FCPS Skyview Boundary Revised Scenario 1 / 2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they had done this properly and stuck to objective standards, this could have been settled months ago. And, with a lot less angst.

In the past, SB members were always non-committal to neighborhoods, while at least pretending to listen. I never recall an earlier superintendent making promises or even getting involved. Staff was involved, but we never saw the superintendents.

It was mostly SB members doing the wheeling and dealing, but they were careful not to make promises.

Reid promised Walney Oaks. Somehow, they were taken totally out of the equation. And, those final scenarios did not include most of Crossfield.

I don't see them changing it now, but the School Board could if they wanted to do so. I don't think they will.

I still wonder if Kyle McDaniel and Melanie Meren will join together at the last minute to strike some sort of deal with everyone else to swap Crossfield and Fox Mill. They both seem pretty adamant about putting Crossfield at Skyview and keeping Fox Mill out.

Why would they do this when it would piss off so many people?

McDaniel already said he will not bring forth any amendments to the final scenario as he knows how much work and due diligence FCPS and the consultants have put into it…his words from his call last week not mine. Meren has not been publicly specific about not moving Fox Mill except apparently in a few emails to people on this board. She will at best make a statement and abstain from voting.

In other words, it’s important to respect the process, even when that same process has been utterly corrupted. Clowns.

The Westfield families, who followed the process of commenting on the boundary tool and emailing their school board members, were ignored.
The only people who got special treatment were the ones who did NOT follow the process.

Westfield and South Lakes waited too long to engage. Every version of the Western High School/Skyview thread discussed the backfill and that Westfield and South Lakes could take hits but there were not many posts from Westfield and South Lakes folks discussing this. The one South Lakes post I remember was from the opt in period when someone posted that the SLHS PTA had been briefied on the opt in numbers and that there were "only" 45-50 9th graders who opted in. That was "only" 10% of the class, it wasn't a big deal. They ignored the sign that if 45-50 kids were willing to opt in to Skyview, with no sports and history, that it might be a sign of a larger group that wanted to be moved for their kids in ES who would arrive when there were sports and a community had begun to develop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is absolutely nothing Westfield parents could have done here. The SB and FCPS decided Westfield was going to be the Biggest Loser in the boundary game. There is no rationale otherwise for the decisions they are making. The new Brookfield split feeder is literally like they looked at the map and tried to figure out who to move based on which neighborhoods had the least political/economic power.

Never in other rezonings have they let individual neighborhoods dictate where their kids are going to go to school.

I agree with this. What happened in previous rezonings was the SB member of that area was greatly deferred to. Since she is part of the Reid loving "in" group, she probably personally dictated the last two scenarios. She probably decided on that Brookfield split including Walney Oaks--maybe she didn't realize WO had gotten a special deal from someone else. That's why the map had to be pulled down and edited. She personally decided to move that one apartment area out of Centreville. The other SB members probably don't even know the specifics of where the apartments are, where the SFHes are.

I think this is exactly what happened. She moved the Walney Oaks area to give herself cover on moving those Bull Run apartments and Chantilly Mews area. That's why all the slide shows and the address search had Walney Oaks moving. But Reid had personally promised some rando at a meeting not to move WO. So the published map got pulled down and edited (but they forgot to edit the slides and tool bar until someone mentioned it on here).

So the current map was edited to honor Reid’s “promise” but the final decision is up to the School Board. Someone needs to make a motion to amend the proposal to add back Walney Oaks. That way Reid won’t have broken her promise; she simply will have been overridden by the SB.

If they cared about equity, they would move back the lower income areas that can WALK to Chantilly HS but are much farther from Westfield. Its so much easier for HS kids to attend and participate in activities and sports when they don't need to rely on buses or their parents for transportation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is absolutely nothing Westfield parents could have done here. The SB and FCPS decided Westfield was going to be the Biggest Loser in the boundary game. There is no rationale otherwise for the decisions they are making. The new Brookfield split feeder is literally like they looked at the map and tried to figure out who to move based on which neighborhoods had the least political/economic power.

Never in other rezonings have they let individual neighborhoods dictate where their kids are going to go to school.

I agree with this. What happened in previous rezonings was the SB member of that area was greatly deferred to. Since she is part of the Reid loving "in" group, she probably personally dictated the last two scenarios. She probably decided on that Brookfield split including Walney Oaks--maybe she didn't realize WO had gotten a special deal from someone else. That's why the map had to be pulled down and edited. She personally decided to move that one apartment area out of Centreville. The other SB members probably don't even know the specifics of where the apartments are, where the SFHes are.

I think this is exactly what happened. She moved the Walney Oaks area to give herself cover on moving those Bull Run apartments and Chantilly Mews area. That's why all the slide shows and the address search had Walney Oaks moving. But Reid had personally promised some rando at a meeting not to move WO. So the published map got pulled down and edited (but they forgot to edit the slides and tool bar until someone mentioned it on here).

So incredibly stupid for Michelle Reid to have gone on a walking tour auctioning off boundaries earlier with zero understanding of county geography or the implications for other schools. She never had any business heading a school division this big.

What’s worse is members of the primary voting block speak against things like “surveys” and “community feedback” because marginalized voices are drowned out, and it impedes Reid’s ability to enact her recommendations. Meanwhile, Reid’s recommendations are entirely based on whichever HOA has charmed her first. The school board will blindly vote in her favor, regardless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's nothing wrong with Westfield, other than an inconvenient location.

It has more poor kids than the other western high schools like Centreville, Chantilly, Oakton. So its perceived as less desirable by UMC families.

I am not sure that the ES that could have been moved understood that many of the high FARMs kids were being moved to Skyview so that the FARMs rate will drop at the school.

I don't know a ton about Centreville or Westfield other then the families I know who attend the schools love them and are proud of them. I get the impression that it less not liking Westfield and more wanting to stay at a school that they like. Also, the location is not ideal.

Somehow the impression was given that Westfield was going to lose a lot of high income students. That was not the case. Two of the schools being removed from Westfield are high FARMS. The other has some UMC, but mostly MC.

With Great Falls/Langley, there was always the arggument that Langley needed them because it would be underenrolled otherwise. (That is changing.)
But, in the case of Walney Oaks, I have not seen ONE valid reason why it should be bypassed.

Under no circumstance should the other part of Brookfield be sent to Westfield. It is farther away and the demographics indicate that it could be an actual hardship on those families. Those kids can walk to Chantilly. It is 1.5 miles or LESS to Chantilly and over 4 miles to Westfield.
Walney Oaks is the same distance to Chantilly and to Westfield. Neither is walkable in a reasonable time frame. And, I doubt public transportation is convenient or available.


I taught in a very high FARMS school. Higher FARMS than any of our FCPS schools. Half the kids were not walking distance. Miss the bus? You miss school. Get sick? A real problem for the family to do pick up. Parent conference? Many were missed. Special event at school? Very poor attendannce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they had done this properly and stuck to objective standards, this could have been settled months ago. And, with a lot less angst.

In the past, SB members were always non-committal to neighborhoods, while at least pretending to listen. I never recall an earlier superintendent making promises or even getting involved. Staff was involved, but we never saw the superintendents.

It was mostly SB members doing the wheeling and dealing, but they were careful not to make promises.

Reid promised Walney Oaks. Somehow, they were taken totally out of the equation. And, those final scenarios did not include most of Crossfield.

I don't see them changing it now, but the School Board could if they wanted to do so. I don't think they will.

I still wonder if Kyle McDaniel and Melanie Meren will join together at the last minute to strike some sort of deal with everyone else to swap Crossfield and Fox Mill. They both seem pretty adamant about putting Crossfield at Skyview and keeping Fox Mill out.

Why would they do this when it would piss off so many people?

McDaniel already said he will not bring forth any amendments to the final scenario as he knows how much work and due diligence FCPS and the consultants have put into it…his words from his call last week not mine. Meren has not been publicly specific about not moving Fox Mill except apparently in a few emails to people on this board. She will at best make a statement and abstain from voting.

In other words, it’s important to respect the process, even when that same process has been utterly corrupted. Clowns.

The Westfield families, who followed the process of commenting on the boundary tool and emailing their school board members, were ignored.
The only people who got special treatment were the ones who did NOT follow the process.

Westfield and South Lakes waited too long to engage. Every version of the Western High School/Skyview thread discussed the backfill and that Westfield and South Lakes could take hits but there were not many posts from Westfield and South Lakes folks discussing this. The one South Lakes post I remember was from the opt in period when someone posted that the SLHS PTA had been briefied on the opt in numbers and that there were "only" 45-50 9th graders who opted in. That was "only" 10% of the class, it wasn't a big deal. They ignored the sign that if 45-50 kids were willing to opt in to Skyview, with no sports and history, that it might be a sign of a larger group that wanted to be moved for their kids in ES who would arrive when there were sports and a community had begun to develop.

Every previous map besides the last one had sufficient kids moving to Westfield. My guess is most of the Westfield parents were fine with anyone moving in, as long as they had enough kids to keep most of their teachers and classes. They weren't trying to dictate who FCPS moved into their school: honestly, most people would not do that.

It was until the last scenario, when Seema Dixit got her hands in the cookie jar, that pulled SO many kids out of Westfield that people became alarmed. Then it seems they were ignored.

I think their behavior has been reasonable.

[Anonymous]

I honestly can't get over the mathematical
stupidity of making Stone--a tiny building--the only feeder to one of the largest HS buildings in FCPS.

And the mathematical stupidity of completely filling up Stone but leaving 800 empty seats at Westfield for "new construction".

These people want 6th graders in Algebra, but they can't do basic addition.

[Anonymous]

My email from Seema offered to meet with families, but when I called her office (three times) and left messages, no one called me back.
------------------
Good afternoon,



Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns regarding enrollment changes at Westfield High School.

I understand your concerns, and I want you to know that I take them seriously. As we move through this process, I will continue working closely with the FCPS Superintendent, staff, and my School Board colleagues to identify solutions for schools experiencing enrollment declines.

My goal is to ensure that schools do not face unnecessary losses in staffing, programs, or resources as a result of these changes. We will continue to advocate for equitable support so that all students have access to the opportunities and services they need to succeed.

Please continue to share your feedback and concerns. Hearing directly from families and community members is important and helps inform our discussions and decision-making. I am also happy to meet with you and other families to discuss it further.

[Anonymous]

As far as South Lakes, I suspect that many of the "opt-ins" to Skyview were from Fox Mill. It will be interesting to see which base schools those kids are coming from. Has that been published? I bet there are some from other area schools that are not going to be "in boundary."

Does anyone know what the breakdown is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they had done this properly and stuck to objective standards, this could have been settled months ago. And, with a lot less angst.

In the past, SB members were always non-committal to neighborhoods, while at least pretending to listen. I never recall an earlier superintendent making promises or even getting involved. Staff was involved, but we never saw the superintendents.

It was mostly SB members doing the wheeling and dealing, but they were careful not to make promises.

Reid promised Walney Oaks. Somehow, they were taken totally out of the equation. And, those final scenarios did not include most of Crossfield.

I don't see them changing it now, but the School Board could if they wanted to do so. I don't think they will.

I still wonder if Kyle McDaniel and Melanie Meren will join together at the last minute to strike some sort of deal with everyone else to swap Crossfield and Fox Mill. They both seem pretty adamant about putting Crossfield at Skyview and keeping Fox Mill out.

Why would they do this when it would piss off so many people?

McDaniel already said he will not bring forth any amendments to the final scenario as he knows how much work and due diligence FCPS and the consultants have put into it…his words from his call last week not mine. Meren has not been publicly specific about not moving Fox Mill except apparently in a few emails to people on this board. She will at best make a statement and abstain from voting.

In other words, it’s important to respect the process, even when that same process has been utterly corrupted. Clowns.

The Westfield families, who followed the process of commenting on the boundary tool and emailing their school board members, were ignored.
The only people who got special treatment were the ones who did NOT follow the process.

Westfield and South Lakes waited too long to engage. Every version of the Western High School/Skyview thread discussed the backfill and that Westfield and South Lakes could take hits but there were not many posts from Westfield and South Lakes folks discussing this. The one South Lakes post I remember was from the opt in period when someone posted that the SLHS PTA had been briefied on the opt in numbers and that there were "only" 45-50 9th graders who opted in. That was "only" 10% of the class, it wasn't a big deal. They ignored the sign that if 45-50 kids were willing to opt in to Skyview, with no sports and history, that it might be a sign of a larger group that wanted to be moved for their kids in ES who would arrive when there were sports and a community had begun to develop.

Fair point, but people who are fighting to get moved or not to get moved will always suck more of the oxygen out of the room than those who’ll be left behind and would like the SB to consider for at least a minute the impact on schools that will lose a lot of kids or a lot of their higher-performing kids. People feel sheepish about raising the “hey, what about us” concern, and then when their schools decline they just head for the exits. Loudoun will happily serve them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My email from Seema offered to meet with families, but when I called her office (three times) and left messages, no one called me back.
------------------
Good afternoon,



Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns regarding enrollment changes at Westfield High School.

I understand your concerns, and I want you to know that I take them seriously. As we move through this process, I will continue working closely with the FCPS Superintendent, staff, and my School Board colleagues to identify solutions for schools experiencing enrollment declines.

My goal is to ensure that schools do not face unnecessary losses in staffing, programs, or resources as a result of these changes. We will continue to advocate for equitable support so that all students have access to the opportunities and services they need to succeed.

Please continue to share your feedback and concerns. Hearing directly from families and community members is important and helps inform our discussions and decision-making. I am also happy to meet with you and other families to discuss it further.

The form letter of all form letters…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they had done this properly and stuck to objective standards, this could have been settled months ago. And, with a lot less angst.

In the past, SB members were always non-committal to neighborhoods, while at least pretending to listen. I never recall an earlier superintendent making promises or even getting involved. Staff was involved, but we never saw the superintendents.

It was mostly SB members doing the wheeling and dealing, but they were careful not to make promises.

Reid promised Walney Oaks. Somehow, they were taken totally out of the equation. And, those final scenarios did not include most of Crossfield.

I don't see them changing it now, but the School Board could if they wanted to do so. I don't think they will.

I still wonder if Kyle McDaniel and Melanie Meren will join together at the last minute to strike some sort of deal with everyone else to swap Crossfield and Fox Mill. They both seem pretty adamant about putting Crossfield at Skyview and keeping Fox Mill out.

Why would they do this when it would piss off so many people?

McDaniel already said he will not bring forth any amendments to the final scenario as he knows how much work and due diligence FCPS and the consultants have put into it…his words from his call last week not mine. Meren has not been publicly specific about not moving Fox Mill except apparently in a few emails to people on this board. She will at best make a statement and abstain from voting.

In other words, it’s important to respect the process, even when that same process has been utterly corrupted. Clowns.

The Westfield families, who followed the process of commenting on the boundary tool and emailing their school board members, were ignored.
The only people who got special treatment were the ones who did NOT follow the process.

Westfield and South Lakes waited too long to engage. Every version of the Western High School/Skyview thread discussed the backfill and that Westfield and South Lakes could take hits but there were not many posts from Westfield and South Lakes folks discussing this. The one South Lakes post I remember was from the opt in period when someone posted that the SLHS PTA had been briefied on the opt in numbers and that there were "only" 45-50 9th graders who opted in. That was "only" 10% of the class, it wasn't a big deal. They ignored the sign that if 45-50 kids were willing to opt in to Skyview, with no sports and history, that it might be a sign of a larger group that wanted to be moved for their kids in ES who would arrive when there were sports and a community had begun to develop.

Fair point, but people who are fighting to get moved or not to get moved will always suck more of the oxygen out of the room than those who’ll be left behind and would like the SB to consider for at least a minute the impact on schools that will lose a lot of kids or a lot of their higher-performing kids. People feel sheepish about raising the “hey, what about us” concern, and then when their schools decline they just head for the exits. Loudoun will happily serve them.

Honestly. It is not Westfield that is the loser. It is those poor kids being shipped out of Chantilly. Not because Westfield is bad, but because it is way too far when there is a school that is walking distance.

Shame on whoever made this decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they had done this properly and stuck to objective standards, this could have been settled months ago. And, with a lot less angst.

In the past, SB members were always non-committal to neighborhoods, while at least pretending to listen. I never recall an earlier superintendent making promises or even getting involved. Staff was involved, but we never saw the superintendents.

It was mostly SB members doing the wheeling and dealing, but they were careful not to make promises.

Reid promised Walney Oaks. Somehow, they were taken totally out of the equation. And, those final scenarios did not include most of Crossfield.

I don't see them changing it now, but the School Board could if they wanted to do so. I don't think they will.

I still wonder if Kyle McDaniel and Melanie Meren will join together at the last minute to strike some sort of deal with everyone else to swap Crossfield and Fox Mill. They both seem pretty adamant about putting Crossfield at Skyview and keeping Fox Mill out.

McDaniel already said he won’t make any last minute changes and Meren is the most ineffective and irrelevant person on the board.

As someone stated earlier up thread, McDaniel is pretty much driving the ship in this boundary process. If he’s saying he won’t make changes, you can be sure any efforts to make changes wont go anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My email from Seema offered to meet with families, but when I called her office (three times) and left messages, no one called me back.
------------------
Good afternoon,



Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns regarding enrollment changes at Westfield High School.

I understand your concerns, and I want you to know that I take them seriously. As we move through this process, I will continue working closely with the FCPS Superintendent, staff, and my School Board colleagues to identify solutions for schools experiencing enrollment declines.

My goal is to ensure that schools do not face unnecessary losses in staffing, programs, or resources as a result of these changes. We will continue to advocate for equitable support so that all students have access to the opportunities and services they need to succeed.

Please continue to share your feedback and concerns. Hearing directly from families and community members is important and helps inform our discussions and decision-making. I am also happy to meet with you and other families to discuss it further.

The schools are just "experiencing enrollment declines". She has no control over it!

[Anonymous]

Wow, that passive voice is maddening, when she is the person moving calling the shots in that area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If they had done this properly and stuck to objective standards, this could have been settled months ago. And, with a lot less angst.

In the past, SB members were always non-committal to neighborhoods, while at least pretending to listen. I never recall an earlier superintendent making promises or even getting involved. Staff was involved, but we never saw the superintendents.

It was mostly SB members doing the wheeling and dealing, but they were careful not to make promises.

Reid promised Walney Oaks. Somehow, they were taken totally out of the equation. And, those final scenarios did not include most of Crossfield.

I don't see them changing it now, but the School Board could if they wanted to do so. I don't think they will.

I still wonder if Kyle McDaniel and Melanie Meren will join together at the last minute to strike some sort of deal with everyone else to swap Crossfield and Fox Mill. They both seem pretty adamant about putting Crossfield at Skyview and keeping Fox Mill out.

Why would they do this when it would piss off so many people?

McDaniel already said he will not bring forth any amendments to the final scenario as he knows how much work and due diligence FCPS and the consultants have put into it…his words from his call last week not mine. Meren has not been publicly specific about not moving Fox Mill except apparently in a few emails to people on this board. She will at best make a statement and abstain from voting.

In other words, it’s important to respect the process, even when that same process has been utterly corrupted. Clowns.

The Westfield families, who followed the process of commenting on the boundary tool and emailing their school board members, were ignored.
The only people who got special treatment were the ones who did NOT follow the process.

Westfield and South Lakes waited too long to engage. Every version of the Western High School/Skyview thread discussed the backfill and that Westfield and South Lakes could take hits but there were not many posts from Westfield and South Lakes folks discussing this. The one South Lakes post I remember was from the opt in period when someone posted that the SLHS PTA had been briefied on the opt in numbers and that there were "only" 45-50 9th graders who opted in. That was "only" 10% of the class, it wasn't a big deal. They ignored the sign that if 45-50 kids were willing to opt in to Skyview, with no sports and history, that it might be a sign of a larger group that wanted to be moved for their kids in ES who would arrive when there were sports and a community had begun to develop.

Fair point, but people who are fighting to get moved or not to get moved will always suck more of the oxygen out of the room than those who’ll be left behind and would like the SB to consider for at least a minute the impact on schools that will lose a lot of kids or a lot of their higher-performing kids. People feel sheepish about raising the “hey, what about us” concern, and then when their schools decline they just head for the exits. Loudoun will happily serve them.

Honestly. It is not Westfield that is the loser. It is those poor kids being shipped out of Chantilly. Not because Westfield is bad, but because it is way too far when there is a school that is walking distance.

Shame on whoever made this decision.

They are really physically and socially isolated from the rest of Westfield. Its about 1/3rd of the Brookfield ES school population, they will be going on to Stone with only their neighborhood from their ES.