Lee HS Enrollment Falls Below 1700

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The enrollment at Lee HS fell below 1700 students last month.

The trends aren't favorable. Poorer high schools like Lee typically see more freshman and sophomores than juniors and seniors, because students drop out in significant numbers starting when they are juniors. But Lee now has only four more freshmen (358) than seniors (354).

When does FCPS wake up and redistrict part of West Springfield (with over 2150 kids) to Lee? Do the "liberals" on the School Board really not recognize that Lee cannot begin to offer its students the same range of academic classes and extra-curricular opportunities that exist at other schools when its enrollment is so much lower?

They either need to change the boundaries or close the school entirely. What they have now does not work.

I think this is a big reason why the county is looking at closing the school and recommissioning it as a regional IB center. Honestly, if I lived in Hayfield, Edison, West Springfield, or South County, I would be following this closely.

I think this is a good idea. I think Marshall's success is partly due to being the only IB option near several AP schools - at the least start of its success- other factors have helped it continue. Putting so many IB schools in the same area was not well thought out.

[Anonymous]

I have a student who will likely attend Lee soon. If the school becomes a regional IB center, when would that happen? What time frame is being considered? My student is interested in AP, which has been added at Lee on a limited scale. She wouldn’t want to start at Lee only to find out the few AP offerings were being eliminated entirely.

The small size of Lee is actually very appealing, but it does severely limit the variety of classes and programs that can be offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The enrollment at Lee HS fell below 1700 students last month.

The trends aren't favorable. Poorer high schools like Lee typically see more freshman and sophomores than juniors and seniors, because students drop out in significant numbers starting when they are juniors. But Lee now has only four more freshmen (358) than seniors (354).

When does FCPS wake up and redistrict part of West Springfield (with over 2150 kids) to Lee? Do the "liberals" on the School Board really not recognize that Lee cannot begin to offer its students the same range of academic classes and extra-curricular opportunities that exist at other schools when its enrollment is so much lower?

They either need to change the boundaries or close the school entirely. What they have now does not work.

It would make more sense to shift some kids from Hayfield or Edison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The enrollment at Lee HS fell below 1700 students last month.

The trends aren't favorable. Poorer high schools like Lee typically see more freshman and sophomores than juniors and seniors, because students drop out in significant numbers starting when they are juniors. But Lee now has only four more freshmen (358) than seniors (354).

When does FCPS wake up and redistrict part of West Springfield (with over 2150 kids) to Lee? Do the "liberals" on the School Board really not recognize that Lee cannot begin to offer its students the same range of academic classes and extra-curricular opportunities that exist at other schools when its enrollment is so much lower?

They either need to change the boundaries or close the school entirely. What they have now does not work.

It would make more sense to shift some kids from Hayfield or Edison.

No, WS has the larger enrollment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The enrollment at Lee HS fell below 1700 students last month.

The trends aren't favorable. Poorer high schools like Lee typically see more freshman and sophomores than juniors and seniors, because students drop out in significant numbers starting when they are juniors. But Lee now has only four more freshmen (358) than seniors (354).

When does FCPS wake up and redistrict part of West Springfield (with over 2150 kids) to Lee? Do the "liberals" on the School Board really not recognize that Lee cannot begin to offer its students the same range of academic classes and extra-curricular opportunities that exist at other schools when its enrollment is so much lower?

They either need to change the boundaries or close the school entirely. What they have now does not work.

It would make more sense to shift some kids from Hayfield or Edison.

No, WS has the larger enrollment.

But Hayfield and Edison have more FARMS and ESL - better to keep the more capable kids in the WS pyramid in a school where they can fulfill their true potential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The enrollment at Lee HS fell below 1700 students last month.

The trends aren't favorable. Poorer high schools like Lee typically see more freshman and sophomores than juniors and seniors, because students drop out in significant numbers starting when they are juniors. But Lee now has only four more freshmen (358) than seniors (354).

When does FCPS wake up and redistrict part of West Springfield (with over 2150 kids) to Lee? Do the "liberals" on the School Board really not recognize that Lee cannot begin to offer its students the same range of academic classes and extra-curricular opportunities that exist at other schools when its enrollment is so much lower?

They either need to change the boundaries or close the school entirely. What they have now does not work.

It would make more sense to shift some kids from Hayfield or Edison.

No, WS has the larger enrollment.

But Hayfield and Edison have more FARMS and ESL - better to keep the more capable kids in the WS pyramid in a school where they can fulfill their true potential.

Bwahaha! Popping popcorn to get ready for responses to this BS.

[Anonymous]

Maybe the Gatehouse poster from the original thread on Lee could speak to this, but could FCPS get rid of IB at all the nearby schools that have it (Edison, Mt. Vernon, Annandale, Stuart, etc.) and start AP at those schools, keep IB at Lee, and have Lee as not only the neighborhood HS for that area but also allow transfers in for kids who want to do IB? Or would no one go for that ....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the Gatehouse poster from the original thread on Lee could speak to this, but could FCPS get rid of IB at all the nearby schools that have it (Edison, Mt. Vernon, Annandale, Stuart, etc.) and start AP at those schools, keep IB at Lee, and have Lee as not only the neighborhood HS for that area but also allow transfers in for kids who want to do IB? Or would no one go for that ....

This makes more sense than closing Lee and geremandering boundaries by rezoning 10 to 12 elementary schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the Gatehouse poster from the original thread on Lee could speak to this, but could FCPS get rid of IB at all the nearby schools that have it (Edison, Mt. Vernon, Annandale, Stuart, etc.) and start AP at those schools, keep IB at Lee, and have Lee as not only the neighborhood HS for that area but also allow transfers in for kids who want to do IB? Or would no one go for that ....

That is a good suggestion and could be done in tandem with moving part of West Springfield there.

[Anonymous]

Gatehouse poster said no.
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/225/695213.page

[Anonymous]

to keeping Lee as a neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:to keeping Lee as a neighborhood school.

That's insane.

They can fantasize about redistricting 1700 students, or twice that. But it's not going to actually happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to keeping Lee as a neighborhood school.

That's insane.

They can fantasize about redistricting 1700 students, or twice that. But it's not going to actually happen.

I really think Lee is just going to lose accreditation and FCPS will just shrug and deal with it. The redistricting proposals were horrible, they make Annandale another Lee in 5-10 years, bring down Hayfield which is already average, and make WS extremely overcrowded even with the expansion. Meanwhile Edison gets another AAP center (SEES), and South County gets Saratoga which it should probably have already, given its proximity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The enrollment at Lee HS fell below 1700 students last month.

The trends aren't favorable. Poorer high schools like Lee typically see more freshman and sophomores than juniors and seniors, because students drop out in significant numbers starting when they are juniors. But Lee now has only four more freshmen (358) than seniors (354).

When does FCPS wake up and redistrict part of West Springfield (with over 2150 kids) to Lee? Do the "liberals" on the School Board really not recognize that Lee cannot begin to offer its students the same range of academic classes and extra-curricular opportunities that exist at other schools when its enrollment is so much lower?

They either need to change the boundaries or close the school entirely. What they have now does not work.

It would make more sense to shift some kids from Hayfield or Edison.

No, WS has the larger enrollment.

but they are geographically closer than WS. It'easier to shift some kids over from Edison and Hayfield then it is WS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:to keeping Lee as a neighborhood school.

That's insane.

They can fantasize about redistricting 1700 students, or twice that. But it's not going to actually happen.

I really think Lee is just going to lose accreditation and FCPS will just shrug and deal with it. The redistricting proposals were horrible, they make Annandale another Lee in 5-10 years, bring down Hayfield which is already average, and make WS extremely overcrowded even with the expansion. Meanwhile Edison gets another AAP center (SEES), and South County gets Saratoga which it should probably have already, given its proximity.

I really hope you’re right. West Springfield families should NOT be moved to Lee. It simply wouldn’t be fair when we paid a premium to be in the West Springfield pyramid. We deserve the schools we paid for. Those in the Lee pyramid knew what they were getting when they moved there (or at least they should have).