
I don’t have data to support this, but my sense is that the more housing prices go up, the more we have multi-generational / extended family / multiple families living in single family homes and even apartments. I only have anecdotal observations of this.
It also seems that with more homeowners not necessarily dwelling in their homes (rentals, air b n b, etc), it is easier to overlook zoning violations. Increased home/property values and rents doesn’t always have the effect people think they do. |
Interestingly Herndon’s downward shift was swift. The difference grew quickly over the past 10-15 years. I’ve been told the socioeconomic difference between the HHS class of 2026 is like a wave and much different than other classes. FWIW I have a class of 2026 kid and it’s what we’ve always known, so it is sometimes hard to know how things have changed. |
Especially given the distance some Langley kids have to commute. |
Are there split feeders for Herndon? Do any of the Langley kids go to elementary schools that also feed Herndon? Is that also a factor? |
Im at a feeder school in Lewis. Housing is generally cheaper but the houses are super old and smaller.
But there are often many families in one house. I’ve had students living in one bedroom of a house with their siblings and parents. |
The Great Falls folks got Elaine Tholen to limit the number of kids moved from McLean to Langley in 2021 and to make sure they were all kids living in expensive single-family areas (no condos or apartments in Tysons, as FCPS staff had proposed). The next boundary change for McLean will probably involve Falls Church, which is currently getting renovated and expanded, not Langley. The GFCA will continue to fight moving more kids to Langley, Falls Church is getting expanded to 2500, and there’s an attendance island in Falls Church zoned for McLean that is closer to Falls Church than McLean and already feeds into an elementary school that is a split feeder to McLean and Falls Church. That area is high FARMS, so if the School Board wants to keep it at McLean for diversity they’ll need to go ahead and fund the addition McLean has been requested for the better part of the last decade. Otherwise they can’t justify the continued existence of the island, when McLean remains overcrowded and new multi-family housing will get built in other areas closer to MHS in Tysons and near the WFC Metro. |
That gerrymandered little island needs to go to Falls Church HS. Those families that are Timberlane, Longfellow, and McLean are considerably wealthier and their homes worth much more than the other split which is zoned for Falls Church HS. It's ridiculous that those island kids literally pass other high schools to get to McLean. |
The only split feeder to Herndon is Coates, which is a split feeder to Herndon and Westfield, not Langley. The gerrymandering of the Langley pyramid is at every level (ES/MS/HS) so every single-family area in Herndon and Reston on the other side of Route 7 that goes to Cooper and Langley also goes to Forestville. |
They don’t “literally” pass by Falls Church or Marshall to get to McLean, even if they are closer to those schools. To get to McLean from that area you go up West Street through FCC and then hang a left onto Westmoreland. Marshall is further west past 66 and Falls Church further south. |
+1 Enlisted should not only be paid far better, but also given housing in the best school districts. |
+1 Not to mention, voters in Herndon are allowing the policies that create these poverty zones. You get what you vote for. |
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No, McLean parents continue to balk at the suggestion of sending more McLean kids to Langley. Take it up with them. ![]() ![]() |
Or, you know, how about instead making sure every school district is one that is acceptable? I think that would solve a heck of a lot more problems. |
We have had kids at military base schools. The military base schools comprised of 100% military kids tend to be very strong. There was a lot of research last decade before the focus switched to equity based education on the success of military base schools in eliminating the achievement gap between races, not by lowering standards but by raising up all kids, similar to the success in Catholic schools in high poverty areas. Military on base schools are traditionally very strong, even when the families are primarily lower ranking enlisted. However, this might be different now that the military has moved away from a culture of color blind excellence. I haven't looked at recent stats, but prior to the last couple of years military base schools were exceptional, particularly for poor or minority kids. |