How did Herndon/Westfield HS go from top to bottom?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just checked. FWIW, Chantilly offers French, Spanish, and Latin. No Russian, Japanese, or Chinese.

No one is talking about chantilly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the demographics at Herndon.

+1
Most classes are taught in spanish

That is not true.

- Herndon parent

This is totally true.
- Herndon parent.
-

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whoo hoo! Another Herndon/Langley boundary dispute thread!

Everything is about Langley in this forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just checked. FWIW, Chantilly offers French, Spanish, and Latin. No Russian, Japanese, or Chinese.

No one is talking about chantilly

Well, Herndon parent is always saying they are deprived--and, it appears that Chantilly which is much larger and has lower FARMS rate than Herndon does not offer much more in Foreign Language--which was her complaint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the demographics at Herndon.

+1
Most classes are taught in spanish

That is not true.

- Herndon parent

This is totally true.
- Herndon parent.
-

So, in order to teach at Herndon, you must speak Spanish? Highly unlikely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Indefinsible is to take communities out of schools that they are happy with just to make you happy. So, you want boundary adjustments just for the sake of equity? No matter how inconvenient it is or how much pain it causes?

Do you really think it will help poor kids to put them on a bus and send them miles away from their own communitiy? The kids who need those after school jobs? The kids who babysit their younger siblings? The kids who want have a way to school if they miss the bus? The kids who will not be able to participate in after school activities because of a lack of transportation?

You really don't understand "equity."

Tearing apart the community is commonly presented as an excuse to keep everything the same. That works on the assumption that the current status of the situation is the "correct" status, and that it has "always been that way." It's a downward spiral when one pocket of poverty gets established, and it will stay that way without intervention.

Do we just give up and accept that Herndon will forever be a place where low-income families live, and poor kids have to be nearby so they can go to work after school, and we need to keep them in that state because that's just what poor people do? I'm sure many people would be in favor of that, but it's obvious that school boundaries are a significant factor in further concentrating poverty.

So, you think it is a good thing to tear apart communities? Got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the demographics at Herndon.

+1
Most classes are taught in spanish

That is not true.

- Herndon parent

This is totally true.
- Herndon parent.
-

Np. Not true. -parent with two kids currently at HMS, and active in the community

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Tearing apart the community is commonly presented as an excuse to keep everything the same. That works on the assumption that the current status of the situation is the "correct" status, and that it has "always been that way." It's a downward spiral when one pocket of poverty gets established, and it will stay that way without intervention.

Do we just give up and accept that Herndon will forever be a place where low-income families live, and poor kids have to be nearby so they can go to work after school, and we need to keep them in that state because that's just what poor people do? I'm sure many people would be in favor of that, but it's obvious that school boundaries are a significant factor in further concentrating poverty.

So, you think it is a good thing to tear apart communities? Got it.

Again, people conflate school location with community as if the school boundary lines are solid delineators, as if they are and have been the gospel that is correct as is which defines communities. I won't deny that school boundaries and neighborhoods are intertwined, but adjusting boundaries is hardly tearing communities apart. Nobody is forced to leave their home. What do Woodson families west of Ffx County Parkway share in community with Woodson families bordering 4-95, other than high SES?

The benefit is that teachers of one school pyramid don't have to do all the hard work of teaching ELL learners, it's as simple as that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Tearing apart the community is commonly presented as an excuse to keep everything the same. That works on the assumption that the current status of the situation is the "correct" status, and that it has "always been that way." It's a downward spiral when one pocket of poverty gets established, and it will stay that way without intervention.

Do we just give up and accept that Herndon will forever be a place where low-income families live, and poor kids have to be nearby so they can go to work after school, and we need to keep them in that state because that's just what poor people do? I'm sure many people would be in favor of that, but it's obvious that school boundaries are a significant factor in further concentrating poverty.

So, you think it is a good thing to tear apart communities? Got it.

Again, people conflate school location with community as if the school boundary lines are solid delineators, as if they are and have been the gospel that is correct as is which defines communities. I won't deny that school boundaries and neighborhoods are intertwined, but adjusting boundaries is hardly tearing communities apart. Nobody is forced to leave their home. What do Woodson families west of Ffx County Parkway share in community with Woodson families bordering 4-95, other than high SES?

The benefit is that teachers of one school pyramid don't have to do all the hard work of teaching ELL learners, it's as simple as that.

I get the complaints about Langley's boundaries, but in Woodson's case the boundaries are largely driven by the fact that there are four high schools in central Fairfax (Madison, Oakton, Fairfax, and Woodson) that are all close to each other and the fact that as a matter of law all Fairfax City kids attend Fairfax HS. FCPS did increase the diversity at Woodson when they rezoned Fairfax Villa ES to Frost MS/Woodson HS after the City of Fairfax told FCPS it had to pull some county kids out of Lanier (now Johnson) MS and Fairfax HS.

In Herndon's case, they are barking up a tree if they think Elaine Tholen will ever take on the Langley/Herndon boundaries. She is very big on defining "communities" in a way that happens to keep any poor kids and anyone living in apartments out of Langley. You'll have to elect someone else if you want that revisited.

[Anonymous]

Again, people conflate school location with community as if the school boundary lines are solid delineators, as if they are and have been the gospel that is correct as is which defines communities. I won't deny that school boundaries and neighborhoods are intertwined, but adjusting boundaries is hardly tearing communities apart. Nobody is forced to leave their home. What do Woodson families west of Ffx County Parkway share in community with Woodson families bordering 4-95, other than high SES?

The benefit is that teachers of one school pyramid don't have to do all the hard work of teaching ELL learners, it's as simple as that.

But, your suggestion does break up neighborhoods. It's not that the school is one big neighborhood--but the neighborhoods flow into one another. Obviously, because of the requirements of the City of Fairfax, that is not always the case, but one neighborhood does flow into another. Sure the two far boundaries may have little in common--but they do have something in common with neighborhoods near them. Youth sports are an example.

As for your comment relating to the ELL learners. Most of the ELL learners at Herndon High live in Herndon-Unlike the wealthier community across Leesburg Pike that you long for. That's pretty significant. They live in the Town of Herndon or right on the borderline. You are suggesting that you take kids who are very near Herndon High and ship them away because they are FARMS. That makes no sense. As for the "hard work of teaching ELL learners," it would also mean duplicating resources, and it would be an injustice to the kids who would be sent away and greatly contribute to truancy. These are people who do not have the resources to provide transportation for their kids. Do you know what it costs to drive on the DTR?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Tearing apart the community is commonly presented as an excuse to keep everything the same. That works on the assumption that the current status of the situation is the "correct" status, and that it has "always been that way." It's a downward spiral when one pocket of poverty gets established, and it will stay that way without intervention.

Do we just give up and accept that Herndon will forever be a place where low-income families live, and poor kids have to be nearby so they can go to work after school, and we need to keep them in that state because that's just what poor people do? I'm sure many people would be in favor of that, but it's obvious that school boundaries are a significant factor in further concentrating poverty.

So, you think it is a good thing to tear apart communities? Got it.

Again, people conflate school location with community as if the school boundary lines are solid delineators, as if they are and have been the gospel that is correct as is which defines communities. I won't deny that school boundaries and neighborhoods are intertwined, but adjusting boundaries is hardly tearing communities apart. Nobody is forced to leave their home. What do Woodson families west of Ffx County Parkway share in community with Woodson families bordering 4-95, other than high SES?

The benefit is that teachers of one school pyramid don't have to do all the hard work of teaching ELL learners, it's as simple as that.

True no one is forced to leave, but if you think that if a school like Navy got moved into the Herndon pyramid rather than Oakton, people wouldn't move?

[Anonymous]

Here are some classes offered at Langley but not Herndon:

Broadcast Journalism
Debate
Forensics
Film Study
AP Capstone
Nature of Knowledge
Oceanography
Chinese 1-4
Japanese 1-5
Russian 1-5

Here are some classes offered at Herndon but not Langley:

Literacy Lab
AVID
Spanish for Heritage Speakers 1-3

Herndon parents ought to demand a meeting with Elaine Tholen for an explanation just like the Langley parents demanded a meeting with Janie Strauss in 2019 when they got worried that a change in boundary policy might move some Forestville ES kids to Herndon.

[Anonymous]

Maybe a solution for students whose schools do not offer certain classes is to allow them to attend them at the neighboring school for zero hour / 9th hour. Like maybe Langley maybe has broadcast journalism at zero hour so kids at Herndon, maybe McLean can also take it.

Anecdotally I noticed many better teachers are at places like Herndon not Langley. The rest are on par with each other. Langley’s kids are prepared because of their family circumstances not because they have superior teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that there are not many kids who can handle rigor at Herndon. Therefore, there are not as many AP classes and not as much variety to boot. Less clubs, weaker athletics. It is an unfortunate reality and FCPS should really consider boundary changes that help with equity.

Could you explain why boundary changes would help with equity?

Good question.
1. It is not going to make lower achieving kids achieve more.
2. It is going to make the School Board happy because it will cover up the problems.

It is true that more AP classes can be offered where there are more high achieving students. However, I would like someone to show me where Herndon does not have enough AP classes. Pretty sure they have plenty of them.

FWIW, just because a school offers more AP classes does not mean that every kid who wants to take AP Basket Weaving can get into that class. It might be full.
Different schools offer different world languages for different reasons. All languages are not offered at any one school. Some may have more choices than others, but they may not have the one your child desires to take.

Lines are moved all the time. Sometime not physical boundaries. Look at how TJ is hurting Asians

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here are some classes offered at Langley but not Herndon:

Broadcast Journalism
Debate
Forensics
Film Study
AP Capstone
Nature of Knowledge
Oceanography
Chinese 1-4
Japanese 1-5
Russian 1-5

Here are some classes offered at Herndon but not Langley:

Literacy Lab
AVID
Spanish for Heritage Speakers 1-3

Herndon parents ought to demand a meeting with Elaine Tholen for an explanation just like the Langley parents demanded a meeting with Janie Strauss in 2019 when they got worried that a change in boundary policy might move some Forestville ES kids to Herndon.

I'm waiting for the Langley poster to suggest it offers Oceanography because it's so close to the Potomac River.