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Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)
FCPS comprehensive boundary review
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Anonymous
| I wish they would get this done and over with already. It has been too long. Rip the band aids off. Less talk, more action. |
Anonymous
First person I’ve ever heard say FCPS should be less transparent and deliberative. Glad you aren’t in charge. |
Anonymous
I wish they would slow down, explain why this is necessary when FCPS enrollments are flat/declining, decide whether they intend to keep AAP centers or not so the consultants know what assumptions to make, and develop a new renovation queue before they start changing boundaries. |
Anonymous
The first sentence of this article: "As Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) prepares to adjust school boundaries to better align students with local schools..." If the goal is actually to align students with local schools, then it's a no-brainer to get rid of AAP centers and the associated busing. Kids should be attending their neighborhood schools, period. |
Anonymous
100% |
Anonymous
Lots of people have strong opinions on the subject. Unfortunately, FCPS and the School Board haven't made their views clear, so it appears the consultants will be operating in the dark. For example, potential boundary changes affecting Carson MS look very different depending on whether it's going to remain an AAP center serving hundreds of kids who'd otherwise attend Franklin. |
Anonymous
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Saw this linked in the weekly newsletter. Looks like draft scenarios will be out in the April/May timeframe.
https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/fairfax/Board.nsf/files/D9UJD64C86AD/$file/FCPS%20Project%20Planning%20Presentation_FINAL%2010-08-24.pdf |
Anonymous
They’ll do this the most difficult way possible - ES border changes put into place followed by a few years later, “hmmm do we really need all these AAP centers? Well, time to start from scratch again!” |
Anonymous
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Mateo Dunne sent this in his email today:
Community Meetings (Round 1): You will have the opportunity to participate in person or virtually in community meetings before any changes are proposed to school boundaries. The Superintendent is planning to convene at least 24 community meetings across the county, which are expected to be held between November 2024 and March 2025. A meeting will be held at every high school in the county. Each meeting will be up to 2 hours in length. At each meeting, the Superintendent will present on the rationale and process for revising school boundaries. Her presentation will be followed by small-group breakout sessions (with 8-10 people in each small group) wherein a moderator will facilitate a conversation with prompted questions to ensure every voice is heard. The information collected and views expressed during the meetings will inform the development of potential scenarios for amending school boundaries. Community Meetings (Round 2): You will have the opportunity to participate in person or virtually in community meetings after consultants have developed potential scenarios for amending school boundaries. The Superintendent is planning to convene at least 24 community meetings across the county, which are expected to be held between May 2025 and September 2025. A meeting will be held at every high school in the county. You will have the opportunity to review the proposed changes and provide your feedback. The format will be the same as Round 1: an initial presentation followed by small-group breakout sessions. Community Meetings (Round 3): It is possible that the Superintendent may convene a third round of community meetings to present revised scenarios for amending school boundaries. TIMELINE:* February 2019 The School Board received a research report on best practices in school boundary management. (Video: YouTube) July 2024 The School Board adopted a new policy to govern school boundaries. (Video: YouTube) September 2024 The School Board authorized the Superintendent to hire Thru Consulting LLC to facilitate the comprehensive reassessment of school boundaries. (Video: YouTube) October 2024 Thru Consulting LLC presented an overview of its project management plan for the comprehensive reassessment of school boundaries. (Video: YouTube) November 2024-March 2025 A first round of community meetings will be held before any changes are proposed to school boundaries. March-May 2025 Thru Consulting will develop potential scenarios for amending school boundaries. May-September 2025 A second round of community meetings will be held after Thru Consulting has developed potential scenarios for amending school boundaries. TBD Thru Consulting may develop revised scenarios for amending school boundaries. TBD A third round of community meetings may be held after Thru Consulting has developed revised scenarios for amending school boundaries. October-November 2025 Thru Consulting will finalize the scenarios to be presented to the School Board. November 2025-January 2026 The School Board will review the final scenarios for amending school boundaries. January 2026 The School Board will vote on the proposed changes as a single package. August 2026 It is expected the changes will be implemented in Fall 2026, but it is possible the changes will be phased in over multiple years. *This timeline is subject to change. So it sounds like the soonest we’d see maps and proposals is Q2 2025. FWIW in my research on the boundary changes that happened with the opening of South County in SY 2005-2006 - they were tinkering up to late winter/early spring of 2005 and those were pretty clear cut changes that were needed to take students out of Hayfield. |
Anonymous
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I hope none of them have political aspirations beyond being a school board member, because what they are about to do is political career suicide.
Things are about to get way messy. |
Anonymous
+1 I hope the lawyers out there are getting started! |
Anonymous
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So I guess we should/could attend the current high school meeting and the high school our kids may attend.
Remember the kids are watching and those minority income kids want to see their ‘white saviors” excited about moving in the middle of high school! How exactly does the school board believe berating people into feeling bad about wanting high performing schools for their kids will help the kids? |
Anonymous
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And FWIW for all the zero people excluding myself in his district, FCPS’s forgotten middle children:
Virtual Town Halls: I will be holding a Virtual Town Hall on Monday, November 11 at 7:00-8:30 PM. I will present on school boundaries, cell phones, and other issues. You will have the opportunity to ask questions on any school-related issues. Please click here to register. Group Meetings with Mateo: I am happy to meet with your PTA/PTSA/PTO or neighborhood association to discuss school-related issues, to include school boundaries. If you would like to invite me to attend one of your meetings, please contact my Staff Aide Nelda Brown. I encourage you to join your local PTA/PTSA/PTO because these organizations work hard to support our schools, staff, and students. I also encourage you to join your local neighborhood association because these organizations work hard to improve and maintain the quality of life in your community. These organizations are routinely consulted by elected officials for input on important initiatives and policies, so consider getting involved to ensure your voice is heard. High School Pyramid Advisory Councils: I am planning to establish advisory councils for the Mount Vernon HS, South County HS, and West Potomac HS pyramids. I intend to consult the advisory councils on a regular basis regarding important initiatives and policies. I hope to use the advisory councils to inform the development of a strategic plan and vision for each pyramid and to enhance coordination within the pyramid to realize the plan and vision. These advisory councils will not focus on school boundaries, but they may discuss this topic as part of a larger agenda. If you are interested, please complete this online interest form. You will be prompted to submit your resume along with a brief explanation of your interest. Email my Staff Aide Nelda Brown if you have questions or need more information. |
Anonymous
| There are two elementary schools closer to my house than the one my children attend. The middle school we are zoned for is the one closest to our house. There are FIVE high schools closer to my house than the one we are zoned for. I would be happy if we got rezoned to the high school closest to us. I would not be happy if they randomly pick a different high school as part of some attempt to achieve similar outcomes by engineering for a specific demographic balance. |
Anonymous
If you don’t value demographic balance as a priority then bring that up at the town hall. Same if you are against split feeders, or if you value proximity, etc. These consultants will likely put your input into the computer modeling software they use to create all the school boundaries and recommendations. They software be modeling from a tabula rasa for all we know, so parent input/feedback would be critical. |