I bet IB verses AP was part of this debate as well.

http://patch.com/virginia/annandale/wakefield-chapel-parents-unhappy-with-annandale-study41b4d59556

Why did Strauss and Gibson vote for it? They should have seen the problem with their actions from their own vantage point.

http://patch.com/virginia/fairfaxcity/wakefield-forest-students-will-go-to-woodson

^This was approved in mid-2011 before the SB election that fall, so there has been a lot of SB turnover since then.

Anonymous wrote:Such incompetence, but if this is true that these three people tried to stop it, why did they vote in favor? Who voted in favor and who voted against?

The big Annandale redistricting that sent kids to Woodson and Edison was approved in 2011. A motion to keep the areas moved to Woodson at Annandale failed 6-6. Current SB members Evans, Strauss and Moon and current BOS member Storck supported the motion. No current SB members and current BOS member Smith opposed the motion. A subsequent motion to keep the areas moved to Edison at Annandale failed 4-8.

Such incompetence, but if this is true that these three people tried to stop it, why did they vote in favor? Who voted in favor and who voted against?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Agreed, but for instance, it was poor planning to move all those single family houses out of Annandale and into Woodson. That could have been avoided if FCPS had thought about diversity of housing and FARMS rates in their redistricting.

No disagreement on that. That was a self-inflicted wound, although the issues there ultimately stem from the decision to turn Jefferson into a STEM magnet, which left two concentrations of lower-income housing (one in Alexandria and the other in Annandale) zoned for AHS.

That (including the TJ decision) was repeatedly pointed out to staff and the Board during the Annandale process.

They. Did. Not. Care.

It was a feeding frenzy for Wakefield Forest to try to leave, coming on the heels of other SFH neighborhoods that had previously been moved to Falls Church and Lake Braddock, along with Bren Mar Park getting moved to Edison at the same time.

Sandy Evans tried to stop it, and Strauss and Moon supported her, but most of the SB at the time went along with Tessie Wilson, who was Woodson's champion on the SB and a proponent of the changes. The problem was that all of the forward-looking projections were mechanical and did not consider how people would respond to jacking up the FARMS rate at Poe MS. Over the past decade, Poe has seen a 23% increase in the FARMS rate, while losing 230 students. Very bad planning.

All of which underscores, by the way, that it assumes an awful lot to think a future SB and BOS are going to coordinate to promote greater "balance" throughout the county and its schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Agreed, but for instance, it was poor planning to move all those single family houses out of Annandale and into Woodson. That could have been avoided if FCPS had thought about diversity of housing and FARMS rates in their redistricting.

No disagreement on that. That was a self-inflicted wound, although the issues there ultimately stem from the decision to turn Jefferson into a STEM magnet, which left two concentrations of lower-income housing (one in Alexandria and the other in Annandale) zoned for AHS.

That (including the TJ decision) was repeatedly pointed out to staff and the Board during the Annandale process.

They. Did. Not. Care.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well that's the whole problem isn't it? They can at least try.

Why should that be the highest priority when it depends on factors FCPS doesn't control (where different types of housing are located and who ends up living in them)?

It's one consideration under the current policy, not the overarching goal.

FCPS and Fairfax BOS can work together on this. They are all part of Fairfax's Government.

I tend to doubt the incentives are in place to do what you likely have in mind. They will probably get more bang for the buck from targeted redevelopment proposals such as Mosaic/Merrifield than anything else.

Agreed, but for instance, it was poor planning to move all those single family houses out of Annandale and into Woodson. That could have been avoided if FCPS had thought about diversity of housing and FARMS rates in their redistricting.

No disagreement on that. That was a self-inflicted wound, although the issues there ultimately stem from the decision to turn Jefferson into a STEM magnet, which left two concentrations of lower-income housing (one in Alexandria and the other in Annandale) zoned for AHS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well that's the whole problem isn't it? They can at least try.

Why should that be the highest priority when it depends on factors FCPS doesn't control (where different types of housing are located and who ends up living in them)?

It's one consideration under the current policy, not the overarching goal.

FCPS and Fairfax BOS can work together on this. They are all part of Fairfax's Government.

I tend to doubt the incentives are in place to do what you likely have in mind. They will probably get more bang for the buck from targeted redevelopment proposals such as Mosaic/Merrifield than anything else.

Agreed, but for instance, it was poor planning to move all those single family houses out of Annandale and into Woodson. That could have been avoided if FCPS had thought about diversity of housing and FARMS rates in their redistricting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well that's the whole problem isn't it? They can at least try.

Why should that be the highest priority when it depends on factors FCPS doesn't control (where different types of housing are located and who ends up living in them)?

It's one consideration under the current policy, not the overarching goal.

FCPS and Fairfax BOS can work together on this. They are all part of Fairfax's Government.

I tend to doubt the incentives are in place to do what you likely have in mind. They will probably get more bang for the buck from targeted redevelopment proposals such as Mosaic/Merrifield than anything else.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well that's the whole problem isn't it? They can at least try.

Why should that be the highest priority when it depends on factors FCPS doesn't control (where different types of housing are located and who ends up living in them)?

It's one consideration under the current policy, not the overarching goal.

It doesn't have to be the top priority but it should be A priority.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well that's the whole problem isn't it? They can at least try.

Why should that be the highest priority when it depends on factors FCPS doesn't control (where different types of housing are located and who ends up living in them)?

It's one consideration under the current policy, not the overarching goal.

FCPS and Fairfax BOS can work together on this. They are all part of Fairfax's Government.

Anonymous wrote:Well that's the whole problem isn't it? They can at least try.

Why should that be the highest priority when it depends on factors FCPS doesn't control (where different types of housing are located and who ends up living in them)?

It's one consideration under the current policy, not the overarching goal.

Well that's the whole problem isn't it? They can at least try.

Anonymous wrote:Different PP. If possible, slowly FCPS should look to balance schools at the elementary level. Eventually that will work it's way up to people wanting high schools balanced.

It would usually be harder to balance ES demographics than MS or HS demographics. "Balance" sounds great until you realize how gerrymandered boundaries would become.

Different PP. If possible, slowly FCPS should look to balance schools at the elementary level. Eventually that will work it's way up to people wanting high schools balanced.