FCPS comprehensive boundary review

[Anonymous]

Are any schools preventing students from starting clubs that are allowed at other schools???? I don’t think so. If students are interested they can start a club and find a faculty member to be their sponsor (this is how the majority of new clubs begin). FCPS isn’t “providing” clubs only to certain schools, they are all school based clubs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Langley is not in the boonies and its boundaries are sprawling and the antithesis of “tight.”

And, it is, for all practical purposes, on the Arlington border with McLean High less than three miles to the south and very little development between it and the Potomac River.
So, FCPS long ago decided to fill it with Great Falls. It makes for a long boundary. but otherwise, there's not much choice. Since this boundary has been pretty firm for around thirty years, it is understandable why people don't want to change. Especially since there does not seem to be a need.

There *may* be a need if they move kids from other schools into Langley to address enrollment pressures at those schools. And Herndon has plenty of surplus capacity right now. That’s for the elected School Board to decide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A PUBLIC school system should have equal access to programming, academics, clubs, languages, etc.
Because....it's public. And they can make decisions to steer all schools in the same direction.
If you want something different, go private.

WSHS has a military ambassadors club that has well over a hundred kids.

Should Langley or Herndon also be required to have a military ambassadors club even though they have very tiny military populations? Or should the WSHS military embassadors club be required to fold because other schools don't have the population or interest to field a military ambassadors club? By your logic, the public high schools need to have identical club offerings.

Kind of blows my mind that people try to debate that the schools should generally have the same.programming and access to things. So no, if there is a NICHE community or interest ...then sure. I'm not an all or nothing person, not do i think it ever makes sense in life to be 100% like that. But it should be baselined as much as possible for a PUBLIC school system.

So high schoolers should be moved around so every school should have the same activities?

While I completely agree that all the school should get rid of IB in favor of AP, I wholeheartedly disagree that all schools should be required to have the same activities.

Using the Lewis baseball example, tgere are plenty of Lewis zoned kids who played baseball. It is unfortunate that those kids decided to play travel instead of playing on their high school team, but FCPS should not rezone other kids over baseball, who by the way might also have chosen to play travel instead of their high school team. Lewis might be without a varsity baseball team after rezoning. You can't force kids to do the high school sports and clubs that you on the the outside think should occur, nor can you fix the lack of interest by rezoning it away.

Private high schools in the area are much smaller than Lewis and manage to field a varsity baseball team. It is not a numbers problem, it is an interest problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A PUBLIC school system should have equal access to programming, academics, clubs, languages, etc.
Because....it's public. And they can make decisions to steer all schools in the same direction.
If you want something different, go private.

WSHS has a military ambassadors club that has well over a hundred kids.

Should Langley or Herndon also be required to have a military ambassadors club even though they have very tiny military populations? Or should the WSHS military embassadors club be required to fold because other schools don't have the population or interest to field a military ambassadors club? By your logic, the public high schools need to have identical club offerings.

Kind of blows my mind that people try to debate that the schools should generally have the same.programming and access to things. So no, if there is a NICHE community or interest ...then sure. I'm not an all or nothing person, not do i think it ever makes sense in life to be 100% like that. But it should be baselined as much as possible for a PUBLIC school system.

So high schoolers should be moved around so every school should have the same activities?

While I completely agree that all the school should get rid of IB in favor of AP, I wholeheartedly disagree that all schools should be required to have the same activities.

Using the Lewis baseball example, tgere are plenty of Lewis zoned kids who played baseball. It is unfortunate that those kids decided to play travel instead of playing on their high school team, but FCPS should not rezone other kids over baseball, who by the way might also have chosen to play travel instead of their high school team. Lewis might be without a varsity baseball team after rezoning. You can't force kids to do the high school sports and clubs that you on the the outside think should occur, nor can you fix the lack of interest by rezoning it away.

Private high schools in the area are much smaller than Lewis and manage to field a varsity baseball team. It is not a numbers problem, it is an interest problem.

DP. I think there is a greater concern with comparable academic opportunities than ensuring every school has the same clubs or fields the same teams. Some schools certainly offer more electives than others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are any schools preventing students from starting clubs that are allowed at other schools???? I don’t think so. If students are interested they can start a club and find a faculty member to be their sponsor (this is how the majority of new clubs begin). FCPS isn’t “providing” clubs only to certain schools, they are all school based clubs.

Exactly this!

Our high school added boys volleyball this year. The boys recruited each other until they had enough for a team.

A group of boys wanted to start an ultimate Frisbee team a while back. They recruited other kids, found a teacher to sponsor it, and got a team going. It is on its 3rd year and growing.

The theater kids wanted an improv club. They found a teacher willing to sit in her room one day/week after school and grade papers while the kids do improv.

A chemistry teacher started a chemistry club years ago, where they come an hour before school every day to work on chemistry with students. Should every school make a chemistry teacher do this on their own time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A PUBLIC school system should have equal access to programming, academics, clubs, languages, etc.
Because....it's public. And they can make decisions to steer all schools in the same direction.
If you want something different, go private.

WSHS has a military ambassadors club that has well over a hundred kids.

Should Langley or Herndon also be required to have a military ambassadors club even though they have very tiny military populations? Or should the WSHS military embassadors club be required to fold because other schools don't have the population or interest to field a military ambassadors club? By your logic, the public high schools need to have identical club offerings.

Kind of blows my mind that people try to debate that the schools should generally have the same.programming and access to things. So no, if there is a NICHE community or interest ...then sure. I'm not an all or nothing person, not do i think it ever makes sense in life to be 100% like that. But it should be baselined as much as possible for a PUBLIC school system.

So high schoolers should be moved around so every school should have the same activities?

While I completely agree that all the school should get rid of IB in favor of AP, I wholeheartedly disagree that all schools should be required to have the same activities.

Using the Lewis baseball example, tgere are plenty of Lewis zoned kids who played baseball. It is unfortunate that those kids decided to play travel instead of playing on their high school team, but FCPS should not rezone other kids over baseball, who by the way might also have chosen to play travel instead of their high school team. Lewis might be without a varsity baseball team after rezoning. You can't force kids to do the high school sports and clubs that you on the the outside think should occur, nor can you fix the lack of interest by rezoning it away.

Private high schools in the area are much smaller than Lewis and manage to field a varsity baseball team. It is not a numbers problem, it is an interest problem.

I would argue that your post is an example of exactly why things should be baselined. I'd be willing to bet there is a reason thr kids are choosing travel vice their own HS team, and if the team was supported and funded the same as other schools you wouldn't be in this situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A PUBLIC school system should have equal access to programming, academics, clubs, languages, etc.
Because....it's public. And they can make decisions to steer all schools in the same direction.
If you want something different, go private.

WSHS has a military ambassadors club that has well over a hundred kids.

Should Langley or Herndon also be required to have a military ambassadors club even though they have very tiny military populations? Or should the WSHS military embassadors club be required to fold because other schools don't have the population or interest to field a military ambassadors club? By your logic, the public high schools need to have identical club offerings.

Kind of blows my mind that people try to debate that the schools should generally have the same.programming and access to things. So no, if there is a NICHE community or interest ...then sure. I'm not an all or nothing person, not do i think it ever makes sense in life to be 100% like that. But it should be baselined as much as possible for a PUBLIC school system.

So high schoolers should be moved around so every school should have the same activities?

While I completely agree that all the school should get rid of IB in favor of AP, I wholeheartedly disagree that all schools should be required to have the same activities.

Using the Lewis baseball example, tgere are plenty of Lewis zoned kids who played baseball. It is unfortunate that those kids decided to play travel instead of playing on their high school team, but FCPS should not rezone other kids over baseball, who by the way might also have chosen to play travel instead of their high school team. Lewis might be without a varsity baseball team after rezoning. You can't force kids to do the high school sports and clubs that you on the the outside think should occur, nor can you fix the lack of interest by rezoning it away.

Private high schools in the area are much smaller than Lewis and manage to field a varsity baseball team. It is not a numbers problem, it is an interest problem.

To state the obvious, it’d be tragic to move kids from a school that has activity X, which they are passionate about, to a different school that didn’t have activity X. I haven’t looked deeply into this, but just one of the many logistical nightmares that the SB will unleash in its equity quest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A PUBLIC school system should have equal access to programming, academics, clubs, languages, etc.
Because....it's public. And they can make decisions to steer all schools in the same direction.
If you want something different, go private.

WSHS has a military ambassadors club that has well over a hundred kids.

Should Langley or Herndon also be required to have a military ambassadors club even though they have very tiny military populations? Or should the WSHS military embassadors club be required to fold because other schools don't have the population or interest to field a military ambassadors club? By your logic, the public high schools need to have identical club offerings.

Kind of blows my mind that people try to debate that the schools should generally have the same.programming and access to things. So no, if there is a NICHE community or interest ...then sure. I'm not an all or nothing person, not do i think it ever makes sense in life to be 100% like that. But it should be baselined as much as possible for a PUBLIC school system.

So high schoolers should be moved around so every school should have the same activities?

While I completely agree that all the school should get rid of IB in favor of AP, I wholeheartedly disagree that all schools should be required to have the same activities.

Using the Lewis baseball example, tgere are plenty of Lewis zoned kids who played baseball. It is unfortunate that those kids decided to play travel instead of playing on their high school team, but FCPS should not rezone other kids over baseball, who by the way might also have chosen to play travel instead of their high school team. Lewis might be without a varsity baseball team after rezoning. You can't force kids to do the high school sports and clubs that you on the the outside think should occur, nor can you fix the lack of interest by rezoning it away.

Private high schools in the area are much smaller than Lewis and manage to field a varsity baseball team. It is not a numbers problem, it is an interest problem.

To state the obvious, it’d be tragic to move kids from a school that has activity X, which they are passionate about, to a different school that didn’t have activity X. I haven’t looked deeply into this, but just one of the many logistical nightmares that the SB will unleash in its equity quest.

According to the prior posts, the kids would just have to show some initiative to start activity X at their new school. Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A PUBLIC school system should have equal access to programming, academics, clubs, languages, etc.
Because....it's public. And they can make decisions to steer all schools in the same direction.
If you want something different, go private.

WSHS has a military ambassadors club that has well over a hundred kids.

Should Langley or Herndon also be required to have a military ambassadors club even though they have very tiny military populations? Or should the WSHS military embassadors club be required to fold because other schools don't have the population or interest to field a military ambassadors club? By your logic, the public high schools need to have identical club offerings.

Kind of blows my mind that people try to debate that the schools should generally have the same.programming and access to things. So no, if there is a NICHE community or interest ...then sure. I'm not an all or nothing person, not do i think it ever makes sense in life to be 100% like that. But it should be baselined as much as possible for a PUBLIC school system.

So high schoolers should be moved around so every school should have the same activities?

While I completely agree that all the school should get rid of IB in favor of AP, I wholeheartedly disagree that all schools should be required to have the same activities.

Using the Lewis baseball example, tgere are plenty of Lewis zoned kids who played baseball. It is unfortunate that those kids decided to play travel instead of playing on their high school team, but FCPS should not rezone other kids over baseball, who by the way might also have chosen to play travel instead of their high school team. Lewis might be without a varsity baseball team after rezoning. You can't force kids to do the high school sports and clubs that you on the the outside think should occur, nor can you fix the lack of interest by rezoning it away.

Private high schools in the area are much smaller than Lewis and manage to field a varsity baseball team. It is not a numbers problem, it is an interest problem.

I would argue that your post is an example of exactly why things should be baselined. I'd be willing to bet there is a reason thr kids are choosing travel vice their own HS team, and if the team was supported and funded the same as other schools you wouldn't be in this situation.

They are choosing the travel team over the school team because A) They want to play baseball in college and travel is the best way to get scouted, or B) They want to play on a team with better players from all over the area, or C) They came through the local little league and Babe Ruth leagues, and want to stay with the coaches and teammates they grew up with.

Rezoning will fix none of these things.

All of the coaches get paid on the same pay scale in FCPS, so that is a non argument.

However, FCPS needs to fix Lewis' sports fields to make them a similar quality to all the other high schools in FCPS.

This keeps getting brought up, but FCPS needs to update the renivation queue before rezoning anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Obviously, the level of wealth in the Langley pyramid is off the charts compared to every other pyramid, and some apparently are terrified by the prospect FCPS might reduce the gap even a little (although it's not clear anyone from FCPS has even said that's a goal).

I live in a pyramid that is middle of the road on your list. Please explain what it is going to help by taking kids out of Langley? Who is it going to help?

I can tell you--as from a neighborhood zoned to way down the chart from Langley--that most people want to stay in their current school. I learned this a long time ago at a ms boundary meeting--no matter what school a family is in, they want to stay there--even if the school is not highly rated. It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor.

Why is that so hard to understand?

Why is it so hard to understand that if you are being bussed 12 miles to a school when another very viable school is 3 miles away that should be addressed.

“Very viable” is doing some pretty heavy lifting in that statement. 🤣🤣🤣

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A PUBLIC school system should have equal access to programming, academics, clubs, languages, etc.
Because....it's public. And they can make decisions to steer all schools in the same direction.
If you want something different, go private.

WSHS has a military ambassadors club that has well over a hundred kids.

Should Langley or Herndon also be required to have a military ambassadors club even though they have very tiny military populations? Or should the WSHS military embassadors club be required to fold because other schools don't have the population or interest to field a military ambassadors club? By your logic, the public high schools need to have identical club offerings.

Kind of blows my mind that people try to debate that the schools should generally have the same.programming and access to things. So no, if there is a NICHE community or interest ...then sure. I'm not an all or nothing person, not do i think it ever makes sense in life to be 100% like that. But it should be baselined as much as possible for a PUBLIC school system.

So high schoolers should be moved around so every school should have the same activities?

While I completely agree that all the school should get rid of IB in favor of AP, I wholeheartedly disagree that all schools should be required to have the same activities.

Using the Lewis baseball example, tgere are plenty of Lewis zoned kids who played baseball. It is unfortunate that those kids decided to play travel instead of playing on their high school team, but FCPS should not rezone other kids over baseball, who by the way might also have chosen to play travel instead of their high school team. Lewis might be without a varsity baseball team after rezoning. You can't force kids to do the high school sports and clubs that you on the the outside think should occur, nor can you fix the lack of interest by rezoning it away.

Private high schools in the area are much smaller than Lewis and manage to field a varsity baseball team. It is not a numbers problem, it is an interest problem.

I would argue that your post is an example of exactly why things should be baselined. I'd be willing to bet there is a reason thr kids are choosing travel vice their own HS team, and if the team was supported and funded the same as other schools you wouldn't be in this situation.

They are choosing the travel team over the school team because A) They want to play baseball in college and travel is the best way to get scouted, or B) They want to play on a team with better players from all over the area, or C) They came through the local little league and Babe Ruth leagues, and want to stay with the coaches and teammates they grew up with.

Rezoning will fix none of these things.

All of the coaches get paid on the same pay scale in FCPS, so that is a non argument.

However, FCPS needs to fix Lewis' sports fields to make them a similar quality to all the other high schools in FCPS.

This keeps getting brought up, but FCPS needs to update the renivation queue before rezoning anyone.

Top players from Madison, McLean, and Lake Braddock (traditionally strong FCPS baseball programs) play for their HS teams and still get recruited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A PUBLIC school system should have equal access to programming, academics, clubs, languages, etc.
Because....it's public. And they can make decisions to steer all schools in the same direction.
If you want something different, go private.

WSHS has a military ambassadors club that has well over a hundred kids.

Should Langley or Herndon also be required to have a military ambassadors club even though they have very tiny military populations? Or should the WSHS military embassadors club be required to fold because other schools don't have the population or interest to field a military ambassadors club? By your logic, the public high schools need to have identical club offerings.

Kind of blows my mind that people try to debate that the schools should generally have the same.programming and access to things. So no, if there is a NICHE community or interest ...then sure. I'm not an all or nothing person, not do i think it ever makes sense in life to be 100% like that. But it should be baselined as much as possible for a PUBLIC school system.

So high schoolers should be moved around so every school should have the same activities?

While I completely agree that all the school should get rid of IB in favor of AP, I wholeheartedly disagree that all schools should be required to have the same activities.

Using the Lewis baseball example, tgere are plenty of Lewis zoned kids who played baseball. It is unfortunate that those kids decided to play travel instead of playing on their high school team, but FCPS should not rezone other kids over baseball, who by the way might also have chosen to play travel instead of their high school team. Lewis might be without a varsity baseball team after rezoning. You can't force kids to do the high school sports and clubs that you on the the outside think should occur, nor can you fix the lack of interest by rezoning it away.

Private high schools in the area are much smaller than Lewis and manage to field a varsity baseball team. It is not a numbers problem, it is an interest problem.

I would argue that your post is an example of exactly why things should be baselined. I'd be willing to bet there is a reason thr kids are choosing travel vice their own HS team, and if the team was supported and funded the same as other schools you wouldn't be in this situation.

They are choosing the travel team over the school team because A) They want to play baseball in college and travel is the best way to get scouted, or B) They want to play on a team with better players from all over the area, or C) They came through the local little league and Babe Ruth leagues, and want to stay with the coaches and teammates they grew up with.

Rezoning will fix none of these things.

All of the coaches get paid on the same pay scale in FCPS, so that is a non argument.

However, FCPS needs to fix Lewis' sports fields to make them a similar quality to all the other high schools in FCPS.

This keeps getting brought up, but FCPS needs to update the renivation queue before rezoning anyone.

Top players from Madison, McLean, and Lake Braddock (traditionally strong FCPS baseball programs) play for their HS teams and still get recruited.

Those are already strong teams though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Obviously, the level of wealth in the Langley pyramid is off the charts compared to every other pyramid, and some apparently are terrified by the prospect FCPS might reduce the gap even a little (although it's not clear anyone from FCPS has even said that's a goal).

I live in a pyramid that is middle of the road on your list. Please explain what it is going to help by taking kids out of Langley? Who is it going to help?

I can tell you--as from a neighborhood zoned to way down the chart from Langley--that most people want to stay in their current school. I learned this a long time ago at a ms boundary meeting--no matter what school a family is in, they want to stay there--even if the school is not highly rated. It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor.

Why is that so hard to understand?

Why is it so hard to understand that if you are being bussed 12 miles to a school when another very viable school is 3 miles away that should be addressed.

“Very viable” is doing some pretty heavy lifting in that statement. 🤣🤣🤣

+1000

Snide reaction. Do your kids behave like this, too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Obviously, the level of wealth in the Langley pyramid is off the charts compared to every other pyramid, and some apparently are terrified by the prospect FCPS might reduce the gap even a little (although it's not clear anyone from FCPS has even said that's a goal).

I live in a pyramid that is middle of the road on your list. Please explain what it is going to help by taking kids out of Langley? Who is it going to help?

I can tell you--as from a neighborhood zoned to way down the chart from Langley--that most people want to stay in their current school. I learned this a long time ago at a ms boundary meeting--no matter what school a family is in, they want to stay there--even if the school is not highly rated. It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor.

Why is that so hard to understand?

Why is it so hard to understand that if you are being bussed 12 miles to a school when another very viable school is 3 miles away that should be addressed.

“Very viable” is doing some pretty heavy lifting in that statement. 🤣🤣🤣

. Dear Lord, one would think Langley is full of perfectly behaved genius kids who would just suffer tremendously if they had to share a space with those poor, brown, unruly Herndon kids.

I know a lot of Langley families, and I’ve never ever heard them speak the way that you do about Herndon families. Don’t be racist, ladies.

This. Just because someone does not want to leave a school they like, does not make them racist.

Why are you so anxious to have them move? Are you not happy with your school? Do you think there are problems there that would be solved by adding Langley kids to the mix?

You can oppose or feel sad about a potential boundary change without insulting the viability of another school. Or maybe you can't.

DP. We can all read. The test scores at the "other school" speak volumes. If you're insulted by facts, sounds like a you problem.

https://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:16::::0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID,P0_EDSL:270,0

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Obviously, the level of wealth in the Langley pyramid is off the charts compared to every other pyramid, and some apparently are terrified by the prospect FCPS might reduce the gap even a little (although it's not clear anyone from FCPS has even said that's a goal).

I live in a pyramid that is middle of the road on your list. Please explain what it is going to help by taking kids out of Langley? Who is it going to help?

I can tell you--as from a neighborhood zoned to way down the chart from Langley--that most people want to stay in their current school. I learned this a long time ago at a ms boundary meeting--no matter what school a family is in, they want to stay there--even if the school is not highly rated. It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor.

Why is that so hard to understand?

Why is it so hard to understand that if you are being bussed 12 miles to a school when another very viable school is 3 miles away that should be addressed.

“Very viable” is doing some pretty heavy lifting in that statement. 🤣🤣🤣

+1000

Snide reaction. Do your kids behave like this, too?

You mean do they have a sense of humor? Yes, they do.