Any chance for Skyview (previously Western) High School opt-in out of current boundaries?
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Anonymous
| The school is very exciting. The admin team is full of energy and having an all-opt in class means that every kid wants to be there. You could feel the energy at the school earlier this week - these kids are like starting their own school in a modern beautiful school - AND they will have AI and Robotics right away. Future generations are going to be thrilled to be in zone for this school. I do think they will have traditional boundaries because there are no math requirements to get in and to be a magnet they would need everyone accelerated. That said, my sons AAP class have largely all opted in - they are all interested in AI/Engineering, etc. |
Anonymous
What ES? |
Anonymous
Oh, dear. Hope your kid can handle being around some other students who haven't been in AAP and aren't "accelerated." By the way, having an all opt-in class doesn't mean that every kid wants to be there. Some parents may have decided they want their kids at the closest high school, or at the school to which they are likely to be assigned when FCPS fixes the boundaries. And, of course, unless Reid ignores the directive for Skyview to be a community school, within a few years most of the students will be in-boundary students, not students who opted in at the school's inception. But, I do think the initial opt-in model was intended, among other things, to build enthusiasm for the school at the beginning. The initial classes of students who opt in will likely outperform the later classes academically, and they will ride that wave for a while. |
Anonymous
As someone else posted, most of the classes were added to the FCPS catalog this year. VDOE is working on the curriculum for AI Programming 2 so that one is not included in the FCPS catalog yet. Some of the classes that will count to the requirements are already on the books and can be taken in Freshman or Sophomore year. The Piloting classes are not available yet, I do think those will be tricky but they are working that program. |
Anonymous
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Yes my snowflake will be fine with non AAP kids - my point was that Skyview is attracting magnet school type kids and that will elevate the entire school. And the kids are excited. So yes it is likely to be a very strong 9th grade because of the profile of those who would opt in to this school- risk taking, tech forward kids.
What I really like is my kid keeps his middle school group (Carson) which is from multiple ES- but also branch to multiple HS. They are all going together and they are a great group of kids. |
Anonymous
FCPS only has one magnet - TJ - and Reid has been given a specific order to operate Skyview as a community school. Just because some kids don't care about the sports Skyview can't offer at first doesn't make them "magnet school type kids." |
Anonymous
No but the programs being discussed are more STEM type programs, at least the AI and Robotics paths. My husband looked at the Aviation path and it looked more like how to run an airport than how to fly. He was disappointed because he thought aeronautical engineering type concepts would be cool for a kid to learn. The kids who are at Skyview next year are kids who want to be there or whose parents want them to be there. That will create a slightly different type of class then the traditional school. The teachers want to be at the school. The administrators want to be at the school. Most of the people opting in are doing so because they want to be there. It is a fun energy, at least it was at the Open House I attended and the first meeting. |
Anonymous
So you're admitting that the sole reason you're against Skyview is because for ONE YEAR, they won't have sports. Some sports parents are CRAZY. |
Anonymous
They should have opened as a real school with boundaries and offered JV sports. My kid wouldn't even consider it b/c they didn't have sports. |
Anonymous
DP. I am so happy for Carson’s next year’s 9th graders being able to stay together. This came a year too late to be perfect for us, but my rising 10th grader has opted in and looking forward to being reunited with some friends. |
Anonymous
Agree. We did not opt in initially in part because of sports. However, DD feels comfortable now knowing she can play on her “base” school’s team next year so she will be connected to both schools. |
Anonymous
The coaches are NOT going to want the hassle of dealing with Skyview kids coming over for practices and games. I think the "Skyview" kids will get cut unless they are spectaucular athletes. Of course, for girls nothing is particularly competitive compared to boys so it might not be as much of an issue. |
Anonymous
I'm just curious. If freshmen usually don’t make the team anyway, what would they actually be missing? |
Anonymous
Freshman football is usually non-cut. You may not play much but you will practice. It is very rare for a freshman to make varsity. Actually, it is pretty rare to make varsity in most of the sports. |
Anonymous
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Skyview will be running intramural sports next year for kids who don’t want to go to the base school for sports or just to play a sport while doing clubs. They are planning on full sports, with the possible exception of varsity football in two years.
Most of the people who didn’t opt in for sports have other reasons but sports is the easiest to point to. And that is fine. Some of the kids I know who opted in did so because their friends opted in and they wanted to go to HS with their friends. And that is fine. There are many reasons to opt in or not, people are making decisions based on what they value. I think it is amazing that with all the uncertainty surrounding boundaries and transportation that 700, or close to 700 or some where around 650, people opted in. The amount of negativity surrounding the school from some corners has been loud and I think made the decision harder for families. We are excited to see where it goes and my kids friends seem to be happy with their families choices. |