That doesn't change the fact that there was zero urgency about proceeding with a new western HS because so much money was being plowed into expansions. Now we're supposed to pretend that didn't happen. So western Fairfax gets expansions and a new school on top of that, while the rest of the county constantly gets screwed.
There is plenty of urgency. You just don't like it. Thru was splitting neighborhoods down to nextdoor neighbors. They were doing all sorts of shifts--and it wasn't solving the problem.
Get over it.
There are always nsxt door neighbor attending different schools, even in districts that never rezone.
Someone has to be the final house on the boundary line.
Anonymous wrote:We voted these clowns in. The very clowns who decided to jam us with an unnecessary comprehensive boundary study resulting in thousands of our kids suffering mental health trauma being forced to move schools, with the only justification that we hadn’t done it in 40 years (which is misleading in and of itself).
We all need to remember how they gave little thought to how to implement these changes and have really set the county back and wasted so much of FCPS employee time and resources on an unnecessary course with only negative outcomes. They could have actually tried to improve the school experience, but instead just wasted their time for years at this point shuffling our kids around like pawns.
Screw them.
The kids are moving with all of their classmates from ES, they know kids at the new school through that grouping. They probably know other kids at the new school through activities. They will be fine. Kids move every year for family reasons, jobs, changing houses, and the like. The vast majority are just fine. Moving with a hundred or so kids that you know from ES is not traumatic. And kids in their HSs right now won’t have to move.
I suspect that the kids who will struggle are the kids of parents who are flipping out. Or that the kids who are moved and have a normal teenage hiccup will lead to parents blaming redistricting.
I agree with the underlined part.
An interesting side note, every year, including this one, there are multiple discussions on our town Facebook page over whether AAP kids should attend the center middle school at the bext school over (very similar except it is a 7th-12th secondary school) or remain at the Local Level 4 middle school and continue to our neighborhood high school.
There are always dozens and dozens of parents posting how it is soooo easy socially to transition between the secondary AAP program and the stand alone middle school/high school, because the kids all know lots of kids at both schools (true even for non AAP kids at both schools) and because there is so much overlap between all 3 schools through community events, sports, scouts, performing arts, etc.
The same statements are made every year when this topic comes up. I completely agree that the school communities do overlap quite a bit, especially through sports and activities. The kids at the middle school, secondary and high school all know mamy kids from each pyramid.
But the neighborhood that is getting rezoned to that secondary school is flipping out and claiming the opposite is true, as the main argument against their split feeder being eliminated.
It is kind of interesting to see those completely opposite arguments playing out online simultaneously.
Sounds like you’re fine with other kids getting moved from West Springfield to Lake Braddock, so long as they aren’t your kids. This is the consistent theme - other kids can cope, but leave mine alone.
Every year the AAP question comes up. And every year, the overwhelming response is that either option is great because the kids have tons of friends at each of the 3 schools, and there is so much social and community overlap between the schools.
These discussions have been going on with the exact same comments since AAP was added to Irving over 10 years ago. The discussion is always the same each year, that the schools are very close socially so attending either school or both schools is really easy socially.
It is just interesting to see that annual Irving/WSHS/LBSS discussion occur under the context of the rezoning fight, when the main arguments against rezoning to Lake Braddock with most of their classmates and friends, are the complete opposite to the common knowledge and experiences expressed each year in the community at large and the annual online middle school AAP discussions.
Even if you are completely against rezoning, it is impossible not to see rhe irony of these two very contradictory positions, occuring simultaneously under the shadow of rezoning.
It's a different calculus when you're talking about effectively forcing some kids already in high school to switch schools. Do you really not see that? Or are they useful sacrificial lambs across the county, as long as you're not redistricted to Lewis?
They are not forcing kids to move if they have started HS.
Learn to read. They are effectively forcing kids whose families can't arrange for their transportation (and there are more of these families than they acknowledge) to switch schools starting next fall. Including HS kids.
Most if not all of the kids in that WSHS/LB neighborhood have their own cars or friends with cars, or a parent who can transport them.
It is a fairly affluent area
My son is a ninth grader who may be rezoned. His father and I both work full-time jobs that require us to be in the office 5 days a week. He does not drive, nor do I plan on getting him a car. None of his friends drive because they are in ninth grade and will be taking the bus. He wants to stay at his current school, with his current friends, and stay in his current sports teams. We are a real family who will be impacted by this. Please keep your 'opinions' about who is affluent enough to make this work to yourself.
We are in the same boat. I assume many families are. You can call the WSHS neighborhood “affluent”, but many are two income households who are most likely military, federal govt, teachers, etc.
Almost no seniors ride the busses to WSHS. They either drive, or ride with friends.
Not at WSHS, but I believe this to be true. But, "almost no seniors" is not "no seniors." And, WSHS does not have a large impoverished population and its boundaries are not that large.
The only seniors am aware of who rode the bus at WSHS are the ones whose parents are punishing them by taking away the keys for things like getting a speeding ticket or some other big infraction.
All the others drive, walk, or ride with friends.
And, you know all the seniors?
Of course she doesn’t. Perhaps she doesn’t want to jeopardize grandfathering for her own kids, who’ll apparently have no problem arranging for transportation. Screw those less fortunate.
Agreed (well maybe not on the first part because I don't know that posters situation)
I think the big point here is that the school board and administration should have come to the table with potential solutions for kids...as opposed to saying 'the rich kids will take care of the poor ones'. None of boundary process has been thought out, and none of this has been done in truly fair and equitable way, based on facts.
+1. Neighbors are fighting each other completely unnecessarily. Everyone is trying to protect what they believe is right for their families, and the process from start to finish was filled with misinformation, distorting of facts, a sham community feedback process, and now no solutions for effected children.
They should have looked at the schools that were overcrowded and the capacity around them and redrawn te boundaries only for those schools. The solution is that everyone moves, except for rising Juniors and Seniors in HS. It is painful but it is a large group moving at once and it is done.
The process is made worse by adding in IB schools when families don’t want IB and the counties unwillingness to add AP at every school. If enough kids want IB, they will sign up for the classes. If not, then get rid of the program.
No one wants to move, it will be more problematic for some kids then others. It should not be a problem for any rising Freshman because they don’t have ties to the school and have not started making progress at school. They will be joining a new community with every other 9th grader and will be fine. The ones who are not have parents that are strangely invested in a particular HS.
That doesn't quite work for children at middle schools moving to secondary schools. Your arguments always seem to start out fine until you start making assumptions about actual students.
My assumption is that the vast majority of kids will be fine if they move schools regardless of the grade because kids move on a regular basis and the majority of the ones who move are fine. Yes, it sucks but the vast majority of kids find new friends, get involved in programs that they like, and do well in school. They go on to college or into a trade that they like. They are successful human beings.
Moving with your entire grade at the same time is not trauma inducing except for a small percentage with specific mental/emotional issues. Parents are arguing that moving is going to cause a massive mental health crisis for the kids changing schools when kids move all the time and are fine. You are moving with kids you know, as a group into a school. The schools know the kids are coming and will be prepared to help them adapt.
I get that people don’t like change, very few people do. Humans are resilient. The kids who struggle with this are going to be kids with diagnosable mental health conditions and kids whose parents are making this into some massive awful change.
I sincerely hope that FCPS f’s with your kids at some point, just so I can repost the crap you just wrote and address it to your family
You are a bad person.
My kid is moving. He will be fine.
You hope. But boy, if not, it’ll be just desserts for the person who doesn’t care about other kids.
Or who has more faith in kids resiliency and thinks that they will be fine at the schools that they move to then you do.
If the kid has active parents then they will have a strong chance of succeeding at any school in FCPS.
Anonymous wrote:We voted these clowns in. The very clowns who decided to jam us with an unnecessary comprehensive boundary study resulting in thousands of our kids suffering mental health trauma being forced to move schools, with the only justification that we hadn’t done it in 40 years (which is misleading in and of itself).
We all need to remember how they gave little thought to how to implement these changes and have really set the county back and wasted so much of FCPS employee time and resources on an unnecessary course with only negative outcomes. They could have actually tried to improve the school experience, but instead just wasted their time for years at this point shuffling our kids around like pawns.
Screw them.
The kids are moving with all of their classmates from ES, they know kids at the new school through that grouping. They probably know other kids at the new school through activities. They will be fine. Kids move every year for family reasons, jobs, changing houses, and the like. The vast majority are just fine. Moving with a hundred or so kids that you know from ES is not traumatic. And kids in their HSs right now won’t have to move.
I suspect that the kids who will struggle are the kids of parents who are flipping out. Or that the kids who are moved and have a normal teenage hiccup will lead to parents blaming redistricting.
I agree with the underlined part.
An interesting side note, every year, including this one, there are multiple discussions on our town Facebook page over whether AAP kids should attend the center middle school at the bext school over (very similar except it is a 7th-12th secondary school) or remain at the Local Level 4 middle school and continue to our neighborhood high school.
There are always dozens and dozens of parents posting how it is soooo easy socially to transition between the secondary AAP program and the stand alone middle school/high school, because the kids all know lots of kids at both schools (true even for non AAP kids at both schools) and because there is so much overlap between all 3 schools through community events, sports, scouts, performing arts, etc.
The same statements are made every year when this topic comes up. I completely agree that the school communities do overlap quite a bit, especially through sports and activities. The kids at the middle school, secondary and high school all know mamy kids from each pyramid.
But the neighborhood that is getting rezoned to that secondary school is flipping out and claiming the opposite is true, as the main argument against their split feeder being eliminated.
It is kind of interesting to see those completely opposite arguments playing out online simultaneously.
Sounds like you’re fine with other kids getting moved from West Springfield to Lake Braddock, so long as they aren’t your kids. This is the consistent theme - other kids can cope, but leave mine alone.
Every year the AAP question comes up. And every year, the overwhelming response is that either option is great because the kids have tons of friends at each of the 3 schools, and there is so much social and community overlap between the schools.
These discussions have been going on with the exact same comments since AAP was added to Irving over 10 years ago. The discussion is always the same each year, that the schools are very close socially so attending either school or both schools is really easy socially.
It is just interesting to see that annual Irving/WSHS/LBSS discussion occur under the context of the rezoning fight, when the main arguments against rezoning to Lake Braddock with most of their classmates and friends, are the complete opposite to the common knowledge and experiences expressed each year in the community at large and the annual online middle school AAP discussions.
Even if you are completely against rezoning, it is impossible not to see rhe irony of these two very contradictory positions, occuring simultaneously under the shadow of rezoning.
It's a different calculus when you're talking about effectively forcing some kids already in high school to switch schools. Do you really not see that? Or are they useful sacrificial lambs across the county, as long as you're not redistricted to Lewis?
They are not forcing kids to move if they have started HS.
Learn to read. They are effectively forcing kids whose families can't arrange for their transportation (and there are more of these families than they acknowledge) to switch schools starting next fall. Including HS kids.
Most if not all of the kids in that WSHS/LB neighborhood have their own cars or friends with cars, or a parent who can transport them.
It is a fairly affluent area
My son is a ninth grader who may be rezoned. His father and I both work full-time jobs that require us to be in the office 5 days a week. He does not drive, nor do I plan on getting him a car. None of his friends drive because they are in ninth grade and will be taking the bus. He wants to stay at his current school, with his current friends, and stay in his current sports teams. We are a real family who will be impacted by this. Please keep your 'opinions' about who is affluent enough to make this work to yourself.
We are in the same boat. I assume many families are. You can call the WSHS neighborhood “affluent”, but many are two income households who are most likely military, federal govt, teachers, etc.
Almost no seniors ride the busses to WSHS. They either drive, or ride with friends.
Not at WSHS, but I believe this to be true. But, "almost no seniors" is not "no seniors." And, WSHS does not have a large impoverished population and its boundaries are not that large.
The only seniors am aware of who rode the bus at WSHS are the ones whose parents are punishing them by taking away the keys for things like getting a speeding ticket or some other big infraction.
All the others drive, walk, or ride with friends.
And, you know all the seniors?
Of course she doesn’t. Perhaps she doesn’t want to jeopardize grandfathering for her own kids, who’ll apparently have no problem arranging for transportation. Screw those less fortunate.
Agreed (well maybe not on the first part because I don't know that posters situation)
I think the big point here is that the school board and administration should have come to the table with potential solutions for kids...as opposed to saying 'the rich kids will take care of the poor ones'. None of boundary process has been thought out, and none of this has been done in truly fair and equitable way, based on facts.
+1. Neighbors are fighting each other completely unnecessarily. Everyone is trying to protect what they believe is right for their families, and the process from start to finish was filled with misinformation, distorting of facts, a sham community feedback process, and now no solutions for effected children.
They should have looked at the schools that were overcrowded and the capacity around them and redrawn te boundaries only for those schools. The solution is that everyone moves, except for rising Juniors and Seniors in HS. It is painful but it is a large group moving at once and it is done.
The process is made worse by adding in IB schools when families don’t want IB and the counties unwillingness to add AP at every school. If enough kids want IB, they will sign up for the classes. If not, then get rid of the program.
No one wants to move, it will be more problematic for some kids then others. It should not be a problem for any rising Freshman because they don’t have ties to the school and have not started making progress at school. They will be joining a new community with every other 9th grader and will be fine. The ones who are not have parents that are strangely invested in a particular HS.
That doesn't quite work for children at middle schools moving to secondary schools. Your arguments always seem to start out fine until you start making assumptions about actual students.
My assumption is that the vast majority of kids will be fine if they move schools regardless of the grade because kids move on a regular basis and the majority of the ones who move are fine. Yes, it sucks but the vast majority of kids find new friends, get involved in programs that they like, and do well in school. They go on to college or into a trade that they like. They are successful human beings.
Moving with your entire grade at the same time is not trauma inducing except for a small percentage with specific mental/emotional issues. Parents are arguing that moving is going to cause a massive mental health crisis for the kids changing schools when kids move all the time and are fine. You are moving with kids you know, as a group into a school. The schools know the kids are coming and will be prepared to help them adapt.
I get that people don’t like change, very few people do. Humans are resilient. The kids who struggle with this are going to be kids with diagnosable mental health conditions and kids whose parents are making this into some massive awful change.
I sincerely hope that FCPS f’s with your kids at some point, just so I can repost the crap you just wrote and address it to your family
You are a bad person.
My kid is moving. He will be fine.
You hope. But boy, if not, it’ll be just desserts for the person who doesn’t care about other kids.
Or who has more faith in kids resiliency and thinks that they will be fine at the schools that they move to then you do.
If the kid has active parents then they will have a strong chance of succeeding at any school in FCPS.
Or who is a big enough doofus to think all kids are fungible and the same.
You’re like the MAGA crowd who can only think about themselves.
Anonymous wrote:We voted these clowns in. The very clowns who decided to jam us with an unnecessary comprehensive boundary study resulting in thousands of our kids suffering mental health trauma being forced to move schools, with the only justification that we hadn’t done it in 40 years (which is misleading in and of itself).
We all need to remember how they gave little thought to how to implement these changes and have really set the county back and wasted so much of FCPS employee time and resources on an unnecessary course with only negative outcomes. They could have actually tried to improve the school experience, but instead just wasted their time for years at this point shuffling our kids around like pawns.
Screw them.
The kids are moving with all of their classmates from ES, they know kids at the new school through that grouping. They probably know other kids at the new school through activities. They will be fine. Kids move every year for family reasons, jobs, changing houses, and the like. The vast majority are just fine. Moving with a hundred or so kids that you know from ES is not traumatic. And kids in their HSs right now won’t have to move.
I suspect that the kids who will struggle are the kids of parents who are flipping out. Or that the kids who are moved and have a normal teenage hiccup will lead to parents blaming redistricting.
I agree with the underlined part.
An interesting side note, every year, including this one, there are multiple discussions on our town Facebook page over whether AAP kids should attend the center middle school at the bext school over (very similar except it is a 7th-12th secondary school) or remain at the Local Level 4 middle school and continue to our neighborhood high school.
There are always dozens and dozens of parents posting how it is soooo easy socially to transition between the secondary AAP program and the stand alone middle school/high school, because the kids all know lots of kids at both schools (true even for non AAP kids at both schools) and because there is so much overlap between all 3 schools through community events, sports, scouts, performing arts, etc.
The same statements are made every year when this topic comes up. I completely agree that the school communities do overlap quite a bit, especially through sports and activities. The kids at the middle school, secondary and high school all know mamy kids from each pyramid.
But the neighborhood that is getting rezoned to that secondary school is flipping out and claiming the opposite is true, as the main argument against their split feeder being eliminated.
It is kind of interesting to see those completely opposite arguments playing out online simultaneously.
Sounds like you’re fine with other kids getting moved from West Springfield to Lake Braddock, so long as they aren’t your kids. This is the consistent theme - other kids can cope, but leave mine alone.
Every year the AAP question comes up. And every year, the overwhelming response is that either option is great because the kids have tons of friends at each of the 3 schools, and there is so much social and community overlap between the schools.
These discussions have been going on with the exact same comments since AAP was added to Irving over 10 years ago. The discussion is always the same each year, that the schools are very close socially so attending either school or both schools is really easy socially.
It is just interesting to see that annual Irving/WSHS/LBSS discussion occur under the context of the rezoning fight, when the main arguments against rezoning to Lake Braddock with most of their classmates and friends, are the complete opposite to the common knowledge and experiences expressed each year in the community at large and the annual online middle school AAP discussions.
Even if you are completely against rezoning, it is impossible not to see rhe irony of these two very contradictory positions, occuring simultaneously under the shadow of rezoning.
It's a different calculus when you're talking about effectively forcing some kids already in high school to switch schools. Do you really not see that? Or are they useful sacrificial lambs across the county, as long as you're not redistricted to Lewis?
They are not forcing kids to move if they have started HS.
Learn to read. They are effectively forcing kids whose families can't arrange for their transportation (and there are more of these families than they acknowledge) to switch schools starting next fall. Including HS kids.
Most if not all of the kids in that WSHS/LB neighborhood have their own cars or friends with cars, or a parent who can transport them.
It is a fairly affluent area
My son is a ninth grader who may be rezoned. His father and I both work full-time jobs that require us to be in the office 5 days a week. He does not drive, nor do I plan on getting him a car. None of his friends drive because they are in ninth grade and will be taking the bus. He wants to stay at his current school, with his current friends, and stay in his current sports teams. We are a real family who will be impacted by this. Please keep your 'opinions' about who is affluent enough to make this work to yourself.
We are in the same boat. I assume many families are. You can call the WSHS neighborhood “affluent”, but many are two income households who are most likely military, federal govt, teachers, etc.
Almost no seniors ride the busses to WSHS. They either drive, or ride with friends.
Not at WSHS, but I believe this to be true. But, "almost no seniors" is not "no seniors." And, WSHS does not have a large impoverished population and its boundaries are not that large.
The only seniors am aware of who rode the bus at WSHS are the ones whose parents are punishing them by taking away the keys for things like getting a speeding ticket or some other big infraction.
All the others drive, walk, or ride with friends.
And, you know all the seniors?
Of course she doesn’t. Perhaps she doesn’t want to jeopardize grandfathering for her own kids, who’ll apparently have no problem arranging for transportation. Screw those less fortunate.
Agreed (well maybe not on the first part because I don't know that posters situation)
I think the big point here is that the school board and administration should have come to the table with potential solutions for kids...as opposed to saying 'the rich kids will take care of the poor ones'. None of boundary process has been thought out, and none of this has been done in truly fair and equitable way, based on facts.
+1. Neighbors are fighting each other completely unnecessarily. Everyone is trying to protect what they believe is right for their families, and the process from start to finish was filled with misinformation, distorting of facts, a sham community feedback process, and now no solutions for effected children.
They should have looked at the schools that were overcrowded and the capacity around them and redrawn te boundaries only for those schools. The solution is that everyone moves, except for rising Juniors and Seniors in HS. It is painful but it is a large group moving at once and it is done.
The process is made worse by adding in IB schools when families don’t want IB and the counties unwillingness to add AP at every school. If enough kids want IB, they will sign up for the classes. If not, then get rid of the program.
No one wants to move, it will be more problematic for some kids then others. It should not be a problem for any rising Freshman because they don’t have ties to the school and have not started making progress at school. They will be joining a new community with every other 9th grader and will be fine. The ones who are not have parents that are strangely invested in a particular HS.
That doesn't quite work for children at middle schools moving to secondary schools. Your arguments always seem to start out fine until you start making assumptions about actual students.
My assumption is that the vast majority of kids will be fine if they move schools regardless of the grade because kids move on a regular basis and the majority of the ones who move are fine. Yes, it sucks but the vast majority of kids find new friends, get involved in programs that they like, and do well in school. They go on to college or into a trade that they like. They are successful human beings.
Moving with your entire grade at the same time is not trauma inducing except for a small percentage with specific mental/emotional issues. Parents are arguing that moving is going to cause a massive mental health crisis for the kids changing schools when kids move all the time and are fine. You are moving with kids you know, as a group into a school. The schools know the kids are coming and will be prepared to help them adapt.
I get that people don’t like change, very few people do. Humans are resilient. The kids who struggle with this are going to be kids with diagnosable mental health conditions and kids whose parents are making this into some massive awful change.
I sincerely hope that FCPS f’s with your kids at some point, just so I can repost the crap you just wrote and address it to your family
You are a bad person.
My kid is moving. He will be fine.
You hope. But boy, if not, it’ll be just desserts for the person who doesn’t care about other kids.
Or who has more faith in kids resiliency and thinks that they will be fine at the schools that they move to then you do.
If the kid has active parents then they will have a strong chance of succeeding at any school in FCPS.
If this is how you think, you should want FCPS drawing boundaries for the new Western HS now, and making attendance at that school for rising 9th to 11th graders mandatory.
None of this opt-in, opt-out nonsense with boundaries announced in mid-2026. After all, the kids would all be newcomers to Western, so they should be the most accepting of the new assignment.
Instead, we get options up the wazoo for these families in western Fairfax, while kids getting redistricted elsewhere to existing schools where they may arrive as outsiders aren't even assured transportation to their current schools.
Anonymous wrote:We voted these clowns in. The very clowns who decided to jam us with an unnecessary comprehensive boundary study resulting in thousands of our kids suffering mental health trauma being forced to move schools, with the only justification that we hadn’t done it in 40 years (which is misleading in and of itself).
We all need to remember how they gave little thought to how to implement these changes and have really set the county back and wasted so much of FCPS employee time and resources on an unnecessary course with only negative outcomes. They could have actually tried to improve the school experience, but instead just wasted their time for years at this point shuffling our kids around like pawns.
Screw them.
The kids are moving with all of their classmates from ES, they know kids at the new school through that grouping. They probably know other kids at the new school through activities. They will be fine. Kids move every year for family reasons, jobs, changing houses, and the like. The vast majority are just fine. Moving with a hundred or so kids that you know from ES is not traumatic. And kids in their HSs right now won’t have to move.
I suspect that the kids who will struggle are the kids of parents who are flipping out. Or that the kids who are moved and have a normal teenage hiccup will lead to parents blaming redistricting.
I agree with the underlined part.
An interesting side note, every year, including this one, there are multiple discussions on our town Facebook page over whether AAP kids should attend the center middle school at the bext school over (very similar except it is a 7th-12th secondary school) or remain at the Local Level 4 middle school and continue to our neighborhood high school.
There are always dozens and dozens of parents posting how it is soooo easy socially to transition between the secondary AAP program and the stand alone middle school/high school, because the kids all know lots of kids at both schools (true even for non AAP kids at both schools) and because there is so much overlap between all 3 schools through community events, sports, scouts, performing arts, etc.
The same statements are made every year when this topic comes up. I completely agree that the school communities do overlap quite a bit, especially through sports and activities. The kids at the middle school, secondary and high school all know mamy kids from each pyramid.
But the neighborhood that is getting rezoned to that secondary school is flipping out and claiming the opposite is true, as the main argument against their split feeder being eliminated.
It is kind of interesting to see those completely opposite arguments playing out online simultaneously.
Sounds like you’re fine with other kids getting moved from West Springfield to Lake Braddock, so long as they aren’t your kids. This is the consistent theme - other kids can cope, but leave mine alone.
Every year the AAP question comes up. And every year, the overwhelming response is that either option is great because the kids have tons of friends at each of the 3 schools, and there is so much social and community overlap between the schools.
These discussions have been going on with the exact same comments since AAP was added to Irving over 10 years ago. The discussion is always the same each year, that the schools are very close socially so attending either school or both schools is really easy socially.
It is just interesting to see that annual Irving/WSHS/LBSS discussion occur under the context of the rezoning fight, when the main arguments against rezoning to Lake Braddock with most of their classmates and friends, are the complete opposite to the common knowledge and experiences expressed each year in the community at large and the annual online middle school AAP discussions.
Even if you are completely against rezoning, it is impossible not to see rhe irony of these two very contradictory positions, occuring simultaneously under the shadow of rezoning.
It's a different calculus when you're talking about effectively forcing some kids already in high school to switch schools. Do you really not see that? Or are they useful sacrificial lambs across the county, as long as you're not redistricted to Lewis?
They are not forcing kids to move if they have started HS.
Learn to read. They are effectively forcing kids whose families can't arrange for their transportation (and there are more of these families than they acknowledge) to switch schools starting next fall. Including HS kids.
Most if not all of the kids in that WSHS/LB neighborhood have their own cars or friends with cars, or a parent who can transport them.
It is a fairly affluent area
My son is a ninth grader who may be rezoned. His father and I both work full-time jobs that require us to be in the office 5 days a week. He does not drive, nor do I plan on getting him a car. None of his friends drive because they are in ninth grade and will be taking the bus. He wants to stay at his current school, with his current friends, and stay in his current sports teams. We are a real family who will be impacted by this. Please keep your 'opinions' about who is affluent enough to make this work to yourself.
We are in the same boat. I assume many families are. You can call the WSHS neighborhood “affluent”, but many are two income households who are most likely military, federal govt, teachers, etc.
Almost no seniors ride the busses to WSHS. They either drive, or ride with friends.
Not at WSHS, but I believe this to be true. But, "almost no seniors" is not "no seniors." And, WSHS does not have a large impoverished population and its boundaries are not that large.
The only seniors am aware of who rode the bus at WSHS are the ones whose parents are punishing them by taking away the keys for things like getting a speeding ticket or some other big infraction.
All the others drive, walk, or ride with friends.
And, you know all the seniors?
Of course she doesn’t. Perhaps she doesn’t want to jeopardize grandfathering for her own kids, who’ll apparently have no problem arranging for transportation. Screw those less fortunate.
Agreed (well maybe not on the first part because I don't know that posters situation)
I think the big point here is that the school board and administration should have come to the table with potential solutions for kids...as opposed to saying 'the rich kids will take care of the poor ones'. None of boundary process has been thought out, and none of this has been done in truly fair and equitable way, based on facts.
+1. Neighbors are fighting each other completely unnecessarily. Everyone is trying to protect what they believe is right for their families, and the process from start to finish was filled with misinformation, distorting of facts, a sham community feedback process, and now no solutions for effected children.
They should have looked at the schools that were overcrowded and the capacity around them and redrawn te boundaries only for those schools. The solution is that everyone moves, except for rising Juniors and Seniors in HS. It is painful but it is a large group moving at once and it is done.
The process is made worse by adding in IB schools when families don’t want IB and the counties unwillingness to add AP at every school. If enough kids want IB, they will sign up for the classes. If not, then get rid of the program.
No one wants to move, it will be more problematic for some kids then others. It should not be a problem for any rising Freshman because they don’t have ties to the school and have not started making progress at school. They will be joining a new community with every other 9th grader and will be fine. The ones who are not have parents that are strangely invested in a particular HS.
That doesn't quite work for children at middle schools moving to secondary schools. Your arguments always seem to start out fine until you start making assumptions about actual students.
My assumption is that the vast majority of kids will be fine if they move schools regardless of the grade because kids move on a regular basis and the majority of the ones who move are fine. Yes, it sucks but the vast majority of kids find new friends, get involved in programs that they like, and do well in school. They go on to college or into a trade that they like. They are successful human beings.
Moving with your entire grade at the same time is not trauma inducing except for a small percentage with specific mental/emotional issues. Parents are arguing that moving is going to cause a massive mental health crisis for the kids changing schools when kids move all the time and are fine. You are moving with kids you know, as a group into a school. The schools know the kids are coming and will be prepared to help them adapt.
I get that people don’t like change, very few people do. Humans are resilient. The kids who struggle with this are going to be kids with diagnosable mental health conditions and kids whose parents are making this into some massive awful change.
I sincerely hope that FCPS f’s with your kids at some point, just so I can repost the crap you just wrote and address it to your family
You are a bad person.
My kid is moving. He will be fine.
You hope. But boy, if not, it’ll be just desserts for the person who doesn’t care about other kids.
Or who has more faith in kids resiliency and thinks that they will be fine at the schools that they move to then you do.
If the kid has active parents then they will have a strong chance of succeeding at any school in FCPS.
If this is how you think, you should want FCPS drawing boundaries for the new Western HS now, and making attendance at that school for rising 9th to 11th graders mandatory.
None of this opt-in, opt-out nonsense with boundaries announced in mid-2026. After all, the kids would all be newcomers to Western, so they should be the most accepting of the new assignment.
Instead, we get options up the wazoo for these families in western Fairfax, while kids getting redistricted elsewhere to existing schools where they may arrive as outsiders aren't even assured transportation to their current schools.
I think most of the people within the area considered for the new school want exactly that. We don't like all this "iffy" programming stuff. Opt-in/opt out, etc.
Everyone would like some certainty.
I can see opt in for the first year because of sports. But, the boundaries should have been set by now. It is difficult to get excited about it when there are so many variables.
Anonymous wrote:We voted these clowns in. The very clowns who decided to jam us with an unnecessary comprehensive boundary study resulting in thousands of our kids suffering mental health trauma being forced to move schools, with the only justification that we hadn’t done it in 40 years (which is misleading in and of itself).
We all need to remember how they gave little thought to how to implement these changes and have really set the county back and wasted so much of FCPS employee time and resources on an unnecessary course with only negative outcomes. They could have actually tried to improve the school experience, but instead just wasted their time for years at this point shuffling our kids around like pawns.
Screw them.
The kids are moving with all of their classmates from ES, they know kids at the new school through that grouping. They probably know other kids at the new school through activities. They will be fine. Kids move every year for family reasons, jobs, changing houses, and the like. The vast majority are just fine. Moving with a hundred or so kids that you know from ES is not traumatic. And kids in their HSs right now won’t have to move.
I suspect that the kids who will struggle are the kids of parents who are flipping out. Or that the kids who are moved and have a normal teenage hiccup will lead to parents blaming redistricting.
I agree with the underlined part.
An interesting side note, every year, including this one, there are multiple discussions on our town Facebook page over whether AAP kids should attend the center middle school at the bext school over (very similar except it is a 7th-12th secondary school) or remain at the Local Level 4 middle school and continue to our neighborhood high school.
There are always dozens and dozens of parents posting how it is soooo easy socially to transition between the secondary AAP program and the stand alone middle school/high school, because the kids all know lots of kids at both schools (true even for non AAP kids at both schools) and because there is so much overlap between all 3 schools through community events, sports, scouts, performing arts, etc.
The same statements are made every year when this topic comes up. I completely agree that the school communities do overlap quite a bit, especially through sports and activities. The kids at the middle school, secondary and high school all know mamy kids from each pyramid.
But the neighborhood that is getting rezoned to that secondary school is flipping out and claiming the opposite is true, as the main argument against their split feeder being eliminated.
It is kind of interesting to see those completely opposite arguments playing out online simultaneously.
Sounds like you’re fine with other kids getting moved from West Springfield to Lake Braddock, so long as they aren’t your kids. This is the consistent theme - other kids can cope, but leave mine alone.
Every year the AAP question comes up. And every year, the overwhelming response is that either option is great because the kids have tons of friends at each of the 3 schools, and there is so much social and community overlap between the schools.
These discussions have been going on with the exact same comments since AAP was added to Irving over 10 years ago. The discussion is always the same each year, that the schools are very close socially so attending either school or both schools is really easy socially.
It is just interesting to see that annual Irving/WSHS/LBSS discussion occur under the context of the rezoning fight, when the main arguments against rezoning to Lake Braddock with most of their classmates and friends, are the complete opposite to the common knowledge and experiences expressed each year in the community at large and the annual online middle school AAP discussions.
Even if you are completely against rezoning, it is impossible not to see rhe irony of these two very contradictory positions, occuring simultaneously under the shadow of rezoning.
It's a different calculus when you're talking about effectively forcing some kids already in high school to switch schools. Do you really not see that? Or are they useful sacrificial lambs across the county, as long as you're not redistricted to Lewis?
Non of the kids already in high school are switching schools.
You are either misinformed or intentionally lying. Go listen to Ricardy Anderson's comments at the School Board meeting last night.
Rising Juniors and Seniors are being allowed to stay at their HS with transportation. You put your rising Sophomore on the same bus as the Juniors and Seniors, look they have transportation. In 2 years, they have their license and can drive to school. Problem solved.
They've spent money implementing readers on buses so shortly your child will have to scan their id and the bus driver will be alerted whether or not they are assigned the route. Of course if they provide busing for Juniors and Seniors there is no reason they can't do for Freshmen and Sophomores in the same neighborhood. It makes sense to probably not include busing for rising 7th and 9th graders as they are already going to be switching schools and to limit the financial impact to three years. I suppose rising 9th graders could take the bus for three years but those families would know that bus transportation would not be provided their senior year.
They aren't providing busing for juniors and seniors. They aren't providing bussing for ANYONE who stays at their old school. They will vote on it at the next meeting.
The vote to deny transportation will be the logical conclusion of a bunch of really stupid people doing really stupid things for a couple of years, and then putting on their sad faces and pretending - not that long after they decided to waste $200 million on a new high school that is by no means necessary - that "the budget is tight" and "tough decisions had to be made."
What a bunch of dopes.
It's amazing that after all this time there are still people out there who don't understand the difference between capital budget and operating budget - or that the money comes from completely different sources and legally cannot be mixed.
Aren’t you pedantic? The point is that this School Board is both selectively thrifty and selectively profligate. It’s hard to take anything they say with a straight face any more. They alternate their exuberant faces with their somber faces, but it’s still a circus act.
I'd say the PP is just "basically informed" vs. "pedantic", and that your prior post displayed complete ignorance on this topic. You may have a valid point to make, but you're making it in the least convincing way possible by conflating unrelated things.
It’s easy to spot the types who are more than prepared to ignore how this School Board is ready to screw many families by denying them transportation to their current schools all because they are simultaneously ready to spend so much money on Western HS. You certainly weren’t cheap to buy off, but your indifference serves their agenda.
One has nothing to do with the other.
If anything, the new school will save on transportation unless some of the loudest voices win. And, if they went ahead and determined traditional boundaries, then planning could be accomplished in a timely manner.
You still seem to not understand the difference between capital expenses and operating expenses.
Building/renovations are capital expenses.
Transportation is an operating expense. And, those funds are NOT "fungible" between each other.
The money may not be fungible for FCPS. It’s fungible to those footing the bill because it comes out of the same pockets even if it goes into different coffers.
We also see the contrast between FCPS going out of its way to favor one area because it wanted to buy a shiny new school (although one that is turning out to be a long-term project and anything but a “turnkey” high school for 2000 kids) and its willingness to screw families elsewhere in the county by denying transportation to redistricted kids.
Jealous much? Two of the HS in Western Fairfax are overcrowded. Three are at capacity and close to being overcrowded. One is at 90% capacity and has a few seats left. The area has been acknowledged as needing a new HS for 25 years. Three schools have been expanded so they are just at capacity instead of being overcrowded. A fourth was scheduled for expansion but cannot be expanded.
Complain all that you want but the solution in this part of the county is a new HS and KAA was that answer. There are plenty of families that are unhappy that they are being moved to the new school. The only reason that is not a forced situation is because it is a new school and it will take a few years for the school to have built the programs, specifically sports and the like, that are important to many people. In 3 years, there will not be an option and there will not be bussing for students who want to pupil place to their old school.
Other parts of the country with over crowding have schools that have capacity near them. The over crowding can be addressed by redistricting. I understand that the families moving don’t want to move but that is the less expensive solution to the problem. Grandfathering every HS into their currently overcrowded school does nothing to address the problem of overcrowding. So the county shouldn’t be paying for busses, which are expensive, when they are trying to deal with over crowding.
The county does not to address the renovations list and reprioritize it based on current condition of the building. This should address the buildings that are in dire need of repair but that is a separate issue then the boundary adjustments.
Exactly. Move those Orange Hunt kids at Sangster to LBSS and Daventry and Hunt Valley kids to Lewis. No phasing. No transportation. If families don’t like it, too bad. You shouldn’t have moved to Fairfax County.
I think you were dropped on your head as a child. Please get help.
Anonymous wrote:We voted these clowns in. The very clowns who decided to jam us with an unnecessary comprehensive boundary study resulting in thousands of our kids suffering mental health trauma being forced to move schools, with the only justification that we hadn’t done it in 40 years (which is misleading in and of itself).
We all need to remember how they gave little thought to how to implement these changes and have really set the county back and wasted so much of FCPS employee time and resources on an unnecessary course with only negative outcomes. They could have actually tried to improve the school experience, but instead just wasted their time for years at this point shuffling our kids around like pawns.
Screw them.
The kids are moving with all of their classmates from ES, they know kids at the new school through that grouping. They probably know other kids at the new school through activities. They will be fine. Kids move every year for family reasons, jobs, changing houses, and the like. The vast majority are just fine. Moving with a hundred or so kids that you know from ES is not traumatic. And kids in their HSs right now won’t have to move.
I suspect that the kids who will struggle are the kids of parents who are flipping out. Or that the kids who are moved and have a normal teenage hiccup will lead to parents blaming redistricting.
I agree with the underlined part.
An interesting side note, every year, including this one, there are multiple discussions on our town Facebook page over whether AAP kids should attend the center middle school at the bext school over (very similar except it is a 7th-12th secondary school) or remain at the Local Level 4 middle school and continue to our neighborhood high school.
There are always dozens and dozens of parents posting how it is soooo easy socially to transition between the secondary AAP program and the stand alone middle school/high school, because the kids all know lots of kids at both schools (true even for non AAP kids at both schools) and because there is so much overlap between all 3 schools through community events, sports, scouts, performing arts, etc.
The same statements are made every year when this topic comes up. I completely agree that the school communities do overlap quite a bit, especially through sports and activities. The kids at the middle school, secondary and high school all know mamy kids from each pyramid.
But the neighborhood that is getting rezoned to that secondary school is flipping out and claiming the opposite is true, as the main argument against their split feeder being eliminated.
It is kind of interesting to see those completely opposite arguments playing out online simultaneously.
Sounds like you’re fine with other kids getting moved from West Springfield to Lake Braddock, so long as they aren’t your kids. This is the consistent theme - other kids can cope, but leave mine alone.
Every year the AAP question comes up. And every year, the overwhelming response is that either option is great because the kids have tons of friends at each of the 3 schools, and there is so much social and community overlap between the schools.
These discussions have been going on with the exact same comments since AAP was added to Irving over 10 years ago. The discussion is always the same each year, that the schools are very close socially so attending either school or both schools is really easy socially.
It is just interesting to see that annual Irving/WSHS/LBSS discussion occur under the context of the rezoning fight, when the main arguments against rezoning to Lake Braddock with most of their classmates and friends, are the complete opposite to the common knowledge and experiences expressed each year in the community at large and the annual online middle school AAP discussions.
Even if you are completely against rezoning, it is impossible not to see rhe irony of these two very contradictory positions, occuring simultaneously under the shadow of rezoning.
It's a different calculus when you're talking about effectively forcing some kids already in high school to switch schools. Do you really not see that? Or are they useful sacrificial lambs across the county, as long as you're not redistricted to Lewis?
They are not forcing kids to move if they have started HS.
Learn to read. They are effectively forcing kids whose families can't arrange for their transportation (and there are more of these families than they acknowledge) to switch schools starting next fall. Including HS kids.
Most if not all of the kids in that WSHS/LB neighborhood have their own cars or friends with cars, or a parent who can transport them.
It is a fairly affluent area
My son is a ninth grader who may be rezoned. His father and I both work full-time jobs that require us to be in the office 5 days a week. He does not drive, nor do I plan on getting him a car. None of his friends drive because they are in ninth grade and will be taking the bus. He wants to stay at his current school, with his current friends, and stay in his current sports teams. We are a real family who will be impacted by this. Please keep your 'opinions' about who is affluent enough to make this work to yourself.
We are in the same boat. I assume many families are. You can call the WSHS neighborhood “affluent”, but many are two income households who are most likely military, federal govt, teachers, etc.
Almost no seniors ride the busses to WSHS. They either drive, or ride with friends.
Not at WSHS, but I believe this to be true. But, "almost no seniors" is not "no seniors." And, WSHS does not have a large impoverished population and its boundaries are not that large.
The only seniors am aware of who rode the bus at WSHS are the ones whose parents are punishing them by taking away the keys for things like getting a speeding ticket or some other big infraction.
All the others drive, walk, or ride with friends.
And, you know all the seniors?
Of course she doesn’t. Perhaps she doesn’t want to jeopardize grandfathering for her own kids, who’ll apparently have no problem arranging for transportation. Screw those less fortunate.
Agreed (well maybe not on the first part because I don't know that posters situation)
I think the big point here is that the school board and administration should have come to the table with potential solutions for kids...as opposed to saying 'the rich kids will take care of the poor ones'. None of boundary process has been thought out, and none of this has been done in truly fair and equitable way, based on facts.
+1. Neighbors are fighting each other completely unnecessarily. Everyone is trying to protect what they believe is right for their families, and the process from start to finish was filled with misinformation, distorting of facts, a sham community feedback process, and now no solutions for effected children.
They should have looked at the schools that were overcrowded and the capacity around them and redrawn te boundaries only for those schools. The solution is that everyone moves, except for rising Juniors and Seniors in HS. It is painful but it is a large group moving at once and it is done.
The process is made worse by adding in IB schools when families don’t want IB and the counties unwillingness to add AP at every school. If enough kids want IB, they will sign up for the classes. If not, then get rid of the program.
No one wants to move, it will be more problematic for some kids then others. It should not be a problem for any rising Freshman because they don’t have ties to the school and have not started making progress at school. They will be joining a new community with every other 9th grader and will be fine. The ones who are not have parents that are strangely invested in a particular HS.
That doesn't quite work for children at middle schools moving to secondary schools. Your arguments always seem to start out fine until you start making assumptions about actual students.
My assumption is that the vast majority of kids will be fine if they move schools regardless of the grade because kids move on a regular basis and the majority of the ones who move are fine. Yes, it sucks but the vast majority of kids find new friends, get involved in programs that they like, and do well in school. They go on to college or into a trade that they like. They are successful human beings.
Moving with your entire grade at the same time is not trauma inducing except for a small percentage with specific mental/emotional issues. Parents are arguing that moving is going to cause a massive mental health crisis for the kids changing schools when kids move all the time and are fine. You are moving with kids you know, as a group into a school. The schools know the kids are coming and will be prepared to help them adapt.
I get that people don’t like change, very few people do. Humans are resilient. The kids who struggle with this are going to be kids with diagnosable mental health conditions and kids whose parents are making this into some massive awful change.
I sincerely hope that FCPS f’s with your kids at some point, just so I can repost the crap you just wrote and address it to your family
You are a bad person.
My kid is moving. He will be fine.
You hope. But boy, if not, it’ll be just desserts for the person who doesn’t care about other kids.
Or who has more faith in kids resiliency and thinks that they will be fine at the schools that they move to then you do.
If the kid has active parents then they will have a strong chance of succeeding at any school in FCPS.
If this is how you think, you should want FCPS drawing boundaries for the new Western HS now, and making attendance at that school for rising 9th to 11th graders mandatory.
None of this opt-in, opt-out nonsense with boundaries announced in mid-2026. After all, the kids would all be newcomers to Western, so they should be the most accepting of the new assignment.
Instead, we get options up the wazoo for these families in western Fairfax, while kids getting redistricted elsewhere to existing schools where they may arrive as outsiders aren't even assured transportation to their current schools.
My name suggestion for the school was “draw the Boundaries and then Name the School” High School. The boundaries should be set first then worry about redistricting the rest of the county. the school board mucked that up badly.
As for the partial opening, that is what they did for South County and Westfield. You bring in 9th and 10th graders and add from there. They should draw the boundaries and have the 9th and 10th graders attend. What do you want me to do about that? I have emailed my school board rep and the superintendent and I have attended meetings. I have had as much success there as everyone else.
You act like this is a personal attack on you. It’s not. Schools are overcrowded and kids need to be moved to other schools. Change is hard but calling people names and wishing ill on them because they don’t share your opinion is not a good look. I am sorry that your house is in an area that is going to be moved. Your kid will do better with the move if you make it less of an issue and focus on why they will succeed at whatever school they attend.
Anonymous wrote:We voted these clowns in. The very clowns who decided to jam us with an unnecessary comprehensive boundary study resulting in thousands of our kids suffering mental health trauma being forced to move schools, with the only justification that we hadn’t done it in 40 years (which is misleading in and of itself).
We all need to remember how they gave little thought to how to implement these changes and have really set the county back and wasted so much of FCPS employee time and resources on an unnecessary course with only negative outcomes. They could have actually tried to improve the school experience, but instead just wasted their time for years at this point shuffling our kids around like pawns.
Screw them.
The kids are moving with all of their classmates from ES, they know kids at the new school through that grouping. They probably know other kids at the new school through activities. They will be fine. Kids move every year for family reasons, jobs, changing houses, and the like. The vast majority are just fine. Moving with a hundred or so kids that you know from ES is not traumatic. And kids in their HSs right now won’t have to move.
I suspect that the kids who will struggle are the kids of parents who are flipping out. Or that the kids who are moved and have a normal teenage hiccup will lead to parents blaming redistricting.
I agree with the underlined part.
An interesting side note, every year, including this one, there are multiple discussions on our town Facebook page over whether AAP kids should attend the center middle school at the bext school over (very similar except it is a 7th-12th secondary school) or remain at the Local Level 4 middle school and continue to our neighborhood high school.
There are always dozens and dozens of parents posting how it is soooo easy socially to transition between the secondary AAP program and the stand alone middle school/high school, because the kids all know lots of kids at both schools (true even for non AAP kids at both schools) and because there is so much overlap between all 3 schools through community events, sports, scouts, performing arts, etc.
The same statements are made every year when this topic comes up. I completely agree that the school communities do overlap quite a bit, especially through sports and activities. The kids at the middle school, secondary and high school all know mamy kids from each pyramid.
But the neighborhood that is getting rezoned to that secondary school is flipping out and claiming the opposite is true, as the main argument against their split feeder being eliminated.
It is kind of interesting to see those completely opposite arguments playing out online simultaneously.
Sounds like you’re fine with other kids getting moved from West Springfield to Lake Braddock, so long as they aren’t your kids. This is the consistent theme - other kids can cope, but leave mine alone.
Every year the AAP question comes up. And every year, the overwhelming response is that either option is great because the kids have tons of friends at each of the 3 schools, and there is so much social and community overlap between the schools.
These discussions have been going on with the exact same comments since AAP was added to Irving over 10 years ago. The discussion is always the same each year, that the schools are very close socially so attending either school or both schools is really easy socially.
It is just interesting to see that annual Irving/WSHS/LBSS discussion occur under the context of the rezoning fight, when the main arguments against rezoning to Lake Braddock with most of their classmates and friends, are the complete opposite to the common knowledge and experiences expressed each year in the community at large and the annual online middle school AAP discussions.
Even if you are completely against rezoning, it is impossible not to see rhe irony of these two very contradictory positions, occuring simultaneously under the shadow of rezoning.
It's a different calculus when you're talking about effectively forcing some kids already in high school to switch schools. Do you really not see that? Or are they useful sacrificial lambs across the county, as long as you're not redistricted to Lewis?
They are not forcing kids to move if they have started HS.
Learn to read. They are effectively forcing kids whose families can't arrange for their transportation (and there are more of these families than they acknowledge) to switch schools starting next fall. Including HS kids.
Most if not all of the kids in that WSHS/LB neighborhood have their own cars or friends with cars, or a parent who can transport them.
It is a fairly affluent area
My son is a ninth grader who may be rezoned. His father and I both work full-time jobs that require us to be in the office 5 days a week. He does not drive, nor do I plan on getting him a car. None of his friends drive because they are in ninth grade and will be taking the bus. He wants to stay at his current school, with his current friends, and stay in his current sports teams. We are a real family who will be impacted by this. Please keep your 'opinions' about who is affluent enough to make this work to yourself.
We are in the same boat. I assume many families are. You can call the WSHS neighborhood “affluent”, but many are two income households who are most likely military, federal govt, teachers, etc.
Almost no seniors ride the busses to WSHS. They either drive, or ride with friends.
Not at WSHS, but I believe this to be true. But, "almost no seniors" is not "no seniors." And, WSHS does not have a large impoverished population and its boundaries are not that large.
The only seniors am aware of who rode the bus at WSHS are the ones whose parents are punishing them by taking away the keys for things like getting a speeding ticket or some other big infraction.
All the others drive, walk, or ride with friends.
And, you know all the seniors?
Of course she doesn’t. Perhaps she doesn’t want to jeopardize grandfathering for her own kids, who’ll apparently have no problem arranging for transportation. Screw those less fortunate.
Agreed (well maybe not on the first part because I don't know that posters situation)
I think the big point here is that the school board and administration should have come to the table with potential solutions for kids...as opposed to saying 'the rich kids will take care of the poor ones'. None of boundary process has been thought out, and none of this has been done in truly fair and equitable way, based on facts.
+1. Neighbors are fighting each other completely unnecessarily. Everyone is trying to protect what they believe is right for their families, and the process from start to finish was filled with misinformation, distorting of facts, a sham community feedback process, and now no solutions for effected children.
They should have looked at the schools that were overcrowded and the capacity around them and redrawn te boundaries only for those schools. The solution is that everyone moves, except for rising Juniors and Seniors in HS. It is painful but it is a large group moving at once and it is done.
The process is made worse by adding in IB schools when families don’t want IB and the counties unwillingness to add AP at every school. If enough kids want IB, they will sign up for the classes. If not, then get rid of the program.
No one wants to move, it will be more problematic for some kids then others. It should not be a problem for any rising Freshman because they don’t have ties to the school and have not started making progress at school. They will be joining a new community with every other 9th grader and will be fine. The ones who are not have parents that are strangely invested in a particular HS.
That doesn't quite work for children at middle schools moving to secondary schools. Your arguments always seem to start out fine until you start making assumptions about actual students.
My assumption is that the vast majority of kids will be fine if they move schools regardless of the grade because kids move on a regular basis and the majority of the ones who move are fine. Yes, it sucks but the vast majority of kids find new friends, get involved in programs that they like, and do well in school. They go on to college or into a trade that they like. They are successful human beings.
Moving with your entire grade at the same time is not trauma inducing except for a small percentage with specific mental/emotional issues. Parents are arguing that moving is going to cause a massive mental health crisis for the kids changing schools when kids move all the time and are fine. You are moving with kids you know, as a group into a school. The schools know the kids are coming and will be prepared to help them adapt.
I get that people don’t like change, very few people do. Humans are resilient. The kids who struggle with this are going to be kids with diagnosable mental health conditions and kids whose parents are making this into some massive awful change.
I sincerely hope that FCPS f’s with your kids at some point, just so I can repost the crap you just wrote and address it to your family
You are a bad person.
My kid is moving. He will be fine.
You hope. But boy, if not, it’ll be just desserts for the person who doesn’t care about other kids.
Or who has more faith in kids resiliency and thinks that they will be fine at the schools that they move to then you do.
If the kid has active parents then they will have a strong chance of succeeding at any school in FCPS.
If this is how you think, you should want FCPS drawing boundaries for the new Western HS now, and making attendance at that school for rising 9th to 11th graders mandatory.
None of this opt-in, opt-out nonsense with boundaries announced in mid-2026. After all, the kids would all be newcomers to Western, so they should be the most accepting of the new assignment.
Instead, we get options up the wazoo for these families in western Fairfax, while kids getting redistricted elsewhere to existing schools where they may arrive as outsiders aren't even assured transportation to their current schools.
My name suggestion for the school was “draw the Boundaries and then Name the School” High School. The boundaries should be set first then worry about redistricting the rest of the county. the school board mucked that up badly.
As for the partial opening, that is what they did for South County and Westfield. You bring in 9th and 10th graders and add from there. They should draw the boundaries and have the 9th and 10th graders attend. What do you want me to do about that? I have emailed my school board rep and the superintendent and I have attended meetings. I have had as much success there as everyone else.
You act like this is a personal attack on you. It’s not. Schools are overcrowded and kids need to be moved to other schools. Change is hard but calling people names and wishing ill on them because they don’t share your opinion is not a good look. I am sorry that your house is in an area that is going to be moved. Your kid will do better with the move if you make it less of an issue and focus on why they will succeed at whatever school they attend.
What’s actually odder is how you seem to think everyone is looking to you as some authoritative expert to decide what is or isn’t acceptable.
We’re all entitled to our opinions and, whether you like it or not, many of us are not happy with the hypocrisy of a School Board that’s ready to drop over $200 million on a new high school with what increasingly appears to have been minimal due diligence, while telling others who’ll derive no benefit from that school that money is tight and they can’t possibly find $10 million or so to provide transportation to their current schools if they are among those unlucky enough to be redistricted (because they weren’t as powerful and noisy as others).
We will not forget what Reid and this School Board are doing to FCPS.
Anonymous wrote:We voted these clowns in. The very clowns who decided to jam us with an unnecessary comprehensive boundary study resulting in thousands of our kids suffering mental health trauma being forced to move schools, with the only justification that we hadn’t done it in 40 years (which is misleading in and of itself).
We all need to remember how they gave little thought to how to implement these changes and have really set the county back and wasted so much of FCPS employee time and resources on an unnecessary course with only negative outcomes. They could have actually tried to improve the school experience, but instead just wasted their time for years at this point shuffling our kids around like pawns.
Screw them.
The kids are moving with all of their classmates from ES, they know kids at the new school through that grouping. They probably know other kids at the new school through activities. They will be fine. Kids move every year for family reasons, jobs, changing houses, and the like. The vast majority are just fine. Moving with a hundred or so kids that you know from ES is not traumatic. And kids in their HSs right now won’t have to move.
I suspect that the kids who will struggle are the kids of parents who are flipping out. Or that the kids who are moved and have a normal teenage hiccup will lead to parents blaming redistricting.
I agree with the underlined part.
An interesting side note, every year, including this one, there are multiple discussions on our town Facebook page over whether AAP kids should attend the center middle school at the bext school over (very similar except it is a 7th-12th secondary school) or remain at the Local Level 4 middle school and continue to our neighborhood high school.
There are always dozens and dozens of parents posting how it is soooo easy socially to transition between the secondary AAP program and the stand alone middle school/high school, because the kids all know lots of kids at both schools (true even for non AAP kids at both schools) and because there is so much overlap between all 3 schools through community events, sports, scouts, performing arts, etc.
The same statements are made every year when this topic comes up. I completely agree that the school communities do overlap quite a bit, especially through sports and activities. The kids at the middle school, secondary and high school all know mamy kids from each pyramid.
But the neighborhood that is getting rezoned to that secondary school is flipping out and claiming the opposite is true, as the main argument against their split feeder being eliminated.
It is kind of interesting to see those completely opposite arguments playing out online simultaneously.
Sounds like you’re fine with other kids getting moved from West Springfield to Lake Braddock, so long as they aren’t your kids. This is the consistent theme - other kids can cope, but leave mine alone.
Every year the AAP question comes up. And every year, the overwhelming response is that either option is great because the kids have tons of friends at each of the 3 schools, and there is so much social and community overlap between the schools.
These discussions have been going on with the exact same comments since AAP was added to Irving over 10 years ago. The discussion is always the same each year, that the schools are very close socially so attending either school or both schools is really easy socially.
It is just interesting to see that annual Irving/WSHS/LBSS discussion occur under the context of the rezoning fight, when the main arguments against rezoning to Lake Braddock with most of their classmates and friends, are the complete opposite to the common knowledge and experiences expressed each year in the community at large and the annual online middle school AAP discussions.
Even if you are completely against rezoning, it is impossible not to see rhe irony of these two very contradictory positions, occuring simultaneously under the shadow of rezoning.
It's a different calculus when you're talking about effectively forcing some kids already in high school to switch schools. Do you really not see that? Or are they useful sacrificial lambs across the county, as long as you're not redistricted to Lewis?
They are not forcing kids to move if they have started HS.
Learn to read. They are effectively forcing kids whose families can't arrange for their transportation (and there are more of these families than they acknowledge) to switch schools starting next fall. Including HS kids.
Most if not all of the kids in that WSHS/LB neighborhood have their own cars or friends with cars, or a parent who can transport them.
It is a fairly affluent area
My son is a ninth grader who may be rezoned. His father and I both work full-time jobs that require us to be in the office 5 days a week. He does not drive, nor do I plan on getting him a car. None of his friends drive because they are in ninth grade and will be taking the bus. He wants to stay at his current school, with his current friends, and stay in his current sports teams. We are a real family who will be impacted by this. Please keep your 'opinions' about who is affluent enough to make this work to yourself.
We are in the same boat. I assume many families are. You can call the WSHS neighborhood “affluent”, but many are two income households who are most likely military, federal govt, teachers, etc.
Almost no seniors ride the busses to WSHS. They either drive, or ride with friends.
Not at WSHS, but I believe this to be true. But, "almost no seniors" is not "no seniors." And, WSHS does not have a large impoverished population and its boundaries are not that large.
The only seniors am aware of who rode the bus at WSHS are the ones whose parents are punishing them by taking away the keys for things like getting a speeding ticket or some other big infraction.
All the others drive, walk, or ride with friends.
And, you know all the seniors?
Of course she doesn’t. Perhaps she doesn’t want to jeopardize grandfathering for her own kids, who’ll apparently have no problem arranging for transportation. Screw those less fortunate.
Agreed (well maybe not on the first part because I don't know that posters situation)
I think the big point here is that the school board and administration should have come to the table with potential solutions for kids...as opposed to saying 'the rich kids will take care of the poor ones'. None of boundary process has been thought out, and none of this has been done in truly fair and equitable way, based on facts.
+1. Neighbors are fighting each other completely unnecessarily. Everyone is trying to protect what they believe is right for their families, and the process from start to finish was filled with misinformation, distorting of facts, a sham community feedback process, and now no solutions for effected children.
They should have looked at the schools that were overcrowded and the capacity around them and redrawn te boundaries only for those schools. The solution is that everyone moves, except for rising Juniors and Seniors in HS. It is painful but it is a large group moving at once and it is done.
The process is made worse by adding in IB schools when families don’t want IB and the counties unwillingness to add AP at every school. If enough kids want IB, they will sign up for the classes. If not, then get rid of the program.
No one wants to move, it will be more problematic for some kids then others. It should not be a problem for any rising Freshman because they don’t have ties to the school and have not started making progress at school. They will be joining a new community with every other 9th grader and will be fine. The ones who are not have parents that are strangely invested in a particular HS.
That doesn't quite work for children at middle schools moving to secondary schools. Your arguments always seem to start out fine until you start making assumptions about actual students.
My assumption is that the vast majority of kids will be fine if they move schools regardless of the grade because kids move on a regular basis and the majority of the ones who move are fine. Yes, it sucks but the vast majority of kids find new friends, get involved in programs that they like, and do well in school. They go on to college or into a trade that they like. They are successful human beings.
Moving with your entire grade at the same time is not trauma inducing except for a small percentage with specific mental/emotional issues. Parents are arguing that moving is going to cause a massive mental health crisis for the kids changing schools when kids move all the time and are fine. You are moving with kids you know, as a group into a school. The schools know the kids are coming and will be prepared to help them adapt.
I get that people don’t like change, very few people do. Humans are resilient. The kids who struggle with this are going to be kids with diagnosable mental health conditions and kids whose parents are making this into some massive awful change.
I sincerely hope that FCPS f’s with your kids at some point, just so I can repost the crap you just wrote and address it to your family
You are a bad person.
My kid is moving. He will be fine.
You hope. But boy, if not, it’ll be just desserts for the person who doesn’t care about other kids.
Or who has more faith in kids resiliency and thinks that they will be fine at the schools that they move to then you do.
If the kid has active parents then they will have a strong chance of succeeding at any school in FCPS.
If this is how you think, you should want FCPS drawing boundaries for the new Western HS now, and making attendance at that school for rising 9th to 11th graders mandatory.
None of this opt-in, opt-out nonsense with boundaries announced in mid-2026. After all, the kids would all be newcomers to Western, so they should be the most accepting of the new assignment.
Instead, we get options up the wazoo for these families in western Fairfax, while kids getting redistricted elsewhere to existing schools where they may arrive as outsiders aren't even assured transportation to their current schools.
My name suggestion for the school was “draw the Boundaries and then Name the School” High School. The boundaries should be set first then worry about redistricting the rest of the county. the school board mucked that up badly.
As for the partial opening, that is what they did for South County and Westfield. You bring in 9th and 10th graders and add from there. They should draw the boundaries and have the 9th and 10th graders attend. What do you want me to do about that? I have emailed my school board rep and the superintendent and I have attended meetings. I have had as much success there as everyone else.
You act like this is a personal attack on you. It’s not. Schools are overcrowded and kids need to be moved to other schools. Change is hard but calling people names and wishing ill on them because they don’t share your opinion is not a good look. I am sorry that your house is in an area that is going to be moved. Your kid will do better with the move if you make it less of an issue and focus on why they will succeed at whatever school they attend.
What’s actually odder is how you seem to think everyone is looking to you as some authoritative expert to decide what is or isn’t acceptable.
We’re all entitled to our opinions and, whether you like it or not, many of us are not happy with the hypocrisy of a School Board that’s ready to drop over $200 million on a new high school with what increasingly appears to have been minimal due diligence, while telling others who’ll derive no benefit from that school that money is tight and they can’t possibly find $10 million or so to provide transportation to their current schools if they are among those unlucky enough to be redistricted (because they weren’t as powerful and noisy as others).
We will not forget what Reid and this School Board are doing to FCPS.
DP. You probably already know this, but the “we” you are referring to who are so mad right now probably isn’t nearly a big enough group of people for anything to meaningfully change in terms of who is running FCPS.
Anonymous wrote:We voted these clowns in. The very clowns who decided to jam us with an unnecessary comprehensive boundary study resulting in thousands of our kids suffering mental health trauma being forced to move schools, with the only justification that we hadn’t done it in 40 years (which is misleading in and of itself).
We all need to remember how they gave little thought to how to implement these changes and have really set the county back and wasted so much of FCPS employee time and resources on an unnecessary course with only negative outcomes. They could have actually tried to improve the school experience, but instead just wasted their time for years at this point shuffling our kids around like pawns.
Screw them.
The kids are moving with all of their classmates from ES, they know kids at the new school through that grouping. They probably know other kids at the new school through activities. They will be fine. Kids move every year for family reasons, jobs, changing houses, and the like. The vast majority are just fine. Moving with a hundred or so kids that you know from ES is not traumatic. And kids in their HSs right now won’t have to move.
I suspect that the kids who will struggle are the kids of parents who are flipping out. Or that the kids who are moved and have a normal teenage hiccup will lead to parents blaming redistricting.
I agree with the underlined part.
An interesting side note, every year, including this one, there are multiple discussions on our town Facebook page over whether AAP kids should attend the center middle school at the bext school over (very similar except it is a 7th-12th secondary school) or remain at the Local Level 4 middle school and continue to our neighborhood high school.
There are always dozens and dozens of parents posting how it is soooo easy socially to transition between the secondary AAP program and the stand alone middle school/high school, because the kids all know lots of kids at both schools (true even for non AAP kids at both schools) and because there is so much overlap between all 3 schools through community events, sports, scouts, performing arts, etc.
The same statements are made every year when this topic comes up. I completely agree that the school communities do overlap quite a bit, especially through sports and activities. The kids at the middle school, secondary and high school all know mamy kids from each pyramid.
But the neighborhood that is getting rezoned to that secondary school is flipping out and claiming the opposite is true, as the main argument against their split feeder being eliminated.
It is kind of interesting to see those completely opposite arguments playing out online simultaneously.
Sounds like you’re fine with other kids getting moved from West Springfield to Lake Braddock, so long as they aren’t your kids. This is the consistent theme - other kids can cope, but leave mine alone.
Every year the AAP question comes up. And every year, the overwhelming response is that either option is great because the kids have tons of friends at each of the 3 schools, and there is so much social and community overlap between the schools.
These discussions have been going on with the exact same comments since AAP was added to Irving over 10 years ago. The discussion is always the same each year, that the schools are very close socially so attending either school or both schools is really easy socially.
It is just interesting to see that annual Irving/WSHS/LBSS discussion occur under the context of the rezoning fight, when the main arguments against rezoning to Lake Braddock with most of their classmates and friends, are the complete opposite to the common knowledge and experiences expressed each year in the community at large and the annual online middle school AAP discussions.
Even if you are completely against rezoning, it is impossible not to see rhe irony of these two very contradictory positions, occuring simultaneously under the shadow of rezoning.
It's a different calculus when you're talking about effectively forcing some kids already in high school to switch schools. Do you really not see that? Or are they useful sacrificial lambs across the county, as long as you're not redistricted to Lewis?
They are not forcing kids to move if they have started HS.
Learn to read. They are effectively forcing kids whose families can't arrange for their transportation (and there are more of these families than they acknowledge) to switch schools starting next fall. Including HS kids.
Most if not all of the kids in that WSHS/LB neighborhood have their own cars or friends with cars, or a parent who can transport them.
It is a fairly affluent area
My son is a ninth grader who may be rezoned. His father and I both work full-time jobs that require us to be in the office 5 days a week. He does not drive, nor do I plan on getting him a car. None of his friends drive because they are in ninth grade and will be taking the bus. He wants to stay at his current school, with his current friends, and stay in his current sports teams. We are a real family who will be impacted by this. Please keep your 'opinions' about who is affluent enough to make this work to yourself.
We are in the same boat. I assume many families are. You can call the WSHS neighborhood “affluent”, but many are two income households who are most likely military, federal govt, teachers, etc.
Almost no seniors ride the busses to WSHS. They either drive, or ride with friends.
Not at WSHS, but I believe this to be true. But, "almost no seniors" is not "no seniors." And, WSHS does not have a large impoverished population and its boundaries are not that large.
The only seniors am aware of who rode the bus at WSHS are the ones whose parents are punishing them by taking away the keys for things like getting a speeding ticket or some other big infraction.
All the others drive, walk, or ride with friends.
And, you know all the seniors?
Of course she doesn’t. Perhaps she doesn’t want to jeopardize grandfathering for her own kids, who’ll apparently have no problem arranging for transportation. Screw those less fortunate.
Agreed (well maybe not on the first part because I don't know that posters situation)
I think the big point here is that the school board and administration should have come to the table with potential solutions for kids...as opposed to saying 'the rich kids will take care of the poor ones'. None of boundary process has been thought out, and none of this has been done in truly fair and equitable way, based on facts.
+1. Neighbors are fighting each other completely unnecessarily. Everyone is trying to protect what they believe is right for their families, and the process from start to finish was filled with misinformation, distorting of facts, a sham community feedback process, and now no solutions for effected children.
They should have looked at the schools that were overcrowded and the capacity around them and redrawn te boundaries only for those schools. The solution is that everyone moves, except for rising Juniors and Seniors in HS. It is painful but it is a large group moving at once and it is done.
The process is made worse by adding in IB schools when families don’t want IB and the counties unwillingness to add AP at every school. If enough kids want IB, they will sign up for the classes. If not, then get rid of the program.
No one wants to move, it will be more problematic for some kids then others. It should not be a problem for any rising Freshman because they don’t have ties to the school and have not started making progress at school. They will be joining a new community with every other 9th grader and will be fine. The ones who are not have parents that are strangely invested in a particular HS.
That doesn't quite work for children at middle schools moving to secondary schools. Your arguments always seem to start out fine until you start making assumptions about actual students.
My assumption is that the vast majority of kids will be fine if they move schools regardless of the grade because kids move on a regular basis and the majority of the ones who move are fine. Yes, it sucks but the vast majority of kids find new friends, get involved in programs that they like, and do well in school. They go on to college or into a trade that they like. They are successful human beings.
Moving with your entire grade at the same time is not trauma inducing except for a small percentage with specific mental/emotional issues. Parents are arguing that moving is going to cause a massive mental health crisis for the kids changing schools when kids move all the time and are fine. You are moving with kids you know, as a group into a school. The schools know the kids are coming and will be prepared to help them adapt.
I get that people don’t like change, very few people do. Humans are resilient. The kids who struggle with this are going to be kids with diagnosable mental health conditions and kids whose parents are making this into some massive awful change.
I sincerely hope that FCPS f’s with your kids at some point, just so I can repost the crap you just wrote and address it to your family
You are a bad person.
My kid is moving. He will be fine.
You hope. But boy, if not, it’ll be just desserts for the person who doesn’t care about other kids.
Or who has more faith in kids resiliency and thinks that they will be fine at the schools that they move to then you do.
If the kid has active parents then they will have a strong chance of succeeding at any school in FCPS.
If this is how you think, you should want FCPS drawing boundaries for the new Western HS now, and making attendance at that school for rising 9th to 11th graders mandatory.
None of this opt-in, opt-out nonsense with boundaries announced in mid-2026. After all, the kids would all be newcomers to Western, so they should be the most accepting of the new assignment.
Instead, we get options up the wazoo for these families in western Fairfax, while kids getting redistricted elsewhere to existing schools where they may arrive as outsiders aren't even assured transportation to their current schools.
My name suggestion for the school was “draw the Boundaries and then Name the School” High School. The boundaries should be set first then worry about redistricting the rest of the county. the school board mucked that up badly.
As for the partial opening, that is what they did for South County and Westfield. You bring in 9th and 10th graders and add from there. They should draw the boundaries and have the 9th and 10th graders attend. What do you want me to do about that? I have emailed my school board rep and the superintendent and I have attended meetings. I have had as much success there as everyone else.
You act like this is a personal attack on you. It’s not. Schools are overcrowded and kids need to be moved to other schools. Change is hard but calling people names and wishing ill on them because they don’t share your opinion is not a good look. I am sorry that your house is in an area that is going to be moved. Your kid will do better with the move if you make it less of an issue and focus on why they will succeed at whatever school they attend.
What’s actually odder is how you seem to think everyone is looking to you as some authoritative expert to decide what is or isn’t acceptable.
We’re all entitled to our opinions and, whether you like it or not, many of us are not happy with the hypocrisy of a School Board that’s ready to drop over $200 million on a new high school with what increasingly appears to have been minimal due diligence, while telling others who’ll derive no benefit from that school that money is tight and they can’t possibly find $10 million or so to provide transportation to their current schools if they are among those unlucky enough to be redistricted (because they weren’t as powerful and noisy as others).
We will not forget what Reid and this School Board are doing to FCPS.
DP. You probably already know this, but the “we” you are referring to who are so mad right now probably isn’t nearly a big enough group of people for anything to meaningfully change in terms of who is running FCPS.
DP. The furious “we” are going to be a real political problem for current school board members running again in 2027.
DP. You probably already know this, but the “we” you are referring to who are so mad right now probably isn’t nearly a big enough group of people for anything to meaningfully change in terms of who is running FCPS.
This is far from the first rodeo with the School Board. "We" say this every time and every single time the sheep vote for the same ilk.
We need responsible people to step up. They hired Reid and they have made a mess of the boundary study and the purchase of the school (which I strongly support--it is needed). However, the roll out of the school has been awful and led to some of the objections. Reid wanted a "model" program instead of a school for the students in the area. Stalling on the boundaries is extremely puzzling--especially in light of the boundary study. People need certainty. Opting in when you don't know if you will be entitled to be "in" is crazy.
We need a School Board and a Superintendent with common sense. There are a couple of people on the School Board who may have some. Dunne has shown some glimpses. R. Anderson has shown quite a bit of common sense. Sometimes, McElveen, Moon, and, even McDaniel show a little. I think Dixit may have some, too. Meren asks good, hard questions, but cannot seem to bend. There are a couple of vocal ones who seem to think they are always right and cool. And, there is one who is clueless and makes no sense at all. Interesting group.
But, this will be over and we will have another election and there will still be a SB like this one--faces may be different, but results will be similar.
Anonymous wrote:We voted these clowns in. The very clowns who decided to jam us with an unnecessary comprehensive boundary study resulting in thousands of our kids suffering mental health trauma being forced to move schools, with the only justification that we hadn’t done it in 40 years (which is misleading in and of itself).
We all need to remember how they gave little thought to how to implement these changes and have really set the county back and wasted so much of FCPS employee time and resources on an unnecessary course with only negative outcomes. They could have actually tried to improve the school experience, but instead just wasted their time for years at this point shuffling our kids around like pawns.
Screw them.
The kids are moving with all of their classmates from ES, they know kids at the new school through that grouping. They probably know other kids at the new school through activities. They will be fine. Kids move every year for family reasons, jobs, changing houses, and the like. The vast majority are just fine. Moving with a hundred or so kids that you know from ES is not traumatic. And kids in their HSs right now won’t have to move.
I suspect that the kids who will struggle are the kids of parents who are flipping out. Or that the kids who are moved and have a normal teenage hiccup will lead to parents blaming redistricting.
I agree with the underlined part.
An interesting side note, every year, including this one, there are multiple discussions on our town Facebook page over whether AAP kids should attend the center middle school at the bext school over (very similar except it is a 7th-12th secondary school) or remain at the Local Level 4 middle school and continue to our neighborhood high school.
There are always dozens and dozens of parents posting how it is soooo easy socially to transition between the secondary AAP program and the stand alone middle school/high school, because the kids all know lots of kids at both schools (true even for non AAP kids at both schools) and because there is so much overlap between all 3 schools through community events, sports, scouts, performing arts, etc.
The same statements are made every year when this topic comes up. I completely agree that the school communities do overlap quite a bit, especially through sports and activities. The kids at the middle school, secondary and high school all know mamy kids from each pyramid.
But the neighborhood that is getting rezoned to that secondary school is flipping out and claiming the opposite is true, as the main argument against their split feeder being eliminated.
It is kind of interesting to see those completely opposite arguments playing out online simultaneously.
Sounds like you’re fine with other kids getting moved from West Springfield to Lake Braddock, so long as they aren’t your kids. This is the consistent theme - other kids can cope, but leave mine alone.
Every year the AAP question comes up. And every year, the overwhelming response is that either option is great because the kids have tons of friends at each of the 3 schools, and there is so much social and community overlap between the schools.
These discussions have been going on with the exact same comments since AAP was added to Irving over 10 years ago. The discussion is always the same each year, that the schools are very close socially so attending either school or both schools is really easy socially.
It is just interesting to see that annual Irving/WSHS/LBSS discussion occur under the context of the rezoning fight, when the main arguments against rezoning to Lake Braddock with most of their classmates and friends, are the complete opposite to the common knowledge and experiences expressed each year in the community at large and the annual online middle school AAP discussions.
Even if you are completely against rezoning, it is impossible not to see rhe irony of these two very contradictory positions, occuring simultaneously under the shadow of rezoning.
It's a different calculus when you're talking about effectively forcing some kids already in high school to switch schools. Do you really not see that? Or are they useful sacrificial lambs across the county, as long as you're not redistricted to Lewis?
They are not forcing kids to move if they have started HS.
Learn to read. They are effectively forcing kids whose families can't arrange for their transportation (and there are more of these families than they acknowledge) to switch schools starting next fall. Including HS kids.
Most if not all of the kids in that WSHS/LB neighborhood have their own cars or friends with cars, or a parent who can transport them.
It is a fairly affluent area
My son is a ninth grader who may be rezoned. His father and I both work full-time jobs that require us to be in the office 5 days a week. He does not drive, nor do I plan on getting him a car. None of his friends drive because they are in ninth grade and will be taking the bus. He wants to stay at his current school, with his current friends, and stay in his current sports teams. We are a real family who will be impacted by this. Please keep your 'opinions' about who is affluent enough to make this work to yourself.
We are in the same boat. I assume many families are. You can call the WSHS neighborhood “affluent”, but many are two income households who are most likely military, federal govt, teachers, etc.
Almost no seniors ride the busses to WSHS. They either drive, or ride with friends.
Not at WSHS, but I believe this to be true. But, "almost no seniors" is not "no seniors." And, WSHS does not have a large impoverished population and its boundaries are not that large.
The only seniors am aware of who rode the bus at WSHS are the ones whose parents are punishing them by taking away the keys for things like getting a speeding ticket or some other big infraction.
All the others drive, walk, or ride with friends.
And, you know all the seniors?
Of course she doesn’t. Perhaps she doesn’t want to jeopardize grandfathering for her own kids, who’ll apparently have no problem arranging for transportation. Screw those less fortunate.
Agreed (well maybe not on the first part because I don't know that posters situation)
I think the big point here is that the school board and administration should have come to the table with potential solutions for kids...as opposed to saying 'the rich kids will take care of the poor ones'. None of boundary process has been thought out, and none of this has been done in truly fair and equitable way, based on facts.
+1. Neighbors are fighting each other completely unnecessarily. Everyone is trying to protect what they believe is right for their families, and the process from start to finish was filled with misinformation, distorting of facts, a sham community feedback process, and now no solutions for effected children.
They should have looked at the schools that were overcrowded and the capacity around them and redrawn te boundaries only for those schools. The solution is that everyone moves, except for rising Juniors and Seniors in HS. It is painful but it is a large group moving at once and it is done.
The process is made worse by adding in IB schools when families don’t want IB and the counties unwillingness to add AP at every school. If enough kids want IB, they will sign up for the classes. If not, then get rid of the program.
No one wants to move, it will be more problematic for some kids then others. It should not be a problem for any rising Freshman because they don’t have ties to the school and have not started making progress at school. They will be joining a new community with every other 9th grader and will be fine. The ones who are not have parents that are strangely invested in a particular HS.
That doesn't quite work for children at middle schools moving to secondary schools. Your arguments always seem to start out fine until you start making assumptions about actual students.
My assumption is that the vast majority of kids will be fine if they move schools regardless of the grade because kids move on a regular basis and the majority of the ones who move are fine. Yes, it sucks but the vast majority of kids find new friends, get involved in programs that they like, and do well in school. They go on to college or into a trade that they like. They are successful human beings.
Moving with your entire grade at the same time is not trauma inducing except for a small percentage with specific mental/emotional issues. Parents are arguing that moving is going to cause a massive mental health crisis for the kids changing schools when kids move all the time and are fine. You are moving with kids you know, as a group into a school. The schools know the kids are coming and will be prepared to help them adapt.
I get that people don’t like change, very few people do. Humans are resilient. The kids who struggle with this are going to be kids with diagnosable mental health conditions and kids whose parents are making this into some massive awful change.
I sincerely hope that FCPS f’s with your kids at some point, just so I can repost the crap you just wrote and address it to your family
You are a bad person.
My kid is moving. He will be fine.
You hope. But boy, if not, it’ll be just desserts for the person who doesn’t care about other kids.
Or who has more faith in kids resiliency and thinks that they will be fine at the schools that they move to then you do.
If the kid has active parents then they will have a strong chance of succeeding at any school in FCPS.
If this is how you think, you should want FCPS drawing boundaries for the new Western HS now, and making attendance at that school for rising 9th to 11th graders mandatory.
None of this opt-in, opt-out nonsense with boundaries announced in mid-2026. After all, the kids would all be newcomers to Western, so they should be the most accepting of the new assignment.
Instead, we get options up the wazoo for these families in western Fairfax, while kids getting redistricted elsewhere to existing schools where they may arrive as outsiders aren't even assured transportation to their current schools.
My name suggestion for the school was “draw the Boundaries and then Name the School” High School. The boundaries should be set first then worry about redistricting the rest of the county. the school board mucked that up badly.
As for the partial opening, that is what they did for South County and Westfield. You bring in 9th and 10th graders and add from there. They should draw the boundaries and have the 9th and 10th graders attend. What do you want me to do about that? I have emailed my school board rep and the superintendent and I have attended meetings. I have had as much success there as everyone else.
You act like this is a personal attack on you. It’s not. Schools are overcrowded and kids need to be moved to other schools. Change is hard but calling people names and wishing ill on them because they don’t share your opinion is not a good look. I am sorry that your house is in an area that is going to be moved. Your kid will do better with the move if you make it less of an issue and focus on why they will succeed at whatever school they attend.
What’s actually odder is how you seem to think everyone is looking to you as some authoritative expert to decide what is or isn’t acceptable.
We’re all entitled to our opinions and, whether you like it or not, many of us are not happy with the hypocrisy of a School Board that’s ready to drop over $200 million on a new high school with what increasingly appears to have been minimal due diligence, while telling others who’ll derive no benefit from that school that money is tight and they can’t possibly find $10 million or so to provide transportation to their current schools if they are among those unlucky enough to be redistricted (because they weren’t as powerful and noisy as others).
We will not forget what Reid and this School Board are doing to FCPS.
DP. You probably already know this, but the “we” you are referring to who are so mad right now probably isn’t nearly a big enough group of people for anything to meaningfully change in terms of who is running FCPS.
I think that there is actually a much larger group of Fairfax parents who are growing tired of the antics of this school board. I'm not talking the republican minority, but liberal democrats (like myself) who started paying far more attention because of the boundary process. 2027 isn't too far away, and folks will absolutely remember this clown show of a process.
Anonymous wrote:We voted these clowns in. The very clowns who decided to jam us with an unnecessary comprehensive boundary study resulting in thousands of our kids suffering mental health trauma being forced to move schools, with the only justification that we hadn’t done it in 40 years (which is misleading in and of itself).
We all need to remember how they gave little thought to how to implement these changes and have really set the county back and wasted so much of FCPS employee time and resources on an unnecessary course with only negative outcomes. They could have actually tried to improve the school experience, but instead just wasted their time for years at this point shuffling our kids around like pawns.
Screw them.
The kids are moving with all of their classmates from ES, they know kids at the new school through that grouping. They probably know other kids at the new school through activities. They will be fine. Kids move every year for family reasons, jobs, changing houses, and the like. The vast majority are just fine. Moving with a hundred or so kids that you know from ES is not traumatic. And kids in their HSs right now won’t have to move.
I suspect that the kids who will struggle are the kids of parents who are flipping out. Or that the kids who are moved and have a normal teenage hiccup will lead to parents blaming redistricting.
I agree with the underlined part.
An interesting side note, every year, including this one, there are multiple discussions on our town Facebook page over whether AAP kids should attend the center middle school at the bext school over (very similar except it is a 7th-12th secondary school) or remain at the Local Level 4 middle school and continue to our neighborhood high school.
There are always dozens and dozens of parents posting how it is soooo easy socially to transition between the secondary AAP program and the stand alone middle school/high school, because the kids all know lots of kids at both schools (true even for non AAP kids at both schools) and because there is so much overlap between all 3 schools through community events, sports, scouts, performing arts, etc.
The same statements are made every year when this topic comes up. I completely agree that the school communities do overlap quite a bit, especially through sports and activities. The kids at the middle school, secondary and high school all know mamy kids from each pyramid.
But the neighborhood that is getting rezoned to that secondary school is flipping out and claiming the opposite is true, as the main argument against their split feeder being eliminated.
It is kind of interesting to see those completely opposite arguments playing out online simultaneously.
Sounds like you’re fine with other kids getting moved from West Springfield to Lake Braddock, so long as they aren’t your kids. This is the consistent theme - other kids can cope, but leave mine alone.
Every year the AAP question comes up. And every year, the overwhelming response is that either option is great because the kids have tons of friends at each of the 3 schools, and there is so much social and community overlap between the schools.
These discussions have been going on with the exact same comments since AAP was added to Irving over 10 years ago. The discussion is always the same each year, that the schools are very close socially so attending either school or both schools is really easy socially.
It is just interesting to see that annual Irving/WSHS/LBSS discussion occur under the context of the rezoning fight, when the main arguments against rezoning to Lake Braddock with most of their classmates and friends, are the complete opposite to the common knowledge and experiences expressed each year in the community at large and the annual online middle school AAP discussions.
Even if you are completely against rezoning, it is impossible not to see rhe irony of these two very contradictory positions, occuring simultaneously under the shadow of rezoning.
It's a different calculus when you're talking about effectively forcing some kids already in high school to switch schools. Do you really not see that? Or are they useful sacrificial lambs across the county, as long as you're not redistricted to Lewis?
They are not forcing kids to move if they have started HS.
Learn to read. They are effectively forcing kids whose families can't arrange for their transportation (and there are more of these families than they acknowledge) to switch schools starting next fall. Including HS kids.
Most if not all of the kids in that WSHS/LB neighborhood have their own cars or friends with cars, or a parent who can transport them.
It is a fairly affluent area
My son is a ninth grader who may be rezoned. His father and I both work full-time jobs that require us to be in the office 5 days a week. He does not drive, nor do I plan on getting him a car. None of his friends drive because they are in ninth grade and will be taking the bus. He wants to stay at his current school, with his current friends, and stay in his current sports teams. We are a real family who will be impacted by this. Please keep your 'opinions' about who is affluent enough to make this work to yourself.
We are in the same boat. I assume many families are. You can call the WSHS neighborhood “affluent”, but many are two income households who are most likely military, federal govt, teachers, etc.
Almost no seniors ride the busses to WSHS. They either drive, or ride with friends.
Not at WSHS, but I believe this to be true. But, "almost no seniors" is not "no seniors." And, WSHS does not have a large impoverished population and its boundaries are not that large.
The only seniors am aware of who rode the bus at WSHS are the ones whose parents are punishing them by taking away the keys for things like getting a speeding ticket or some other big infraction.
All the others drive, walk, or ride with friends.
And, you know all the seniors?
Of course she doesn’t. Perhaps she doesn’t want to jeopardize grandfathering for her own kids, who’ll apparently have no problem arranging for transportation. Screw those less fortunate.
Agreed (well maybe not on the first part because I don't know that posters situation)
I think the big point here is that the school board and administration should have come to the table with potential solutions for kids...as opposed to saying 'the rich kids will take care of the poor ones'. None of boundary process has been thought out, and none of this has been done in truly fair and equitable way, based on facts.
+1. Neighbors are fighting each other completely unnecessarily. Everyone is trying to protect what they believe is right for their families, and the process from start to finish was filled with misinformation, distorting of facts, a sham community feedback process, and now no solutions for effected children.
They should have looked at the schools that were overcrowded and the capacity around them and redrawn te boundaries only for those schools. The solution is that everyone moves, except for rising Juniors and Seniors in HS. It is painful but it is a large group moving at once and it is done.
The process is made worse by adding in IB schools when families don’t want IB and the counties unwillingness to add AP at every school. If enough kids want IB, they will sign up for the classes. If not, then get rid of the program.
No one wants to move, it will be more problematic for some kids then others. It should not be a problem for any rising Freshman because they don’t have ties to the school and have not started making progress at school. They will be joining a new community with every other 9th grader and will be fine. The ones who are not have parents that are strangely invested in a particular HS.
That doesn't quite work for children at middle schools moving to secondary schools. Your arguments always seem to start out fine until you start making assumptions about actual students.
My assumption is that the vast majority of kids will be fine if they move schools regardless of the grade because kids move on a regular basis and the majority of the ones who move are fine. Yes, it sucks but the vast majority of kids find new friends, get involved in programs that they like, and do well in school. They go on to college or into a trade that they like. They are successful human beings.
Moving with your entire grade at the same time is not trauma inducing except for a small percentage with specific mental/emotional issues. Parents are arguing that moving is going to cause a massive mental health crisis for the kids changing schools when kids move all the time and are fine. You are moving with kids you know, as a group into a school. The schools know the kids are coming and will be prepared to help them adapt.
I get that people don’t like change, very few people do. Humans are resilient. The kids who struggle with this are going to be kids with diagnosable mental health conditions and kids whose parents are making this into some massive awful change.
I sincerely hope that FCPS f’s with your kids at some point, just so I can repost the crap you just wrote and address it to your family
You are a bad person.
My kid is moving. He will be fine.
You hope. But boy, if not, it’ll be just desserts for the person who doesn’t care about other kids.
Or who has more faith in kids resiliency and thinks that they will be fine at the schools that they move to then you do.
If the kid has active parents then they will have a strong chance of succeeding at any school in FCPS.
If this is how you think, you should want FCPS drawing boundaries for the new Western HS now, and making attendance at that school for rising 9th to 11th graders mandatory.
None of this opt-in, opt-out nonsense with boundaries announced in mid-2026. After all, the kids would all be newcomers to Western, so they should be the most accepting of the new assignment.
Instead, we get options up the wazoo for these families in western Fairfax, while kids getting redistricted elsewhere to existing schools where they may arrive as outsiders aren't even assured transportation to their current schools.
My name suggestion for the school was “draw the Boundaries and then Name the School” High School. The boundaries should be set first then worry about redistricting the rest of the county. the school board mucked that up badly.
As for the partial opening, that is what they did for South County and Westfield. You bring in 9th and 10th graders and add from there. They should draw the boundaries and have the 9th and 10th graders attend. What do you want me to do about that? I have emailed my school board rep and the superintendent and I have attended meetings. I have had as much success there as everyone else.
You act like this is a personal attack on you. It’s not. Schools are overcrowded and kids need to be moved to other schools. Change is hard but calling people names and wishing ill on them because they don’t share your opinion is not a good look. I am sorry that your house is in an area that is going to be moved. Your kid will do better with the move if you make it less of an issue and focus on why they will succeed at whatever school they attend.
What’s actually odder is how you seem to think everyone is looking to you as some authoritative expert to decide what is or isn’t acceptable.
We’re all entitled to our opinions and, whether you like it or not, many of us are not happy with the hypocrisy of a School Board that’s ready to drop over $200 million on a new high school with what increasingly appears to have been minimal due diligence, while telling others who’ll derive no benefit from that school that money is tight and they can’t possibly find $10 million or so to provide transportation to their current schools if they are among those unlucky enough to be redistricted (because they weren’t as powerful and noisy as others).
We will not forget what Reid and this School Board are doing to FCPS.
DP. You probably already know this, but the “we” you are referring to who are so mad right now probably isn’t nearly a big enough group of people for anything to meaningfully change in terms of who is running FCPS.
I think that there is actually a much larger group of Fairfax parents who are growing tired of the antics of this school board. I'm not talking the republican minority, but liberal democrats (like myself) who started paying far more attention because of the boundary process. 2027 isn't too far away, and folks will absolutely remember this clown show of a process.
That is likely true. However, the vast majority of voters are clueless about the School Board. My kids are grown, but I've watched carefully for years because I was a teacher and it interests me. I've seen groups that were not so good, but this one wins the "not so good" prize. They could start by hiring a new superintendent.
Anonymous wrote:We voted these clowns in. The very clowns who decided to jam us with an unnecessary comprehensive boundary study resulting in thousands of our kids suffering mental health trauma being forced to move schools, with the only justification that we hadn’t done it in 40 years (which is misleading in and of itself).
We all need to remember how they gave little thought to how to implement these changes and have really set the county back and wasted so much of FCPS employee time and resources on an unnecessary course with only negative outcomes. They could have actually tried to improve the school experience, but instead just wasted their time for years at this point shuffling our kids around like pawns.
Screw them.
The kids are moving with all of their classmates from ES, they know kids at the new school through that grouping. They probably know other kids at the new school through activities. They will be fine. Kids move every year for family reasons, jobs, changing houses, and the like. The vast majority are just fine. Moving with a hundred or so kids that you know from ES is not traumatic. And kids in their HSs right now won’t have to move.
I suspect that the kids who will struggle are the kids of parents who are flipping out. Or that the kids who are moved and have a normal teenage hiccup will lead to parents blaming redistricting.
I agree with the underlined part.
An interesting side note, every year, including this one, there are multiple discussions on our town Facebook page over whether AAP kids should attend the center middle school at the bext school over (very similar except it is a 7th-12th secondary school) or remain at the Local Level 4 middle school and continue to our neighborhood high school.
There are always dozens and dozens of parents posting how it is soooo easy socially to transition between the secondary AAP program and the stand alone middle school/high school, because the kids all know lots of kids at both schools (true even for non AAP kids at both schools) and because there is so much overlap between all 3 schools through community events, sports, scouts, performing arts, etc.
The same statements are made every year when this topic comes up. I completely agree that the school communities do overlap quite a bit, especially through sports and activities. The kids at the middle school, secondary and high school all know mamy kids from each pyramid.
But the neighborhood that is getting rezoned to that secondary school is flipping out and claiming the opposite is true, as the main argument against their split feeder being eliminated.
It is kind of interesting to see those completely opposite arguments playing out online simultaneously.
Sounds like you’re fine with other kids getting moved from West Springfield to Lake Braddock, so long as they aren’t your kids. This is the consistent theme - other kids can cope, but leave mine alone.
Every year the AAP question comes up. And every year, the overwhelming response is that either option is great because the kids have tons of friends at each of the 3 schools, and there is so much social and community overlap between the schools.
These discussions have been going on with the exact same comments since AAP was added to Irving over 10 years ago. The discussion is always the same each year, that the schools are very close socially so attending either school or both schools is really easy socially.
It is just interesting to see that annual Irving/WSHS/LBSS discussion occur under the context of the rezoning fight, when the main arguments against rezoning to Lake Braddock with most of their classmates and friends, are the complete opposite to the common knowledge and experiences expressed each year in the community at large and the annual online middle school AAP discussions.
Even if you are completely against rezoning, it is impossible not to see rhe irony of these two very contradictory positions, occuring simultaneously under the shadow of rezoning.
It's a different calculus when you're talking about effectively forcing some kids already in high school to switch schools. Do you really not see that? Or are they useful sacrificial lambs across the county, as long as you're not redistricted to Lewis?
They are not forcing kids to move if they have started HS.
Learn to read. They are effectively forcing kids whose families can't arrange for their transportation (and there are more of these families than they acknowledge) to switch schools starting next fall. Including HS kids.
Most if not all of the kids in that WSHS/LB neighborhood have their own cars or friends with cars, or a parent who can transport them.
It is a fairly affluent area
My son is a ninth grader who may be rezoned. His father and I both work full-time jobs that require us to be in the office 5 days a week. He does not drive, nor do I plan on getting him a car. None of his friends drive because they are in ninth grade and will be taking the bus. He wants to stay at his current school, with his current friends, and stay in his current sports teams. We are a real family who will be impacted by this. Please keep your 'opinions' about who is affluent enough to make this work to yourself.
We are in the same boat. I assume many families are. You can call the WSHS neighborhood “affluent”, but many are two income households who are most likely military, federal govt, teachers, etc.
Almost no seniors ride the busses to WSHS. They either drive, or ride with friends.
Not at WSHS, but I believe this to be true. But, "almost no seniors" is not "no seniors." And, WSHS does not have a large impoverished population and its boundaries are not that large.
The only seniors am aware of who rode the bus at WSHS are the ones whose parents are punishing them by taking away the keys for things like getting a speeding ticket or some other big infraction.
All the others drive, walk, or ride with friends.
And, you know all the seniors?
Of course she doesn’t. Perhaps she doesn’t want to jeopardize grandfathering for her own kids, who’ll apparently have no problem arranging for transportation. Screw those less fortunate.
Agreed (well maybe not on the first part because I don't know that posters situation)
I think the big point here is that the school board and administration should have come to the table with potential solutions for kids...as opposed to saying 'the rich kids will take care of the poor ones'. None of boundary process has been thought out, and none of this has been done in truly fair and equitable way, based on facts.
+1. Neighbors are fighting each other completely unnecessarily. Everyone is trying to protect what they believe is right for their families, and the process from start to finish was filled with misinformation, distorting of facts, a sham community feedback process, and now no solutions for effected children.
They should have looked at the schools that were overcrowded and the capacity around them and redrawn te boundaries only for those schools. The solution is that everyone moves, except for rising Juniors and Seniors in HS. It is painful but it is a large group moving at once and it is done.
The process is made worse by adding in IB schools when families don’t want IB and the counties unwillingness to add AP at every school. If enough kids want IB, they will sign up for the classes. If not, then get rid of the program.
No one wants to move, it will be more problematic for some kids then others. It should not be a problem for any rising Freshman because they don’t have ties to the school and have not started making progress at school. They will be joining a new community with every other 9th grader and will be fine. The ones who are not have parents that are strangely invested in a particular HS.
That doesn't quite work for children at middle schools moving to secondary schools. Your arguments always seem to start out fine until you start making assumptions about actual students.
My assumption is that the vast majority of kids will be fine if they move schools regardless of the grade because kids move on a regular basis and the majority of the ones who move are fine. Yes, it sucks but the vast majority of kids find new friends, get involved in programs that they like, and do well in school. They go on to college or into a trade that they like. They are successful human beings.
Moving with your entire grade at the same time is not trauma inducing except for a small percentage with specific mental/emotional issues. Parents are arguing that moving is going to cause a massive mental health crisis for the kids changing schools when kids move all the time and are fine. You are moving with kids you know, as a group into a school. The schools know the kids are coming and will be prepared to help them adapt.
I get that people don’t like change, very few people do. Humans are resilient. The kids who struggle with this are going to be kids with diagnosable mental health conditions and kids whose parents are making this into some massive awful change.
I sincerely hope that FCPS f’s with your kids at some point, just so I can repost the crap you just wrote and address it to your family
You are a bad person.
My kid is moving. He will be fine.
You hope. But boy, if not, it’ll be just desserts for the person who doesn’t care about other kids.
Or who has more faith in kids resiliency and thinks that they will be fine at the schools that they move to then you do.
If the kid has active parents then they will have a strong chance of succeeding at any school in FCPS.
If this is how you think, you should want FCPS drawing boundaries for the new Western HS now, and making attendance at that school for rising 9th to 11th graders mandatory.
None of this opt-in, opt-out nonsense with boundaries announced in mid-2026. After all, the kids would all be newcomers to Western, so they should be the most accepting of the new assignment.
Instead, we get options up the wazoo for these families in western Fairfax, while kids getting redistricted elsewhere to existing schools where they may arrive as outsiders aren't even assured transportation to their current schools.
My name suggestion for the school was “draw the Boundaries and then Name the School” High School. The boundaries should be set first then worry about redistricting the rest of the county. the school board mucked that up badly.
As for the partial opening, that is what they did for South County and Westfield. You bring in 9th and 10th graders and add from there. They should draw the boundaries and have the 9th and 10th graders attend. What do you want me to do about that? I have emailed my school board rep and the superintendent and I have attended meetings. I have had as much success there as everyone else.
You act like this is a personal attack on you. It’s not. Schools are overcrowded and kids need to be moved to other schools. Change is hard but calling people names and wishing ill on them because they don’t share your opinion is not a good look. I am sorry that your house is in an area that is going to be moved. Your kid will do better with the move if you make it less of an issue and focus on why they will succeed at whatever school they attend.
What’s actually odder is how you seem to think everyone is looking to you as some authoritative expert to decide what is or isn’t acceptable.
We’re all entitled to our opinions and, whether you like it or not, many of us are not happy with the hypocrisy of a School Board that’s ready to drop over $200 million on a new high school with what increasingly appears to have been minimal due diligence, while telling others who’ll derive no benefit from that school that money is tight and they can’t possibly find $10 million or so to provide transportation to their current schools if they are among those unlucky enough to be redistricted (because they weren’t as powerful and noisy as others).
We will not forget what Reid and this School Board are doing to FCPS.
DP. You probably already know this, but the “we” you are referring to who are so mad right now probably isn’t nearly a big enough group of people for anything to meaningfully change in terms of who is running FCPS.
DP. The furious “we” are going to be a real political problem for current school board members running again in 2027.
Anonymous wrote:We voted these clowns in. The very clowns who decided to jam us with an unnecessary comprehensive boundary study resulting in thousands of our kids suffering mental health trauma being forced to move schools, with the only justification that we hadn’t done it in 40 years (which is misleading in and of itself).
We all need to remember how they gave little thought to how to implement these changes and have really set the county back and wasted so much of FCPS employee time and resources on an unnecessary course with only negative outcomes. They could have actually tried to improve the school experience, but instead just wasted their time for years at this point shuffling our kids around like pawns.
Screw them.
The kids are moving with all of their classmates from ES, they know kids at the new school through that grouping. They probably know other kids at the new school through activities. They will be fine. Kids move every year for family reasons, jobs, changing houses, and the like. The vast majority are just fine. Moving with a hundred or so kids that you know from ES is not traumatic. And kids in their HSs right now won’t have to move.
I suspect that the kids who will struggle are the kids of parents who are flipping out. Or that the kids who are moved and have a normal teenage hiccup will lead to parents blaming redistricting.
I agree with the underlined part.
An interesting side note, every year, including this one, there are multiple discussions on our town Facebook page over whether AAP kids should attend the center middle school at the bext school over (very similar except it is a 7th-12th secondary school) or remain at the Local Level 4 middle school and continue to our neighborhood high school.
There are always dozens and dozens of parents posting how it is soooo easy socially to transition between the secondary AAP program and the stand alone middle school/high school, because the kids all know lots of kids at both schools (true even for non AAP kids at both schools) and because there is so much overlap between all 3 schools through community events, sports, scouts, performing arts, etc.
The same statements are made every year when this topic comes up. I completely agree that the school communities do overlap quite a bit, especially through sports and activities. The kids at the middle school, secondary and high school all know mamy kids from each pyramid.
But the neighborhood that is getting rezoned to that secondary school is flipping out and claiming the opposite is true, as the main argument against their split feeder being eliminated.
It is kind of interesting to see those completely opposite arguments playing out online simultaneously.
Sounds like you’re fine with other kids getting moved from West Springfield to Lake Braddock, so long as they aren’t your kids. This is the consistent theme - other kids can cope, but leave mine alone.
Every year the AAP question comes up. And every year, the overwhelming response is that either option is great because the kids have tons of friends at each of the 3 schools, and there is so much social and community overlap between the schools.
These discussions have been going on with the exact same comments since AAP was added to Irving over 10 years ago. The discussion is always the same each year, that the schools are very close socially so attending either school or both schools is really easy socially.
It is just interesting to see that annual Irving/WSHS/LBSS discussion occur under the context of the rezoning fight, when the main arguments against rezoning to Lake Braddock with most of their classmates and friends, are the complete opposite to the common knowledge and experiences expressed each year in the community at large and the annual online middle school AAP discussions.
Even if you are completely against rezoning, it is impossible not to see rhe irony of these two very contradictory positions, occuring simultaneously under the shadow of rezoning.
It's a different calculus when you're talking about effectively forcing some kids already in high school to switch schools. Do you really not see that? Or are they useful sacrificial lambs across the county, as long as you're not redistricted to Lewis?
They are not forcing kids to move if they have started HS.
Learn to read. They are effectively forcing kids whose families can't arrange for their transportation (and there are more of these families than they acknowledge) to switch schools starting next fall. Including HS kids.
Most if not all of the kids in that WSHS/LB neighborhood have their own cars or friends with cars, or a parent who can transport them.
It is a fairly affluent area
My son is a ninth grader who may be rezoned. His father and I both work full-time jobs that require us to be in the office 5 days a week. He does not drive, nor do I plan on getting him a car. None of his friends drive because they are in ninth grade and will be taking the bus. He wants to stay at his current school, with his current friends, and stay in his current sports teams. We are a real family who will be impacted by this. Please keep your 'opinions' about who is affluent enough to make this work to yourself.
We are in the same boat. I assume many families are. You can call the WSHS neighborhood “affluent”, but many are two income households who are most likely military, federal govt, teachers, etc.
Almost no seniors ride the busses to WSHS. They either drive, or ride with friends.
Not at WSHS, but I believe this to be true. But, "almost no seniors" is not "no seniors." And, WSHS does not have a large impoverished population and its boundaries are not that large.
The only seniors am aware of who rode the bus at WSHS are the ones whose parents are punishing them by taking away the keys for things like getting a speeding ticket or some other big infraction.
All the others drive, walk, or ride with friends.
And, you know all the seniors?
Of course she doesn’t. Perhaps she doesn’t want to jeopardize grandfathering for her own kids, who’ll apparently have no problem arranging for transportation. Screw those less fortunate.
Agreed (well maybe not on the first part because I don't know that posters situation)
I think the big point here is that the school board and administration should have come to the table with potential solutions for kids...as opposed to saying 'the rich kids will take care of the poor ones'. None of boundary process has been thought out, and none of this has been done in truly fair and equitable way, based on facts.
+1. Neighbors are fighting each other completely unnecessarily. Everyone is trying to protect what they believe is right for their families, and the process from start to finish was filled with misinformation, distorting of facts, a sham community feedback process, and now no solutions for effected children.
They should have looked at the schools that were overcrowded and the capacity around them and redrawn te boundaries only for those schools. The solution is that everyone moves, except for rising Juniors and Seniors in HS. It is painful but it is a large group moving at once and it is done.
The process is made worse by adding in IB schools when families don’t want IB and the counties unwillingness to add AP at every school. If enough kids want IB, they will sign up for the classes. If not, then get rid of the program.
No one wants to move, it will be more problematic for some kids then others. It should not be a problem for any rising Freshman because they don’t have ties to the school and have not started making progress at school. They will be joining a new community with every other 9th grader and will be fine. The ones who are not have parents that are strangely invested in a particular HS.
That doesn't quite work for children at middle schools moving to secondary schools. Your arguments always seem to start out fine until you start making assumptions about actual students.
My assumption is that the vast majority of kids will be fine if they move schools regardless of the grade because kids move on a regular basis and the majority of the ones who move are fine. Yes, it sucks but the vast majority of kids find new friends, get involved in programs that they like, and do well in school. They go on to college or into a trade that they like. They are successful human beings.
Moving with your entire grade at the same time is not trauma inducing except for a small percentage with specific mental/emotional issues. Parents are arguing that moving is going to cause a massive mental health crisis for the kids changing schools when kids move all the time and are fine. You are moving with kids you know, as a group into a school. The schools know the kids are coming and will be prepared to help them adapt.
I get that people don’t like change, very few people do. Humans are resilient. The kids who struggle with this are going to be kids with diagnosable mental health conditions and kids whose parents are making this into some massive awful change.
I sincerely hope that FCPS f’s with your kids at some point, just so I can repost the crap you just wrote and address it to your family
You are a bad person.
My kid is moving. He will be fine.
You hope. But boy, if not, it’ll be just desserts for the person who doesn’t care about other kids.
Or who has more faith in kids resiliency and thinks that they will be fine at the schools that they move to then you do.
If the kid has active parents then they will have a strong chance of succeeding at any school in FCPS.
If this is how you think, you should want FCPS drawing boundaries for the new Western HS now, and making attendance at that school for rising 9th to 11th graders mandatory.
None of this opt-in, opt-out nonsense with boundaries announced in mid-2026. After all, the kids would all be newcomers to Western, so they should be the most accepting of the new assignment.
Instead, we get options up the wazoo for these families in western Fairfax, while kids getting redistricted elsewhere to existing schools where they may arrive as outsiders aren't even assured transportation to their current schools.
My name suggestion for the school was “draw the Boundaries and then Name the School” High School. The boundaries should be set first then worry about redistricting the rest of the county. the school board mucked that up badly.
As for the partial opening, that is what they did for South County and Westfield. You bring in 9th and 10th graders and add from there. They should draw the boundaries and have the 9th and 10th graders attend. What do you want me to do about that? I have emailed my school board rep and the superintendent and I have attended meetings. I have had as much success there as everyone else.
You act like this is a personal attack on you. It’s not. Schools are overcrowded and kids need to be moved to other schools. Change is hard but calling people names and wishing ill on them because they don’t share your opinion is not a good look. I am sorry that your house is in an area that is going to be moved. Your kid will do better with the move if you make it less of an issue and focus on why they will succeed at whatever school they attend.
What’s actually odder is how you seem to think everyone is looking to you as some authoritative expert to decide what is or isn’t acceptable.
We’re all entitled to our opinions and, whether you like it or not, many of us are not happy with the hypocrisy of a School Board that’s ready to drop over $200 million on a new high school with what increasingly appears to have been minimal due diligence, while telling others who’ll derive no benefit from that school that money is tight and they can’t possibly find $10 million or so to provide transportation to their current schools if they are among those unlucky enough to be redistricted (because they weren’t as powerful and noisy as others).
We will not forget what Reid and this School Board are doing to FCPS.
DP. You probably already know this, but the “we” you are referring to who are so mad right now probably isn’t nearly a big enough group of people for anything to meaningfully change in terms of who is running FCPS.
DP. The furious “we” are going to be a real political problem for current school board members running again in 2027.
Nope. You're wrong.
Are you going to infiltrate the Fairfax Democratic Committee? If not, you won't get anywhere.
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