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:Novel idea: how about FCPS focus on excellent instruction in every school and work from there. This is not the time to add bells and whistles.

It's kind of a truism, but if KAA isn't suitable to function as a normal HS without a major investment on top of the $150M purchase price, people have a right to know that.

The phrase "bells and whistles" suggests something special or incremental to the norm, but people have been left guessing as to whether a specialized program is the best or only logical fit for KAA in its current configuration. The sooner that gets cleared up, the better.

Well, any relief to overcrowding would be welcome. We have some schools at under 2000, so go with it. Sully district schools have an average of around 2700 students. They can make this work with the additional buildings--and it won't cost the fortune some claim. It's the same square footage as Centreville. They can make it work.

And, remember, this site was supposed to be for the Western School before they gave it to the Saudis. Fair is fair. The school is needed and it can work. It would not cost a fortune to put regular classrooms in those shell buildings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:(cont)
One thing that intrigued me when looking at the numbers at each high school was the Regional distribution.

Here is the membership of each region:

1. 36,000
2. 22,600
3. 22,800
4. 37,300
5. 39,000
6. 19,500

So, when the regions responded to the BRAC, it would appear it may be a little lopsided in how many responded and why.

It also seems to me that if the due diligence of our School Board members is to be spread out properly, that the Regions should have some attempt at alignment with the magisterial districts. Obviously, since there are 12 magisterial districts, perhaps Regions could be split between two districts. Just a thought.

It just seems very odd to me the way the regions are distributed. But, then the Regions don't necessarily align with the pyramids.

But, Centreville and Chantilly should certainly be considered Sully schools even though they are not literally in Sully district.

There are not 12 magisterial districts, only 9. Perhaps you're thinking of the 12 School Board members, but three of the members are at-large members.

The regions exist for the administrative convenience of Gatehouse. They certainly don't exist because the schools within the regions are similar or near each other, as illustrated by Marshall weirdly being placed in Region 5.

I’m convinced the only reason Marshall is in Region 5 is because they need an IB school in every region and South Lakes was already taken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Novel idea: how about FCPS focus on excellent instruction in every school and work from there. This is not the time to add bells and whistles.

It's kind of a truism, but if KAA isn't suitable to function as a normal HS without a major investment on top of the $150M purchase price, people have a right to know that.

The phrase "bells and whistles" suggests something special or incremental to the norm, but people have been left guessing as to whether a specialized program is the best or only logical fit for KAA in its current configuration. The sooner that gets cleared up, the better.

Well, any relief to overcrowding would be welcome. We have some schools at under 2000, so go with it. Sully district schools have an average of around 2700 students. They can make this work with the additional buildings--and it won't cost the fortune some claim. It's the same square footage as Centreville. They can make it work.

And, remember, this site was supposed to be for the Western School before they gave it to the Saudis. Fair is fair. The school is needed and it can work. It would not cost a fortune to put regular classrooms in those shell buildings.

Two schools can have the same square footage but radically different design and program capacities depending on how the space is configured, what programs are offered, and student demographics.

Also, what you consider a "fortune" and others consider a "fortune" might be two different things.

It's time for FCPS to step up its game and provide more information about the facilties and its intentions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:(cont)
One thing that intrigued me when looking at the numbers at each high school was the Regional distribution.

Here is the membership of each region:

1. 36,000
2. 22,600
3. 22,800
4. 37,300
5. 39,000
6. 19,500

So, when the regions responded to the BRAC, it would appear it may be a little lopsided in how many responded and why.

It also seems to me that if the due diligence of our School Board members is to be spread out properly, that the Regions should have some attempt at alignment with the magisterial districts. Obviously, since there are 12 magisterial districts, perhaps Regions could be split between two districts. Just a thought.

It just seems very odd to me the way the regions are distributed. But, then the Regions don't necessarily align with the pyramids.

But, Centreville and Chantilly should certainly be considered Sully schools even though they are not literally in Sully district.

There are not 12 magisterial districts, only 9. Perhaps you're thinking of the 12 School Board members, but three of the members are at-large members.

The regions exist for the administrative convenience of Gatehouse. They certainly don't exist because the schools within the regions are similar or near each other, as illustrated by Marshall weirdly being placed in Region 5.

I’m convinced the only reason Marshall is in Region 5 is because they need an IB school in every region and South Lakes was already taken.

You win the prize for solving a puzzle because otherwise it's damn near inexplicable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Novel idea: how about FCPS focus on excellent instruction in every school and work from there. This is not the time to add bells and whistles.

It's kind of a truism, but if KAA isn't suitable to function as a normal HS without a major investment on top of the $150M purchase price, people have a right to know that.

The phrase "bells and whistles" suggests something special or incremental to the norm, but people have been left guessing as to whether a specialized program is the best or only logical fit for KAA in its current configuration. The sooner that gets cleared up, the better.

Well, any relief to overcrowding would be welcome. We have some schools at under 2000, so go with it. Sully district schools have an average of around 2700 students. They can make this work with the additional buildings--and it won't cost the fortune some claim. It's the same square footage as Centreville. They can make it work.

And, remember, this site was supposed to be for the Western School before they gave it to the Saudis. Fair is fair. The school is needed and it can work. It would not cost a fortune to put regular classrooms in those shell buildings.

Two schools can have the same square footage but radically different design and program capacities depending on how the space is configured, what programs are offered, and student demographics.

Also, what you consider a "fortune" and others consider a "fortune" might be two different things.

It's time for FCPS to step up its game and provide more information about the facilties and its intentions.

Do you not understand the issue? Really? There is new construction right now in Chantilly and Westfield--a substantial amount. Where are you going to put the kids?
How many more new buses are you going to purchase?
How many more kids do you intend to put on long bus rides?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Novel idea: how about FCPS focus on excellent instruction in every school and work from there. This is not the time to add bells and whistles.

It's kind of a truism, but if KAA isn't suitable to function as a normal HS without a major investment on top of the $150M purchase price, people have a right to know that.

The phrase "bells and whistles" suggests something special or incremental to the norm, but people have been left guessing as to whether a specialized program is the best or only logical fit for KAA in its current configuration. The sooner that gets cleared up, the better.

Well, any relief to overcrowding would be welcome. We have some schools at under 2000, so go with it. Sully district schools have an average of around 2700 students. They can make this work with the additional buildings--and it won't cost the fortune some claim. It's the same square footage as Centreville. They can make it work.

And, remember, this site was supposed to be for the Western School before they gave it to the Saudis. Fair is fair. The school is needed and it can work. It would not cost a fortune to put regular classrooms in those shell buildings.

Two schools can have the same square footage but radically different design and program capacities depending on how the space is configured, what programs are offered, and student demographics.

Also, what you consider a "fortune" and others consider a "fortune" might be two different things.

It's time for FCPS to step up its game and provide more information about the facilties and its intentions.

Do you not understand the issue? Really? There is new construction right now in Chantilly and Westfield--a substantial amount. Where are you going to put the kids?
How many more new buses are you going to purchase?
How many more kids do you intend to put on long bus rides?

You're kind of all over the place. It's like you're claiming KAA currently has the capacity of Centreville because there's a need for the school or development in the area. That's not how things work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Novel idea: how about FCPS focus on excellent instruction in every school and work from there. This is not the time to add bells and whistles.

It's kind of a truism, but if KAA isn't suitable to function as a normal HS without a major investment on top of the $150M purchase price, people have a right to know that.

The phrase "bells and whistles" suggests something special or incremental to the norm, but people have been left guessing as to whether a specialized program is the best or only logical fit for KAA in its current configuration. The sooner that gets cleared up, the better.

Well, any relief to overcrowding would be welcome. We have some schools at under 2000, so go with it. Sully district schools have an average of around 2700 students. They can make this work with the additional buildings--and it won't cost the fortune some claim. It's the same square footage as Centreville. They can make it work.

And, remember, this site was supposed to be for the Western School before they gave it to the Saudis. Fair is fair. The school is needed and it can work. It would not cost a fortune to put regular classrooms in those shell buildings.

Two schools can have the same square footage but radically different design and program capacities depending on how the space is configured, what programs are offered, and student demographics.

Also, what you consider a "fortune" and others consider a "fortune" might be two different things.

It's time for FCPS to step up its game and provide more information about the facilties and its intentions.

Do you not understand the issue? Really? There is new construction right now in Chantilly and Westfield--a substantial amount. Where are you going to put the kids?
How many more new buses are you going to purchase?
How many more kids do you intend to put on long bus rides?

You're kind of all over the place. It's like you're claiming KAA currently has the capacity of Centreville
because there's a need for the school or development in the area. That's not how things work.

Huh?

I'm claiming that the schools ar crowded and there is the opportunity to house them nearby. Even if it is a small school.

What is so hard to understand?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Novel idea: how about FCPS focus on excellent instruction in every school and work from there. This is not the time to add bells and whistles.

It's kind of a truism, but if KAA isn't suitable to function as a normal HS without a major investment on top of the $150M purchase price, people have a right to know that.

The phrase "bells and whistles" suggests something special or incremental to the norm, but people have been left guessing as to whether a specialized program is the best or only logical fit for KAA in its current configuration. The sooner that gets cleared up, the better.

Well, any relief to overcrowding would be welcome. We have some schools at under 2000, so go with it. Sully district schools have an average of around 2700 students. They can make this work with the additional buildings--and it won't cost the fortune some claim. It's the same square footage as Centreville. They can make it work.

And, remember, this site was supposed to be for the Western School before they gave it to the Saudis. Fair is fair. The school is needed and it can work. It would not cost a fortune to put regular classrooms in those shell buildings.

Two schools can have the same square footage but radically different design and program capacities depending on how the space is configured, what programs are offered, and student demographics.

Also, what you consider a "fortune" and others consider a "fortune" might be two different things.

It's time for FCPS to step up its game and provide more information about the facilties and its intentions.

Do you not understand the issue? Really? There is new construction right now in Chantilly and Westfield--a substantial amount. Where are you going to put the kids?
How many more new buses are you going to purchase?
How many more kids do you intend to put on long bus rides?

You're kind of all over the place. It's like you're claiming KAA currently has the capacity of Centreville
because there's a need for the school or development in the area. That's not how things work.

Huh?

I'm claiming that the schools ar crowded and there is the opportunity to house them nearby. Even if it is a small school.

What is so hard to understand?

It's hard to understand because you change the goal posts every time you post.

People agree with you that KAA ideally should be a neighborhood school, but disagree that it necessarily has the same capacity now as Centreville simply because it has the same square footage, or that the cost to reconfigure the building will be insignificant.

And then you come back and just reiterate the need for the school when people point out that your assertions may not be warranted.

Again, FCPS could clear a lot of this up by providing more information to the public, but the fact that they haven't even put out a press release to confirm the purchase closed suggests some uncertainty on their part as to what they can say at this point.

[Anonymous]

The only thing that makes sense is second TJ. Specializing in an industry is ridiculous. Would they really do something so bizarre? I live basically next door to this school and have a 9th grader next year. I’d like it to be a TJ- I didn’t send any of my kids to TJ due to the insane commute. This would pull from all local HS easing enrollment more uniformly. As a regular high school it’s pretty small.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only thing that makes sense is second TJ. Specializing in an industry is ridiculous. Would they really do something so bizarre? I live basically next door to this school and have a 9th grader next year. I’d like it to be a TJ- I didn’t send any of my kids to TJ due to the insane commute. This would pull from all local HS easing enrollment more uniformly. As a regular high school it’s pretty small.

LOL! Sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only thing that makes sense is second TJ. Specializing in an industry is ridiculous. Would they really do something so bizarre? I live basically next door to this school and have a 9th grader next year. I’d like it to be a TJ- I didn’t send any of my kids to TJ due to the insane commute. This would pull from all local HS easing enrollment more uniformly. As a regular high school it’s pretty small.

I don't think there's any reason to believe the state would approve a second STEM-oriented regional Governor's School in the same county. Another "TJ-like" Governor's School would likely be approved in Loudoun first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Novel idea: how about FCPS focus on excellent instruction in every school and work from there. This is not the time to add bells and whistles.

+100
You'd think that would be a given, but sadly it is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only thing that makes sense is second TJ. Specializing in an industry is ridiculous. Would they really do something so bizarre? I live basically next door to this school and have a 9th grader next year. I’d like it to be a TJ- I didn’t send any of my kids to TJ due to the insane commute. This would pull from all local HS easing enrollment more uniformly. As a regular high school it’s pretty small.

100% agree. Specialization at that age so narrow is a terrible idea. This goes against any common sense or research on how to prepare our children. They need critical thinking and would benefit from challenging coursework.

Our county is huge - 1 million and 180,000 student population. Loudon county has one academy for 83,000 student population. The Fx ratio is way off and we shouldn’t be turning children away from advanced academics that are capable of doing that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only thing that makes sense is second TJ. Specializing in an industry is ridiculous. Would they really do something so bizarre? I live basically next door to this school and have a 9th grader next year. I’d like it to be a TJ- I didn’t send any of my kids to TJ due to the insane commute. This would pull from all local HS easing enrollment more uniformly. As a regular high school it’s pretty small.

100% agree. Specialization at that age so narrow is a terrible idea. This goes against any common sense or research on how to prepare our children. They need critical thinking and would benefit from challenging coursework.

Our county is huge - 1 million and 180,000 student population. Loudon county has one academy for 83,000 student population. The Fx ratio is way off and we shouldn’t be turning children away from advanced academics that are capable of doing that.

You don’t need another Governor’s School to offer advanced academics at a neighborhood high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Novel idea: how about FCPS focus on excellent instruction in every school and work from there. This is not the time to add bells and whistles.

It's kind of a truism, but if KAA isn't suitable to function as a normal HS without a major investment on top of the $150M purchase price, people have a right to know that.

The phrase "bells and whistles" suggests something special or incremental to the norm, but people have been left guessing as to whether a specialized program is the best or only logical fit for KAA in its current configuration. The sooner that gets cleared up, the better.

Well, any relief to overcrowding would be welcome. We have some schools at under 2000, so go with it. Sully district schools have an average of around 2700 students. They can make this work with the additional buildings--and it won't cost the fortune some claim. It's the same square footage as Centreville. They can make it work.

And, remember, this site was supposed to be for the Western School before they gave it to the Saudis. Fair is fair. The school is needed and it can work. It would not cost a fortune to put regular classrooms in those shell buildings.

Two schools can have the same square footage but radically different design and program capacities depending on how the space is configured, what programs are offered, and student demographics.

Also, what you consider a "fortune" and others consider a "fortune" might be two different things.

It's time for FCPS to step up its game and provide more information about the facilties and its intentions.

Do you not understand the issue? Really? There is new construction right now in Chantilly and Westfield--a substantial amount. Where are you going to put the kids?
How many more new buses are you going to purchase?
How many more kids do you intend to put on long bus rides?

Will long bus rides still be taken into consideration when drawing new boundary lines?