Langley/McLean/Marshall Boundaries

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

PP here. Unlike Freedom Hill (projected to be at 75% capacity by 2023), Lemon Road is projected to be almost full in a few years (95%). That's why I suggested Shrevewood-to-Stenwood and Stenwood-to-Freedom Hill shifts might make more sense.

To the extent Lemon Road had available space, it could be used to accommodate some kids from perpetually overcrowded Haycock. That would also make Lemon Road a less one-sided split feeder to Marshall and McLean - isn't it currently about 80% to Marshall and 20% to McLean?

[Anonymous]

Langley's enrollment is now low enough that VHSL wanted to move Langley down to Class 5 beginning this fall. An initial request to stay in Class 6 was voted down by VHSL this summer, but Langley prevailed on appeal. But for that appeal, Langley would have been traveling to Loudoun for any regional playoffs. To the credit of the LHS administration, it shows LHS was more interested in continuing to play nearby schools and traditional rivals than playing smaller schools of comparable size.

[Anonymous]

Recent WUSA coverage of overcrowding at MHS/under-enrollment at LHS.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/extreme-school-overcrowding-in-virginia-pushes-parents-to-action/65-27fe3243-1b6a-4587-bf88-547b282b2af4

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

PP here. Unlike Freedom Hill (projected to be at 75% capacity by 2023), Lemon Road is projected to be almost full in a few years (95%). That's why I suggested Shrevewood-to-Stenwood and Stenwood-to-Freedom Hill shifts might make more sense.

To the extent Lemon Road had available space, it could be used to accommodate some kids from perpetually overcrowded Haycock. That would also make Lemon Road a less one-sided split feeder to Marshall and McLean - isn't it currently about 80% to Marshall and 20% to McLean?

I am a shrevewood parent and agree the shrevewood to stenwood and stenwood to freedom hill makes a lot of sense. There is a cluster of housing at the Dunn Loring Metro that is walkable to stenwood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

PP here. Unlike Freedom Hill (projected to be at 75% capacity by 2023), Lemon Road is projected to be almost full in a few years (95%). That's why I suggested Shrevewood-to-Stenwood and Stenwood-to-Freedom Hill shifts might make more sense.

To the extent Lemon Road had available space, it could be used to accommodate some kids from perpetually overcrowded Haycock. That would also make Lemon Road a less one-sided split feeder to Marshall and McLean - isn't it currently about 80% to Marshall and 20% to McLean?

I am a shrevewood parent and agree the shrevewood to stenwood and stenwood to freedom hill makes a lot of sense. There is a cluster of housing at the Dunn Loring Metro that is walkable to stenwood.

PP here - I should add that cluster is currently at shrevewood. Also - Timber Lane has to stay under enrolled b/c it is Title 1 so that move is trickier, even if it didn't affect pyramids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

PP here. Unlike Freedom Hill (projected to be at 75% capacity by 2023), Lemon Road is projected to be almost full in a few years (95%). That's why I suggested Shrevewood-to-Stenwood and Stenwood-to-Freedom Hill shifts might make more sense.

To the extent Lemon Road had available space, it could be used to accommodate some kids from perpetually overcrowded Haycock. That would also make Lemon Road a less one-sided split feeder to Marshall and McLean - isn't it currently about 80% to Marshall and 20% to McLean?

I am a shrevewood parent and agree the shrevewood to stenwood and stenwood to freedom hill makes a lot of sense. There is a cluster of housing at the Dunn Loring Metro that is walkable to stenwood.

PP here - I should add that cluster is currently at shrevewood. Also - Timber Lane has to stay under enrolled b/c it is Title 1 so that move is trickier, even if it didn't affect pyramids.

What do you mean by this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

PP here. Unlike Freedom Hill (projected to be at 75% capacity by 2023), Lemon Road is projected to be almost full in a few years (95%). That's why I suggested Shrevewood-to-Stenwood and Stenwood-to-Freedom Hill shifts might make more sense.

To the extent Lemon Road had available space, it could be used to accommodate some kids from perpetually overcrowded Haycock. That would also make Lemon Road a less one-sided split feeder to Marshall and McLean - isn't it currently about 80% to Marshall and 20% to McLean?

I am a shrevewood parent and agree the shrevewood to stenwood and stenwood to freedom hill makes a lot of sense. There is a cluster of housing at the Dunn Loring Metro that is walkable to stenwood.

PP here - I should add that cluster is currently at shrevewood. Also - Timber Lane has to stay under enrolled b/c it is Title 1 so that move is trickier, even if it didn't affect pyramids.

What do you mean by this?

I think what PP means is that, if Timber Lane is Title I, it is receiving extra funds for smaller class sizes, and couldn't be at full capacity without having a lot of kids in trailers. [I assume she's right that the capacity is calculated without regard to whether the school is Title I, but don't know if that's actually the case.]

There are other Title I schools at or above capacity. But FCPS probably wouldn't move Shrevewood kids there and have Timber Lane split to Kilmer/Marshall, Longfellow/McLean, and Jackson/Falls Church. It's actually closer to Marshall than to McLean, and they could move the McLean half of Timber Lane to Marshall, but they'd need to move other Marshall areas in Tysons/Pimmit to McLean. And that would get people more agitated than just changing the boundaries of schools that are already Marshall feeders (Shrevewood, Stenwood, and Freedom Hill), which would probably also even out the FARMS rates among Shrevewood, Stenwood, and Freedom Hill.

[Anonymous]

From the materials assembled for the March 11th work session: "Research on school overcrowding has linked this factor to lower achievement (Batiz & Marti,1995; Lee, Ready & Welner, 2002). More specifically, overcrowding has been associated with a four to nine percentage point decrease in pass rates on standardized reading tests and two to six percentage point decrease in pass rates on standardized mathematics tests. Other negative impacts tied in the research to school overcrowding include teacher and student absenteeism (Corcoran et al., 1988), problems focusing (Batiz & Marti,1995), limitations on instructional techniques and classroom activities (Batiz & Marti, 1995), noise levels in schools (Fernandez & Timpane, 1995), teacher working conditions (Corcoran et al., 1988), and teacher burnout (Batiz & Marti, 1995)."

Meanwhile, FCPS is paralyzed because they can't figure out what their aspirational "One Fairfax" policy means with respect to boundary changes that would only involve two schools. Clearly, kids don't come first, and teachers don't come second. It's all about politicians being politicians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It is complicated because the northern part of the Stenwood boundary are expensive SFH neighborhoods. Hey, I'd love to move my rising Kindergartener from Stenwood to Freedom Hill and keep my kid away from the noise pollution and related issues from the I-66 widening, but you are going to have lots of parents who view Stenwood as their neighborhood school and will fight tooth and nail from being displaced in favor of Shrevewood kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It is complicated because the northern part of the Stenwood boundary are expensive SFH neighborhoods. Hey, I'd love to move my rising Kindergartener from Stenwood to Freedom Hill and keep my kid away from the noise pollution and related issues from the I-66 widening, but you are going to have lots of parents who view Stenwood as their neighborhood school and will fight tooth and nail from being displaced in favor of Shrevewood kids.

All these schools are in the Providence District, represented by a school board member who claims to care a lot about "One Fairfax" and equity - Dalia Palchik.

If she is going to defer to some noisy Stenwood parents and not balance the enrollments and demographics at Shrevewood, Stenwood, and Freedom Hill, then she can be labeled a total hypocrite.

[Anonymous]

The McLean Citizens Association has passed a resolution calling on the School Board to take immediate steps to address the overcrowding at McLean and under-enrollment at Langley:

https://www.insidenova.com/news/education/mca-wants-fcps-to-move-forward-with-high-school-boundary/article_167e4ce2-41a1-11e9-bf3c-7b8ba54990f0.html

This is getting more and more attention in the community. It's funny that people talk about the School Board being overly political, because there are many people in that area who've voted Democratic in local elections for years and are now planning to vote against any candidates endorsed by the Democrats in local elections unless the current School Board (with its 10-2 Democratic majority) starts doing their jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The McLean Citizens Association has passed a resolution calling on the School Board to take immediate steps to address the overcrowding at McLean and under-enrollment at Langley:

https://www.insidenova.com/news/education/mca-wants-fcps-to-move-forward-with-high-school-boundary/article_167e4ce2-41a1-11e9-bf3c-7b8ba54990f0.html

This is getting more and more attention in the community. It's funny that people talk about the School Board being overly political, because there are many people in that area who've voted Democratic in local elections for years and are now planning to vote against any candidates endorsed by the Democrats in local elections unless the current School Board (with its 10-2 Democratic majority) starts doing their jobs.

That maybe difficult if the GOP doesnt have a slate to run.

[Anonymous]

By building an addition at Madison, is the plan by FCPS to eventually move the Vienna neighborhoods zoned for Marshall (Wolftrap area and Westbriar island) to Madison and turn Marshall into the de facto “Tysons High”?

Not sure why else they’d need to expand Madison when South Lakes has been expanded, Oakton is getting expanded, and there are supposedly plans to build a new western high school. If that isn’t the plan they ought to explain why we’re spending money on a school that isn’t even projected to be among the most overcrowded.

[Anonymous]

Resolution can't hurt. But given the speed of potential solutions that aren't even approved yet, I dont understand why citizens aren't actually taking action - that is, moving kids from McLean to Langley pyramid. Apparently its quite doable. I get that kids already in HS don't want to move, but what about lower down...

Anonymous wrote:The McLean Citizens Association has passed a resolution calling on the School Board to take immediate steps to address the overcrowding at McLean and under-enrollment at Langley:

https://www.insidenova.com/news/education/mca-wants-fcps-to-move-forward-with-high-school-boundary/article_167e4ce2-41a1-11e9-bf3c-7b8ba54990f0.html

This is getting more and more attention in the community. It's funny that people talk about the School Board being overly political, because there are many people in that area who've voted Democratic in local elections for years and are now planning to vote against any candidates endorsed by the Democrats in local elections unless the current School Board (with its 10-2 Democratic majority) starts doing their jobs.

[Anonymous]

I applaud Ine Fairfax and was encouraged by the most recent work session on it - that they’re going to take their time and do this right. There are many schools in the county that are overcrowded. There are even some elementary schools that have about the same number or even more “dingy” trailers that McLean HS. The McLean parents seem to think that if they can get news coverage they can get their needs taken care of first. That’s precisely the kind of elite favoritism that One Fairfax is trying to fix.

To be clear, I don’t think there should be any trailers at any schools in FCPS unless it’s due to an in-progress renovation. And I think boundary changes should happen when there is neighboring capacity available. But I also believe that band aid boundary changes aren’t the correct approach right now - I think the time is now for a whole county re-drawing of the boundaries. And I think the school board should take the time now to get it right.