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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

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?

Drawing the smartest kids out of surrounding schools does them a disservice. If South Lakes kids go there then there will be even fewer kids to justify offering any of the advanced IB classes. It would also bring down average scores at all the other schools if kids from the top are pulled away to a magnet.

This has been an argument against TJ since...it was founded I think.

Counterpoint: having good academic options brings the kinds of families who are likely to bolster test scores to the area.

You do know that TJ draws from all of Fairfax County, plus surrounding counties?

And, how is this going to help overcrowding? Chantilly has 3000 students? How many slots are going to be allotted to Chantilly in order to ensure that there is relief there? 500? Westfield has about 2700 and growing, how many from Westfield? 200? I don't know how many Centreville needs to lose. It is a smaller school, but is overcrowded. Other schools in the area are also growing.
So, are they planning on a selective school for 1000 Kids? They are looking to do this because they think it would take too much work to have greater attendance.

They told us that the school was purchased to relieve overcrowding in Chantilly, Westfield, and others in the area.
And, now they want to have a selective school that does not solve that problem.
Are these kids going to have any extracurricular activities? Or, just what?

Is this how FCPS wants to spend the money when they are currently turning down federal money and spending additional money on legal fees because it defends their "values?"

Yes. Apparently.

DP. Here’s a proposal.

Shut down McLean, which they refuse to invest in and which is falling apart.

Do everything needed so that KAA can be a real neighborhood high school with 2500 kids or so, including the kids in the western part of the Oakton district. If that requires an addition, build it.

Resign McLean kids to Langley, Marshall, and Falls Church. Then reassign kids from Langley to Herndon, Marshall to Madison, Madison to Oakton, and Falls Church to Justice, if and as needed.

We will end up with the same number of high schools but the boundaries will be more compact, FCPS can make use of the capacity at schools that have been expanded, kids will have decent commutes, and they can stop fretting about KAA being a magnet that relatively few want.

Sure, McLean had a nice 70-year run, but it’s an eyesore and FCPS leadership clearly isn’t committed to maintaining the school. They can sell the land for a bundle and a developer will happily build more townhouses and senior living facilities there.

Tell me why this isn’t a win for FCPS now that they’ve already spent $150 million on KAA.

SJW doing what SJWs do best - being ridiculous.

I think the post is just pointing out the ridiculousness of this mess. The school needs to be a neighborhood school.
Make it work. It's cheaper than building a new school and something will have to be done in the next few years.

Lots of people posting with suggestions of sending these kids on lengthy bus rides and shifting here and shifting there.

I am not familiar with McLean. From a view out here, it would appear they could send more kids to Langley, but I do not know the neighborhoods and have no business weighing in.
I am familiar and know well the neighborhoods around the KAA facility and sure, I'd like it to happen. But, why? Because they are planning to further split our neighborhoods and send more kids on long bus rides. And, if they don't do something now, it will be worse a year or so down the road.

I'm sorry for those who don't want us to have this school because it is so beautiful. It would be fine with me if it were a regular old building, but it is not. The property belonged to FCPS and they gave it away years ago because of political pressure. They had promised this area a school.

It is time to make it right. The purchase has closed. Make it a regular high school --it might not be as large as they would like, but it can work. There are two additional buildings that could easily be made into classrooms.

The plan Reid suggested--for a traditional school--would be to begin with 9-10 grade. That gives them time to figure it out.

You are suggesting the only issue with McLean is overcrowding. It's not. The school is falling apart and the periodic critical "fixes" are insufficient. And the money needed to address the school's needs is only less likely to be available for many years with the funds that will be needed to make KAA the school the community needs. So it's time to acknowledge the consequences of FCPS's decisions and think bigger about how to operate efficiently in FCPS.

Falling apart, huh? Like walls are crumbling? Tell us more.

DP. It would be nice if the plumbing and toilets worked reliably.

DP. Part of the ceiling caved in a couple of years ago. They put a caution tape zone in the hallway. There used to be a McLean Rots IG but it was shut down.

Our school had a game in the gym recently against Mclean, and it was cancelled last minute because part of the ceiling fell onto the court.

I've never been to McLean High--though I've been to many others. However, I've read the complaints about it for Years.

Can someone explain the process and why this has been allowed? Our elementary school was recently beautifully renovated and expanded--I'm not sure how much it was needed.

Do they not take the condition of the school into consideration? Is there some other issue?

Do the School Board members not care?

It sounds like they have a queue and do not consider anything else. Kind of like the boundary study and postponing Coates. Shouldn't the need matter more?.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they could send the Reston kids near Herndon out of South Lakes. Then, put more in South Lakes. But, that still does not solve long commute to Oakton, or overcrowding at Chantilly and Westfield.

Do you mean Reston near Herndon HS and the Astronauts, Aldrin and Armstrong? Forest Edge [after 20+-year-old reduction in AAP gets feed from Lake Anne, Aldrin, Armstrong, Forestville].

There were new builds in what is now a new census designated place called Great Falls Crossing. Gibson 2008 also loaded South Lakes pyramid from Madison - along Hunter Mill corridor.

Don't Aldrin and Armstrong already go to Herndon? I remember that from the 2008 Boundary study. I think the SL PTA planned to put them in South Lakes but Herndon PTA protested.

Demographics was their driving factor.

I do wonder if a lot of the IB placements from Herndon come from those schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they could send the Reston kids near Herndon out of South Lakes. Then, put more in South Lakes. But, that still does not solve long commute to Oakton, or overcrowding at Chantilly and Westfield.

Do you mean Reston near Herndon HS and the Astronauts, Aldrin and Armstrong? Forest Edge [after 20+-year-old reduction in AAP gets feed from Lake Anne, Aldrin, Armstrong, Forestville].

There were new builds in what is now a new census designated place called Great Falls Crossing. Gibson 2008 also loaded South Lakes pyramid from Madison - along Hunter Mill corridor.

Don't Aldrin and Armstrong already go to Herndon? I remember that from the 2008 Boundary study. I think the SL PTA planned to put them in South Lakes but Herndon PTA protested.

Demographics was their driving factor.

I do wonder if a lot of the IB placements from Herndon come from those schools.

Aldrin and Armstrong both feed to Herndon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they could send the Reston kids near Herndon out of South Lakes. Then, put more in South Lakes. But, that still does not solve long commute to Oakton, or overcrowding at Chantilly and Westfield.

Do you mean Reston near Herndon HS and the Astronauts, Aldrin and Armstrong? Forest Edge [after 20+-year-old reduction in AAP gets feed from Lake Anne, Aldrin, Armstrong, Forestville].

There were new builds in what is now a new census designated place called Great Falls Crossing. Gibson 2008 also loaded South Lakes pyramid from Madison - along Hunter Mill corridor.

Don't Aldrin and Armstrong already go to Herndon? I remember that from the 2008 Boundary study. I think the SL PTA planned to put them in South Lakes but Herndon PTA protested.

Demographics was their driving factor.

I do wonder if a lot of the IB placements from Herndon come from those schools.

.

IB placements to SL come from all the Herndon feeder elementary schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who are the people on here complaining about high school kids having 20 minute bus rides? Holy snowflakes what has society become?

I believe they were saying it's 20 minutes in Google maps with no stops and no traffic. That's a 40+ minute bus ride each way, easy. I know my kid's bus ride to Hunters Woods and to Rachel Carson were 40-45 minutes each way. Pretty much impossible to do extracurriculars or sports if the parents aren't lucky enough to have flexibility in their work schedule to pick them up early at school on practice days instead of waiting for the bus drop off. Can't do anything about the 6:25am bus pick up time though.

Why is Hunter Wood kid goes to Carson? Hunter Wood goes to Hughes.

Anyway, sending kids south of 267 to Herndon HS is madness. The toll road crossings are jammed during rush hours.

AAP kids from Waples Mill go out of pyramid to Hunters Woods and then to Carson for middle school. It makes no sense. They should use the KAA opening as a chance to address the Carson/Franklin split feeder madness and force all the AAP kids from Franklin pyramids to go to Franklin. It only works if it's forced though, otherwise everyone will always choose the center because all the friends they've been with the past few years are also going to Carson.

Some AAP students from Navy, Waples Mill, Lees Corner, Oak Hill, and Brookfield choose to go to Franklin instead of Carson. Now it needs to be mandated. It is completely ridiculous that the county allows Franklin AAP students to choose Carson when Franklin has had an AAP program for something like 12 years.

AAP centers in general - both middle and elementary - should be a thing of the past. All kids should simply attend their base school. Think how much simpler boundary discussions would be.
DP

Some ES don't have enough AAP kids to make a class. Some ES are overcrowded and depend on sending their AAP kids somewhere else. It would require more boundary changes to make that happen.

Then more boundary changes should happen. It is not equitable to allow AAP students to choose their school (between base and center) when other students cannot choose.

If there aren't enough students to fill a class, the country should pay to bus those kids to another school, but only those kids. It's the same as should be done for any student who's needs cannot be met at their base school (such as bussing D/HOH kids to Camelot or Frost, where ASL interpreters are available).

Tell us you haven’t read any community feedback on boundary changes without telling us. Your equity push is so five years ago, and you’re an extreme outlier at this point to think that the solution to some vague, made up problem is MORE boundary changes.

"The community" is very "me, me, me," not focused on what is actually best for children overall. Additionally, the issue with AAP centers is not a vague, made-up problem.

Okay, let us know where your kids currently go and I’ll choose the place for them to be moved. Others clearly know what’s best for your kids because you’re always me me me about them.

Also, I think you’re also me me me with your own life decisions, so I should probably be in charge of that too. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who are the people on here complaining about high school kids having 20 minute bus rides? Holy snowflakes what has society become?

I believe they were saying it's 20 minutes in Google maps with no stops and no traffic. That's a 40+ minute bus ride each way, easy. I know my kid's bus ride to Hunters Woods and to Rachel Carson were 40-45 minutes each way. Pretty much impossible to do extracurriculars or sports if the parents aren't lucky enough to have flexibility in their work schedule to pick them up early at school on practice days instead of waiting for the bus drop off. Can't do anything about the 6:25am bus pick up time though.

Why is Hunter Wood kid goes to Carson? Hunter Wood goes to Hughes.

Anyway, sending kids south of 267 to Herndon HS is madness. The toll road crossings are jammed during rush hours.

AAP kids from Waples Mill go out of pyramid to Hunters Woods and then to Carson for middle school. It makes no sense. They should use the KAA opening as a chance to address the Carson/Franklin split feeder madness and force all the AAP kids from Franklin pyramids to go to Franklin. It only works if it's forced though, otherwise everyone will always choose the center because all the friends they've been with the past few years are also going to Carson.

Some AAP students from Navy, Waples Mill, Lees Corner, Oak Hill, and Brookfield choose to go to Franklin instead of Carson. Now it needs to be mandated. It is completely ridiculous that the county allows Franklin AAP students to choose Carson when Franklin has had an AAP program for something like 12 years.

AAP centers in general - both middle and elementary - should be a thing of the past. All kids should simply attend their base school. Think how much simpler boundary discussions would be.
DP

Some ES don't have enough AAP kids to make a class. Some ES are overcrowded and depend on sending their AAP kids somewhere else. It would require more boundary changes to make that happen.

A lot of ES just fill the AAP class with regular kids. The AAP kids in our ES were very cliquish from 3rd grade on, but I discovered when my child started 7th grade that the vast majority of those kids were actually NOT officially AAP, they were just "principal placed". Most of them are now in MS Honors with my kid. Probably only 1/3 of the kids in the ES AAP class are in MS AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they could send the Reston kids near Herndon out of South Lakes. Then, put more in South Lakes. But, that still does not solve long commute to Oakton, or overcrowding at Chantilly and Westfield.

Do you mean Reston near Herndon HS and the Astronauts, Aldrin and Armstrong? Forest Edge [after 20+-year-old reduction in AAP gets feed from Lake Anne, Aldrin, Armstrong, Forestville].

There were new builds in what is now a new census designated place called Great Falls Crossing. Gibson 2008 also loaded South Lakes pyramid from Madison - along Hunter Mill corridor.

Don't Aldrin and Armstrong already go to Herndon? I remember that from the 2008 Boundary study. I think the SL PTA planned to put them in South Lakes but Herndon PTA protested.

Demographics was their driving factor.

I do wonder if a lot of the IB placements from Herndon come from those schools.

.

IB placements to SL come from all the Herndon feeder elementary schools.

I realize they can come from all schools. But, there are an awful lot of them. I bet more than half come from two schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they could send the Reston kids near Herndon out of South Lakes. Then, put more in South Lakes. But, that still does not solve long commute to Oakton, or overcrowding at Chantilly and Westfield.

Distance and access to transport probably play a role.

Do you mean Reston near Herndon HS and the Astronauts, Aldrin and Armstrong? Forest Edge [after 20+-year-old reduction in AAP gets feed from Lake Anne, Aldrin, Armstrong, Forestville].

There were new builds in what is now a new census designated place called Great Falls Crossing. Gibson 2008 also loaded South Lakes pyramid from Madison - along Hunter Mill corridor.

Don't Aldrin and Armstrong already go to Herndon? I remember that from the 2008 Boundary study. I think the SL PTA planned to put them in South Lakes but Herndon PTA protested.

Demographics was their driving factor.

I do wonder if a lot of the IB placements from Herndon come from those schools.

.

IB placements to SL come from all the Herndon feeder elementary schools.

I realize they can come from all schools. But, there are an awful lot of them. I bet more than half come from two schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

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?

Drawing the smartest kids out of surrounding schools does them a disservice. If South Lakes kids go there then there will be even fewer kids to justify offering any of the advanced IB classes. It would also bring down average scores at all the other schools if kids from the top are pulled away to a magnet.

This has been an argument against TJ since...it was founded I think.

Counterpoint: having good academic options brings the kinds of families who are likely to bolster test scores to the area.

You do know that TJ draws from all of Fairfax County, plus surrounding counties?

And, how is this going to help overcrowding? Chantilly has 3000 students? How many slots are going to be allotted to Chantilly in order to ensure that there is relief there? 500? Westfield has about 2700 and growing, how many from Westfield? 200? I don't know how many Centreville needs to lose. It is a smaller school, but is overcrowded. Other schools in the area are also growing.
So, are they planning on a selective school for 1000 Kids? They are looking to do this because they think it would take too much work to have greater attendance.

They told us that the school was purchased to relieve overcrowding in Chantilly, Westfield, and others in the area.
And, now they want to have a selective school that does not solve that problem.
Are these kids going to have any extracurricular activities? Or, just what?

Is this how FCPS wants to spend the money when they are currently turning down federal money and spending additional money on legal fees because it defends their "values?"

Yes. Apparently.

DP. Here’s a proposal.

Shut down McLean, which they refuse to invest in and which is falling apart.

Do everything needed so that KAA can be a real neighborhood high school with 2500 kids or so, including the kids in the western part of the Oakton district. If that requires an addition, build it.

Resign McLean kids to Langley, Marshall, and Falls Church. Then reassign kids from Langley to Herndon, Marshall to Madison, Madison to Oakton, and Falls Church to Justice, if and as needed.

We will end up with the same number of high schools but the boundaries will be more compact, FCPS can make use of the capacity at schools that have been expanded, kids will have decent commutes, and they can stop fretting about KAA being a magnet that relatively few want.

Sure, McLean had a nice 70-year run, but it’s an eyesore and FCPS leadership clearly isn’t committed to maintaining the school. They can sell the land for a bundle and a developer will happily build more townhouses and senior living facilities there.

Tell me why this isn’t a win for FCPS now that they’ve already spent $150 million on KAA.

SJW doing what SJWs do best - being ridiculous.

I think the post is just pointing out the ridiculousness of this mess. The school needs to be a neighborhood school.
Make it work. It's cheaper than building a new school and something will have to be done in the next few years.

Lots of people posting with suggestions of sending these kids on lengthy bus rides and shifting here and shifting there.

I am not familiar with McLean. From a view out here, it would appear they could send more kids to Langley, but I do not know the neighborhoods and have no business weighing in.
I am familiar and know well the neighborhoods around the KAA facility and sure, I'd like it to happen. But, why? Because they are planning to further split our neighborhoods and send more kids on long bus rides. And, if they don't do something now, it will be worse a year or so down the road.

I'm sorry for those who don't want us to have this school because it is so beautiful. It would be fine with me if it were a regular old building, but it is not. The property belonged to FCPS and they gave it away years ago because of political pressure. They had promised this area a school.

It is time to make it right. The purchase has closed. Make it a regular high school --it might not be as large as they would like, but it can work. There are two additional buildings that could easily be made into classrooms.

The plan Reid suggested--for a traditional school--would be to begin with 9-10 grade. That gives them time to figure it out.

You are suggesting the only issue with McLean is overcrowding. It's not. The school is falling apart and the periodic critical "fixes" are insufficient. And the money needed to address the school's needs is only less likely to be available for many years with the funds that will be needed to make KAA the school the community needs. So it's time to acknowledge the consequences of FCPS's decisions and think bigger about how to operate efficiently in FCPS.

Falling apart, huh? Like walls are crumbling? Tell us more.

DP. It would be nice if the plumbing and toilets worked reliably.

DP. Part of the ceiling caved in a couple of years ago. They put a caution tape zone in the hallway. There used to be a McLean Rots IG but it was shut down.

Our school had a game in the gym recently against Mclean, and it was cancelled last minute because part of the ceiling fell onto the court.

The band room was without heat last year. Ceiling tiles regularly fall down. A water leak led to games in the gym being canceled. One of the main electrical systems failed before the first day of school this year, leaving the school dependent on a back-up generator. They’ll do something like replace the aging flooring only for water to leak on the new tiles within a few months. It’s a maintenance whack-a-mole.

Robyn Lady appeared to suggest in the work session this week KAA needs to be a magnet because the amount of money needed to make it a typical 9-12 neighborhood school would lead to further delays in renovating or expanding McLean. But realistically it’s just going to keep falling apart regardless of what happens with KAA. The Great Falls folks asked her in 2024 why McLean wasn’t getting more attention from FCPS and her response was that her colleagues are not “empathetic” towards the school.

So maybe it’s time to think bolder. Selling the expensive land on which MHS sits would allow FCPS to invest more in KAA and ensure it’s a strong neighborhood school that could potentially serve six feeders. And McLean kids would be reassigned to schools that have all been renovated recently or are currently being renovated.

Not everyone would be happy but everyone affected would end up at a school that, unlike MHS, has recently been renovated or at least gotten an addition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

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?

Drawing the smartest kids out of surrounding schools does them a disservice. If South Lakes kids go there then there will be even fewer kids to justify offering any of the advanced IB classes. It would also bring down average scores at all the other schools if kids from the top are pulled away to a magnet.

This has been an argument against TJ since...it was founded I think.

Counterpoint: having good academic options brings the kinds of families who are likely to bolster test scores to the area.

You do know that TJ draws from all of Fairfax County, plus surrounding counties?

And, how is this going to help overcrowding? Chantilly has 3000 students? How many slots are going to be allotted to Chantilly in order to ensure that there is relief there? 500? Westfield has about 2700 and growing, how many from Westfield? 200? I don't know how many Centreville needs to lose. It is a smaller school, but is overcrowded. Other schools in the area are also growing.
So, are they planning on a selective school for 1000 Kids? They are looking to do this because they think it would take too much work to have greater attendance.

They told us that the school was purchased to relieve overcrowding in Chantilly, Westfield, and others in the area.
And, now they want to have a selective school that does not solve that problem.
Are these kids going to have any extracurricular activities? Or, just what?

Is this how FCPS wants to spend the money when they are currently turning down federal money and spending additional money on legal fees because it defends their "values?"

Yes. Apparently.

DP. Here’s a proposal.

Shut down McLean, which they refuse to invest in and which is falling apart.

Do everything needed so that KAA can be a real neighborhood high school with 2500 kids or so, including the kids in the western part of the Oakton district. If that requires an addition, build it.

Resign McLean kids to Langley, Marshall, and Falls Church. Then reassign kids from Langley to Herndon, Marshall to Madison, Madison to Oakton, and Falls Church to Justice, if and as needed.

We will end up with the same number of high schools but the boundaries will be more compact, FCPS can make use of the capacity at schools that have been expanded, kids will have decent commutes, and they can stop fretting about KAA being a magnet that relatively few want.

Sure, McLean had a nice 70-year run, but it’s an eyesore and FCPS leadership clearly isn’t committed to maintaining the school. They can sell the land for a bundle and a developer will happily build more townhouses and senior living facilities there.

Tell me why this isn’t a win for FCPS now that they’ve already spent $150 million on KAA.

SJW doing what SJWs do best - being ridiculous.

I think the post is just pointing out the ridiculousness of this mess. The school needs to be a neighborhood school.
Make it work. It's cheaper than building a new school and something will have to be done in the next few years.

Lots of people posting with suggestions of sending these kids on lengthy bus rides and shifting here and shifting there.

I am not familiar with McLean. From a view out here, it would appear they could send more kids to Langley, but I do not know the neighborhoods and have no business weighing in.
I am familiar and know well the neighborhoods around the KAA facility and sure, I'd like it to happen. But, why? Because they are planning to further split our neighborhoods and send more kids on long bus rides. And, if they don't do something now, it will be worse a year or so down the road.

I'm sorry for those who don't want us to have this school because it is so beautiful. It would be fine with me if it were a regular old building, but it is not. The property belonged to FCPS and they gave it away years ago because of political pressure. They had promised this area a school.

It is time to make it right. The purchase has closed. Make it a regular high school --it might not be as large as they would like, but it can work. There are two additional buildings that could easily be made into classrooms.

The plan Reid suggested--for a traditional school--would be to begin with 9-10 grade. That gives them time to figure it out.

You are suggesting the only issue with McLean is overcrowding. It's not. The school is falling apart and the periodic critical "fixes" are insufficient. And the money needed to address the school's needs is only less likely to be available for many years with the funds that will be needed to make KAA the school the community needs. So it's time to acknowledge the consequences of FCPS's decisions and think bigger about how to operate efficiently in FCPS.

Falling apart, huh? Like walls are crumbling? Tell us more.

DP. It would be nice if the plumbing and toilets worked reliably.

DP. Part of the ceiling caved in a couple of years ago. They put a caution tape zone in the hallway. There used to be a McLean Rots IG but it was shut down.

Our school had a game in the gym recently against Mclean, and it was cancelled last minute because part of the ceiling fell onto the court.

The band room was without heat last year. Ceiling tiles regularly fall down. A water leak led to games in the gym being canceled. One of the main electrical systems failed before the first day of school this year, leaving the school dependent on a back-up generator. They’ll do something like replace the aging flooring only for water to leak on the new tiles within a few months. It’s a maintenance whack-a-mole.

Robyn Lady appeared to suggest in the work session this week KAA needs to be a magnet because the amount of money needed to make it a typical 9-12 neighborhood school would lead to further delays in renovating or expanding McLean. But realistically it’s just going to keep falling apart regardless of what happens with KAA. The Great Falls folks asked her in 2024 why McLean wasn’t getting more attention from FCPS and her response was that her colleagues are not “empathetic” towards the school.

So maybe it’s time to think bolder. Selling the expensive land on which MHS sits would allow FCPS to invest more in KAA and ensure it’s a strong neighborhood school that could potentially serve six feeders. And McLean kids would be reassigned to schools that have all been renovated recently or are currently being renovated.

Not everyone would be happy but everyone affected would end up at a school that, unlike MHS, has recently been renovated or at least gotten an addition.

I suspect there are two groups that would not be happy:
McLean families
Forestville families.

[Anonymous]

The primary purpose of the school system is to provide a solid education for all students --hopefully, in my opinion, in a setting that provides a safe environment for all students. That would include convenience to the school and extra-curricular activities.

It sounds to me like McLean should be fixed. Moving tons of kids around is not optimal and very disruptive to the whole community.
All schools have maintenance issues from time to time. Does the plumbing in your school never have issues? However, if the school is unsafe, that is a far different issue. I guess I find it hard to believe it is that bad, but then, I see what they are doing with Coates.

If Robyn Lady wants to do the right thing, it seems to me that her focus should be on Coates and McLean and less on the Forestville community. But, then, I don't know just how bad McLean is.

And, KAA should open as a traditional high school for the same reasons listed above.

Giving up KAA to a magnet does not meet the need of the community or the vast majority of the students.

If this means reducing some other programs, so be it.

Magnets are nice gravy. They are not the meat and potatoes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they could send the Reston kids near Herndon out of South Lakes. Then, put more in South Lakes. But, that still does not solve long commute to Oakton, or overcrowding at Chantilly and Westfield.

Do you mean Reston near Herndon HS and the Astronauts, Aldrin and Armstrong? Forest Edge [after 20+-year-old reduction in AAP gets feed from Lake Anne, Aldrin, Armstrong, Forestville].

There were new builds in what is now a new census designated place called Great Falls Crossing. Gibson 2008 also loaded South Lakes pyramid from Madison - along Hunter Mill corridor.

Don't Aldrin and Armstrong already go to Herndon? I remember that from the 2008 Boundary study. I think the SL PTA planned to put them in South Lakes but Herndon PTA protested.

Demographics was their driving factor.

I do wonder if a lot of the IB placements from Herndon come from those schools.

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IB placements to SL come from all the Herndon feeder elementary schools.

Do we know that the placement is for IB? It could be for Japanese. I know Japanese is offered at Hughes so AAP students at Hughes could start Japanese and choose SLHS to continue the language.

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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?

Drawing the smartest kids out of surrounding schools does them a disservice. If South Lakes kids go there then there will be even fewer kids to justify offering any of the advanced IB classes. It would also bring down average scores at all the other schools if kids from the top are pulled away to a magnet.

This has been an argument against TJ since...it was founded I think.

Counterpoint: having good academic options brings the kinds of families who are likely to bolster test scores to the area.

You do know that TJ draws from all of Fairfax County, plus surrounding counties?

And, how is this going to help overcrowding? Chantilly has 3000 students? How many slots are going to be allotted to Chantilly in order to ensure that there is relief there? 500? Westfield has about 2700 and growing, how many from Westfield? 200? I don't know how many Centreville needs to lose. It is a smaller school, but is overcrowded. Other schools in the area are also growing.
So, are they planning on a selective school for 1000 Kids? They are looking to do this because they think it would take too much work to have greater attendance.

They told us that the school was purchased to relieve overcrowding in Chantilly, Westfield, and others in the area.
And, now they want to have a selective school that does not solve that problem.
Are these kids going to have any extracurricular activities? Or, just what?

Is this how FCPS wants to spend the money when they are currently turning down federal money and spending additional money on legal fees because it defends their "values?"

Yes. Apparently.

DP. Here’s a proposal.

Shut down McLean, which they refuse to invest in and which is falling apart.

Do everything needed so that KAA can be a real neighborhood high school with 2500 kids or so, including the kids in the western part of the Oakton district. If that requires an addition, build it.

Resign McLean kids to Langley, Marshall, and Falls Church. Then reassign kids from Langley to Herndon, Marshall to Madison, Madison to Oakton, and Falls Church to Justice, if and as needed.

We will end up with the same number of high schools but the boundaries will be more compact, FCPS can make use of the capacity at schools that have been expanded, kids will have decent commutes, and they can stop fretting about KAA being a magnet that relatively few want.

Sure, McLean had a nice 70-year run, but it’s an eyesore and FCPS leadership clearly isn’t committed to maintaining the school. They can sell the land for a bundle and a developer will happily build more townhouses and senior living facilities there.

Tell me why this isn’t a win for FCPS now that they’ve already spent $150 million on KAA.

SJW doing what SJWs do best - being ridiculous.

I think the post is just pointing out the ridiculousness of this mess. The school needs to be a neighborhood school.
Make it work. It's cheaper than building a new school and something will have to be done in the next few years.

Lots of people posting with suggestions of sending these kids on lengthy bus rides and shifting here and shifting there.

I am not familiar with McLean. From a view out here, it would appear they could send more kids to Langley, but I do not know the neighborhoods and have no business weighing in.
I am familiar and know well the neighborhoods around the KAA facility and sure, I'd like it to happen. But, why? Because they are planning to further split our neighborhoods and send more kids on long bus rides. And, if they don't do something now, it will be worse a year or so down the road.

I'm sorry for those who don't want us to have this school because it is so beautiful. It would be fine with me if it were a regular old building, but it is not. The property belonged to FCPS and they gave it away years ago because of political pressure. They had promised this area a school.

It is time to make it right. The purchase has closed. Make it a regular high school --it might not be as large as they would like, but it can work. There are two additional buildings that could easily be made into classrooms.

The plan Reid suggested--for a traditional school--would be to begin with 9-10 grade. That gives them time to figure it out.

You are suggesting the only issue with McLean is overcrowding. It's not. The school is falling apart and the periodic critical "fixes" are insufficient. And the money needed to address the school's needs is only less likely to be available for many years with the funds that will be needed to make KAA the school the community needs. So it's time to acknowledge the consequences of FCPS's decisions and think bigger about how to operate efficiently in FCPS.

Falling apart, huh? Like walls are crumbling? Tell us more.

DP. It would be nice if the plumbing and toilets worked reliably.

DP. Part of the ceiling caved in a couple of years ago. They put a caution tape zone in the hallway. There used to be a McLean Rots IG but it was shut down.

Our school had a game in the gym recently against Mclean, and it was cancelled last minute because part of the ceiling fell onto the court.

The band room was without heat last year. Ceiling tiles regularly fall down. A water leak led to games in the gym being canceled. One of the main electrical systems failed before the first day of school this year, leaving the school dependent on a back-up generator. They’ll do something like replace the aging flooring only for water to leak on the new tiles within a few months. It’s a maintenance whack-a-mole.

Robyn Lady appeared to suggest in the work session this week KAA needs to be a magnet because the amount of money needed to make it a typical 9-12 neighborhood school would lead to further delays in renovating or expanding McLean. But realistically it’s just going to keep falling apart regardless of what happens with KAA. The Great Falls folks asked her in 2024 why McLean wasn’t getting more attention from FCPS and her response was that her colleagues are not “empathetic” towards the school.

So maybe it’s time to think bolder. Selling the expensive land on which MHS sits would allow FCPS to invest more in KAA and ensure it’s a strong neighborhood school that could potentially serve six feeders. And McLean kids would be reassigned to schools that have all been renovated recently or are currently being renovated.

Not everyone would be happy but everyone affected would end up at a school that, unlike MHS, has recently been renovated or at least gotten an addition.

Out of all the dumb infeasible ideas, yours is the most ill-conceived, and is clearly just meant to provoke. The very definition of a troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The primary purpose of the school system is to provide a solid education for all students --hopefully, in my opinion, in a setting that provides a safe environment for all students. That would include convenience to the school and extra-curricular activities.

It sounds to me like McLean should be fixed. Moving tons of kids around is not optimal and very disruptive to the whole community.
All schools have maintenance issues from time to time. Does the plumbing in your school never have issues? However, if the school is unsafe, that is a far different issue. I guess I find it hard to believe it is that bad, but then, I see what they are doing with Coates.

If Robyn Lady wants to do the right thing, it seems to me that her focus should be on Coates and McLean and less on the Forestville community. But, then, I don't know just how bad McLean is.

And, KAA should open as a traditional high school for the same reasons listed above.

Giving up KAA to a magnet does not meet the need of the community or the vast majority of the students.

If this means reducing some other programs, so be it.

Magnets are nice gravy. They are not the meat and potatoes.

The worst incident I heard at McLean was ceiling tiles falling from a theatre room. It was noted that, had students been underneath them, they well could have been injured. Fortunately, that didn't happen, but I don't think we should wait until there's an actual injury.

It's frustrating to me to hear Robyn Lady introduce McLean into a conversation about KAA's future use, because she's never come across as an advocate for the school before. But if she really wants to link KAA's future to McLean's renovation needs, then let's have an honest discussion and fully explore the options.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Maybe they could send the Reston kids near Herndon out of South Lakes. Then, put more in South Lakes. But, that still does not solve long commute to Oakton, or overcrowding at Chantilly and Westfield.

Do you mean Reston near Herndon HS and the Astronauts, Aldrin and Armstrong? Forest Edge [after 20+-year-old reduction in AAP gets feed from Lake Anne, Aldrin, Armstrong, Forestville].

There were new builds in what is now a new census designated place called Great Falls Crossing. Gibson 2008 also loaded South Lakes pyramid from Madison - along Hunter Mill corridor.

Don't Aldrin and Armstrong already go to Herndon? I remember that from the 2008 Boundary study. I think the SL PTA planned to put them in South Lakes but Herndon PTA protested.

Demographics was their driving factor.

I do wonder if a lot of the IB placements from Herndon come from those schools.

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IB placements to SL come from all the Herndon feeder elementary schools.

I realize they can come from all schools. But, there are an awful lot of them. I bet more than half come from two schools.

Kids from other Herndon elementary schools are probably hindered by distance and access to transportation to SL.