Is FCPS freaking out about Amazon coming to town?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Key/Lee have the least expensive single-family homes of any school pyramid in the county, plus lots of apartments and older townhouses. Lee is also stuck with IB, is named after a traitor, and gets a lot of undocumented minors in their mid to late teens. It will require a concerted effort to turn it around.

And they can't change their name, right? That never happens...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:change TJ to a neighborhood school.

That will not help anything and will likely hurt achievement.

TJ is not in a neighborhood that is a convenient commute to the Amazon campus or in the areas likely to see a bump.

Plus, and this is a big one, TJ is a huge draw to high achieving families and brings them to fcps rather than Arlington or Loudon county. Most of the pyramids in fcps benefit from TJs prestige, even if they are not feeder schools. TJs benefits far outweigh any drawbacks.

[Anonymous]

Uh, aren’t other counties like the ones you mentioned plus PW eligible to send qualifying students to TJ too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Uh, aren’t other counties like the ones you mentioned plus PW eligible to send qualifying students to TJ too?

Not to the numbers that fcps sends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think APS and FCPS will make changes as needed because there is really no way to predict where Amazon workers with kids will choose to live. Personally, I think they will mostly live in Arlington, in the part with the better schools because of commute.

Better schools would be FCPS over Arlington, and better commute in this case will be the blue or yellow lines.

Kingstown, Burke and West Springfield are the neighborhoods to watch here for families with kids.

I meant they will live in the part of Arlington that has better schools, I don’t know if it’s North or South Arlington. I wasn’t comparing aps and FCPS. It wouldn’t make sense to live in FCPS because of the commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess they have a few years to raise taxes on the residents and build more schools. Only 400 employees expected in 2019. Only 1200 employees added in 2020. So, FCPS has at least a few years to tax and build.

FCPS has no taxing authority.

Correct. FC tried to get a sales tax (or a tax on food, can't remember the specifics) in the last few years. That would have gone to funding schools. Many other jurisdictions have this particular tax. But, it was voted down.

and thank goodness it was voted down, because the School Board is not a good steward of taxpayer funds. Why should bonds for new construction be issued when some schools have more capacity than students? What needs to happen is large scale redistricting, but the Board won’t do it because it would be politically unpopular.

This is a lie perpetrated by the far right in our county. The School Board and our County Board are extremely good stewards of our taxpayer funds. They get much better results than our neighbors with much less money. Period. Our taxes are low when compared to similar districts across the country. Good schools and good services cost money.

Please provide some data or facts to support this assertion. There have been two internal audits of the contracting at FCPS in the past five years that have identified egregious failures in requiring competition for contracts. The ERFC (supplemental pension progrram for FCPS teachers) has costs that are approximately twice as high as those of the County pension system and more than 12 times as high as the best in class public pensions (e.g. State of Nevada). FCPS special needs programs and services are significantly more costly than almost all of our neighboring peers. FCPS teachers retire with a pension that is increased at 3% every year (while County employees get CPI which has averageed 1.6%/yr over the past ten years).

Please provide one piece of data that supports your assertion - and btw, I'm a Democrat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I wonder whether FCPS will build more schools in light of the Amazon hq2 coming. A new school in Springfield/Burke? Will they build a new western high school?

There is no land in Springfield or Burke for a new high school. And there is plenty of capacity at Lee. They need to focus on improving Lee.

You say that as if they're not trying. The students at Key are doing great. Then those same students go to Lee and, what happens?

As for additional land, there is additional land in Springfield and Burke. But planning for a new school seems premature.

There is not additional land for another high school there. The open land is almost entirely county parkland.

Incorrect. They were going to build the new FBI building very close to the metro. There would have been plenty of land left over for a huge HS, or even combined campus.

I don't think it is a stretch to think that Amazon HQ2 brings more of the same to the area. If so, every current homeowner with ten miles of a metro station stands to see an increase in real estate value over the next five years.

I don’t think they need a new HS school there - it would be (I’m guessing) less than 2 miles from Lee, which is under-enrolled. And very close to Hayfield (also under-enrolled) as well. Maybe a few new elementaries will need to pop up if the Amazon families end up in Kingstowne, Rose Hill, Lorton, the not extremely rural parts of Fairfax Station, etc. But really, SOMETHING (and I’m not sure what) needs to be done about Lee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think APS and FCPS will make changes as needed because there is really no way to predict where Amazon workers with kids will choose to live. Personally, I think they will mostly live in Arlington, in the part with the better schools because of commute.

Better schools would be FCPS over Arlington, and better commute in this case will be the blue or yellow lines.

Kingstown, Burke and West Springfield are the neighborhoods to watch here for families with kids.

I meant they will live in the part of Arlington that has better schools, I don’t know if it’s North or South Arlington. I wasn’t comparing aps and FCPS. It wouldn’t make sense to live in FCPS because of the commute.

There are areas in Fairfax and Falls Church that are either adjacent to, or a short distance from, Arlington with better schools. I know South Arlington people are hoping Amazon will turn Wakefield into a high-performing school and fund the fourth high school that APS hasn't gotten around to building, but for the foreseeable future the best options will continue to be the Langley, McLean, George Mason, Madison, Oakton, Woodson, Chantilly, Marshall, Robinson, Lake Braddock and West Springfield pyramids.

[Anonymous]

When you see where the schools closest to Crystal City rank in terms of SAT scores, you know that parents who want their kids in good schools will look further out.

TJ - 1516
Langley - 1314
McLean - 1308
HB Woodlawn - 1290
Oakton - 1265
Madison - 1262
Woodson - 1256
Marshall - 1237
Yorktown - 1234
Chantilly - 1233
Lake Braddock - 1210
Robinson - 1210
South Lakes - 1205
Washington-Lee - 1205
West Springfield - 1195
Westfield - 1195
Fairfax - 1192
Centreville - 1189
Herndon - 1187
South County - 1172
West Potomac - 1155
Falls Church - 1141
Edison - 1119
Hayfield - 1113
Annandale - 1104
Wakefield - 1104
Justice - 1094
Lee - 1093
Mount Vernon - 1040
T.C. Williams - 992

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you see where the schools closest to Crystal City rank in terms of SAT scores, you know that parents who want their kids in good schools will look further out.

TJ - 1516
Langley - 1314
McLean - 1308
HB Woodlawn - 1290
Oakton - 1265
Madison - 1262
Woodson - 1256
Marshall - 1237
Yorktown - 1234
Chantilly - 1233
Lake Braddock - 1210
Robinson - 1210
South Lakes - 1205
Washington-Lee - 1205
West Springfield - 1195
Westfield - 1195
Fairfax - 1192
Centreville - 1189
Herndon - 1187
South County - 1172
West Potomac - 1155
Falls Church - 1141
Edison - 1119
Hayfield - 1113
Annandale - 1104
Wakefield - 1104
Justice - 1094
Lee - 1093
Mount Vernon - 1040
T.C. Williams - 992

based on distance they will all go to mclean and yorktown

[Anonymous]

This is what I’m afraid of. We’re Western Fairfax, near Chantilly and Carson/ RRMS, with the silver line set to fully come on line. Chantilly, acarson, RRMs are over capacity. I’s love a housing price bumb, but I’m worried mid career tech folks with kids, especially Asian parents, move to Western Fairfax for the TJ feeders, good schools and decent housing prices. And we do not have capacity until there is a new HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is what I’m afraid of. We’re Western Fairfax, near Chantilly and Carson/ RRMS, with the silver line set to fully come on line. Chantilly, acarson, RRMs are over capacity. I’s love a housing price bumb, but I’m worried mid career tech folks with kids, especially Asian parents, move to Western Fairfax for the TJ feeders, good schools and decent housing prices. And we do not have capacity until there is a new HS.

TJ has 30% out-of-county students and its enrollment as a Governor's School is capped by VA at @1800 kids. Converting it back to a neighborhood school with a typical enrollment would create about 1000 spaces for county students.

FCPS should do a county-wide redistricting, shifting kids to more of the under-enrolled schools in SE Fairfax. The boundaries would be adjusted again when the new western high school is opened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is what I’m afraid of. We’re Western Fairfax, near Chantilly and Carson/ RRMS, with the silver line set to fully come on line. Chantilly, acarson, RRMs are over capacity. I’s love a housing price bumb, but I’m worried mid career tech folks with kids, especially Asian parents, move to Western Fairfax for the TJ feeders, good schools and decent housing prices. And we do not have capacity until there is a new HS.

Rocky Run enrollment will come down with the new AAP Center at Lanier. FCPS can address overcrowding at Carson any time it wants by sending the Franklin kids to an AAP center there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When you see where the schools closest to Crystal City rank in terms of SAT scores, you know that parents who want their kids in good schools will look further out.

TJ - 1516
Langley - 1314
McLean - 1308
HB Woodlawn - 1290
Oakton - 1265
Madison - 1262
Woodson - 1256
Marshall - 1237
Yorktown - 1234
Chantilly - 1233
Lake Braddock - 1210
Robinson - 1210
South Lakes - 1205
Washington-Lee - 1205
West Springfield - 1195
Westfield - 1195
Fairfax - 1192
Centreville - 1189
Herndon - 1187
South County - 1172
West Potomac - 1155
Falls Church - 1141
Edison - 1119
Hayfield - 1113
Annandale - 1104
Wakefield - 1104
Justice - 1094
Lee - 1093
Mount Vernon - 1040
T.C. Williams - 992

based on distance they will all go to mclean and yorktown

Langley and W-L as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think APS and FCPS will make changes as needed because there is really no way to predict where Amazon workers with kids will choose to live. Personally, I think they will mostly live in Arlington, in the part with the better schools because of commute.

Better schools would be FCPS over Arlington, and better commute in this case will be the blue or yellow lines.

Kingstown, Burke and West Springfield are the neighborhoods to watch here for families with kids.

I meant they will live in the part of Arlington that has better schools, I don’t know if it’s North or South Arlington. I wasn’t comparing aps and FCPS. It wouldn’t make sense to live in FCPS because of the commute.

???

The blue and yellow line neighborhoods are the best locations due to commute.

North Arlington is a terrible commute when you compare it to all of VA neighborhoods like Alexandria, Burke, West Springfield, Fort Hunt, etc.