There is a solution to that, add a full AP program to every school and have one or two IB schools that kids can pupil place into if they want IB. Make sure schools are following the pupil placement rules and kids placing for languages take 4 years of that language. If you pupil place for Russian or Japanese, you had better be in that program all four years. Or the schools accepting pupil placement will have a cap on the number of kids allowed into the language and kids won't be able to use it carte blanche. If they did that, those high FARMs schools would have an increased cohort and test scores would improve. There is a part of me that thinks that the school board keeps IB so that parents have a reason to pupil place their kids out of schools which would remove some of the more vocal advocates for their kids if there is something that needs to be fixed at a school. |
Based on the expense and time involved in this rezoning process, vs the outcome, comprehensive 5 year rezoning and the new policy 8130 is a tremendous waste of taxpayer money, FCPS resources, and time. To mandate this ridiculous comprehensive review every 5 years puts FCPS on a continuous rezoning process. It is irresponsible and short sighted. It is a complete dereliction of duty by the school board. Think of all the time, money and energy wasted on this that could have been focused on things like literacy, bringing in more special ed aides, reducing class sizes, after school activities for middle school kids, adding AAP to every middle school, switching IB high schools to AP, or any of the other things FCPS needs to fix. Heck, FCPS could have purchased a few more busses with the money spent on Thru. |
This is absolutely the case IMO. There are some parents who are ok with IB at schools that still have some UMC areas like Annandale. But I do think they keep it at certain other schools so there is a viable pathway out. At the same time though … you save money or can buy a nicer house in a less desirable school pyramid. There are single family homes in good condition in these areas for under $800k and they are closer to jobs in Arlington and DC than moving further out to Centreville or PWC/Loudoun. So people who live there have made a trade-off. They traded a decent home and shorter commute for schools that aren’t highly rated. They made that choice and now they want to somehow have it all with top rated schools too. |
This is really where FCPS should have started the boundary process. The first step should have been a county wide residency check of any high school showing 100% capacity. Kids whose parents could not produce proof of residency should return to their neighborhood high school. |
My kids go to a lower performing high school. I believe it is our job, as parents, to motivate and support our kids in their academic journey. The schools can only do so much. Ours even went to private for some time. We never assumed the school and their “better behaved peers” would magically make our kids get better grades on standardized tests. |
| One prediction is that with its fancy renovation and the large number of UMC kids now getting moved there from Justice, AP Falls Church is going to start to see a significant spike in pupil placements from IB Annandale and IB Justice. |
Every high school in FCPS has UMC areas. The question is whether the families in those areas will send their kids to the assigned schools. Consider Reid's proposals relating to Justice HS. A large chunk of Justice geographically is proposed to move to Falls Church (101 students) and Annandale (60 students). And they are all MC or UMC single-family areas. But they only account for 161 students at a school that had 2317 kids last year. That tells you that most families in these areas are avoiding FCPS, or at least Justice, and conversely that the vast majority of the kids at some schools like Justice come from the areas with denser, cheaper housing. |
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For those interested, here's what the adjusted 2024-25 enrollments would look like at FCPS high schools based on Reid's county-wide proposals and the initial scenarios floated for Western (italics):
Lake Braddock 2950 West Springfield 2791 West Potomac 2606 Robinson 2484 Woodson 2418 Westfield 2407 to 2472 Langley 2375 Fairfax 2334 Edison 2282 Hayfield 2277 Falls Church 2238 Herndon 2230 Chantilly 2218 to 2215 McLean 2210 Madison 2209 Annandale 2186 Oakton 2165 to 2601 Justice 2156 TJ 2111 South County 2091 Marshall 2066 South Lakes 2002 to 2410 Centreville 1957 Mount Vernon 1893 [Western] 1726 to 2142 Lewis 1632 |
Everything is in flux. I believe your assessment, but I have no confidence that those numbers will end up being accurate in practice. |
| Has the school board members mentioned they will propose any amendments to Reid’s map? I thought I heard maybe Meren will? |
The school board’s job is equity. That needs to remain the top priority. |
Western should have more. FCPS’ options for that boundary were so disappointing. Here’s what I would do. I would move 1005 students out of Westfield, 370 students out of South Lakes (excluding the 38 from Fox mill woods), the 351 Oak Hill students from Franklin Farm and Chantilly Highlands, and the 436 currently Oakton bound Westfield kids. I would exclude the 7 kids off of Ashvale (that whole street is moving 12 kids to Lees Corner Anyway) That final result is: 1005+370+436+351=2,162. It’s 20 more than option C. However to avoid a split feeder at Crossfield, 38 kids could move in from Fox Mill Woods from South Lakes to Western. That final result is: 1005+408+436+351=2,200. I like my option E with the 2,162 than my option F with the 2,200. |
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Despite the fact there was a collapse in the 60s, I looked at units in the skyline towers (online for S’s and G’s), and they are quite nice. I have been inside some apartment complexes and while yes, they’re older and not the best maintained, they’re still good! Ricardy’s plan will backfire. What the real issue is (and has been mentioned ad nauseam) is that Justice lacks AP courses that are seen as more valuable than IB courses, and the overall discrepancy in access to equity at that school, Lewis, and Mount Vernon. There you have it, our truth! |
| That graduation ceremony with Ab4ar Omeish was not helpful. |