Reply to FCPS Skyview Boundary Scenario 1/2/3

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Reply to "FCPS Skyview Boundary Scenario 1/2/3"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The original opt in, opt out plan was designed because of the lack of sports and electives into the second year. The admin team has said at many of the meetings that if they have close to 1,000 kids in the initial classes that they will have sports in the second year, with the exception of varsity football for safety purposes. That could change the opt out option in the second year but we don't know.

And with opt out, you are more likely to be in the minority staying at your base school. More families are not going to read the emails and end up at Skyview then read their email and chose to opt out. If transportation is provided to Skyview and not the old school, fewer kids are going to opt out of Skyview. It won't be like this year were there were more reasons to stay at the base school. There are going to fully running clubs, there is a list 30 clubs at the moment, sports, full freshman academics, and transportation.[/quote]

We have no way of knowing now how many families will opt out of Skyview if they have an option. It depends largely on how the boundaries are drawn, how many students within the boundary have older siblings at other schools, and how Skyview functions in its first year. The new staff seems dedicated, but the roll-out has been chaotic; FCPS has not met its enrollment targets; and FCPS may be faced with a difficult decision to cut back on what Skyview offers or, conversely, spend far more per student at Skyview than at other schools and face criticism for that decision. [/quote]

450 ninth graders opted in this year before they opened enrollment up to kids outside of the 5 schools. Do you really think that there is going to be a large number of people opting out next year?  They have 800 kids enrolled at Skyview and have been upfront that they cannot offer as many electives the first year because they won't have the student numbers for some electives. That said, they mainly need electives that are available to freshman and sophomores so they don't need a full slate of electives. There will be more options in the second year because they will have 400-500 more kids.

I think it is safe to say that there are a good number of parents who don't pay attention to the school emails and will not be opting out simply because they don't read their emails. There have been parents asking about opt-in options from the 5 original schools targeted since March 1 because they never looked at the emails.

With a brand new school, a year under it's belt, an enthusiastic staff, and sports I suspect you will find more people wanting to attend Skyview. And there will be people who send their kids because it means they have transportation even if they would slightly prefer the old school. Does it really matter that your kids are at the same school if you end up having to drive one to school for 2-3 years because they are being pupil placed and transportation for your neighborhood no longer exists?

The kids opting out will be in the minority. They want to be at school with their friends and it will be more convenient for most families. And it is shiny and new.

[/quote]

Shiny and new doesn’t matter to people as much as whether a school can offer what a family wants, compared to the available alternatives. The verdict is still out on what the Skyview experience will look like in a year.  Limited electives might not matter much at a middle school, but that will be a bigger concern at a high school.

I agree there will be plenty of families in boundary for Skyview who’ll ignore school communications so their kids will end up there by default.  Others will pay more attention. [/quote]
I suppose people whose kids are taking obscure electives and AP classes will try to place at another school, but there aren't as many of those as you think.[/quote]

It will all sort out in about five years, but the way they've gone about opening Skyview creates risks that wouldn't exist if they'd gone the traditional route of setting boundaries, opening with two classes assigned to the school, and only having an "opt in" option for juniors.  Westfield and South County opened with substantially more than 800 kids.

What you consider an "obscure" elective might be a deal-breaker for some kids if not available.  And sophomores at many schools take AP classes that may not even be offered at Skyview for years. [/quote]

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