Boundaries assessment update 2023

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This year Carson (grades 7-8) had 1358 students, of which 346 were transfers into the school (mostly from Franklin for AAP).

So that suggests a stand-alone Carson MS would have 1012 students and a stand-alone Carson HS (grades 9-12) would have roughly 2025 students. Both viable numbers for a MS and HS.

However, the demographics of a Carson HS would not look like current Carson MS since the Carson MS demographics reflect all the out-of-boundary Asian kids transferring in for AAP. And many parents in that area have repeatedly shown they will fight any school for their kids with less affluent demographics than their current schools.

I think you are forgetting that the purpose of a new Western High School is to relieve the overcrowding at Chantilly and Centreville. Maybe, I am misunderstanding you, but it sounds as though you expect "Carson High" to have the same boundaries as the current Carson Middle School. That does not help Chantilly or Centreville. The only Chantilly kids at Carson are AAP placements.

[Anonymous]

However, the demographics of a Carson HS would not look like current Carson MS since the Carson MS demographics reflect all the out-of-boundary Asian kids transferring in for AAP. And many parents in that area have repeatedly shown they will fight any school for their kids with less affluent demographics than their current schools.

Source for the bolded? I live in the area and have not heard of any suggestions to move Carson kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This year Carson (grades 7-8) had 1358 students, of which 346 were transfers into the school (mostly from Franklin for AAP).

So that suggests a stand-alone Carson MS would have 1012 students and a stand-alone Carson HS (grades 9-12) would have roughly 2025 students. Both viable numbers for a MS and HS.

However, the demographics of a Carson HS would not look like current Carson MS since the Carson MS demographics reflect all the out-of-boundary Asian kids transferring in for AAP. And many parents in that area have repeatedly shown they will fight any school for their kids with less affluent demographics than their current schools.

I think you are forgetting that the purpose of a new Western High School is to relieve the overcrowding at Chantilly and Centreville. Maybe, I am misunderstanding you, but it sounds as though you expect "Carson High" to have the same boundaries as the current Carson Middle School. That does not help Chantilly or Centreville. The only Chantilly kids at Carson are AAP placements.

It would pull kids out of Westfield, South Lakes, and Oakton, which in turn could take kids from Chantilly and Centreville.

I know you don't want that, which is why you'll end up with a gazillion kids at Centreville and a trailer park at Chantilly for many years to come, since no one can identify appropriate sites within those districts.

Enjoy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are we assuming that the assessment will actually occur? It's a political minefield that no one wants to deal with.

Dr. Reid mentioned it herself at a work session this spring that they'll be looking at boundaries over the summer. She stated it is coming directly as a result of input from the series of community conversations she held over the Fall at each HS and the new strategic plan. It sounded like facilities and overcrowding were hot topics at the community conversations and the leadership team sees boundary adjustments as a solution.

It has also come up twice now during discussions of Kent Gardens and Glasgow boundaries, that is, conversations about boundary changes at those two schools diverged into a conversation of boundaries at large.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are we assuming that the assessment will actually occur? It's a political minefield that no one wants to deal with.

Dr. Reid mentioned it herself at a work session this spring that they'll be looking at boundaries over the summer. She stated it is coming directly as a result of input from the series of community conversations she held over the Fall at each HS and the new strategic plan. It sounded like facilities and overcrowding were hot topics at the community conversations and the leadership team sees boundary adjustments as a solution.

It has also come up twice now during discussions of Kent Gardens and Glasgow boundaries, that is, conversations about boundary changes at those two schools diverged into a conversation of boundaries at large.

I wouldn't put too much stock into this. Mostly it's vague references to other crowded (or just large) schools trotted out to explain away why FCPS has been so slow to address overcrowding where it's most acute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This year Carson (grades 7-8) had 1358 students, of which 346 were transfers into the school (mostly from Franklin for AAP).

So that suggests a stand-alone Carson MS would have 1012 students and a stand-alone Carson HS (grades 9-12) would have roughly 2025 students. Both viable numbers for a MS and HS.

However, the demographics of a Carson HS would not look like current Carson MS since the Carson MS demographics reflect all the out-of-boundary Asian kids transferring in for AAP. And many parents in that area have repeatedly shown they will fight any school for their kids with less affluent demographics than their current schools.

I think you are forgetting that the purpose of a new Western High School is to relieve the overcrowding at Chantilly and Centreville. Maybe, I am misunderstanding you, but it sounds as though you expect "Carson High" to have the same boundaries as the current Carson Middle School. That does not help Chantilly or Centreville. The only Chantilly kids at Carson are AAP placements.

The school board and the county park authority own publc land. Years ago therewas suppsed be a secondary school in north Reston-Baron Cameron. Build a HS on land at Lake Fairfax or EC Lawrence? The latter is 650 acres. Saudi site next to Carson would have been geat for a Hughes-Souh Lakes style colocated site. Sam cncept as South County-original secondary school expedited via public private partnership and land swaps. Storck even mentioned this sort of project as what could happen for other areas BUT less productive for their cnstituent school board members have dominated at large and magisterial district seats for years.

[Anonymous]

County is too big. give each pyramid its own school board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are we assuming that the assessment will actually occur? It's a political minefield that no one wants to deal with.

Dr. Reid mentioned it herself at a work session this spring that they'll be looking at boundaries over the summer. She stated it is coming directly as a result of input from the series of community conversations she held over the Fall at each HS and the new strategic plan. It sounded like facilities and overcrowding were hot topics at the community conversations and the leadership team sees boundary adjustments as a solution.

It has also come up twice now during discussions of Kent Gardens and Glasgow boundaries, that is, conversations about boundary changes at those two schools diverged into a conversation of boundaries at large.

All they really need to do at Glasgow is send the AAP kids from Holmes and Poe back to those schools. They don't need a boundary change; they need a program change.

If they start changing the MS boundaries, they'll need to change the HS boundaries as well unless they want Holmes to be a 3-way split feeder (Annandale/Edison/Justice) or Poe to be a 3-way split feeder (Annandale/Falls Church/Justice).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:County is too big. give each pyramid its own school board.

That would be a nightmare for staffing. Plus pay that many more staff members to support the board and central offices?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This year Carson (grades 7-8) had 1358 students, of which 346 were transfers into the school (mostly from Franklin for AAP).

So that suggests a stand-alone Carson MS would have 1012 students and a stand-alone Carson HS (grades 9-12) would have roughly 2025 students. Both viable numbers for a MS and HS.

However, the demographics of a Carson HS would not look like current Carson MS since the Carson MS demographics reflect all the out-of-boundary Asian kids transferring in for AAP. And many parents in that area have repeatedly shown they will fight any school for their kids with less affluent demographics than their current schools.

I think you are forgetting that the purpose of a new Western High School is to relieve the overcrowding at Chantilly and Centreville. Maybe, I am misunderstanding you, but it sounds as though you expect "Carson High" to have the same boundaries as the current Carson Middle School. That does not help Chantilly or Centreville. The only Chantilly kids at Carson are AAP placements.

It would pull kids out of Westfield, South Lakes, and Oakton, which in turn could take kids from Chantilly and Centreville.

I know you don't want that, which is why you'll end up with a gazillion kids at Centreville and a trailer park at Chantilly for many years to come, since no one can identify appropriate sites within those districts.

Enjoy.

Are you familiar with the area?
You do realize that no Chantilly kids are closer to South Lakes than those who are at Carson Middle School. So, you would have Chantilly kids on the bus going through the new "Carson High" neighborhoods in order to get to South Lakes.

As for Oakton, it would be even more egregious of a commute than the current Oakton kids at Carson.

Look at the boundary maps.

[Anonymous]

I'd love for the state to place FCPS in receivership due to its complete and utter incompetence when it's come to capital spending and facilities management.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This year Carson (grades 7-8) had 1358 students, of which 346 were transfers into the school (mostly from Franklin for AAP).

So that suggests a stand-alone Carson MS would have 1012 students and a stand-alone Carson HS (grades 9-12) would have roughly 2025 students. Both viable numbers for a MS and HS.

However, the demographics of a Carson HS would not look like current Carson MS since the Carson MS demographics reflect all the out-of-boundary Asian kids transferring in for AAP. And many parents in that area have repeatedly shown they will fight any school for their kids with less affluent demographics than their current schools.

I think you are forgetting that the purpose of a new Western High School is to relieve the overcrowding at Chantilly and Centreville. Maybe, I am misunderstanding you, but it sounds as though you expect "Carson High" to have the same boundaries as the current Carson Middle School. That does not help Chantilly or Centreville. The only Chantilly kids at Carson are AAP placements.

It would pull kids out of Westfield, South Lakes, and Oakton, which in turn could take kids from Chantilly and Centreville.

I know you don't want that, which is why you'll end up with a gazillion kids at Centreville and a trailer park at Chantilly for many years to come, since no one can identify appropriate sites within those districts.

Enjoy.

Are you familiar with the area?
You do realize that no Chantilly kids are closer to South Lakes than those who are at Carson Middle School. So, you would have Chantilly kids on the bus going through the new "Carson High" neighborhoods in order to get to South Lakes.

As for Oakton, it would be even more egregious of a commute than the current Oakton kids at Carson.

Look at the boundary maps.

Or Carson HS could take kids from Westfield, Westfield could take kids from Centreville, and Centreville could take kids from Chantilly.

Or not.

No one really cares because you folks prefer obstacles over solutions. Enjoy your overstuffed factories.

[Anonymous]

Or Carson HS could take kids from Westfield, Westfield could take kids from Centreville, and Centreville could take kids from Chantilly.

Or not.

No one really cares because you folks prefer obstacles over solutions. Enjoy your overstuffed factories.

This is all in theory. But, the bolded proposal is the one that could make the most sense--except it does not solve the problem of where to put Carson Middle students for middle school.

That is a pretty big obstacle!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Or Carson HS could take kids from Westfield, Westfield could take kids from Centreville, and Centreville could take kids from Chantilly.

Or not.

No one really cares because you folks prefer obstacles over solutions. Enjoy your overstuffed factories.

This is all in theory. But, the bolded proposal is the one that could make the most sense--except it does not solve the problem of where to put Carson Middle students for middle school.

That is a pretty big obstacle!

If the School Board paid attention, they'd tell Facilities to put up (tell them whether there are in fact suitable sites for a new HS or, if Carson were converted to a HS, MS) or shut up (pull any and all references to a new western HS out of the CIP).

It is just one more thing destroying FCPS's credibility when they put out a CIP for a decade or so with references to a new western HS and fail to do anything that would convince people it's more than an empty placeholder. Stella Pekarsky, in particular, should have been all over this; instead, she dropped the ball yet now seems to think she deserves a higher state office. It's nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:County is too big. give each pyramid its own school board.

That would be a nightmare for staffing. Plus pay that many more staff members to support the board and central offices?

Nope.
A three seat school board and a much reduced staff that works from home 2-3 days a week and an education office in a storefront in a strip mall for paperwork and work sessions would be sufficient in this scenario.
I imagine pp was joking anyway.