Mythical Western HS

[Anonymous]

Chantilly is just over 2900 enrolled, but Academy students coming from other schools don't get taken into account in that number. At any given time on any given day, Chantilly has very well over 3000 kids inside the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just looked up the latest CIP. They still don’t have the site!

Are the FCPS really going to build this? A few years ago CIP indicated that the new school would be built near Hutchison to provide the relief to Chantilly, Southlakes, Westfield, Oakton and Centreville. Now it looks like we are back to square one. The CIP doesn’t say much about the new HS other than the site has not been determined.

This was discussed on another thread.

The latest CIP indicates for the first time that the upcoming Centreville expansion will build that school out to 3000 seats. And, as you point out, they have no site for Western HS.

Granted, it's not easy to find a site with enough land for a new high school now. The best site was sold to the Saudis years ago. In addition, you have people who are worried that a new HS would be less attractive than their current high school, or that it might lead to a series of boundary changes that moves some kids from Langley to Herndon. Those people have every incentive to oppose the construction of a new high school, especially if it were built near Hutchison.

As a practical matter, what that means is that people with younger kids in the Centreville, Chantilly, Herndon, Oakton, South Lakes, and Westfield pyramids should make sure they are comfortable with sending their kids to a school that may each have more than 2600 kids. Western HS is not going to happen for many years, if ever. Some will give up on FCPS and move to Loudoun, where they are disciplined and build new schools regularly to keep the individual HS enrollments down.

So Langley parents prevailed in the end? Many posters on this board were absolutely sure that once the new Western HS gets built the boundary change would happen and Great Falls kids be reassigned to Herndon High.

Yes.

Back in 2018 when the School Board started to talk about boundary policy, Janie Strauss made a comment to the effect that she'd told Langley parents in Great Falls to expect to be redistricted when a new western high school was built. She didn't say where, but it was interpreted to mean that the Great Falls neighborhoods that had attended Herndon prior to 1994 (i.e., an area west of Springvale Road) would be moved back to Herndon.

That infuriated those parents, who created a group ("One Great Falls," which changed its name to "Voices of Fairfax") to protest any such idea. It culminated in a meeting at Forestville ES in June 2019, in which several dozen Langley parents screamed at Strauss about how hard they'd worked to afford a house in the Langley district, how Herndon was dangerous and not as academically rigorous, and how they'd leave the county or pull their kids out of FCPS if they were moved to Herndon. It was not a pleasant gathering.

None of this was lost on Elaine Tholen, the Great Falls resident running to replace Strauss on 2019. Like any good Democrat, Tholen had originally expressed her support for the county's "One Fairfax" policy, which some believed called for a county-wide boundary review in FCPS. When her neighbors gave her an earful, she pulled the reference to "One Fairfax" off her web page, and then did two things with her Great Falls/Langley neighbors primarily in mind. First, she made sure that not too many kids ended up getting redistricted from overcrowded McLean to Langley, as a result of which Langley remains below capacity and FCPS continues to project that McLean will remain well over capacity for years to come. Second, she has consistently downplayed the likelihood that a new Western high school would ever get built.

I'm not aware of any public indication that Tholen has been working behind the scenes to kill (or further delay) the western high school or to expand a school like Centreville to 3000 seats. But the continued lack of real activity towards a new Western high school, along with the recently announced big planned expansion of Centreville, which is in the southwestern part of the county far from Great Falls, are great news if you're one of the Great Falls parents who wants to stay at Langley for years to come.

I mean, a couple of things:
-she doesn't single-handedly control whether or not this happens, i.e. Mythical HS.
-she's responding to her constituents, yes? I didn't think she was "at large" (but maybe I'm wrong and that would change my view some).

She theoretically represents 3 HS pyramids. Shhhh.

And?

And she only cares about Langley HS. Herndon HS has been completely ignored for so long. I feel bad for people in HHS district. They always vote for Democrats and get nothing in return.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just looked up the latest CIP. They still don’t have the site!

Are the FCPS really going to build this? A few years ago CIP indicated that the new school would be built near Hutchison to provide the relief to Chantilly, Southlakes, Westfield, Oakton and Centreville. Now it looks like we are back to square one. The CIP doesn’t say much about the new HS other than the site has not been determined.

This was discussed on another thread.

The latest CIP indicates for the first time that the upcoming Centreville expansion will build that school out to 3000 seats. And, as you point out, they have no site for Western HS.

Granted, it's not easy to find a site with enough land for a new high school now. The best site was sold to the Saudis years ago. In addition, you have people who are worried that a new HS would be less attractive than their current high school, or that it might lead to a series of boundary changes that moves some kids from Langley to Herndon. Those people have every incentive to oppose the construction of a new high school, especially if it were built near Hutchison.

As a practical matter, what that means is that people with younger kids in the Centreville, Chantilly, Herndon, Oakton, South Lakes, and Westfield pyramids should make sure they are comfortable with sending their kids to a school that may each have more than 2600 kids. Western HS is not going to happen for many years, if ever. Some will give up on FCPS and move to Loudoun, where they are disciplined and build new schools regularly to keep the individual HS enrollments down.

So Langley parents prevailed in the end? Many posters on this board were absolutely sure that once the new Western HS gets built the boundary change would happen and Great Falls kids be reassigned to Herndon High.

Yes.

Back in 2018 when the School Board started to talk about boundary policy, Janie Strauss made a comment to the effect that she'd told Langley parents in Great Falls to expect to be redistricted when a new western high school was built. She didn't say where, but it was interpreted to mean that the Great Falls neighborhoods that had attended Herndon prior to 1994 (i.e., an area west of Springvale Road) would be moved back to Herndon.

That infuriated those parents, who created a group ("One Great Falls," which changed its name to "Voices of Fairfax") to protest any such idea. It culminated in a meeting at Forestville ES in June 2019, in which several dozen Langley parents screamed at Strauss about how hard they'd worked to afford a house in the Langley district, how Herndon was dangerous and not as academically rigorous, and how they'd leave the county or pull their kids out of FCPS if they were moved to Herndon. It was not a pleasant gathering.

None of this was lost on Elaine Tholen, the Great Falls resident running to replace Strauss on 2019. Like any good Democrat, Tholen had originally expressed her support for the county's "One Fairfax" policy, which some believed called for a county-wide boundary review in FCPS. When her neighbors gave her an earful, she pulled the reference to "One Fairfax" off her web page, and then did two things with her Great Falls/Langley neighbors primarily in mind. First, she made sure that not too many kids ended up getting redistricted from overcrowded McLean to Langley, as a result of which Langley remains below capacity and FCPS continues to project that McLean will remain well over capacity for years to come. Second, she has consistently downplayed the likelihood that a new Western high school would ever get built.

I'm not aware of any public indication that Tholen has been working behind the scenes to kill (or further delay) the western high school or to expand a school like Centreville to 3000 seats. But the continued lack of real activity towards a new Western high school, along with the recently announced big planned expansion of Centreville, which is in the southwestern part of the county far from Great Falls, are great news if you're one of the Great Falls parents who wants to stay at Langley for years to come.

I mean, a couple of things:
-she doesn't single-handedly control whether or not this happens, i.e. Mythical HS.
-she's responding to her constituents, yes? I didn't think she was "at large" (but maybe I'm wrong and that would change my view some).

No, of course not. There are plenty of other people besides those in western Great Falls who could have their own reasons for wanting to kill or further delay the western HS. It would be silly to suggest she's some type of invisible hand who pulls all the strings. She mostly only seems to have influence over a few things that other members don't care that much about.

And she's been responsive to some of her constituents, just not the ones who actually most needed her advocacy.

On any issue, someone is going to be unhappy. That doesn't mean she deserves the scorn being heaped on her.

When someone runs as a Democrat, fails to address the most serious problem in her district properly, and manages to put the interests of her own, wealthier neighborhood first in the process, she deserves all the scorn she's received.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just looked up the latest CIP. They still don’t have the site!

Are the FCPS really going to build this? A few years ago CIP indicated that the new school would be built near Hutchison to provide the relief to Chantilly, Southlakes, Westfield, Oakton and Centreville. Now it looks like we are back to square one. The CIP doesn’t say much about the new HS other than the site has not been determined.

This was discussed on another thread.

The latest CIP indicates for the first time that the upcoming Centreville expansion will build that school out to 3000 seats. And, as you point out, they have no site for Western HS.

Granted, it's not easy to find a site with enough land for a new high school now. The best site was sold to the Saudis years ago. In addition, you have people who are worried that a new HS would be less attractive than their current high school, or that it might lead to a series of boundary changes that moves some kids from Langley to Herndon. Those people have every incentive to oppose the construction of a new high school, especially if it were built near Hutchison.

As a practical matter, what that means is that people with younger kids in the Centreville, Chantilly, Herndon, Oakton, South Lakes, and Westfield pyramids should make sure they are comfortable with sending their kids to a school that may each have more than 2600 kids. Western HS is not going to happen for many years, if ever. Some will give up on FCPS and move to Loudoun, where they are disciplined and build new schools regularly to keep the individual HS enrollments down.

So Langley parents prevailed in the end? Many posters on this board were absolutely sure that once the new Western HS gets built the boundary change would happen and Great Falls kids be reassigned to Herndon High.

Yes.

Back in 2018 when the School Board started to talk about boundary policy, Janie Strauss made a comment to the effect that she'd told Langley parents in Great Falls to expect to be redistricted when a new western high school was built. She didn't say where, but it was interpreted to mean that the Great Falls neighborhoods that had attended Herndon prior to 1994 (i.e., an area west of Springvale Road) would be moved back to Herndon.

That infuriated those parents, who created a group ("One Great Falls," which changed its name to "Voices of Fairfax") to protest any such idea. It culminated in a meeting at Forestville ES in June 2019, in which several dozen Langley parents screamed at Strauss about how hard they'd worked to afford a house in the Langley district, how Herndon was dangerous and not as academically rigorous, and how they'd leave the county or pull their kids out of FCPS if they were moved to Herndon. It was not a pleasant gathering.

None of this was lost on Elaine Tholen, the Great Falls resident running to replace Strauss on 2019. Like any good Democrat, Tholen had originally expressed her support for the county's "One Fairfax" policy, which some believed called for a county-wide boundary review in FCPS. When her neighbors gave her an earful, she pulled the reference to "One Fairfax" off her web page, and then did two things with her Great Falls/Langley neighbors primarily in mind. First, she made sure that not too many kids ended up getting redistricted from overcrowded McLean to Langley, as a result of which Langley remains below capacity and FCPS continues to project that McLean will remain well over capacity for years to come. Second, she has consistently downplayed the likelihood that a new Western high school would ever get built.

I'm not aware of any public indication that Tholen has been working behind the scenes to kill (or further delay) the western high school or to expand a school like Centreville to 3000 seats. But the continued lack of real activity towards a new Western high school, along with the recently announced big planned expansion of Centreville, which is in the southwestern part of the county far from Great Falls, are great news if you're one of the Great Falls parents who wants to stay at Langley for years to come.

I mean, a couple of things:
-she doesn't single-handedly control whether or not this happens, i.e. Mythical HS.
-she's responding to her constituents, yes? I didn't think she was "at large" (but maybe I'm wrong and that would change my view some).

She theoretically represents 3 HS pyramids. Shhhh.

Doesn’t she also have part of the boundary of a fourth?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just looked up the latest CIP. They still don’t have the site!

Are the FCPS really going to build this? A few years ago CIP indicated that the new school would be built near Hutchison to provide the relief to Chantilly, Southlakes, Westfield, Oakton and Centreville. Now it looks like we are back to square one. The CIP doesn’t say much about the new HS other than the site has not been determined.

This was discussed on another thread.

The latest CIP indicates for the first time that the upcoming Centreville expansion will build that school out to 3000 seats. And, as you point out, they have no site for Western HS.

Granted, it's not easy to find a site with enough land for a new high school now. The best site was sold to the Saudis years ago. In addition, you have people who are worried that a new HS would be less attractive than their current high school, or that it might lead to a series of boundary changes that moves some kids from Langley to Herndon. Those people have every incentive to oppose the construction of a new high school, especially if it were built near Hutchison.

As a practical matter, what that means is that people with younger kids in the Centreville, Chantilly, Herndon, Oakton, South Lakes, and Westfield pyramids should make sure they are comfortable with sending their kids to a school that may each have more than 2600 kids. Western HS is not going to happen for many years, if ever. Some will give up on FCPS and move to Loudoun, where they are disciplined and build new schools regularly to keep the individual HS enrollments down.

So Langley parents prevailed in the end? Many posters on this board were absolutely sure that once the new Western HS gets built the boundary change would happen and Great Falls kids be reassigned to Herndon High.

Yes.

Back in 2018 when the School Board started to talk about boundary policy, Janie Strauss made a comment to the effect that she'd told Langley parents in Great Falls to expect to be redistricted when a new western high school was built. She didn't say where, but it was interpreted to mean that the Great Falls neighborhoods that had attended Herndon prior to 1994 (i.e., an area west of Springvale Road) would be moved back to Herndon.

That infuriated those parents, who created a group ("One Great Falls," which changed its name to "Voices of Fairfax") to protest any such idea. It culminated in a meeting at Forestville ES in June 2019, in which several dozen Langley parents screamed at Strauss about how hard they'd worked to afford a house in the Langley district, how Herndon was dangerous and not as academically rigorous, and how they'd leave the county or pull their kids out of FCPS if they were moved to Herndon. It was not a pleasant gathering.

None of this was lost on Elaine Tholen, the Great Falls resident running to replace Strauss on 2019. Like any good Democrat, Tholen had originally expressed her support for the county's "One Fairfax" policy, which some believed called for a county-wide boundary review in FCPS. When her neighbors gave her an earful, she pulled the reference to "One Fairfax" off her web page, and then did two things with her Great Falls/Langley neighbors primarily in mind. First, she made sure that not too many kids ended up getting redistricted from overcrowded McLean to Langley, as a result of which Langley remains below capacity and FCPS continues to project that McLean will remain well over capacity for years to come. Second, she has consistently downplayed the likelihood that a new Western high school would ever get built.

I'm not aware of any public indication that Tholen has been working behind the scenes to kill (or further delay) the western high school or to expand a school like Centreville to 3000 seats. But the continued lack of real activity towards a new Western high school, along with the recently announced big planned expansion of Centreville, which is in the southwestern part of the county far from Great Falls, are great news if you're one of the Great Falls parents who wants to stay at Langley for years to come.

I mean, a couple of things:
-she doesn't single-handedly control whether or not this happens, i.e. Mythical HS.
-she's responding to her constituents, yes? I didn't think she was "at large" (but maybe I'm wrong and that would change my view some).

She theoretically represents 3 HS pyramids. Shhhh.

And?

And she only cares about Langley HS. Herndon HS has been completely ignored for so long. I feel bad for people in HHS district. They always vote for Democrats and get nothing in return.

Massive, gorgeous and expensive expansion/renovation recently but keep talking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just looked up the latest CIP. They still don’t have the site!

Are the FCPS really going to build this? A few years ago CIP indicated that the new school would be built near Hutchison to provide the relief to Chantilly, Southlakes, Westfield, Oakton and Centreville. Now it looks like we are back to square one. The CIP doesn’t say much about the new HS other than the site has not been determined.

This was discussed on another thread.

The latest CIP indicates for the first time that the upcoming Centreville expansion will build that school out to 3000 seats. And, as you point out, they have no site for Western HS.

Granted, it's not easy to find a site with enough land for a new high school now. The best site was sold to the Saudis years ago. In addition, you have people who are worried that a new HS would be less attractive than their current high school, or that it might lead to a series of boundary changes that moves some kids from Langley to Herndon. Those people have every incentive to oppose the construction of a new high school, especially if it were built near Hutchison.

As a practical matter, what that means is that people with younger kids in the Centreville, Chantilly, Herndon, Oakton, South Lakes, and Westfield pyramids should make sure they are comfortable with sending their kids to a school that may each have more than 2600 kids. Western HS is not going to happen for many years, if ever. Some will give up on FCPS and move to Loudoun, where they are disciplined and build new schools regularly to keep the individual HS enrollments down.

So Langley parents prevailed in the end? Many posters on this board were absolutely sure that once the new Western HS gets built the boundary change would happen and Great Falls kids be reassigned to Herndon High.

Yes.

Back in 2018 when the School Board started to talk about boundary policy, Janie Strauss made a comment to the effect that she'd told Langley parents in Great Falls to expect to be redistricted when a new western high school was built. She didn't say where, but it was interpreted to mean that the Great Falls neighborhoods that had attended Herndon prior to 1994 (i.e., an area west of Springvale Road) would be moved back to Herndon.

That infuriated those parents, who created a group ("One Great Falls," which changed its name to "Voices of Fairfax") to protest any such idea. It culminated in a meeting at Forestville ES in June 2019, in which several dozen Langley parents screamed at Strauss about how hard they'd worked to afford a house in the Langley district, how Herndon was dangerous and not as academically rigorous, and how they'd leave the county or pull their kids out of FCPS if they were moved to Herndon. It was not a pleasant gathering.

None of this was lost on Elaine Tholen, the Great Falls resident running to replace Strauss on 2019. Like any good Democrat, Tholen had originally expressed her support for the county's "One Fairfax" policy, which some believed called for a county-wide boundary review in FCPS. When her neighbors gave her an earful, she pulled the reference to "One Fairfax" off her web page, and then did two things with her Great Falls/Langley neighbors primarily in mind. First, she made sure that not too many kids ended up getting redistricted from overcrowded McLean to Langley, as a result of which Langley remains below capacity and FCPS continues to project that McLean will remain well over capacity for years to come. Second, she has consistently downplayed the likelihood that a new Western high school would ever get built.

I'm not aware of any public indication that Tholen has been working behind the scenes to kill (or further delay) the western high school or to expand a school like Centreville to 3000 seats. But the continued lack of real activity towards a new Western high school, along with the recently announced big planned expansion of Centreville, which is in the southwestern part of the county far from Great Falls, are great news if you're one of the Great Falls parents who wants to stay at Langley for years to come.

I mean, a couple of things:
-she doesn't single-handedly control whether or not this happens, i.e. Mythical HS.
-she's responding to her constituents, yes? I didn't think she was "at large" (but maybe I'm wrong and that would change my view some).

She theoretically represents 3 HS pyramids. Shhhh.

And?

And she only cares about Langley HS. Herndon HS has been completely ignored for so long. I feel bad for people in HHS district. They always vote for Democrats and get nothing in return.

Massive, gorgeous and expensive expansion/renovation recently but keep talking.

DP. That is true, Herndon HS did just get a major expansion and renovation. It's not like Tholen had anything to do with it though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just looked up the latest CIP. They still don’t have the site!

Are the FCPS really going to build this? A few years ago CIP indicated that the new school would be built near Hutchison to provide the relief to Chantilly, Southlakes, Westfield, Oakton and Centreville. Now it looks like we are back to square one. The CIP doesn’t say much about the new HS other than the site has not been determined.

This was discussed on another thread.

The latest CIP indicates for the first time that the upcoming Centreville expansion will build that school out to 3000 seats. And, as you point out, they have no site for Western HS.

Granted, it's not easy to find a site with enough land for a new high school now. The best site was sold to the Saudis years ago. In addition, you have people who are worried that a new HS would be less attractive than their current high school, or that it might lead to a series of boundary changes that moves some kids from Langley to Herndon. Those people have every incentive to oppose the construction of a new high school, especially if it were built near Hutchison.

As a practical matter, what that means is that people with younger kids in the Centreville, Chantilly, Herndon, Oakton, South Lakes, and Westfield pyramids should make sure they are comfortable with sending their kids to a school that may each have more than 2600 kids. Western HS is not going to happen for many years, if ever. Some will give up on FCPS and move to Loudoun, where they are disciplined and build new schools regularly to keep the individual HS enrollments down.

So Langley parents prevailed in the end? Many posters on this board were absolutely sure that once the new Western HS gets built the boundary change would happen and Great Falls kids be reassigned to Herndon High.

Yes.

Back in 2018 when the School Board started to talk about boundary policy, Janie Strauss made a comment to the effect that she'd told Langley parents in Great Falls to expect to be redistricted when a new western high school was built. She didn't say where, but it was interpreted to mean that the Great Falls neighborhoods that had attended Herndon prior to 1994 (i.e., an area west of Springvale Road) would be moved back to Herndon.

That infuriated those parents, who created a group ("One Great Falls," which changed its name to "Voices of Fairfax") to protest any such idea. It culminated in a meeting at Forestville ES in June 2019, in which several dozen Langley parents screamed at Strauss about how hard they'd worked to afford a house in the Langley district, how Herndon was dangerous and not as academically rigorous, and how they'd leave the county or pull their kids out of FCPS if they were moved to Herndon. It was not a pleasant gathering.

None of this was lost on Elaine Tholen, the Great Falls resident running to replace Strauss on 2019. Like any good Democrat, Tholen had originally expressed her support for the county's "One Fairfax" policy, which some believed called for a county-wide boundary review in FCPS. When her neighbors gave her an earful, she pulled the reference to "One Fairfax" off her web page, and then did two things with her Great Falls/Langley neighbors primarily in mind. First, she made sure that not too many kids ended up getting redistricted from overcrowded McLean to Langley, as a result of which Langley remains below capacity and FCPS continues to project that McLean will remain well over capacity for years to come. Second, she has consistently downplayed the likelihood that a new Western high school would ever get built.

I'm not aware of any public indication that Tholen has been working behind the scenes to kill (or further delay) the western high school or to expand a school like Centreville to 3000 seats. But the continued lack of real activity towards a new Western high school, along with the recently announced big planned expansion of Centreville, which is in the southwestern part of the county far from Great Falls, are great news if you're one of the Great Falls parents who wants to stay at Langley for years to come.

I mean, a couple of things:
-she doesn't single-handedly control whether or not this happens, i.e. Mythical HS.
-she's responding to her constituents, yes? I didn't think she was "at large" (but maybe I'm wrong and that would change my view some).

She theoretically represents 3 HS pyramids. Shhhh.

Doesn’t she also have part of the boundary of a fourth?

Dranesville includes most of Langley, McLean, and Herndon, a small part of Marshall, and a tiny piece of Westfield.

[Anonymous]

At the School Board meeting last night, Laura Jane Cohen was carrying on about the new western HS and how she's disappointed it seems to be on the back burner again w/no real progress on a site, etc.

Do these people just take everyone for dupes? They make no progress because they want no progress, and they go off and do other things like planning to expand Centreville to 3000 seats that undermine it.

They are just the biggest frauds. Cohen has company but they can't possibly believe half the words that come out of their own mouths.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are zoned for cvhs and i have not heard anything about expanding the school. Thats terrible for our centreville kids. No kids benefit from a 3000 kid school. Why are we punishing poor and middle class centreville kids to protect the property values in great falls and mclean?

We also live in Centreville/zoned for Westfield. Our schools are already enormous. Is the community polled on whether they want a giant mega school? I certainly do NOT. Its already hard for kids to get leadership positions, play on sports teams, etc.

+1. I also lived here when Westfield had 3,000 students. It was totally unmanageable and if memory serves, that was one of the justifications for the 2008 redistricting that sent a lot of kids to South Lakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are zoned for cvhs and i have not heard anything about expanding the school. Thats terrible for our centreville kids. No kids benefit from a 3000 kid school. Why are we punishing poor and middle class centreville kids to protect the property values in great falls and mclean?

We also live in Centreville/zoned for Westfield. Our schools are already enormous. Is the community polled on whether they want a giant mega school? I certainly do NOT. Its already hard for kids to get leadership positions, play on sports teams, etc.

+1. I also lived here when Westfield had 3,000 students. It was totally unmanageable and if memory serves, that was one of the justifications for the 2008 redistricting that sent a lot of kids to South Lakes.

Your memory serves you correctly. But, to be honest, they always come up with something to say to justify what they want to do, which in that case was to move kids to South Lakes.

Within a decade they were already adding seats to some schools to ramp up their capacity to levels that they'd claimed were too high during the SL redistricting. Included in that category was South Lakes, which eventually got an addition outside the renovation queue, just a few years after its scheduled renovation.

[Anonymous]

The meeting notes from the Centreville design discussions indicate that the plan has been for 3000 seats at Centreville for some time (this is referenced in the meeting minutes for the design meetings in both June and September 2022).

https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/facilities-planning-future/building-our-future-capital-project-status/centreville-high

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just looked up the latest CIP. They still don’t have the site!

Are the FCPS really going to build this? A few years ago CIP indicated that the new school would be built near Hutchison to provide the relief to Chantilly, Southlakes, Westfield, Oakton and Centreville. Now it looks like we are back to square one. The CIP doesn’t say much about the new HS other than the site has not been determined.

This was discussed on another thread.

The latest CIP indicates for the first time that the upcoming Centreville expansion will build that school out to 3000 seats. And, as you point out, they have no site for Western HS.

Granted, it's not easy to find a site with enough land for a new high school now. The best site was sold to the Saudis years ago. In addition, you have people who are worried that a new HS would be less attractive than their current high school, or that it might lead to a series of boundary changes that moves some kids from Langley to Herndon. Those people have every incentive to oppose the construction of a new high school, especially if it were built near Hutchison.

As a practical matter, what that means is that people with younger kids in the Centreville, Chantilly, Herndon, Oakton, South Lakes, and Westfield pyramids should make sure they are comfortable with sending their kids to a school that may each have more than 2600 kids. Western HS is not going to happen for many years, if ever. Some will give up on FCPS and move to Loudoun, where they are disciplined and build new schools regularly to keep the individual HS enrollments down.

So Langley parents prevailed in the end? Many posters on this board were absolutely sure that once the new Western HS gets built the boundary change would happen and Great Falls kids be reassigned to Herndon High.

Yes.

Back in 2018 when the School Board started to talk about boundary policy, Janie Strauss made a comment to the effect that she'd told Langley parents in Great Falls to expect to be redistricted when a new western high school was built. She didn't say where, but it was interpreted to mean that the Great Falls neighborhoods that had attended Herndon prior to 1994 (i.e., an area west of Springvale Road) would be moved back to Herndon.

That infuriated those parents, who created a group ("One Great Falls," which changed its name to "Voices of Fairfax") to protest any such idea. It culminated in a meeting at Forestville ES in June 2019, in which several dozen Langley parents screamed at Strauss about how hard they'd worked to afford a house in the Langley district, how Herndon was dangerous and not as academically rigorous, and how they'd leave the county or pull their kids out of FCPS if they were moved to Herndon. It was not a pleasant gathering.

None of this was lost on Elaine Tholen, the Great Falls resident running to replace Strauss on 2019. Like any good Democrat, Tholen had originally expressed her support for the county's "One Fairfax" policy, which some believed called for a county-wide boundary review in FCPS. When her neighbors gave her an earful, she pulled the reference to "One Fairfax" off her web page, and then did two things with her Great Falls/Langley neighbors primarily in mind. First, she made sure that not too many kids ended up getting redistricted from overcrowded McLean to Langley, as a result of which Langley remains below capacity and FCPS continues to project that McLean will remain well over capacity for years to come. Second, she has consistently downplayed the likelihood that a new Western high school would ever get built.

I'm not aware of any public indication that Tholen has been working behind the scenes to kill (or further delay) the western high school or to expand a school like Centreville to 3000 seats. But the continued lack of real activity towards a new Western high school, along with the recently announced big planned expansion of Centreville, which is in the southwestern part of the county far from Great Falls, are great news if you're one of the Great Falls parents who wants to stay at Langley for years to come.

I mean, a couple of things:
-she doesn't single-handedly control whether or not this happens, i.e. Mythical HS.
-she's responding to her constituents, yes? I didn't think she was "at large" (but maybe I'm wrong and that would change my view some).

She theoretically represents 3 HS pyramids. Shhhh.

And?

She only recognizes 2 of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just looked up the latest CIP. They still don’t have the site!

Are the FCPS really going to build this? A few years ago CIP indicated that the new school would be built near Hutchison to provide the relief to Chantilly, Southlakes, Westfield, Oakton and Centreville. Now it looks like we are back to square one. The CIP doesn’t say much about the new HS other than the site has not been determined.

This was discussed on another thread.

The latest CIP indicates for the first time that the upcoming Centreville expansion will build that school out to 3000 seats. And, as you point out, they have no site for Western HS.

Granted, it's not easy to find a site with enough land for a new high school now. The best site was sold to the Saudis years ago. In addition, you have people who are worried that a new HS would be less attractive than their current high school, or that it might lead to a series of boundary changes that moves some kids from Langley to Herndon. Those people have every incentive to oppose the construction of a new high school, especially if it were built near Hutchison.

As a practical matter, what that means is that people with younger kids in the Centreville, Chantilly, Herndon, Oakton, South Lakes, and Westfield pyramids should make sure they are comfortable with sending their kids to a school that may each have more than 2600 kids. Western HS is not going to happen for many years, if ever. Some will give up on FCPS and move to Loudoun, where they are disciplined and build new schools regularly to keep the individual HS enrollments down.

So Langley parents prevailed in the end? Many posters on this board were absolutely sure that once the new Western HS gets built the boundary change would happen and Great Falls kids be reassigned to Herndon High.

Yes.

Back in 2018 when the School Board started to talk about boundary policy, Janie Strauss made a comment to the effect that she'd told Langley parents in Great Falls to expect to be redistricted when a new western high school was built. She didn't say where, but it was interpreted to mean that the Great Falls neighborhoods that had attended Herndon prior to 1994 (i.e., an area west of Springvale Road) would be moved back to Herndon.

That infuriated those parents, who created a group ("One Great Falls," which changed its name to "Voices of Fairfax") to protest any such idea. It culminated in a meeting at Forestville ES in June 2019, in which several dozen Langley parents screamed at Strauss about how hard they'd worked to afford a house in the Langley district, how Herndon was dangerous and not as academically rigorous, and how they'd leave the county or pull their kids out of FCPS if they were moved to Herndon. It was not a pleasant gathering.

None of this was lost on Elaine Tholen, the Great Falls resident running to replace Strauss on 2019. Like any good Democrat, Tholen had originally expressed her support for the county's "One Fairfax" policy, which some believed called for a county-wide boundary review in FCPS. When her neighbors gave her an earful, she pulled the reference to "One Fairfax" off her web page, and then did two things with her Great Falls/Langley neighbors primarily in mind. First, she made sure that not too many kids ended up getting redistricted from overcrowded McLean to Langley, as a result of which Langley remains below capacity and FCPS continues to project that McLean will remain well over capacity for years to come. Second, she has consistently downplayed the likelihood that a new Western high school would ever get built.

I'm not aware of any public indication that Tholen has been working behind the scenes to kill (or further delay) the western high school or to expand a school like Centreville to 3000 seats. But the continued lack of real activity towards a new Western high school, along with the recently announced big planned expansion of Centreville, which is in the southwestern part of the county far from Great Falls, are great news if you're one of the Great Falls parents who wants to stay at Langley for years to come.

I mean, a couple of things:
-she doesn't single-handedly control whether or not this happens, i.e. Mythical HS.
-she's responding to her constituents, yes? I didn't think she was "at large" (but maybe I'm wrong and that would change my view some).

She theoretically represents 3 HS pyramids. Shhhh.

And?

And she only cares about Langley HS. Herndon HS has been completely ignored for so long. I feel bad for people in HHS district. They always vote for Democrats and get nothing in return.

Massive, gorgeous and expensive expansion/renovation recently but keep talking.

LOLOLOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just looked up the latest CIP. They still don’t have the site!

Are the FCPS really going to build this? A few years ago CIP indicated that the new school would be built near Hutchison to provide the relief to Chantilly, Southlakes, Westfield, Oakton and Centreville. Now it looks like we are back to square one. The CIP doesn’t say much about the new HS other than the site has not been determined.

This was discussed on another thread.

The latest CIP indicates for the first time that the upcoming Centreville expansion will build that school out to 3000 seats. And, as you point out, they have no site for Western HS.

Granted, it's not easy to find a site with enough land for a new high school now. The best site was sold to the Saudis years ago. In addition, you have people who are worried that a new HS would be less attractive than their current high school, or that it might lead to a series of boundary changes that moves some kids from Langley to Herndon. Those people have every incentive to oppose the construction of a new high school, especially if it were built near Hutchison.

As a practical matter, what that means is that people with younger kids in the Centreville, Chantilly, Herndon, Oakton, South Lakes, and Westfield pyramids should make sure they are comfortable with sending their kids to a school that may each have more than 2600 kids. Western HS is not going to happen for many years, if ever. Some will give up on FCPS and move to Loudoun, where they are disciplined and build new schools regularly to keep the individual HS enrollments down.

So Langley parents prevailed in the end? Many posters on this board were absolutely sure that once the new Western HS gets built the boundary change would happen and Great Falls kids be reassigned to Herndon High.

Yes.

Back in 2018 when the School Board started to talk about boundary policy, Janie Strauss made a comment to the effect that she'd told Langley parents in Great Falls to expect to be redistricted when a new western high school was built. She didn't say where, but it was interpreted to mean that the Great Falls neighborhoods that had attended Herndon prior to 1994 (i.e., an area west of Springvale Road) would be moved back to Herndon.

That infuriated those parents, who created a group ("One Great Falls," which changed its name to "Voices of Fairfax") to protest any such idea. It culminated in a meeting at Forestville ES in June 2019, in which several dozen Langley parents screamed at Strauss about how hard they'd worked to afford a house in the Langley district, how Herndon was dangerous and not as academically rigorous, and how they'd leave the county or pull their kids out of FCPS if they were moved to Herndon. It was not a pleasant gathering.

None of this was lost on Elaine Tholen, the Great Falls resident running to replace Strauss on 2019. Like any good Democrat, Tholen had originally expressed her support for the county's "One Fairfax" policy, which some believed called for a county-wide boundary review in FCPS. When her neighbors gave her an earful, she pulled the reference to "One Fairfax" off her web page, and then did two things with her Great Falls/Langley neighbors primarily in mind. First, she made sure that not too many kids ended up getting redistricted from overcrowded McLean to Langley, as a result of which Langley remains below capacity and FCPS continues to project that McLean will remain well over capacity for years to come. Second, she has consistently downplayed the likelihood that a new Western high school would ever get built.

I'm not aware of any public indication that Tholen has been working behind the scenes to kill (or further delay) the western high school or to expand a school like Centreville to 3000 seats. But the continued lack of real activity towards a new Western high school, along with the recently announced big planned expansion of Centreville, which is in the southwestern part of the county far from Great Falls, are great news if you're one of the Great Falls parents who wants to stay at Langley for years to come.

I mean, a couple of things:
-she doesn't single-handedly control whether or not this happens, i.e. Mythical HS.
-she's responding to her constituents, yes? I didn't think she was "at large" (but maybe I'm wrong and that would change my view some).

She theoretically represents 3 HS pyramids. Shhhh.

And?

And she only cares about Langley HS. Herndon HS has been completely ignored for so long. I feel bad for people in HHS district. They always vote for Democrats and get nothing in return.

Massive, gorgeous and expensive expansion/renovation recently but keep talking.

DP. That is true, Herndon HS did just get a major expansion and renovation. It's not like Tholen had anything to do with it though.

1000% true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The longer running discussion was around the Floris and Oak Hill areas having their "own" school, since that area probably got redistricted as often as any other in the county over the years. However, once Floris and Oak Hill realized a new school might also include poorer parts of Herndon and Reston, the enthusiasm of some in that area waned quite a bit.

Oak Hill / Floris deserves its own high school. I know some people want to consider that area as part of Herndon but Oak Hill is distinct from Herndon as Oakton is distinct from Vienna. Floris used to have its own Post Office and its own vocational (agricultural) high school.

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/frying-pan-park/school

Ideally converting Carson to a secondary school would have been the best for Oak Hill parents. Hutchison site would be bad logistically. However, at this point, I would rule out both options.

Deserves? All the kids deserve to avoid overcrowding. It's that entitled thinking of ONLY your children in YOUR district that causes problems in the school board in the first place.

Unfortunately, I really do believe that it will never happen because it would mean that all of the people who live up and down Centerville Road in high valued homes do not want their kids to be with lower income kids from Herndon and the issues that poverty causes. Which in turn lowers their own property values. I live in Reston and see it firsthand. But now with the Metro open, it will be interesting to see how that changes the housing picture...which is really what drives the reputations of schools.

While what you said is true, the future housing develeopment is going to happen around new Silverline metro stations. Oak Hill area, 20171 zip code, will see a significant enrollment increase. This is where the Western HS should be built. And while nobody talks about this, Carson middle, which serves 20171, is already extremely large. For 2019-20 school year, Carson had more than 1500 kids. That’s equivalent of 3000+ student high school. Obviously, it will get much worse once the house development is done. So what is the FCPS going to do about Carson?

Ideally, they should build a new middle school in addition to the Western Hs (or a secondary school) in Oak Hill. It seems like they are NOT going to do it. Instead what they are going to do is following:

Most likely Franklin Middle will become a center and stop sending AAP kids to Carson. This will provide a relief to Carson. Also they are builiding a new elementary school around silverline (Silverline ES). According to the CIP report, this Silverline ES belongs to Dranesville district. Therefore I suspect that this new ES will take some of Coates and/or McNair kids and feed them to Herndon Middle and Herndon High. This would provide a relief to Carson and Westfield. Lastly, the board *may* consider reassigning Fox Mill / part of Floris kids to Hughes from Carson as they are already going to South Lakes High.

The more I think about this, the more I am convinced that they are not going to build any new middle or high school. Just more expansions and more bussing.