Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is also a Fairfax High School/Lanier Middle School boundary study about to start, and that will surely have a ripple effect on the nearby high schools (6 of them?). I believe FCPS staff plans to have that boundary study complete in time for the 2013-14 school year.

FCPS proposes to have that boundary study complete for the 2014-15 school year. The City of Fairfax would like it done a year earlier, but that's unlikely to happen.

The Fairfax boundary study will surely end up with some kids now zoned for Fairfax reassigned to Robinson, Woodson or maybe Chantilly. It does not mean that Woodson kids will get reassigned to Annandale, particularly kids who just got reassigned from Annandale to Woodson.

According to several School Board members at a recent work session, much is "on the table" with the Fairfax/Lanier boundary study. I am guessing that there will also be some FCPS staff changes in the midst of all this, so what will come out on the other end will be "sausage-like."

Anonymous wrote:There is also a Fairfax High School/Lanier Middle School boundary study about to start, and that will surely have a ripple effect on the nearby high schools (6 of them?). I believe FCPS staff plans to have that boundary study complete in time for the 2013-14 school year.

FCPS proposes to have that boundary study complete for the 2014-15 school year. The City of Fairfax would like it done a year earlier, but that's unlikely to happen.

The Fairfax boundary study will surely end up with some kids now zoned for Fairfax reassigned to Robinson, Woodson or maybe Chantilly. It does not mean that Woodson kids will get reassigned to Annandale, particularly kids who just got reassigned from Annandale to Woodson.

Anonymous wrote:There are no guarantees, but with FCPS just having redistricted the other half of Wakefield Forest from Poe/Annandale to Frost/Woodson, it's highly likely that entire area will now stay in the Woodson pyramid for a long time. That's what I thought the OP was asking about.

If Annandale were under-capacity, and Stuart were over-capacity, the logical thing to do would be to send some Stuart kids to Annandale or Falls Church, not change the Woodson boundaries. From time to time, people talk about county-wide studies and adjustments, but the reality is that they would be so unpopular that the idea never goes very far.

I think Woodson will see some boundary changes on the northwestern side due to the Fairfax High boundary study.

OP here.

Thanks everyone. I know there is no such thing as a guarantee for any area, I was just curious. As I've done more research, I see that the particular house we're looking at was always zoned for Frost/Woodson, which may or may not make a difference, but makes me feel better.

In the end, although of course we want "the best" school for our kids, I truly believe that my kids can be successful and get a good education at any of the FFX county schools so we won't excessively worry.

There are no guarantees, but with FCPS just having redistricted the other half of Wakefield Forest from Poe/Annandale to Frost/Woodson, it's highly likely that entire area will now stay in the Woodson pyramid for a long time. That's what I thought the OP was asking about.

If Annandale were under-capacity, and Stuart were over-capacity, the logical thing to do would be to send some Stuart kids to Annandale or Falls Church, not change the Woodson boundaries. From time to time, people talk about county-wide studies and adjustments, but the reality is that they would be so unpopular that the idea never goes very far.

There is also a Fairfax High School/Lanier Middle School boundary study about to start, and that will surely have a ripple effect on the nearby high schools (6 of them?). I believe FCPS staff plans to have that boundary study complete in time for the 2013-14 school year.

But at the same time there's a significant shift coming up as far as the younger kids, a lack of space in far Eastern FCPS territory, and the need for more space in general. While you can hope that there won't be any boundary changes, Annandale HS is now under capacity, from what I have been told, and there are more than a few ES's in their boundaries and Stuart boundaries that will exceed or are exceeding their capacity, with no new school in sight. This crush of kids will push the capacities of the local MS's, and there's no way to pusht them any further east as this side bumps up against Arlington county. So, there may be more movement in the future, but the FPAC (Facilities Planning Advisory Council) is coming up with a better, and what looks like more robust way to making these changes They will present their plans soon and will help guides the discussion in the future so that parents have abetter long term snapshot of what might possibly happen. When we bought our house we knew that we might be redistricted, and so far we haven't, but it's not looking good longer term.

Anonymous wrote:Nothing's ever set in stone, but I would expect these changes to stay for at least 10 years. Frost is being renovated in the next several years, and that will relieve overcrowding.

I follow boundary changes pretty closely, and I agree with this. Boundary changes chew up a lot of time and energy, and there are other areas in the county that will be the priorities in the coming years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bought in that neighborhood a few months ago. Actually went to kindergarten open house at Wakefield Forest this morning...so far I'm super impressed with Wakefield Forest. Actually, we are very happy with the entire neighborhood...we live in Truro.


My understanding is that there is almost zero chance that it will switch back. The overcrowding at Poe and Annandale is much much worse than at Frost and Woodson, and there is and was a huge push to keep the Wakefield forest kids together when they go to middle school.

FYI, Truro was always zoned to Frost and Woodson; it was not part of the area the OP is talking about.

I know, but we looked at houses all around the area, and I paid a lot of attention to the issue while we were looking at houses. I just thought it was reasonable disclosure to mention which neighborhood I was talking about.

Anonymous wrote:Nothing's ever set in stone, but I would expect these changes to stay for at least 10 years. Frost is being renovated in the next several years, and that will relieve overcrowding.

I agree with this, although I would not say thee changes would stay for at least 10 years. More likely it will be 5 years. FCPS will have a new superintendent and then several of the "old guard" (including Dean Tisdadt, the head of facilities) will retire shortly thereafter. A division-wide boundary review may occur shortly thereafter (2014-2015?) with boundary changes rolling out after that (2016-2017?).

Anonymous wrote:We bought in that neighborhood a few months ago. Actually went to kindergarten open house at Wakefield Forest this morning...so far I'm super impressed with Wakefield Forest. Actually, we are very happy with the entire neighborhood...we live in Truro.


My understanding is that there is almost zero chance that it will switch back. The overcrowding at Poe and Annandale is much much worse than at Frost and Woodson, and there is and was a huge push to keep the Wakefield forest kids together when they go to middle school.

FYI, Truro was always zoned to Frost and Woodson; it was not part of the area the OP is talking about.

We bought in that neighborhood a few months ago. Actually went to kindergarten open house at Wakefield Forest this morning...so far I'm super impressed with Wakefield Forest. Actually, we are very happy with the entire neighborhood...we live in Truro.


My understanding is that there is almost zero chance that it will switch back. The overcrowding at Poe and Annandale is much much worse than at Frost and Woodson, and there is and was a huge push to keep the Wakefield forest kids together when they go to middle school.

Nothing's ever set in stone, but I would expect these changes to stay for at least 10 years. Frost is being renovated in the next several years, and that will relieve overcrowding.

We're house hunting and pretty confused about the recent school boundary changes in this area. We currently live on Capitol hill and did not follow the changes as they occurred. It's my understanding that many of the homes in the area between little river turnpike and Braddock road west of the beltway used to go to Annandale HS but are being switched to Woodson now.

My question is, how set in stone do You think these changes are? We are looking for a long term house for our family of 2 young kids and are hesitant about buying in an area where the schools could shift yet again. I've heard that frost has some overcrowding already and wondered if anyone anticipates another boundary change because if that? I know there's no way to know for sure, but I figure there are people here who have followed the situation much more closely than I.

Thanks for any insight.