FCPS Boundary Review Updates

[Anonymous]

Can I get a TL;DR on what the worst case scenario here is? Is there some sort of specific secret map somewhere that they are trying to get passed? Considering all the “DEI” being thrown around as I’m skimming, my spidey senses tell me this all boils down to parents being afraid they will be redistricted to a “too poor” or “too brown” school, but honestly I’m having trouble figuring out exactly what all the uproar is over given the lack of details available (that I’ve seen, and admittedly have been paying very little attention).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Special Ed and Military Families are two special interest groups that belong on the committee to help FCPS to follow federal law unique to those two groups of students.

I speak as a spouse of retired military who taught in DOD schools. I don't see how membership on this committee will have any impact at all. It's very simple: military families would like some semblance of stability. Clearly, there is no stability in these plans. Military families in Virginia who live on military posts/bases are currently able to pupil place there children by law. Most local military families do NOT live on military property and do not have that ability to pupil place. They just want stability. They live all over Fairfax County. I suspect that Robinson, West Springfield, and South County likely have the largest percentage, but that is a guess. There is no way one military rep can make recommendations that make a difference--except to lobby to stop this process (which is unlikely, I guess.) I do not know the military rep, but would remind people that the people selected appear to be SB sycophants and she may be, too.

As far as the Special Ed reps. I find it quite disturbing (though possibly true) that you think that they know more about the law than FCPS staff. The Special Ed staff at Gatehouse should know the law backwards and forwards.

This whole thing is a mess and should be scuttled.

WSHS has the highest percentage in the state, with Lake Braddock, Hayfield, Robinson and South County not far behind.

WSHS and LB are the majority of military connected kids in northern Virginia.

Is the point that WSHS and LB deserve special treatment because of the large number of military families, or that all families, including military families, want stability when it comes to school assignments?

I am not a West Springfield parent. I am a spouse of retired military. While my neighborhood is not heavy with military, I can assure you that military live all over Fairfax County. I agree with the PP's point of where the highest percentage live. I'm pretty sure she is not suggesting special treatment. Anyone with high school students wants stability---military or not. But, many military have made choices to stay in the area because they want stability. I've known many who chose retirement in order to keep kids in high school. I've also known military who deployed without their families so that the kids could stay in school here.

The SB and Reid are looking at kids as pawns on a chessboard. This is not acceptable. Sure, in extreme cases, boundaries may need to be drawn. New schools may need to be built. That is not the current situation. This is chaos created by the SB and Reid. There is no school so big that it is not functioning well. The concerns here are based on one thing and we all know what that is.

Honestly, if you just look at raw test score data, the bigger schools are all among the top ranked in the state. The obvious conclusion is that they are functioning very well, costing less per pupil based on class size, and should be left alone.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of purple heart schools, not just WSHS. Lewis is as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can I get a TL;DR on what the worst case scenario here is? Is there some sort of specific secret map somewhere that they are trying to get passed? Considering all the “DEI” being thrown around as I’m skimming, my spidey senses tell me this all boils down to parents being afraid they will be redistricted to a “too poor” or “too brown” school, but honestly I’m having trouble figuring out exactly what all the uproar is over given the lack of details available (that I’ve seen, and admittedly have been paying very little attention).

TLR parents don’t want their kids moved. Particularly parents of current middle schoolhigh school kids whose kids may be moved in the middle of high school.

Most schools in FCPS are majority “brown and black” or majority minority.

[Anonymous]

Also I dedicate my professional life to making sure poor kids do well in school. I am not asking my kids to sacrifice their high school experience to help those kids as well. They should have the chance to experience high school at the same school from 9-12.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can I get a TL;DR on what the worst case scenario here is? Is there some sort of specific secret map somewhere that they are trying to get passed? Considering all the “DEI” being thrown around as I’m skimming, my spidey senses tell me this all boils down to parents being afraid they will be redistricted to a “too poor” or “too brown” school, but honestly I’m having trouble figuring out exactly what all the uproar is over given the lack of details available (that I’ve seen, and admittedly have been paying very little attention).

TLR parents don’t want their kids moved. Particularly parents of current middle schoolhigh school kids whose kids may be moved in the middle of high school.

Most schools in FCPS are majority “brown and black” or majority minority.

Agree. People just want to stay where they are. The SB would like to act like the only reason people are against it is "racist," but that is not it. Families are invested in their schools.

I live in a neighborhood that might be moved away from our closest school. We don't want to be moved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can I get a TL;DR on what the worst case scenario here is? Is there some sort of specific secret map somewhere that they are trying to get passed? Considering all the “DEI” being thrown around as I’m skimming, my spidey senses tell me this all boils down to parents being afraid they will be redistricted to a “too poor” or “too brown” school, but honestly I’m having trouble figuring out exactly what all the uproar is over given the lack of details available (that I’ve seen, and admittedly have been paying very little attention).

I'll bite.

You spend a lot of time researching schools when selecting your home, and often pay a premium to buy your home,for whatever reasons you have.

In the case of my kid's high school, WSHS, I am a minority who looked at tests scores at the schools, and picked WSHS because it was the best district we could afford at the top of our budget, with one of the most "middle class" upper middle class communities in FCPS.

Then I looked at test scores, which clearly show that the "too brown" kids as you so disdainfully refer to in your post, have closed the achievement gap at WSHS.

Our black and hispanic Spartans score roughly the same on tests and take the same percentage of advanced courses as the white and asian kids at WSHS. They are academic superstars, and school leaders, in a critical enough percentage of the student population that they are the norm, not the exception. Because of this, they are not seen as "too brown" but rather just regular kids whose skin color is irrelevant, instead of always being singled out in good or bad ways by people in power who only see the students as skin color or ethnic groups.

I know of many WSHS parents, of all colors, races, and backgrounds, but certainly minority parents, who chose to buy in our school zone for exactly the same reason.

Do you know what it is like to be one of a dozen minority students in a school of over 2000 students? I do.

It is insulting and degrading for you who are on the side of the school board to diminish these kids to just their skin color, and to discredit the parents who want to remain in a school that they selected because all of the kids of whatever background are more likely to succeed.

[Anonymous]

“I live in a neighborhood that might be moved away from our closest school. We don't want to be moved.”

This is the information I would like to have - how do you know your school is being targeted? Has this information been released, or are we just guessing?

I want to know if my school is being targeted, so I know if I should be mad too. Happy to be outraged if outrage is due, but I just can’t seem to figure out precisely what is causing all the outrage. Obviously people don’t want to be moved, but doesn’t redistricting have to happen periodically to keep things running smoothly? Or is the theory that all of this is just unnecessary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“I live in a neighborhood that might be moved away from our closest school. We don't want to be moved.”

This is the information I would like to have - how do you know your school is being targeted? Has this information been released, or are we just guessing?

I want to know if my school is being targeted, so I know if I should be mad too. Happy to be outraged if outrage is due, but I just can’t seem to figure out precisely what is causing all the outrage. Obviously people don’t want to be moved, but doesn’t redistricting have to happen periodically to keep things running smoothly? Or is the theory that all of this is just unnecessary?

There was an alleged leaked draft map that came out a week or so ago. FCPS also said they want to eliminate attendance islands and split feeders so if you are at one or near one, anticipate some changes. People also know which schools have historically been moved around or are outliers in their boundary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can I get a TL;DR on what the worst case scenario here is? Is there some sort of specific secret map somewhere that they are trying to get passed? Considering all the “DEI” being thrown around as I’m skimming, my spidey senses tell me this all boils down to parents being afraid they will be redistricted to a “too poor” or “too brown” school, but honestly I’m having trouble figuring out exactly what all the uproar is over given the lack of details available (that I’ve seen, and admittedly have been paying very little attention).

If your low information opinion is to dismiss parents’ concerns as racist or classist and you’re not willing to do your own legwork to even learn about the issue, then just live in ignorance and let the chips fall where they may.

I sure as heck wouldn’t provide you with any summary, because my “spidey sense” tells me you are just a lazy person who lacks intellectual rigor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“I live in a neighborhood that might be moved away from our closest school. We don't want to be moved.”

This is the information I would like to have - how do you know your school is being targeted? Has this information been released, or are we just guessing?

I want to know if my school is being targeted, so I know if I should be mad too. Happy to be outraged if outrage is due, but I just can’t seem to figure out precisely what is causing all the outrage. Obviously people don’t want to be moved, but doesn’t redistricting have to happen periodically to keep things running smoothly? Or is the theory that all of this is just unnecessary?

In the few pages of this new thread, there are plenty of links that have been provided to you. Go watch and read the links. The truth shall set you free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can I get a TL;DR on what the worst case scenario here is? Is there some sort of specific secret map somewhere that they are trying to get passed? Considering all the “DEI” being thrown around as I’m skimming, my spidey senses tell me this all boils down to parents being afraid they will be redistricted to a “too poor” or “too brown” school, but honestly I’m having trouble figuring out exactly what all the uproar is over given the lack of details available (that I’ve seen, and admittedly have been paying very little attention).

I sincerely hope your kids are redistricted to a "too poor" school. Report back on how you feel about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“I live in a neighborhood that might be moved away from our closest school. We don't want to be moved.”

This is the information I would like to have - how do you know your school is being targeted? Has this information been released, or are we just guessing?

I want to know if my school is being targeted, so I know if I should be mad too. Happy to be outraged if outrage is due, but I just can’t seem to figure out precisely what is causing all the outrage. Obviously people don’t want to be moved, but doesn’t redistricting have to happen periodically to keep things running smoothly? Or is the theory that all of this is just unnecessary?

In the few pages of this new thread, there are plenty of links that have been provided to you. Go watch and read the links. The truth shall set you free.

I live in a neighborhood with one of the "large" schools. The people on the committee live on the opposite side of the boundary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can I get a TL;DR on what the worst case scenario here is? Is there some sort of specific secret map somewhere that they are trying to get passed? Considering all the “DEI” being thrown around as I’m skimming, my spidey senses tell me this all boils down to parents being afraid they will be redistricted to a “too poor” or “too brown” school, but honestly I’m having trouble figuring out exactly what all the uproar is over given the lack of details available (that I’ve seen, and admittedly have been paying very little attention).

I'll bite.

You spend a lot of time researching schools when selecting your home, and often pay a premium to buy your home,for whatever reasons you have.

In the case of my kid's high school, WSHS, I am a minority who looked at tests scores at the schools, and picked WSHS because it was the best district we could afford at the top of our budget, with one of the most "middle class" upper middle class communities in FCPS.

Then I looked at test scores, which clearly show that the "too brown" kids as you so disdainfully refer to in your post, have closed the achievement gap at WSHS.

Our black and hispanic Spartans score roughly the same on tests and take the same percentage of advanced courses as the white and asian kids at WSHS. They are academic superstars, and school leaders, in a critical enough percentage of the student population that they are the norm, not the exception. Because of this, they are not seen as "too brown" but rather just regular kids whose skin color is irrelevant, instead of always being singled out in good or bad ways by people in power who only see the students as skin color or ethnic groups.

I know of many WSHS parents, of all colors, races, and backgrounds, but certainly minority parents, who chose to buy in our school zone for exactly the same reason.

Do you know what it is like to be one of a dozen minority students in a school of over 2000 students? I do.

It is insulting and degrading for you who are on the side of the school board to diminish these kids to just their skin color, and to discredit the parents who want to remain in a school that they selected because all of the kids of whatever background are more likely to succeed.

Yes, I love this post. We are a WSHS family that wants to stay. I love our diverse school and love the friend groups my kids have and that we have made friends with the parents as well. West Springfield keeps getting accused of being afraid of moving to Lewis with the "brown kids" and it's insulting. We have a very diverse school that is WORKING. It should be the model for FCPS high schools, not being broken up to fix a different school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can I get a TL;DR on what the worst case scenario here is? Is there some sort of specific secret map somewhere that they are trying to get passed? Considering all the “DEI” being thrown around as I’m skimming, my spidey senses tell me this all boils down to parents being afraid they will be redistricted to a “too poor” or “too brown” school, but honestly I’m having trouble figuring out exactly what all the uproar is over given the lack of details available (that I’ve seen, and admittedly have been paying very little attention).

There are certain areas that feel vulnerable to redistricting because they live very far from their assigned school and another school is much closer. Coincidentally, this area is a wealthy area that has routinely fought against any change that might affect it in the past. And they usually got their way. So that area has been fighting tooth and nail against the boundary review process. Hundreds of pages on DCUM, a new FB group formed that has flooded all community meetings. There are no proposed changes yet but they are constant in their fight against any possible changes. And this group makes a lot of noise. The rest of us are waiting for the process to produce proposed changes.