Boundary Review Meetings

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ya'll need to wave the white flag, and accept whatever school the school board wants to send your kids to.

They received a resounding mandate last night to do whatever they want to do to your kids education (or lack thereof) however they want to do it, under any timeline, without grandfathering if need be.

They know that there will be zero consequences in the next election for rezoning anyone.

Read the tea leaves and save your energy.

What is: How to totally misread last night’s results for a thousand, Alex.

Now, in a couple of years if they clean sweep the school board elections, that would be a better signal.

Of course they will clean sweep the school board elections.

They know after last night that they have support to do whatever they want to do however they want to do it.

You all know you will vote them back into office no matter who runs, and they know it too.

Anyone who is fighting the rezoning is fairly delusional that their opinion matters to the school board. They know and you know that they will either get reelected, or someone far worse/more extreme/more left than them will get elected, no matter which neighborhoods get rezoned.

I don’t buy that for a second. There are areas that have successfully fought boundary changes through each turn of the map. And don’t forget, the puppet masters of the school board is the Democratic Party, and margins statewide are much much closer. Sure, maybe the bond passes 70-30 in Fairfax, but push too hard and vouchers statewide become a real possibility.

What is the actual % of students who will be affected by redistricting? And maybe more to the point, how many will be affected negatively? 1%? This is a non-issue for almost everyone.

Exactly. Families who live on the boundaries of schools are the ones affected and that is a relatively small percentage of kids and parents. And it is not one or two kids but a group of kids that will be moving together, which will make the transition easier for the kids. They will move with friends and classmates, just like they would do going into MS or HS.

I have learned that people are far more attached to schools then I ever have been and will be. I have good memories, for the most part, of school but I never had a desire for my kid to attend the same schools I did because they were so amazing. I want school to be a positive experience for my kid, but it shouldn't be his identity. But so many people seem to be invested in their schools in ways that I don't understand.

That said, most people are not going to be affected by the moves. The only reason this might touch them is the amount of time the School Board has spent on it. The expenditure on the new school maybe but I think it is an easy case to make why it was needed.

I live on one of these boundaries and my kids will be affected. Their friends will not follow them because their friends live well within the school boundaries and will stay at the same school. My kids friends aren't the kids that may live on the same street, but they live a few minutes away.

Maybe you can't understand someone's attachment to a school, but that doesn't mean it's not important. My kids are very much attached to their school and there is a HUGE community pride in it. Even their favorite colors tend to be the school colors. I don't think that's unheard of. Where I grew up, it was par for the course to show pride in your HS and everyone always talked about which one they went to. I do think that in NOVA there is a more transient community that may not build those type of bonds with people moving around all the time, but people and schools that create them shouldn't be ignored.

Our schools would change and all the school changes are good schools to good schools. There isn't much of a different in academics. But my kids are constantly worrying about the change because they've made their home at their school and that is where their community/people/friends are at. I hate that they have to think about this on top of all the other pressures at school.

The school boundary adjustment process just seems like an abomination in how FCPS is gong about it. Never in my professional career have I seen a process like this and I would be fired if I ever failed this badly at it.

DP. Sounds like you need to do a better job of teaching your kids how to adapt to potential change. One of my kids might be moved and we aren’t thrilled about it, but we are trying to look at the bright side and not treating it like it’s the end of the world. There are much bigger challenges in life. Parents tend to feed their kids’ anxiety.

DP. I feel really bad for your kids, whose parents are too lazy to try to give them a great childhood. I envision you frequently saying to your sobbing child who is going to lose friends: “suck it up, buttercup.” Your kids must feel so alone in this world.

My kids aren't sobbing because they aren't little wimps who fall apart at every challenge like yours. We let them express their feelings, but we teach them that how we respond to tough things makes us who we are. I would rather they not be moved but I am not going to convey the message to them that it's the worst thing that could ever happen.

It's so funny how parents raise these overdramatic children who melt down at everything and just have no idea how why their kids are like that, not seeing how their own behavior has played a role. Don't be surprised when your kids have anxiety disorders later on. Learning to deal with life's disappointments when the stakes are lower is critical for later success.

Quit being so sensitive, lady. Seems like you aren’t quite as resilient as you pretend to be!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ya'll need to wave the white flag, and accept whatever school the school board wants to send your kids to.

They received a resounding mandate last night to do whatever they want to do to your kids education (or lack thereof) however they want to do it, under any timeline, without grandfathering if need be.

They know that there will be zero consequences in the next election for rezoning anyone.

Read the tea leaves and save your energy.

What is: How to totally misread last night’s results for a thousand, Alex.

Now, in a couple of years if they clean sweep the school board elections, that would be a better signal.

Of course they will clean sweep the school board elections.

They know after last night that they have support to do whatever they want to do however they want to do it.

You all know you will vote them back into office no matter who runs, and they know it too.

Anyone who is fighting the rezoning is fairly delusional that their opinion matters to the school board. They know and you know that they will either get reelected, or someone far worse/more extreme/more left than them will get elected, no matter which neighborhoods get rezoned.

I don’t buy that for a second. There are areas that have successfully fought boundary changes through each turn of the map. And don’t forget, the puppet masters of the school board is the Democratic Party, and margins statewide are much much closer. Sure, maybe the bond passes 70-30 in Fairfax, but push too hard and vouchers statewide become a real possibility.

What is the actual % of students who will be affected by redistricting? And maybe more to the point, how many will be affected negatively? 1%? This is a non-issue for almost everyone.

Exactly. Families who live on the boundaries of schools are the ones affected and that is a relatively small percentage of kids and parents. And it is not one or two kids but a group of kids that will be moving together, which will make the transition easier for the kids. They will move with friends and classmates, just like they would do going into MS or HS.

I have learned that people are far more attached to schools then I ever have been and will be. I have good memories, for the most part, of school but I never had a desire for my kid to attend the same schools I did because they were so amazing. I want school to be a positive experience for my kid, but it shouldn't be his identity. But so many people seem to be invested in their schools in ways that I don't understand.

That said, most people are not going to be affected by the moves. The only reason this might touch them is the amount of time the School Board has spent on it. The expenditure on the new school maybe but I think it is an easy case to make why it was needed.

I live on one of these boundaries and my kids will be affected. Their friends will not follow them because their friends live well within the school boundaries and will stay at the same school. My kids friends aren't the kids that may live on the same street, but they live a few minutes away.

Maybe you can't understand someone's attachment to a school, but that doesn't mean it's not important. My kids are very much attached to their school and there is a HUGE community pride in it. Even their favorite colors tend to be the school colors. I don't think that's unheard of. Where I grew up, it was par for the course to show pride in your HS and everyone always talked about which one they went to. I do think that in NOVA there is a more transient community that may not build those type of bonds with people moving around all the time, but people and schools that create them shouldn't be ignored.

Our schools would change and all the school changes are good schools to good schools. There isn't much of a different in academics. But my kids are constantly worrying about the change because they've made their home at their school and that is where their community/people/friends are at. I hate that they have to think about this on top of all the other pressures at school.

The school boundary adjustment process just seems like an abomination in how FCPS is gong about it. Never in my professional career have I seen a process like this and I would be fired if I ever failed this badly at it.

DP. Sounds like you need to do a better job of teaching your kids how to adapt to potential change. One of my kids might be moved and we aren’t thrilled about it, but we are trying to look at the bright side and not treating it like it’s the end of the world. There are much bigger challenges in life. Parents tend to feed their kids’ anxiety.

DP. I feel really bad for your kids, whose parents are too lazy to try to give them a great childhood. I envision you frequently saying to your sobbing child who is going to lose friends: “suck it up, buttercup.” Your kids must feel so alone in this world.

You can give your kid a great childhood and move schools. My kid is likely to change schools; he is still going to go on great vacations and hang out with friends and participate in clubs and doing all the things that make for a great childhood. He will do all those same things at a different school.

If he was to be upset that he was moving to a school without his friends, which happens anyway when they move from MS to HS, I would:

1) Validate his feelings. Change is hard and it is normal to be upset that you are moving away from friends
2) Help him identify the friends he has who are moving with him
3) Help him identify friends from other activities that will be at the new school
4) Help him see that the same activities that he likes are at the new school, an opportunity to make new friends
5) Remind him that he can get together with his current friends and hang out.
6) Point out the activities he has with many of those friends at his old school that are in the same activities he is in outside of school

I would make sure he understood that I get why he is upset, let him know that it is fine and normal to be disappointed/upset, and then giving him the pathways to cope with the change in a healthy way.

I get school spirt, we have a lot of t-shirts, sweatshirts and even hats from my kids ES. Very much pro-school and school involvement. We chaperoned, volunteered, and attended ES activities and the like. It was great. A good time was had by all. It would have been the same if he was at a different ES.

I would not move kids already in HS, especially not the Juniors and Seniors. But shifting the boundaries so that MS attend a different HS, fine. Moving kids going into Sophomore year, probably fine. I would bet that there will be lots of pupil placement that is accepted and kids riding the bus with the Juniors and Seniors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ya'll need to wave the white flag, and accept whatever school the school board wants to send your kids to.

They received a resounding mandate last night to do whatever they want to do to your kids education (or lack thereof) however they want to do it, under any timeline, without grandfathering if need be.

They know that there will be zero consequences in the next election for rezoning anyone.

Read the tea leaves and save your energy.

What is: How to totally misread last night’s results for a thousand, Alex.

Now, in a couple of years if they clean sweep the school board elections, that would be a better signal.

Of course they will clean sweep the school board elections.

They know after last night that they have support to do whatever they want to do however they want to do it.

You all know you will vote them back into office no matter who runs, and they know it too.

Anyone who is fighting the rezoning is fairly delusional that their opinion matters to the school board. They know and you know that they will either get reelected, or someone far worse/more extreme/more left than them will get elected, no matter which neighborhoods get rezoned.

I don’t buy that for a second. There are areas that have successfully fought boundary changes through each turn of the map. And don’t forget, the puppet masters of the school board is the Democratic Party, and margins statewide are much much closer. Sure, maybe the bond passes 70-30 in Fairfax, but push too hard and vouchers statewide become a real possibility.

What is the actual % of students who will be affected by redistricting? And maybe more to the point, how many will be affected negatively? 1%? This is a non-issue for almost everyone.

Exactly. Families who live on the boundaries of schools are the ones affected and that is a relatively small percentage of kids and parents. And it is not one or two kids but a group of kids that will be moving together, which will make the transition easier for the kids. They will move with friends and classmates, just like they would do going into MS or HS.

I have learned that people are far more attached to schools then I ever have been and will be. I have good memories, for the most part, of school but I never had a desire for my kid to attend the same schools I did because they were so amazing. I want school to be a positive experience for my kid, but it shouldn't be his identity. But so many people seem to be invested in their schools in ways that I don't understand.

That said, most people are not going to be affected by the moves. The only reason this might touch them is the amount of time the School Board has spent on it. The expenditure on the new school maybe but I think it is an easy case to make why it was needed.

I live on one of these boundaries and my kids will be affected. Their friends will not follow them because their friends live well within the school boundaries and will stay at the same school. My kids friends aren't the kids that may live on the same street, but they live a few minutes away.

Maybe you can't understand someone's attachment to a school, but that doesn't mean it's not important. My kids are very much attached to their school and there is a HUGE community pride in it. Even their favorite colors tend to be the school colors. I don't think that's unheard of. Where I grew up, it was par for the course to show pride in your HS and everyone always talked about which one they went to. I do think that in NOVA there is a more transient community that may not build those type of bonds with people moving around all the time, but people and schools that create them shouldn't be ignored.

Our schools would change and all the school changes are good schools to good schools. There isn't much of a different in academics. But my kids are constantly worrying about the change because they've made their home at their school and that is where their community/people/friends are at. I hate that they have to think about this on top of all the other pressures at school.

The school boundary adjustment process just seems like an abomination in how FCPS is gong about it. Never in my professional career have I seen a process like this and I would be fired if I ever failed this badly at it.

DP. Sounds like you need to do a better job of teaching your kids how to adapt to potential change. One of my kids might be moved and we aren’t thrilled about it, but we are trying to look at the bright side and not treating it like it’s the end of the world. There are much bigger challenges in life. Parents tend to feed their kids’ anxiety.

DP. I feel really bad for your kids, whose parents are too lazy to try to give them a great childhood. I envision you frequently saying to your sobbing child who is going to lose friends: “suck it up, buttercup.” Your kids must feel so alone in this world.

My kids aren't sobbing because they aren't little wimps who fall apart at every challenge like yours. We let them express their feelings, but we teach them that how we respond to tough things makes us who we are. I would rather they not be moved but I am not going to convey the message to them that it's the worst thing that could ever happen.

It's so funny how parents raise these overdramatic children who melt down at everything and just have no idea how why their kids are like that, not seeing how their own behavior has played a role. Don't be surprised when your kids have anxiety disorders later on. Learning to deal with life's disappointments when the stakes are lower is critical for later success.

Quit being so sensitive, lady. Seems like you aren’t quite as resilient as you pretend to be!

Huh? I suggest you read the post below. They have a lot more patience to explain things to you than I have. You haven’t upset me in any way. But I guess you couldn’t think of another way to respond because you can’t refute the substance of what’s being said.

[Anonymous]

I think a lot depends on your family situation and where you live. But, if your child is being moved from, say an AP school to an IB school, that is more than just likes. I guess it would be the same with vice versa.

The only thing my neighborhood has been considered for is to have a longer bus ride. I don't like that because proximity is extremely important to build a community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot depends on your family situation and where you live. But, if your child is being moved from, say an AP school to an IB school, that is more than just likes. I guess it would be the same with vice versa.

The only thing my neighborhood has been considered for is to have a longer bus ride. I don't like that because proximity is extremely important to build a community.

There is a neighborhood at our high school that is passionately fighting against rezoning citing "longer bus ride" as one of their reasons. The schools are about 1.5 miles apart, and to get to the new high school they would go against rush hour traffic, while the current school is with rush hour traffic, so the bus ride is really just a few minutes difference. Busses to that high school already travel through that neighborhood due to AAP and the quarter of that neighborhood that already attends the other high school.

I get putting forth your best argument, but some of the transportation arguments are very eye roll worthy and really grasping for straws, even if they are very valid in other scenarios in other parts of the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot depends on your family situation and where you live. But, if your child is being moved from, say an AP school to an IB school, that is more than just likes. I guess it would be the same with vice versa.

The only thing my neighborhood has been considered for is to have a longer bus ride. I don't like that because proximity is extremely important to build a community.

Agreed. Moving from an AP program to an IB program would be something I would be worried about. That is a large programmatic shift.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot depends on your family situation and where you live. But, if your child is being moved from, say an AP school to an IB school, that is more than just likes. I guess it would be the same with vice versa.

The only thing my neighborhood has been considered for is to have a longer bus ride. I don't like that because proximity is extremely important to build a community.

Agreed. Moving from an AP program to an IB program would be something I would be worried about. That is a large programmatic shift.

Both directions are problematic with IB even more so with those seeking an IB diploma. At a minimum, I think they need to provide bus service for those currently in high school moved from IB to AP or AP to IB. They already do bus service to non-neighborhood school for a variety of reasons (Level 4 center, TJ, etc.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot depends on your family situation and where you live. But, if your child is being moved from, say an AP school to an IB school, that is more than just likes. I guess it would be the same with vice versa.

The only thing my neighborhood has been considered for is to have a longer bus ride. I don't like that because proximity is extremely important to build a community.

Agreed. Moving from an AP program to an IB program would be something I would be worried about. That is a large programmatic shift.

Both directions are problematic with IB even more so with those seeking an IB diploma. At a minimum, I think they need to provide bus service for those currently in high school moved from IB to AP or AP to IB. They already do bus service to non-neighborhood school for a variety of reasons (Level 4 center, TJ, etc.).

LOL. That's unlikely to happen. Too many boundary changes to provide transportation to one group of grandfathered kids for that reason. You'll almost surely be on your own if your grandfathered kid wants to stay at their current school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot depends on your family situation and where you live. But, if your child is being moved from, say an AP school to an IB school, that is more than just likes. I guess it would be the same with vice versa.

The only thing my neighborhood has been considered for is to have a longer bus ride. I don't like that because proximity is extremely important to build a community.

Agreed. Moving from an AP program to an IB program would be something I would be worried about. That is a large programmatic shift.

Both directions are problematic with IB even more so with those seeking an IB diploma. At a minimum, I think they need to provide bus service for those currently in high school moved from IB to AP or AP to IB. They already do bus service to non-neighborhood school for a variety of reasons (Level 4 center, TJ, etc.).

LOL. That's unlikely to happen. Too many boundary changes to provide transportation to one group of grandfathered kids for that reason. You'll almost surely be on your own if your grandfathered kid wants to stay at their current school.

Seems like they’ll need to cut it for all the other reasons they do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ya'll need to wave the white flag, and accept whatever school the school board wants to send your kids to.

They received a resounding mandate last night to do whatever they want to do to your kids education (or lack thereof) however they want to do it, under any timeline, without grandfathering if need be.

They know that there will be zero consequences in the next election for rezoning anyone.

Read the tea leaves and save your energy.

What is: How to totally misread last night’s results for a thousand, Alex.

Now, in a couple of years if they clean sweep the school board elections, that would be a better signal.

Of course they will clean sweep the school board elections.

They know after last night that they have support to do whatever they want to do however they want to do it.

You all know you will vote them back into office no matter who runs, and they know it too.

Anyone who is fighting the rezoning is fairly delusional that their opinion matters to the school board. They know and you know that they will either get reelected, or someone far worse/more extreme/more left than them will get elected, no matter which neighborhoods get rezoned.

I don’t buy that for a second. There are areas that have successfully fought boundary changes through each turn of the map. And don’t forget, the puppet masters of the school board is the Democratic Party, and margins statewide are much much closer. Sure, maybe the bond passes 70-30 in Fairfax, but push too hard and vouchers statewide become a real possibility.

What is the actual % of students who will be affected by redistricting? And maybe more to the point, how many will be affected negatively? 1%? This is a non-issue for almost everyone.

Exactly. Families who live on the boundaries of schools are the ones affected and that is a relatively small percentage of kids and parents. And it is not one or two kids but a group of kids that will be moving together, which will make the transition easier for the kids. They will move with friends and classmates, just like they would do going into MS or HS.

I have learned that people are far more attached to schools then I ever have been and will be. I have good memories, for the most part, of school but I never had a desire for my kid to attend the same schools I did because they were so amazing. I want school to be a positive experience for my kid, but it shouldn't be his identity. But so many people seem to be invested in their schools in ways that I don't understand.

That said, most people are not going to be affected by the moves. The only reason this might touch them is the amount of time the School Board has spent on it. The expenditure on the new school maybe but I think it is an easy case to make why it was needed.

Sounds like you had a tough time making friends in grade school. I truly feel sorry for you. Others of us realize just how incredible and formative those years and friends were for us, and stability was the key factor for us.

You can’t do math if you think this only impacts 1% of the students. That number is a gross underestimate.

I don't understand your stance on this - great, my 5th grader has bonded with her elementary classmates and she will be moving to middle school / high school with them regardless of where she goes to middle school / high school.

[Anonymous]

Families move. I don't see how this is any different from you moving. The bonus, your kids can still see their friends since you live so close to them. We moved when my kids were in 2nd and 5th. Guess what? They had instant new friends at their new school, and one of them is extremely shy with anxiety. The kids just took them in and treated them like one of their own.

I agree this is going to be harder for high schoolers or middle schoolers, but elementary kids are SO resilient. Elementary kids will be just fine unless mommy acts like a drama queen about it and gives them anxiety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Families move. I don't see how this is any different from you moving. The bonus, your kids can still see their friends since you live so close to them. We moved when my kids were in 2nd and 5th. Guess what? They had instant new friends at their new school, and one of them is extremely shy with anxiety. The kids just took them in and treated them like one of their own.

I agree this is going to be harder for high schoolers or middle schoolers, but elementary kids are SO resilient. Elementary kids will be just fine unless mommy acts like a drama queen about it and gives them anxiety.

Unfortunately there are a lot of drama queen mommies here who do exactly that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think a lot depends on your family situation and where you live. But, if your child is being moved from, say an AP school to an IB school, that is more than just likes. I guess it would be the same with vice versa.

The only thing my neighborhood has been considered for is to have a longer bus ride. I don't like that because proximity is extremely important to build a community.

There is a neighborhood at our high school that is passionately fighting against rezoning citing "longer bus ride" as one of their reasons. The schools are about 1.5 miles apart, and to get to the new high school they would go against rush hour traffic, while the current school is with rush hour traffic, so the bus ride is really just a few minutes difference. Busses to that high school already travel through that neighborhood due to AAP and the quarter of that neighborhood that already attends the other high school.

I get putting forth your best argument, but some of the transportation arguments are very eye roll worthy and really grasping for straws, even if they are very valid in other scenarios in other parts of the county.

I find it hilarious how some are using a longer bus ride as their reason to stay at their school while others are fighting being moved to a closer school. Transportation times either matter or they don’t. This is what happens when they solicit community input in such a haphazard way.

[Anonymous]

lol. So funny. I just want my kids to walk to school 5 minutes away and that’s not happening

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:lol. So funny. I just want my kids to walk to school 5 minutes away and that’s not happening

That's why we bought our house. Neighborhood with an elementary school. Best move ever!