Sandy Anderson email

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't have a county-wide school and tolerate the disparities that exist between West Springfield and Lewis. It's about time they do something about it.

Past School Boards and FCPS staff have absolutely played favorites. That's how West Springfield got renovated ahead of schedule (trade-off that involved closing Clifton ES) and then got a major expansion courtesy of a former facilities head who went to WSHS. It's also why schools like Lewis, in contrast, ended up with a poor reputation. They need to start making amends.

Lewis ended up in this situation because of the decade long Mixing Bowl construction project.

Lewis (then Lee) sits directly inside.

For years, the high school and surrounding neighborhoods were directly under all the noise, mess, traffic problems and toxic dust of that gigantic, drawn our construction project.

Any family that could afford to move elsewhere did.

They were replaced by recent immigrant families that were happy to have a nice home in a neighborhood with manicured lawns, nice sidewalks, and things like grocery stores, restaurants, jobs, malls, schools and public transit within walking distance.

As the number of non English speaking working class and lower class families increased, Lewis's test scores decreased, making it increasingly undesirable to families with kids, even after the Mixing Bowl construction ended.

That construction project sent Lewis on its downfall.

To claim otherwise and blaming the neighboring school's families is complete ignorance and ignores the true catalyst of Lewis/Lee's decline.

There were multiple UMC areas redistricted out of Lee/Lewis over the years. Same thing happened at Annandale. Also no MS AAP centers in those pyramids.

It's not about blaming families in neighboring pyramids, but about acknowledging that past decisions had consequences that disadvantage current students at Key and Lewis.

So you admit it IS an equity agenda. And it’s not a tinfoil hat theory.

[Anonymous]

A traffic viability study needs to be conducted. Busses and drivers driving by WSHS, going through the Mixing Bowl, during both rush hours makes no sense. The increase in accidents from student drivers alone will impact a lot of commuters. Lewis also has limited parking for student parking.

Is WSHS going to give up it's Purple Star designation now that a predominantly military neighborhood is forced to bus out of the neighborhood?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A traffic viability study needs to be conducted. Busses and drivers driving by WSHS, going through the Mixing Bowl, during both rush hours makes no sense. The increase in accidents from student drivers alone will impact a lot of commuters. Lewis also has limited parking for student parking.

Is WSHS going to give up its Purple Star designation now that a predominantly military neighborhood is forced to bus out of the neighborhood?

+ 1 along with its MFLAC (military family life counselor) if the number of military kids drops below the required threshold. which will then leave the remaining military kids with less support?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't have a county-wide school and tolerate the disparities that exist between West Springfield and Lewis. It's about time they do something about it.

Past School Boards and FCPS staff have absolutely played favorites. That's how West Springfield got renovated ahead of schedule (trade-off that involved closing Clifton ES) and then got a major expansion courtesy of a former facilities head who went to WSHS. It's also why schools like Lewis, in contrast, ended up with a poor reputation. They need to start making amends.

Lewis ended up in this situation because of the decade long Mixing Bowl construction project.

Lewis (then Lee) sits directly inside.

For years, the high school and surrounding neighborhoods were directly under all the noise, mess, traffic problems and toxic dust of that gigantic, drawn our construction project.

Any family that could afford to move elsewhere did.

They were replaced by recent immigrant families that were happy to have a nice home in a neighborhood with manicured lawns, nice sidewalks, and things like grocery stores, restaurants, jobs, malls, schools and public transit within walking distance.

As the number of non English speaking working class and lower class families increased, Lewis's test scores decreased, making it increasingly undesirable to families with kids, even after the Mixing Bowl construction ended.

That construction project sent Lewis on its downfall.

To claim otherwise and blaming the neighboring school's families is complete ignorance and ignores the true catalyst of Lewis/Lee's decline.

There were multiple UMC areas redistricted out of Lee/Lewis over the years. Same thing happened at Annandale. Also no MS AAP centers in those pyramids.

It's not about blaming families in neighboring pyramids, but about acknowledging that past decisions had consequences that disadvantage current students at Key and Lewis.

The main reason the decline of then Lee started was the mixing bowl construction.

The rezoning of neighborhoods out of Lee (now Lewis) had nothing to do with social engineering.

Those neighborhoods were rezoned out of Lewis because South County HS opened and the entire Springfield - West Springfield - Lorton - Kingstown area was adjusted to fill the new school.

There was no giant conspiracy against lewis/lee to turn it into some sort of pariah school. Remember, Saratoga lobbied to stay at Lee/Lewis when South County opened and Saratoga was supposed to move to the new high school.

The timing of the mixing bowl construction following the South County rezoning was the catalyst for the decline of Lewis. It was accelerated by migrant and ESOL families moving into the homes of people who sold to get away from the mixing bowl construction.

You can try to spin it as some big conspiracy against Lewis by the school board and WSHS families, but that would be completely dishonest.

It occured as a result of a natural series of 2 big events. To claim it is anything else is completely inaccurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't have a county-wide school and tolerate the disparities that exist between West Springfield and Lewis. It's about time they do something about it.

Past School Boards and FCPS staff have absolutely played favorites. That's how West Springfield got renovated ahead of schedule (trade-off that involved closing Clifton ES) and then got a major expansion courtesy of a former facilities head who went to WSHS. It's also why schools like Lewis, in contrast, ended up with a poor reputation. They need to start making amends.

Lewis ended up in this situation because of the decade long Mixing Bowl construction project.

Lewis (then Lee) sits directly inside.

For years, the high school and surrounding neighborhoods were directly under all the noise, mess, traffic problems and toxic dust of that gigantic, drawn our construction project.

Any family that could afford to move elsewhere did.

They were replaced by recent immigrant families that were happy to have a nice home in a neighborhood with manicured lawns, nice sidewalks, and things like grocery stores, restaurants, jobs, malls, schools and public transit within walking distance.

As the number of non English speaking working class and lower class families increased, Lewis's test scores decreased, making it increasingly undesirable to families with kids, even after the Mixing Bowl construction ended.

That construction project sent Lewis on its downfall.

To claim otherwise and blaming the neighboring school's families is complete ignorance and ignores the true catalyst of Lewis/Lee's decline.

There were multiple UMC areas redistricted out of Lee/Lewis over the years. Same thing happened at Annandale. Also no MS AAP centers in those pyramids.

It's not about blaming families in neighboring pyramids, but about acknowledging that past decisions had consequences that disadvantage current students at Key and Lewis.

Got it, so redrawing the boundaries is about reparations, except instead of exorbitant monetary payments for these past supposed transgressions we send kids as tribute. The kids become the resource.

Why don’t more people support the school board in this endeavor I wonder?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't have a county-wide school and tolerate the disparities that exist between West Springfield and Lewis. It's about time they do something about it.

Past School Boards and FCPS staff have absolutely played favorites. That's how West Springfield got renovated ahead of schedule (trade-off that involved closing Clifton ES) and then got a major expansion courtesy of a former facilities head who went to WSHS. It's also why schools like Lewis, in contrast, ended up with a poor reputation. They need to start making amends.

Lewis ended up in this situation because of the decade long Mixing Bowl construction project.

Lewis (then Lee) sits directly inside.

For years, the high school and surrounding neighborhoods were directly under all the noise, mess, traffic problems and toxic dust of that gigantic, drawn our construction project.

Any family that could afford to move elsewhere did.

They were replaced by recent immigrant families that were happy to have a nice home in a neighborhood with manicured lawns, nice sidewalks, and things like grocery stores, restaurants, jobs, malls, schools and public transit within walking distance.

As the number of non English speaking working class and lower class families increased, Lewis's test scores decreased, making it increasingly undesirable to families with kids, even after the Mixing Bowl construction ended.

That construction project sent Lewis on its downfall.

To claim otherwise and blaming the neighboring school's families is complete ignorance and ignores the true catalyst of Lewis/Lee's decline.

There were multiple UMC areas redistricted out of Lee/Lewis over the years. Same thing happened at Annandale. Also no MS AAP centers in those pyramids.

It's not about blaming families in neighboring pyramids, but about acknowledging that past decisions had consequences that disadvantage current students at Key and Lewis.

Got it, so redrawing the boundaries is about reparations, except instead of exorbitant monetary payments for these past supposed transgressions we send kids as tribute. The kids become the resource.

Why don’t more people support the school board in this endeavor I wonder?

It's reprehensible that the blameless victims in this will be a number of military children in the WSHS pyramid. Kids who already moved several times and finally found stability in a military-dense school pyramid. Kids in military communities bond because of shared experiences and lifestyles and hardships. While there's a lot of transient military, a good percentage of military buy/bought in WSHS for the military community and if they have to leave keep their home with intentions of returning. Just really awful to think that a number of them are going to have their lives upended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Genuine question- what is the number of kids that justifies offering an AP class? Why can't Lewis offer whatever AP class as long as they have any number of kids who want to take it? Or is teaching AP so specialized that a teacher would teach AP all day long?

That’s my question too. If equity is about giving people what they need to succeed, even if it is different from their neighbor, why can’t AP classes at Lewis have a lower floor for enrolment in order to increase opportunity and stem the flow of pupil placements? If we can change boundary policies, why can’t we change this policy in the name of equity?

And no, teachers would not have to teach AP classes all day. They do need to be AP certified for a specific AP course, but that is on top of their subject area certification.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't have a county-wide school and tolerate the disparities that exist between West Springfield and Lewis. It's about time they do something about it.

Past School Boards and FCPS staff have absolutely played favorites. That's how West Springfield got renovated ahead of schedule (trade-off that involved closing Clifton ES) and then got a major expansion courtesy of a former facilities head who went to WSHS. It's also why schools like Lewis, in contrast, ended up with a poor reputation. They need to start making amends.

Lewis ended up in this situation because of the decade long Mixing Bowl construction project.

Lewis (then Lee) sits directly inside.

For years, the high school and surrounding neighborhoods were directly under all the noise, mess, traffic problems and toxic dust of that gigantic, drawn our construction project.

Any family that could afford to move elsewhere did.

They were replaced by recent immigrant families that were happy to have a nice home in a neighborhood with manicured lawns, nice sidewalks, and things like grocery stores, restaurants, jobs, malls, schools and public transit within walking distance.

As the number of non English speaking working class and lower class families increased, Lewis's test scores decreased, making it increasingly undesirable to families with kids, even after the Mixing Bowl construction ended.

That construction project sent Lewis on its downfall.

To claim otherwise and blaming the neighboring school's families is complete ignorance and ignores the true catalyst of Lewis/Lee's decline.

There were multiple UMC areas redistricted out of Lee/Lewis over the years. Same thing happened at Annandale. Also no MS AAP centers in those pyramids.

It's not about blaming families in neighboring pyramids, but about acknowledging that past decisions had consequences that disadvantage current students at Key and Lewis.

Got it, so redrawing the boundaries is about reparations, except instead of exorbitant monetary payments for these past supposed transgressions we send kids as tribute. The kids become the resource.

Why don’t more people support the school board in this endeavor I wonder?

It's reprehensible that the blameless victims in this will be a number of military children in the WSHS pyramid. Kids who already moved several times and finally found stability in a military-dense school pyramid. Kids in military communities bond because of shared experiences and lifestyles and hardships. While there's a lot of transient military, a good percentage of military buy/bought in WSHS for the military community and if they have to leave keep their home with intentions of returning. Just really awful to think that a number of them are going to have their lives upended.

+1. That's the boat my family is in. I'm looking at a kid throwing themselves into tryouts for a sports team and making friends, looking forward to spending four years in the same school and graduating; something we thought we could finally do after years of moving and sacrifice. I've thought about sharing this with Sandy Anderson, but I honestly don't think she would care. Her tone at the July 18th meeting did not show one shred of compassion for the kids who would have their lives upended. I have not told my child any of this, but I'm sure they will hear about it once school starts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Genuine question- what is the number of kids that justifies offering an AP class? Why can't Lewis offer whatever AP class as long as they have any number of kids who want to take it? Or is teaching AP so specialized that a teacher would teach AP all day long?

That’s my question too. If equity is about giving people what they need to succeed, even if it is different from their neighbor, why can’t AP classes at Lewis have a lower floor for enrolment in order to increase opportunity and stem the flow of pupil placements? If we can change boundary policies, why can’t we change this policy in the name of equity?

And no, teachers would not have to teach AP classes all day. They do need to be AP certified for a specific AP course, but that is on top of their subject area certification.

The trick to equity is to understand that no amount of courses, money, teachers, or facilities that can close gaps. Only parents can close gaps.

So the new equity resources are other families and kids. There are studies on this.

[Anonymous]

There are no proposed changes in the table. How are you guys getting so far ahead of yourself? It’s wacky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Genuine question- what is the number of kids that justifies offering an AP class? Why can't Lewis offer whatever AP class as long as they have any number of kids who want to take it? Or is teaching AP so specialized that a teacher would teach AP all day long?

That’s my question too. If equity is about giving people what they need to succeed, even if it is different from their neighbor, why can’t AP classes at Lewis have a lower floor for enrolment in order to increase opportunity and stem the flow of pupil placements? If we can change boundary policies, why can’t we change this policy in the name of equity?

And no, teachers would not have to teach AP classes all day. They do need to be AP certified for a specific AP course, but that is on top of their subject area certification.

The trick to equity is to understand that no amount of courses, money, teachers, or facilities that can close gaps. Only parents can close gaps.

So the new equity resources are other families and kids. There are studies on this.

I'd be interested in reading those studies. I have looked but have not found anything on the outcomes of individual students being improved by moving higher SES students into a school. Also, what is the impact on the kids being moved? They matter in this as well.

Again, I'm not looking at average test scores for a school, which will obviously be brought up by moving in higher performing kids, but what about the impact on kids on an individual level? Both the existing lowers SES students and the higher SES students being moved. If this is supposed to be a data driven process, the school board needs to provide the data. Right now this seems like a big experiment that would never pass an IRB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't have a county-wide school and tolerate the disparities that exist between West Springfield and Lewis. It's about time they do something about it.

Past School Boards and FCPS staff have absolutely played favorites. That's how West Springfield got renovated ahead of schedule (trade-off that involved closing Clifton ES) and then got a major expansion courtesy of a former facilities head who went to WSHS. It's also why schools like Lewis, in contrast, ended up with a poor reputation. They need to start making amends.

Lewis ended up in this situation because of the decade long Mixing Bowl construction project.

Lewis (then Lee) sits directly inside.

For years, the high school and surrounding neighborhoods were directly under all the noise, mess, traffic problems and toxic dust of that gigantic, drawn our construction project.

Any family that could afford to move elsewhere did.

They were replaced by recent immigrant families that were happy to have a nice home in a neighborhood with manicured lawns, nice sidewalks, and things like grocery stores, restaurants, jobs, malls, schools and public transit within walking distance.

As the number of non English speaking working class and lower class families increased, Lewis's test scores decreased, making it increasingly undesirable to families with kids, even after the Mixing Bowl construction ended.

That construction project sent Lewis on its downfall.

To claim otherwise and blaming the neighboring school's families is complete ignorance and ignores the true catalyst of Lewis/Lee's decline.

There were multiple UMC areas redistricted out of Lee/Lewis over the years. Same thing happened at Annandale. Also no MS AAP centers in those pyramids.

It's not about blaming families in neighboring pyramids, but about acknowledging that past decisions had consequences that disadvantage current students at Key and Lewis.

The main reason the decline of then Lee started was the mixing bowl construction.

The rezoning of neighborhoods out of Lee (now Lewis) had nothing to do with social engineering.

Those neighborhoods were rezoned out of Lewis because South County HS opened and the entire Springfield - West Springfield - Lorton - Kingstown area was adjusted to fill the new school.

There was no giant conspiracy against lewis/lee to turn it into some sort of pariah school. Remember, Saratoga lobbied to stay at Lee/Lewis when South County opened and Saratoga was supposed to move to the new high school.

The timing of the mixing bowl construction following the South County rezoning was the catalyst for the decline of Lewis. It was accelerated by migrant and ESOL families moving into the homes of people who sold to get away from the mixing bowl construction.

You can try to spin it as some big conspiracy against Lewis by the school board and WSHS families, but that would be completely dishonest.

It occured as a result of a natural series of 2 big events. To claim it is anything else is completely inaccurate.

Turning Franconia Rd into a freeway (with massive walls) right next to Lee/Lewis at the same time as the mixing bowl construction further hurt the neighborhoods surrounding Lee. It’s an unfortunate car-and-freeway-centric location these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are no proposed changes in the table. How are you guys getting so far ahead of yourself? It’s wacky.

People don’t want to wait until the maps have been released. Then it’s too late. People are starting to organize now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are no proposed changes in the table. How are you guys getting so far ahead of yourself? It’s wacky.

1) Refer to the June Kyle McDaniel update where he gets ahead of the SB and himself throwing out the idea of comprehensive boundary changes effective starting in 2026 and potentially as early as 2025, transportation efficiency, more sleep for students. He let the cat out of the bag that changes are coming.
2) The most telling indicator that changes are forthcoming is the spirited debate ala Ricardy Anderson and Meren vs the rest of the board as they argued about grandfathering on July 18th. The entire SB is acutely aware they will be redrawing boundaries and wrecking some kids' lives, and they showed by a 9-2 vote that they don't care about grandfathering because they know that it will not be feasible based on the changes they have in mind. Don't buy the "we adopted the amendment with the least restrictive wording that might allow students to stay in place." Their goal was to make sure they didn't commit to any grandfathering, because impacted students required to leave the 'good school' would exercise it and contribute to overcrowding.
3) At the same meeting, Dr. Reid stated that most boundary changes she plans to propose will be at the ES level, and some high school pyramid changes would be on the table.

So yes, changes are certainly coming. The SB did a good job of using the summer to obfuscate this and you can expect Dr. Reid's project management plan to drop end of August. Most people still unaware of the magnitude of this, some are organizing now, some shrug it off. There are a handful such as yourself who are apparently aware of the publicly available information and truly in denial. "Hi, I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

[Anonymous]

There are lots of rumors that gatehouse people have shared info about maps with people…