Future Western High School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents/Lower SES kids want to go to a higher SES/higher performing school for the exact same reason parents who can afford it buy in the Langley pyramid. Cohort. Higher SES schools have higher achievement, higher test scores, involved parents, highly educated parents, high expectations for college, and resources raised by parent groups. Langley provides so many advantages - not because of the admin/teachers/curriculum - but because of the community. Of course the parents living in Langley boundaries don't want that to change. And of course the parents living outside those boundaries want Langley to share the wealth.

It’s not an unreasonable expectation given the School Board has spent the past five years talking about equity and One Fairfax. It turns out they are totally full of shit, especially members like Corbett Sanders and Tholen.

So, it is clear what you mean by "share the wealth." You seem to think that the wealthier kids should be spread around in order to help the low income kids? That is essentially what you said. The school reflects the population.

ALL FCPS schools offer challenging classes. Please tell me a class that your child cannot get that he/she needs. I asked a similar question earlier. No one has come up with an example. Naturally, TJ should not be included here.

Oh, I am so sorry - I am the PP and must have been inarticulate. I don't propose bussing current Langley students to other schools - by "share the wealth" I am advocating that Langley open up opportunites to allow other students to attend. I would advocate for some boundary adjustments to relieve overcrowding at McLean/Marshall , but I would also advocate for a lottery - where kids from the lowest performing HS could elect to attend Langley and FCPS could run a bus depot system like they do for TJ. All by choice, not forced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The school reflects the population that attends the school when the boundaries are drawn and then adjusted over the years to ensure a particular demographic.

Or, when the boundary is logical due to geography and enrollment.

Hmm. That might be Chantilly. Certainly not Langley.

If you have a proposal for a better boundary that keeps Langley at a reasonable enrollment and materially increases diversity (or whatever other metric may be important), please share. But please also account for the other school boundary changes that would be needed to make that work too. If you look at where Langley is located -- and where the other high schools around Langley (i.e. McLean and Marshall) are located -- it is hard to see a reasonable way to fill Langley (it isn't even close to full now) without a large boundary and bussing someone a long distance.

I'm sure the boundaries could have been drawn to include some kids now at McLean, Marshall and/or South Lakes closer to Langley than the kids currently attending Langley from western Great Falls and selective single-family neighborhoods in Reston and Herndon also scoped into Langley's boundaries. And that it could be done in a way that would both add more diversity to Langley and reduce the county's current transportation expenses. But, of course, FCPS doesn't look at those scenarios, because the marching orders from Tholen were that no one currently at Langley should be moved to another pyramid, and that McLean was the only pyramid that should be considered for moving kids to Langley. And of course, even then, she waited until the last minute and moved more kids from single-family homes to Langley, and none of the Spring Hill kids in condos/apartments, even though they live closer to Langley than the kids she decided to move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents/Lower SES kids want to go to a higher SES/higher performing school for the exact same reason parents who can afford it buy in the Langley pyramid. Cohort. Higher SES schools have higher achievement, higher test scores, involved parents, highly educated parents, high expectations for college, and resources raised by parent groups. Langley provides so many advantages - not because of the admin/teachers/curriculum - but because of the community. Of course the parents living in Langley boundaries don't want that to change. And of course the parents living outside those boundaries want Langley to share the wealth.

It’s not an unreasonable expectation given the School Board has spent the past five years talking about equity and One Fairfax. It turns out they are totally full of shit, especially members like Corbett Sanders and Tholen.

So, it is clear what you mean by "share the wealth." You seem to think that the wealthier kids should be spread around in order to help the low income kids? That is essentially what you said. The school reflects the population.

ALL FCPS schools offer challenging classes. Please tell me a class that your child cannot get that he/she needs. I asked a similar question earlier. No one has come up with an example. Naturally, TJ should not be included here.

Oh, I am so sorry - I am the PP and must have been inarticulate. I don't propose bussing current Langley students to other schools - by "share the wealth" I am advocating that Langley open up opportunites to allow other students to attend. I would advocate for some boundary adjustments to relieve overcrowding at McLean/Marshall , but I would also advocate for a lottery - where kids from the lowest performing HS could elect to attend Langley and FCPS could run a bus depot system like they do for TJ. All by choice, not forced.

In other words, relax the current requirements for pupil placements - as long as space is available, let kids transfer to LHS without insisting they take a class not available at their base school like AP (if coming from Marshall or another IB school), Chinese, Japanese, or Russian?

Seems like a reasonable pilot program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

DP. It's a false dichotomy intended to distract.

No. It is a valid question. Seems some people on here have lost sight of why we have schools. They seem to think that shifting kids around will improve their education.

Yeah, God forbid more poor kids have the opportunity to take language or math classes at the wealthier schools that their schools don't offer.

DP. What classes are offered at "wealthier" schools that are not offered at other schools? Be specific.

you have to look school to school. Classes have to have a minimum number of students to sign up to be able to have them. As a result, in schools where there are a higher % of students taking multiple APs, there will be more offered and more classes of each. When you have more classes of each, it makes it much easier to schedule. Same with language classes, if you have more students taking them, the school can support a variety of languages to offer. Size matter too, the larger schools have an advantage too.

So why don't more students sign up for classes in their current schools?

Some schools have fewer students than others. Obviously FCPS favors Langley when they expand the school to accommodate almost 2400 kids when it's one of the most under-enrolled schools in the least convenient locations in the county, and then starts moving kids there to fill seats that should have been built elsewhere.

And if you're asking why more students at poorer schools aren't signing up for the classes that have multiple sessions at Langley, it's a function of the education the kids are getting before they arrive as freshmen at Langley. But it creates a vicious cycle where parents of higher-achieving kids hear that their kids may not be able to arrange their class schedules at other schools to get into the classes they'd like to take, and so they move into certain pyramids where that's less likely to be a barrier.

The privilege hoarding in FCPS, especially in one pyramid, is very real.

So the only good teachers/admin in the elementary and middle schools in the county are all in the Langley (and maybe a few other) pyramid(s), and the 50-11 other teachers in all the rest of the county are shortchanging children with a shoddy/mediocre education.

Why aren't we holding these other teachers and admin accountable for the poor job they are doing preparing students for advanced work in high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

DP. It's a false dichotomy intended to distract.

No. It is a valid question. Seems some people on here have lost sight of why we have schools. They seem to think that shifting kids around will improve their education.

Yeah, God forbid more poor kids have the opportunity to take language or math classes at the wealthier schools that their schools don't offer.

DP. What classes are offered at "wealthier" schools that are not offered at other schools? Be specific.

you have to look school to school. Classes have to have a minimum number of students to sign up to be able to have them. As a result, in schools where there are a higher % of students taking multiple APs, there will be more offered and more classes of each. When you have more classes of each, it makes it much easier to schedule. Same with language classes, if you have more students taking them, the school can support a variety of languages to offer. Size matter too, the larger schools have an advantage too.

So why don't more students sign up for classes in their current schools?

Some schools have fewer students than others. Obviously FCPS favors Langley when they expand the school to accommodate almost 2400 kids when it's one of the most under-enrolled schools in the least convenient locations in the county, and then starts moving kids there to fill seats that should have been built elsewhere.

And if you're asking why more students at poorer schools aren't signing up for the classes that have multiple sessions at Langley, it's a function of the education the kids are getting before they arrive as freshmen at Langley. But it creates a vicious cycle where parents of higher-achieving kids hear that their kids may not be able to arrange their class schedules at other schools to get into the classes they'd like to take, and so they move into certain pyramids where that's less likely to be a barrier.

The privilege hoarding in FCPS, especially in one pyramid, is very real.

So the only good teachers/admin in the elementary and middle schools in the county are all in the Langley (and maybe a few other) pyramid(s), and the 50-11 other teachers in all the rest of the county are shortchanging children with a shoddy/mediocre education.

Why aren't we holding these other teachers and admin accountable for the poor job they are doing preparing students for advanced work in high school?

The usual accusation is that it is the parents’s fault before the kid arrives at school, be it PreK or K or HS.

[Anonymous]

The bottom line is that every Democrat on the Fairfax County School Board is a raging hypocrite as long as a high school that's 2% FARMS shares a sizable border with one that is 45% FARMS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS decided to close Clifton ES for no valid reasons. Kids were sent to mediocre schools chosen by FCPS. So, there’s an abandoned school on a beautiful hill waiting for a new school.

Other schools that feed to Robinson are “mediocre”? Was not aware of that.

Anyway, are you suggesting they could build a new HS in Clifton rather than Herndon? That’s not close to Chantilly, either.

Where the school is in Clifton is actually close to Chantilly. It even shares the same road as Chantilly HS. Also not all the kids that would have gone to Clifton ES now still get to go to Robinson. We are just on are on the other side of the boundary and ended up in Fairfax Pyramid. While our ES school Willow Springs is fine, our middle school Katherine Johnson is not. And we're going to have to go to Fairfax HS which is so much further away than 3 other HS that are nearby including Robinson.

Not enough space, According to fairfaxcounty.gov it's only 14 acres.

Then build a small HS on that property. Recruit the best teachers and leaving the lazy and crappy ones out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS decided to close Clifton ES for no valid reasons. Kids were sent to mediocre schools chosen by FCPS. So, there’s an abandoned school on a beautiful hill waiting for a new school.

Other schools that feed to Robinson are “mediocre”? Was not aware of that.

Anyway, are you suggesting they could build a new HS in Clifton rather than Herndon? That’s not close to Chantilly, either.

Where the school is in Clifton is actually close to Chantilly. It even shares the same road as Chantilly HS. Also not all the kids that would have gone to Clifton ES now still get to go to Robinson. We are just on are on the other side of the boundary and ended up in Fairfax Pyramid. While our ES school Willow Springs is fine, our middle school Katherine Johnson is not. And we're going to have to go to Fairfax HS which is so much further away than 3 other HS that are nearby including Robinson.

Not enough space, According to fairfaxcounty.gov it's only 14 acres.

Then build a small HS on that property. Recruit the best teachers leaving the lazy and crappy ones out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parents/Lower SES kids want to go to a higher SES/higher performing school for the exact same reason parents who can afford it buy in the Langley pyramid. Cohort. Higher SES schools have higher achievement, higher test scores, involved parents, highly educated parents, high expectations for college, and resources raised by parent groups. Langley provides so many advantages - not because of the admin/teachers/curriculum - but because of the community. Of course the parents living in Langley boundaries don't want that to change. And of course the parents living outside those boundaries want Langley to share the wealth.

It’s not an unreasonable expectation given the School Board has spent the past five years talking about equity and One Fairfax. It turns out they are totally full of shit, especially members like Corbett Sanders and Tholen.

So, it is clear what you mean by "share the wealth." You seem to think that the wealthier kids should be spread around in order to help the low income kids? That is essentially what you said. The school reflects the population.

ALL FCPS schools offer challenging classes. Please tell me a class that your child cannot get that he/she needs. I asked a similar question earlier. No one has come up with an example. Naturally, TJ should not be included here.

Oh, I am so sorry - I am the PP and must have been inarticulate. I don't propose bussing current Langley students to other schools - by "share the wealth" I am advocating that Langley open up opportunites to allow other students to attend. I would advocate for some boundary adjustments to relieve overcrowding at McLean/Marshall , but I would also advocate for a lottery - where kids from the lowest performing HS could elect to attend Langley and FCPS could run a bus depot system like they do for TJ. All by choice, not forced.

In other words, relax the current requirements for pupil placements - as long as space is available, let kids transfer to LHS without insisting they take a class not available at their base school like AP (if coming from Marshall or another IB school), Chinese, Japanese, or Russian?

Seems like a reasonable pilot program.

Yes, but not just relax the pupil placement rules - provide bus depot service also, like TJ does. Otherwise, the option is pretty meaningless for a FARMS family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

DP. It's a false dichotomy intended to distract.

No. It is a valid question. Seems some people on here have lost sight of why we have schools. They seem to think that shifting kids around will improve their education.

Yeah, God forbid more poor kids have the opportunity to take language or math classes at the wealthier schools that their schools don't offer.

DP. What classes are offered at "wealthier" schools that are not offered at other schools? Be specific.

you have to look school to school. Classes have to have a minimum number of students to sign up to be able to have them. As a result, in schools where there are a higher % of students taking multiple APs, there will be more offered and more classes of each. When you have more classes of each, it makes it much easier to schedule. Same with language classes, if you have more students taking them, the school can support a variety of languages to offer. Size matter too, the larger schools have an advantage too.

So why don't more students sign up for classes in their current schools?

Some schools have fewer students than others. Obviously FCPS favors Langley when they expand the school to accommodate almost 2400 kids when it's one of the most under-enrolled schools in the least convenient locations in the county, and then starts moving kids there to fill seats that should have been built elsewhere.

And if you're asking why more students at poorer schools aren't signing up for the classes that have multiple sessions at Langley, it's a function of the education the kids are getting before they arrive as freshmen at Langley. But it creates a vicious cycle where parents of higher-achieving kids hear that their kids may not be able to arrange their class schedules at other schools to get into the classes they'd like to take, and so they move into certain pyramids where that's less likely to be a barrier.

The privilege hoarding in FCPS, especially in one pyramid, is very real.

So the only good teachers/admin in the elementary and middle schools in the county are all in the Langley (and maybe a few other) pyramid(s), and the 50-11 other teachers in all the rest of the county are shortchanging children with a shoddy/mediocre education.

Why aren't we holding these other teachers and admin accountable for the poor job they are doing preparing students for advanced work in high school?

The usual accusation is that it is the parents’s fault before the kid arrives at school, be it PreK or K or HS.

Public education is the government's job. The school board is accountable to make sure that some children aren't being badly educated by teachers and admins just because those adults think they aren't important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"They should build the new high school and then redistrict as much of the county as they need to in order to reduce travel times and balance the enrollments."


Yes, the whole county is in need of a complete overhaul - it has been way too long. Unfortunately, boundary changes are never popular so the elected are loath to do any but tweaks.

Agree that a county wide overhaul is needed. Rip the bandaid off, so that things are balanced better for a couple decades.

This really is true, but not a chance it woudl happen. There should be a county-wide study and redraw. It won;t happen. There will be lawsuits (which will lose, like the Madison families that sued over being sent to South Lakes), but that isn't the reason or problem. It is politics, and no School Board will have the kahunas to do this. Tinker here, tinker there, get by while p***ing off the fewest of the loudest to get what you can get done as easily as possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"They should build the new high school and then redistrict as much of the county as they need to in order to reduce travel times and balance the enrollments."


Yes, the whole county is in need of a complete overhaul - it has been way too long. Unfortunately, boundary changes are never popular so the elected are loath to do any but tweaks.

Agree that a county wide overhaul is needed. Rip the bandaid off, so that things are balanced better for a couple decades.

This really is true, but not a chance it woudl happen. There should be a county-wide study and redraw. It won;t happen. There will be lawsuits (which will lose, like the Madison families that sued over being sent to South Lakes), but that isn't the reason or problem. It is politics, and no School Board will have the kahunas to do this. Tinker here, tinker there, get by while p***ing off the fewest of the loudest to get what you can get done as easily as possible.

They can't really keep doing what they're doing and have any credibility when they claim equity is a priority. So they either start doing something more significant after the boundary consultant's report is finalized, tone down their lofty "One Fairfax" rhetoric significantly, or carry on until the next election and get pilloried for being utter hypocrites.

[Anonymous]

Frankly I do not care what the policy says so long as my kids can stay in our current (non-Langley) pyramid. Any other concern is secondary to that for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Frankly I do not care what the policy says so long as my kids can stay in our current (non-Langley) pyramid. Any other concern is secondary to that for me.

And that is what will be the problem...not you personally, but that will be the mentalility of the vocal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frankly I do not care what the policy says so long as my kids can stay in our current (non-Langley) pyramid. Any other concern is secondary to that for me.

And that is what will be the problem...not you personally, but that will be the mentalility of the vocal.

I think most people want to stay where they are. Although, there is clearly a very dissatisfied Herndon parent(s). I know people in Herndon. Most are fine with it.