FCPS comprehensive boundary review

[Anonymous]

I want to older Ft Hunt high alumni representing my neighborhood because they are the most opposed to boundary changes and most are still bitter about their high school closing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mvonthemove.com/fcps-engages-with-families-from-region-3-on-school-boundary-review/

12/9/24 Region 3 - Edison, West Potomac, Mount Vernon. 300 attendees. Far different than Reid 's orchestration for Region 5. Note Reid + Dunne sticking in a new program only available for West Potomac pyramid rather than changing boundaries. https://mvonthemove.com/bucknell-elementary-decides-to-add-montessori-program-option-after-all/

Am I reading this right in that both community reps come from Mt. Vernon and one of them no longer has kids in school??? Wowwwwww.

I think it’s appropriate for people without children in the system to take part. We pay taxes too - we should have a say too.

Oh, interesting that there are non parents on this fcps thread.
Agree you should have a say, but the interests may be very skewed.

in what way would it be skewed?

Asking out of genuine curiosity - do you have any links to the school system? Teacher?

The children in my neighborhood attend the schools. My children attended the schools - they are in their upper 20’s. One of my children had an IEP from 2nd to 12th grade and I have done a fair bit of advocacy surrounding their issues and trying to make sure things were better than what he experienced. I like to see how that is going. I am part of this community.

That is wonderful that you are so involved in your community.

However, my concern is that someone who is ten years removed from FCPS probably does not have enough current understanding of the school system to be an effective advocate in a designated parent/caregiver committee role.

For example, I was recently speaking with a very pro rezoning empty nester about rezoning. She had very strong opinions in support about rezoning and lots of information about the district, in particular schools outside her neighborhood, that were not in alignment with fact.

A lot of what this person stated seemed to come from this website or reddit. Several "facts" stated about my kids zoned schools were blatantly false, to the point of being laughable. At least two of these "facts" has been posted here on this site. If this person was hypothetically selected for the committee, they would be pushing for rezoning decisions that affect a lot of kids, as an expert in information that was inaccurate and based of anonymous discussion forums, not real, current FCPS experience.

Having someone who has been out of the FCPS schools for over a decade or more appointed as the allocated parent representative takes away a critical voice from.the community being represented. So much has changed in the schools since covid, which makes an even stronger case that no parent slots should be given to anyone who has not had a kid in the FCPS system since covid.

I appreciate and applaud anyone who volunteered their time on this committee, and do not fault the empty nester who volunteered.

But I am very disappointed if FCPS has given one of the precious parent slots to an empty nester who has no kids involved in FCPS and hasn't had students in a decade or more.

On the note of the article in question, is it possible that the parent rep in question simply did not mention their kid's schools over concerns of doxxing? They are maming a sacrifice of time and privacy to be on the committee. I imagine that they want to keep as much privacy for their families as possible.

So you can have current parents who know next to nothing about any schools outside their pyramid and also have misunderstandings based on reading this forum, FB (the FairFACTS site is full of false claims), or chatter with neighbors. Some just wanted to limit potential BRAC members to current parents to increase their own chances of being selected. They may have more skin in the game, but aren’t necessarily more knowledgeable.

You should not be given a designated parent slot if you are not a parent.

There are separate community spots. You should be eligible for one of those but not for one of the two slots per pyramid that are specifically allocated for parents by Dr. Reid and the school board in multiple emails.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mvonthemove.com/fcps-engages-with-families-from-region-3-on-school-boundary-review/

12/9/24 Region 3 - Edison, West Potomac, Mount Vernon. 300 attendees. Far different than Reid 's orchestration for Region 5. Note Reid + Dunne sticking in a new program only available for West Potomac pyramid rather than changing boundaries. https://mvonthemove.com/bucknell-elementary-decides-to-add-montessori-program-option-after-all/

Am I reading this right in that both community reps come from Mt. Vernon and one of them no longer has kids in school??? Wowwwwww.

I think it’s appropriate for people without children in the system to take part. We pay taxes too - we should have a say too.

Oh, interesting that there are non parents on this fcps thread.
Agree you should have a say, but the interests may be very skewed.

in what way would it be skewed?

Asking out of genuine curiosity - do you have any links to the school system? Teacher?

The children in my neighborhood attend the schools. My children attended the schools - they are in their upper 20’s. One of my children had an IEP from 2nd to 12th grade and I have done a fair bit of advocacy surrounding their issues and trying to make sure things were better than what he experienced. I like to see how that is going. I am part of this community.

That is wonderful that you are so involved in your community.

However, my concern is that someone who is ten years removed from FCPS probably does not have enough current understanding of the school system to be an effective advocate in a designated parent/caregiver committee role.

For example, I was recently speaking with a very pro rezoning empty nester about rezoning. She had very strong opinions in support about rezoning and lots of information about the district, in particular schools outside her neighborhood, that were not in alignment with fact.

A lot of what this person stated seemed to come from this website or reddit. Several "facts" stated about my kids zoned schools were blatantly false, to the point of being laughable. At least two of these "facts" has been posted here on this site. If this person was hypothetically selected for the committee, they would be pushing for rezoning decisions that affect a lot of kids, as an expert in information that was inaccurate and based of anonymous discussion forums, not real, current FCPS experience.

Having someone who has been out of the FCPS schools for over a decade or more appointed as the allocated parent representative takes away a critical voice from.the community being represented. So much has changed in the schools since covid, which makes an even stronger case that no parent slots should be given to anyone who has not had a kid in the FCPS system since covid.

I appreciate and applaud anyone who volunteered their time on this committee, and do not fault the empty nester who volunteered.

But I am very disappointed if FCPS has given one of the precious parent slots to an empty nester who has no kids involved in FCPS and hasn't had students in a decade or more.

On the note of the article in question, is it possible that the parent rep in question simply did not mention their kid's schools over concerns of doxxing? They are maming a sacrifice of time and privacy to be on the committee. I imagine that they want to keep as much privacy for their families as possible.

So you can have current parents who know next to nothing about any schools outside their pyramid and also have misunderstandings based on reading this forum, FB (the FairFACTS site is full of false claims), or chatter with neighbors. Some just wanted to limit potential BRAC members to current parents to increase their own chances of being selected. They may have more skin in the game, but aren’t necessarily more knowledgeable.

You should not be given a designated parent slot if you are not a parent.

There are separate community spots. You should be eligible for one of those but not for one of the two slots per pyramid that are specifically allocated for parents by Dr. Reid and the school board in multiple emails.

They are designated parent/caregiver/community member slots per pyramid, as illustrated by the Mt. Vernon reps at their regional meeting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mvonthemove.com/fcps-engages-with-families-from-region-3-on-school-boundary-review/

12/9/24 Region 3 - Edison, West Potomac, Mount Vernon. 300 attendees. Far different than Reid 's orchestration for Region 5. Note Reid + Dunne sticking in a new program only available for West Potomac pyramid rather than changing boundaries. https://mvonthemove.com/bucknell-elementary-decides-to-add-montessori-program-option-after-all/

Am I reading this right in that both community reps come from Mt. Vernon and one of them no longer has kids in school??? Wowwwwww.

I think it’s appropriate for people without children in the system to take part. We pay taxes too - we should have a say too.

Oh, interesting that there are non parents on this fcps thread.
Agree you should have a say, but the interests may be very skewed.

in what way would it be skewed?

Asking out of genuine curiosity - do you have any links to the school system? Teacher?

The children in my neighborhood attend the schools. My children attended the schools - they are in their upper 20’s. One of my children had an IEP from 2nd to 12th grade and I have done a fair bit of advocacy surrounding their issues and trying to make sure things were better than what he experienced. I like to see how that is going. I am part of this community.

That is wonderful that you are so involved in your community.

However, my concern is that someone who is ten years removed from FCPS probably does not have enough current understanding of the school system to be an effective advocate in a designated parent/caregiver committee role.

For example, I was recently speaking with a very pro rezoning empty nester about rezoning. She had very strong opinions in support about rezoning and lots of information about the district, in particular schools outside her neighborhood, that were not in alignment with fact.

A lot of what this person stated seemed to come from this website or reddit. Several "facts" stated about my kids zoned schools were blatantly false, to the point of being laughable. At least two of these "facts" has been posted here on this site. If this person was hypothetically selected for the committee, they would be pushing for rezoning decisions that affect a lot of kids, as an expert in information that was inaccurate and based of anonymous discussion forums, not real, current FCPS experience.

Having someone who has been out of the FCPS schools for over a decade or more appointed as the allocated parent representative takes away a critical voice from.the community being represented. So much has changed in the schools since covid, which makes an even stronger case that no parent slots should be given to anyone who has not had a kid in the FCPS system since covid.

I appreciate and applaud anyone who volunteered their time on this committee, and do not fault the empty nester who volunteered.

But I am very disappointed if FCPS has given one of the precious parent slots to an empty nester who has no kids involved in FCPS and hasn't had students in a decade or more.

On the note of the article in question, is it possible that the parent rep in question simply did not mention their kid's schools over concerns of doxxing? They are maming a sacrifice of time and privacy to be on the committee. I imagine that they want to keep as much privacy for their families as possible.

So you can have current parents who know next to nothing about any schools outside their pyramid and also have misunderstandings based on reading this forum, FB (the FairFACTS site is full of false claims), or chatter with neighbors. Some just wanted to limit potential BRAC members to current parents to increase their own chances of being selected. They may have more skin in the game, but aren’t necessarily more knowledgeable.

You should not be given a designated parent slot if you are not a parent.

There are separate community spots. You should be eligible for one of those but not for one of the two slots per pyramid that are specifically allocated for parents by Dr. Reid and the school board in multiple emails.

They are designated parent/caregiver/community member slots per pyramid, as illustrated by the Mt. Vernon reps at their regional meeting.

There were supposed to be 2 per pyramid of just parents/caregivers. So 48 reps. The committee is 80. The rest were to be community members, teachers, people on other committees etc. and fairly certain the 32 other members were hand picked by Reid/the school board based on some names that have come out. People who don’t even live in Fairfax county and have not had kids in the system

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mvonthemove.com/fcps-engages-with-families-from-region-3-on-school-boundary-review/

12/9/24 Region 3 - Edison, West Potomac, Mount Vernon. 300 attendees. Far different than Reid 's orchestration for Region 5. Note Reid + Dunne sticking in a new program only available for West Potomac pyramid rather than changing boundaries. https://mvonthemove.com/bucknell-elementary-decides-to-add-montessori-program-option-after-all/

My post above. 2 persons whose residences show up as Mount Vernon HS on the boundary locator is not the relevant thing in this post. The article on the Dunne Montesorri Magnet is primary-removes a major portion of Bucknell from the boundary process, magnet for West Potomac Pyramid only, grant money expires. FCPS received grant $ when it established some elementary magnets and immersion. Now the costs are from local taxes/operating fund. Program budget costs for the 2[3] elementary magnets just for transportaion are 2024 $579,930 and 2025 $523,090.

So anyone willing to have their tax dollars going to transporting West Potomac K-6 to a Montessori Magnet? That estimate is not given but might e similar to what is actually spent on the 2 current magnets. Extra staff and transfers in: Bailey 2 (less than 10), Baileys Upper 3 (less than 10) , Hunters Woods 2 (251 transfer in). That magnet program is basically a staffing bump for the Bailey's but works like a magnet at Hunters Woods. Like Bucknell they were set up to avoid base school boundary changes.

It sounds like you have a lot of facts, but your presentation is very incoherent.

If you are trying to get folks on board, then it would be helpful if your post was a little more clear.

DP. Just do a search for the magnet Montessori program now planned at Bucknell, a long-underenrolled ES in the West Potomac pyramid. PP’s point is that this seems to carve the school out of the current county-wide study and that, at a time when FCPS is supposedly looking for transportation savings, it is creating a new program at Bucknell that students all over the large West Potomac pyramid could end up attending rather than their base schools.

PP also referred to some other ES with magnet programs to make the point that they historically were created to try to shore up the enrollments at those schools and/or attract kids from higher-income families.

Does that help?

Bucknell was expanded based on the county telling the FCPS that there would be massive residential growth along the route 1 corridor within Bucknell's boundary as part of a redevelopment plan. That growth still hasn't materialized. Rather than let the building sit mostly empty, at least the county is trying to fill it.

How lovely. Elsewhere in the county they don’t address actual growth with new schools or capacity enhancements but Alexandria got a new school based on potential development. Was this before they expanded West Potomac to 3000 when Mount Vernon had empty seats?

The incompetence really has been over the top.

More specifically the West Potomac pyramid gets an exclusive magnet program after the county spent bond $ expanding capacity at the site and the HS. I posted the article and people on the other side of this county have perpetually funded nonsense for that pyramid.

The program budget has magnet costs and the 2 existing should be dropped, Hunters Woods returned to full base school capacity inventory, and the current program staff costs plus transportation added into the operating funds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mvonthemove.com/fcps-engages-with-families-from-region-3-on-school-boundary-review/

12/9/24 Region 3 - Edison, West Potomac, Mount Vernon. 300 attendees. Far different than Reid 's orchestration for Region 5. Note Reid + Dunne sticking in a new program only available for West Potomac pyramid rather than changing boundaries. https://mvonthemove.com/bucknell-elementary-decides-to-add-montessori-program-option-after-all/

Am I reading this right in that both community reps come from Mt. Vernon and one of them no longer has kids in school??? Wowwwwww.

I think it’s appropriate for people without children in the system to take part. We pay taxes too - we should have a say too.

Oh, interesting that there are non parents on this fcps thread.
Agree you should have a say, but the interests may be very skewed.

in what way would it be skewed?

Asking out of genuine curiosity - do you have any links to the school system? Teacher?

The children in my neighborhood attend the schools. My children attended the schools - they are in their upper 20’s. One of my children had an IEP from 2nd to 12th grade and I have done a fair bit of advocacy surrounding their issues and trying to make sure things were better than what he experienced. I like to see how that is going. I am part of this community.

That is wonderful that you are so involved in your community.

However, my concern is that someone who is ten years removed from FCPS probably does not have enough current understanding of the school system to be an effective advocate in a designated parent/caregiver committee role.

For example, I was recently speaking with a very pro rezoning empty nester about rezoning. She had very strong opinions in support about rezoning and lots of information about the district, in particular schools outside her neighborhood, that were not in alignment with fact.

A lot of what this person stated seemed to come from this website or reddit. Several "facts" stated about my kids zoned schools were blatantly false, to the point of being laughable. At least two of these "facts" has been posted here on this site. If this person was hypothetically selected for the committee, they would be pushing for rezoning decisions that affect a lot of kids, as an expert in information that was inaccurate and based of anonymous discussion forums, not real, current FCPS experience.

Having someone who has been out of the FCPS schools for over a decade or more appointed as the allocated parent representative takes away a critical voice from.the community being represented. So much has changed in the schools since covid, which makes an even stronger case that no parent slots should be given to anyone who has not had a kid in the FCPS system since covid.

I appreciate and applaud anyone who volunteered their time on this committee, and do not fault the empty nester who volunteered.

But I am very disappointed if FCPS has given one of the precious parent slots to an empty nester who has no kids involved in FCPS and hasn't had students in a decade or more.

On the note of the article in question, is it possible that the parent rep in question simply did not mention their kid's schools over concerns of doxxing? They are maming a sacrifice of time and privacy to be on the committee. I imagine that they want to keep as much privacy for their families as possible.

So you can have current parents who know next to nothing about any schools outside their pyramid and also have misunderstandings based on reading this forum, FB (the FairFACTS site is full of false claims), or chatter with neighbors. Some just wanted to limit potential BRAC members to current parents to increase their own chances of being selected. They may have more skin in the game, but aren’t necessarily more knowledgeable.

You should not be given a designated parent slot if you are not a parent.

There are separate community spots. You should be eligible for one of those but not for one of the two slots per pyramid that are specifically allocated for parents by Dr. Reid and the school board in multiple emails.

They are designated parent/caregiver/community member slots per pyramid, as illustrated by the Mt. Vernon reps at their regional meeting.

There were supposed to be 2 per pyramid of just parents/caregivers. So 48 reps. The committee is 80. The rest were to be community members, teachers, people on other committees etc. and fairly certain the 32 other members were hand picked by Reid/the school board based on some names that have come out. People who don’t even live in Fairfax county and have not had kids in the system

Exactly

The 48 spots were designated parent/caregiver spots in every communication FCPS sent.

"Community members" were supposed to be part of the other 32 other spots, along with teachers and staff members. Unfortunately, Dr. Reid and FCPS appears to have given at least one of those spots to political fundraisers with no real connection to FCPS. It will be interesting to see when the list comes out how many political operatives are or are not on the committee.

If the empty nester who keeps arguing that the 2 designated parent/caregiver spots were also community spots was actually current with FCPS information, beyond what she reads on this message board, she would know that those 48 spots were always clearly designated as parent/caregver NOT parent/caregiver/community

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mvonthemove.com/fcps-engages-with-families-from-region-3-on-school-boundary-review/

12/9/24 Region 3 - Edison, West Potomac, Mount Vernon. 300 attendees. Far different than Reid 's orchestration for Region 5. Note Reid + Dunne sticking in a new program only available for West Potomac pyramid rather than changing boundaries. https://mvonthemove.com/bucknell-elementary-decides-to-add-montessori-program-option-after-all/

My post above. 2 persons whose residences show up as Mount Vernon HS on the boundary locator is not the relevant thing in this post. The article on the Dunne Montesorri Magnet is primary-removes a major portion of Bucknell from the boundary process, magnet for West Potomac Pyramid only, grant money expires. FCPS received grant $ when it established some elementary magnets and immersion. Now the costs are from local taxes/operating fund. Program budget costs for the 2[3] elementary magnets just for transportaion are 2024 $579,930 and 2025 $523,090.

So anyone willing to have their tax dollars going to transporting West Potomac K-6 to a Montessori Magnet? That estimate is not given but might e similar to what is actually spent on the 2 current magnets. Extra staff and transfers in: Bailey 2 (less than 10), Baileys Upper 3 (less than 10) , Hunters Woods 2 (251 transfer in). That magnet program is basically a staffing bump for the Bailey's but works like a magnet at Hunters Woods. Like Bucknell they were set up to avoid base school boundary changes.

It sounds like you have a lot of facts, but your presentation is very incoherent.

If you are trying to get folks on board, then it would be helpful if your post was a little more clear.

DP. Just do a search for the magnet Montessori program now planned at Bucknell, a long-underenrolled ES in the West Potomac pyramid. PP’s point is that this seems to carve the school out of the current county-wide study and that, at a time when FCPS is supposedly looking for transportation savings, it is creating a new program at Bucknell that students all over the large West Potomac pyramid could end up attending rather than their base schools.

PP also referred to some other ES with magnet programs to make the point that they historically were created to try to shore up the enrollments at those schools and/or attract kids from higher-income families.

Does that help?

Bucknell was expanded based on the county telling the FCPS that there would be massive residential growth along the route 1 corridor within Bucknell's boundary as part of a redevelopment plan. That growth still hasn't materialized. Rather than let the building sit mostly empty, at least the county is trying to fill it.

How lovely. Elsewhere in the county they don’t address actual growth with new schools or capacity enhancements but Alexandria got a new school based on potential development. Was this before they expanded West Potomac to 3000 when Mount Vernon had empty seats?

The incompetence really has been over the top.

More specifically the West Potomac pyramid gets an exclusive magnet program after the county spent bond $ expanding capacity at the site and the HS. I posted the article and people on the other side of this county have perpetually funded nonsense for that pyramid.

The program budget has magnet costs and the 2 existing should be dropped, Hunters Woods returned to full base school capacity inventory, and the current program staff costs plus transportation added into the operating funds.

Do you really think anyone is going to sign up for that magnet? The school is 60% FARMS and majority ELL. People with options will not be kicking down the doors to get there

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mvonthemove.com/fcps-engages-with-families-from-region-3-on-school-boundary-review/

12/9/24 Region 3 - Edison, West Potomac, Mount Vernon. 300 attendees. Far different than Reid 's orchestration for Region 5. Note Reid + Dunne sticking in a new program only available for West Potomac pyramid rather than changing boundaries. https://mvonthemove.com/bucknell-elementary-decides-to-add-montessori-program-option-after-all/

Am I reading this right in that both community reps come from Mt. Vernon and one of them no longer has kids in school??? Wowwwwww.

I think it’s appropriate for people without children in the system to take part. We pay taxes too - we should have a say too.

Oh, interesting that there are non parents on this fcps thread.
Agree you should have a say, but the interests may be very skewed.

in what way would it be skewed?

Asking out of genuine curiosity - do you have any links to the school system? Teacher?

The children in my neighborhood attend the schools. My children attended the schools - they are in their upper 20’s. One of my children had an IEP from 2nd to 12th grade and I have done a fair bit of advocacy surrounding their issues and trying to make sure things were better than what he experienced. I like to see how that is going. I am part of this community.

That is wonderful that you are so involved in your community.

However, my concern is that someone who is ten years removed from FCPS probably does not have enough current understanding of the school system to be an effective advocate in a designated parent/caregiver committee role.

For example, I was recently speaking with a very pro rezoning empty nester about rezoning. She had very strong opinions in support about rezoning and lots of information about the district, in particular schools outside her neighborhood, that were not in alignment with fact.

A lot of what this person stated seemed to come from this website or reddit. Several "facts" stated about my kids zoned schools were blatantly false, to the point of being laughable. At least two of these "facts" has been posted here on this site. If this person was hypothetically selected for the committee, they would be pushing for rezoning decisions that affect a lot of kids, as an expert in information that was inaccurate and based of anonymous discussion forums, not real, current FCPS experience.

Having someone who has been out of the FCPS schools for over a decade or more appointed as the allocated parent representative takes away a critical voice from.the community being represented. So much has changed in the schools since covid, which makes an even stronger case that no parent slots should be given to anyone who has not had a kid in the FCPS system since covid.

I appreciate and applaud anyone who volunteered their time on this committee, and do not fault the empty nester who volunteered.

But I am very disappointed if FCPS has given one of the precious parent slots to an empty nester who has no kids involved in FCPS and hasn't had students in a decade or more.

On the note of the article in question, is it possible that the parent rep in question simply did not mention their kid's schools over concerns of doxxing? They are maming a sacrifice of time and privacy to be on the committee. I imagine that they want to keep as much privacy for their families as possible.

So you can have current parents who know next to nothing about any schools outside their pyramid and also have misunderstandings based on reading this forum, FB (the FairFACTS site is full of false claims), or chatter with neighbors. Some just wanted to limit potential BRAC members to current parents to increase their own chances of being selected. They may have more skin in the game, but aren’t necessarily more knowledgeable.

You should not be given a designated parent slot if you are not a parent.

There are separate community spots. You should be eligible for one of those but not for one of the two slots per pyramid that are specifically allocated for parents by Dr. Reid and the school board in multiple emails.

They are designated parent/caregiver/community member slots per pyramid, as illustrated by the Mt. Vernon reps at their regional meeting.

There were supposed to be 2 per pyramid of just parents/caregivers. So 48 reps. The committee is 80. The rest were to be community members, teachers, people on other committees etc. and fairly certain the 32 other members were hand picked by Reid/the school board based on some names that have come out. People who don’t even live in Fairfax county and have not had kids in the system

Nope. It was two reps in each of the 24 pyramids who could be parents, caregivers, or community members. The others are largely staff and past/current members of other FCPS committees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mvonthemove.com/fcps-engages-with-families-from-region-3-on-school-boundary-review/

12/9/24 Region 3 - Edison, West Potomac, Mount Vernon. 300 attendees. Far different than Reid 's orchestration for Region 5. Note Reid + Dunne sticking in a new program only available for West Potomac pyramid rather than changing boundaries. https://mvonthemove.com/bucknell-elementary-decides-to-add-montessori-program-option-after-all/

My post above. 2 persons whose residences show up as Mount Vernon HS on the boundary locator is not the relevant thing in this post. The article on the Dunne Montesorri Magnet is primary-removes a major portion of Bucknell from the boundary process, magnet for West Potomac Pyramid only, grant money expires. FCPS received grant $ when it established some elementary magnets and immersion. Now the costs are from local taxes/operating fund. Program budget costs for the 2[3] elementary magnets just for transportaion are 2024 $579,930 and 2025 $523,090.

So anyone willing to have their tax dollars going to transporting West Potomac K-6 to a Montessori Magnet? That estimate is not given but might e similar to what is actually spent on the 2 current magnets. Extra staff and transfers in: Bailey 2 (less than 10), Baileys Upper 3 (less than 10) , Hunters Woods 2 (251 transfer in). That magnet program is basically a staffing bump for the Bailey's but works like a magnet at Hunters Woods. Like Bucknell they were set up to avoid base school boundary changes.

It sounds like you have a lot of facts, but your presentation is very incoherent.

If you are trying to get folks on board, then it would be helpful if your post was a little more clear.

DP. Just do a search for the magnet Montessori program now planned at Bucknell, a long-underenrolled ES in the West Potomac pyramid. PP’s point is that this seems to carve the school out of the current county-wide study and that, at a time when FCPS is supposedly looking for transportation savings, it is creating a new program at Bucknell that students all over the large West Potomac pyramid could end up attending rather than their base schools.

PP also referred to some other ES with magnet programs to make the point that they historically were created to try to shore up the enrollments at those schools and/or attract kids from higher-income families.

Does that help?

Bucknell was expanded based on the county telling the FCPS that there would be massive residential growth along the route 1 corridor within Bucknell's boundary as part of a redevelopment plan. That growth still hasn't materialized. Rather than let the building sit mostly empty, at least the county is trying to fill it.

How lovely. Elsewhere in the county they don’t address actual growth with new schools or capacity enhancements but Alexandria got a new school based on potential development. Was this before they expanded West Potomac to 3000 when Mount Vernon had empty seats?

The incompetence really has been over the top.

More specifically the West Potomac pyramid gets an exclusive magnet program after the county spent bond $ expanding capacity at the site and the HS. I posted the article and people on the other side of this county have perpetually funded nonsense for that pyramid.

The program budget has magnet costs and the 2 existing should be dropped, Hunters Woods returned to full base school capacity inventory, and the current program staff costs plus transportation added into the operating funds.

For whatever reason, they spend way more money on the Mason and Mt. Vernon districts than on any other districts. Franconia has high levels of poverty as well but it doesn't get all the money that seem to flow into the other two districts.

Just looking at Mason, Glasgow MS was rebuilt from scratch back in 2008. Then they built two new elementary schools (Mason Crest and Bailey's Upper) and spent tens of millions on addition to Justice HS although they could have waited until the Falls Church HS renovation was finished and moved kids there. Meanwhile, they continue to operate a magnet arts and sciences school at Bailey's.

In Mount Vernon, the Bucknell expansion was premature so now they are trying to cover their tracks by adding a special Montessori program there to backfill the school (we'll see if that works), and West Potomac got a huge expansion outside the renovation queue even though there were hundreds of empty seats at Mt. Vernon.

This was all courtesy of School Board members like Karen Corbett Sanders, a snake who worked the system very well to get money for her district while stiffing schools in other magisterial districts at every opportunity. If people think Mateo Dunne is a voice of reason in connection with the current review, they need to remember that Corbett Sanders is his patron. One suspects his agenda is to continue to under-invest everywhere else in the county while the West Potomac pyramid continues to get the goodies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mvonthemove.com/fcps-engages-with-families-from-region-3-on-school-boundary-review/

12/9/24 Region 3 - Edison, West Potomac, Mount Vernon. 300 attendees. Far different than Reid 's orchestration for Region 5. Note Reid + Dunne sticking in a new program only available for West Potomac pyramid rather than changing boundaries. https://mvonthemove.com/bucknell-elementary-decides-to-add-montessori-program-option-after-all/

Am I reading this right in that both community reps come from Mt. Vernon and one of them no longer has kids in school??? Wowwwwww.

I think it’s appropriate for people without children in the system to take part. We pay taxes too - we should have a say too.

Oh, interesting that there are non parents on this fcps thread.
Agree you should have a say, but the interests may be very skewed.

in what way would it be skewed?

Asking out of genuine curiosity - do you have any links to the school system? Teacher?

The children in my neighborhood attend the schools. My children attended the schools - they are in their upper 20’s. One of my children had an IEP from 2nd to 12th grade and I have done a fair bit of advocacy surrounding their issues and trying to make sure things were better than what he experienced. I like to see how that is going. I am part of this community.

That is wonderful that you are so involved in your community.

However, my concern is that someone who is ten years removed from FCPS probably does not have enough current understanding of the school system to be an effective advocate in a designated parent/caregiver committee role.

For example, I was recently speaking with a very pro rezoning empty nester about rezoning. She had very strong opinions in support about rezoning and lots of information about the district, in particular schools outside her neighborhood, that were not in alignment with fact.

A lot of what this person stated seemed to come from this website or reddit. Several "facts" stated about my kids zoned schools were blatantly false, to the point of being laughable. At least two of these "facts" has been posted here on this site. If this person was hypothetically selected for the committee, they would be pushing for rezoning decisions that affect a lot of kids, as an expert in information that was inaccurate and based of anonymous discussion forums, not real, current FCPS experience.

Having someone who has been out of the FCPS schools for over a decade or more appointed as the allocated parent representative takes away a critical voice from.the community being represented. So much has changed in the schools since covid, which makes an even stronger case that no parent slots should be given to anyone who has not had a kid in the FCPS system since covid.

I appreciate and applaud anyone who volunteered their time on this committee, and do not fault the empty nester who volunteered.

But I am very disappointed if FCPS has given one of the precious parent slots to an empty nester who has no kids involved in FCPS and hasn't had students in a decade or more.

On the note of the article in question, is it possible that the parent rep in question simply did not mention their kid's schools over concerns of doxxing? They are maming a sacrifice of time and privacy to be on the committee. I imagine that they want to keep as much privacy for their families as possible.

So you can have current parents who know next to nothing about any schools outside their pyramid and also have misunderstandings based on reading this forum, FB (the FairFACTS site is full of false claims), or chatter with neighbors. Some just wanted to limit potential BRAC members to current parents to increase their own chances of being selected. They may have more skin in the game, but aren’t necessarily more knowledgeable.

You should not be given a designated parent slot if you are not a parent.

There are separate community spots. You should be eligible for one of those but not for one of the two slots per pyramid that are specifically allocated for parents by Dr. Reid and the school board in multiple emails.

They are designated parent/caregiver/community member slots per pyramid, as illustrated by the Mt. Vernon reps at their regional meeting.

There were supposed to be 2 per pyramid of just parents/caregivers. So 48 reps. The committee is 80. The rest were to be community members, teachers, people on other committees etc. and fairly certain the 32 other members were hand picked by Reid/the school board based on some names that have come out. People who don’t even live in Fairfax county and have not had kids in the system

Nope. It was two reps in each of the 24 pyramids who could be parents, caregivers, or community members. The others are largely staff and past/current members of other FCPS committees.

You are completely wrong

The emails never listed community members in the slots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mvonthemove.com/fcps-engages-with-families-from-region-3-on-school-boundary-review/

12/9/24 Region 3 - Edison, West Potomac, Mount Vernon. 300 attendees. Far different than Reid 's orchestration for Region 5. Note Reid + Dunne sticking in a new program only available for West Potomac pyramid rather than changing boundaries. https://mvonthemove.com/bucknell-elementary-decides-to-add-montessori-program-option-after-all/

Am I reading this right in that both community reps come from Mt. Vernon and one of them no longer has kids in school??? Wowwwwww.

I think it’s appropriate for people without children in the system to take part. We pay taxes too - we should have a say too.

Oh, interesting that there are non parents on this fcps thread.
Agree you should have a say, but the interests may be very skewed.

in what way would it be skewed?

Asking out of genuine curiosity - do you have any links to the school system? Teacher?

The children in my neighborhood attend the schools. My children attended the schools - they are in their upper 20’s. One of my children had an IEP from 2nd to 12th grade and I have done a fair bit of advocacy surrounding their issues and trying to make sure things were better than what he experienced. I like to see how that is going. I am part of this community.

That is wonderful that you are so involved in your community.

However, my concern is that someone who is ten years removed from FCPS probably does not have enough current understanding of the school system to be an effective advocate in a designated parent/caregiver committee role.

For example, I was recently speaking with a very pro rezoning empty nester about rezoning. She had very strong opinions in support about rezoning and lots of information about the district, in particular schools outside her neighborhood, that were not in alignment with fact.

A lot of what this person stated seemed to come from this website or reddit. Several "facts" stated about my kids zoned schools were blatantly false, to the point of being laughable. At least two of these "facts" has been posted here on this site. If this person was hypothetically selected for the committee, they would be pushing for rezoning decisions that affect a lot of kids, as an expert in information that was inaccurate and based of anonymous discussion forums, not real, current FCPS experience.

Having someone who has been out of the FCPS schools for over a decade or more appointed as the allocated parent representative takes away a critical voice from.the community being represented. So much has changed in the schools since covid, which makes an even stronger case that no parent slots should be given to anyone who has not had a kid in the FCPS system since covid.

I appreciate and applaud anyone who volunteered their time on this committee, and do not fault the empty nester who volunteered.

But I am very disappointed if FCPS has given one of the precious parent slots to an empty nester who has no kids involved in FCPS and hasn't had students in a decade or more.

On the note of the article in question, is it possible that the parent rep in question simply did not mention their kid's schools over concerns of doxxing? They are maming a sacrifice of time and privacy to be on the committee. I imagine that they want to keep as much privacy for their families as possible.

So you can have current parents who know next to nothing about any schools outside their pyramid and also have misunderstandings based on reading this forum, FB (the FairFACTS site is full of false claims), or chatter with neighbors. Some just wanted to limit potential BRAC members to current parents to increase their own chances of being selected. They may have more skin in the game, but aren’t necessarily more knowledgeable.

You should not be given a designated parent slot if you are not a parent.

There are separate community spots. You should be eligible for one of those but not for one of the two slots per pyramid that are specifically allocated for parents by Dr. Reid and the school board in multiple emails.

They are designated parent/caregiver/community member slots per pyramid, as illustrated by the Mt. Vernon reps at their regional meeting.

There were supposed to be 2 per pyramid of just parents/caregivers. So 48 reps. The committee is 80. The rest were to be community members, teachers, people on other committees etc. and fairly certain the 32 other members were hand picked by Reid/the school board based on some names that have come out. People who don’t even live in Fairfax county and have not had kids in the system

Nope. It was two reps in each of the 24 pyramids who could be parents, caregivers, or community members. The others are largely staff and past/current members of other FCPS committees.

Community members were not listed in the parent/caregiver spots.

Community members were listed in the staff/community spots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mvonthemove.com/fcps-engages-with-families-from-region-3-on-school-boundary-review/

12/9/24 Region 3 - Edison, West Potomac, Mount Vernon. 300 attendees. Far different than Reid 's orchestration for Region 5. Note Reid + Dunne sticking in a new program only available for West Potomac pyramid rather than changing boundaries. https://mvonthemove.com/bucknell-elementary-decides-to-add-montessori-program-option-after-all/

Am I reading this right in that both community reps come from Mt. Vernon and one of them no longer has kids in school??? Wowwwwww.

I think it’s appropriate for people without children in the system to take part. We pay taxes too - we should have a say too.

Oh, interesting that there are non parents on this fcps thread.
Agree you should have a say, but the interests may be very skewed.

in what way would it be skewed?

Asking out of genuine curiosity - do you have any links to the school system? Teacher?

The children in my neighborhood attend the schools. My children attended the schools - they are in their upper 20’s. One of my children had an IEP from 2nd to 12th grade and I have done a fair bit of advocacy surrounding their issues and trying to make sure things were better than what he experienced. I like to see how that is going. I am part of this community.

That is wonderful that you are so involved in your community.

However, my concern is that someone who is ten years removed from FCPS probably does not have enough current understanding of the school system to be an effective advocate in a designated parent/caregiver committee role.

For example, I was recently speaking with a very pro rezoning empty nester about rezoning. She had very strong opinions in support about rezoning and lots of information about the district, in particular schools outside her neighborhood, that were not in alignment with fact.

A lot of what this person stated seemed to come from this website or reddit. Several "facts" stated about my kids zoned schools were blatantly false, to the point of being laughable. At least two of these "facts" has been posted here on this site. If this person was hypothetically selected for the committee, they would be pushing for rezoning decisions that affect a lot of kids, as an expert in information that was inaccurate and based of anonymous discussion forums, not real, current FCPS experience.

Having someone who has been out of the FCPS schools for over a decade or more appointed as the allocated parent representative takes away a critical voice from.the community being represented. So much has changed in the schools since covid, which makes an even stronger case that no parent slots should be given to anyone who has not had a kid in the FCPS system since covid.

I appreciate and applaud anyone who volunteered their time on this committee, and do not fault the empty nester who volunteered.

But I am very disappointed if FCPS has given one of the precious parent slots to an empty nester who has no kids involved in FCPS and hasn't had students in a decade or more.

On the note of the article in question, is it possible that the parent rep in question simply did not mention their kid's schools over concerns of doxxing? They are maming a sacrifice of time and privacy to be on the committee. I imagine that they want to keep as much privacy for their families as possible.

So you can have current parents who know next to nothing about any schools outside their pyramid and also have misunderstandings based on reading this forum, FB (the FairFACTS site is full of false claims), or chatter with neighbors. Some just wanted to limit potential BRAC members to current parents to increase their own chances of being selected. They may have more skin in the game, but aren’t necessarily more knowledgeable.

You should not be given a designated parent slot if you are not a parent.

There are separate community spots. You should be eligible for one of those but not for one of the two slots per pyramid that are specifically allocated for parents by Dr. Reid and the school board in multiple emails.

They are designated parent/caregiver/community member slots per pyramid, as illustrated by the Mt. Vernon reps at their regional meeting.

There were supposed to be 2 per pyramid of just parents/caregivers. So 48 reps. The committee is 80. The rest were to be community members, teachers, people on other committees etc. and fairly certain the 32 other members were hand picked by Reid/the school board based on some names that have come out. People who don’t even live in Fairfax county and have not had kids in the system

Nope. It was two reps in each of the 24 pyramids who could be parents, caregivers, or community members. The others are largely staff and past/current members of other FCPS committees.

Email from fcps dated 11/20…. “more than 1600 parents/caregivers applied to participate in the superintendents boundary review advisory committee. 2 parents/caregivers from each of FCPS’s 24 pyramids were invited to join the committee.” Not community members. Parents/caregivers. Community members are not to be part of the 2 per pyramid.

The email continues: other advisory committee members include school based administrators, teachers, operational staff, and representatives from community groups

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mvonthemove.com/fcps-engages-with-families-from-region-3-on-school-boundary-review/

12/9/24 Region 3 - Edison, West Potomac, Mount Vernon. 300 attendees. Far different than Reid 's orchestration for Region 5. Note Reid + Dunne sticking in a new program only available for West Potomac pyramid rather than changing boundaries. https://mvonthemove.com/bucknell-elementary-decides-to-add-montessori-program-option-after-all/

My post above. 2 persons whose residences show up as Mount Vernon HS on the boundary locator is not the relevant thing in this post. The article on the Dunne Montesorri Magnet is primary-removes a major portion of Bucknell from the boundary process, magnet for West Potomac Pyramid only, grant money expires. FCPS received grant $ when it established some elementary magnets and immersion. Now the costs are from local taxes/operating fund. Program budget costs for the 2[3] elementary magnets just for transportaion are 2024 $579,930 and 2025 $523,090.

So anyone willing to have their tax dollars going to transporting West Potomac K-6 to a Montessori Magnet? That estimate is not given but might e similar to what is actually spent on the 2 current magnets. Extra staff and transfers in: Bailey 2 (less than 10), Baileys Upper 3 (less than 10) , Hunters Woods 2 (251 transfer in). That magnet program is basically a staffing bump for the Bailey's but works like a magnet at Hunters Woods. Like Bucknell they were set up to avoid base school boundary changes.

It sounds like you have a lot of facts, but your presentation is very incoherent.

If you are trying to get folks on board, then it would be helpful if your post was a little more clear.

DP. Just do a search for the magnet Montessori program now planned at Bucknell, a long-underenrolled ES in the West Potomac pyramid. PP’s point is that this seems to carve the school out of the current county-wide study and that, at a time when FCPS is supposedly looking for transportation savings, it is creating a new program at Bucknell that students all over the large West Potomac pyramid could end up attending rather than their base schools.

PP also referred to some other ES with magnet programs to make the point that they historically were created to try to shore up the enrollments at those schools and/or attract kids from higher-income families.

Does that help?

Bucknell was expanded based on the county telling the FCPS that there would be massive residential growth along the route 1 corridor within Bucknell's boundary as part of a redevelopment plan. That growth still hasn't materialized. Rather than let the building sit mostly empty, at least the county is trying to fill it.

How lovely. Elsewhere in the county they don’t address actual growth with new schools or capacity enhancements but Alexandria got a new school based on potential development. Was this before they expanded West Potomac to 3000 when Mount Vernon had empty seats?

The incompetence really has been over the top.

More specifically the West Potomac pyramid gets an exclusive magnet program after the county spent bond $ expanding capacity at the site and the HS. I posted the article and people on the other side of this county have perpetually funded nonsense for that pyramid.

The program budget has magnet costs and the 2 existing should be dropped, Hunters Woods returned to full base school capacity inventory, and the current program staff costs plus transportation added into the operating funds.

For whatever reason, they spend way more money on the Mason and Mt. Vernon districts than on any other districts. Franconia has high levels of poverty as well but it doesn't get all the money that seem to flow into the other two districts.

Just looking at Mason, Glasgow MS was rebuilt from scratch back in 2008. Then they built two new elementary schools (Mason Crest and Bailey's Upper) and spent tens of millions on addition to Justice HS although they could have waited until the Falls Church HS renovation was finished and moved kids there. Meanwhile, they continue to operate a magnet arts and sciences school at Bailey's.

In Mount Vernon, the Bucknell expansion was premature so now they are trying to cover their tracks by adding a special Montessori program there to backfill the school (we'll see if that works), and West Potomac got a huge expansion outside the renovation queue even though there were hundreds of empty seats at Mt. Vernon.

This was all courtesy of School Board members like Karen Corbett Sanders, a snake who worked the system very well to get money for her district while stiffing schools in other magisterial districts at every opportunity. If people think Mateo Dunne is a voice of reason in connection with the current review, they need to remember that Corbett Sanders is his patron. One suspects his agenda is to continue to under-invest everywhere else in the county while the West Potomac pyramid continues to get the goodies.

The poorest elementary schools in Franconia feed into West Potomac

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mvonthemove.com/fcps-engages-with-families-from-region-3-on-school-boundary-review/

12/9/24 Region 3 - Edison, West Potomac, Mount Vernon. 300 attendees. Far different than Reid 's orchestration for Region 5. Note Reid + Dunne sticking in a new program only available for West Potomac pyramid rather than changing boundaries. https://mvonthemove.com/bucknell-elementary-decides-to-add-montessori-program-option-after-all/

Am I reading this right in that both community reps come from Mt. Vernon and one of them no longer has kids in school??? Wowwwwww.

I think it’s appropriate for people without children in the system to take part. We pay taxes too - we should have a say too.

Oh, interesting that there are non parents on this fcps thread.
Agree you should have a say, but the interests may be very skewed.

in what way would it be skewed?

Asking out of genuine curiosity - do you have any links to the school system? Teacher?

The children in my neighborhood attend the schools. My children attended the schools - they are in their upper 20’s. One of my children had an IEP from 2nd to 12th grade and I have done a fair bit of advocacy surrounding their issues and trying to make sure things were better than what he experienced. I like to see how that is going. I am part of this community.

That is wonderful that you are so involved in your community.

However, my concern is that someone who is ten years removed from FCPS probably does not have enough current understanding of the school system to be an effective advocate in a designated parent/caregiver committee role.

For example, I was recently speaking with a very pro rezoning empty nester about rezoning. She had very strong opinions in support about rezoning and lots of information about the district, in particular schools outside her neighborhood, that were not in alignment with fact.

A lot of what this person stated seemed to come from this website or reddit. Several "facts" stated about my kids zoned schools were blatantly false, to the point of being laughable. At least two of these "facts" has been posted here on this site. If this person was hypothetically selected for the committee, they would be pushing for rezoning decisions that affect a lot of kids, as an expert in information that was inaccurate and based of anonymous discussion forums, not real, current FCPS experience.

Having someone who has been out of the FCPS schools for over a decade or more appointed as the allocated parent representative takes away a critical voice from.the community being represented. So much has changed in the schools since covid, which makes an even stronger case that no parent slots should be given to anyone who has not had a kid in the FCPS system since covid.

I appreciate and applaud anyone who volunteered their time on this committee, and do not fault the empty nester who volunteered.

But I am very disappointed if FCPS has given one of the precious parent slots to an empty nester who has no kids involved in FCPS and hasn't had students in a decade or more.

On the note of the article in question, is it possible that the parent rep in question simply did not mention their kid's schools over concerns of doxxing? They are maming a sacrifice of time and privacy to be on the committee. I imagine that they want to keep as much privacy for their families as possible.

Presumably FCPS will provide committee members with current, accurate data and parents will take all that community spirit and investment in bettering the system and direct it responsibly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://mvonthemove.com/fcps-engages-with-families-from-region-3-on-school-boundary-review/

12/9/24 Region 3 - Edison, West Potomac, Mount Vernon. 300 attendees. Far different than Reid 's orchestration for Region 5. Note Reid + Dunne sticking in a new program only available for West Potomac pyramid rather than changing boundaries. https://mvonthemove.com/bucknell-elementary-decides-to-add-montessori-program-option-after-all/

Am I reading this right in that both community reps come from Mt. Vernon and one of them no longer has kids in school??? Wowwwwww.

I think it’s appropriate for people without children in the system to take part. We pay taxes too - we should have a say too.

Oh, interesting that there are non parents on this fcps thread.
Agree you should have a say, but the interests may be very skewed.

in what way would it be skewed?

Asking out of genuine curiosity - do you have any links to the school system? Teacher?

The children in my neighborhood attend the schools. My children attended the schools - they are in their upper 20’s. One of my children had an IEP from 2nd to 12th grade and I have done a fair bit of advocacy surrounding their issues and trying to make sure things were better than what he experienced. I like to see how that is going. I am part of this community.

That is wonderful that you are so involved in your community.

However, my concern is that someone who is ten years removed from FCPS probably does not have enough current understanding of the school system to be an effective advocate in a designated parent/caregiver committee role.

For example, I was recently speaking with a very pro rezoning empty nester about rezoning. She had very strong opinions in support about rezoning and lots of information about the district, in particular schools outside her neighborhood, that were not in alignment with fact.

A lot of what this person stated seemed to come from this website or reddit. Several "facts" stated about my kids zoned schools were blatantly false, to the point of being laughable. At least two of these "facts" has been posted here on this site. If this person was hypothetically selected for the committee, they would be pushing for rezoning decisions that affect a lot of kids, as an expert in information that was inaccurate and based of anonymous discussion forums, not real, current FCPS experience.

Having someone who has been out of the FCPS schools for over a decade or more appointed as the allocated parent representative takes away a critical voice from.the community being represented. So much has changed in the schools since covid, which makes an even stronger case that no parent slots should be given to anyone who has not had a kid in the FCPS system since covid.

I appreciate and applaud anyone who volunteered their time on this committee, and do not fault the empty nester who volunteered.

But I am very disappointed if FCPS has given one of the precious parent slots to an empty nester who has no kids involved in FCPS and hasn't had students in a decade or more.

On the note of the article in question, is it possible that the parent rep in question simply did not mention their kid's schools over concerns of doxxing? They are maming a sacrifice of time and privacy to be on the committee. I imagine that they want to keep as much privacy for their families as possible.

So you can have current parents who know next to nothing about any schools outside their pyramid and also have misunderstandings based on reading this forum, FB (the FairFACTS site is full of false claims), or chatter with neighbors. Some just wanted to limit potential BRAC members to current parents to increase their own chances of being selected. They may have more skin in the game, but aren’t necessarily more knowledgeable.

You should not be given a designated parent slot if you are not a parent.

There are separate community spots. You should be eligible for one of those but not for one of the two slots per pyramid that are specifically allocated for parents by Dr. Reid and the school board in multiple emails.

They are designated parent/caregiver/community member slots per pyramid, as illustrated by the Mt. Vernon reps at their regional meeting.

There were supposed to be 2 per pyramid of just parents/caregivers. So 48 reps. The committee is 80. The rest were to be community members, teachers, people on other committees etc. and fairly certain the 32 other members were hand picked by Reid/the school board based on some names that have come out. People who don’t even live in Fairfax county and have not had kids in the system

Nope. It was two reps in each of the 24 pyramids who could be parents, caregivers, or community members. The others are largely staff and past/current members of other FCPS committees.

Email from fcps dated 11/20…. “more than 1600 parents/caregivers applied to participate in the superintendents boundary review advisory committee. 2 parents/caregivers from each of FCPS’s 24 pyramids were invited to join the committee.” Not community members. Parents/caregivers. Community members are not to be part of the 2 per pyramid.

The email continues: other advisory committee members include school based administrators, teachers, operational staff, and representatives from community groups

And from a recent posting: "As mentioned in Dr. Reid’s message to families on Monday evening, the Superintendent’s Boundary Review Advisory Committee met for the first time last Friday. The committee includes two parents/caregivers or community members from each of FCPS’ 24 high school pyramids, school-based and division administrators, teachers, operational staff, and other community representatives."

Sorry if you read too much into one or more of Reid's many missives.