Boundary Review Meetings

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS cannot deny student transfers for Lewis-boundary students and just those students alone. This could result in a severe crackdown on ALL transfers across the board.

Makes sense.

Who could’ve guessed that screwing with the boundaries would have major repercussions across the county?

They should’ve left well enough alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One Lewis mom is complaining that the school won't get any new kids in this process and want some students from other schools sent there immediately. So maybe those Rolling Valley kids will stay at WSHS.

Also, Reid said they're going to look at stopping transfers out of Lewis. Maybe getting rid of IB? She didn't say.

I wouldn't say she's complaining. She was advocating for her school that the school board is turning it's back on. Nothing is being done to fix Lewis now. That's a serious problem. The school is severely unenrolled and no one is doing anything.

Didn’t Lewis get a Distinguished rating?

Yes. Reid made sure that got mentioned tonight.

That is awesome- go Lewis! You know what is nice about the VDOE new site is that it says the per pupil spending per school. For example Oakton is around 16K per kid while Lewis is at 20K per kid. I am in favor of this and glad money is going to schools that need it. That said, I am opposed to moving kids around like money just to “help” out.

From my understanding the issue with Lewis at least is that the school is so underenrolled that it doesn’t have enough kids for clubs/sports/music/advanced classes.
So yes in this case changing the boundaries to move more kids into that school will definitely help out. I don’t think stopping transfers out will be enough based on the discussion at the meeting last night and it seems like no one is transferring in to Lewis.

We have many overcrowded schools in the county. Surely something could have been done to ease crowding at a nearby school and fix underenrollment at Lewis.

The issue is not that the school is too underenrolled for those things.

Lewis is bigger than most of our private schools that have robust arts, sports, and advanced programs.

The issue is the student body at Lewis as a whole is less interested in things like orchestra or certain sports, or less prepared for advanced classes.

You could put Robinson enrollment at the same size as Lewis, and it would have enough interest to have robust sports, arts and challenging academics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Telling people they cannot transfer and that they have to participate in a program that is not a good fit for most people is BS. Either place AP at every school or allow for transfers.

IB is harder to get college credits for and there are fewer credits to be had than AP. The math and science classes are not as rigorous as AP class options.

People shouldn’t choose to live at an IB base school and then try to transfer

Nvm misunderstood the premise - I agree people shouldn’t be forced to attend IB

They chose the IB school when they purchased their house.

The people in the next school who chose an AP school when they bought their house are the ones who should not be forced to attend an IB school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS cannot deny student transfers for Lewis-boundary students and just those students alone. This could result in a severe crackdown on ALL transfers across the board.

Good.

Stop transfers before considering rezoning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Telling people they cannot transfer and that they have to participate in a program that is not a good fit for most people is BS. Either place AP at every school or allow for transfers.

IB is harder to get college credits for and there are fewer credits to be had than AP. The math and science classes are not as rigorous as AP class options.

People shouldn’t choose to live at an IB base school and then try to transfer

Nvm misunderstood the premise - I agree people shouldn’t be forced to attend IB

They chose the IB school when they purchased their house.

The people in the next school who chose an AP school when they bought their house are the ones who should not be forced to attend an IB school.

When we purchased our house, I had two toddlers. High school was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted a nice neighborhood with a walkable elementary school. It worked out well for us, but some people purchase houses before they have kids. IB/AP is likely the last thing they are considering.

I'd be willing to bet that there are a lot of people who are not familiar with this split.

Families who are able are using pupil placement to switch. Some people are not able to do so.

IB may be a great program, but the statistics in FCPS do not indicate that at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing is changing at Lewis, except that they will limit transfers.

Shameful.

How are they planning to do that? If they would make transferring out of Lewis more difficult than transferring out of any other school, that seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen … unless they add a bunch of programming, which they have seemed unwilling to do.

No clue. They mentioned stopping transfers, a new principal and the establishment of an academy (for an associates degree?). Other than that, my impression was that Lewis would be addressed during the next cycle - in 5 years.

I’ve attended enough of these meetings now to understand that there is no serious interest or effort to support the Lewis community through this boundary process.

Can this be verified? Yet another academy established at Lewis? I can't it imagine it would be for granting an Associate's degree. Was it the NCRA program? (Nontraditional Career Readiness Academy). Although there is already NCRA at Edison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Telling people they cannot transfer and that they have to participate in a program that is not a good fit for most people is BS. Either place AP at every school or allow for transfers.

IB is harder to get college credits for and there are fewer credits to be had than AP. The math and science classes are not as rigorous as AP class options.

People shouldn’t choose to live at an IB base school and then try to transfer

Nvm misunderstood the premise - I agree people shouldn’t be forced to attend IB

They chose the IB school when they purchased their house.

The people in the next school who chose an AP school when they bought their house are the ones who should not be forced to attend an IB school.

When we purchased our house, I had two toddlers. High school was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted a nice neighborhood with a walkable elementary school. It worked out well for us, but some people purchase houses before they have kids. IB/AP is likely the last thing they are considering.

I'd be willing to bet that there are a lot of people who are not familiar with this split.

Families who are able are using pupil placement to switch. Some people are not able to do so.

IB may be a great program, but the statistics in FCPS do not indicate that at all.

Even so, you who purchased a home in an IB school zone should be the one whose kids should be made to attend the IB school as a first fix, not the kids of the people who purchased a home in an AP school.

Rezoning is not the answer to fixing these issues with IB schools, when 200-300 students transfer out of the IB school each year.

Eliminating transfers and residency checks should always be the very first steps long before rezoning, whether the school is undercrowded or overcrowded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Telling people they cannot transfer and that they have to participate in a program that is not a good fit for most people is BS. Either place AP at every school or allow for transfers.

IB is harder to get college credits for and there are fewer credits to be had than AP. The math and science classes are not as rigorous as AP class options.

People shouldn’t choose to live at an IB base school and then try to transfer

Nvm misunderstood the premise - I agree people shouldn’t be forced to attend IB

They chose the IB school when they purchased their house.

The people in the next school who chose an AP school when they bought their house are the ones who should not be forced to attend an IB school.

When we purchased our house, I had two toddlers. High school was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted a nice neighborhood with a walkable elementary school. It worked out well for us, but some people purchase houses before they have kids. IB/AP is likely the last thing they are considering.

I'd be willing to bet that there are a lot of people who are not familiar with this split.

Families who are able are using pupil placement to switch. Some people are not able to do so.

IB may be a great program, but the statistics in FCPS do not indicate that at all.

Even so, you who purchased a home in an IB school zone should be the one whose kids should be made to attend the IB school as a first fix, not the kids of the people who purchased a home in an AP school.

Rezoning is not the answer to fixing these issues with IB schools, when 200-300 students transfer out of the IB school each year.

Eliminating transfers and residency checks should always be the very first steps long before rezoning, whether the school is undercrowded or overcrowded.

Just did a quick review: Total net transfers out of IB schools in FCPS: 1025
Only two IB schools had a net transfer in: South Lakes (due to one neighboring school) and Edison.

I did not go through to determine how many transfers out were due to TJ. But, the big picture would likely remain the same. People are either leaving IB schools because they want AP, or they are using it as an excuse to get out of the school.

I would bet that if FCPS would do a survey of parents who are "in boundary" from the IB schools, they would overwhelmingly get a preference for AP. It appears that Robinson parents feel that way and, from the parents I know, South Lakes would feel that way.

I would be interested to know how many of the kids who transfer in to South Lakes achieve the diploma.

[Anonymous]

At this point it's obvious they keep IB around just to have a mechanism for people to be able to transfer, keeping the loudest residents in boundary for "bad" schools from making more of a fuss about their performance.
The hidden number is how many people lie about their address to avoid their in-boundary school. We absolutely need residency checks AND to get rid of IB. People who use the transfer path will definitely resort to just lying if the loophole is closed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One Lewis mom is complaining that the school won't get any new kids in this process and want some students from other schools sent there immediately. So maybe those Rolling Valley kids will stay at WSHS.

Also, Reid said they're going to look at stopping transfers out of Lewis. Maybe getting rid of IB? She didn't say.

I wouldn't say she's complaining. She was advocating for her school that the school board is turning it's back on. Nothing is being done to fix Lewis now. That's a serious problem. The school is severely unenrolled and no one is doing anything.

Didn’t Lewis get a Distinguished rating?

Yes. Reid made sure that got mentioned tonight.

That is awesome- go Lewis! You know what is nice about the VDOE new site is that it says the per pupil spending per school. For example Oakton is around 16K per kid while Lewis is at 20K per kid. I am in favor of this and glad money is going to schools that need it. That said, I am opposed to moving kids around like money just to “help” out.

From my understanding the issue with Lewis at least is that the school is so underenrolled that it doesn’t have enough kids for clubs/sports/music/advanced classes.
So yes in this case changing the boundaries to move more kids into that school will definitely help out. I don’t think stopping transfers out will be enough based on the discussion at the meeting last night and it seems like no one is transferring in to Lewis.

We have many overcrowded schools in the county. Surely something could have been done to ease crowding at a nearby school and fix underenrollment at Lewis.

DP. Only an equity agendaist would proclaim that 1,517 high school students is critically under-enrolled.

Our kids are not your MF-ing property to move around just because you want a robust GD chess team. Gtfoh.

The problem is that Lewis is small (relative to other county schools), poor, and significantly ESL. So it is NOT providing the same experience as other FCPS schools.

I agree that the first remedy is to address transfers out. Almost certainly means switching to AP as a start. But they have pulled students out via boundary changes, so putting students back in via boundary changes can't be off the table forever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing is changing at Lewis, except that they will limit transfers.

Shameful.

How are they planning to do that? If they would make transferring out of Lewis more difficult than transferring out of any other school, that seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen … unless they add a bunch of programming, which they have seemed unwilling to do.

No clue. They mentioned stopping transfers, a new principal and the establishment of an academy (for an associates degree?). Other than that, my impression was that Lewis would be addressed during the next cycle - in 5 years.

I’ve attended enough of these meetings now to understand that there is no serious interest or effort to support the Lewis community through this boundary process.

Can this be verified? Yet another academy established at Lewis? I can't it imagine it would be for granting an Associate's degree. Was it the NCRA program? (Nontraditional Career Readiness Academy). Although there is already NCRA at Edison.

Dunne mentioned this when he talked at the meeting. He's pushing for an academy there. It sounded like they were trying to add more programming to Lewis to make it more attractive for kids to transfer in or to stop transferring out. But Reid specifically said they'd take up the transfers issue at Lewis after the boundary review is over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Telling people they cannot transfer and that they have to participate in a program that is not a good fit for most people is BS. Either place AP at every school or allow for transfers.

IB is harder to get college credits for and there are fewer credits to be had than AP. The math and science classes are not as rigorous as AP class options.

People shouldn’t choose to live at an IB base school and then try to transfer

Nvm misunderstood the premise - I agree people shouldn’t be forced to attend IB

They chose the IB school when they purchased their house.

The people in the next school who chose an AP school when they bought their house are the ones who should not be forced to attend an IB school.

When we purchased our house, I had two toddlers. High school was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted a nice neighborhood with a walkable elementary school. It worked out well for us, but some people purchase houses before they have kids. IB/AP is likely the last thing they are considering.

I'd be willing to bet that there are a lot of people who are not familiar with this split.

Families who are able are using pupil placement to switch. Some people are not able to do so.

IB may be a great program, but the statistics in FCPS do not indicate that at all.

Even so, you who purchased a home in an IB school zone should be the one whose kids should be made to attend the IB school as a first fix, not the kids of the people who purchased a home in an AP school.

Rezoning is not the answer to fixing these issues with IB schools, when 200-300 students transfer out of the IB school each year.

Eliminating transfers and residency checks should always be the very first steps long before rezoning, whether the school is undercrowded or overcrowded.

Just did a quick review: Total net transfers out of IB schools in FCPS: 1025
Only two IB schools had a net transfer in: South Lakes (due to one neighboring school) and Edison.

I did not go through to determine how many transfers out were due to TJ. But, the big picture would likely remain the same. People are either leaving IB schools because they want AP, or they are using it as an excuse to get out of the school.

I would bet that if FCPS would do a survey of parents who are "in boundary" from the IB schools, they would overwhelmingly get a preference for AP. It appears that Robinson parents feel that way and, from the parents I know, South Lakes would feel that way.

I would be interested to know how many of the kids who transfer in to South Lakes achieve the diploma.

Kids aren't transfering in to Edison for IB, but for the auto academy and the STEM program.

[Anonymous]

Telling Lewis it will get some attention five years from now when it was one of the main drivers for a county-wide review in the first instance just demonstrates what a farce this boundary review is and what an abject failure Reid has been as superintendent.

These people are the most incompetent bunch of bumblers in FCPS history. The entire 2025 boundary review should just be tabled. Step back, figure out why it has been a total debacle, and take another stab in 2030, by which time Reid hopefully will be long gone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One Lewis mom is complaining that the school won't get any new kids in this process and want some students from other schools sent there immediately. So maybe those Rolling Valley kids will stay at WSHS.

Also, Reid said they're going to look at stopping transfers out of Lewis. Maybe getting rid of IB? She didn't say.

I wouldn't say she's complaining. She was advocating for her school that the school board is turning it's back on. Nothing is being done to fix Lewis now. That's a serious problem. The school is severely unenrolled and no one is doing anything.

Didn’t Lewis get a Distinguished rating?

Yes. Reid made sure that got mentioned tonight.

That is awesome- go Lewis! You know what is nice about the VDOE new site is that it says the per pupil spending per school. For example Oakton is around 16K per kid while Lewis is at 20K per kid. I am in favor of this and glad money is going to schools that need it. That said, I am opposed to moving kids around like money just to “help” out.

From my understanding the issue with Lewis at least is that the school is so underenrolled that it doesn’t have enough kids for clubs/sports/music/advanced classes.
So yes in this case changing the boundaries to move more kids into that school will definitely help out. I don’t think stopping transfers out will be enough based on the discussion at the meeting last night and it seems like no one is transferring in to Lewis.

We have many overcrowded schools in the county. Surely something could have been done to ease crowding at a nearby school and fix underenrollment at Lewis.

DP. Only an equity agendaist would proclaim that 1,517 high school students is critically under-enrolled.

Our kids are not your MF-ing property to move around just because you want a robust GD chess team. Gtfoh.

The problem is that Lewis is small (relative to other county schools), poor, and significantly ESL. So it is NOT providing the same experience as other FCPS schools.

I agree that the first remedy is to address transfers out. Almost certainly means switching to AP as a start. But they have pulled students out via boundary changes, so putting students back in via boundary changes can't be off the table forever.

Daventry is one thing.

But once you start trying to claw back neighborhoods that were zoned out of then Lee over 20 years ago, that were only zoned to Lee for a couple of years sandwiched between long stints at WSHS, or neighborhoods that were always Lee schools but rezoned almost 20 years ago to SoCo when it opened in 2005, you are really grasping at straws.

After 20 years, none of those neighborhoods are "Lewis" neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did Reid just say that they were going to table the move from BrenMar to Key/Lewis? Already backpedaling?

What a clustefck.

Wow they came up with all these moves and just decided to do nothing. LOL. Meanwhile Edison actually does need some kids to be moved out.

Not exactly.

She said they were tabling the proposal to move Bren Mar Park from Holmes/Edison to Key/Lewis for five years.

There are a bunch of other changes they still apparently have in mind. Some move kids from Parklawn ES in the Justice pyramid to Columbia ES in the Annandale pyramid and to Belvedere ES in the Justice HS pyramid.

Other changes would move kids at Beech Tree ES from Glasgow MS/Justice HS to Poe MS/Falls Church HS and at Belvedere ES from Glasgow MS to Holmes MS (but keep them at Justice HS).

I don't understand why Reid said the BMP proposal is being withdrawn because it's too rushed, but wants to move forward with other changes that weren't in Scenario 4 and will take families by surprise.

Ironically, it's the proposal that's being withdrawn that would address the bigger issue - the under-enrollment at Lewis HS - whereas the other proposals that they apparently intend to move forward don't involve Lewis at all.

The changes to Parklawn and Glasgow are to appease Ricardy Anderson.

I understand but it's odd for Reid to come and say they've recognized the BMP proposal is too rushed, but then drop changes on other families in the Justice pyramid that weren't in any of the prior proposals at this late stage.

The Beech Tree families now proposed to move to Poe/Falls Church from Glasgow/Justice had no idea that was in the cards. Ironically, there's a different group of Beech Tree families who do want to move from Beech Tree/Glasgow/Justice to Graham Road/Jackson/Falls Church, but they've been ignored.

Similarly, the Belvedere families that are now proposed to move from Glasgow to Holmes, but stay at Justice, didn't know this was coming. They might want to stay at Glasgow, or conversely move to Annandale if they are being moved to Holmes. The BRAC is meeting in a couple of days, so they don't have much time to weigh in.

Additionally, the Beech Tree changes create split feeders that were not previously there. Aren't we trying to eliminate those?