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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Well, if what Meren says is correct about delaying the opening, why didn't Reid mention that at the Saturday meeting?

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Because the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing? Idk I’ve worked in plenty of dysfunctional organizations and this all seems pretty par for the course, lots of people making statements that may or may not be true and never checking with anyone else first, lots of abrupt deadline changes, lots of “well let’s fold in this slightly related but ultimately not core project into this larger project so we can fix both things at the same time” muddying the waters. [/quote]

DP. It might be somewhere in the middle. At the Chantilly meeting, Reid said they still wanted to do a soft open in 2026 but they would focus on finishing the county wide study first before looking at the KAA boundaries early next year. [/quote]

What is a “soft open” for a high school?  How would people have any idea what they are signing their kids up for, other than that it wouldn’t have VHSL sports?

I’ve yet to see a compelling reason why they shouldn’t delay opening Western until it has three grades, with only juniors given an automatic option to remain at their current schools.  [/quote]

It sounded like they wanted to let anyone who wants to go there attend, whether in boundary or not. Not sure what grades specifically. [/quote]

I understand but that’s still incoherent from a planning perspective.  They gear up to offer the standard course of studies to 500 kids?  What happens if you’re out of boundary and you send your kid to Western but they adopt boundaries later?  Does your kid get booted?

The School Board needs to grow a spine and squelch Reid Charter before it opens. [/quote]

There is no reason they cannot open next year--except that these people do not know how to plan anything.

Schools destroyed by tornadoes, etc, manage to open elsewhere under much more difficult circumstances.

They can open next year and have JV sports teams.  It just takes someone being pro-active on this.  Or, open with ninth grade and Freshman sports.  [/quote]

One challenge with this is that freshmen coming out of Carson have very different academic needs.  You'll have the kids who should have gotten into TJ ready for higher-level math courses and kids needing remedial math to be ready for Algebra I.  The smaller Western opens, the more challenging it becomes to build a schedule that accommodates these diverse requirements. [/quote]

I don't see why anyone would choose to go there unless you are right across the street or something. It sounds like course offerings will be questionable. Will there be enough kids to form interest in typical clubs? Will sports kids bother with being bussed back to the base school for sports when they can just choose to stay at the base school to begin with? In truth, the longer they delay required boundaries, the longer it takes to fully establish the school. [/quote]

We will go in the first year. My student would not play a sport at their current HS, they enjoy their sport but are not the kid who is practicing in the back yard and has expressed zero interest in playing at their HS. They might be more interested in trying out for a Freshmen team at a school with less competition, knowing that it would be rough, because they know they are likely to get some playing time and there is not going to be a ton of pressure to win. If they choose not to do a sport, starting the clubs they like should be easy enough, think D&D, games, and Magic the Gathering. They would also be interested in academic clubs, the math clubs, that should be easier to get started.

We are one of the families that would be coming from SLHS and have 0 interest in IB classes. Moving to a new school with AP would be great. The "aviation program" classes sound interesting. I put aviation in quotes because the classes sound more STEM based then aviation based but what do I know. We know other families excited to make the move as well. Believe it or not, we are out there. There are families not invested in sports and music and theatre, the big programs that are less likely to be strong in the first 4 years at the new school, who will be fine with the regular clubs. Some are excited for their kids to get a chance to lead at the new schools.

There might be kids who know that they are good at a specific sport but not strong enough to make the JV or Varsity at their current school that might be excited about moving to a school where they might have a chance to play more. Or they are the kid who is a good vocalist or musician that knows they would be in the choir or a third seat that might get the chance to get a solo role or second or first seat. There might be kids who are strong in math but know that they might not make the math team at Oakton who thinks they have a better shot at the new school. There will be opportunities open for kids that they might not have at the new school.

The one thing that I think FCPS will get right is making sure that they have teachers for the classes that freshmen and sophomores would normally take. I know teachers who have already expressed an interest to move to the new school. I suspect that FCPS will be able to choose the teachers that they want and will choose the best teachers they can to make sure that the transition years are as painless as possible. They don't want the damage that would come from not being able to offer classes that the kids need or want, electives.

I expect that there will be rocky moments but that possibility exists at every school. So yeah, we would move in a heartbeat. And we know others excited to do so as well. I doubt that there are as many parents excited about the move at Chantilly but the parents I know there don't seem to dread the move. Oakton families are split, with the largest voice fighting the move. SLHS families are not all on board with the idea but I think there is more of an even split on those excited and those who want to stay at SLHS. I suspect that the opt in option means that many of those families will be fine as long as their current MS can go to SLHS. Some ES parents seem to be less enthusiastic about moving but that will probably shift if it does happen and they see the new school grow and options become available. SLHS also has the pro of being able to pupil place for IB so it is easy to stay there if they want.

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Similar situation with us. We want to move but are scared that the options process they’re talking about will make a small class. I wish they’d rip off the bandaid and put all the kids in the same boat so they band together and create a magical school together. [/quote]

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