FCPS is turning the new high school purchased to fix crowding into an Aviation magnet school instead of a high school??

[Anonymous]

And then there's this comment, which I agree with. Everyone in the county deserves transparency over the purchase of this school:

Hunter Mill District Representative Melanie Meren said FCPS also needs to be transparent and public about its purchasing to ensure it’s seen as a good steward of taxpayer funding.

“I’ve been so excited to celebrate this, but there hasn’t been a public announcement that we even bought this school,” Meren said. “There’s been news stories, but not a public statement on how much it cost … We need to do our responsibility so the Board of Supervisors knows that we know what we’re doing with the money.”

Meren said FCPS needs to come back to the school board with more information on how the school purchase affects school bonds and the schedule for planned renovations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think I am going to start my own association and call it the Oak Hill Citizens Association, then tell my neighbor to start their own association and call it Citizens of Oak Hill Association and write some strongly worded letters on behalf of the entire community (x2) to our Board members about how this needs to be a community school, because that's what they promised us.

While I'm at it, I will also pick a totally different neighborhood and write some letters about changes that I would like to see happening there.

Pics or it never happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And then there's this comment, which I agree with. Everyone in the county deserves transparency over the purchase of this school:

Hunter Mill District Representative Melanie Meren said FCPS also needs to be transparent and public about its purchasing to ensure it’s seen as a good steward of taxpayer funding.

“I’ve been so excited to celebrate this, but there hasn’t been a public announcement that we even bought this school,” Meren said. “There’s been news stories, but not a public statement on how much it cost … We need to do our responsibility so the Board of Supervisors knows that we know what we’re doing with the money.”

Meren said FCPS needs to come back to the school board with more information on how the school purchase affects school bonds and the schedule for planned renovations.

They also asked for a public announcement about the purchase. Haven't seen it yet.

It's clear, though, that Reid is entranced with the "possibilities." She doesn't seem to enjoy the work of good, solid curriculum and education. She likes the bells and whistles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

When the Lewis Leadership academy was showcased to the Board last year, Dixit commented that she thought it was a great program and would love to see such an academy established in her area with a focus on STEM. So that should give you a clue.

An academy and a magnet are two very different things. They could easily put an academy in one of those additional buildings. There are two pretty good sized buildings.

Just looked up the stats. It appears that each additional building is around 30,000 sq ft. times 2 buildings. Plenty of extra space for an academy or overflow for the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.ffxnow.com/2025/08/28/fairfax-school-board-torn-between-traditional-or-magnet-program-for-new-western-high-school/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=nextdoor.com&utm_campaign=nextdoor_news

Wow. So Robyn Lady, who represents Dranesville, would be just fine with creating a new magnet school that kids in her district from Langley, McLean, and Marshall couldn't attend because they live too far east?

Is she on the spectrum or just really stupid? It's rare to find an elected official who so regularly demonstrates she doesn't care about most of her own constituents.

Wasn't Kyle McDaniel the guy pushing for the ridiculous "aviation academy"? And now he's saying it should be a traditional school? Why does he keep going back and forth?

“It needs to be a western-boundaries traditional high school,” said at-large board member Kyle McDaniel. “We talked about funding challenges we’re having. I have a hard time spending $150-plus million on something not targeted towards capacity relief in the west when boards past has very consistently stated that western capacity relief is a priority.”

I don’t think so. I think it’s just coincidence with his former job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And then there's this comment, which I agree with. Everyone in the county deserves transparency over the purchase of this school:

Hunter Mill District Representative Melanie Meren said FCPS also needs to be transparent and public about its purchasing to ensure it’s seen as a good steward of taxpayer funding.

“I’ve been so excited to celebrate this, but there hasn’t been a public announcement that we even bought this school,” Meren said. “There’s been news stories, but not a public statement on how much it cost … We need to do our responsibility so the Board of Supervisors knows that we know what we’re doing with the money.”

Meren said FCPS needs to come back to the school board with more information on how the school purchase affects school bonds and the schedule for planned renovations.

They also asked for a public announcement about the purchase. Haven't seen it yet.

It's clear, though, that Reid is entranced with the "possibilities." She doesn't seem to enjoy the work of good, solid curriculum and education. She likes the bells and whistles.

I think people tend to keep trying to do the things they’re good at or that at least have gotten them praise in the past. In Reid’s case that was being upbeat and creative at a much smaller, wealthy school district.

What she hasn’t shown is any ability to tackle the challenges in a much larger, and struggling, school district like FCPS. People are primarily looking for someone who can take care of basic things like solid academics and maintaining buildings, and she’s shown no talent for that. KAA excited her to the extent that she could introduce some cutting-edge AI or aeronautics magnet program there. If she’s told to just open it as a regular school, she’ll turn it over to others and lose interest. That may not be a bad thing if the people she turns it over to are competent, but it could also be a mess if they aren’t up to the task.

[Anonymous]

Reid is from the Seattle area where she knows all about the successful aviation high school there. I’m sure that has a lot to do with it. Some parents here have pointed out that that specialized magnet school is only about 400 students however.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reid is from the Seattle area where she knows all about the successful aviation high school there. I’m sure that has a lot to do with it. Some parents here have pointed out that that specialized magnet school is only about 400 students however.

And, she came into that work session expecting that the SB would go with one of her ideas. Nothing presented that day was well developed. Not a traditional school. Not a magnet. Not academies. Nothing. Spaghetti at the wall.

Still trying to figure out the idea of a Magnet for Western schools and how that would solve overcrowding. You know what it would do--assuming it would not be illegal?

It would draw the smartest kids from Chantilly and Westfield and Centreville. Also, Herndon and South Lakes--but they don't need relief from overcrowding.

What could go wrong?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reid is from the Seattle area where she knows all about the successful aviation high school there. I’m sure that has a lot to do with it. Some parents here have pointed out that that specialized magnet school is only about 400 students however.

I don't think the proposed aviation school would get more than 400 from FFX county overall student population. My guess is the new HS would have 400 students in the aviation program and 1600 neighborhood students eventually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reid is from the Seattle area where she knows all about the successful aviation high school there. I’m sure that has a lot to do with it. Some parents here have pointed out that that specialized magnet school is only about 400 students however.

I don't think the proposed aviation school would get more than 400 from FFX county overall student population. My guess is the new HS would have 400 students in the aviation program and 1600 neighborhood students eventually.

An aviation school is nice "gravy."

The need is for a neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

Someone on Next Door had the idea that this building could be a great community and adult learning center. It certainly doesn’t sound like a traditional high school and why rip it apart to turn it into something it’s not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone on Next Door had the idea that this building could be a great community and adult learning center. It certainly doesn’t sound like a traditional high school and why rip it apart to turn it into something it’s not?

Because Chantilly and Westfield need relief. And, they plan to put more kids on long bus rides away from Chantilly High School.

The Nextdoor people obviously are not familiar at all with the area. There is an adult community center down the street from the KAA facility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

When the Lewis Leadership academy was showcased to the Board last year, Dixit commented that she thought it was a great program and would love to see such an academy established in her area with a focus on STEM. So that should give you a clue.

An academy and a magnet are two very different things. They could easily put an academy in one of those additional buildings. There are two pretty good sized buildings.

Standard FCPS academies get transportation, and students are not counted in membership. Edison Global Stem is 3 years full time, counted in membership, no pyramid limitations, no transportation. The 2 elementary magnets get transportation. Hunters Woods was about 52% base school, loaded with AAP Waples Mill 69 [total 98], magnet total transfers 251. The 2 Bailey's got less than 20 transfers combined so not really functioning as a magnet.

Dunne/Reid new Bucknell Montessori magnet is limited to the West Potomac pyramid so FCPS has set a precedent on magnets with pyramid limited enrollment/application. If even in these nearby pyramids, you are not eligible to apply: Mount Vernon, Edison, Hayfield, Lewis...


https://bucknelles.fcps.edu/announcements/montesorri-program-bucknell-elementary

[Anonymous]

But, if they put a magnet restricted to overcrowded schools, do they still plan to move the western kids out of their current schools? Do they plan to make a magnet out of Chantilly and Westfield kids exclusively? In order to relieve overcrowding they would have to do that. I don't see that happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

When the Lewis Leadership academy was showcased to the Board last year, Dixit commented that she thought it was a great program and would love to see such an academy established in her area with a focus on STEM. So that should give you a clue.

An academy and a magnet are two very different things. They could easily put an academy in one of those additional buildings. There are two pretty good sized buildings.

Standard FCPS academies get transportation, and students are not counted in membership. Edison Global Stem is 3 years full time, counted in membership, no pyramid limitations, no transportation. The 2 elementary magnets get transportation. Hunters Woods was about 52% base school, loaded with AAP Waples Mill 69 [total 98], magnet total transfers 251. The 2 Bailey's got less than 20 transfers combined so not really functioning as a magnet.

Dunne/Reid new Bucknell Montessori magnet is limited to the West Potomac pyramid so FCPS has set a precedent on magnets with pyramid limited enrollment/application. If even in these nearby pyramids, you are not eligible to apply: Mount Vernon, Edison, Hayfield, Lewis...


https://bucknelles.fcps.edu/announcements/montesorri-program-bucknell-elementary

The left hand knows not what the right hand is doing in FCPS. We have this boundary study that supposedly was going to come up with more compact attendance areas and reduce transportation costs, and yet they keep coming up with more specialized programs that introduce greater complexity into the system.

And they could not have picked a worse superintendent than Reid to preside over this sprawling leviathan of a school system. She’s all about the bells and whistles and appears to have no talent whatsoever for attending to the basics.

Insofar as KAA is concerned they should be deciding what type of school it is going to be within a matter of weeks and then task their new head of facilities to come back in no more than a month with a detailed plan about how to make that happen within a realistic time frame.