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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We go to Herndon High, but my kids have friends in South Lakes. Everyone really likes the school. I even know a few families who pupil placed there to get out of Oakton. They found SL to offer more balance and they really liked the IB program. They also liked that there is some diversity and the kids aren’t growing up in a rich kid bubble like in Oakton. [/quote]

Oakton isn't a rich kid bubble.  It's about 14-15% FARMS this year.  There's really only one high school in FCPS that is a "rich kid bubble."

South Lakes's demographics aren't too different from the FCPS high school demographics overall.  A bit more Hispanic and White and less Asian.

Over the course of a decade or so, Herndon's demographics changed more than any other HS in FCPS.  It's now majority Hispanic and majority low-income, and it's trending towards more poverty (the current 9th grade class has a substantially higher FARMS rate than the current 12th grade class, according to the latest VDOE fall membership reports).

A common perception now is that South Lakes is stable and Herndon is not - that it's on its way to becoming a super-majority low-income Hispanic school.  The top achievers at Herndon have done well for years, even better than at some wealthier high schools.  But it's not clear if that will continue.  On the one hand, you have a lot of higher income folks looking at Chantilly and Oakton instead, and on the other you have all the folks who now bypass Herndon and move to Ashburn.  Plus, there are a large number of students who now pupil place out of Herndon every year to South Lakes.  People wonder whether there will be enough of a critical mass at Herndon to offer as many sessions of advanced classes as are offered at other schools (which matters when students have scheduling conflicts).

It leaves the Herndon schools in a somewhat precarious place.  It's understandable why people defend HHS; they don't want to see it decline.  FCPS could change the trajectory there if they built a new high school in western Fairfax, moved part of the low-income areas in Herndon to the new school, and moved western Great Falls to Herndon.  But there are people who will fight very, very hard to make sure that never happens. [/quote]

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