Boundary Review Meetings

[Anonymous]

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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.

Why would that be so crucial, to be able to walk when a lot of Fairfax county students cannot walk to school. There is a bus for that reason and if they miss the bus, they have parents who drive. Most Lorton residents have cars in order to live in this area.

You know the real reason why you don’t want Hagel Circle part of Gunston…. I was there on the 22nd Of October. Discrimination 100% based on their socio-economic status and their demographics.

Your privilege is showing. Many families along the Rt. 1 corridor (yes, Hagel Circle is right off of Rt. 1) do not have reliable transportation - maybe the family only has one vehicle and that parent is unable to do drop off/pick up because of their work schedule and the bell schedule. The bus that runs along Rt. 1 is always full of people catching it to go and up down the highway for groceries, shopping. There is a grocery store (Food Lion) 1.2 miles from the complex. People along the corridor routinely walk a mile or more to shop/go to work/go to school. During the workday, you see countless women (usually women) with babies/toddlers walking up and down Rt. 1 carrying grocery bags. Yes, Hagel Circle is further away from most of the retail on Rt. 1 but the housing prices are significantly less than further north in the Mount Vernon area (another area full of low income families.).

+1. A Halley Teacher came to another meeting that was held at Gunston with Mateo Dunne present and said that if the students in Hagel Circle miss the bus, they are only getting to school if it’s feasible to walk there. These parents either don’t have reliable transportation or have already left for work. Getting to Gunston involves walking south along route 1, crossing Route 1 and walking nearly a mile down Gunston Road which has a 50 mph speed limit and zero sidewalks. Getting to Lorton Station means walking to the back of Hagel Circle, taking a short path to Timarand Drive and hitting a crosswalk right at Lorton Station elementary. Look at the current boundary maps, Hagel Circle was carved from the Lorton Station boundaries. Bussing the kids to another school won’t solve the problem, time for FCPS to buck up and move these kids back to their neighborhood school.

Well wouldn’t that apply to any student attending elementary schools? The whole reliable transportation? A lot of schools are not walkable by students. I went to Newington Forest and it was a 45 min walk if I missed the bus.

Your premise that they don’t have reliable transportation is not well supported.

[Anonymous]

Hunt valley to Lewis. Best way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hunt valley to Lewis. Best way.

Definitely. Move a school that is further away than 2 other ESs. Thats the right move. Screw those HV kids. We don’t want them in our WSHS community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think there’s a solution to overcrowding at WSHS that doesn’t move students to Lewis. You can move to LBSS, but that just creates overcrowding at LB at the high school level.

What is the smallest elementary school that feeds Irving/WSHS? Just shift that whole school (no new split feeders!).

The smallest school is one of the closest schools to WSHS, West Springfield Elementary.

No, that is not a reasonable option.

The only reasonable options for moving schools out of WSHS are the two in map 4, Sangster split feeder to LB and the Kedne Mill island to LB.

[Anonymous]

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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.

Okay, let’s say as you propose Lorton Station Elementary becomes Hagel Circles assigned school. That would mean Gunston Elementary would be well under its capacity. What neighborhood should be added?

Gunston wouldn’t be under capacity. If you looked at the proposal you would see that multiple neighborhoods are being forced out of Gunston under the options to move Hagel Circle from Halley. That was part of the parents concern at the meeting on the 22nd, why was their school targeted to have neighborhoods moved out when Halley Elementary is the school that will end up at 68% enrollment? Even with the neighborhoods being moved out, there is only room for the Hagel Circle kids if Gunston starts using the two dilapidated module units.

Then it came up that if Halley has all of this extra capacity, it can be used for a Korean Immersion program that someone on the school board wants to create.

Also, Hagel Circle can access the Pohick Village townhouse community via walking path which is directly across from Lorton Station elementary. Mateo Dunne even confirmed this during the meeting on the 22nd.

What you are saying about the capacity makes no sense.

Look at the PowerPoint slides provided before the meeting and still available. They did a study and found that there definitely is capacity to handle the Hagel circle community since they assigned Inlet Cove to Island Creek Elementary. They shuffled around some neighborhoods to accommodate so what you’re saying is not believable or able to be backed up with evidence.

Second, let’s say Lorton Station is walkable, why should that be a huge reason why Lorton Station should take it? Lorton station already serves two large apartment complexes which make up the majority of students there. Overcrowding will become an issue and need to be accommodated with six extra trailers. I spoke with Mr. Dunne and he confirmed this.

You know the real reason why most parents objected to it and it was displayed subtlety and blatantly that evening….. it’s because the reputation Hagel Circle has and it’s really unfair to that community to be pushed away.

Honestly, PP you sound like a Lorton Station parent trying to avoid Hagel Circle being rezoned to its community school. So I guess it’s the pot calling the kettle black. Multiple posts have laid out why Gunston isn’t a good option for Hagel Circle, and why the ability to walk to a school is important for the lower income students. If Lorton Station is overcrowded it’s because it’s an AAP center for South County and Hayfield schools. Maybe FCPS can create a center at Halley with all of the excess capacity to alleviate the pressure on Lorton Station so that students who actually live in the community can attend.

I don’t have any issue with Hagel Circle coming to Lorton Station. There already is over 50% of low income and high minority. It wouldn’t change much. It’s the overcrowding that is the issue.

An option would be to have Woods of Fairfax sent to Gunston elementary. That would be a better solution than adding 146 students.

But the real reason why Gunston parents objected was seen that night by all. I hope I can find a taped recording so everyone see the things said about Hagel Circle. It was extremely offensive and has no place at FCPS

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the other Sangster families offended, puzzled or amused by the whole the Sangster kids who go to Lake Braddock aren't our community argument?

There is definitely talk in surrounding communities about that angle, not about the kids at Irving but the families without kids at Irving.

One LB parent spoke up 2 meetings ago about that argument, and she did seem a bit offended and a little befuddled.

Why would you consider kids who went to school with your kid for 6+ years to be part of your community? One kid spoke at the Irving meeting about how he desperately didn't want to lose all of the new friends he's met (in one quarter of school) this year at Irving and pleaded to stay there instead of being sent to LBSS, where his former Sangster classmates of seven years went.

You are talking about and mocking a child. What you failed to mention is that he said he has a sibling at WSHS, so of course that school would feel more like his community than LB.

Sangster is located within the WSHS boundary. It is inside the neighborhood of Orange Hunt Estates. Those of us who live there understand that we are assigned to Sangster as the elementary school because we are walkers. We would have to be bused to Orange Hunt Elementary. The Sangster/Orange Hunt boundary is at the point 1 mile from the school. So that is why we identify as living in West Springfield and see Irving/West Springfield as our child’s school. The first iteration of the boundary scenarios did not “fix” our split feeder because Sangster is located within the WSHS boundary. And we don’t want our split feeder fixed.

There are better solutions to overcrowding at WSHS. Shifting children living on West Springfield/Lewis boundary to Lewis, which has room. Moving German immersion (Did you know Orange Hunt is over capacity too thanks to transfers in for German immersion???) to White Oaks and Lake Braddock pyramid, which have room.

But really let’s wait and see. West Springfield is full of government civilians. Let’s see what happens with Trump and his downsizing of the government workforce. Families are going to have to leave for other employment opportunities.

The Orange Hunt community will be pi$$ed if Sangster parents get their German immersion program moved out of their school just so the Sangster island can avoid Lake Braddock.

The vast majority of German immersion students actually live in bounds for Orange Hunt. A large number of them have German heritage or were stationed in Germany with bilingual kids, and bought their houses zoned for Orange Hunt so they didn't have to risk the lottery.

Ask those Orange Hunt families if they want to give up their German immersion program so Sangster doesn't have to go to Lake Braddock. You are going to get a resounding no.

Slides from this summer show 122 transfer into Orange Hunt (German Immersion, there are no special education programs there) making it overcrowded. Shift that whole program to White Oaks and the overcrowding problem is solved. White Oaks close to Orange Hunt anyway. Also, let’s be real. Language immersion is for pole whose kids can’t get into AAP to feel special. And then you don’t have to move the Sangster/Irving/West Springfield kids out of the neighborhood schools.

Our section of the Sangster zone is separated from the rest of Lake Braddock by Fairfax County Parkway and Lee Chapel. It is separated from the rest of West Springfield by NOTHING. It’s literally the same street (Cottontail Ct.). A neighborhood pool is not a natural boundary, but a 4-lane highway is.

Sangster itself is located in ORANGE HUNT ESTATES. It is located in the WSHS boundary.

Also, moving Sangster and shifting families to White Oaks (and Cherry Run apparently) does not solve the overcrowding issue at WSHS. And creates new overcrowding at LB on the HS side. It’s not a solution. It’s sacrificing some children so no one has to move to Lewis. But Dr. Reid said on Monday night that Lewis has capacity - the most of any HS. So any solution that does not move some children to Lewis is not a really solution.

But I think first we need a WSHS boundary audit. Everyone show up with your deed and your lease. Let’s check them all and see what we find. They need to demand actual paperwork from every family. Show me that you own it and currently pay the utilities.

So much for Sangster families not throwing other WSHS neighborhoods under the bus. Look out Daventry and Hunt Valley, the Sangster/Orange Hunt mommies want your kids sent to Lewis. Don’t believe the posters who say they aren’t actively working to get your kids moved.

I agree.

Sangster might manage to throw others under the bus to remain at WSHS and avoid going to Lake Braddock with all their Sangster classmates, but they will burn all their bridges with the WSHS community in the process.

[Anonymous]

Our section of the Sangster zone is separated from the rest of Lake Braddock by Fairfax County Parkway and Lee Chapel. It is separated from the rest of West Springfield by NOTHING. It’s literally the same street (Cottontail Ct.). A neighborhood pool is not a natural boundary, but a 4-lane highway is.

Sangster itself is located in ORANGE HUNT ESTATES. It is located in the WSHS boundary.

Also, moving Sangster and shifting families to White Oaks (and Cherry Run apparently) does not solve the overcrowding issue at WSHS. And creates new overcrowding at LB on the HS side. It’s not a solution. It’s sacrificing some children so no one has to move to Lewis. But Dr. Reid said on Monday night that Lewis has capacity - the most of any HS. So any solution that does not move some children to Lewis is not a really solution.

But I think first we need a WSHS boundary audit. Everyone show up with your deed and your lease. Let’s check them all and see what we find. They need to demand actual paperwork from every family. Show me that you own it and currently pay the utilities.

This is too easy, c'mon school board and Dr. Reid! Just think how much taxpayer money has went into having Dr. Reid and anyone paid by FCPS to look at boundaries without bringing current data to the table. School board and Dr. Reid -- save face, delay this as you did the school times debacle and get the data! Problem solved and you look like heros!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the other Sangster families offended, puzzled or amused by the whole the Sangster kids who go to Lake Braddock aren't our community argument?

There is definitely talk in surrounding communities about that angle, not about the kids at Irving but the families without kids at Irving.

One LB parent spoke up 2 meetings ago about that argument, and she did seem a bit offended and a little befuddled.

Why would you consider kids who went to school with your kid for 6+ years to be part of your community? One kid spoke at the Irving meeting about how he desperately didn't want to lose all of the new friends he's met (in one quarter of school) this year at Irving and pleaded to stay there instead of being sent to LBSS, where his former Sangster classmates of seven years went.

You are talking about and mocking a child. What you failed to mention is that he said he has a sibling at WSHS, so of course that school would feel more like his community than LB.

Sangster is located within the WSHS boundary. It is inside the neighborhood of Orange Hunt Estates. Those of us who live there understand that we are assigned to Sangster as the elementary school because we are walkers. We would have to be bused to Orange Hunt Elementary. The Sangster/Orange Hunt boundary is at the point 1 mile from the school. So that is why we identify as living in West Springfield and see Irving/West Springfield as our child’s school. The first iteration of the boundary scenarios did not “fix” our split feeder because Sangster is located within the WSHS boundary. And we don’t want our split feeder fixed.

There are better solutions to overcrowding at WSHS. Shifting children living on West Springfield/Lewis boundary to Lewis, which has room. Moving German immersion (Did you know Orange Hunt is over capacity too thanks to transfers in for German immersion???) to White Oaks and Lake Braddock pyramid, which have room.

But really let’s wait and see. West Springfield is full of government civilians. Let’s see what happens with Trump and his downsizing of the government workforce. Families are going to have to leave for other employment opportunities.

The Orange Hunt community will be pi$$ed if Sangster parents get their German immersion program moved out of their school just so the Sangster island can avoid Lake Braddock.

The vast majority of German immersion students actually live in bounds for Orange Hunt. A large number of them have German heritage or were stationed in Germany with bilingual kids, and bought their houses zoned for Orange Hunt so they didn't have to risk the lottery.

Ask those Orange Hunt families if they want to give up their German immersion program so Sangster doesn't have to go to Lake Braddock. You are going to get a resounding no.

Slides from this summer show 122 transfer into Orange Hunt (German Immersion, there are no special education programs there) making it overcrowded. Shift that whole program to White Oaks and the overcrowding problem is solved. White Oaks close to Orange Hunt anyway. Also, let’s be real. Language immersion is for pole whose kids can’t get into AAP to feel special. And then you don’t have to move the Sangster/Irving/West Springfield kids out of the neighborhood schools.

Our section of the Sangster zone is separated from the rest of Lake Braddock by Fairfax County Parkway and Lee Chapel. It is separated from the rest of West Springfield by NOTHING. It’s literally the same street (Cottontail Ct.). A neighborhood pool is not a natural boundary, but a 4-lane highway is.

Sangster itself is located in ORANGE HUNT ESTATES. It is located in the WSHS boundary.

Also, moving Sangster and shifting families to White Oaks (and Cherry Run apparently) does not solve the overcrowding issue at WSHS. And creates new overcrowding at LB on the HS side. It’s not a solution. It’s sacrificing some children so no one has to move to Lewis. But Dr. Reid said on Monday night that Lewis has capacity - the most of any HS. So any solution that does not move some children to Lewis is not a really solution.

But I think first we need a WSHS boundary audit. Everyone show up with your deed and your lease. Let’s check them all and see what we find. They need to demand actual paperwork from every family. Show me that you own it and currently pay the utilities.

So much for Sangster families not throwing other WSHS neighborhoods under the bus. Look out Daventry and Hunt Valley, the Sangster/Orange Hunt mommies want your kids sent to Lewis. Don’t believe the posters who say they aren’t actively working to get your kids moved.

I agree.

Sangster might manage to throw others under the bus to remain at WSHS and avoid going to Lake Braddock with all their Sangster classmates, but they will burn all their bridges with the WSHS community in the process.

There is no one that's part of the Sangster community that's throwing anyone/neighborhood/community under the bus. Stick to the facts and stop trolling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the other Sangster families offended, puzzled or amused by the whole the Sangster kids who go to Lake Braddock aren't our community argument?

There is definitely talk in surrounding communities about that angle, not about the kids at Irving but the families without kids at Irving.

One LB parent spoke up 2 meetings ago about that argument, and she did seem a bit offended and a little befuddled.

Why would you consider kids who went to school with your kid for 6+ years to be part of your community? One kid spoke at the Irving meeting about how he desperately didn't want to lose all of the new friends he's met (in one quarter of school) this year at Irving and pleaded to stay there instead of being sent to LBSS, where his former Sangster classmates of seven years went.

You are talking about and mocking a child. What you failed to mention is that he said he has a sibling at WSHS, so of course that school would feel more like his community than LB.

Sangster is located within the WSHS boundary. It is inside the neighborhood of Orange Hunt Estates. Those of us who live there understand that we are assigned to Sangster as the elementary school because we are walkers. We would have to be bused to Orange Hunt Elementary. The Sangster/Orange Hunt boundary is at the point 1 mile from the school. So that is why we identify as living in West Springfield and see Irving/West Springfield as our child’s school. The first iteration of the boundary scenarios did not “fix” our split feeder because Sangster is located within the WSHS boundary. And we don’t want our split feeder fixed.

There are better solutions to overcrowding at WSHS. Shifting children living on West Springfield/Lewis boundary to Lewis, which has room. Moving German immersion (Did you know Orange Hunt is over capacity too thanks to transfers in for German immersion???) to White Oaks and Lake Braddock pyramid, which have room.

But really let’s wait and see. West Springfield is full of government civilians. Let’s see what happens with Trump and his downsizing of the government workforce. Families are going to have to leave for other employment opportunities.

The Orange Hunt community will be pi$$ed if Sangster parents get their German immersion program moved out of their school just so the Sangster island can avoid Lake Braddock.

The vast majority of German immersion students actually live in bounds for Orange Hunt. A large number of them have German heritage or were stationed in Germany with bilingual kids, and bought their houses zoned for Orange Hunt so they didn't have to risk the lottery.

Ask those Orange Hunt families if they want to give up their German immersion program so Sangster doesn't have to go to Lake Braddock. You are going to get a resounding no.

Slides from this summer show 122 transfer into Orange Hunt (German Immersion, there are no special education programs there) making it overcrowded. Shift that whole program to White Oaks and the overcrowding problem is solved. White Oaks close to Orange Hunt anyway. Also, let’s be real. Language immersion is for pole whose kids can’t get into AAP to feel special. And then you don’t have to move the Sangster/Irving/West Springfield kids out of the neighborhood schools.

Our section of the Sangster zone is separated from the rest of Lake Braddock by Fairfax County Parkway and Lee Chapel. It is separated from the rest of West Springfield by NOTHING. It’s literally the same street (Cottontail Ct.). A neighborhood pool is not a natural boundary, but a 4-lane highway is.

Sangster itself is located in ORANGE HUNT ESTATES. It is located in the WSHS boundary.

Also, moving Sangster and shifting families to White Oaks (and Cherry Run apparently) does not solve the overcrowding issue at WSHS. And creates new overcrowding at LB on the HS side. It’s not a solution. It’s sacrificing some children so no one has to move to Lewis. But Dr. Reid said on Monday night that Lewis has capacity - the most of any HS. So any solution that does not move some children to Lewis is not a really solution.

But I think first we need a WSHS boundary audit. Everyone show up with your deed and your lease. Let’s check them all and see what we find. They need to demand actual paperwork from every family. Show me that you own it and currently pay the utilities.

So much for Sangster families not throwing other WSHS neighborhoods under the bus. Look out Daventry and Hunt Valley, the Sangster/Orange Hunt mommies want your kids sent to Lewis. Don’t believe the posters who say they aren’t actively working to get your kids moved.

I agree.

Sangster might manage to throw others under the bus to remain at WSHS and avoid going to Lake Braddock with all their Sangster classmates, but they will burn all their bridges with the WSHS community in the process.

There is no one that's part of the Sangster community that's throwing anyone/neighborhood/community under the bus. Stick to the facts and stop trolling.

There were multiple posts on the last page that did exactly this. Stop gaslighting.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:What are the main takeaways from the McLean Madison meeting tonight? I heard several hundred people attended between in person and online!

It was fairly calm.

Ratio of Madison comments to McLean comments felt like 3:1.

Lots of Westbriar parents zoned to Madison objecting to getting moved to Marshall under Scenario 4. Sounds like they’ll get their wish.

Lots of Wolftrap parents zoned to Marshall favoring getting moved to Madison under Scenario 4. Sounds like they’ll get their wish.

Lots of Timber Lane parents north of 29 expressing appreciation that Scenario 4 keeps them at Longfellow/McLean. Sounds like they’ll get their wish.

A few Fairhill ES parents advocating to get moved from Falls Church to Madison or Oakton. Reid was non-committal because the parents couldn’t say how many kids were involved.

A fair number of Lemon Road parents zoned for McLean and Marshall spoke in favor of retaining the split feeder, which Scenario 4 does. They are a bit unsettled because there are some Lemon Road parents in Pimmit Hills lobbying to get moved from Marshall to McLean by eliminating the split feeder, which in turn has prompted some other parents at Lemon Road to argue that, if the split feeder is to be eliminated, FCPS should move the McLean families at Lemon Road to Marshall, rather than vice versa. The parents speaking tonight want to keep the current split feeder.

No comments at all that I can recall from anyone in the Spring Hill island, so it seems fair to assume they’re happy to move from McLean to Langley.

The most interesting part of the meeting may have been when Meren, who was there, seemed to chastise Reid about Reid’s answer to a question about whether current 8th graders would have a choice between their current high school and the high school to which they may be rezoned.

Lots of comments about whether split feeders are bad or ok, and it came across as rather contrived and dependent on how it impacted the schools that people want their kids to attend. Reid said they are looking at split feeders on a case-by-case basis now, depending on the feedback provided, and backing away from a one-size-fits-all approach.

I was surprised Meren didn’t seem aware of the transfer/pupil placement process. She seemed clueless and uninformed while Reid correctly informed the father of his options for his son. Didn’t give me much confidence in Meren.

Meren posted a video on her Facebook page last night basically throwing Reid under the bus, saying that the school board supervises Reid and that Reid was operating outside of her lane by saying information that had not been authorized or agreed upon by the board.

Good for Meren.

I was at the WSHS meeting.

Brac map 4 is probably the best map they could have created for WSHS. Even though I think no one should be moved into WSHS, if I were honest, I would have to say that even tho RV part makes sense.

But as the night went on, Reid started to overtly imply that if they complained loudly enough on the boundary map tool, that Sangster would get to stay at WSHS and they might need to revisit map 3. (Creating a split feeder at Hunt Valley?)

For every complaint and point that speakers made, Reid just smiled, nodded affirmatively, and implied that she agreed with the poster. Every single time.

She is the figurehead of FCPS and is paid $400,000 each year by us the taxpayers to do the hard thing.

We are 2 years into this process and on our 4th map revision.

At this point, Dr. Reid should have had hard factual answers to parents questions that have been asked for 2 years straight, not "I just looked at the transfer data into WSHS yesterday becsuse I knew someone would ask."

At this point in the process, she should have stood up like a leader in front of the very civil and respectful WSHS parents, and told them what FCPS told the BRAC committee reps, which is " Unfortunately, someone is going to get rezoned out of WSHS. If the Brac committee does not come up with enough students to meet our satisfaction, then the schoolboard and superintendent will pick who gets rezoned." Then stand up for the BRAC committee and tell those parents that the BRAC committee tried to pick the smallest number of houses to be rezoned to meet their mandate, and tried to find neighborhoods that could go to the most equivalent high school (Lake Braddock) with the biggest community connection to WSHS and the students getting moved, with the best transportation options.

Stand by the BRAC committee.

The Springfield BRAC members created the best possible map for WSHS with Map 4. Any one who knows the area, knows the schools, and knows the communities involved knows this, if they were perfectly honest, as long as the Irving 8th graders get the same grandfathering as the LB secondary school 8th graders get.

Show some leadership and support the volunteers who have managed to pull off an impossible tasking in a way that gives the best possible outcome for ALL of the WSHS students, including the Sangster split feeder, even if it will be a big disappointment to them. By next year, when all the Sangster 6th graders move to Lake Braddock together for midfle school, and with the Sangster elementary classes going forward, this will be just a blip in their memory, other than people wondering why they fought this at all.

If Reid caved this immediately to the very, very civil WSHS parents, what on earth is she doing when she faces parents who are riled up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the other Sangster families offended, puzzled or amused by the whole the Sangster kids who go to Lake Braddock aren't our community argument?

There is definitely talk in surrounding communities about that angle, not about the kids at Irving but the families without kids at Irving.

One LB parent spoke up 2 meetings ago about that argument, and she did seem a bit offended and a little befuddled.

Why would you consider kids who went to school with your kid for 6+ years to be part of your community? One kid spoke at the Irving meeting about how he desperately didn't want to lose all of the new friends he's met (in one quarter of school) this year at Irving and pleaded to stay there instead of being sent to LBSS, where his former Sangster classmates of seven years went.

:?

You are talking about and mocking a child. What you failed to mention is that he said he has a sibling at WSHS, so of course that school would feel more like his community than LB.

Sangster is located within the WSHS boundary. It is inside the neighborhood of Orange Hunt Estates. Those of us who live there understand that we are assigned to Sangster as the elementary school because we are walkers. We would have to be bused to Orange Hunt Elementary. The Sangster/Orange Hunt boundary is at the point 1 mile from the school. So that is why we identify as living in West Springfield and see Irving/West Springfield as our child’s school. The first iteration of the boundary scenarios did not “fix” our split feeder because Sangster is located within the WSHS boundary. And we don’t want our split feeder fixed.

There are better solutions to overcrowding at WSHS. Shifting children living on West Springfield/Lewis boundary to Lewis, which has room. Moving German immersion (Did you know Orange Hunt is over capacity too thanks to transfers in for German immersion???) to White Oaks and Lake Braddock pyramid, which have room.

But really let’s wait and see. West Springfield is full of government civilians. Let’s see what happens with Trump and his downsizing of the government workforce. Families are going to have to leave for other employment opportunities.

The Orange Hunt community will be pi$$ed if Sangster parents get their German immersion program moved out of their school just so the Sangster island can avoid Lake Braddock.

The vast majority of German immersion students actually live in bounds for Orange Hunt. A large number of them have German heritage or were stationed in Germany with bilingual kids, and bought their houses zoned for Orange Hunt so they didn't have to risk the lottery.

Ask those Orange Hunt families if they want to give up their German immersion program so Sangster doesn't have to go to Lake Braddock. You are going to get a resounding no.

Slides from this summer show 122 transfer into Orange Hunt (German Immersion, there are no special education programs there) making it overcrowded. Shift that whole program to White Oaks and the overcrowding problem is solved. White Oaks close to Orange Hunt anyway. Also, let’s be real. Language immersion is for pole whose kids can’t get into AAP to feel special. And then you don’t have to move the Sangster/Irving/West Springfield kids out of the neighborhood schools.

Our section of the Sangster zone is separated from the rest of Lake Braddock by Fairfax County Parkway and Lee Chapel. It is separated from the rest of West Springfield by NOTHING. It’s literally the same street (Cottontail Ct.). A neighborhood pool is not a natural boundary, but a 4-lane highway is.

Sangster itself is located in ORANGE HUNT ESTATES. It is located in the WSHS boundary.

Also, moving Sangster and shifting families to White Oaks (and Cherry Run apparently) does not solve the overcrowding issue at WSHS. And creates new overcrowding at LB on the HS side. It’s not a solution. It’s sacrificing some children so no one has to move to Lewis. But Dr. Reid said on Monday night that Lewis has capacity - the most of any HS. So any solution that does not move some children to Lewis is not a really solution.

But I think first we need a WSHS boundary audit. Everyone show up with your deed and your lease. Let’s check them all and see what we find. They need to demand actual paperwork from every family. Show me that you own it and currently pay the utilities.

Sorry, Sangster.

You are losing the argument and dropping supporters from the other WSHS neighborhoods every argument you make

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our section of the Sangster zone is separated from the rest of Lake Braddock by Fairfax County Parkway and Lee Chapel. It is separated from the rest of West Springfield by NOTHING. It’s literally the same street (Cottontail Ct.). A neighborhood pool is not a natural boundary, but a 4-lane highway is.

Sangster itself is located in ORANGE HUNT ESTATES. It is located in the WSHS boundary.

Also, moving Sangster and shifting families to White Oaks (and Cherry Run apparently) does not solve the overcrowding issue at WSHS. And creates new overcrowding at LB on the HS side. It’s not a solution. It’s sacrificing some children so no one has to move to Lewis. But Dr. Reid said on Monday night that Lewis has capacity - the most of any HS. So any solution that does not move some children to Lewis is not a really solution.

But I think first we need a WSHS boundary audit. Everyone show up with your deed and your lease. Let’s check them all and see what we find. They need to demand actual paperwork from every family. Show me that you own it and currently pay the utilities.

This is too easy, c'mon school board and Dr. Reid! Just think how much taxpayer money has went into having Dr. Reid and anyone paid by FCPS to look at boundaries without bringing current data to the table. School board and Dr. Reid -- save face, delay this as you did the school times debacle and get the data! Problem solved and you look like heros!

Lol, ok i just think it's funny when people use the argument of "but it's CALLED orange hunt (or west springfield, or whatever the name might be). They're just arbitrary names given long before population explosions, change in housing, schools, etc.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Are the other Sangster families offended, puzzled or amused by the whole the Sangster kids who go to Lake Braddock aren't our community argument?

There is definitely talk in surrounding communities about that angle, not about the kids at Irving but the families without kids at Irving.

One LB parent spoke up 2 meetings ago about that argument, and she did seem a bit offended and a little befuddled.

Why would you consider kids who went to school with your kid for 6+ years to be part of your community? One kid spoke at the Irving meeting about how he desperately didn't want to lose all of the new friends he's met (in one quarter of school) this year at Irving and pleaded to stay there instead of being sent to LBSS, where his former Sangster classmates of seven years went.

You are talking about and mocking a child. What you failed to mention is that he said he has a sibling at WSHS, so of course that school would feel more like his community than LB.

Sangster is located within the WSHS boundary. It is inside the neighborhood of Orange Hunt Estates. Those of us who live there understand that we are assigned to Sangster as the elementary school because we are walkers. We would have to be bused to Orange Hunt Elementary. The Sangster/Orange Hunt boundary is at the point 1 mile from the school. So that is why we identify as living in West Springfield and see Irving/West Springfield as our child’s school. The first iteration of the boundary scenarios did not “fix” our split feeder because Sangster is located within the WSHS boundary. And we don’t want our split feeder fixed.

There are better solutions to overcrowding at WSHS. Shifting children living on West Springfield/Lewis boundary to Lewis, which has room. Moving German immersion (Did you know Orange Hunt is over capacity too thanks to transfers in for German immersion???) to White Oaks and Lake Braddock pyramid, which have room.

But really let’s wait and see. West Springfield is full of government civilians. Let’s see what happens with Trump and his downsizing of the government workforce. Families are going to have to leave for other employment opportunities.

The Orange Hunt community will be pi$$ed if Sangster parents get their German immersion program moved out of their school just so the Sangster island can avoid Lake Braddock.

The vast majority of German immersion students actually live in bounds for Orange Hunt. A large number of them have German heritage or were stationed in Germany with bilingual kids, and bought their houses zoned for Orange Hunt so they didn't have to risk the lottery.

Ask those Orange Hunt families if they want to give up their German immersion program so Sangster doesn't have to go to Lake Braddock. You are going to get a resounding no.

Slides from this summer show 122 transfer into Orange Hunt (German Immersion, there are no special education programs there) making it overcrowded. Shift that whole program to White Oaks and the overcrowding problem is solved. White Oaks close to Orange Hunt anyway. Also, let’s be real. Language immersion is for pole whose kids can’t get into AAP to feel special. And then you don’t have to move the Sangster/Irving/West Springfield kids out of the neighborhood schools.

Our section of the Sangster zone is separated from the rest of Lake Braddock by Fairfax County Parkway and Lee Chapel. It is separated from the rest of West Springfield by NOTHING. It’s literally the same street (Cottontail Ct.). A neighborhood pool is not a natural boundary, but a 4-lane highway is.

Sangster itself is located in ORANGE HUNT ESTATES. It is located in the WSHS boundary.

Also, moving Sangster and shifting families to White Oaks (and Cherry Run apparently) does not solve the overcrowding issue at WSHS. And creates new overcrowding at LB on the HS side. It’s not a solution. It’s sacrificing some children so no one has to move to Lewis. But Dr. Reid said on Monday night that Lewis has capacity - the most of any HS. So any solution that does not move some children to Lewis is not a really solution.

But I think first we need a WSHS boundary audit. Everyone show up with your deed and your lease. Let’s check them all and see what we find. They need to demand actual paperwork from every family. Show me that you own it and currently pay the utilities.

Oh my gosh.

And WSHS is cut in quarters by Rolling Rd. And Old Keene Mill Road.

Your arguments are not legitimate.

The FCPS is a 4 way stoplight across a split 4 lane road. Just like Old Keene Mill which cuts WSHS in half.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:What are the main takeaways from the McLean Madison meeting tonight? I heard several hundred people attended between in person and online!

It was fairly calm.

Ratio of Madison comments to McLean comments felt like 3:1.

Lots of Westbriar parents zoned to Madison objecting to getting moved to Marshall under Scenario 4. Sounds like they’ll get their wish.

Lots of Wolftrap parents zoned to Marshall favoring getting moved to Madison under Scenario 4. Sounds like they’ll get their wish.

Lots of Timber Lane parents north of 29 expressing appreciation that Scenario 4 keeps them at Longfellow/McLean. Sounds like they’ll get their wish.

A few Fairhill ES parents advocating to get moved from Falls Church to Madison or Oakton. Reid was non-committal because the parents couldn’t say how many kids were involved.

A fair number of Lemon Road parents zoned for McLean and Marshall spoke in favor of retaining the split feeder, which Scenario 4 does. They are a bit unsettled because there are some Lemon Road parents in Pimmit Hills lobbying to get moved from Marshall to McLean by eliminating the split feeder, which in turn has prompted some other parents at Lemon Road to argue that, if the split feeder is to be eliminated, FCPS should move the McLean families at Lemon Road to Marshall, rather than vice versa. The parents speaking tonight want to keep the current split feeder.

No comments at all that I can recall from anyone in the Spring Hill island, so it seems fair to assume they’re happy to move from McLean to Langley.

The most interesting part of the meeting may have been when Meren, who was there, seemed to chastise Reid about Reid’s answer to a question about whether current 8th graders would have a choice between their current high school and the high school to which they may be rezoned.

Lots of comments about whether split feeders are bad or ok, and it came across as rather contrived and dependent on how it impacted the schools that people want their kids to attend. Reid said they are looking at split feeders on a case-by-case basis now, depending on the feedback provided, and backing away from a one-size-fits-all approach.

I was surprised Meren didn’t seem aware of the transfer/pupil placement process. She seemed clueless and uninformed while Reid correctly informed the father of his options for his son. Didn’t give me much confidence in Meren.

Meren posted a video on her Facebook page last night basically throwing Reid under the bus, saying that the school board supervises Reid and that Reid was operating outside of her lane by saying information that had not been authorized or agreed upon by the board.

Good for Meren.

I was at the WSHS meeting.

Brac map 4 is probably the best map they could have created for WSHS. Even though I think no one should be moved into WSHS, if I were honest, I would have to say that even tho RV part makes sense.

But as the night went on, Reid started to overtly imply that if they complained loudly enough on the boundary map tool, that Sangster would get to stay at WSHS and they might need to revisit map 3. (Creating a split feeder at Hunt Valley?)

For every complaint and point that speakers made, Reid just smiled, nodded affirmatively, and implied that she agreed with the poster. Every single time.

She is the figurehead of FCPS and is paid $400,000 each year by us the taxpayers to do the hard thing.

We are 2 years into this process and on our 4th map revision.

At this point, Dr. Reid should have had hard factual answers to parents questions that have been asked for 2 years straight, not "I just looked at the transfer data into WSHS yesterday becsuse I knew someone would ask."

At this point in the process, she should have stood up like a leader in front of the very civil and respectful WSHS parents, and told them what FCPS told the BRAC committee reps, which is " Unfortunately, someone is going to get rezoned out of WSHS. If the Brac committee does not come up with enough students to meet our satisfaction, then the schoolboard and superintendent will pick who gets rezoned." Then stand up for the BRAC committee and tell those parents that the BRAC committee tried to pick the smallest number of houses to be rezoned to meet their mandate, and tried to find neighborhoods that could go to the most equivalent high school (Lake Braddock) with the biggest community connection to WSHS and the students getting moved, with the best transportation options.

Stand by the BRAC committee.

The Springfield BRAC members created the best possible map for WSHS with Map 4. Any one who knows the area, knows the schools, and knows the communities involved knows this, if they were perfectly honest, as long as the Irving 8th graders get the same grandfathering as the LB secondary school 8th graders get.

Show some leadership and support the volunteers who have managed to pull off an impossible tasking in a way that gives the best possible outcome for ALL of the WSHS students, including the Sangster split feeder, even if it will be a big disappointment to them. By next year, when all the Sangster 6th graders move to Lake Braddock together for midfle school, and with the Sangster elementary classes going forward, this will be just a blip in their memory, other than people wondering why they fought this at all.

If Reid caved this immediately to the very, very civil WSHS parents, what on earth is she doing when she faces parents who are riled up?

But with no real data this whole "we have to move kids now" mentality should stop. I'm not buying "this has to be done" -- address checks, watch (real numbers) school population naturally decline, wait 3-4 years, then we'll talk. All this taxpayer money spent on this nonsense. Remember, the school board and Dr. Reid work for us, not the other way around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the other Sangster families offended, puzzled or amused by the whole the Sangster kids who go to Lake Braddock aren't our community argument?

There is definitely talk in surrounding communities about that angle, not about the kids at Irving but the families without kids at Irving.

One LB parent spoke up 2 meetings ago about that argument, and she did seem a bit offended and a little befuddled.

Why would you consider kids who went to school with your kid for 6+ years to be part of your community? One kid spoke at the Irving meeting about how he desperately didn't want to lose all of the new friends he's met (in one quarter of school) this year at Irving and pleaded to stay there instead of being sent to LBSS, where his former Sangster classmates of seven years went.

You are talking about and mocking a child. What you failed to mention is that he said he has a sibling at WSHS, so of course that school would feel more like his community than LB.

Sangster is located within the WSHS boundary. It is inside the neighborhood of Orange Hunt Estates. Those of us who live there understand that we are assigned to Sangster as the elementary school because we are walkers. We would have to be bused to Orange Hunt Elementary. The Sangster/Orange Hunt boundary is at the point 1 mile from the school. So that is why we identify as living in West Springfield and see Irving/West Springfield as our child’s school. The first iteration of the boundary scenarios did not “fix” our split feeder because Sangster is located within the WSHS boundary. And we don’t want our split feeder fixed.

There are better solutions to overcrowding at WSHS. Shifting children living on West Springfield/Lewis boundary to Lewis, which has room. Moving German immersion (Did you know Orange Hunt is over capacity too thanks to transfers in for German immersion???) to White Oaks and Lake Braddock pyramid, which have room.

But really let’s wait and see. West Springfield is full of government civilians. Let’s see what happens with Trump and his downsizing of the government workforce. Families are going to have to leave for other employment opportunities.

The Orange Hunt community will be pi$$ed if Sangster parents get their German immersion program moved out of their school just so the Sangster island can avoid Lake Braddock.

The vast majority of German immersion students actually live in bounds for Orange Hunt. A large number of them have German heritage or were stationed in Germany with bilingual kids, and bought their houses zoned for Orange Hunt so they didn't have to risk the lottery.

Ask those Orange Hunt families if they want to give up their German immersion program so Sangster doesn't have to go to Lake Braddock. You are going to get a resounding no.

Slides from this summer show 122 transfer into Orange Hunt (German Immersion, there are no special education programs there) making it overcrowded. Shift that whole program to White Oaks and the overcrowding problem is solved. White Oaks close to Orange Hunt anyway. Also, let’s be real. Language immersion is for pole whose kids can’t get into AAP to feel special. And then you don’t have to move the Sangster/Irving/West Springfield kids out of the neighborhood schools.

Our section of the Sangster zone is separated from the rest of Lake Braddock by Fairfax County Parkway and Lee Chapel. It is separated from the rest of West Springfield by NOTHING. It’s literally the same street (Cottontail Ct.). A neighborhood pool is not a natural boundary, but a 4-lane highway is.

Sangster itself is located in ORANGE HUNT ESTATES. It is located in the WSHS boundary.

Also, moving Sangster and shifting families to White Oaks (and Cherry Run apparently) does not solve the overcrowding issue at WSHS. And creates new overcrowding at LB on the HS side. It’s not a solution. It’s sacrificing some children so no one has to move to Lewis. But Dr. Reid said on Monday night that Lewis has capacity - the most of any HS. So any solution that does not move some children to Lewis is not a really solution.

But I think first we need a WSHS boundary audit. Everyone show up with your deed and your lease. Let’s check them all and see what we find. They need to demand actual paperwork from every family. Show me that you own it and currently pay the utilities.

So much for Sangster families not throwing other WSHS neighborhoods under the bus. Look out Daventry and Hunt Valley, the Sangster/Orange Hunt mommies want your kids sent to Lewis. Don’t believe the posters who say they aren’t actively working to get your kids moved.

No one is politically dumb enough to propose moving a WSHS neighborhood to/back into Lewis at this stage in the game.

The Sangster parents appear to be pushing this exact thing.

Daventry and Hunt Valley need to get engaged and start submitting comments supporting Map 4