Western High School Boundary Map options (A/B/C/D)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Posting my thoughts from the meeting before reading others thoughts. I moved into the breakout room for questions virtually

1) They have a Principal, it is the man who opened Westfield.
2) It sounds like there are a lot of teachers interested in teaching at the new school.
3) the boundaries will not be decided until June.
4) Some very vocal Oakton parents really do not want to move. There were a lot of “Oakton isn’t at capacity, don’t make us move”
5) The school will be fully opt in for the first two years.
6) Sports will start as not paprt of the Virginia Sports league that all FCPS schools are a part of, students can choose to try out for their old base schools team if they want.
7) There will be sports but they are going to take time to grow and evolve, they know that.
8) Same for theatre and music and the like.
9) They will have all of the normal classes that Freshmen and Sophomores take
10) Oakton families really don’t want to move, at least the ones that were talking at this meeting.

As a Crossfield parent, those Oakton families don't represent us. They have older kids or are Navy parents who aren't even impacted.

Then how come none of you speak up? Many Crossfield posters on this board said they want to go to KAA but nobody presented their case to Reid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyway, I was at the meeting and the Oakton families are going to have their way. Reid will only listen to the people directly in front of her, and most of us were too scared of the repercussions to speak up. If you know who one of the leaders of this group is, you know why.

I don’t know. At least one school board member (McDaniel) has been very clear and vocal about Crossfield moving to western.

Some Crossfield families definitely don’t want their kids to go to western, but others are indifferent or want to move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Now, let's see what will happen.

Chantilly: people are happy with Chantilly. No one wants to leave. So, how many does she expect to go to KAA?
Result: Overcrowding continues at Chantilly.

South Lakes: Some prefer IB, I guess. I sense that most don't and will choose to go to the new school. And, it won't be just Floris and Fox Mill--though it will be primarily Floris and Fox Mill.

Oakton: While parents of younger kids appear anxious for the new school, some won't. Not sure how this will play out. I'm sure there are some who will wish to give up the bus ride.

Westfield: I suspect most from the KAA area will choose the new school. The ones who are really, really into sports will probably choose Westfield. Likely to get kids from outside KAA area.

Centreville: I don't expect anyone from Centreville unless they have a personal beef.

So, the schools that need relief the most will not get it.

And, this continues to keep neighborhoods upset for at least one more year.

Sounds to me like Reid has heard too many conflicting opinions and is throwing up her hands.

This. Reid doesn’t want to make a hard decision. Neither does the board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:South County opened as a secondary school. 2005-2006 it had grades 7-11. There is no reason this school cannot open for 2026-27 with grades 9-10. Optional grade 11.

You can check membership by grade level on the VDOE site. Instead Reid is running the thing like a charter or Magnet school.

Appalling .

She is over her head on many, many levels. Likely not malicious. Just clueless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Posting my thoughts from the meeting before reading others thoughts. I moved into the breakout room for questions virtually

1) They have a Principal, it is the man who opened Westfield.
2) It sounds like there are a lot of teachers interested in teaching at the new school.
3) the boundaries will not be decided until June.
4) Some very vocal Oakton parents really do not want to move. There were a lot of “Oakton isn’t at capacity, don’t make us move”
5) The school will be fully opt in for the first two years.
6) Sports will start as not paprt of the Virginia Sports league that all FCPS schools are a part of, students can choose to try out for their old base schools team if they want.
7) There will be sports but they are going to take time to grow and evolve, they know that.
8) Same for theatre and music and the like.
9) They will have all of the normal classes that Freshmen and Sophomores take
10) Oakton families really don’t want to move, at least the ones that were talking at this meeting.

I’d add to this it seemed there was a vocal contingent of Floris people who want to move together to Western, and not be split between Western and South Lakes.

[Anonymous]

Everyone is excited about the new school except for a loud group of AAP parents who are obsessed with Oakton. They have somehow roped Navy into it, even though Navy isn't going to be impacted. It's so weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is excited about the new school except for a loud group of AAP parents who are obsessed with Oakton. They have somehow roped Navy into it, even though Navy isn't going to be impacted. It's so weird.

This is what happens with the centers. The Crossfield AAP are not Crossfield kids anymore. They consider themselves Navy kids.

Get rid of centers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Posting my thoughts from the meeting before reading others thoughts. I moved into the breakout room for questions virtually

1) They have a Principal, it is the man who opened Westfield.
2) It sounds like there are a lot of teachers interested in teaching at the new school.
3) the boundaries will not be decided until June.
4) Some very vocal Oakton parents really do not want to move. There were a lot of “Oakton isn’t at capacity, don’t make us move”
5) The school will be fully opt in for the first two years.
6) Sports will start as not paprt of the Virginia Sports league that all FCPS schools are a part of, students can choose to try out for their old base schools team if they want.
7) There will be sports but they are going to take time to grow and evolve, they know that.
8) Same for theatre and music and the like.
9) They will have all of the normal classes that Freshmen and Sophomores take
10) Oakton families really don’t want to move, at least the ones that were talking at this meeting.

Can you elaborate on this? Is she saying that KAA students can try out for their base school team whilst attending KAA? Or that you can elect to stay at your base school if you want to be part of the VSL?

The next two years are opt in to attending the new school. So 7th and 8th graders can choose their current base school or the new school. Sixth graders will not have a choice, at least that is what I heard. That in three years students will be required to attend the new school as their base school.

If a student chooses the new new school and wants to play the Virginia whatever league, I am sirry but I am not great with the acronyms or names, they can try out at the school that would have been their base school. They did not discuss transportation to the other school for practices and the like only that it would be an option.

I saw the Crossfield parent post, I understand. The issue you are having is that the vocal crowd is being very loud. If you want to counter you need to get people to the meetings and say what you think and contact your reps. as a Fox Mill parent, I am fine with Crossfield not moving because I think that your moving impacts our moving but Reid and comp are clearly hearing that the Oakton families don’t want to move. I did not hear the Oakton families saying they represented a specific ES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Posting my thoughts from the meeting before reading others thoughts. I moved into the breakout room for questions virtually

1) They have a Principal, it is the man who opened Westfield.
2) It sounds like there are a lot of teachers interested in teaching at the new school.
3) the boundaries will not be decided until June.
4) Some very vocal Oakton parents really do not want to move. There were a lot of “Oakton isn’t at capacity, don’t make us move”
5) The school will be fully opt in for the first two years.
6) Sports will start as not paprt of the Virginia Sports league that all FCPS schools are a part of, students can choose to try out for their old base schools team if they want.
7) There will be sports but they are going to take time to grow and evolve, they know that.
8) Same for theatre and music and the like.
9) They will have all of the normal classes that Freshmen and Sophomores take
10) Oakton families really don’t want to move, at least the ones that were talking at this meeting.

I’d add to this it seemed there was a vocal contingent of Floris people who want to move together to Western, and not be split between Western and South Lakes.

Agreed, honestly that makes total sense. Floris should stay together.

[Anonymous]

If Crossfield doesn’t get moved, then why don’t they just go with Option B?

The Floris split feeder problem will be solved and would fill KAA to 1,700+ kids, which is a good number if some out of boundary kids transfer in for the specialty program. Besides, if Oak Hill kids move to Carson and Crossfield kids move to Franklin, the Carson split feeder problem would be solved under Option B.

Crossfield kids will have to continue a long commute to Oakton, but if they really oppose the move, then it’s their choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyway, I was at the meeting and the Oakton families are going to have their way. Reid will only listen to the people directly in front of her, and most of us were too scared of the repercussions to speak up. If you know who one of the leaders of this group is, you know why.

I know what you’re saying. It’s a shame people have to worry about being badmouthed and treated poorly by neighbors and school community members for having a different opinion, with negative repercussions for their kids. But I suspect that’s what would happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
If Crossfield doesn’t get moved, then why don’t they just go with Option B?

The Floris split feeder problem will be solved and would fill KAA to 1,700+ kids, which is a good number if some out of boundary kids transfer in for the specialty program. Besides, if Oak Hill kids move to Carson and Crossfield kids move to Franklin, the Carson split feeder problem would be solved under Option B.

Crossfield kids will have to continue a long commute to Oakton, but if they really oppose the move, then it’s their choice.

There was a parent who brought this up. I don't know which school she represented, but she was pushing Dr. Reid for Option B, saying it would support both Floris and the vocal Crossfield parents.

Based on the people sitting near me, Crossfield does have several families who would be fine going to the new school, but they didn't speak up. They need to be more vocal to the School Board, if that's what they want.

We are a Fox Mill family. No one from Fox Mill spoke to support the move or stay at South Lakes, so I'm not sure how the community feels.

[Anonymous]

So many questions … All four proposed maps have my neighborhood going to western, so I am resigned that it will be our future high school, but what is the point of kicking the can down the road in terms of solidifying the boundaries for the school? It would be great if they could just make a decision now so that people can start planning for the future.
My youngest will probably be one of the first classes with no choice for attendance at western while my oldest kid (already in HS) will have the choice to stay at our base or start going to western this fall. How does western HS stabilize and have a true community feel if they draw from all over the place with this opt-in policy? How are they going to convince the parents who are drawn to a strong HS sports program to start attending this school if they don’t offer sports right away and build the program? That seems like a fight they’re setting up down the road. What kind of transportation options are they going to offer kids who want to stay where they are? They still need to provide transportation to our old base because they can’t assume all 11-12 grade kids will have a car to drive to school. So they’re going to multiply the number of busses in and out of these neighborhoods to support the old base schools? And my biggest question: can we assume that we retain our old base school of Westfield, even though the boundary study had us moving to South Lakes? Are those maps now null and void? I feel like this is getting more complicated by the day and the school board is trying to cater to too many preferences while set at warp speed to open by fall 2026. 🙄

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Posting my thoughts from the meeting before reading others thoughts. I moved into the breakout room for questions virtually

1) They have a Principal, it is the man who opened Westfield.
2) It sounds like there are a lot of teachers interested in teaching at the new school.
3) the boundaries will not be decided until June.
4) Some very vocal Oakton parents really do not want to move. There were a lot of “Oakton isn’t at capacity, don’t make us move”
5) The school will be fully opt in for the first two years.
6) Sports will start as not paprt of the Virginia Sports league that all FCPS schools are a part of, students can choose to try out for their old base schools team if they want.
7) There will be sports but they are going to take time to grow and evolve, they know that.
8) Same for theatre and music and the like.
9) They will have all of the normal classes that Freshmen and Sophomores take
10) Oakton families really don’t want to move, at least the ones that were talking at this meeting.

Can you elaborate on this? Is she saying that KAA students can try out for their base school team whilst attending KAA? Or that you can elect to stay at your base school if you want to be part of the VSL?

The next two years are opt in to attending the new school. So 7th and 8th graders can choose their current base school or the new school. Sixth graders will not have a choice, at least that is what I heard. That in three years students will be required to attend the new school as their base school.

If a student chooses the new new school and wants to play the Virginia whatever league, I am sirry but I am not great with the acronyms or names, they can try out at the school that would have been their base school. They did not discuss transportation to the other school for practices and the like only that it would be an option.

I saw the Crossfield parent post, I understand. The issue you are having is that the vocal crowd is being very loud. If you want to counter you need to get people to the meetings and say what you think and contact your reps. as a Fox Mill parent, I am fine with Crossfield not moving because I think that your moving impacts our moving but Reid and comp are clearly hearing that the Oakton families don’t want to move. I did not hear the Oakton families saying they represented a specific ES.

But doesn’t “opt in” mean you still need to provide your own transportation if you want to remain at your previously zoned HS? This doesn’t seem equitable to families who can’t afford to provide their own transportation. This could result in a huge disparity.

[Anonymous]

I don't believe they will go with Option B. I just don't see Meren letting them empty out South Lakes. And, it really makes sense to send Crossfield kids to the new school because of the bus ride--and Oakton is going to soon be overcrowded and it may be too late for them to get assigned to the new school.

Ideally, I would suggest getting rid of IB at South Lakes and/or allowing generous pupil placement to the new school for those Fox Mill kids. Historically, they are unlikely to do that.