Kent Garden Rezoning

[Anonymous]

I was at the meeting today. The only thing I learnt is that some parents are really scary 🤣😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was at the meeting today. The only thing I learnt is that some parents are really scary 🤣😂

I wasn't at the meeting, but FCPS staff seems to encourage a free-for-all at these introductory sessions where parents are encouraged to either (1) offer up other neighborhoods (not their own) to get reassigned; or (2) volunteer to get moved to a wealthier school.

Then a few months will pass and they'll do what the School Board member representing the district where the school is located had already decided to do before any meetings were held.

[Anonymous]

They need to get rid of the immersion program. It’s ridiculous to bring out-of-bounds students to a school that doesn’t even have enough room for its in-bound students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They need to get rid of the immersion program. It’s ridiculous to bring out-of-bounds students to a school that doesn’t even have enough room for its in-bound students.

Others disagree. Most immersion kids live in-bounds and there are more French speakers within the Kent Gardens district than in any other part of the county. They can also address the overcrowding by changing the base boundaries as the surrounding elementary schools are under-enrolled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.fcps.edu/facilities-planning-future/kent-gardens-capacity

There is a new feedback form. The event hasn’t started yet. I think it is really only about identifying what schools should be involved in a boundary change.

Interesting who is a the meeting and who is not at the meeting. KG at 121% capacity and add back in the 36 transfers out it would be 1059. That includes the 198 transferring in. 861 in boundary for a site that has 848 program capacity. 48% of the students might be immersion.

So the idea is to move out about 200 base school students to infuse transfers for immersion? When FCPS did boundary change processes at schools with transfers in for AAP it used to include numbers on transfers in for AAP [per school and identifiable by pyramid].

Didn't Tholen institute reduced out of boundary for KG FLI? So if current in boundary become out of boundary those residences have less chance of a slot. Lottery split 60/40 to 75/25. Est almost 500 FLI and almost 300 in boundary. Marshall pyramid ES are on the invite list and some send significant numbers to immersion.

Also not given and relevant to the specific site is walkers.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand how they expect parents to give input with incomplete data. No one presented just how many kids are coming in from out of bounds.

They wanted us to look at maps and tell them which neighborhoods to cut, which is a useless exercise.

[Anonymous]

So, if your child qualifies for Level IV at KG and gets rezone to Westgate, do they gontinue Level IV at Westgate? Do they have an option to go to Churchill?

We have to make a choice to stay in KG or move to Churchill. If our daughter is going to get rezone anyways, might as well move her to Churchill now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, if your child qualifies for Level IV at KG and gets rezone to Westgate, do they gontinue Level IV at Westgate? Do they have an option to go to Churchill?

We have to make a choice to stay in KG or move to Churchill. If our daughter is going to get rezone anyways, might as well move her to Churchill now.

In that scenario they could likely continue with LLIV at Westgate or attend the AAP center at Lemon Road. The Lemon Road AAP center would have more kids going to Longfellow than the AAP center at Churchill.

No one knows yet whether any part of KG will move to Westgate (as opposed to Franklin Sherman). Move to Churchill if you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was at the meeting today. The only thing I learnt is that some parents are really scary 🤣😂

Omg so true. YES I want to be rezoned!! It’s expedient and free.

Also nobody is entitled to attend any particular school no matter where you bought your house. And especially if you buy your house on a boundary line, don’t expect to not be moved!

I do share the concerns about the hallway classroom. I didn’t know it was special education students, which makes it worse. I don’t know the original purpose of that space but it shouldn’t be for a class. I really want to see the school rezoned to 100% or less of its non trailer/hallway capacity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They need to get rid of the immersion program. It’s ridiculous to bring out-of-bounds students to a school that doesn’t even have enough room for its in-bound students.

Others disagree. Most immersion kids live in-bounds and there are more French speakers within the Kent Gardens district than in any other part of the county. They can also address the overcrowding by changing the base boundaries as the surrounding elementary schools are under-enrolled.

BS. There is no reason FCPS can't open a 2nd French Immersion program. Some in boundary now and in FLI will be out of boundary. The fact is immersion numbers are not published and why? If out of boundary AAP ever had to change why not FLI? Tholen is an immersion advocate and any program with out of boundary students should not be the driver on a site like KG- walkers, internal neighborhood streets etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They need to get rid of the immersion program. It’s ridiculous to bring out-of-bounds students to a school that doesn’t even have enough room for its in-bound students.

Others disagree. Most immersion kids live in-bounds and there are more French speakers within the Kent Gardens district than in any other part of the county. They can also address the overcrowding by changing the base boundaries as the surrounding elementary schools are under-enrolled.

BS. There is no reason FCPS can't open a 2nd French Immersion program. Some in boundary now and in FLI will be out of boundary. The fact is immersion numbers are not published and why? If out of boundary AAP ever had to change why not FLI? Tholen is an immersion advocate and any program with out of boundary students should not be the driver on a site like KG- walkers, internal neighborhood streets etc.

I responded to a comment about “getting rid” of the immersion program, not opening a second one. Fine w/me if they open another one.

But there are people with FCPS who have ulterior motives - some want to under-invest in programs and facilities in the pyramid and others who are going to be desperate to justify the future Dunn Loring ES (the need for which remains less than clear). There are a lot of folks who specifically moved into the KG district for FI and, while some will still be put in a different position if they get reassigned to another base school (whether it’s FS, Chesterbrook, or Westgate), the entire program should not be relocated. Nor is it necessary to relocate the entire program to ensure walkers remain in-bounds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The school guard should never have ceded the old Lewisville school property to the county programs. Redoing and reopening it would be hugely beneficial now. It could get back its old district that KG now had snd could absorb some of Tyson’s anticipated growth.

The same can be said about the former Elementary School in the middle of Pimmit Hills. PH has a growing number of elementary kids, particularly since houses started to flip rapidly in that neighborhood. Lots of new younger families in the new build homes. The existing building and grounds are fine and easily could be repurposed as a highly walkable elementary school. And doing that also would open additional space for students at Westgate which would help cope with the new Tysons student influx.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school guard should never have ceded the old Lewisville school property to the county programs. Redoing and reopening it would be hugely beneficial now. It could get back its old district that KG now had snd could absorb some of Tyson’s anticipated growth.

The same can be said about the former Elementary School in the middle of Pimmit Hills. PH has a growing number of elementary kids, particularly since houses started to flip rapidly in that neighborhood. Lots of new younger families in the new build homes. The existing building and grounds are fine and easily could be repurposed as a highly walkable elementary school. And doing that also would open additional space for students at Westgate which would help cope with the new Tysons student influx.

+1.

Lewinsville has been torn down and replaced with senior housing but Pimmit Hills can still be renovated or replaced with a new building.

I think it would be great if Pimmit Hills had its own unified elementary school again. Westgate could handle more of Tysons and Lemon Road could take part of Haycock and maybe other schools and switch over from the Marshall pyramid to the McLean pyramid (right now it sits within the McLean boundaries but is part of the Marshall pyramid).

Honestly it would make more sense than spending all that money on Dunn Loring, which is further away from the growth areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They need to get rid of the immersion program. It’s ridiculous to bring out-of-bounds students to a school that doesn’t even have enough room for its in-bound students.

Others disagree. Most immersion kids live in-bounds and there are more French speakers within the Kent Gardens district than in any other part of the county. They can also address the overcrowding by changing the base boundaries as the surrounding elementary schools are under-enrolled.

BS. There is no reason FCPS can't open a 2nd French Immersion program. Some in boundary now and in FLI will be out of boundary. The fact is immersion numbers are not published and why? If out of boundary AAP ever had to change why not FLI? Tholen is an immersion advocate and any program with out of boundary students should not be the driver on a site like KG- walkers, internal neighborhood streets etc.

I responded to a comment about “getting rid” of the immersion program, not opening a second one. Fine w/me if they open another one.

But there are people with FCPS who have ulterior motives - some want to under-invest in programs and facilities in the pyramid and others who are going to be desperate to justify the future Dunn Loring ES (the need for which remains less than clear). There are a lot of folks who specifically moved into the KG district for FI and, while some will still be put in a different position if they get reassigned to another base school (whether it’s FS, Chesterbrook, or Westgate), the entire program should not be relocated. Nor is it necessary to relocate the entire program to ensure walkers remain in-bounds.

They should move French Immersion to Dunn Loring that way most families are not changing due to boundary issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They need to get rid of the immersion program. It’s ridiculous to bring out-of-bounds students to a school that doesn’t even have enough room for its in-bound students.

Others disagree. Most immersion kids live in-bounds and there are more French speakers within the Kent Gardens district than in any other part of the county. They can also address the overcrowding by changing the base boundaries as the surrounding elementary schools are under-enrolled.

BS. There is no reason FCPS can't open a 2nd French Immersion program. Some in boundary now and in FLI will be out of boundary. The fact is immersion numbers are not published and why? If out of boundary AAP ever had to change why not FLI? Tholen is an immersion advocate and any program with out of boundary students should not be the driver on a site like KG- walkers, internal neighborhood streets etc.

I responded to a comment about “getting rid” of the immersion program, not opening a second one. Fine w/me if they open another one.

But there are people with FCPS who have ulterior motives - some want to under-invest in programs and facilities in the pyramid and others who are going to be desperate to justify the future Dunn Loring ES (the need for which remains less than clear). There are a lot of folks who specifically moved into the KG district for FI and, while some will still be put in a different position if they get reassigned to another base school (whether it’s FS, Chesterbrook, or Westgate), the entire program should not be relocated. Nor is it necessary to relocate the entire program to ensure walkers remain in-bounds.

They should move French Immersion to Dunn Loring that way most families are not changing due to boundary issues.

It’s going to be years before Dunn Loring gets built. They need to do something sooner than that. And KG should not lose the entire FI program just to make a clown like Frisch look better.