bond because making WestPo even bigger makes no sense. Get rid of IB at MV so people stop using it as an excuse to pupil place out of the school.

As for Marshall they spend far more time on SOL prep there than at other schools, because they've had two principals in a row who are very focused on ratings.

SOL prep?
I have two kids at Marshall and I haven't heard a peep about SOLs or SOL prep since elementary. High schoolers don't care about SOLs, and I'm pretty sure there is zero prep going on.

Have you really missed the huge display on SOL scores that greets you as soon as you walk inside Marshall? Or been oblivious to the initiative to enroll all students in IB English classes to improve the school's IB participation ratings?

It's a good school, but both Pearson and then Litz are very focused on ratings, which matters a great deal to many of the parents. As I said, I've heard it used to be more child-friendly and less ratings-focused. It's a fairly big, anonymous HS now.

I haven't seen the display (I don't ever have cause to to in the school), but displaying results does not equal prep. And I know plenty of kids who aren't taking IB English. I went there myself in the late 90s, and it seems much the same. Diverse student body, happy kids, and kind families. I'm not sure why there is a chip on your shoulder, but it's a great school.