FCPS Boundary Review Updates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6-8 is not feasible. Not sure why so many are spending so much time discussing it. I think this is a distraction technique by Reid.

+1
This is not going to happen - nor should it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you live .3 mi from middle school can’t your kid just walk?

Read it again, we are .3 miles from the bus stop. The bus ride to middle school is 45 minutes because we are the first stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You want to see truancy go up? Have middle schoolers on their own in the morning while mom and dad are at work.

I'm not about to pretend to care about your theory on how degenerate kids will skip school if the bus comes an hour later. There is no reason my kid should have a 6:20am bus pick up time, .3 miles from our house. The sleep, growth, and well-being of thousands of 7-8th graders is more important. Those same kids managed to get to elementary school for 9am starts for years, they can manage to get them on a bus after the sun rises in stead of while it's still pitch black outside. Maybe even have time to feed them a real breakfast too.

Do not be fooled into thinking that the recent focus and upcoming survey about MS start times is all just about FCPS concern for your MS students.

Gatehouse has an easy solution for those of you who express a reasonable concern about the early start times (a problem FCPS has control over creating or removing):

Oh, you hate those early start times? We hear your concerns. That is why we are weighting proximity to middle schools as the primary reason we are moving your ES into another pyramid as part of our boundary review proposal: to address your concerns. What’s that you say? You aren’t a split feeder ES? There was never anything in the CIP to raise capacity or boundary concerns for your ES in your pyramid? The move would create an attendance island? Don’t worry, we can “fix” any of the other “issues” that shifting your ES to the next pyramid creates with a domino effect that cascades schools that are further away from your current pyramid HS into your current (but soon to be former) pyramid. That’s why it’s “comprehensive” review. Hey, making those other moves “fixes” an attendance island! Wow, awesome!

Anybody who thinks these FCPS surveys are anything less than a self serving data grab to support moving your “edge of the boundary” school into another pyramid (that just “happens” to have a giant FARMS disparity with your pyramid) has been played. FCPS needs “some reason,” to cover up the real reason for the move.

Careful about the record you make for FCPS and consider how they intend to use your response to surveys that “will likely be considered as part of the comprehensive boundary review.”

Middle school start times don't need to be included in any boundary review changes. They fixed the high school times without boundary changes and have been talking about fixing middle school just as long. Don't link the boundary review with fixing the problem of middle school kids having to wake up before 6am for school.

[Anonymous]

^^^Exactly this!!! The SB and gatehouse are linking middle school start times, something they control, to the boundary review to create a pretext for moving boundaries based on “proximity” whole ignoring/diminishing other factors that should be given greater weight.

MS start times are a problem of FCPS’s own creation that is entirely within its power to fix independently that is being used as a cover for equity-based/FARMS balancing boundary adjustments.

[Anonymous]

When is the next BRAC? Is there an agenda for it yet?

Are they still violating FOIA by excluding the public?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When is the next BRAC? Is there an agenda for it yet?

Are they still violating FOIA by excluding the public?

They don’t announce dates and they only post agendas after the meeting. So yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You want to see truancy go up? Have middle schoolers on their own in the morning while mom and dad are at work.

I'm not about to pretend to care about your theory on how degenerate kids will skip school if the bus comes an hour later. There is no reason my kid should have a 6:20am bus pick up time, .3 miles from our house. The sleep, growth, and well-being of thousands of 7-8th graders is more important. Those same kids managed to get to elementary school for 9am starts for years, they can manage to get them on a bus after the sun rises in stead of while it's still pitch black outside. Maybe even have time to feed them a real breakfast too.

Do not be fooled into thinking that the recent focus and upcoming survey about MS start times is all just about FCPS concern for your MS students.

Gatehouse has an easy solution for those of you who express a reasonable concern about the early start times (a problem FCPS has control over creating or removing):

Oh, you hate those early start times? We hear your concerns. That is why we are weighting proximity to middle schools as the primary reason we are moving your ES into another pyramid as part of our boundary review proposal: to address your concerns. What’s that you say? You aren’t a split feeder ES? There was never anything in the CIP to raise capacity or boundary concerns for your ES in your pyramid? The move would create an attendance island? Don’t worry, we can “fix” any of the other “issues” that shifting your ES to the next pyramid creates with a domino effect that cascades schools that are further away from your current pyramid HS into your current (but soon to be former) pyramid. That’s why it’s “comprehensive” review. Hey, making those other moves “fixes” an attendance island! Wow, awesome!

Anybody who thinks these FCPS surveys are anything less than a self serving data grab to support moving your “edge of the boundary” school into another pyramid (that just “happens” to have a giant FARMS disparity with your pyramid) has been played. FCPS needs “some reason,” to cover up the real reason for the move.

Careful about the record you make for FCPS and consider how they intend to use your response to surveys that “will likely be considered as part of the comprehensive boundary review.”

Middle school start times don't need to be included in any boundary review changes. They fixed the high school times without boundary changes and have been talking about fixing middle school just as long. Don't link the boundary review with fixing the problem of middle school kids having to wake up before 6am for school.

They “fixed” high school start times by swapping them with middle school.

[Anonymous]

Mason district getting pilot start times. On WTOP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mason district getting pilot start times. On WTOP.

Interesting that they start a pilot where middle school is 6-8 grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When is the next BRAC? Is there an agenda for it yet?

Are they still violating FOIA by excluding the public?

Guessing there will be another in April. They were supposed to be twice a week and then once a month.

Will note that Rachna Sizemore Heizer is holding a town hall to discuss boundary changes on April 9 from 545-630 at Wakefield Forest Elementary School. If you’re in the area, please attend!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When is the next BRAC? Is there an agenda for it yet?

Are they still violating FOIA by excluding the public?

Guessing there will be another in April. They were supposed to be twice a week and then once a month.

Will note that Rachna Sizemore Heizer is holding a town hall to discuss boundary changes on April 9 from 545-630 at Wakefield Forest Elementary School. If you’re in the area, please attend!

So are the individual School Board members now trying to provide assurances to individual communities in their own districts after people like Sizemore-Heizer were the very ones insisting there needed to be a comprehensive review? Robyn Lady met with Langley earlier this week. They set the kitchen on fire and now they are running around with fire extinguishers.

It’s like some pathetic shell game where they’ll still pick a few targets to “fix” to save face and they won’t care if it’s fair or not to those folks.

[Anonymous]

Robyn Lady met with Langley earlier this week. They set the kitchen on fire and now they are running around with fire extinguishers.

Any details?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When is the next BRAC? Is there an agenda for it yet?

Are they still violating FOIA by excluding the public?

Guessing there will be another in April. They were supposed to be twice a week and then once a month.

Will note that Rachna Sizemore Heizer is holding a town hall to discuss boundary changes on April 9 from 545-630 at Wakefield Forest Elementary School. If you’re in the area, please attend!

Twice a week**

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When is the next BRAC? Is there an agenda for it yet?

Are they still violating FOIA by excluding the public?

Guessing there will be another in April. They were supposed to be twice a week and then once a month.

Will note that Rachna Sizemore Heizer is holding a town hall to discuss boundary changes on April 9 from 545-630 at Wakefield Forest Elementary School. If you’re in the area, please attend!

Twice a week**

On my goodness. Twice a month***

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You want to see truancy go up? Have middle schoolers on their own in the morning while mom and dad are at work.

I'm not about to pretend to care about your theory on how degenerate kids will skip school if the bus comes an hour later. There is no reason my kid should have a 6:20am bus pick up time, .3 miles from our house. The sleep, growth, and well-being of thousands of 7-8th graders is more important. Those same kids managed to get to elementary school for 9am starts for years, they can manage to get them on a bus after the sun rises in stead of while it's still pitch black outside. Maybe even have time to feed them a real breakfast too.

Do not be fooled into thinking that the recent focus and upcoming survey about MS start times is all just about FCPS concern for your MS students.

Gatehouse has an easy solution for those of you who express a reasonable concern about the early start times (a problem FCPS has control over creating or removing):

Oh, you hate those early start times? We hear your concerns. That is why we are weighting proximity to middle schools as the primary reason we are moving your ES into another pyramid as part of our boundary review proposal: to address your concerns. What’s that you say? You aren’t a split feeder ES? There was never anything in the CIP to raise capacity or boundary concerns for your ES in your pyramid? The move would create an attendance island? Don’t worry, we can “fix” any of the other “issues” that shifting your ES to the next pyramid creates with a domino effect that cascades schools that are further away from your current pyramid HS into your current (but soon to be former) pyramid. That’s why it’s “comprehensive” review. Hey, making those other moves “fixes” an attendance island! Wow, awesome!

Anybody who thinks these FCPS surveys are anything less than a self serving data grab to support moving your “edge of the boundary” school into another pyramid (that just “happens” to have a giant FARMS disparity with your pyramid) has been played. FCPS needs “some reason,” to cover up the real reason for the move.

Careful about the record you make for FCPS and consider how they intend to use your response to surveys that “will likely be considered as part of the comprehensive boundary review.”

Middle school start times don't need to be included in any boundary review changes. They fixed the high school times without boundary changes and have been talking about fixing middle school just as long. Don't link the boundary review with fixing the problem of middle school kids having to wake up before 6am for school.

They “fixed” high school start times by swapping them with middle school.

Which made perfect sense.

Middle school is only 2 years and does not have the course load requirements or extracurricular demands of high school. Plus, middle school grades are irrelevant to college admissions.