Lee HS Enrollment Falls Below 1700

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like this would also be an opportunity to rename Lee. They will get more qualified applicants from other schools if the school is not named after a Confederate General.

Very few people care that Lee is named after a confederate general and very few people think that it is worth the money to change the names of schools like they did with now Justice.

That campaign hardly raised any money whatsoever, in spite of the activists and outside groups claiming there was a huge demand for the name change.

A petition with over 35,000 signatures and a fundraising drive that's still taking place and has already raised over $75,000 seems impressive.

Either way, I'd welcome an IB magnet in that area of Fairfax, but not if they keep the Lee name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like this would also be an opportunity to rename Lee. They will get more qualified applicants from other schools if the school is not named after a Confederate General.

Very few people care that Lee is named after a confederate general and very few people think that it is worth the money to change the names of schools like they did with now Justice.

That campaign hardly raised any money whatsoever, in spite of the activists and outside groups claiming there was a huge demand for the name change.

A petition with over 35,000 signatures and a fundraising drive that's still taking place and has already raised over $75,000 seems impressive.

Either way, I'd welcome an IB magnet in that area of Fairfax, but not if they keep the Lee name.

They're not going to change the name of Lee. His name is, for better or for worse, respected here.

Can you post a link to the $75k? I hadn't heard that number.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gatehouse insider here. Lee is projecting to be around ~1400 in a few years.

I also have an update about the IB East Center Middle (Key) and High (Lee). I have a few new facts confirmed and can tell you some unknowns.

1. The feeders will be the following pyramids: Edison, West Springfield, Hayfield, South County, Annandale, West Potomac, and Mount Vernon. IB would leave Mount Vernon, Edison and Annandale. So, it's going to be a large part of the eastern/southern part of the county.

2. Facilities is supposed to come up with a budget for the boundary study. There was a preliminary rough study.

3. Politically, there is one SB who loves the idea because they do not like the amount of IB programs. One SB members hates this. And others are either indifferent or oppose it because they'd rather the county push funding the Western FX high school.

4. Even with the changes, Lee is tracking to run into accreditation issues due to its ESOL learners. They shouldn't have defunded that damn night school.

5. It's going to be a lottery like HB Woodlawn. Each pyramid will get a set amount of seats with a waitlist.

6. They are following a model that was used by a different district that consolidated its IB programs (after attempting to dispatch them to poor performing schools). The district who did this saw a 100 percent capacity demand and has a large wait-list for the program. It requires students from middle school to commit to the program/diploma and students who aren't on track have to return to their base schools. It is extremely popular.

And this is why this is all a pipe dream. Unless and until Lee loses accreditation, I wouldn’t get my hopes up for any significant change.

I will repeat myself. Lee is tracking to go under state oversight very, very quickly with the new testing requirements and the dumb decision to close the night school. The county is not sitting on its hands and waiting for this to happen. Actually work is being done, meetings are occurring and lobbying (pro and against) is happening. You can say it's not going to happen but don't be surprised if it does and it's done in a quick fashion. This is inside baseball.

Another point, the head of IB wants this and the super is agnostic because he won't publicly commit to any sort of change until he spends at least a year here.

I'd imagine Tom Wilson would be a fan of this. Elizabeth Schultz normally would be expected to dislike IB, but her kids go to Robinson plus her West Springfield constituents will complain when their boundaries change to pick up parts of Lee.

The key to make this happen lies in the staff making a persuasive argument to Scott Brabrand and the School Board along the following lines:

1) Without something like this, Lee's enrollment will continue to decline and the school's accreditation will be at risk;

2) It makes no sense to continue to spend extra money on so many under-enrolled IB programs in that part of the county;

3) Magnet IB programs - unlike the mess they've created in SE Fairfax - can and do succeed (see Richard Montgomery in MCPS);

4) It is not equitable to accept the continued concentration of poverty at Lee when nearby schools like West Springfield have much lower ESOL/FARMS rates;

5) Restoring AP to Annandale, Edison, and Mount Vernon will stem the flow of pupil placements out of those schools to other schools such as Woodson and West Potomac; and

6) This is an opportunity to rebrand Lee and get rid of the Confederate name that many in the county and region find offensive.

The biggest challenge is that it puts two magnets - TJHSST and Lee IB - is the same part of the county, when other parts of the county have their own needs.

Insider here. Basically, this is the state of play. What people don't understand is that it isn't just the drop in population, it is the drop in population mix. Also, the drop-out issue is a big deal. Both of these things are driving the activity.

And you're right about 6. The biggest question people have run into is why there is yet another east county magnet when west county is bursting at the seams. From what I know there is going to be some horse trading. My guess: Western Fairfax high school is going to get funding. Lee will close and be recommissioned as a regional IB center. Both will happen at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like this would also be an opportunity to rename Lee. They will get more qualified applicants from other schools if the school is not named after a Confederate General.

Very few people care that Lee is named after a confederate general and very few people think that it is worth the money to change the names of schools like they did with now Justice.

That campaign hardly raised any money whatsoever, in spite of the activists and outside groups claiming there was a huge demand for the name change.

A petition with over 35,000 signatures and a fundraising drive that's still taking place and has already raised over $75,000 seems impressive.

Either way, I'd welcome an IB magnet in that area of Fairfax, but not if they keep the Lee name.

The vast majority of those are not Fairfax County residents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like this would also be an opportunity to rename Lee. They will get more qualified applicants from other schools if the school is not named after a Confederate General.

Very few people care that Lee is named after a confederate general and very few people think that it is worth the money to change the names of schools like they did with now Justice.

That campaign hardly raised any money whatsoever, in spite of the activists and outside groups claiming there was a huge demand for the name change.

A petition with over 35,000 signatures and a fundraising drive that's still taking place and has already raised over $75,000 seems impressive.

Either way, I'd welcome an IB magnet in that area of Fairfax, but not if they keep the Lee name.

They're not going to change the name of Lee. His name is, for better or for worse, respected here.

Can you post a link to the $75k? I hadn't heard that number.

Last I saw it was around 12 to 14K

[Anonymous]

Will the middle school with IB middle year program be removed? It sounds like Key will keep their program. What about Twain and others?
https://www.fcps.edu/node/33264

[Anonymous]

The only path to closing Lee is to rezone around 20 elementary schools.

That would create a shitstorm of controversy and would spill over to more pyramids than the ones adjacent to Lee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like this would also be an opportunity to rename Lee. They will get more qualified applicants from other schools if the school is not named after a Confederate General.

Very few people care that Lee is named after a confederate general and very few people think that it is worth the money to change the names of schools like they did with now Justice.

That campaign hardly raised any money whatsoever, in spite of the activists and outside groups claiming there was a huge demand for the name change.

A petition with over 35,000 signatures and a fundraising drive that's still taking place and has already raised over $75,000 seems impressive.

Either way, I'd welcome an IB magnet in that area of Fairfax, but not if they keep the Lee name.

They're not going to change the name of Lee. His name is, for better or for worse, respected here.

Can you post a link to the $75k? I hadn't heard that number.

https://www.fcps.edu/justice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only path to closing Lee is to rezone around 20 elementary schools.

That would create a shitstorm of controversy and would spill over to more pyramids than the ones adjacent to Lee.

Having looked at the maps, I don't think it would necessarily involve that many 20 elementary schools. Maybe 10-12. The biggest ripple would be part of Lee moving to WS, necessitating part of WS moving to Lake Braddock, and then perhaps part of Lake Braddock moving to Robinson and/or South County.

The net result is that West Springfield would probably have demographics similar to Edison and Hayfield today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like this would also be an opportunity to rename Lee. They will get more qualified applicants from other schools if the school is not named after a Confederate General.

Very few people care that Lee is named after a confederate general and very few people think that it is worth the money to change the names of schools like they did with now Justice.

That campaign hardly raised any money whatsoever, in spite of the activists and outside groups claiming there was a huge demand for the name change.

A petition with over 35,000 signatures and a fundraising drive that's still taking place and has already raised over $75,000 seems impressive.

Either way, I'd welcome an IB magnet in that area of Fairfax, but not if they keep the Lee name.

They're not going to change the name of Lee. His name is, for better or for worse, respected here.

Can you post a link to the $75k? I hadn't heard that number.

Only about $600,000 more to go.

https://www.fcps.edu/justice

[Anonymous]

The revised FCPS cost estimates are closer to $425K for Justice. In a budget the size of FCPS they can put Lee out to pasture as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The revised FCPS cost estimates are closer to $425K for Justice. In a budget the size of FCPS they can put Lee out to pasture as well.

So are they usually off by over half a million dollars on every proposal they make? Are they just actually budgeting this one since it is a bit controversial? The estimate was over $1 million.

[Anonymous]

Suggestion. Change the school name from Robert E. Lee HS to LEE HS with LEE as acronym. In the article below LEE is Legacy of Educational Excellence.

Learners Engaged and Enlightened?
Lifelong of Excellence Educators?

http://www.newsweek.com/barack-obama-confederate-school-jefferson-davis-removed-mississippi-687661
"...But some Southerners claim the Confederate-era tributes should remain. In a recent compromise, one school named after Robert E. Lee was changed to LEE School, with the letters standing for Legacy of Educational Excellence."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if this is at least in part why Tamera Dereneax Kauffax hasn't been making a peep about the "Robert E Lee" name. She is a HUGE IB supporter and has even said generally that it would be good in every FCPS high school b/c it is exactly what the "portrait of a graudate" is all about.

That said, I don't think the size of Lee is an issue at all. If their population is sunk b/c they no longer go to ESOL/alternative schools and the testing requirements can't be met, then I can see that as a reason to re-brand and re-think. And I wouldn't be surprised if they shifted several of their elementary schools into the Hayfield pyramid. Note that Springfield Estates is still serving Hayfield pyramid as the AAP center. I love Springfield Estates (so no complaints there), but pushing other low-income schools into Hayfield is not going to be a good thing. Hayfield is already teetering. It doesn't need a shove in the wrong direction.

But, given the intel in this thread, it is sort of making sense.

If they reassign elementary schools, Hayfield would most likely pick up Forestdale, which isn't as high FARMS as some of the Lee feeders. The biggest impacts would probably be on Annandale and West Springfield.

Lynbrook 85.3% [Annandale or Edison]
Garfield 69.7% [West Springfield]
Crestwood 68.9% [Annandale or West Springfield]
Forestdale 52.9% [Hayfield]
Saratoga 50.0% [South County]
Springfield Estates 32.2% (but AAP center w/kids from other schools) [Edison]
Rolling Valley 17.6% (but largely West Springfield feeder) [West Springfield]

I think this is a smart plan. Obviously this idea has been given some thought.

[Anonymous]

I just came here to point out how laughable it is that West Springfield is being called "superior." Carry on.