Tuckahoe / Discovery / North Arlington elementary redistricting in 2026

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if you are a current first or second grader at Discovery or Tuckahoe, there's a good chance you won't be graduating from Discovery or Tuckahoe.

A lot of those Tuckahoe families will be happy to go to Cardinal. Much closer and easier for them. And many expected to be assigned there before the whole McKinley/ATS thing. So I wouldn’t worry too much. But your concern is truly touching!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this has to be mothers who made all their friends through their kids' friends and are anxious about their grown up gaggle being broken up. I can see no other reason why people would be so over invested in this stuff. The kids are and will be fine. These are all great schools.

Huh? You think separating kids from their friend groups every 2 years, reshuffling commute patterns, and battling for extended day slots is no big deal? If I wanted to have that kind of life I’d have signed up for a military or consulting gig, both of which pay better or have better benefits than the stable job I chose for myself because I wanted stability.

I don’t see how your job has anything to do with school boundaries in a large urban school district. Arlington isn’t Mayberry, as badly as some people want it to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m confused. This fall they are redrawing MS boundaries. They intend to send all of Tuckahoe to Williamsburg. Now you are saying they will take some of those planning units that move from Swanson to Williamsburg and rezone them to Cardinal?

How stupid is that?!

Alignment is supposed to be one of the 6 factors APS considers when it changes boundaries, but history shows that they don’t care about it.

They don't not care about it. Alignment is not possible for all students and schools. Never has been and never will be. Some schools have always split.

Why is it possible in every other surrounding school district then?

Well. Alexandria has one high school and two middle schools. Falls Church is one set of schools the whole way though. I don't know about Fairfax. Someone could chime in and comment. Maybe the overall size makes it possible if you are accurate they don't ever split schools. Which I'd be surprised if none split but don't know.

Sit down and do the math about what it would take to keep entire elementary schools together into middle school and entire middle schools together into high school. The numbers don't work. The schools aren't the right size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this has to be mothers who made all their friends through their kids' friends and are anxious about their grown up gaggle being broken up. I can see no other reason why people would be so over invested in this stuff. The kids are and will be fine. These are all great schools.

Huh? You think separating kids from their friend groups every 2 years, reshuffling commute patterns, and battling for extended day slots is no big deal? If I wanted to have that kind of life I’d have signed up for a military or consulting gig, both of which pay better or have better benefits than the stable job I chose for myself because I wanted stability.

I don’t see how your job has anything to do with school boundaries in a large urban school district. Arlington isn’t Mayberry, as badly as some people want it to be.

Also the idea that your life isn't stable. What? You live in the same house, with the same neighbors, have the same job, shop at the same stores, buy your wine to drown your sorrows at the same damn place. Nothing else about your or your child's life is changing. They will go to a new lovely school with their neighbors. That's it.

[Anonymous]

I think Glebe is a zone 1 school too- they’re over capacity right now, I think, so idk if they try to shift some students out as part of this or leave it super crowded?

[Anonymous]

Hi fellow Nottingham parent! You get a A for effort in your attempt to widen the coalition against closing Nottingham.

Don't worry, our kids will be FINE. You are all embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this has to be mothers who made all their friends through their kids' friends and are anxious about their grown up gaggle being broken up. I can see no other reason why people would be so over invested in this stuff. The kids are and will be fine. These are all great schools.

Huh? You think separating kids from their friend groups every 2 years, reshuffling commute patterns, and battling for extended day slots is no big deal? If I wanted to have that kind of life I’d have signed up for a military or consulting gig, both of which pay better or have better benefits than the stable job I chose for myself because I wanted stability.

1. It's not every 2 years. Exaggeration. Some of their friends go with them and some don't. In the end, these are good life skills. You don't live in a place where the same group of kids moves through K-12. Most kids in that type of setting are not friends with the same exact same kids year in and year out anyway. Shifting friendships in childhood is normal. They will need the skills to make new friends. In fact, I promise you when the time comes you will be thrilled they are getting away from some kids in their friend group!

2. Reshuffling commute patterns? These schools are all so close to each other.

3. Extended day slots I can see. So focus on that and argue they should expand extended day or transfer slots or something. Productive thing to think about.

If you think this is like a military lifestyle I don't even know what to say. So far off the mark it's embarrassing you said it. Those kids really go through it.

+1 no kid is getting shuffled every two years, that is ridiculous. If your kid is moved at some point they basically guarantee to not do it again during their elementary years (this has come up before and when a group who had already moved was at risk they changed course to make sure that didn't happen). Changing to a neighboring (also wonderful) school one time in six years WITH many of their classmates is not an issue for your child. Kids are very able to go through changes like this with the support of their parents and community. Re: commute I went to Nottingham. Getting yourself to Nottingham in the morning vs getting yourself to Discovery, that is not a new commute pattern. Come on. As the other poster said, extended day slots is a valid issue. I would put energy to that.

It's ok to be like this is annoying and in my ideal world wouldn't be necessary, and be disappointed without exaggerating the impact so vastly. When you live in a community things need to be done to benefit the whole community sometimes. Also, this does happen in Fairfax and MCPS and most districts as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree this sounds reasonable. And yep, I have a child at one of these schools.

I'm at one of these schools too and trying to figure out if we will ever have any kind of stability in APS?

Ranked choice admissions is the only way to avoid such frequent disruptions. I wasn't an enthusiastic supporter before; but I'm seeing more and more advantages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the redistricting supposed to go into effect for the 2026/2027 school year? Or does the process and planning start then?

New boundaries would go into effect for fall 2026. The pre-CIP says they’ll start the planning for it in 2025 (though seems they already are).

If the whole NES becomes swing space initiative comes to halt because APS Facilities can't get its act together, this whole scenario changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m confused. This fall they are redrawing MS boundaries. They intend to send all of Tuckahoe to Williamsburg. Now you are saying they will take some of those planning units that move from Swanson to Williamsburg and rezone them to Cardinal?

How stupid is that?!

Alignment is supposed to be one of the 6 factors APS considers when it changes boundaries, but history shows that they don’t care about it.

It's getting to a point where it can't be avoided, except to never do anything about maximizing the use of our buildings and at least trying to provide some level of equality in balancing enrollments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if you are a current first or second grader at Discovery or Tuckahoe, there's a good chance you won't be graduating from Discovery or Tuckahoe.

Nobody "graduates" from elementary school.
And, so what? Lots of kids attend multiple elementary schools.

[Anonymous]

We had four kids attend APS elementary schools. Two went all the way through the same school. Two went to three different schools, starting at one neighborhood school, switching to a choice school after we moved, then switching to the neighborhood school where we moved to after the choice school underwhelming us.

All four kids survived equally.

This is not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had four kids attend APS elementary schools. Two went all the way through the same school. Two went to three different schools, starting at one neighborhood school, switching to a choice school after we moved, then switching to the neighborhood school where we moved to after the choice school underwhelming us.

All four kids survived equally.

This is not a big deal.

That’s a lot of disruption you put your kids through. I guess they’re still alive, that’s all that matters right? That they’re alive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So if you are a current first or second grader at Discovery or Tuckahoe, there's a good chance you won't be graduating from Discovery or Tuckahoe.

Nobody "graduates" from elementary school.
And, so what? Lots of kids attend multiple elementary schools.

Lots of kids? No, this level of reshuffling is unique to APS. The only reason I can think of that people put up with it is that this is such a transient population. It is normal to attend one school at young ages, not switch schools every few years. Young children value stability and familiar places. I’m sorry you didn’t value that for your kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this has to be mothers who made all their friends through their kids' friends and are anxious about their grown up gaggle being broken up. I can see no other reason why people would be so over invested in this stuff. The kids are and will be fine. These are all great schools.

Huh? You think separating kids from their friend groups every 2 years, reshuffling commute patterns, and battling for extended day slots is no big deal? If I wanted to have that kind of life I’d have signed up for a military or consulting gig, both of which pay better or have better benefits than the stable job I chose for myself because I wanted stability.

1. It's not every 2 years. Exaggeration. Some of their friends go with them and some don't. In the end, these are good life skills. You don't live in a place where the same group of kids moves through K-12. Most kids in that type of setting are not friends with the same exact same kids year in and year out anyway. Shifting friendships in childhood is normal. They will need the skills to make new friends. In fact, I promise you when the time comes you will be thrilled they are getting away from some kids in their friend group!

2. Reshuffling commute patterns? These schools are all so close to each other.

3. Extended day slots I can see. So focus on that and argue they should expand extended day or transfer slots or something. Productive thing to think about.

If you think this is like a military lifestyle I don't even know what to say. So far off the mark it's embarrassing you said it. Those kids really go through it.

+1 no kid is getting shuffled every two years, that is ridiculous. If your kid is moved at some point they basically guarantee to not do it again during their elementary years (this has come up before and when a group who had already moved was at risk they changed course to make sure that didn't happen). Changing to a neighboring (also wonderful) school one time in six years WITH many of their classmates is not an issue for your child. Kids are very able to go through changes like this with the support of their parents and community. Re: commute I went to Nottingham. Getting yourself to Nottingham in the morning vs getting yourself to Discovery, that is not a new commute pattern. Come on. As the other poster said, extended day slots is a valid issue. I would put energy to that.

It's ok to be like this is annoying and in my ideal world wouldn't be necessary, and be disappointed without exaggerating the impact so vastly. When you live in a community things need to be done to benefit the whole community sometimes. Also, this does happen in Fairfax and MCPS and most districts as well.

These redistricting attempts are taking place ALL THE TIME. APS is very unique in the amount of time and resources they spend reshuffling enrollment. This is because their projections are always wrong by an order of magnitude and they are not leaving themselves any grace in their planning factors.

The fact that kids “survive” this is not a justification to keep doing it. We spend way too much money to be planning for chaos and mediocrity. Reshuffle once a decade- that’s it.