Boundary Review Meetings

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But also putting AAP at Irving will make it even more crowded. Plus some of those AAP kids that choose to go to LBSS for AAP find a way to stay there for high school years. Now they'll all be at Irving/WSHS.

I was also interested to hear at the region 4 meeting that, when pushed on the numbers predicting capacity for 26-27 with the boundary changes, they never ran the numbers for what the 26-27 numbers would be without any changes. Everything is based on the 24-25 student numbers, even though it should be pretty easy to calculate/predict accurate 26-27 numbers.

I know a lot of people think WSHS will be smaller anyway in the coming years (I think the 2026 class is enormous), so again people were annoyed that the consulting company didn't do this when it seems like it shouldn't be that hard and would be common sense to look at.

It would be 2 additional classrooms per grade, 4 total classes of kids.

The 6th grade classes are smaller than the 8th grade classes, when you factor in the class of out of bound AAP kids who attend Keene Mill Elementary


My suggestion for the WSHS pyramid is:

Stick with Map 3 for Rolling Valley, sending the entire RV island to Saratoga and keeping them at Lewis.

This will open up a lot of space at RV.

Move the WSHS AAP program to Rolling Valley. Send ALL of the WSHS AAP level 4 kids to Rolling Valley, including the OH and HV kids at Sangster. It is centrally located and will have space.

Send all the non WSHS pyramid AAP kids at Keene Mill back to their own pyramid AAP schools.

Move the Cardinal Forest neighborhoods in Map 4 to Keene Mill as planned

Move Sangster to LB as recommended in all the maps

Move the Keene Mill island to White Oaks/ LB as recommended in map 4


*** for the White Oaks neighborhood upset about getting rezoned to Cherry Run because siblings will be split up since White Oaks is AAP and Cherry Run is not, send those few streets to Sangster instead, which will have space if the OH and HV kids go to the WSHS pyramid AAP center instead of the LB AAP center.

Though Rolling Valley looks like it would have space on paper (76% capacity in scenario 3), that is misleading because it has both a special ed program and an autism program. Those classrooms use TONS of classroom space per child. There is no way that school could accommodate the full AAP program. There would be room to move some students there from Orange Hunt or Cardinal Forest, though, which share boundaries, if needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But also putting AAP at Irving will make it even more crowded. Plus some of those AAP kids that choose to go to LBSS for AAP find a way to stay there for high school years. Now they'll all be at Irving/WSHS.

I was also interested to hear at the region 4 meeting that, when pushed on the numbers predicting capacity for 26-27 with the boundary changes, they never ran the numbers for what the 26-27 numbers would be without any changes. Everything is based on the 24-25 student numbers, even though it should be pretty easy to calculate/predict accurate 26-27 numbers.

I know a lot of people think WSHS will be smaller anyway in the coming years (I think the 2026 class is enormous), so again people were annoyed that the consulting company didn't do this when it seems like it shouldn't be that hard and would be common sense to look at.

Putting AAP in at all the middle schools would definitely change some things. I think if they added it at Irving, they’d definitely have to take a hard look at the WS-LB boundaries because that would take kids out of LB and add them to Irving and WS.

It is only 2 classes of students per grade.

This addition of AAP kids will be negated by the smaller 6th grade, which is smaller than the 8th grade, and the current 5th and 4th grades, which are MUCH smaller than the current 7th grade class and next year's 7th grade class at Irving.

The 5th grade and below classes are so much smaller that both HV and OH had to destaff teachers this year. That never happens in that pyramid; WSHS pyramid schools usually only add teachers. The demographic cliff starting with the 5th graders is very real.

At most, bringing the AAP students back to Irving from LB will make things tight for the 2026-2027 school year.

After that, the demographic cliff kicks in and Irving/WSHS will see steady declines in enrollment, even with AAP kids no longer allowed to attend Lake Braddock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But also putting AAP at Irving will make it even more crowded. Plus some of those AAP kids that choose to go to LBSS for AAP find a way to stay there for high school years. Now they'll all be at Irving/WSHS.

I was also interested to hear at the region 4 meeting that, when pushed on the numbers predicting capacity for 26-27 with the boundary changes, they never ran the numbers for what the 26-27 numbers would be without any changes. Everything is based on the 24-25 student numbers, even though it should be pretty easy to calculate/predict accurate 26-27 numbers.

I know a lot of people think WSHS will be smaller anyway in the coming years (I think the 2026 class is enormous), so again people were annoyed that the consulting company didn't do this when it seems like it shouldn't be that hard and would be common sense to look at.

It would be 2 additional classrooms per grade, 4 total classes of kids.

The 6th grade classes are smaller than the 8th grade classes, when you factor in the class of out of bound AAP kids who attend Keene Mill Elementary


My suggestion for the WSHS pyramid is:

Stick with Map 3 for Rolling Valley, sending the entire RV island to Saratoga and keeping them at Lewis.

This will open up a lot of space at RV.

Move the WSHS AAP program to Rolling Valley. Send ALL of the WSHS AAP level 4 kids to Rolling Valley, including the OH and HV kids at Sangster. It is centrally located and will have space.

Send all the non WSHS pyramid AAP kids at Keene Mill back to their own pyramid AAP schools.

Move the Cardinal Forest neighborhoods in Map 4 to Keene Mill as planned

Move Sangster to LB as recommended in all the maps

Move the Keene Mill island to White Oaks/ LB as recommended in map 4


*** for the White Oaks neighborhood upset about getting rezoned to Cherry Run because siblings will be split up since White Oaks is AAP and Cherry Run is not, send those few streets to Sangster instead, which will have space if the OH and HV kids go to the WSHS pyramid AAP center instead of the LB AAP center.

Though Rolling Valley looks like it would have space on paper (76% capacity in scenario 3), that is misleading because it has both a special ed program and an autism program. Those classrooms use TONS of classroom space per child. There is no way that school could accommodate the full AAP program. There would be room to move some students there from Orange Hunt or Cardinal Forest, though, which share boundaries, if needed.

Good points! I forgot about the special ed programs.

Could Keene Mill absorb the OH and HV AAP kids if RV split feeder goes with Map 3 and stays at Lewis, with some of the bussed CF areas along OKM going to RV instead and the walkable Carleigh Pkwy area moving to KM in Map 4 staying at CF?

KM is a bit of a hike for the HV and OH AAP kids, but AAP is a voluntary program and both OH and HV have advanced math as well as a strong cohort of smart advanced students, if they don't want to commute to KM.

[Anonymous]

It's amazing how much time and effort has been put into this to come up with various scenarios....both by the board/Thru consulting and by parents. Why make everyone upset?

Easy solution ...
1. do address checks
2. close schools to transfers
3. watch population trends decline and problem solved
4. semi-annual address to checks to make sure kids are going to their zoned school
5. Factually evaluate population trends and enrollment data -- looking at each grade level.
6. FCPS use 2030 census data to discuss with families any factual reason for possible updates to boundaries.

With a $4 Billion dollar budget FCPS should be able to easily work this and save all the headaches and frustration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But also putting AAP at Irving will make it even more crowded. Plus some of those AAP kids that choose to go to LBSS for AAP find a way to stay there for high school years. Now they'll all be at Irving/WSHS.

I was also interested to hear at the region 4 meeting that, when pushed on the numbers predicting capacity for 26-27 with the boundary changes, they never ran the numbers for what the 26-27 numbers would be without any changes. Everything is based on the 24-25 student numbers, even though it should be pretty easy to calculate/predict accurate 26-27 numbers.

I know a lot of people think WSHS will be smaller anyway in the coming years (I think the 2026 class is enormous), so again people were annoyed that the consulting company didn't do this when it seems like it shouldn't be that hard and would be common sense to look at.

It would be 2 additional classrooms per grade, 4 total classes of kids.

The 6th grade classes are smaller than the 8th grade classes, when you factor in the class of out of bound AAP kids who attend Keene Mill Elementary


My suggestion for the WSHS pyramid is:

Stick with Map 3 for Rolling Valley, sending the entire RV island to Saratoga and keeping them at Lewis.

This will open up a lot of space at RV.

Move the WSHS AAP program to Rolling Valley. Send ALL of the WSHS AAP level 4 kids to Rolling Valley, including the OH and HV kids at Sangster. It is centrally located and will have space.

Send all the non WSHS pyramid AAP kids at Keene Mill back to their own pyramid AAP schools.

Move the Cardinal Forest neighborhoods in Map 4 to Keene Mill as planned

Move Sangster to LB as recommended in all the maps

Move the Keene Mill island to White Oaks/ LB as recommended in map 4


*** for the White Oaks neighborhood upset about getting rezoned to Cherry Run because siblings will be split up since White Oaks is AAP and Cherry Run is not, send those few streets to Sangster instead, which will have space if the OH and HV kids go to the WSHS pyramid AAP center instead of the LB AAP center.

Those White Oaks families didn't say what you're saying. It's dismissive to assume everyone will be AAP. They don't want to leave White Oaks period and when one child can be grandfathered and the other not. It's not about the AAP center.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's amazing how much time and effort has been put into this to come up with various scenarios....both by the board/Thru consulting and by parents. Why make everyone upset?

Easy solution ...
1. do address checks
2. close schools to transfers
3. watch population trends decline and problem solved
4. semi-annual address to checks to make sure kids are going to their zoned school
5. Factually evaluate population trends and enrollment data -- looking at each grade level.
6. FCPS use 2030 census data to discuss with families any factual reason for possible updates to boundaries.

With a $4 Billion dollar budget FCPS should be able to easily work this and save all the headaches and frustration.

+1 This is the answer! They spent almost a million dollars on a consulting firm and claim they do not have the money to pay people to do address checks because only one person in central office is in charge of that. I work in a nearby school system and our students have to have a copy of a rental agreement/utility bill/ etc every year to re-enroll at the school. The front office checks the date of the paperwork and the address and moves on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is Lorton Station the school that hosted the Hagel Circle kids for a year or two?

If so, that is where they should go, not Halley or Gunston.

Yup, it’s also the only school where the Hagel Circle kids can walk too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's amazing how much time and effort has been put into this to come up with various scenarios....both by the board/Thru consulting and by parents. Why make everyone upset?

Easy solution ...
1. do address checks
2. close schools to transfers
3. watch population trends decline and problem solved
4. semi-annual address to checks to make sure kids are going to their zoned school
5. Factually evaluate population trends and enrollment data -- looking at each grade level.
6. FCPS use 2030 census data to discuss with families any factual reason for possible updates to boundaries.

With a $4 Billion dollar budget FCPS should be able to easily work this and save all the headaches and frustration.

Because there is so much politicking and influence shopping and peddling etc. Most of us would probably be fine with this, but people who have very specific personal biases and views won't like it.

And sadly it's never worked this way, it's always been an influenced and "by exception" process so going to something very specific to logistics won't happen.

I'd welcome it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Attending tonight’s meeting, the Superintendent opened by addressing Hagel Circle and it looks like they’ll be making corrections to the maps to send the kids to their community school of Lorton Station vs Halley (current school) or Gunston (proposed school)

Keep in mind, Lorton Station already has over 700 students. An additional 146 students would lead to overcrowding. Lorton Station is not their community school. Gunston was built at the time Hagel Circle was. That was the original elementary school for Hagel.

Better solution is keeping Gunston or having them go to Halley which both schools could easily handle that amount of students. Keep in mind, there is a reason why Hagel Circle was zoned for Halley, it was a capacity issue.

Gunston is one of the oldest elementary schools in the county. It was built in the 1950s. It was one of the only schools in Lorton! That’s not relevant to today, especially when Lorton has undergone substantial development since the. Gunston doesn’t have the capacity because they’re on a septic system that already has issues. Lorton Station has capacity for 890 students, with approximately 700 current students there is plenty of room for Hagel Circle students to attend the elementary school within walking distance of their home. Lorton Station is also an AAP center - get rid of centers and there is even more space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is Lorton Station the school that hosted the Hagel Circle kids for a year or two?

If so, that is where they should go, not Halley or Gunston.

Yup, it’s also the only school where the Hagel Circle kids can walk too.

Then Hagel Circle should go to Lorton Circle, especially if it is a poor neighborhood.

Walkability is critical for parent involvement in education when the families don't have reliable transportation.

Before she moves the Hagel Circle to a different school, someone familiar with the background of Hagel Circle getting shuffled around should make Dr. Reid aware of what happened.

In a district always blathering about "equity" Hagel Circle and Coates being ignored are the true equity issues that need to be addressed, not whether your kid has the "heartbreaking" option of WSHS or LBSS, or not whether you are being "so disrupted" by being forced to move to the beautiful brand new high school instead of staying at Oakton.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's amazing how much time and effort has been put into this to come up with various scenarios....both by the board/Thru consulting and by parents. Why make everyone upset?

Easy solution ...
1. do address checks
2. close schools to transfers
3. watch population trends decline and problem solved
4. semi-annual address to checks to make sure kids are going to their zoned school
5. Factually evaluate population trends and enrollment data -- looking at each grade level.
6. FCPS use 2030 census data to discuss with families any factual reason for possible updates to boundaries.

With a $4 Billion dollar budget FCPS should be able to easily work this and save all the headaches and frustration.

+1 This is the answer! They spent almost a million dollars on a consulting firm and claim they do not have the money to pay people to do address checks because only one person in central office is in charge of that. I work in a nearby school system and our students have to have a copy of a rental agreement/utility bill/ etc every year to re-enroll at the school. The front office checks the date of the paperwork and the address and moves on.

Every district we have lived in requires this.

2 west coast states, 2 midwest school districts. 2 texas districts, and a southern district.

Everyone but FCPS requires this.

You literally just bring in a lease or utility bill to open house or the summer before the first day of class, and the secretaries check the name, address and mark a yes box in the computer.


It is literally that simple.

Why can't FCPS manage such a basic task.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is Lorton Station the school that hosted the Hagel Circle kids for a year or two?

If so, that is where they should go, not Halley or Gunston.

Yup, it’s also the only school where the Hagel Circle kids can walk too.

Then Hagel Circle should go to Lorton Circle, especially if it is a poor neighborhood.

Walkability is critical for parent involvement in education when the families don't have reliable transportation.

Before she moves the Hagel Circle to a different school, someone familiar with the background of Hagel Circle getting shuffled around should make Dr. Reid aware of what happened.

In a district always blathering about "equity" Hagel Circle and Coates being ignored are the true equity issues that need to be addressed, not whether your kid has the "heartbreaking" option of WSHS or LBSS, or not whether you are being "so disrupted" by being forced to move to the beautiful brand new high school instead of staying at Oakton.

Add Parklawn ES and Graham Road/Kingsley Commons to the list.

[Anonymous]

Unrelated to boundaries, but it looks like Sangster was just rated the #1 Elementary School in Fairfax County and #2 in all of VA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unrelated to boundaries, but it looks like Sangster was just rated the #1 Elementary School in Fairfax County and #2 in all of VA.

Sangster darn well better be rated as one of the best. They have the lowest ELL population in the county, even less than Great Falls ES, and equally low FARMs. Anything less than peak SOL scores would be a shameful result.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unrelated to boundaries, but it looks like Sangster was just rated the #1 Elementary School in Fairfax County and #2 in all of VA.

Sangster darn well better be rated as one of the best. They have the lowest ELL population in the county, even less than Great Falls ES, and equally low FARMs. Anything less than peak SOL scores would be a shameful result.

They're also the local AAP center for several elementaries so of course their scores are going to be higher.