FCPS Boundary Review - New Maps

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only wished they knew how much more support they’d receive if they dropped the boundary review nonsense. I know there are constituents who are never going to support an all Democratic school board, but there are a lot of people who are middle of the road that are gettable, if only they’d drop the boundary review that pits constituent against constituent

So what is your plan for over-crowded Chantilly HS and Coates ES? Who will attend the new HS next to Carson MS? What about the new construction in Tysons? Where will those kids go? What aboit kids with long commutes to their schools, when there is another one much closer? Should FCPS wait to make boundary changes one school at a time? That doesn’t seem reasonable.

Nobody wants to move schools, but somebody has to. If the school system waits too long to do so, then they will get blamed too. In my view, they are being proactive. It’s a bit of a “damned if you, damned if you don’t situation”.

All of the high school stuff you mentioned can be addressed when they fill the new (not a magnet) high school.

Coates should have been addressed last summer, well over a year ago. Coates should NOT be tied to any other boundary rezoning.

Fill the new high school with regular students and don't make it a magnet. We can't afford to purchase the site, renovate the building AND add all the specialized equipment TJ has as well as bis kids from around the county.

Fix Coates.

Stop the rest of the rezoning process, at least until we get new enrollment numbers from immigration law enforcement effects and RIF effects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do residency checks currently work ? With all the online open source tools it should be fairly easy to do checks through open source available information using student lists and then call those parents in for an in person meeting - so is that how the process works, or what is the current process ? Especially for single family homes in the Lewis/WSHS areas. Just curious because it doesn't look like it would be a heavy lift honestly.

Agree 100%. It isn't and shouldn't be a laborious process in 2025, no matter what Reid and the SB claim. They don't want to address the issue so they pretend like the one person in charge of it at Central Office has to use the White Pages to look up every single student's address and then drive to each residence and speak to the occupants.[/quote]

1. Check residency of every new student or transfer.
2. Check residency of those reported as suspicious by neighbors or teachers.
3. Do random checks of 1-5% of the students.

[Anonymous]

The easiest way to check residency going forward would be to have people re-supply the residency documents when kids start at a new school level. Right now you just provide them when you initially register, whether that’s in preschool or K, or later if you start in public school later or move in later. But if you required it at the start of MS and then at HS, you could catch a lot of people who moved at some point to the big house in a less desirable school zone to save $$$, but never updated FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The easiest way to check residency going forward would be to have people re-supply the residency documents when kids start at a new school level. Right now you just provide them when you initially register, whether that’s in preschool or K, or later if you start in public school later or move in later. But if you required it at the start of MS and then at HS, you could catch a lot of people who moved at some point to the big house in a less desirable school zone to save $$$, but never updated FCPS.

I agree with this

But before a high school gets rezoned, a full residency check should be mandatory. It should be mandatory when a high school goes over 100%-105% capacity.

[Anonymous]

Have deportations had any effect on student numbers? Will some “less desired” schools end up way under enrolled?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have deportations had any effect on student numbers? Will some “less desired” schools end up way under enrolled?

I’m pretty sure the official count isn’t until the last day of September. No one is going to really know until then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have deportations had any effect on student numbers? Will some “less desired” schools end up way under enrolled?

I believe someone asked that on one of the earlier iterations of this thread and the general response (supposedly from teachers at some of these schools at the ES level) was not really. But there’s always a lot of student movement at those schools. So it may take a few school years to have a noticeable drop if people get deported or leave and aren’t replaced by other new arrivals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have deportations had any effect on student numbers? Will some “less desired” schools end up way under enrolled?

I believe someone asked that on one of the earlier iterations of this thread and the general response (supposedly from teachers at some of these schools at the ES level) was not really. But there’s always a lot of student movement at those schools. So it may take a few school years to have a noticeable drop if people get deported or leave and aren’t replaced by other new arrivals.

And, with high schools, there is also a high drop out rate during senior year at some schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have deportations had any effect on student numbers? Will some “less desired” schools end up way under enrolled?

I believe someone asked that on one of the earlier iterations of this thread and the general response (supposedly from teachers at some of these schools at the ES level) was not really. But there’s always a lot of student movement at those schools. So it may take a few school years to have a noticeable drop if people get deported or leave and aren’t replaced by other new arrivals.

And, with high schools, there is also a high drop out rate during senior year at some schools.

This is true.

Let's look at the September-June enrollments at the county high schools with the most low-income immigrants and highest drop-out rates to see if there's a trend in attrition:

Annandale: -25 (2025); +29 (2024); +9 (2023)

Falls Church: -67 (2025); +12 (2024); -36 (2023)

Herndon: -49 (2025); -37 (2024); -13 (2023)

Justice: -33 (2025); -28 (2024); -53 (2023)

Lewis: -10 (2025); +17 (2024); +5 (2023)

Mount Vernon: -16 (2025); -48 (2024); -17 (2023)

The data is noisy but last year was the first year in the last three years in which all six of these high ESOL/FARMS kids lost kids over the course of the school year. In 2023-24, three of the schools gained kids over the course of the year, and in 2022-23 two did.

[Anonymous]

Sharing that I reached out to my pyramid’s BRAC members and they were actually very pleasant. They don’t have much information either though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sharing that I reached out to my pyramid’s BRAC members and they were actually very pleasant. They don’t have much information either though.

Most of the brac members are very pleasant and helpful.

Unfortunately, it appears they are also getting messed with by FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Robyn Lady responds to the Region 5/Forestville controversy:

At the most recent BRAC meeting, representatives from each region presented their respective priorities. I was surprised to learn that one of Region 5's priorities was to recommend the redistricting of Forestville Elementary School from its current pathway to Herndon Middle School and Herndon High School.

This recommendation is problematic for two reasons:

1. It was not an official draft proposal. This suggestion was not included in any of the potential boundary change maps shared with the community for feedback.

2. It does not reflect our community's feedback. The priorities identified for Region 1 are based directly on the extensive feedback received from our constituents. This new suggestion is entirely separate from any identified needs.

Furthermore, I had the opportunity to discuss this situation directly with Superintendent Dr. Reid over the weekend. She shared that while each region is invited to share their priorities, it does not guarantee their implementation. Dr. Reid noted that since the current models all have Forestville remaining in the Langley pyramid and Langley is not considered to be overcrowded, she does not see that boundary likely to be recommended for change.

I will continue to advocate for the interests of our community. I believe it is critical that the committee focuses on addressing the priorities that have been articulated by the families and staff within each region. The integrity of the boundary review process depends on each representative's commitment to this principle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Robyn Lady responds to the Region 5/Forestville controversy:

At the most recent BRAC meeting, representatives from each region presented their respective priorities. I was surprised to learn that one of Region 5's priorities was to recommend the redistricting of Forestville Elementary School from its current pathway to Herndon Middle School and Herndon High School.

This recommendation is problematic for two reasons:

1. It was not an official draft proposal. This suggestion was not included in any of the potential boundary change maps shared with the community for feedback.

2. It does not reflect our community's feedback. The priorities identified for Region 1 are based directly on the extensive feedback received from our constituents. This new suggestion is entirely separate from any identified needs.

Furthermore, I had the opportunity to discuss this situation directly with Superintendent Dr. Reid over the weekend. She shared that while each region is invited to share their priorities, it does not guarantee their implementation. Dr. Reid noted that since the current models all have Forestville remaining in the Langley pyramid and Langley is not considered to be overcrowded, she does not see that boundary likely to be recommended for change.

I will continue to advocate for the interests of our community. I believe it is critical that the committee focuses on addressing the priorities that have been articulated by the families and staff within each region. The integrity of the boundary review process depends on each representative's commitment to this principle.

Good for Robyn Lady. Has Frisch provided any similar assurances to the Timber Lane community or will they continue to treat McLean as the county’s punching bag - redistricted more than other high schools with minimal investment in the facilities?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Robyn Lady responds to the Region 5/Forestville controversy:

At the most recent BRAC meeting, representatives from each region presented their respective priorities. I was surprised to learn that one of Region 5's priorities was to recommend the redistricting of Forestville Elementary School from its current pathway to Herndon Middle School and Herndon High School.

This recommendation is problematic for two reasons:

1. It was not an official draft proposal. This suggestion was not included in any of the potential boundary change maps shared with the community for feedback.

2. It does not reflect our community's feedback. The priorities identified for Region 1 are based directly on the extensive feedback received from our constituents. This new suggestion is entirely separate from any identified needs.

Furthermore, I had the opportunity to discuss this situation directly with Superintendent Dr. Reid over the weekend. She shared that while each region is invited to share their priorities, it does not guarantee their implementation. Dr. Reid noted that since the current models all have Forestville remaining in the Langley pyramid and Langley is not considered to be overcrowded, she does not see that boundary likely to be recommended for change.

I will continue to advocate for the interests of our community. I believe it is critical that the committee focuses on addressing the priorities that have been articulated by the families and staff within each region. The integrity of the boundary review process depends on each representative's commitment to this principle.

Wow. Pretty impressed that Lady put this out. Good for her.

[Anonymous]

Hopefully they reprimand the Region 5 person who did this and/or dismiss them from BRAC. They clearly have an axe to grind and/or cannot follow instructions.