Langley/McLean/Marshall Boundaries

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t mind if my kids are reasoned to Langley given its academic ranking above us, but I will throw a fit if anyone tries to rezone my future McLean HS kids to Marshall.

Cool. We don’t want your type anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t mind if my kids are reasoned to Langley given its academic ranking above us, but I will throw a fit if anyone tries to rezone my future McLean HS kids to Marshall.

Cool. We don’t want your type anyway.

I’m guessing PP was a troll. We wouldn’t want to move to Marshall either, because we specifically bought for an AP school, but it’s pretty clear from the thread no one is getting moved to Marshall with all the growth planned in Tysons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what can be done to alleviate the overcrowding in the next year or two? sounds like nothing?

Sounds like the answer is relocating a modular, more trailers, and perhaps a relaxed policy on pupil placements. And possibly electing School Board members this fall who’ll pay more attention to planning and utilization issues.

Thanks agree those are the next steps.

However:

The modular doesn't come in for over a year, and doesn't really solve the problem just moves it around.
Pupil placement flexibility doesn't mean anything absent an organizing effort.
Electing school board members is important but doesn't help in the near term.

Amazing we have all these smart folks yet nothing is being about an already overcrowded school that will grow by another 100 kids in 6 months, and TBD more a year later....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what can be done to alleviate the overcrowding in the next year or two? sounds like nothing?

Sounds like the answer is relocating a modular, more trailers, and perhaps a relaxed policy on pupil placements. And possibly electing School Board members this fall who’ll pay more attention to planning and utilization issues.

Thanks agree those are the next steps.

However:

The modular doesn't come in for over a year, and doesn't really solve the problem just moves it around.
Pupil placement flexibility doesn't mean anything absent an organizing effort.
Electing school board members is important but doesn't help in the near term.

Amazing we have all these smart folks yet nothing is being about an already overcrowded school that will grow by another 100 kids in 6 months, and TBD more a year later....

I would not flatter them with the adjective “smart.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: It’s vexing that FCPS hasn’t been more pro-active in addressing the two sides of the coin here (overcrowding at McLean and under enrollment at Langley)+1

Maybe because it's not a big deal? Hearing concerns about trailers and clogged hallways, but I don't remember anyone discussing before some articles got published. Tempest in a teapot, perhaps? Just asking...

[Anonymous]

This is a long thread with some tangents, so to recap:

McLean currently has about 2250 students in a building designed for under 2000, and its enrollment is projected to increase to around 2500 by 2023, making it the most overcrowded high school in the county.

Langley currently has about 1925 students (its lowest enrollment for at least the past 12 years) in a building expanded to accommodate about 2300, and its enrollment is projected to decline to around 1860 students by 2023.

These trends have been emerging for years. It wasn't viewed as a "big deal" because Janie Strauss and others within FCPS provided assurances that FCPS would address the capacity imbalances on a timely basis.

In 2015, for example, Strauss came to a McLean PTA meeting, reported that there were plans to expand McLean (Principal Reilly confirmed Facilities Staff had shared plans with her), and suggested that FCPS would move students from Marshall (i.e., the "Westbriar Island") to Langley.

That did not happen. Instead, in 2017, FCPS concluded that it would build additions at Justice (then Stuart), Madison, and West Potomac, but not McLean.

People took that in stride, based on the assumption that FCPS would instead move kids from McLean to Langley instead. But, when Strauss tried to move forward with that plan, both Superintendent Brabrand and other School Board members such as Karen Keys-Gamarra took the position that FCPS shouldn't consider any boundary changes until there had been a comprehensive review of boundary policies and how "One Fairfax" should inform boundary changes. That sounds great, but it will take a long time to decide upon those priorities, much less implement them. FCPS already effectively made the decision that it would move kids from Langley to McLean when they expanded Langley, even though its enrollment was declining and left McLean off the list of schools getting an addition, even though its enrollment was increasing.

So is the overcrowding at MHS and under-enrollment at LHS that is now probably guaranteed for at least two more years a "big deal"? It depends upon how you'll feel when your kids have even more of their classes in trailers at McLean, or when your favorite new teacher at Langley has to leave and Langley starts dropping electives. Many parents in the area already send their kids to privates, in part because the class sizes there are so much larger than those in privates and other FCPS schools. If FCPS continues to drag its feet, and ignores the obvious fix to an easy problem, there's no reason to think they'll be more successful when it comes to the hard stuff.

[Anonymous]

Keys Gamara says she's more concerned about "getting it right than getting it done fast."

Easy thing for her to say when the school her kids attended - Madison - is getting an addition.

[Anonymous]

At the work sessions on boundaries a few days ago, the School Board reviewed a staff presentation that suggested key considerations should be:

1) Making use of available space
2) Balancing SES diversity
3) Minimizing travel time

It's hard to see how these criteria would lead to anything much different from what Janie Strauss tried to propose earlier. McLean is overcrowded and Langley is the nearest school with space; moving Tysons apartments to Langley starts to introduce SES diversity to Langley; and Tysons is the closest area that can be moved to Langley that would introduce some diversity and wouldn't require kids to travel long distances. The only alternative might be moving parts of Westgate with greater diversity to Langley rather than moving parts of Spring Hill.

[Anonymous]

Is Lewinsville Rd. or Spring Hill Rd. the most direct and least congested route to Langley High School that a bus could take from Tysons?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is Lewinsville Rd. or Spring Hill Rd. the most direct and least congested route to Langley High School that a bus could take from Tysons?

I'd think so, at least from the north side of Tysons. It would largely be the same bus route as kids living in McLean Hamlet on the other side of the Dulles Toll Road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should move at least a portion of Tysons to Langley.

Agreed. The McLean attendance islands along Route 7 west of Tysons should be the most obvious to move to Langley.

On a side note, I am a Shrevewood parent and am thrilled to see that a boundary review and adjustment FINALLY made it into the CIP. We've been bursting at the seams for the past few years, and the current sixth grade is the last of the "smaller" class sizes.

Where do you think part of Shrevewood will move? It seems like Stenwood, Freedom Hill or Lemon Road would make the most sense, if there is space.

I think Stenwood is the most logical, based on boundaries. All the apartments and condos at/near Dunn Loring are zoned for Shrevewood, although the kids could easily walk to Stenwood which is just down Gallows Road. Timber Lane is also close, esp. for the Fairwood Park neighborhood, but then that's a whole new pyramid so I imagine that's a much trickier move.

First, not all the condos/apts go to Shrevewood. There is a small pockets of condos/townhomes, directly across from the metro (Park Tower - Bellforest Ct) that go to Stenwood.

Seoncd, I have 2 kids at Stenwood and we are a small school. The school was renovated in 2012 and we have 2 trailers. I don't know if we could handle a huge contingent from Shrevewood at Stenwood. According to FCPS we are at 97% capacity. Adding the additional kids from the other apartment/condos on Gallows would probably add over 150+ more kids to the enrollment numbers.

My DC 2nd grade class has over 100 kids divided over 4 classes. Yes, a fair number of the 2nd graders will move to Westbrair, our center school, but I suspect a lot may stay as they have really been trying to build up their local level IV program. My DC 5th grade class has 30 and we have 3 classes in all.

Not to bump up an old part of this conversation, but my kid is starting K at Stenwood in the fall, and having been at the school to register and played on the playground, I agree with PP. Anyone who is offering up Stenwood as a solution probably hasn't actually been there. Both the school and the grounds are tiny, and the grounds are getting tinier due to the I-66 widening project.

[Anonymous]

Shrevewood is currently at 118% of capacity and projected to be at 125% of capacity by FY 2023.

Stenwood is currently at 97% of capacity and projected to be at 95% of capacity by FY 2023.

Having two schools at 110% capacity is better than having one at 125% and another at 95%. The longer-term plan is to reopen Dunn Loring as an elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shrevewood is currently at 118% of capacity and projected to be at 125% of capacity by FY 2023.

Stenwood is currently at 97% of capacity and projected to be at 95% of capacity by FY 2023.

Having two schools at 110% capacity is better than having one at 125% and another at 95%. The longer-term plan is to reopen Dunn Loring as an elementary school.

The reopening of the Dunn Loring center as a school has been in the CIP for quite some time, and yet nothing seems to progress on that. Meanwhile, Shrevewood's enrollment keeps going upwards - there are almost 800 kids there now!

The biggest issue of the boundaries is that it adjoins several other high school pyramids, so it's not as simple as just moving kids to the next nearest ES. I think Timber Lane ES is the next closest school, but feeds into different pyramids (McLean and Falls Church HS). There is also Haycock (McLean HS). And of course Falls Church City Schools as well. Then Lemon Road and Stenwood, both which feed into Marshall and both have enrollments around 600. So maybe the short term solution is to move some of Shrevewood to Lemon Road, and some to Stenwood.

On a solely geographic basis, there are many apartments and condos right near the Dunn Loring metro that can feed into Stenwood (and would be walking distance). Lemon Road could pick up some of the THs along Idylwood, or maybe part of Idylwood Towers. Those would be close, but likely need to be bused to avoid crossing Route 7.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shrevewood is currently at 118% of capacity and projected to be at 125% of capacity by FY 2023.

Stenwood is currently at 97% of capacity and projected to be at 95% of capacity by FY 2023.

Having two schools at 110% capacity is better than having one at 125% and another at 95%. The longer-term plan is to reopen Dunn Loring as an elementary school.

The reopening of the Dunn Loring center as a school has been in the CIP for quite some time, and yet nothing seems to progress on that. Meanwhile, Shrevewood's enrollment keeps going upwards - there are almost 800 kids there now!

The biggest issue of the boundaries is that it adjoins several other high school pyramids, so it's not as simple as just moving kids to the next nearest ES. I think Timber Lane ES is the next closest school, but feeds into different pyramids (McLean and Falls Church HS). There is also Haycock (McLean HS). And of course Falls Church City Schools as well. Then Lemon Road and Stenwood, both which feed into Marshall and both have enrollments around 600. So maybe the short term solution is to move some of Shrevewood to Lemon Road, and some to Stenwood.

On a solely geographic basis, there are many apartments and condos right near the Dunn Loring metro that can feed into Stenwood (and would be walking distance). Lemon Road could pick up some of the THs along Idylwood, or maybe part of Idylwood Towers. Those would be close, but likely need to be bused to avoid crossing Route 7.

It doesn't seem complicated to me. Move the part of Shrevewood outside the Beltway to Stenwood, and move the northern part of Stenwood to Freedom Hill, which is now projected to be at 75% capacity by FY 2023. Everyone stays in the Marshall pyramid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shrevewood is currently at 118% of capacity and projected to be at 125% of capacity by FY 2023.

Stenwood is currently at 97% of capacity and projected to be at 95% of capacity by FY 2023.

Having two schools at 110% capacity is better than having one at 125% and another at 95%. The longer-term plan is to reopen Dunn Loring as an elementary school.

The reopening of the Dunn Loring center as a school has been in the CIP for quite some time, and yet nothing seems to progress on that. Meanwhile, Shrevewood's enrollment keeps going upwards - there are almost 800 kids there now!

The biggest issue of the boundaries is that it adjoins several other high school pyramids, so it's not as simple as just moving kids to the next nearest ES. I think Timber Lane ES is the next closest school, but feeds into different pyramids (McLean and Falls Church HS). There is also Haycock (McLean HS). And of course Falls Church City Schools as well. Then Lemon Road and Stenwood, both which feed into Marshall and both have enrollments around 600. So maybe the short term solution is to move some of Shrevewood to Lemon Road, and some to Stenwood.

On a solely geographic basis, there are many apartments and condos right near the Dunn Loring metro that can feed into Stenwood (and would be walking distance). Lemon Road could pick up some of the THs along Idylwood, or maybe part of Idylwood Towers. Those would be close, but likely need to be bused to avoid crossing Route 7.

. Lemon Road is a split feeder too. Some go to Marshal and some go to McLean. Lemon Road has grown substantially in the past 5-6 years- its site is extremely small and they are already overbuilt on the site. It dont think the site can handle more. They took a swath from Freedom Hill a few years ago because FH was bursting and now it is not. And they took on the AAP Center aspect. Both of which more than doubled the population. The only way to increase the number of students now is to kick out the daycare that is in the facility and the BOS will NEVER allow it.