Longfellow MS AAP overcrowding plans?

[Anonymous]

^ and their parents are also pay high taxes for a school in which their AAP kids are not even attending.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The unrenovated Cooper appears to be the only school that would be bricks and mortar overcapacity if all AAP was at the base schools. Do any other middle schools in northern Fairfax County have a modular as a long term capacity solution? Cooper is 141 under.

The dashboard shows:
Longfellow transfer in AAP 103
Cooper transfer out AAP 326=103 from Mclean zipcodes to Longfellow + 226 from Great Falls/Vienna/Reston/Herndon area to Kilmer
Kilmer transfer in AAP 244=226 from Cooper
Jackson transfer in AAP 83
Thoreau transfer out AAP 101=83 to Jackson and 18 to Kilmer
Herndon transfer out AAP 42
Hughes transfer in AAP 44

I wonder whether the dashboard numbers are correct (as reported by FCPS, not by you).

I ask because they show Longfellow as having 555 AAP students with 103 out-of-boundary transfers. That leaves 452 students whose base schools are Longfellow and McLean. The dashboard numbers also show 326 transfers out of Cooper for AAP, and the Cooper/Langley boundaries overlap. It seems odd to me that the McLean pyramid would have that many more AAP students than the Langley pyramid, unless there are currently a large number of AAP-eligible students in the Langley pyramid who decide to stay at Cooper rather than go to Kilmer or Longfellow. [You can't do a similar analysis for Kilmer, because it's a split feeder to Marshall and Madison, and gets some Cooper/Langley students for AAP].

There are a lot of AAP kids who choose to attend Cooper rather than go to Kilmer or Longfellow. Cooper is a great middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Then why is the subject of this thread, "Longfellow MS AAP overcrowding plans"? I'm one of the Cooper parents who would very much prefer not having a center at Cooper, but according to some (rumors?) here on DCUM, Cooper will indeed be starting a center to "help alleviate overcrowding at Longfellow's AAP center". So, which is it? What is the truth here?

"The truth" depends on who you ask & which outcome they want -- like any other issue! The person starting this thread is probably a LMS base parent, probably GE, who resents the AAP kids and wants to blame them for the school being so big, and s/he wants to make it seem a necessity to send them to their base schools. I think the truth is that LMS is a very big school and always will be, and though it's not over capacity yet, it will eventually be over capacity mostly because of growth in its base population, AND there are some vocal voices who really want a center at Cooper for lots of reasons. LMS principal can't stand thought of having trailers again; CMS principal wants the prestige of center; anti-AAP movement is toward all school based programs rather than center; CMS is small relative to LMS . . . (but that doesn't mean it can handle having all the AAP kids from LMS & Kilmer dumped on it . . .)

You mean Kilmer and LMS AAP kids who actually live within Coopers boundaries? Get over yourself. And get ready for it. It will happen and there is no support for an AAP only middle school. If anything the push is to get kids served at their local school. I know no one likes to hear this. We all want to keep things just as they are. But given the numbers and the rate the county is growing that isn't possible with a standardized public school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing that is misleading in 10:40 figures is the looming current 4th grade AAP #'s that will increase all those transfer in/out #'s unless something is done quick.

YES. The current 4th grade AAP is enormous. I'm wondering what is going to be done about this grade in particular.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ and their parents are also pay high taxes for a school in which their AAP kids are not even attending.

Interestingly, there are plenty of other parents who have also been paying high taxes all throughout elementary school for a center school which has been dominated by AAP kids. It's a huge relief for us to have a middle school free of an AAP-focus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ and their parents are also pay high taxes for a school in which their AAP kids are not even attending.

Interestingly, there are plenty of other parents who have also been paying high taxes all throughout elementary school for a center school which has been dominated by AAP kids. It's a huge relief for us to have a middle school free of an AAP-focus.

Since Cooper would be over capacity if AAP was there now my guess is some neighborhoods are relieved the AAP is not there. And why? South Lakes' Hughes and Herndon are under capacity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ and their parents are also pay high taxes for a school in which their AAP kids are not even attending.

Interestingly, there are plenty of other parents who have also been paying high taxes all throughout elementary school for a center school which has been dominated by AAP kids. It's a huge relief for us to have a middle school free of an AAP-focus.

Since Cooper would be over capacity if AAP was there now my guess is some neighborhoods are relieved the AAP is not there. And why? South Lakes' Hughes and Herndon are under capacity.

I think arguments about who is entitled to what based on the taxes they pay are red herrings/diversions.

The issue isn't really whether Cooper might be overcrowded if the AAP kids in the Langley pyramid go there. It's how overcrowded Kilmer and Longfellow will be if something isn't done. In other words, if continuing to send Cooper AAP kids to Kilmer would contribute to a situation where Kilmer is 300 students over capacity in a year or two, the fact that moving those kids back to Cooper might cause Cooper - which has the lowest enrollment today of any middle school in the county - to be 100 students over capacity shouldn't be a deterrent. Until new schools are built in the Tysons area, there may not be other options.

Obviously, some Cooper parents like the fact that Cooper does not have AAP but, again, so what, if that's where most of the empty seats currently are?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ and their parents are also pay high taxes for a school in which their AAP kids are not even attending.

Interestingly, there are plenty of other parents who have also been paying high taxes all throughout elementary school for a center school which has been dominated by AAP kids. It's a huge relief for us to have a middle school free of an AAP-focus.

Since Cooper would be over capacity if AAP was there now my guess is some neighborhoods are relieved the AAP is not there. And why? South Lakes' Hughes and Herndon are under capacity.

I think arguments about who is entitled to what based on the taxes they pay are red herrings/diversions.

The issue isn't really whether Cooper might be overcrowded if the AAP kids in the Langley pyramid go there. It's how overcrowded Kilmer and Longfellow will be if something isn't done. In other words, if continuing to send Cooper AAP kids to Kilmer would contribute to a situation where Kilmer is 300 students over capacity in a year or two, the fact that moving those kids back to Cooper might cause Cooper - which has the lowest enrollment today of any middle school in the county - to be 100 students over capacity shouldn't be a deterrent. Until new schools are built in the Tysons area, there may not be other options.

Obviously, some Cooper parents like the fact that Cooper does not have AAP but, again, so what, if that's where most of the empty seats currently are?

In a nutshell, what is so very wrong with the FCPS attitude...ready to downsize homes and send my kids to private school. It's about quality, not "where the empty seats are"...

[Anonymous]

You lost me, 21:01. If the option is between your paying for private and forcing other kids to attend overcrowded public schools because you want Cooper to remain under-enrolled and AAP-free, please go ahead and write that check.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You lost me, 21:01. If the option is between your paying for private and forcing other kids to attend overcrowded public schools because you want Cooper to remain under-enrolled and AAP-free, please go ahead and write that check.

Let me help you out with this...if Cooper wants a center, they need to put the energy and resources into making it a robust center, same as Longfellow. Our kids (mine included) don't deserve anything less. Clearly the powers that be only care about shuffling bodies and space constraints rather than teacher quality and all of the intangibles that make people currently want to stay at Longfellow and Kilmer...and Cooper is very far from that place currently. Got it??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You lost me, 21:01. If the option is between your paying for private and forcing other kids to attend overcrowded public schools because you want Cooper to remain under-enrolled and AAP-free, please go ahead and write that check.

Let me help you out with this...if Cooper wants a center, they need to put the energy and resources into making it a robust center, same as Longfellow. Our kids (mine included) don't deserve anything less. Clearly the powers that be only care about shuffling bodies and space constraints rather than teacher quality and all of the intangibles that make people currently want to stay at Longfellow and Kilmer...and Cooper is very far from that place currently. Got it??

I don't think this is different from what people said years ago when they heard their AAP option would be Kilmer rather than Longfellow, or then Jackson rather than Kilmer. There is always resistance to moving to a new center, and then it usually works out fine. It's hard to imagine any school where more ingredients ought to be there for a decent new AAP program than Cooper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You lost me, 21:01. If the option is between your paying for private and forcing other kids to attend overcrowded public schools because you want Cooper to remain under-enrolled and AAP-free, please go ahead and write that check.

Let me help you out with this...if Cooper wants a center, they need to put the energy and resources into making it a robust center, same as Longfellow. Our kids (mine included) don't deserve anything less. Clearly the powers that be only care about shuffling bodies and space constraints rather than teacher quality and all of the intangibles that make people currently want to stay at Longfellow and Kilmer...and Cooper is very far from that place currently. Got it??

I don't think this is different from what people said years ago when they heard their AAP option would be Kilmer rather than Longfellow, or then Jackson rather than Kilmer. There is always resistance to moving to a new center, and then it usually works out fine. It's hard to imagine any school where more ingredients ought to be there for a decent new AAP program than Cooper.

Those Thoreau base school students have been bumped around. Time for them to get a happy home. Langley pyramid people at Longfellow AAP have never had a move. Kilmer was renovated and got some extra classes with promises not kept by FCPS. That tech course was supposed to be 2 years. It had honors bio 1. Far better than the FCPS science course. The TJ crowd didn't support that so it went away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You lost me, 21:01. If the option is between your paying for private and forcing other kids to attend overcrowded public schools because you want Cooper to remain under-enrolled and AAP-free, please go ahead and write that check.

Let me help you out with this...if Cooper wants a center, they need to put the energy and resources into making it a robust center, same as Longfellow. Our kids (mine included) don't deserve anything less. Clearly the powers that be only care about shuffling bodies and space constraints rather than teacher quality and all of the intangibles that make people currently want to stay at Longfellow and Kilmer...and Cooper is very far from that place currently. Got it??

Good luck with that. We fought the quality issue last year with respect the elementary AAP redistricting and lost. I guess in the Cooper/Langley pyramid you have more clout, but don't count on it. It is all about reshuffling the bodies to fit into the buildings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ and their parents are also pay high taxes for a school in which their AAP kids are not even attending.

...

The issue isn't really whether Cooper might be overcrowded if the AAP kids in the Langley pyramid go there. It's how overcrowded Kilmer and Longfellow will be if something isn't done. In other words, if continuing to send Cooper AAP kids to Kilmer would contribute to a situation where Kilmer is 300 students over capacity in a year or two, the fact that moving those kids back to Cooper might cause Cooper - which has the lowest enrollment today of any middle school in the county - to be 100 students over capacity shouldn't be a deterrent. Until new schools are built in the Tysons area, there may not be other options.

Obviously, some Cooper parents like the fact that Cooper does not have AAP but, again, so what, if that's where most of the empty seats currently are?

In a nutshell, what is so very wrong with the FCPS attitude...ready to downsize homes and send my kids to private school. It's about quality, not "where the empty seats are"...

Cooper would not be only 100 over capacity now ... send back 300 plus kids to an unrenovated building with a modular? 300-141 is 160 approximately over. And the 140 might fill the modular. That's like sticking an RV with a bath in the driveway and calling it a 5th bedroom ensuite.

[Anonymous]

Basic Question: When is Cooper scheduled to get a renovation?

I know it takes time and I know lists mean little until the actual renovation takes place. When we moved to McLean in 1997, our son was born in March. Longfellow was listed as the MS in most need of renovation. They started the renovation when my 1997 newborn was starting 7th grade. So, it took at least 12 years of being at the top of the list to get the renovation started. He was in HS when they finished it.