FCPS HS Boundary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a true "leopards ate my face moment" for a lot of left leaning WSHS parents who likely voted for SB members pushing boundary adjustments. The same moms who virtue signal via facebook posts about afghan refugees, and with flags in their yard proclaiming "love is love, no human is illegal, black lives matter...." Time to see their true colors as this develops and they face the prospect of sending their infallible children to an 87% minority populated school with inferior academic opportunities.

You would like that because it tells a neat, political story you can use to advocate for your agenda. I promise we can be all those things. If you want to play black and white, one size fits all, that thinking is on you.

We can advocate for better for Lewis kids while seeking out high schools that have high achieving minority peers.
We can say our own neighborhoods and communities shouldn’t be split up because we chose this area because of it’s tight knit community feel. We can say that test scores to make a school look better shouldn’t rule what is best for kids.

There is nuance here and our kids don’t have to be used to bolster up a school’s scores on great schools and the FCPS dashboard.

You can say all those things but they changed HS boundaries in 2008, 2011, 2013, and 2021. When the enrollments are as imbalanced as those at WSHS and Lewis, you don't deserve an exemption.

Deserve? What? Is this a vengeful anger punishment like “you don’t deserve dessert because you backtalked me”? I’m honestly confused why you think children “deserve” boundary changes.

Why would anyone follow HS boundaries in 2008-2013 when their kids aren’t even both born yet?
You sound mad and you seem to want others to feel your pain. That isn’t very admirable.

Context is important. If anything, they've redistricted in the past in circumstances far less compelling than those now suggesting the need for a West Springfield/Lewis boundary adjustment.

Well, then historically in context, this doesn’t work. You are still mad about it (from 16 years ago) and perhaps it is time to try something else for that school and for FCPS rather than disturbing the lives of kids. WSHS has empty classrooms, Lewis is dwindling in its population. Why reach for the same solutions you didn’t like? It sounds like you want to punish people for something you had to do.

You are making wildly false assumptions. I’m not complaining about past boundary changes, but noting they have ample precedent in FCPS. In some cases they have been successful and achieved their intended results.

Which cases have been successful and what are the intended results? There is not an achievement gap that has been closed because of this. The only result is school average test scores go up because the school composition changes. This doesn’t mean the individual kids do better. It means nothing to the individual kids who were moved except they get moved away from the community they know. When do we start helping the KIDS and stop looking at data averages as measures of success?

You can’t seriously contend Lewis kids have the same opportunities as West Springfield kids. This needs to change.

There are plenty of ways to change this that doesn’t involve moving WSHS kids to Lewis.

The school board hasn’t historically cared about Lewis the way some posters on this board would like to believe. If it did, Lewis wouldn’t have that stupid Academy and crappy AP selections.

I haven’t seen a single alternative offered by WS parents that hasn’t involved either closing or eviscerating Lewis or delays that would continue to leave Lewis students with inferior opportunities compared to their peers just a few miles away.

But how is moving probably a few dozen HS kids from WSHS to Lewis going to help Lewis? You can’t answer that. Because it’s not.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone describe what putting 200 WSHS kids does for Lewis?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a true "leopards ate my face moment" for a lot of left leaning WSHS parents who likely voted for SB members pushing boundary adjustments. The same moms who virtue signal via facebook posts about afghan refugees, and with flags in their yard proclaiming "love is love, no human is illegal, black lives matter...." Time to see their true colors as this develops and they face the prospect of sending their infallible children to an 87% minority populated school with inferior academic opportunities.

You would like that because it tells a neat, political story you can use to advocate for your agenda. I promise we can be all those things. If you want to play black and white, one size fits all, that thinking is on you.

We can advocate for better for Lewis kids while seeking out high schools that have high achieving minority peers.
We can say our own neighborhoods and communities shouldn’t be split up because we chose this area because of it’s tight knit community feel. We can say that test scores to make a school look better shouldn’t rule what is best for kids.

There is nuance here and our kids don’t have to be used to bolster up a school’s scores on great schools and the FCPS dashboard.

You can say all those things but they changed HS boundaries in 2008, 2011, 2013, and 2021. When the enrollments are as imbalanced as those at WSHS and Lewis, you don't deserve an exemption.

Deserve? What? Is this a vengeful anger punishment like “you don’t deserve dessert because you backtalked me”? I’m honestly confused why you think children “deserve” boundary changes.

Why would anyone follow HS boundaries in 2008-2013 when their kids aren’t even both born yet?
You sound mad and you seem to want others to feel your pain. That isn’t very admirable.

Context is important. If anything, they've redistricted in the past in circumstances far less compelling than those now suggesting the need for a West Springfield/Lewis boundary adjustment.

Well, then historically in context, this doesn’t work. You are still mad about it (from 16 years ago) and perhaps it is time to try something else for that school and for FCPS rather than disturbing the lives of kids. WSHS has empty classrooms, Lewis is dwindling in its population. Why reach for the same solutions you didn’t like? It sounds like you want to punish people for something you had to do.

You are making wildly false assumptions. I’m not complaining about past boundary changes, but noting they have ample precedent in FCPS. In some cases they have been successful and achieved their intended results.

Which cases have been successful and what are the intended results? There is not an achievement gap that has been closed because of this. The only result is school average test scores go up because the school composition changes. This doesn’t mean the individual kids do better. It means nothing to the individual kids who were moved except they get moved away from the community they know. When do we start helping the KIDS and stop looking at data averages as measures of success?

You can’t seriously contend Lewis kids have the same opportunities as West Springfield kids. This needs to change.

There are plenty of ways to change this that doesn’t involve moving WSHS kids to Lewis.

The school board hasn’t historically cared about Lewis the way some posters on this board would like to believe. If it did, Lewis wouldn’t have that stupid Academy and crappy AP selections.

I haven’t seen a single alternative offered by WS parents that hasn’t involved either closing or eviscerating Lewis or delays that would continue to leave Lewis students with inferior opportunities compared to their peers just a few miles away.

Start with disallowing the 230 pupil placements out of Lewis.

See if that works before rezoning kids from other schools to replace the Lewis students who are zoned for Lewis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone describe what putting 200 WSHS kids does for Lewis?

Especially since more than 200 Lewis kids pupil place to orher high schools.

Start there.

[Anonymous]

Can’t we just wait until there is an official proposal? All this bickering back and forth about what might or might not happen is futile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can’t we just wait until there is an official proposal? All this bickering back and forth about what might or might not happen is futile.

Except if you just wait until the proposal then it is too late. That’s what the school board wants you to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a true "leopards ate my face moment" for a lot of left leaning WSHS parents who likely voted for SB members pushing boundary adjustments. The same moms who virtue signal via facebook posts about afghan refugees, and with flags in their yard proclaiming "love is love, no human is illegal, black lives matter...." Time to see their true colors as this develops and they face the prospect of sending their infallible children to an 87% minority populated school with inferior academic opportunities.

You would like that because it tells a neat, political story you can use to advocate for your agenda. I promise we can be all those things. If you want to play black and white, one size fits all, that thinking is on you.

We can advocate for better for Lewis kids while seeking out high schools that have high achieving minority peers.
We can say our own neighborhoods and communities shouldn’t be split up because we chose this area because of it’s tight knit community feel. We can say that test scores to make a school look better shouldn’t rule what is best for kids.

There is nuance here and our kids don’t have to be used to bolster up a school’s scores on great schools and the FCPS dashboard.

You can say all those things but they changed HS boundaries in 2008, 2011, 2013, and 2021. When the enrollments are as imbalanced as those at WSHS and Lewis, you don't deserve an exemption.

Deserve? What? Is this a vengeful anger punishment like “you don’t deserve dessert because you backtalked me”? I’m honestly confused why you think children “deserve” boundary changes.

Why would anyone follow HS boundaries in 2008-2013 when their kids aren’t even both born yet?
You sound mad and you seem to want others to feel your pain. That isn’t very admirable.

Context is important. If anything, they've redistricted in the past in circumstances far less compelling than those now suggesting the need for a West Springfield/Lewis boundary adjustment.

Well, then historically in context, this doesn’t work. You are still mad about it (from 16 years ago) and perhaps it is time to try something else for that school and for FCPS rather than disturbing the lives of kids. WSHS has empty classrooms, Lewis is dwindling in its population. Why reach for the same solutions you didn’t like? It sounds like you want to punish people for something you had to do.

You are making wildly false assumptions. I’m not complaining about past boundary changes, but noting they have ample precedent in FCPS. In some cases they have been successful and achieved their intended results.

Which cases have been successful and what are the intended results? There is not an achievement gap that has been closed because of this. The only result is school average test scores go up because the school composition changes. This doesn’t mean the individual kids do better. It means nothing to the individual kids who were moved except they get moved away from the community they know. When do we start helping the KIDS and stop looking at data averages as measures of success?

You can’t seriously contend Lewis kids have the same opportunities as West Springfield kids. This needs to change.

There are plenty of ways to change this that doesn’t involve moving WSHS kids to Lewis.

The school board hasn’t historically cared about Lewis the way some posters on this board would like to believe. If it did, Lewis wouldn’t have that stupid Academy and crappy AP selections.

I haven’t seen a single alternative offered by WS parents that hasn’t involved either closing or eviscerating Lewis or delays that would continue to leave Lewis students with inferior opportunities compared to their peers just a few miles away.

Talk to me like I am 5 and outline all the classes your kid is missing. I’m not understanding because I thought you were offered IB until this year or last year, so of course your AP selections are not robust yet, you only have 1 year of AP. WSHS kids aren’t changing that. So what Lewis parents (UMC/MC parents who are accessing this site) is a full catalog of AP? How is that not happening?

[Anonymous]

Also, my friend has an advanced kid in math in Anne Arundel county and her child has/had an online class with other gifted math students across the county. The class was held in her public middle school, but virtually so the kids had a cohort/class of kids doing that level of math.
I’m guessing that isnt’ what Lewis parents really want. Even though it would meet the academic needs of their kids. So what do you actually want?
WSHS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone describe what putting 200 WSHS kids does for Lewis?

I don’t even know that it would be 200 - probably less than that.

[Anonymous]

While Lewis is under capacity, why doesn't FCPS take that as an opportunity to move Lewis up in the renovation queue, and tackle their full renovation now?

That would allow FCPS to renovate the school with as little disruption as possible.

Then, in 3-4 years, when Lewis has an updated facility, update the programs at the school to bring them in line with other high schools, and reassess rezoning then?

If they must do something to WSHS soon, go the simplest, least controversial route and close the Sangster split feeder, sending all of the Sangster kids to LB


That would fix the WSHS enrollment simply, with no disruption to students, and give Lewis a full renovation in the most ideal way possible, without needing trailers.

Lewis was renovated about 20 years ago. It's in good shape. Have you even been inside of it? How often do you think schools need to be renovated?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can’t we just wait until there is an official proposal? All this bickering back and forth about what might or might not happen is futile.

Except if you just wait until the proposal then it is too late. That’s what the school board wants you to do.

Exactly. Once they roll out specific proposals it will be too late. Need to speak up now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone describe what putting 200 WSHS kids does for Lewis?

Especially since more than 200 Lewis kids pupil place to orher high schools.

Start there.

I think they should start by finding out WHY 200 kids transfer out. Obviously, there is something very wrong at that school. I can't blame families for going elsewhere.
DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can’t we just wait until there is an official proposal? All this bickering back and forth about what might or might not happen is futile.

Except if you just wait until the proposal then it is too late. That’s what the school board wants you to do.

and how does all the speculating here change things?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can’t we just wait until there is an official proposal? All this bickering back and forth about what might or might not happen is futile.

Except if you just wait until the proposal then it is too late. That’s what the school board wants you to do.

and how does all the speculating here change things?

Well, for one it informs any reader what is possibly going to happen, which may spur some outrage/action/outreach.

DCUM is also probably seen by members of the board and or staff, so it’s good to let them know that we are paying attention and are dead set against redistricting. Right Kyle? Right Robin? Right Karl?

If you don’t like the thread there it’s of course the option to just tune out. The suggestion of just waiting really only serves the interest of the SB and their few supporters.

[Anonymous]

Bringing a discussion from another thread over here because it is more relevant here.

As a bus drove by, I just checked travel times for Langley vs. Herndon. At least for folks north of route 7, there is really no difference between bus times.

Herndon High - 15 minutes from us, Langley High 17 minutes. Net difference, a de minimus 2 minutes. I encourage you to confirm yourselves.

Turns out buses as a pretext in this neck of the woods isn’t compelling.