Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Moving students is not the answer.

Make the school better. There is nothing wrong with a 1500 population high

I went to a suburban high school. There were 276 people in my graduating class.

Sure, a very large school is able to offer more variety of classes, but just because some different classes are offered does not mean that every kid who is interested will be able to take it

But, once more, what is IB doing for Lewis? Is it an advantage or a disadvantage. In my view, it is a huge disadvantage. It is far less flexible than AP and it is more difficult to get college credit for them. It also enables a mass exodus of transfers to AP high schools.

Going down a division isn't bad -- until you realize that all the schools in the vicinity are a higher division. Which means if Lewis wants to play schools of a similar size and the same division, the students will have to travel beyond FCPS boundaries, traveling more than an hour or so. That's more money spent for transportation, and also the massive amounts of time Lewis students will spent on a bus being carted around. In the meantime, there are schools minutes away, like Edison and Hayfield and WSHS, but Lewis would be in a different division.

Also pointing out that the nearby schools are overcrowded. WSHS is overcrowded to the point where kids can't make sports teams unless they've been playing since they were five years old.

IB is not the magic fairy godmother that people think it is. You don't wave it away and think that suddenly students will unfurl into existence like a sparkling ball gown. It doesn't work that way. Not with an IB school right next door to Lewis.

Anonymous wrote:Moving students is not the answer.

Make the school better. There is nothing wrong with a 1500 population high

I went to a suburban high school. There were 276 people in my graduating class.

Sure, a very large school is able to offer more variety of classes, but just because some different classes are offered does not mean that every kid who is interested will be able to take it

But, once more, what is IB doing for Lewis? Is it an advantage or a disadvantage. In my view, it is a huge disadvantage. It is far less flexible than AP and it is more difficult to get college credit for them. It also enables a mass exodus of transfers to AP high schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this talk on this board about Lewis……..is the school board even listening? Who is the SB rep for Lewis and what are they doing to address the problem

Well, they're still talking about moving some kids out of Rolling Valley and rezoning them from Lewis to West Springfield HS. So that's going to be a fight. I don't see how that helps Lewis or WSHS.

https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/maps/boundary-adjustments-information/rolling-valley-elementary-school-feeders-and-keene

All they’ve done is just dig up the old maps from the prior proposal that wasn’t adopted as a starting point. It’s very lazy but one suspects the focus of their attention has been on new Skyview boundaries.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the PP’s briefly touched on one of the most important points - the area zoned for Lewis is not generally an area that attracts families. Especially families of school-aged (let alone HS-aged) kids. People buy a starter home and then move and sell when their kid hits K or 1st. Or they live in one of the various apartment buildings and don’t have kids. Much of the area is industrial or commercial. Just moving in a few more SPA’s isn’t going to do anything in the long term because people will place out to Edison for their programs or one of the AP schools for AP classes.

And even moving schools in runs into problems because Franconia ES (zoned for Edison) has Edison’s walkers in its attendance area. Bren Mar Park (also Edison) would likely have to drive past Edison on its way to Lewis and should probably be up at Annandale with the rest of the K-5 schools. North Springfield (Annandale) is also a K-5 situation and sits pretty close to Annandale HS. In West Springfield, West Springfield and Keene Mill elementaries have Irving’s walkers. West Springfield HS boundaries are so compact that just about anyone leaving there is going to have a longer commute wherever they go. Lewis is in a really bad location unfortunately.

The Daventry community is in a really great location for Lewis -- they just go right up Keene Mill Road. There are communities zoned for WSHS that work well for Lewis. Yes, those communities are closer to Irving Middle School, but there are also Lewis communities closer to Irving Middle School that are zoned for Key.

Lewis already gets an exemption from the VHSL to play other Division 6 schools -- because it is so small, it qualifies for Division 5, but every other school in the region is Division 6. When Lewis gets so small that sports aren't sustainable, the drama and arts programs aren't sustainable, the classroom sizes drop to below threshold -- that's a problem for more than just Lewis.

At that point, the school may need to close, which means that all the surrounding high schools will have to absorb the the student population. And all the surrounding high schools are over capacity already. Which means expensive renovations, overcrowded classrooms, trailers, and so on to ensure those high schools can absorb the student populations.

Or, the school board needs to take action in advance to prevent reaching that point, which means moving school populations into Lewis.

People complain that they don't want to move into Lewis. But would WSHS and Edison rather the Lewis population move into their schools? How would they feel about that?

Daventry is definitely close and convenient to Lewis. But closer even than Daventry are the townhouses adjacent to Saint Bernadette, and the Keene Mill Elementary neighborhoods along Harwood and Glenister. Those KM areas are the closest WSHS neighborhoods to Lewis, closer than Daventry is to Lewis, and much closer than Saratoga and Rolling Valley.

It's not going to happen, but if FCPS were to do an impartial rezoning strictly based on geography, Tiverton, Harwood and Glenister neighborhoods should be at Lewis, before Daventry.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this talk on this board about Lewis……..is the school board even listening? Who is the SB rep for Lewis and what are they doing to address the problem

Well, they're still talking about moving some kids out of Rolling Valley and rezoning them from Lewis to West Springfield HS. So that's going to be a fight. I don't see how that helps Lewis or WSHS.

https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/maps/boundary-adjustments-information/rolling-valley-elementary-school-feeders-and-keene

No one should mive into WSHS.

WSHS is going to get a tiny bit of relief when the 730+ class of 2026 graduates in a few weeks. They are down at least one principal, and their director of student services, who handles scheduling, just relocated to the new high school.

Their scheduling is going to be a challenge next year with all of the adminstration turmoil WSHS has right now, and its large student body

No one should be moved into WSHS until the administration issues are settled.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this talk on this board about Lewis……..is the school board even listening? Who is the SB rep for Lewis and what are they doing to address the problem

Well, they're still talking about moving some kids out of Rolling Valley and rezoning them from Lewis to West Springfield HS. So that's going to be a fight. I don't see how that helps Lewis or WSHS.

https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/maps/boundary-adjustments-information/rolling-valley-elementary-school-feeders-and-keene

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the PP’s briefly touched on one of the most important points - the area zoned for Lewis is not generally an area that attracts families. Especially families of school-aged (let alone HS-aged) kids. People buy a starter home and then move and sell when their kid hits K or 1st. Or they live in one of the various apartment buildings and don’t have kids. Much of the area is industrial or commercial. Just moving in a few more SPA’s isn’t going to do anything in the long term because people will place out to Edison for their programs or one of the AP schools for AP classes.

And even moving schools in runs into problems because Franconia ES (zoned for Edison) has Edison’s walkers in its attendance area. Bren Mar Park (also Edison) would likely have to drive past Edison on its way to Lewis and should probably be up at Annandale with the rest of the K-5 schools. North Springfield (Annandale) is also a K-5 situation and sits pretty close to Annandale HS. In West Springfield, West Springfield and Keene Mill elementaries have Irving’s walkers. West Springfield HS boundaries are so compact that just about anyone leaving there is going to have a longer commute wherever they go. Lewis is in a really bad location unfortunately.

The Daventry community is in a really great location for Lewis -- they just go right up Keene Mill Road. There are communities zoned for WSHS that work well for Lewis. Yes, those communities are closer to Irving Middle School, but there are also Lewis communities closer to Irving Middle School that are zoned for Key.

Lewis already gets an exemption from the VHSL to play other Division 6 schools -- because it is so small, it qualifies for Division 5, but every other school in the region is Division 6. When Lewis gets so small that sports aren't sustainable, the drama and arts programs aren't sustainable, the classroom sizes drop to below threshold -- that's a problem for more than just Lewis.

At that point, the school may need to close, which means that all the surrounding high schools will have to absorb the the student population. And all the surrounding high schools are over capacity already. Which means expensive renovations, overcrowded classrooms, trailers, and so on to ensure those high schools can absorb the student populations.

Or, the school board needs to take action in advance to prevent reaching that point, which means moving school populations into Lewis.

People complain that they don't want to move into Lewis. But would WSHS and Edison rather the Lewis population move into their schools? How would they feel about that?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All this talk on this board about Lewis……..is the school board even listening? Who is the SB rep for Lewis and what are they doing to address the problem

Well, they're still talking about moving some kids out of Rolling Valley and rezoning them from Lewis to West Springfield HS. So that's going to be a fight. I don't see how that helps Lewis or WSHS.

https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/maps/boundary-adjustments-information/rolling-valley-elementary-school-feeders-and-keene

Anonymous wrote:All this talk on this board about Lewis……..is the school board even listening? Who is the SB rep for Lewis and what are they doing to address the problem

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the PP’s briefly touched on one of the most important points - the area zoned for Lewis is not generally an area that attracts families. Especially families of school-aged (let alone HS-aged) kids. People buy a starter home and then move and sell when their kid hits K or 1st. Or they live in one of the various apartment buildings and don’t have kids. Much of the area is industrial or commercial. Just moving in a few more SPA’s isn’t going to do anything in the long term because people will place out to Edison for their programs or one of the AP schools for AP classes.

And even moving schools in runs into problems because Franconia ES (zoned for Edison) has Edison’s walkers in its attendance area. Bren Mar Park (also Edison) would likely have to drive past Edison on its way to Lewis and should probably be up at Annandale with the rest of the K-5 schools. North Springfield (Annandale) is also a K-5 situation and sits pretty close to Annandale HS. In West Springfield, West Springfield and Keene Mill elementaries have Irving’s walkers. West Springfield HS boundaries are so compact that just about anyone leaving there is going to have a longer commute wherever they go. Lewis is in a really bad location unfortunately.

The Daventry community is in a really great location for Lewis -- they just go right up Keene Mill Road. There are communities zoned for WSHS that work well for Lewis. Yes, those communities are closer to Irving Middle School, but there are also Lewis communities closer to Irving Middle School that are zoned for Key.

Lewis already gets an exemption from the VHSL to play other Division 6 schools -- because it is so small, it qualifies for Division 5, but every other school in the region is Division 6. When Lewis gets so small that sports aren't sustainable, the drama and arts programs aren't sustainable, the classroom sizes drop to below threshold -- that's a problem for more than just Lewis.

At that point, the school may need to close, which means that all the surrounding high schools will have to absorb the the student population. And all the surrounding high schools are over capacity already. Which means expensive renovations, overcrowded classrooms, trailers, and so on to ensure those high schools can absorb the student populations.

Or, the school board needs to take action in advance to prevent reaching that point, which means moving school populations into Lewis.

People complain that they don't want to move into Lewis. But would WSHS and Edison rather the Lewis population move into their schools? How would they feel about that?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the PP’s briefly touched on one of the most important points - the area zoned for Lewis is not generally an area that attracts families. Especially families of school-aged (let alone HS-aged) kids. People buy a starter home and then move and sell when their kid hits K or 1st. Or they live in one of the various apartment buildings and don’t have kids. Much of the area is industrial or commercial. Just moving in a few more SPA’s isn’t going to do anything in the long term because people will place out to Edison for their programs or one of the AP schools for AP classes.

And even moving schools in runs into problems because Franconia ES (zoned for Edison) has Edison’s walkers in its attendance area. Bren Mar Park (also Edison) would likely have to drive past Edison on its way to Lewis and should probably be up at Annandale with the rest of the K-5 schools. North Springfield (Annandale) is also a K-5 situation and sits pretty close to Annandale HS. In West Springfield, West Springfield and Keene Mill elementaries have Irving’s walkers. West Springfield HS boundaries are so compact that just about anyone leaving there is going to have a longer commute wherever they go. Lewis is in a really bad location unfortunately.

The Daventry community is in a really great location for Lewis -- they just go right up Keene Mill Road. There are communities zoned for WSHS that work well for Lewis. Yes, those communities are closer to Irving Middle School, but there are also Lewis communities closer to Irving Middle School that are zoned for Key.

Lewis already gets an exemption from the VHSL to play other Division 6 schools -- because it is so small, it qualifies for Division 5, but every other school in the region is Division 6. When Lewis gets so small that sports aren't sustainable, the drama and arts programs aren't sustainable, the classroom sizes drop to below threshold -- that's a problem for more than just Lewis.

At that point, the school may need to close, which means that all the surrounding high schools will have to absorb the the student population. And all the surrounding high schools are over capacity already. Which means expensive renovations, overcrowded classrooms, trailers, and so on to ensure those high schools can absorb the student populations.

Or, the school board needs to take action in advance to prevent reaching that point, which means moving school populations into Lewis.

People complain that they don't want to move into Lewis. But would WSHS and Edison rather the Lewis population move into their schools? How would they feel about that?

Anonymous wrote:One of the PP’s briefly touched on one of the most important points - the area zoned for Lewis is not generally an area that attracts families. Especially families of school-aged (let alone HS-aged) kids. People buy a starter home and then move and sell when their kid hits K or 1st. Or they live in one of the various apartment buildings and don’t have kids. Much of the area is industrial or commercial. Just moving in a few more SPA’s isn’t going to do anything in the long term because people will place out to Edison for their programs or one of the AP schools for AP classes.

And even moving schools in runs into problems because Franconia ES (zoned for Edison) has Edison’s walkers in its attendance area. Bren Mar Park (also Edison) would likely have to drive past Edison on its way to Lewis and should probably be up at Annandale with the rest of the K-5 schools. North Springfield (Annandale) is also a K-5 situation and sits pretty close to Annandale HS. In West Springfield, West Springfield and Keene Mill elementaries have Irving’s walkers. West Springfield HS boundaries are so compact that just about anyone leaving there is going to have a longer commute wherever they go. Lewis is in a really bad location unfortunately.