Reply to Freedom Hill Elementary in Vienna

Forum Index » Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)

Reply to "Freedom Hill Elementary in Vienna"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It is clearly easier and better to align the current HS designation to the MS- that just makes sense.  HS is 4 years- MS 2 years.  HS is the reason why anyone bought into a house (which frankly is HUGE since we are all tax payers).  So aligning for 2 years/MS is absurd.  Tell this to all the builders and home owners that bought based on HS- just not gonna happen.[/quote]

If there is a strong desire to align the MS and HS boundaries among those four schools, it is indeed easiest to align the HS boundaries to the current MS boundaries.  Then the cohort of students stays together for six years or more.

The notion that you can't adjust HS boundaries because people buy into a HS district is a tired canard.  Have you never heard of the "Madison Island" that was redistricted to South Lakes seven years ago?  The parents put up a big fuss and threatened litigation.  They got redistricted anyway.  Life went on.  More recently, FCPS eliminated a Woodson attendance island in the middle of the Robinson district, even though some Fairfax Station parents argued they had bought their homes specifically for Woodson.  If there is truly a desire to eliminate the split feeders at Kilmer and Thoreau efficiently and expeditiously, the clear and obvious solution is to have Thoreau's current boundaries become Madison's new boundaries, and have Kilmer's current boundaries become Marshall's new boundaries.  Otherwise, people can just suck it up and live with the status quo for at least another decade, while students in many other parts of the county enjoy aligned middle and high schools. [/quote]

What they can do now is redistribute the middle school students for Marshall and Madison among Kilmer and Thoreau so that there is not such a great majority at one school verses another.[/quote]

I hadn't heard anyone really advocating for that approach.  It seems more complicated and less satisfactory than the alternative of using the current Thoreau boundaries for Madison and the current Kilmer boundaries for Marshall.

If you look at the boundaries and location of the middle schools, what you're describing would most likely involve assigning Kilmer/Marshall neighborhoods south of Idylwood Road  (largely if not entirely at Shrevewood and Stenwood ES) to Thoreau and assigning Thoreau/Madison north of Lawyers or east of Lawyers and north of Maple (largely if not entirely from Oakton and Flint Hill ES) to Kilmer.

You would end up with both Thoreau and Kilmer closer to even split feeders (maybe more like 35-65 vs. 15-85).  More of the Town might be assigned to Kilmer, and the FARMS rate at Thoreau would end up higher than at Kilmer.  Many of the kids being reassigned to Thoreau would have a shorter commute or a commute that was no worse, and most of the kids being reassigned to Kilmer would have a longer commute.

[/quote]

We get it. You live outside the town and want to go to Madison and have all the kids at Thoreau be bound for the same high school. Other people have other wants than you. The kids in all of Vienna used to go to Kilmer without any problem for AAP several years ago. Kilmer and Thoreau btw are close to each other. Madison and Marshall high school are not close to each other. Madison and Oakton High School are close to each other however.[/quote]

What are you blathering about?  I was responding to the suggestion, not mine, that the Kilmer and Thoreau boundaries should be revised so that each is closer to a 50-50 split to Madison and Marshall.  Look at the map and tell me how you see the boundaries being adjusted to make that happen.

In some parts of western Fairfax, it's impossible right now to have middle schools that feed directly into a single high school, so you end up with situations like Carson, which splits to Westfield, South Lakes and Oakton, or Franklin, which splits to Chantilly and Oakton.  In comparison, Thoreau and Kilmer could easily be straight feeders to Madison and Marshall, just like Cooper/Langley, Longfellow/McLean, Frost/Woodson, Twain/Edison, Key/Lee, Liberty/Centreville, Glasgow/Stuart, Whitman/Mount Vernon, etc.  The only reason they aren't is that some Madison parents, particularly in the town of Vienna, have been asses about the subject for years.  It's long past time for other parents and FCPS to tell them to stop acting like their interests are more important than everyone else's.

[/quote]

I'm not that PP [b]but what schools are you zoned to?  That's a fair question[/b] .[/quote]

[b]That's irrelevant,[/b] as I'm arguing in favor of something that would achieve the reasonable and appropriate goal of eliminating split feeders and keeping cohorts of kids together.    As articulated in School Board Policy 8130.7:

"Numerous factors may be considered when consolidating schools, redistricting school boundaries, or adopting pupil assignment plans. The following examples of these factors are not presented in priority order. Any or all of these factors may be relevant in a particular consolidation, redistricting, or assignment plan: the proximity of schools to student residences; projected school enrollment and capacity; walking distances; busing times and costs; walking and busing safety; natural and man-made geographic features; the impact on neighborhoods; school feeder alignments; contiguous school attendance areas; long-range capital plans; the socioeconomic characteristics of school populations; the distribution of programs and resources; the overall impact on families and students; and comparative long-term costs. Adjustments shall be made without respect to magisterial districts or postal addresses and, whenever possible, shall not affect the same occupied dwellings any more often than once in three years. The consideration of these factors and such adjustments shall involve affected communities to the extent reasonable."

Are you sure that you're not just trying to silence posters with whom you disagree by asking for their PII?  If you think I'm not familiar with these areas, explain what facts I've gotten wrong.      [/quote]

I guess that other poster got it right- you're zoned to Marshall and want to be to Madison - explains your motivation.[/quote]

If it makes you feel better to make that assumption, go for it! [/quote]

Well- you will not give what schools you have distracted- BEEP [/quote]

Ha- distracted might be accurate but DISCRCTED is correct- Marshall mom just on
t give info since she wants her house to be  higher valued to Madison.  Good luck- posting stupid explanations will not make your cause work out.[/quote]

Hey, idiot.  It's the "cause" of eliminating the split feeders at Kilmer and Thoreau that isn't going to "work out" unless some adults take charge, because some parents are more concerned about their property values than what would keep the kids together.

Just remember, folks, that people zoned for Madison who complains about the feeder patterns in their schools deserve no compassion and less respect. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics