Boundaries assessment update 2023

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That is one crazy boundary: https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/boundary-maps/Westbriar_ES_2.pdf

No doubt it's part of some other deal brokered years ago to keep certain families out of Marshall. Is the School Board ever going to stop playing favorites?

That second island all goes to Colvin Run. Not sure what you're talking about.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I saw “Voices of Fairfax” (used to be “One Great Falls”) crawled out from under its rock and is getting active again just in time for the fall School Board election. They may be a bit worried since Tholen won’t be around much longer.

Oh come on. Sending Herndon kids to Langley is a logistical problem. However the suggestion of retooling Marshall’s boundaries to send kids to Langley or McLean is a decent one.

Sure, but then Marshall would end up with a pretty low FARMS rate if you are taking FARMS from Marshall (22%)

That whole area is quite wealthy so any amount of social engineering is just going to be tinkering around the edges, really. The only long term solution is building the new western HS and retooling all the boundaries. Maybe then the western Great Falls neighborhoods could go back to Herndon without causing massive overcrowding at Herndon HS.

For the umpteeth time - there will be no "new western HS." It is a pipe dream.

Probably true, sadly. I’m more just pointing out that no larger-scale boundary changes will occur in that area until/unless a new HS is built. Just possible tinkering involving McLean, Langley, and possibly Marshall. Until then, Langley will remain at 3% FARMS and Herndon at 50%.

Why do we need large scale boundary changes? It is extremely disruptive to communities. And, to the person who thinks Langley/Herndon would be affected by the new western high school possibility: the purpose is to relieve Chantilly, Centreville, and, possibly Fairfax. (There are students at Fairfax who live extremely close to both Chantilly and Centreville.) Westfield and Oakton could also be in the mix. ) Herndon is not over capacity and neither is Langley.

+1
But the obsession is with Langley. These people actually think that a "new western high school" will affect the Langley/Herndon boundary. It won't.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I saw “Voices of Fairfax” (used to be “One Great Falls”) crawled out from under its rock and is getting active again just in time for the fall School Board election. They may be a bit worried since Tholen won’t be around much longer.

Oh come on. Sending Herndon kids to Langley is a logistical problem. However the suggestion of retooling Marshall’s boundaries to send kids to Langley or McLean is a decent one.

Sure, but then Marshall would end up with a pretty low FARMS rate if you are taking FARMS from Marshall (22%)

That whole area is quite wealthy so any amount of social engineering is just going to be tinkering around the edges, really. The only long term solution is building the new western HS and retooling all the boundaries. Maybe then the western Great Falls neighborhoods could go back to Herndon without causing massive overcrowding at Herndon HS.

For the umpteeth time - there will be no "new western HS." It is a pipe dream.

Probably true, sadly. I’m more just pointing out that no larger-scale boundary changes will occur in that area until/unless a new HS is built. Just possible tinkering involving McLean, Langley, and possibly Marshall. Until then, Langley will remain at 3% FARMS and Herndon at 50%.

Why do we need large scale boundary changes? It is extremely disruptive to communities. And, to the person who thinks Langley/Herndon would be affected by the new western high school possibility: the purpose is to relieve Chantilly, Centreville, and, possibly Fairfax. (There are students at Fairfax who live extremely close to both Chantilly and Centreville.) Westfield and Oakton could also be in the mix. ) Herndon is not over capacity and neither is Langley.

+1
But the obsession is with Langley. These people actually think that a "new western high school" will affect the Langley/Herndon boundary. It won't.

That's why they desperately want them to use the Hutchison site--which is totally unacceptable for so many reasons. But, Herndon mom thinks it will kick the poor out of Herndon and bring in the wealth.

[Anonymous]

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They won't move those Langley students to HHS- but not because of enrollment capacity. HHS is at 2300 students- with the recent renovation- capacity is 2500.
Move some from Langley to Herndon. Mclean to Langley. Could get 3 schools to similar enrollment and ease overcrowding at McLean and fill the under capacity at Langley- by #s- make sense.
Will never happen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm making an offer on a house in the extreme north-western part of Langley HS district, near Seneca road. It's in the 7-1 grid of https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/medi...choolBoundaries.pdf. My son is in 1st grade currently, would prefer Cooper/Langley as schools.

Given where things are at, is there any intent by FCPS to move that part of Langley into Herndon HS, has that been proposed or discussed? I saw a comments to that in this thread, wondering if this was ever really entertained.

I mean, yes, sending the far northwestern part of the county back to Herndon HS boundaries is a thing that could happen. A PP alluded to it earlier in the thread, and then the Langley boundaries would absorb one of the ES in the McLean pyramid. But Herndon HS doesn’t have the capacity right now to absorb a whole additional ES into its boundaries. The MS seems to have more “room” because the capacity dashboard shows it with a number of modular/temporary classrooms, but those are unpopular and not meant to be long term solutions. And building the mythical western HS that could change boundaries at multiple schools is at least 10 years away from completion and probably longer than that. So if you have a current 1st/rising 2nd grader I wouldn’t worry too much about it at all.

Langley’s freshman class is significantly larger than the senior class— presumably due to the most recent boundary change and the grandfathering that comes with it.

When it all shakes out in a few years I wonder where McLean will be in terms of enrollment. Still over I am sure, but by how much?

Part of the reason Langley’s enrollment is growing has nothing to do with the 2021 boundary change with McLean and more to do with places like Great Falls getting more attractive again for working parents when many jobs went remote w/Covid.

Um... GF has *always* been attractive for working parent(s). Most people who live there work in Tysons, Reston, Chantilly, McLean, etc., or remotely. Not DC.

Snort. Great Falls was not always considered desirable. Maybe since you became aware of school issues, but not always.

It was the sticks where the farm kids and other “hicks” lived.

DP. I grew up in Great Falls in the 70s/80s. It was full of horse farms (and still is in places) and was considered pretty far out. However, it was still a sought-after, wealthy area. That you don’t know that makes it clear you must be a transplant.

A transplant informed by someone (more than one actually) who grew up in GF that this was their experience.

The area has increased in wealth to be sure, but it wasn’t anything near what it is now. Those who were/are more “down to earth” are fewer and fewer, and some of their “red neck fun” against current community standards.

The fact that you don’t know the fashionable stereotype is not the historical reality suggests that you are the one who only knows GF by its current reputation for homogeneity of wealth.

Such a bizarre post from someone who admits they're a transplant and really knows nothing about this area. I have no idea what your bolded statement is supposed to mean, nor do I really care. It's clear you have a HUGE chip on your shoulder concerning Great Falls, and you obviously have been spewing your resentment all over this forum for some time. I hope you get whatever satisfaction you're desperately seeking, but something tells me you're just going to continue seething about an area you don't even live in and that doesn't even affect you in any way. Be well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems to me that there are more people on this thread who are concerned about Langley/Herndon for the "western high school" than Centreville/Chantilly overcrowding--which I understand drives the need for the western high school.

Bingo. They are obsessed and absolutely convinced that the "new western high school" will have anything at all to do with Langley/Herndon. Any new high school will be built to alleviate conditions in Centerville/Chantilly, as you said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is one crazy boundary: https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/boundary-maps/Westbriar_ES_2.pdf

No doubt it's part of some other deal brokered years ago to keep certain families out of Marshall. Is the School Board ever going to stop playing favorites?

That second island all goes to Colvin Run. Not sure what you're talking about.

Uh, no. Ask me how I know.

[Anonymous]

Leave Herndon alone. I am glad my kids can be the big fish in the small pond in this school. They are decent athletes and can pretty much make any of the teams without previous experience. The smart kids have better chances to have leadership roles in clubs. I also think they have a slight advantage in college admissions, as they can stand out academically despite going to a “troubled” high school. Let those Langley take the long bus ride on Georgetown Pike. I love that my kids can walk to their school with friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Leave Herndon alone. I am glad my kids can be the big fish in the small pond in this school. They are decent athletes and can pretty much make any of the teams without previous experience. The smart kids have better chances to have leadership roles in clubs. I also think they have a slight advantage in college admissions, as they can stand out academically despite going to a “troubled” high school. Let those Langley take the long bus ride on Georgetown Pike. I love that my kids can walk to their school with friends.

Good post!
I do think there is one Herndon parent on these forums who feels differently. Likely, someone with a younger child.

But, I believe that most of them that want Great Falls at Herndon High are the "social engineers" who resent Langley's low FARMS. You know who you are: limousine liberals.

[Anonymous]

Didn’t part of Great Falls used to attend Herndon, rather than Langley?

I don’t personally care whether those areas ever revert to Herndon now or in the future. It is a little off-putting how some Langley posters try to pre-emptively rule it out. They are part of the same school system as everyone else and their boundaries can change, too.

[Anonymous]

I am the PP with kids at Herndon. Forgot to add, the school looks amazing after the renovations. I actually feel sorry for the Langley volleyball and basketball teams; their gym needs to be upgraded ASAP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the PP with kids at Herndon. Forgot to add, the school looks amazing after the renovations. I actually feel sorry for the Langley volleyball and basketball teams; their gym needs to be upgraded ASAP!

The Langley gym was just renovated four or five years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t part of Great Falls used to attend Herndon, rather than Langley?

I don’t personally care whether those areas ever revert to Herndon now or in the future. It is a little off-putting how some Langley posters try to pre-emptively rule it out. They are part of the same school system as everyone else and their boundaries can change, too.

I don't remember details. I don't live in that area. However, I had a neighbor teaching at Herndon and I believe this to be true--but I think it was only briefly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t part of Great Falls used to attend Herndon, rather than Langley?

I don’t personally care whether those areas ever revert to Herndon now or in the future. It is a little off-putting how some Langley posters try to pre-emptively rule it out. They are part of the same school system as everyone else and their boundaries can change, too.

I don't remember details. I don't live in that area. However, I had a neighbor teaching at Herndon and I believe this to be true--but I think it was only briefly.

Yes, there was a point when much of great falls did, indeed, attend Herndon.

But beyond this, I think the bigger issue is a financial one. It's strange how much people are willing to waste in tax dollars to avoid allocating school seats in an efficient manner.

I don't care about equity or racism or whatever. I just detest the NIMBY inefficiencies that seem to run paramount in the county.

[Anonymous]

At the time, it made sense to send the kids to Langley--Herndon was full and Langley was not. It made sense--and, contrary to what some on here think, it still makes sense. Otherwise, just close Langley in the name of "equity."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At the time, it made sense to send the kids to Langley--Herndon was full and Langley was not. It made sense--and, contrary to what some on here think, it still makes sense. Otherwise, just close Langley in the name of "equity."

It might not make sense if more of the families living in the Langley area sent their kids to public school, or if Jeff Platenberg hadn’t wasted taxpayer money on an expansion Langley didn’t need.