Boundaries assessment update 2023

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just get rid of AAP and AAP centers. Beef up the curriculum for everyone instead.

Both of my kids are in AAP and I’m glad the programs exists but I agree centers make no sense.

Part of the rationale was that some elementary and middle schools by themselves don’t have a critical mass of advanced students.

And they never will if they flee to centers. I don’t think AAP should necessarily mix with gen Ed but have a designated class.

Our MC/UMC school had less than 10 that were identified/selected for LIV (around 10% of the 2nd grade class). It's not a center and uses a cluster model. Moving away from the center model would mean that these kids wouldn't have a critical mass of students at their level, vs. the center that has 2 full-time classes (almost all those selected from the base school are attending the center).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm guessing there would be some way to phase it out if there is a desire to do so by the School board. Start by putting AP options in. Expensive for a couple of years but ultimately would save money. Perhaps, take the IB diploma candidates and group them in one or two schools for two years.

cont. Start by doing a serious survey asking parents and students what they would like.

FWIW, two of my kids' college friends graduated with the diploma. One from MV and one from Robinson. Both said they would have much preferred AP. They also did not get as much college credit as my DD who started as an academic sophomore.

It’s not just about the college credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm guessing there would be some way to phase it out if there is a desire to do so by the School board. Start by putting AP options in. Expensive for a couple of years but ultimately would save money. Perhaps, take the IB diploma candidates and group them in one or two schools for two years.

cont. Start by doing a serious survey asking parents and students what they would like.

FWIW, two of my kids' college friends graduated with the diploma. One from MV and one from Robinson. Both said they would have much preferred AP. They also did not get as much college credit as my DD who started as an academic sophomore.

It’s not just about the college credit.

Much better to offer AP and include the AP electives that require more writing. IB is inefficient and costly, and the fact that most FCPS families want nothing to do with it is a big impediment to boundary adjustments.

[Anonymous]

Much better to offer AP and include the AP electives that require more writing. IB is inefficient and costly, and the fact that most FCPS families want nothing to do with it is a big impediment to boundary adjustments.

+1
And, if you don't believe that most parents want AP, just go watch the video from the "citizen participation" in the 2008 Boundary adjustment to South Lakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm guessing there would be some way to phase it out if there is a desire to do so by the School board. Start by putting AP options in. Expensive for a couple of years but ultimately would save money. Perhaps, take the IB diploma candidates and group them in one or two schools for two years.

cont. Start by doing a serious survey asking parents and students what they would like.

FWIW, two of my kids' college friends graduated with the diploma. One from MV and one from Robinson. Both said they would have much preferred AP. They also did not get as much college credit as my DD who started as an academic sophomore.

A survey can potentially have bad faith actors. Someone at Annandale could fake their support for IB because they use AP at Lake Braddock to pupil place out.

I don't think making all schools AP is the easy solution many make it out to be. Falls Church HS has AP and it is by no means a school that is considered desirable by the general public. Parents pupil place into IB at Marshall to avoid AP at FCHS. The issue runs deeper than AP > IB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm guessing there would be some way to phase it out if there is a desire to do so by the School board. Start by putting AP options in. Expensive for a couple of years but ultimately would save money. Perhaps, take the IB diploma candidates and group them in one or two schools for two years.

cont. Start by doing a serious survey asking parents and students what they would like.

FWIW, two of my kids' college friends graduated with the diploma. One from MV and one from Robinson. Both said they would have much preferred AP. They also did not get as much college credit as my DD who started as an academic sophomore.

A survey can potentially have bad faith actors. Someone at Annandale could fake their support for IB because they use AP at Lake Braddock to pupil place out.

I don't think making all schools AP is the easy solution many make it out to be. Falls Church HS has AP and it is by no means a school that is considered desirable by the general public. Parents pupil place into IB at Marshall to avoid AP at FCHS. The issue runs deeper than AP > IB.

According to the latest FCPS capacity dashboard, there are fewer than 10 kids who transferred from Falls Church to Marshall for IB this school year. On the other hand, there are 40 kids who pupil placed from Marshall to Madison for AP this year.

Some of this has to do with school capacity but there aren't many kids going to Marshall from Falls Church. And once Falls Church's major renovation is finished, even fewer kids will want to attend other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm guessing there would be some way to phase it out if there is a desire to do so by the School board. Start by putting AP options in. Expensive for a couple of years but ultimately would save money. Perhaps, take the IB diploma candidates and group them in one or two schools for two years.

cont. Start by doing a serious survey asking parents and students what they would like.

FWIW, two of my kids' college friends graduated with the diploma. One from MV and one from Robinson. Both said they would have much preferred AP. They also did not get as much college credit as my DD who started as an academic sophomore.

A survey can potentially have bad faith actors. Someone at Annandale could fake their support for IB because they use AP at Lake Braddock to pupil place out.

I don't think making all schools AP is the easy solution many make it out to be. Falls Church HS has AP and it is by no means a school that is considered desirable by the general public. Parents pupil place into IB at Marshall to avoid AP at FCHS. The issue runs deeper than AP > IB.

According to the latest FCPS capacity dashboard, there are fewer than 10 kids who transferred from Falls Church to Marshall for IB this school year. On the other hand, there are 40 kids who pupil placed from Marshall to Madison for AP this year.

Some of this has to do with school capacity but there aren't many kids going to Marshall from Falls Church. And once Falls Church's major renovation is finished, even fewer kids will want to attend other schools.

I thought Marshall students had to pupil place to Falls Church.

[Anonymous]

With the way things are in the county with most of the poverty (and issues associated with poverty) being clustered in only certain areas, I’m not sure that any boundary change would be enough. I do think there are some changes (some of them aren’t even too painful!) they can make to relieve some specific overcrowding scenarios, but boundary changes can’t change the fact that Lewis HS is 63% FARMS, 25% ESOL, and very under-enrolled, because those are also the demographics of the neighborhoods that feed into the school. And no one wants bussing, kids don’t want an hour long bus ride across the county to go to a “better” school with kids they don’t even know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With the way things are in the county with most of the poverty (and issues associated with poverty) being clustered in only certain areas, I’m not sure that any boundary change would be enough. I do think there are some changes (some of them aren’t even too painful!) they can make to relieve some specific overcrowding scenarios, but boundary changes can’t change the fact that Lewis HS is 63% FARMS, 25% ESOL, and very under-enrolled, because those are also the demographics of the neighborhoods that feed into the school. And no one wants bussing, kids don’t want an hour long bus ride across the county to go to a “better” school with kids they don’t even know.

Honestly at the ES level I disagree. There are many schools that could get apartment complexes to diversify their school more. We are at Freedom Hill and there is an apartment building cut in half (half go to Lemon Road and 1/2 go to FH). It is closer to Lemon Road but parents fought taking the whole complex cause they felt that would turn the school Title 1. Same thing with Shrevewood. There are complexes zoned for Shrevewood that really are closer to Stenwood.

In my opinion, I think every ES should have at least one apartment complex. That is why Great Schools is messed up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With the way things are in the county with most of the poverty (and issues associated with poverty) being clustered in only certain areas, I’m not sure that any boundary change would be enough. I do think there are some changes (some of them aren’t even too painful!) they can make to relieve some specific overcrowding scenarios, but boundary changes can’t change the fact that Lewis HS is 63% FARMS, 25% ESOL, and very under-enrolled, because those are also the demographics of the neighborhoods that feed into the school. And no one wants bussing, kids don’t want an hour long bus ride across the county to go to a “better” school with kids they don’t even know.

Honestly at the ES level I disagree. There are many schools that could get apartment complexes to diversify their school more. We are at Freedom Hill and there is an apartment building cut in half (half go to Lemon Road and 1/2 go to FH). It is closer to Lemon Road but parents fought taking the whole complex cause they felt that would turn the school Title 1. Same thing with Shrevewood. There are complexes zoned for Shrevewood that really are closer to Stenwood.

In my opinion, I think every ES should have at least one apartment complex. That is why Great Schools is messed up.

There’s some iffy boundaries out there to be sure but as a counter example, Halley elementary in Lorton already has a low income attendance island on the other side of 95. If they didn’t have this, those students would be at Lorton Station or possibly Gunston. And I can’t think of any apartment buildings where it would be workable for students to go from their local elementary to, say, White Oaks in Burke. There’s no apartment buildings anywhere near there.

[Anonymous]

The school board needs to take a serious look at the inequitable borders between Herndon, Langley, and Chantilly. They need to start making adjustments to these boundaries. Look at the demo and FARM info between Herndon and Langley alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With the way things are in the county with most of the poverty (and issues associated with poverty) being clustered in only certain areas, I’m not sure that any boundary change would be enough. I do think there are some changes (some of them aren’t even too painful!) they can make to relieve some specific overcrowding scenarios, but boundary changes can’t change the fact that Lewis HS is 63% FARMS, 25% ESOL, and very under-enrolled, because those are also the demographics of the neighborhoods that feed into the school. And no one wants bussing, kids don’t want an hour long bus ride across the county to go to a “better” school with kids they don’t even know.

Honestly at the ES level I disagree. There are many schools that could get apartment complexes to diversify their school more. We are at Freedom Hill and there is an apartment building cut in half (half go to Lemon Road and 1/2 go to FH). It is closer to Lemon Road but parents fought taking the whole complex cause they felt that would turn the school Title 1. Same thing with Shrevewood. There are complexes zoned for Shrevewood that really are closer to Stenwood.

In my opinion, I think every ES should have at least one apartment complex. That is why Great Schools is messed up.

There’s some iffy boundaries out there to be sure but as a counter example, Halley elementary in Lorton already has a low income attendance island on the other side of 95. If they didn’t have this, those students would be at Lorton Station or possibly Gunston. And I can’t think of any apartment buildings where it would be workable for students to go from their local elementary to, say, White Oaks in Burke. There’s no apartment buildings anywhere near there.

WO may not have apt bldgs but it’s a pretty diverse school.

https://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:13:::NO:0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID,P0_EDSL:387,0

25% FARMS
15% ELL

[Anonymous]

There are no apparent complexes in Great Falls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The school board needs to take a serious look at the inequitable borders between Herndon, Langley, and Chantilly. They need to start making adjustments to these boundaries. Look at the demo and FARM info between Herndon and Langley alone.

There is no border between Herndon and Chantilly. Perhaps you mean Westfield.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The school board needs to take a serious look at the inequitable borders between Herndon, Langley, and Chantilly. They need to start making adjustments to these boundaries. Look at the demo and FARM info between Herndon and Langley alone.

The Herndon/Langley thing would either involve giving some Herndon kids an annoyingly long bus ride to Langley since the building is physically located in the more populated area near Tysons, or giving some of relatively sparsely populated western Great Falls back to Herndon. That would decrease their bus ride length but would be a political nuclear bomb because Langley is so under-enrolled and it would be seen as busing kids to a lesser school for “equity.” Herndon was pretty crowded for awhile - not sure where they stand now or if they could absorb a few more students, but again, little reason to do so if Langley is under enrolled.