
I agree. |
That's what happens when you concentrate poverty. MVHS should get similar treatment |
It’s been a death by 1000 cuts: Zoning and land use policies that concentrated low income housing in the central Springfield area vs spreading it countywide, moving higher income neighborhoods out of the Lewis pyramid, making Lewis an IB school that no one wanted, an influx of immigrants, lack of variety in the academic classes that other schools have, etc. Only a radical change will solve the problem. For instance, FCPS could move the CTE academies to Lewis and make it the TJ of trade schools. Give the Lewis students what they need to be successful and students more interested in traditional college prep could be absorbed by surrounding high schools. |
People move where they want to live. Families, job, cheaper houses, commute, walkable neighborhood, ethnic communities... Recent immigrants have always chosen to live in communities with similar religious and cultural ties. Where I grew up in the midwest, the Irish, Italians, Polish and Germans all had consentrated residential areas where they chose to live. There was comfort and community in being around their native language, cultures, food and extended families. That seems to be largely what is happening in some areas of ffx county. It is a natural part of immigration, and one that I and many other first and second generation immigrants experienced as a member of an immigrant family. It just seems laughable that you want to blame FCPS for what is a very natural process of immigrating and intergrating to a new society. |
People live where they can afford to live. In Fairfax, that is a couple of small areas that sit within a few pyramids. The county caused it by zoning and policy that concentres poverty |
True, people want to live near people who are like them. The problem is when FCPS is expected to educate and provide support services to a large population of newcomers, many who don’t speak English or understand the culture. I understand that people come here wanting to provide a better life for their family, but mass immigration is affecting the quality of life of families who have lived here for generations - and that’s a huge problem. |
It is possible to redistrict where needed AND adjust offerings as needed. Why do people act as if this is an either-or situation? |
LOL choice? |
People should have proof they’ve done what they’ve said they’ll do. Otherwise they can make promises they never keep. And FCPS could also gauge the impact of the changes on enrollment within the current boundaries before moving any kids from other schools. |
Heaven forbid my little snookums be redistricted from WS to Lewis, am I right? <clutches pearls> |
It won't be your kids moving from WS to Lewis. If they were, you wouldn't find this so hilarious. |
Don’t mistake her caustic bitterness for an attempt at hilarity. She posts like this fairly regularly in an attempt to minimize the legitimate concerns of parents on DCUM (although we had a refreshing break recently). She straight up hates your kid if he/she attends one of the better schools in the county. |
I live in the area (not zoned for WSHS but very nearby and do a lot of shopping in WS) and I want to touch on something. With real estate prices skyrocketing, families are staying in the densely packed townhome neighborhoods a lot longer. In previous generations those were starter homes and you’d de-camp to a larger home zoned for Woodson when your oldest was early elementary age, or one of the large home neighborhoods along the parkway zoned for Lake Braddock. Some did stay in WS too, of course. But if you could afford it, the houses were almost always nicer elsewhere. Now I see middle and high school students in the townhomes and young families in the condos, because people can’t really afford to trade up as much. So I can see their initial predictions of enrollment being too low and then having to do even more capacity work to increase the size of WSHS even further because the older students aren’t leaving as much. |
Thank you for sending the link above, I hadn’t seen it before. I took a look at Herndon High, and, if I’m reading it right the net transfer out is a little less than 300. Even taking TJ out of the equation, that is a lot of kids, like in the wheelhouse of 10% of the school. If the SB is worried about efficient use of existing facilities, it’s a no-brainer to curtail transfers between schools first. Let me be clear that I don’t support that approach, but if the board insists on pressing reset, then this should absolutely be the first step in the process before any redistricting occurs. |
+1. |