FCPS Boundary Review Updates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/public-school-enrollment-continues-fall-including-virginia

Pretty soon, FCPS is going to have to decide whether it wants UMC families in the school system.

The school board can have its every five-year boundary change instability or they can retain these families. The trade-off is clear.

You keep saying this, I know you've said it multiple times but the vast majority of what you call UMC families still can't afford the local private schools. I sure as heck can't afford $40K/year for two childrennad we make $300K/year.

You could afford it if you spent wisely. Most in your demographic care about their kids’ education.

Why are people here trolling from the private school forum? We like our kids' public education, thanks.

In complete honesty, I’ve never been to the private school forum. It’s perfectly reasonable to point out the consequences of unnecessary boundary changes. I used to be in your camp, but the school board has turned me into a voucher proponent. Never thought it was possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did Chantilly get 30 new students in Nove. Seems odd. mber?

Academies. Not all children go to college, some want to learn trades or other skills.

Academies don't start in November.

You sign up the year before and start when school starts in August. You are not allpwed to start mid year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/public-school-enrollment-continues-fall-including-virginia

Pretty soon, FCPS is going to have to decide whether it wants UMC families in the school system.

The school board can have its every five-year boundary change instability or they can retain these families. The trade-off is clear.

You keep saying this, I know you've said it multiple times but the vast majority of what you call UMC families still can't afford the local private schools. I sure as heck can't afford $40K/year for two childrennad we make $300K/year.

You could afford it if you spent wisely. Most in your demographic care about their kids’ education.

Believe it or not, kids can get an excellent education in FCPS schools. There is no need, in my opinion, to pay $50,000 or more a year for an excellent education when my child can get one for free. We do supplement in areas of interest, for my kid that is math. He loves math competitions and does well in them. We pay for him to take a math competition class because he loves it. We pay attention to what he is learning in school and have been impressed with what is taught in History. His 7th grade class read Taming of the Shrew, so English is presenting challenging material. The less expensive privates are no better than FCPS, most are actually not as strong in math or science, so why pay for them?

We could make a more expensive school work, but there is no point because he is getting a strong education in public school. The myth that FCPS provides a sub-par education is just that, a myth. Public education, like private education, comes down to involved parents working with their kids and schools. The Parents who are involved tend to have kids that do well. They have higher test scores, take more advanced classes, and go on to better ranked colleges.

Kids whose parents are not involved tend to have mixed results in public education and don't make it into private schools. Some kids with uninvolved parents do well in school because they are smart and individually motivated. Some kids with uninvolved parents do fine because they are able to do the work but maybe they don't push themselves or get some of the help they need to do well. Some kids with uninvolved parents do poorly because they take the lead from their parents and they just don't care. But those kids with uninvolved parents are highly unlikely to ever make it into a private school because their parents are, well, not involved and are not likely to pay for private school or provide transportation or the uniforms or everything else that comes with private school/

There is not that much of a difference if you compare the AP/IB kids in Public school to the kids at Sidwell and NCS and the other top privates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/public-school-enrollment-continues-fall-including-virginia

Pretty soon, FCPS is going to have to decide whether it wants UMC families in the school system.

The school board can have its every five-year boundary change instability or they can retain these families. The trade-off is clear.

You keep saying this, I know you've said it multiple times but the vast majority of what you call UMC families still can't afford the local private schools. I sure as heck can't afford $40K/year for two childrennad we make $300K/year.

You could afford it if you spent wisely. Most in your demographic care about their kids’ education.

Believe it or not, kids can get an excellent education in FCPS schools. There is no need, in my opinion, to pay $50,000 or more a year for an excellent education when my child can get one for free. We do supplement in areas of interest, for my kid that is math. He loves math competitions and does well in them. We pay for him to take a math competition class because he loves it. We pay attention to what he is learning in school and have been impressed with what is taught in History. His 7th grade class read Taming of the Shrew, so English is presenting challenging material. The less expensive privates are no better than FCPS, most are actually not as strong in math or science, so why pay for them?

We could make a more expensive school work, but there is no point because he is getting a strong education in public school. The myth that FCPS provides a sub-par education is just that, a myth. Public education, like private education, comes down to involved parents working with their kids and schools. The Parents who are involved tend to have kids that do well. They have higher test scores, take more advanced classes, and go on to better ranked colleges.

Kids whose parents are not involved tend to have mixed results in public education and don't make it into private schools. Some kids with uninvolved parents do well in school because they are smart and individually motivated. Some kids with uninvolved parents do fine because they are able to do the work but maybe they don't push themselves or get some of the help they need to do well. Some kids with uninvolved parents do poorly because they take the lead from their parents and they just don't care. But those kids with uninvolved parents are highly unlikely to ever make it into a private school because their parents are, well, not involved and are not likely to pay for private school or provide transportation or the uniforms or everything else that comes with private school/

There is not that much of a difference if you compare the AP/IB kids in Public school to the kids at Sidwell and NCS and the other top privates.

I’m an engaged parent enraged at the school system imposing unnecessary boundary changes.

You talk about parent involvement, and many of the higher performing schools have more involved parents. Boundary changes deprive moved families of the pyramid choice that they made.

Now, the school board shill will clamor that we all signed up for a county system and that no pyramid is ever guaranteed. To which I respond, fine, but don’t expect those with means to stick around a school system that doesn’t value them and looks at their kids as pawns on a chessboard. This isn’t just theoretical - it is happening at the mere threat of boundary changes.

[Anonymous]

I've been reading this forum. i do not know Sandy Anderson or anything much about her. I did read that she is now Chair of the School Board. Over the years, it appears to me, that is pretty much a revolving job--though, with the School Board, I am sure it is also political--everything seems to be political there.

However, I did read a couple of comments on here about her and referring to the reasons she was making decisions about certain moves in the Springfield area, as offensive and inappropriate as to why she was moving certain areas. And, these reasons were not related to DEI. I did not report them, but I am not surprised they were removed.

I live in KAA area and that is one reason I follow these threads. And, I understand how the WS area feels as my area has been shifted and examined over the years way too many times.

I have always felt this county wide boundary study was a terrible idea--and the contract with THRU just added insult to injury.

I have supported people staying put. However, the KAA purchase will have ramifications for others. But, it is terribly needed in this area. I hope people can appreciate that. We all need a sense of community and it is very difficult when the community students are being treated as puzzle pieces.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/public-school-enrollment-continues-fall-including-virginia

Pretty soon, FCPS is going to have to decide whether it wants UMC families in the school system.

The school board can have its every five-year boundary change instability or they can retain these families. The trade-off is clear.

You keep saying this, I know you've said it multiple times but the vast majority of what you call UMC families still can't afford the local private schools. I sure as heck can't afford $40K/year for two childrennad we make $300K/year.

You could afford it if you spent wisely. Most in your demographic care about their kids’ education.

Believe it or not, kids can get an excellent education in FCPS schools. There is no need, in my opinion, to pay $50,000 or more a year for an excellent education when my child can get one for free. We do supplement in areas of interest, for my kid that is math. He loves math competitions and does well in them. We pay for him to take a math competition class because he loves it. We pay attention to what he is learning in school and have been impressed with what is taught in History. His 7th grade class read Taming of the Shrew, so English is presenting challenging material. The less expensive privates are no better than FCPS, most are actually not as strong in math or science, so why pay for them?

We could make a more expensive school work, but there is no point because he is getting a strong education in public school. The myth that FCPS provides a sub-par education is just that, a myth. Public education, like private education, comes down to involved parents working with their kids and schools. The Parents who are involved tend to have kids that do well. They have higher test scores, take more advanced classes, and go on to better ranked colleges.

Kids whose parents are not involved tend to have mixed results in public education and don't make it into private schools. Some kids with uninvolved parents do well in school because they are smart and individually motivated. Some kids with uninvolved parents do fine because they are able to do the work but maybe they don't push themselves or get some of the help they need to do well. Some kids with uninvolved parents do poorly because they take the lead from their parents and they just don't care. But those kids with uninvolved parents are highly unlikely to ever make it into a private school because their parents are, well, not involved and are not likely to pay for private school or provide transportation or the uniforms or everything else that comes with private school/

There is not that much of a difference if you compare the AP/IB kids in Public school to the kids at Sidwell and NCS and the other top privates.

I’m an engaged parent enraged at the school system imposing unnecessary boundary changes.

You talk about parent involvement, and many of the higher performing schools have more involved parents. Boundary changes deprive moved families of the pyramid choice that they made.

Now, the school board shill will clamor that we all signed up for a county system and that no pyramid is ever guaranteed. To which I respond, fine, but don’t expect those with means to stick around a school system that doesn’t value them and looks at their kids as pawns on a chessboard. This isn’t just theoretical - it is happening at the mere threat of boundary changes.

I am not a school board schill but when you buy into a massive County there is a chance that boundaries will be shifted. I think that FCPS has handled this awfully, they should have started with the overcrowded schools and shifted boundaries to deal with that particular issue and left everything else alone. I also think they need to stop the boundary changes until they figure out what they are doing with KAA and make the adjustments they need to address the new school. The only adjustments that should be made right now are the ones for the overcrowded schools, Coates and Parklawn are the two ES I know of. The Centerville and Chantilly overcrowding should be addressed with the KAA purchase, so nothing should be adjusted for those boundaries. If there are other overcrowded schools, adjust those boundaries.

My kid is in MS, he would be fine at any of the HS he could be moved to. The Sb sounds like they are planning on grandfathering most HS at this point. If people are moving because they are afraid of changes, then that is on them. I wouldn't move right now; I am not giving up my low interest rate and I am not that invested in any school in the area. Most of the people in my neighborhood are all in on the ES and MS and HS and school spirit and community. That is fine, but I am focused on the education. I am happy with the experience my kid has had, and yes, we provided items for parties and helped chaperone things, but he really will be fine at the schools in our area. I would guess the number of people moving because they are afraid is really pretty small.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/public-school-enrollment-continues-fall-including-virginia

Pretty soon, FCPS is going to have to decide whether it wants UMC families in the school system.

The school board can have its every five-year boundary change instability or they can retain these families. The trade-off is clear.

You keep saying this, I know you've said it multiple times but the vast majority of what you call UMC families still can't afford the local private schools. I sure as heck can't afford $40K/year for two childrennad we make $300K/year.

You could afford it if you spent wisely. Most in your demographic care about their kids’ education.

Believe it or not, kids can get an excellent education in FCPS schools. There is no need, in my opinion, to pay $50,000 or more a year for an excellent education when my child can get one for free. We do supplement in areas of interest, for my kid that is math. He loves math competitions and does well in them. We pay for him to take a math competition class because he loves it. We pay attention to what he is learning in school and have been impressed with what is taught in History. His 7th grade class read Taming of the Shrew, so English is presenting challenging material. The less expensive privates are no better than FCPS, most are actually not as strong in math or science, so why pay for them?

We could make a more expensive school work, but there is no point because he is getting a strong education in public school. The myth that FCPS provides a sub-par education is just that, a myth. Public education, like private education, comes down to involved parents working with their kids and schools. The Parents who are involved tend to have kids that do well. They have higher test scores, take more advanced classes, and go on to better ranked colleges.

Kids whose parents are not involved tend to have mixed results in public education and don't make it into private schools. Some kids with uninvolved parents do well in school because they are smart and individually motivated. Some kids with uninvolved parents do fine because they are able to do the work but maybe they don't push themselves or get some of the help they need to do well. Some kids with uninvolved parents do poorly because they take the lead from their parents and they just don't care. But those kids with uninvolved parents are highly unlikely to ever make it into a private school because their parents are, well, not involved and are not likely to pay for private school or provide transportation or the uniforms or everything else that comes with private school/

There is not that much of a difference if you compare the AP/IB kids in Public school to the kids at Sidwell and NCS and the other top privates.

I’m an engaged parent enraged at the school system imposing unnecessary boundary changes.

You talk about parent involvement, and many of the higher performing schools have more involved parents. Boundary changes deprive moved families of the pyramid choice that they made.

Now, the school board shill will clamor that we all signed up for a county system and that no pyramid is ever guaranteed. To which I respond, fine, but don’t expect those with means to stick around a school system that doesn’t value them and looks at their kids as pawns on a chessboard. This isn’t just theoretical - it is happening at the mere threat of boundary changes.

I am not a school board schill but when you buy into a massive County there is a chance that boundaries will be shifted. I think that FCPS has handled this awfully, they should have started with the overcrowded schools and shifted boundaries to deal with that particular issue and left everything else alone. I also think they need to stop the boundary changes until they figure out what they are doing with KAA and make the adjustments they need to address the new school. The only adjustments that should be made right now are the ones for the overcrowded schools, Coates and Parklawn are the two ES I know of. The Centerville and Chantilly overcrowding should be addressed with the KAA purchase, so nothing should be adjusted for those boundaries. If there are other overcrowded schools, adjust those boundaries.

My kid is in MS, he would be fine at any of the HS he could be moved to. The Sb sounds like they are planning on grandfathering most HS at this point. If people are moving because they are afraid of changes, then that is on them. I wouldn't move right now; I am not giving up my low interest rate and I am not that invested in any school in the area. Most of the people in my neighborhood are all in on the ES and MS and HS and school spirit and community. That is fine, but I am focused on the education. I am happy with the experience my kid has had, and yes, we provided items for parties and helped chaperone things, but he really will be fine at the schools in our area. I would guess the number of people moving because they are afraid is really pretty small.

Your frame is that you’d be fine with your kid moving to any of the high schools to which he might be moved but you just ignore that the vast majority of families would not be okay with changes.

Even if the number of families moving at the mere prospect is low, you must consider the families that are going to look at this continual boundary review shitstorm and say: no thanks.

Families focused on education are very intentional with where they move.

Unnecessary boundary changes hurt us all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/public-school-enrollment-continues-fall-including-virginia

Pretty soon, FCPS is going to have to decide whether it wants UMC families in the school system.

The school board can have its every five-year boundary change instability or they can retain these families. The trade-off is clear.

You keep saying this, I know you've said it multiple times but the vast majority of what you call UMC families still can't afford the local private schools. I sure as heck can't afford $40K/year for two childrennad we make $300K/year.

You could afford it if you spent wisely. Most in your demographic care about their kids’ education.

Believe it or not, kids can get an excellent education in FCPS schools. There is no need, in my opinion, to pay $50,000 or more a year for an excellent education when my child can get one for free. We do supplement in areas of interest, for my kid that is math. He loves math competitions and does well in them. We pay for him to take a math competition class because he loves it. We pay attention to what he is learning in school and have been impressed with what is taught in History. His 7th grade class read Taming of the Shrew, so English is presenting challenging material. The less expensive privates are no better than FCPS, most are actually not as strong in math or science, so why pay for them?

We could make a more expensive school work, but there is no point because he is getting a strong education in public school. The myth that FCPS provides a sub-par education is just that, a myth. Public education, like private education, comes down to involved parents working with their kids and schools. The Parents who are involved tend to have kids that do well. They have higher test scores, take more advanced classes, and go on to better ranked colleges.

Kids whose parents are not involved tend to have mixed results in public education and don't make it into private schools. Some kids with uninvolved parents do well in school because they are smart and individually motivated. Some kids with uninvolved parents do fine because they are able to do the work but maybe they don't push themselves or get some of the help they need to do well. Some kids with uninvolved parents do poorly because they take the lead from their parents and they just don't care. But those kids with uninvolved parents are highly unlikely to ever make it into a private school because their parents are, well, not involved and are not likely to pay for private school or provide transportation or the uniforms or everything else that comes with private school/

There is not that much of a difference if you compare the AP/IB kids in Public school to the kids at Sidwell and NCS and the other top privates.

I’m an engaged parent enraged at the school system imposing unnecessary boundary changes.

You talk about parent involvement, and many of the higher performing schools have more involved parents. Boundary changes deprive moved families of the pyramid choice that they made.

Now, the school board shill will clamor that we all signed up for a county system and that no pyramid is ever guaranteed. To which I respond, fine, but don’t expect those with means to stick around a school system that doesn’t value them and looks at their kids as pawns on a chessboard. This isn’t just theoretical - it is happening at the mere threat of boundary changes.

I am not a school board schill but when you buy into a massive County there is a chance that boundaries will be shifted. I think that FCPS has handled this awfully, they should have started with the overcrowded schools and shifted boundaries to deal with that particular issue and left everything else alone. I also think they need to stop the boundary changes until they figure out what they are doing with KAA and make the adjustments they need to address the new school. The only adjustments that should be made right now are the ones for the overcrowded schools, Coates and Parklawn are the two ES I know of. The Centerville and Chantilly overcrowding should be addressed with the KAA purchase, so nothing should be adjusted for those boundaries. If there are other overcrowded schools, adjust those boundaries.

My kid is in MS, he would be fine at any of the HS he could be moved to. The Sb sounds like they are planning on grandfathering most HS at this point. If people are moving because they are afraid of changes, then that is on them. I wouldn't move right now; I am not giving up my low interest rate and I am not that invested in any school in the area. Most of the people in my neighborhood are all in on the ES and MS and HS and school spirit and community. That is fine, but I am focused on the education. I am happy with the experience my kid has had, and yes, we provided items for parties and helped chaperone things, but he really will be fine at the schools in our area. I would guess the number of people moving because they are afraid is really pretty small.

Your frame is that you’d be fine with your kid moving to any of the high schools to which he might be moved but you just ignore that the vast majority of families would not be okay with changes.

Even if the number of families moving at the mere prospect is low, you must consider the families that are going to look at this continual boundary review shitstorm and say: no thanks.

Families focused on education are very intentional with where they move.

Unnecessary boundary changes hurt us all.

Yes because it’s not usually the specific school that they are being moved to, it’s the disruption and change. This group of students (rising 5-12) in particular have had a school experience full of disruption and change. As an educator myself, we keep calling kids “resilient” from COVID times, but there are definitely lingering deficits in each of these groups- whether it’s social, academic, behavioral, or all 3. This is just not the time to go all in on this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/public-school-enrollment-continues-fall-including-virginia

Pretty soon, FCPS is going to have to decide whether it wants UMC families in the school system.

The school board can have its every five-year boundary change instability or they can retain these families. The trade-off is clear.

You keep saying this, I know you've said it multiple times but the vast majority of what you call UMC families still can't afford the local private schools. I sure as heck can't afford $40K/year for two childrennad we make $300K/year.

You could afford it if you spent wisely. Most in your demographic care about their kids’ education.

Believe it or not, kids can get an excellent education in FCPS schools. There is no need, in my opinion, to pay $50,000 or more a year for an excellent education when my child can get one for free. We do supplement in areas of interest, for my kid that is math. He loves math competitions and does well in them. We pay for him to take a math competition class because he loves it. We pay attention to what he is learning in school and have been impressed with what is taught in History. His 7th grade class read Taming of the Shrew, so English is presenting challenging material. The less expensive privates are no better than FCPS, most are actually not as strong in math or science, so why pay for them?

We could make a more expensive school work, but there is no point because he is getting a strong education in public school. The myth that FCPS provides a sub-par education is just that, a myth. Public education, like private education, comes down to involved parents working with their kids and schools. The Parents who are involved tend to have kids that do well. They have higher test scores, take more advanced classes, and go on to better ranked colleges.

Kids whose parents are not involved tend to have mixed results in public education and don't make it into private schools. Some kids with uninvolved parents do well in school because they are smart and individually motivated. Some kids with uninvolved parents do fine because they are able to do the work but maybe they don't push themselves or get some of the help they need to do well. Some kids with uninvolved parents do poorly because they take the lead from their parents and they just don't care. But those kids with uninvolved parents are highly unlikely to ever make it into a private school because their parents are, well, not involved and are not likely to pay for private school or provide transportation or the uniforms or everything else that comes with private school/

There is not that much of a difference if you compare the AP/IB kids in Public school to the kids at Sidwell and NCS and the other top privates.

I’m an engaged parent enraged at the school system imposing unnecessary boundary changes.

You talk about parent involvement, and many of the higher performing schools have more involved parents. Boundary changes deprive moved families of the pyramid choice that they made.

Now, the school board shill will clamor that we all signed up for a county system and that no pyramid is ever guaranteed. To which I respond, fine, but don’t expect those with means to stick around a school system that doesn’t value them and looks at their kids as pawns on a chessboard. This isn’t just theoretical - it is happening at the mere threat of boundary changes.

I am not a school board schill but when you buy into a massive County there is a chance that boundaries will be shifted. I think that FCPS has handled this awfully, they should have started with the overcrowded schools and shifted boundaries to deal with that particular issue and left everything else alone. I also think they need to stop the boundary changes until they figure out what they are doing with KAA and make the adjustments they need to address the new school. The only adjustments that should be made right now are the ones for the overcrowded schools, Coates and Parklawn are the two ES I know of. The Centerville and Chantilly overcrowding should be addressed with the KAA purchase, so nothing should be adjusted for those boundaries. If there are other overcrowded schools, adjust those boundaries.

My kid is in MS, he would be fine at any of the HS he could be moved to. The Sb sounds like they are planning on grandfathering most HS at this point. If people are moving because they are afraid of changes, then that is on them. I wouldn't move right now; I am not giving up my low interest rate and I am not that invested in any school in the area. Most of the people in my neighborhood are all in on the ES and MS and HS and school spirit and community. That is fine, but I am focused on the education. I am happy with the experience my kid has had, and yes, we provided items for parties and helped chaperone things, but he really will be fine at the schools in our area. I would guess the number of people moving because they are afraid is really pretty small.

Your frame is that you’d be fine with your kid moving to any of the high schools to which he might be moved but you just ignore that the vast majority of families would not be okay with changes.

Even if the number of families moving at the mere prospect is low, you must consider the families that are going to look at this continual boundary review shitstorm and say: no thanks.

Families focused on education are very intentional with where they move.

Unnecessary boundary changes hurt us all.

Yes because it’s not usually the specific school that they are being moved to, it’s the disruption and change. This group of students (rising 5-12) in particular have had a school experience full of disruption and change. As an educator myself, we keep calling kids “resilient” from COVID times, but there are definitely lingering deficits in each of these groups- whether it’s social, academic, behavioral, or all 3. This is just not the time to go all in on this.

Thank you for your service and excellent perspective here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/public-school-enrollment-continues-fall-including-virginia

Pretty soon, FCPS is going to have to decide whether it wants UMC families in the school system.

The school board can have its every five-year boundary change instability or they can retain these families. The trade-off is clear.

There are not enough private schools in this area and most people cannot afford the $50,000 price tags, or more, of the majority of schools in this area. The article does not breakdown how many of those kids that are leaving are SPED kids whose parents are dissatisfied with the services offered in the public schools. It also points to kids leaving mainly in MS, where parents are placing kids in private school to avoid the hell that is MS by placing them in smaller MS. Many of those families return their kids to public HS.

They are not going to adjust all the boundaries every 5 years but they will shift to use available space as schools become more crowded and other schools decrease in numbers. Loudoun does this right now and there are not that many complaints. They need to open new schools because of growth, maybe that explains the lack of complaint, but I have friends whose kids have changed schools in ES and HS.

I think you missed that we’re talking about upper middle class families. Most can afford it.

And maybe you missed that policy 8130 requires them to do a comprehensive review every five years. Fwiw, it’s the uncertainty that’ll drive the flight, even if the changes are not as disruptive as this go round.

The school board is doing real damage to the public schools unnecessarily.

My family is UMC and I would not say that we could afford $50,000. Well, we could, but we would have to not save for college and not take vacations and not make some upgrades on our house. It would be tight. And we wouldn't want to commute that comes with attending most of those schools or the ridiculous small size of some of those schools.

I didn't miss the 5 year comprehensive review but review does not mean redraw all the boundaries. It might mean that there are schools that are over crowded and need to have their boundaries addresses, and that is fine. They should be doing that.

Without knowing your specific situation, it doesn’t really sound like you are upper middle class. Maybe middle class?

Either way, it’s not like every single UMC family will leave, but I’ve been around long enough to know that a ton will, and the uncertainty is going to be a big contributing factor.

We’re really at an inflection point with public schools, and the only way they can be saved is to stop alienating engaged families.

By every indicator we are UMC. We believe in saving and put out retirement and college fund ahead of other expenditures. The only Private schools that we would consider are the really expensive ones because of the programs they offer, and they are not so much better then FCPS that they are worth the money that they cost.

The reality is, even if the people on this board don't believe it, FCPS is a strong school district that produces excellent results. There are better schools in places but not that many. The only people I know who moved to FCPS and thought the schools were not better than their old schools came from the UMC burbs of NY and MA, where you have the smaller districts funded by local taxes. The number of people I know who moved into the school and find that their kid needs tutoring to get on grade level is quite high.

Just looked up the internet definition of UMC, and it’s lower than what I consider UMC. That might be the disconnect. I guess maybe I’m thinking top 5-10% of household income.

To counter your anecdote, at this point I know half a dozen families in my area that have moved at the mere prospect of boundary changes. There is this negative feedback loop where the more high performing kids move, the worse it is for those who remain. We’re going through the analysis now of whether it makes sense to cut our losses for our kid, which is really too bad because just a couple of years ago I was an ardent defender of public schools.

Just curious, but how so? Students who are exceptional in some way (be it academic high-achievers / underperformers, or have various physical, mental, emotional, or other special needs) usually need and receive disproportional resources relative to the significant majority of students who aren't on the tail of some curve. Trimming tail-of-a-curve kids from the pool is a generally a net positive for those who remain, at least in terms of resource availability to be targeted towards those 'typical' kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/public-school-enrollment-continues-fall-including-virginia

Pretty soon, FCPS is going to have to decide whether it wants UMC families in the school system.

The school board can have its every five-year boundary change instability or they can retain these families. The trade-off is clear.

There are not enough private schools in this area and most people cannot afford the $50,000 price tags, or more, of the majority of schools in this area. The article does not breakdown how many of those kids that are leaving are SPED kids whose parents are dissatisfied with the services offered in the public schools. It also points to kids leaving mainly in MS, where parents are placing kids in private school to avoid the hell that is MS by placing them in smaller MS. Many of those families return their kids to public HS.

They are not going to adjust all the boundaries every 5 years but they will shift to use available space as schools become more crowded and other schools decrease in numbers. Loudoun does this right now and there are not that many complaints. They need to open new schools because of growth, maybe that explains the lack of complaint, but I have friends whose kids have changed schools in ES and HS.

I think you missed that we’re talking about upper middle class families. Most can afford it.

And maybe you missed that policy 8130 requires them to do a comprehensive review every five years. Fwiw, it’s the uncertainty that’ll drive the flight, even if the changes are not as disruptive as this go round.

The school board is doing real damage to the public schools unnecessarily.

My family is UMC and I would not say that we could afford $50,000. Well, we could, but we would have to not save for college and not take vacations and not make some upgrades on our house. It would be tight. And we wouldn't want to commute that comes with attending most of those schools or the ridiculous small size of some of those schools.

I didn't miss the 5 year comprehensive review but review does not mean redraw all the boundaries. It might mean that there are schools that are over crowded and need to have their boundaries addresses, and that is fine. They should be doing that.

Without knowing your specific situation, it doesn’t really sound like you are upper middle class. Maybe middle class?

Either way, it’s not like every single UMC family will leave, but I’ve been around long enough to know that a ton will, and the uncertainty is going to be a big contributing factor.

We’re really at an inflection point with public schools, and the only way they can be saved is to stop alienating engaged families.

By every indicator we are UMC. We believe in saving and put out retirement and college fund ahead of other expenditures. The only Private schools that we would consider are the really expensive ones because of the programs they offer, and they are not so much better then FCPS that they are worth the money that they cost.

The reality is, even if the people on this board don't believe it, FCPS is a strong school district that produces excellent results. There are better schools in places but not that many. The only people I know who moved to FCPS and thought the schools were not better than their old schools came from the UMC burbs of NY and MA, where you have the smaller districts funded by local taxes. The number of people I know who moved into the school and find that their kid needs tutoring to get on grade level is quite high.

Just looked up the internet definition of UMC, and it’s lower than what I consider UMC. That might be the disconnect. I guess maybe I’m thinking top 5-10% of household income.

To counter your anecdote, at this point I know half a dozen families in my area that have moved at the mere prospect of boundary changes. There is this negative feedback loop where the more high performing kids move, the worse it is for those who remain. We’re going through the analysis now of whether it makes sense to cut our losses for our kid, which is really too bad because just a couple of years ago I was an ardent defender of public schools.

Just curious, but how so? Students who are exceptional in some way (be it academic high-achievers / underperformers, or have various physical, mental, emotional, or other special needs) usually need and receive disproportional resources relative to the significant majority of students who aren't on the tail of some curve. Trimming tail-of-a-curve kids from the pool is a generally a net positive for those who remain, at least in terms of resource availability to be targeted towards those 'typical' kids.

It's not just the exceptional kids moving anymore. A lot of the kids on either end of the academic spectrum and at the higher end of the SES spectrum already left during Covid. Now schools are losing UMC kids who are bright but not necessarily the highest achievers. Local private schools saw this coming and many jumped on it. I'm also a teacher and the other teacher PP who said parents feel like there's been enough disruption in their children's schooling is spot on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/public-school-enrollment-continues-fall-including-virginia

Pretty soon, FCPS is going to have to decide whether it wants UMC families in the school system.

The school board can have its every five-year boundary change instability or they can retain these families. The trade-off is clear.

You keep saying this, I know you've said it multiple times but the vast majority of what you call UMC families still can't afford the local private schools. I sure as heck can't afford $40K/year for two childrennad we make $300K/year.

You could afford it if you spent wisely. Most in your demographic care about their kids’ education.

Believe it or not, kids can get an excellent education in FCPS schools. There is no need, in my opinion, to pay $50,000 or more a year for an excellent education when my child can get one for free. We do supplement in areas of interest, for my kid that is math. He loves math competitions and does well in them. We pay for him to take a math competition class because he loves it. We pay attention to what he is learning in school and have been impressed with what is taught in History. His 7th grade class read Taming of the Shrew, so English is presenting challenging material. The less expensive privates are no better than FCPS, most are actually not as strong in math or science, so why pay for them?

We could make a more expensive school work, but there is no point because he is getting a strong education in public school. The myth that FCPS provides a sub-par education is just that, a myth. Public education, like private education, comes down to involved parents working with their kids and schools. The Parents who are involved tend to have kids that do well. They have higher test scores, take more advanced classes, and go on to better ranked colleges.

Kids whose parents are not involved tend to have mixed results in public education and don't make it into private schools. Some kids with uninvolved parents do well in school because they are smart and individually motivated. Some kids with uninvolved parents do fine because they are able to do the work but maybe they don't push themselves or get some of the help they need to do well. Some kids with uninvolved parents do poorly because they take the lead from their parents and they just don't care. But those kids with uninvolved parents are highly unlikely to ever make it into a private school because their parents are, well, not involved and are not likely to pay for private school or provide transportation or the uniforms or everything else that comes with private school/

There is not that much of a difference if you compare the AP/IB kids in Public school to the kids at Sidwell and NCS and the other top privates.

I’m an engaged parent enraged at the school system imposing unnecessary boundary changes.

You talk about parent involvement, and many of the higher performing schools have more involved parents. Boundary changes deprive moved families of the pyramid choice that they made.

Now, the school board shill will clamor that we all signed up for a county system and that no pyramid is ever guaranteed. To which I respond, fine, but don’t expect those with means to stick around a school system that doesn’t value them and looks at their kids as pawns on a chessboard. This isn’t just theoretical - it is happening at the mere threat of boundary changes.

I am not a school board schill but when you buy into a massive County there is a chance that boundaries will be shifted. I think that FCPS has handled this awfully, they should have started with the overcrowded schools and shifted boundaries to deal with that particular issue and left everything else alone. I also think they need to stop the boundary changes until they figure out what they are doing with KAA and make the adjustments they need to address the new school. The only adjustments that should be made right now are the ones for the overcrowded schools, Coates and Parklawn are the two ES I know of. The Centerville and Chantilly overcrowding should be addressed with the KAA purchase, so nothing should be adjusted for those boundaries. If there are other overcrowded schools, adjust those boundaries.

My kid is in MS, he would be fine at any of the HS he could be moved to. The Sb sounds like they are planning on grandfathering most HS at this point. If people are moving because they are afraid of changes, then that is on them. I wouldn't move right now; I am not giving up my low interest rate and I am not that invested in any school in the area. Most of the people in my neighborhood are all in on the ES and MS and HS and school spirit and community. That is fine, but I am focused on the education. I am happy with the experience my kid has had, and yes, we provided items for parties and helped chaperone things, but he really will be fine at the schools in our area. I would guess the number of people moving because they are afraid is really pretty small.

Your frame is that you’d be fine with your kid moving to any of the high schools to which he might be moved but you just ignore that the vast majority of families would not be okay with changes.

Even if the number of families moving at the mere prospect is low, you must consider the families that are going to look at this continual boundary review shitstorm and say: no thanks.

Families focused on education are very intentional with where they move.

Unnecessary boundary changes hurt us all.

We agree. If you read my entire post, you will see that I said that they handled it wrong and that they should only focus on adjusting boundaries where schools are overcrowded. Boundary change for boundary change sake is ridiculous.

I don't see people fleeing Arlington or Loudoun or the other school districts where boundaries are adjusted on a pretty regular basis. It happens when you are living in an area like ours. I would be surprised if they changed boundaries across the county every five years, that would be a waste. I don't think reviewing the boundaries and making adjustments where needed, like overcrowded schools, is a bad idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/public-school-enrollment-continues-fall-including-virginia

Pretty soon, FCPS is going to have to decide whether it wants UMC families in the school system.

The school board can have its every five-year boundary change instability or they can retain these families. The trade-off is clear.

You keep saying this, I know you've said it multiple times but the vast majority of what you call UMC families still can't afford the local private schools. I sure as heck can't afford $40K/year for two childrennad we make $300K/year.

You could afford it if you spent wisely. Most in your demographic care about their kids’ education.

Believe it or not, kids can get an excellent education in FCPS schools. There is no need, in my opinion, to pay $50,000 or more a year for an excellent education when my child can get one for free. We do supplement in areas of interest, for my kid that is math. He loves math competitions and does well in them. We pay for him to take a math competition class because he loves it. We pay attention to what he is learning in school and have been impressed with what is taught in History. His 7th grade class read Taming of the Shrew, so English is presenting challenging material. The less expensive privates are no better than FCPS, most are actually not as strong in math or science, so why pay for them?

We could make a more expensive school work, but there is no point because he is getting a strong education in public school. The myth that FCPS provides a sub-par education is just that, a myth. Public education, like private education, comes down to involved parents working with their kids and schools. The Parents who are involved tend to have kids that do well. They have higher test scores, take more advanced classes, and go on to better ranked colleges.

Kids whose parents are not involved tend to have mixed results in public education and don't make it into private schools. Some kids with uninvolved parents do well in school because they are smart and individually motivated. Some kids with uninvolved parents do fine because they are able to do the work but maybe they don't push themselves or get some of the help they need to do well. Some kids with uninvolved parents do poorly because they take the lead from their parents and they just don't care. But those kids with uninvolved parents are highly unlikely to ever make it into a private school because their parents are, well, not involved and are not likely to pay for private school or provide transportation or the uniforms or everything else that comes with private school/

There is not that much of a difference if you compare the AP/IB kids in Public school to the kids at Sidwell and NCS and the other top privates.

I’m an engaged parent enraged at the school system imposing unnecessary boundary changes.

You talk about parent involvement, and many of the higher performing schools have more involved parents. Boundary changes deprive moved families of the pyramid choice that they made.

Now, the school board shill will clamor that we all signed up for a county system and that no pyramid is ever guaranteed. To which I respond, fine, but don’t expect those with means to stick around a school system that doesn’t value them and looks at their kids as pawns on a chessboard. This isn’t just theoretical - it is happening at the mere threat of boundary changes.

I am not a school board schill but when you buy into a massive County there is a chance that boundaries will be shifted. I think that FCPS has handled this awfully, they should have started with the overcrowded schools and shifted boundaries to deal with that particular issue and left everything else alone. I also think they need to stop the boundary changes until they figure out what they are doing with KAA and make the adjustments they need to address the new school. The only adjustments that should be made right now are the ones for the overcrowded schools, Coates and Parklawn are the two ES I know of. The Centerville and Chantilly overcrowding should be addressed with the KAA purchase, so nothing should be adjusted for those boundaries. If there are other overcrowded schools, adjust those boundaries.

My kid is in MS, he would be fine at any of the HS he could be moved to. The Sb sounds like they are planning on grandfathering most HS at this point. If people are moving because they are afraid of changes, then that is on them. I wouldn't move right now; I am not giving up my low interest rate and I am not that invested in any school in the area. Most of the people in my neighborhood are all in on the ES and MS and HS and school spirit and community. That is fine, but I am focused on the education. I am happy with the experience my kid has had, and yes, we provided items for parties and helped chaperone things, but he really will be fine at the schools in our area. I would guess the number of people moving because they are afraid is really pretty small.

Your frame is that you’d be fine with your kid moving to any of the high schools to which he might be moved but you just ignore that the vast majority of families would not be okay with changes.

Even if the number of families moving at the mere prospect is low, you must consider the families that are going to look at this continual boundary review shitstorm and say: no thanks.

Families focused on education are very intentional with where they move.

Unnecessary boundary changes hurt us all.

We agree. If you read my entire post, you will see that I said that they handled it wrong and that they should only focus on adjusting boundaries where schools are overcrowded. Boundary change for boundary change sake is ridiculous.

I don't see people fleeing Arlington or Loudoun or the other school districts where boundaries are adjusted on a pretty regular basis. It happens when you are living in an area like ours. I would be surprised if they changed boundaries across the county every five years, that would be a waste. I don't think reviewing the boundaries and making adjustments where needed, like overcrowded schools, is a bad idea.

DP. Before they change boundaries at "overcrowded" schools, they need to look at their capital planning to make sure the money is flowing to the schools that need capital resources. Their practice has been to expand schools willy-nilly just because they were in a renovation queue developed over 15 years ago. And they're also still on track to waste over $85 million at Dunn Loring, when there's no need for that school at all.

You can often tell the posters whose schools have been recently expanded and/or are below capacity. They're happy to see kids moved out of other schools, even if they wouldn't want their own kids moved, and they don't demand better of FCPS because it's worked out OK for them. For some of the rest of us, not so much. We're tired of the constant threats of boundary changes, when much of it is due to FCPS's own incompetence.

[Anonymous]

Which middle school had 7th grade english class reading Taming of the Shrew?

My kids AAP 8th grade class read one book
all year-The Outsiders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/public-school-enrollment-continues-fall-including-virginia

Pretty soon, FCPS is going to have to decide whether it wants UMC families in the school system.

The school board can have its every five-year boundary change instability or they can retain these families. The trade-off is clear.

There are not enough private schools in this area and most people cannot afford the $50,000 price tags, or more, of the majority of schools in this area. The article does not breakdown how many of those kids that are leaving are SPED kids whose parents are dissatisfied with the services offered in the public schools. It also points to kids leaving mainly in MS, where parents are placing kids in private school to avoid the hell that is MS by placing them in smaller MS. Many of those families return their kids to public HS.

They are not going to adjust all the boundaries every 5 years but they will shift to use available space as schools become more crowded and other schools decrease in numbers. Loudoun does this right now and there are not that many complaints. They need to open new schools because of growth, maybe that explains the lack of complaint, but I have friends whose kids have changed schools in ES and HS.

I think you missed that we’re talking about upper middle class families. Most can afford it.

And maybe you missed that policy 8130 requires them to do a comprehensive review every five years. Fwiw, it’s the uncertainty that’ll drive the flight, even if the changes are not as disruptive as this go round.

The school board is doing real damage to the public schools unnecessarily.

My family is UMC and I would not say that we could afford $50,000. Well, we could, but we would have to not save for college and not take vacations and not make some upgrades on our house. It would be tight. And we wouldn't want to commute that comes with attending most of those schools or the ridiculous small size of some of those schools.

I didn't miss the 5 year comprehensive review but review does not mean redraw all the boundaries. It might mean that there are schools that are over crowded and need to have their boundaries addresses, and that is fine. They should be doing that.

Without knowing your specific situation, it doesn’t really sound like you are upper middle class. Maybe middle class?

Either way, it’s not like every single UMC family will leave, but I’ve been around long enough to know that a ton will, and the uncertainty is going to be a big contributing factor.

We’re really at an inflection point with public schools, and the only way they can be saved is to stop alienating engaged families.

By every indicator we are UMC. We believe in saving and put out retirement and college fund ahead of other expenditures. The only Private schools that we would consider are the really expensive ones because of the programs they offer, and they are not so much better then FCPS that they are worth the money that they cost.

The reality is, even if the people on this board don't believe it, FCPS is a strong school district that produces excellent results. There are better schools in places but not that many. The only people I know who moved to FCPS and thought the schools were not better than their old schools came from the UMC burbs of NY and MA, where you have the smaller districts funded by local taxes. The number of people I know who moved into the school and find that their kid needs tutoring to get on grade level is quite high.

Just looked up the internet definition of UMC, and it’s lower than what I consider UMC. That might be the disconnect. I guess maybe I’m thinking top 5-10% of household income.

To counter your anecdote, at this point I know half a dozen families in my area that have moved at the mere prospect of boundary changes. There is this negative feedback loop where the more high performing kids move, the worse it is for those who remain. We’re going through the analysis now of whether it makes sense to cut our losses for our kid, which is really too bad because just a couple of years ago I was an ardent defender of public schools.

Just curious, but how so? Students who are exceptional in some way (be it academic high-achievers / underperformers, or have various physical, mental, emotional, or other special needs) usually need and receive disproportional resources relative to the significant majority of students who aren't on the tail of some curve. Trimming tail-of-a-curve kids from the pool is a generally a net positive for those who remain, at least in terms of resource availability to be targeted towards those 'typical' kids.

It's not just the exceptional kids moving anymore. A lot of the kids on either end of the academic spectrum and at the higher end of the SES spectrum already left during Covid. Now schools are losing UMC kids who are bright but not necessarily the highest achievers. Local private schools saw this coming and many jumped on it. I'm also a teacher and the other teacher PP who said parents feel like there's been enough disruption in their children's schooling is spot on.

So then in the long run there's less overcrowding, less need for boundary changes, and more funds put towards improving existing facilities rather than constructing new ones. Still failing to see how some percentage of kids leaving the system is making it worse for those who remain. I agree there's been enough disruption but failing to see how that's relevant to the point/question about how some small percentage of students leaving the system is making it worse for those who remain.

Overall, FCPS enrollment since September 2020 has been pretty flat, fluctuating a bit with a low of 178.6k in September 2021 and a high of 182.9k in April 2024... latest was 181.2k in June of 2025 (up 0.8k from the start of the school year). So if some students are leaving the system, it's not in large enough numbers to really register. Of course, is tough to disambiguate aggregate numbers, but I'd suspect we could just as large or larger impacts from a potential reduction in ELL students as a result of the current environment. Maybe look at a specific higher-SES school like Langley... have they been experiencing a drop-off in enrollment? (the answer is no, at least as of June of this year, they had almost completely flat enrollment for the school year, maybe you think next fall we'll see a reduction as kids leave the system? Will be interesting to validate when the Sep/Oct/Nov enrollment numbers come out)