It is possible that most of the ES that will be impacted by the KAA purchase are not seeing much change during the boundary study. Coates would be the ES that could be most effected, Coates goes to Carson and is next door to KAA. Outside of that, Fox Mill might pull in some new students from Oak Hill. Floris doesn't seem to be effected by the boundary change. McNair doesn't seem to be effected by the boundary change. Three of the four ES that feed into Carson and might be moved to the KAA building are not greatly impacted by the boundary change.

I know that there has been some talk about Crossfield being moved to KAA but I don't think Crossfield is massively impacted by the boundary change.

Chantilly and Centerville are the 2 HS in the area that need relief but neither are feed by schools that are closest to KAA. I think the conversation has been shifting kids from Chantilly and Centerville into Westfield as Westfield kids are moved to KAA.

But I have not memorized all the map changes. I do think that KAA should 100% be included in this process. It has a direct impact on one of the most crowded areas and the most overcrowded ES in the area.

I don't think you are as familiar with the area as you think.

1. The closest elementary school to KAA is actually Oak Hill--which is a Chantilly feeder. This would certainly relieve the Chantilly membership. It is currently assigned to Franklin but many AAP kids are at Carson. Oak Hill neighborhoods are equidistant from Franklin and Carson. Both are very close.
2. Many of the Carson kids are assigned to Westfield and this will relieve Westfield--which is also very crowded. Westfield could in turn take a Centreville elementary school and relieve Centreville.
3. Pretty sure any adjustments to Coates boundary will be within the KAA area: McNair or Floris likely. So, this should not affect the KAA issue.
4. THRU has suggested sending the Franklin Farm Navy kids to Oak Hill and removing the Emerald Chase kids. I think this is not a good idea, but who knows.

I agree that these considerations should be included in boundary study. I think the fact that they did not may be due to waiting until the KAA purchase is complete.
However, I don't think it is going to affect the boundary study as much as some might think. There might need to be slight adjustments to Centreville/Westfield and Oakton. I think any adjustment to South Lakes will be minimal--maybe none.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Someone I know who works for FCPS was very skeptical that they would open KAA as a community high school, due to its smaller size. They seem to think that it would have to be a magnet school or similar. But we live in a neighborhood that could potentially be sent to KAA instead of Oakton and I think this person does not want that. So the skepticism may be a bit of wishful thinking on their part.

And, remember, there are two additional buildings included in the purchase that could be used. And, likely one reason KAA closed was because they were not filling the school. So, the school was built to accommodate more students than enrolled. While the school was not built to enroll over 2000, I'm sure adjustments could be made. The space is there and, again, there are two additional building that could be used. There does not appear to be anything else on Education Drive that would keep them from using that space. This is a good purchase!

They are installing security vestibules at schools all over FCPS to try and limit foot traffic in and out of the main buildings and also installing weapon detection systems at all MS/HS, and you’re telling us the vision for KAA is to turn it into a multi-building campus? It seems more likely the two other buildings will be used for administrative purposes.

So, again, it remains unclear how many 9-12 grade students can be accommodated at KAA without significant, additional expenditures.

Anonymous wrote:
Someone I know who works for FCPS was very skeptical that they would open KAA as a community high school, due to its smaller size. They seem to think that it would have to be a magnet school or similar. But we live in a neighborhood that could potentially be sent to KAA instead of Oakton and I think this person does not want that. So the skepticism may be a bit of wishful thinking on their part.

And, remember, there are two additional buildings included in the purchase that could be used. And, likely one reason KAA closed was because they were not filling the school. So, the school was built to accommodate more students than enrolled. While the school was not built to enroll over 2000, I'm sure adjustments could be made. The space is there and, again, there are two additional building that could be used. There does not appear to be anything else on Education Drive that would keep them from using that space. This is a good purchase!

Anonymous wrote:What you wish for and what you get in FCPS are not always the same thing. If there was a clear commitment to opening KAA as a neighborhood school FCPS would have stated unequivocally that it will reopen as a local high school in the fall of 2026 and that the ongoing boundary study will address the boundaries for the new school. That didn’t occur; to the contrary, Reid told people the KAA purchase wouldn’t have any impact on the boundary study.

Maybe at some point they’ll have a clear plan and make more definitive statements - just as they eventually did with respect to grandfathering students affected by the current boundary review. But in that case they will just be doing on a delayed basis what others from Great Falls and elsewhere have been asking them to do: provide clearer answers to how this new property fits within FCPS’s larger portfolio of schools, etc.

It is possible that most of the ES that will be impacted by the KAA purchase are not seeing much change during the boundary study. Coates would be the ES that could be most effected, Coates goes to Carson and is next door to KAA. Outside of that, Fox Mill might pull in some new students from Oak Hill. Floris doesn't seem to be effected by the boundary change. McNair doesn't seem to be effected by the boundary change. Three of the four ES that feed into Carson and might be moved to the KAA building are not greatly impacted by the boundary change.

I know that there has been some talk about Crossfield being moved to KAA but I don't think Crossfield is massively impacted by the boundary change.

Chantilly and Centerville are the 2 HS in the area that need relief but neither are feed by schools that are closest to KAA. I think the conversation has been shifting kids from Chantilly and Centerville into Westfield as Westfield kids are moved to KAA.

But I have not memorized all the map changes. I do think that KAA should 100% be included in this process. It has a direct impact on one of the most crowded areas and the most overcrowded ES in the area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you wish for and what you get in FCPS are not always the same thing. If there was a clear commitment to opening KAA as a neighborhood school FCPS would have stated unequivocally that it will reopen as a local high school in the fall of 2026 and that the ongoing boundary study will address the boundaries for the new school. That didn’t occur; to the contrary, Reid told people the KAA purchase wouldn’t have any impact on the boundary study.

Maybe at some point they’ll have a clear plan and make more definitive statements - just as they eventually did with respect to grandfathering students affected by the current boundary review. But in that case they will just be doing on a delayed basis what others from Great Falls and elsewhere have been asking them to do: provide clearer answers to how this new property fits within FCPS’s larger portfolio of schools, etc.

Go listen to the School Board members speak when they voted on the purchase. It was clearly indicated to meet the needs in that area. And, that need is not a magnet school.

The three who abstained were Rachna, Moon, and Merin. Rachna and Moon are running for Braddock supervisor and this would not assist in that run. Merin is likely concerned that it might change the South Lakes boundary. (I doubt it will)

Your explanations as to why these three members abstained from the vote is wrong. These three members are SB veterans who served on the SB prior to 2024. They care more about SB governance than other members and had concerns that there hadn’t been sufficient due diligence.

Now, sure, if Woodson or South Lakes was as crowded as Chantilly or if kids from those schools were commuting as far as some Oakton kids commute to Oakton, might they have voted differently? Perhaps so. But their main concern was that FCPS hadn’t done enough leg work and the purchase might come back to bite FCPS in the ass. The fact that they haven’t told us yet what the total project cost will be or whether this can be a neighborhood school or will need to be something else suggests those concerns may have some merit.

Anonymous wrote:What you wish for and what you get in FCPS are not always the same thing. If there was a clear commitment to opening KAA as a neighborhood school FCPS would have stated unequivocally that it will reopen as a local high school in the fall of 2026 and that the ongoing boundary study will address the boundaries for the new school. That didn’t occur; to the contrary, Reid told people the KAA purchase wouldn’t have any impact on the boundary study.

Maybe at some point they’ll have a clear plan and make more definitive statements - just as they eventually did with respect to grandfathering students affected by the current boundary review. But in that case they will just be doing on a delayed basis what others from Great Falls and elsewhere have been asking them to do: provide clearer answers to how this new property fits within FCPS’s larger portfolio of schools, etc.

Go listen to the School Board members speak when they voted on the purchase. It was clearly indicated to meet the needs in that area. And, that need is not a magnet school.

The three who abstained were Rachna, Moon, and Merin. Rachna and Moon are running for Braddock supervisor and this would not assist in that run. Merin is likely concerned that it might change the South Lakes boundary. (I doubt it will)

What you wish for and what you get in FCPS are not always the same thing. If there was a clear commitment to opening KAA as a neighborhood school FCPS would have stated unequivocally that it will reopen as a local high school in the fall of 2026 and that the ongoing boundary study will address the boundaries for the new school. That didn’t occur; to the contrary, Reid told people the KAA purchase wouldn’t have any impact on the boundary study.

Maybe at some point they’ll have a clear plan and make more definitive statements - just as they eventually did with respect to grandfathering students affected by the current boundary review. But in that case they will just be doing on a delayed basis what others from Great Falls and elsewhere have been asking them to do: provide clearer answers to how this new property fits within FCPS’s larger portfolio of schools, etc.

Someone I know who works for FCPS was very skeptical that they would open KAA as a community high school, due to its smaller size. They seem to think that it would have to be a magnet school or similar. But we live in a neighborhood that could potentially be sent to KAA instead of Oakton and I think this person does not want that. So the skepticism may be a bit of wishful thinking on their part.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey Great Falls Mama/Granny, a school board member just said:

"Purchasing a beautiful school complex: FCPS is in the process of procuring the former King Abdullah Academy property near Dulles to serve as our newest western high school. The property will undergo minimal renovations over the coming year with plans to determine curricular programming decisions in the coming months and open the campus in the 2026-27 school year."

So, lady you are SOL. Not the standardized test kind of SOL, LOL!

Not a Great Falls poster, but the bolded portion of McElveen's comment certainly leaves open the possibility this school is going to be some type of non-traditional or magnet school. That can't make those who are counting on KAA being converted to a neighborhood school happy. He does call it "our newest western high school," but that can be read to merely refer to the school's location.

DP. I really don't believe this is going to be a magnet school of any kind. The pushback they would get would be tremendous. He probably just means whether it will be an AP or IB school.

That seems unlikely to me, because the plan is to open the school in the fall of 2026 and there's a lengthy process to get IBO approval of a new IB diploma school.

Is it even possible to start a new magnet school for the 2026–2027 school year? It seems very daunting to me.

I don’t understand why some people overthink Ryan’s message.

He clearly stated that the property will serve as a new western high school, with curricular programming decisions to be made in the coming months.

To me this means they will determine the curriculum, including programs like foreign languages and academies, for the new western high school.

I see no mention of a magnet school.

Read what you want into the statement. The only thing that’s clear is that they continue to give themselves a lot of flexibility.

I agree with this sentiment. There are some people who really want it to be a neighborhood school, which I get, and it probably will end up being one, but anyone who claims that it’s absolutely certain to be a neighborhood school is just flying willfully blind here. There is not certainty on anything with the school yet (including whether it even opens in 2026).

If by "some" you mean literally everyone on the west end of the county who have a long commute or an overcrowded school then yeah. Then there are the rest of us who are happy to see FCPS finally open a new school and slow the march toward 3,000 student mega-schools.

THIS!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey Great Falls Mama/Granny, a school board member just said:

"Purchasing a beautiful school complex: FCPS is in the process of procuring the former King Abdullah Academy property near Dulles to serve as our newest western high school. The property will undergo minimal renovations over the coming year with plans to determine curricular programming decisions in the coming months and open the campus in the 2026-27 school year."

So, lady you are SOL. Not the standardized test kind of SOL, LOL!

Not a Great Falls poster, but the bolded portion of McElveen's comment certainly leaves open the possibility this school is going to be some type of non-traditional or magnet school. That can't make those who are counting on KAA being converted to a neighborhood school happy. He does call it "our newest western high school," but that can be read to merely refer to the school's location.

DP. I really don't believe this is going to be a magnet school of any kind. The pushback they would get would be tremendous. He probably just means whether it will be an AP or IB school.

That seems unlikely to me, because the plan is to open the school in the fall of 2026 and there's a lengthy process to get IBO approval of a new IB diploma school.

Is it even possible to start a new magnet school for the 2026–2027 school year? It seems very daunting to me.

I don’t understand why some people overthink Ryan’s message.

He clearly stated that the property will serve as a new western high school, with curricular programming decisions to be made in the coming months.

To me this means they will determine the curriculum, including programs like foreign languages and academies, for the new western high school.

I see no mention of a magnet school.

Read what you want into the statement. The only thing that’s clear is that they continue to give themselves a lot of flexibility.

I agree with this sentiment. There are some people who really want it to be a neighborhood school, which I get, and it probably will end up being one, but anyone who claims that it’s absolutely certain to be a neighborhood school is just flying willfully blind here. There is not certainty on anything with the school yet (including whether it even opens in 2026).

If by "some" you mean literally everyone on the west end of the county who have a long commute or an overcrowded school then yeah. Then there are the rest of us who are happy to see FCPS finally open a new school and slow the march toward 3,000 student mega-schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey Great Falls Mama/Granny, a school board member just said:

"Purchasing a beautiful school complex: FCPS is in the process of procuring the former King Abdullah Academy property near Dulles to serve as our newest western high school. The property will undergo minimal renovations over the coming year with plans to determine curricular programming decisions in the coming months and open the campus in the 2026-27 school year."

So, lady you are SOL. Not the standardized test kind of SOL, LOL!

Not a Great Falls poster, but the bolded portion of McElveen's comment certainly leaves open the possibility this school is going to be some type of non-traditional or magnet school. That can't make those who are counting on KAA being converted to a neighborhood school happy. He does call it "our newest western high school," but that can be read to merely refer to the school's location.

DP. I really don't believe this is going to be a magnet school of any kind. The pushback they would get would be tremendous. He probably just means whether it will be an AP or IB school.

That seems unlikely to me, because the plan is to open the school in the fall of 2026 and there's a lengthy process to get IBO approval of a new IB diploma school.

Is it even possible to start a new magnet school for the 2026–2027 school year? It seems very daunting to me.

I don’t understand why some people overthink Ryan’s message.

He clearly stated that the property will serve as a new western high school, with curricular programming decisions to be made in the coming months.

To me this means they will determine the curriculum, including programs like foreign languages and academies, for the new western high school.

I see no mention of a magnet school.

Read what you want into the statement. The only thing that’s clear is that they continue to give themselves a lot of flexibility.

I agree with this sentiment. There are some people who really want it to be a neighborhood school, which I get, and it probably will end up being one, but anyone who claims that it’s absolutely certain to be a neighborhood school is just flying willfully blind here. There is not certainty on anything with the school yet (including whether it even opens in 2026).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey Great Falls Mama/Granny, a school board member just said:

"Purchasing a beautiful school complex: FCPS is in the process of procuring the former King Abdullah Academy property near Dulles to serve as our newest western high school. The property will undergo minimal renovations over the coming year with plans to determine curricular programming decisions in the coming months and open the campus in the 2026-27 school year."

So, lady you are SOL. Not the standardized test kind of SOL, LOL!

Not a Great Falls poster, but the bolded portion of McElveen's comment certainly leaves open the possibility this school is going to be some type of non-traditional or magnet school. That can't make those who are counting on KAA being converted to a neighborhood school happy. He does call it "our newest western high school," but that can be read to merely refer to the school's location.

DP. I really don't believe this is going to be a magnet school of any kind. The pushback they would get would be tremendous. He probably just means whether it will be an AP or IB school.

That seems unlikely to me, because the plan is to open the school in the fall of 2026 and there's a lengthy process to get IBO approval of a new IB diploma school.

Is it even possible to start a new magnet school for the 2026–2027 school year? It seems very daunting to me.

I don’t understand why some people overthink Ryan’s message.

He clearly stated that the property will serve as a new western high school, with curricular programming decisions to be made in the coming months.

To me this means they will determine the curriculum, including programs like foreign languages and academies, for the new western high school.

I see no mention of a magnet school.

Read what you want into the statement. The only thing that’s clear is that they continue to give themselves a lot of flexibility.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey Great Falls Mama/Granny, a school board member just said:

"Purchasing a beautiful school complex: FCPS is in the process of procuring the former King Abdullah Academy property near Dulles to serve as our newest western high school. The property will undergo minimal renovations over the coming year with plans to determine curricular programming decisions in the coming months and open the campus in the 2026-27 school year."

So, lady you are SOL. Not the standardized test kind of SOL, LOL!

Not a Great Falls poster, but the bolded portion of McElveen's comment certainly leaves open the possibility this school is going to be some type of non-traditional or magnet school. That can't make those who are counting on KAA being converted to a neighborhood school happy. He does call it "our newest western high school," but that can be read to merely refer to the school's location.

DP. I really don't believe this is going to be a magnet school of any kind. The pushback they would get would be tremendous. He probably just means whether it will be an AP or IB school.

That seems unlikely to me, because the plan is to open the school in the fall of 2026 and there's a lengthy process to get IBO approval of a new IB diploma school.

I suspect they will absolutely discuss the possibility of making it a magnet school, but they will definitely decide against it.

Y'all still don't understand how the FCPS board works?

They already knew the answer. They probably decided this would be a community school but haven’t announced it yet and will still go through the motions.

My impression is that the board delayed discussing the acquisition until the last minute (I believe tomorrow is the actual sale date) to avoid early discussions about the school and potential criticism over 'transparency.'

Ryan McElveen stated that the property will serve as our newest western high school. That’s what they intend to do, and that’s what will happen.

It’s a truism that it will be a western HS because it’s located in western Fairfax. That doesn’t mean it will only serve kids in that area. Maybe it will, but it may depend on their figuring out how many kids it can actually accommodate. A former KAA teacher has noted it was designed with a lot of administrative offices and also open spaces, so they could end up spending a lot of additional money if they really want to have a local HS for over 2000 kids.

It cracks me up when people suggest FCPS had this all figured out when they announced the agreement in principle to buy this building. It very much came across as an impulse purchase with many of the details to be worked out later.

Sure just like TJ serves as an eastern high school. lol

FCPS reported TJ as part of the same cluster as Annandale HS for many years.

Does FCPS still report TJ as eastern high school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey Great Falls Mama/Granny, a school board member just said:

"Purchasing a beautiful school complex: FCPS is in the process of procuring the former King Abdullah Academy property near Dulles to serve as our newest western high school. The property will undergo minimal renovations over the coming year with plans to determine curricular programming decisions in the coming months and open the campus in the 2026-27 school year."

So, lady you are SOL. Not the standardized test kind of SOL, LOL!

Not a Great Falls poster, but the bolded portion of McElveen's comment certainly leaves open the possibility this school is going to be some type of non-traditional or magnet school. That can't make those who are counting on KAA being converted to a neighborhood school happy. He does call it "our newest western high school," but that can be read to merely refer to the school's location.

DP. I really don't believe this is going to be a magnet school of any kind. The pushback they would get would be tremendous. He probably just means whether it will be an AP or IB school.

That seems unlikely to me, because the plan is to open the school in the fall of 2026 and there's a lengthy process to get IBO approval of a new IB diploma school.

Is it even possible to start a new magnet school for the 2026–2027 school year? It seems very daunting to me.

I don’t understand why some people overthink Ryan’s message.

He clearly stated that the property will serve as a new western high school, with curricular programming decisions to be made in the coming months.

To me this means they will determine the curriculum, including programs like foreign languages and academies, for the new western high school.

I see no mention of a magnet school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey Great Falls Mama/Granny, a school board member just said:

"Purchasing a beautiful school complex: FCPS is in the process of procuring the former King Abdullah Academy property near Dulles to serve as our newest western high school. The property will undergo minimal renovations over the coming year with plans to determine curricular programming decisions in the coming months and open the campus in the 2026-27 school year."

So, lady you are SOL. Not the standardized test kind of SOL, LOL!

Not a Great Falls poster, but the bolded portion of McElveen's comment certainly leaves open the possibility this school is going to be some type of non-traditional or magnet school. That can't make those who are counting on KAA being converted to a neighborhood school happy. He does call it "our newest western high school," but that can be read to merely refer to the school's location.

DP. I really don't believe this is going to be a magnet school of any kind. The pushback they would get would be tremendous. He probably just means whether it will be an AP or IB school.

That seems unlikely to me, because the plan is to open the school in the fall of 2026 and there's a lengthy process to get IBO approval of a new IB diploma school.

I suspect they will absolutely discuss the possibility of making it a magnet school, but they will definitely decide against it.

Y'all still don't understand how the FCPS board works?

They already knew the answer. They probably decided this would be a community school but haven’t announced it yet and will still go through the motions.

My impression is that the board delayed discussing the acquisition until the last minute (I believe tomorrow is the actual sale date) to avoid early discussions about the school and potential criticism over 'transparency.'

Ryan McElveen stated that the property will serve as our newest western high school. That’s what they intend to do, and that’s what will happen.

It’s a truism that it will be a western HS because it’s located in western Fairfax. That doesn’t mean it will only serve kids in that area. Maybe it will, but it may depend on their figuring out how many kids it can actually accommodate. A former KAA teacher has noted it was designed with a lot of administrative offices and also open spaces, so they could end up spending a lot of additional money if they really want to have a local HS for over 2000 kids.

It cracks me up when people suggest FCPS had this all figured out when they announced the agreement in principle to buy this building. It very much came across as an impulse purchase with many of the details to be worked out later.

Sure just like TJ serves as an eastern high school. lol

FCPS reported TJ as part of the same cluster as Annandale HS for many years.