Anonymous wrote:So much was done wrong during the boundary process. Capacity at McLean is getting worse. Development from Tysons will continue to overwhelm adjacent high schools. We (and our kids) have all seen different sides of these problems, and hopefully the board will not continue to fail to develop, fund, and implement long term solutions.

The one thing I think we all agree on (or most of us) is that the one common factor in all of these failures, at least for the Tysons, McLean, Great Falls area, is Elaine Tholen. She has failed our kids and failed us as parents.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GFCA and MCA have both done and shared a lot of analysis with Tholen about future growth in the Langley pyramid and in Tysons (which feeds into McLean and Marshall).

FCPS admits its enrollment projections are based on a simplistic methodology that only takes into account new developments if the developer has broken ground, regardless of whether the county has approved the developments or paid the county proffer money. The Tysons development in particular is going to add hundreds more kids to Marshall and McLean.

Tholen listens but is incredibly passive as if it’s all out of her hands. When an MCA member asked her point blank why FCPS isn’t planning now for an addition to McLean, she just smirked and talked about the 37-year renovation cycle, ignoring the other high schools like Justice or Madison where FCPS has built or is building additions outside the renovation cycle.

Great Falls and McLean and the Langley/McLean pyramids have a common interest in replacing Tholen with someone who will fight for fair funding and adequate seats at their pyramid schools, whether it’s Kent Gardens ES, Cooper MS, or McLean HS. Tholen doesn’t have it in her to challenge Jeff Platenberg or other School Board members.

The main point of contention between them is that, when push comes to shove, Great Falls would rather see McLean remain overcrowded than risk overcrowding Cooper or Langley to the point where others would push to move Cooper/Langley kids into the Herndon pyramid. But Herndon doesn’t have much excess capacity of its own and it’s only due to the negligence of FCPS and the School Board that the communities at times get pitted against each other.

If someone can get that message out, whether Republican, Democratic, or Independent, we can get rid of ineffective School Board members like Tholen and start to make some progress.

I'm sorry - the bolded is just completely false. Langley stepped up and urged McLean to send kids to Langley to help alleviate McLean's overcrowding. What did we hear from many of the McLean parents? Complaining and whining. Many of YOU didn't want your kids to go to Langley. Fine. We offered. Not sure what it is you want us to do for you. We agree you need an addition. Beyond that, we've offered space and many of you turned your noses up. Maybe next time don't look a gift horse in the mouth?

hahahah - you are funny. So as someone from Shouse who sat through the whole boundary nightmare, I can tell you that your words are pure fiction. Great Falls wanted more kids at LHS in order to increase their capacity and not lose teachers/courses. The logical place to turn was Herndon, but Great Falls rejected that immediately, and Tholen did not dare raise it in public. Then FCPS staff made their recommendation, but that included multi family houses. So Elaine, under pressure from Great Falls (you know who you are) went against the staff recommendation and pushed a boundary that did nothing but introduce stress into the lives of the kids who switch pyramids - put them through a second split feeder in two years. That was the only outcome of the boundary.

I dont really care enough to try and help you understand what actually happened vs. what you want to believe happened. But I will clear this up for the record. LHS hand picked the neighborhoods that came into LHS, even though GFCA, LHS, MHS, mcspaces, Elaine, parents, Principals, and everyone else knew that this change would do nothing to help MHS. No one, including GFCA or yourself, did anything righteous here. Elaine least of all.

I think your 'gift horse' analogy is incorrect, more like a "donkey" kicked us when we were down.

Happy Valentines Day!

Oh, BS. As a Colvin Run parent, I was thrilled that they ended the split feeder there and are sending all the kids to the same high school. And no, it was not "logical" to turn to Herndon to fill seats at Langley, when there was a split feeder of kids right there - far easier to send that one island to Langley, and you know it. The fiction YOU continue to spin in order to further your "poor McLean" victimization narrative is truly inspired.

Oooh I struck a cord with you!

As a Colvin Run parent, i agree with you on the fact that ending split feeders is good. Of course Flip-Flip-Elaine sacrificed about 40 current 8th graders to do so by sending them through a second split feeder in two years. And it is not an island, it is a neighborhood that was part of the MHS Community. Hopefully someday FCPS will find a way to make your kids or grandkids feel like those in Shouse did during this process - then you'll understand some of these posts. Many in Shouse supported Elaine during the election - I cant speak for everyone, but Im pretty sure she lost 99.9% of us in 2023.

Now please keep spinning your 'Langley parents were so generous and kind and righteous during the boundary process' fantasy. I love good fiction.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People on dcum Fairfax schools forum think about Langley too much.

Langley residents are probably the most active in the county when it comes to criticizing FCPS, starting groups like "Voices of Fairfax," and launching recall petitions of School Board members. Even someone like Asra Nomani who has devoted most of her life for the past two years to taking down FCPS for changing TJ admissions lives in the Langley district. They cast a big shadow.

The challenge they face is that many want to replace Tholen and other School Board members, but solely on their own terms. And their terms generally aren't going to win elections. Even when they could align with other parents on issues of mutual concern, many end up bickering and sowing division because they are worried about not having total control (especially on anything that might touch, even remotely, on Langley's boundaries).

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Anonymous wrote:The Colvin Run mom obviously is a staunch Republican who overall has nothing but disdain for FCPS and the School Board. Gather the only reason she replies to virtually every post is she can't bear the idea that some people might not jump at the chance to attend Langley. It's clearly super important to her sense of self-esteem.

I think most on this post have disdain for FCPS and the school board.

Anonymous wrote:The Colvin Run mom obviously is a staunch Republican who overall has nothing but disdain for FCPS and the School Board. Gather the only reason she replies to virtually every post is she can't bear the idea that some people might not jump at the chance to attend Langley. It's clearly super important to her sense of self-esteem.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:GFCA and MCA have both done and shared a lot of analysis with Tholen about future growth in the Langley pyramid and in Tysons (which feeds into McLean and Marshall).

FCPS admits its enrollment projections are based on a simplistic methodology that only takes into account new developments if the developer has broken ground, regardless of whether the county has approved the developments or paid the county proffer money. The Tysons development in particular is going to add hundreds more kids to Marshall and McLean.

Tholen listens but is incredibly passive as if it’s all out of her hands. When an MCA member asked her point blank why FCPS isn’t planning now for an addition to McLean, she just smirked and talked about the 37-year renovation cycle, ignoring the other high schools like Justice or Madison where FCPS has built or is building additions outside the renovation cycle.

Great Falls and McLean and the Langley/McLean pyramids have a common interest in replacing Tholen with someone who will fight for fair funding and adequate seats at their pyramid schools, whether it’s Kent Gardens ES, Cooper MS, or McLean HS. Tholen doesn’t have it in her to challenge Jeff Platenberg or other School Board members.

The main point of contention between them is that, when push comes to shove, Great Falls would rather see McLean remain overcrowded than risk overcrowding Cooper or Langley to the point where others would push to move Cooper/Langley kids into the Herndon pyramid. But Herndon doesn’t have much excess capacity of its own and it’s only due to the negligence of FCPS and the School Board that the communities at times get pitted against each other.

If someone can get that message out, whether Republican, Democratic, or Independent, we can get rid of ineffective School Board members like Tholen and start to make some progress.

I'm sorry - the bolded is just completely false. Langley stepped up and urged McLean to send kids to Langley to help alleviate McLean's overcrowding. What did we hear from many of the McLean parents? Complaining and whining. Many of YOU didn't want your kids to go to Langley. Fine. We offered. Not sure what it is you want us to do for you. We agree you need an addition. Beyond that, we've offered space and many of you turned your noses up. Maybe next time don't look a gift horse in the mouth?

hahahah - you are funny. So as someone from Shouse who sat through the whole boundary nightmare, I can tell you that your words are pure fiction. Great Falls wanted more kids at LHS in order to increase their capacity and not lose teachers/courses. The logical place to turn was Herndon, but Great Falls rejected that immediately, and Tholen did not dare raise it in public. Then FCPS staff made their recommendation, but that included multi family houses. So Elaine, under pressure from Great Falls (you know who you are) went against the staff recommendation and pushed a boundary that did nothing but introduce stress into the lives of the kids who switch pyramids - put them through a second split feeder in two years. That was the only outcome of the boundary.

I dont really care enough to try and help you understand what actually happened vs. what you want to believe happened. But I will clear this up for the record. LHS hand picked the neighborhoods that came into LHS, even though GFCA, LHS, MHS, mcspaces, Elaine, parents, Principals, and everyone else knew that this change would do nothing to help MHS. No one, including GFCA or yourself, did anything righteous here. Elaine least of all.

I think your 'gift horse' analogy is incorrect, more like a "donkey" kicked us when we were down.

Happy Valentines Day!

Oh, BS. As a Colvin Run parent, I was thrilled that they ended the split feeder there and are sending all the kids to the same high school. And no, it was not "logical" to turn to Herndon to fill seats at Langley, when there was a split feeder of kids right there - far easier to send that one island to Langley, and you know it. The fiction YOU continue to spin in order to further your "poor McLean" victimization narrative is truly inspired.

Anonymous wrote:The Colvin Run mom obviously is a staunch Republican who overall has nothing but disdain for FCPS and the School Board. Gather the only reason she replies to virtually every post is she can't bear the idea that some people might not jump at the chance to attend Langley. It's clearly super important to her sense of self-esteem.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP

Looks to me like Shouse Village wanted to go (back, as I think they had been a few decades ago) to Langley.

That Herndon community where the golf course used to be piped up during the comment period to ask the school board to move them from HHS to Langley since they were changing boundaries anyway.

It is right that Langley parents aren’t in the position to “offer a gift” of seats at LHS to McLean residents. That’s the school board’s authority. It’s also quite clear that McLean parents don’t gaf if growth pushes great falls out of Langley.

In the end, however, it’s the school board that told McLean years ago that they would get an addition and not have to leave.

It’s the school board that dissembled to McLean in late 2018/early 2019 about not re boundary ing some apartments from McLean to Langley (as reminder—they were in the process of overhauling boundary policy to prioritize racial and class mix in schools and disregard neighborhoods— and to allow themselves to change boundaries every three years. They were going to change all the boundaries in the county once the policy was done)

It’s the school board that surprised everyone with the switcheroo at the last minute to go against staff rec for the boundary.

I think we can all agree that with growth in Tysons and the existing overcrowding, McLean needs the addition. We can all agree that the school board has mishandled pretty much everything they’ve touched.

We can be annoyed at GF or McLean parents, but we don’t elect them.

It’s the school board that needs to be held accountable for their constant failure and malfeasance.

I would agree with this. No one has said McLean doesn't need an addition. And yes, I grew up here when Shouse went to Langley and now I have kids at Colvin Run - as I said earlier, we (and many other families) are thrilled that Colvin Run is no longer a split feeder and all the kids go to Langley. That was common sense, even if certain McLean parents continue to whine about it. Eliminating split feeders and islands is good policy. Everything else FCPS has touched, however, has turned to crap.

DP, but there was nothing “common sense” about expanding Langley when it was below capacity and then expanding its already huge boundaries so that even more kids who live closer to other high schools end up attending Langley. That’s wasteful and inefficient.

Tholen can trot out the usual platitudes about the benefits of eliminating split feeders but we all know FCPS creates as many split feeders as it eliminates, and that she’s done nothing about more lopsided split feeders in Dranesville than Colvin Run.

Sorry to hear you think everything else FCPS has touched has “turned to crap.” I might have thought Langley parents would be more appreciative.

Of course it's common sense to enlarge a school if you're renovating it anyway and have the space. It would be foolish *not* to. Look, we get that the boundary issue keeps you up at night, gnashing your teeth, but it is done. You repeating yourself constantly about the same issue is just... exhausting. Try voting for people who don't have a D next to their name next time. And btw - we love Langley. Just hate what FCPS as a whole is becoming, with its constant focus on race and "equity." Glad to be moving on.

Anonymous wrote:People on dcum Fairfax schools forum think about Langley too much.