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Anonymous wrote:I am not a general contractor but it sounds like they need to take down some non-load bearing walls and reconfigure classroom spaces. I am not certain how that gets to be millions of dollars but, again, not a contractor. Maybe someone who is can chime in on how much that takes.

Most of the expensive construction have been at schools that needed massive renovations that repaired structural issues and then expanded buildings. I can see how that can cost a lot of money. There is nothing structurally wrong with KAA, it is mainly reconfiguring existing space so it should be less expensive.

If it were so simple and cost so little, why wouldn’t we have heard about that already?

If it were so difficult and would cost so much, wouldn't we have heard about that already?

Of course not. FCPS would delay that news as long as possible. At this looking they haven’t even managed to put out a release that the sale closed, much less clarified how the facility will be used or the total costs.

The purchase has already been widely publicized. Why are you so mad that an official press release didn’t go out? Who cares?

https://northernvirginiamag.com/news/2025/06/17/fcps-approves-150m-purchase-of-king-abdullah-academy-private-school-in-herndon/

Melanie Meren took Reid to task at the work session for not getting a press release out. She said the communications had been poor and that as a result she wasn’t able to answer basic questions from her constituents.

That report is from June. You would think they would put out a presser.

Some people would love for it to be a magnet: The Fairfax Federation, for one. They have lobbied for one for years--never mind that the role of a school system is to educate all students. And, honestly, shouldn't they at least attempt to educate them in their locality as much as possible?

Notice that they give huge lip service to equity, yet claim that high school kids are not watching younger siblings after school. Maybe, that is true, but it seems likely to me that it does fall on older siblings to help out in these poorer families.

They also do not pay attention to the fact that some kids want--and need--after school jobs. Good luck with that in Fairfax County.

Are you saying TJHSST should be returned to community use?

Because Chantilly and Oakton are two of the four pyramids that sent the most kids to TJ last year (McLean - 133; Chantilly - 119; Langley - 116; Oakton - 101).

Jefferson was a community high school once. It inconvenienced some when their neighborhood school got closed but it was deemed to be in the greater good. It seems a bit hypocritical to criticize magnet schools but then be among the top pyramids for TJ.

TJ is right by Annandale HS — 3.5 miles away. So the transportation isn’t that far for kids in what would be the neighborhood lines of TJ.

If they make KAA a magnet, then they’re shipping the kids who live right there off to South Lakes, Westfield or Oakton which are all significantly farther. Chantilly is closer but is already overcrowded and is already (and proposed to) turn close neighborhoods away because of capacity.

There are kids in neighborhoods that used to attend Jefferson who now have to cross both 395 and 495 to get to Edison. That’s arguably more problematic than the commute for any kids in western Fairfax.

But you never cared about that. Your pyramids send lots of your kids to TJ and now you want a new neighborhood school that will cost a lot and increase the excess capacity at some western high schools as well.

Do you have any idea how many schools have been built since TJ was formed? It opened, according to Wikipedia in 1985. Do you really think I had anything to do with it? You really think anyone in this area had anything to do with that?

If some of my neighbors want their kids to go there, that has nothing to do with my desire for my kids to have a normal high school education in a school where they are able to participate in extracurricular activities.

Why don't you lobby to go to Annandale?

You or your neighbors are the ones complaining magnets are bad, yet the data shows your pyramids send lots of kids to TJ.

So basically they’re good so long as they are in a building that had been and could be someone else’s neighborhood school, and bad if they get in the way of a neighborhood school you desire.

Well, have you lived there for over forty years? That's how long TJ has been a governor's school.

And, honestly, I see no need for ANY magnets, but I guess it is good if my neighbors go there. Our schools are already quite overcrowded.

Over 500 empty seats at Herndon. Adjustments could have been made already to move kids there.

Then Herndon can get the airline mechanic academy.

You must be the same idiot saying it’ll be a school for baggage handlers.

Annoyingly condescending? Must be great falls.

“Grumble grumble, great falls, great falls, Langley! Great falls, grumble grumble.” - homeless mumbler

DP

“homeless mumbler”?

Definitely a great falls hack.

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Anonymous wrote:I am not a general contractor but it sounds like they need to take down some non-load bearing walls and reconfigure classroom spaces. I am not certain how that gets to be millions of dollars but, again, not a contractor. Maybe someone who is can chime in on how much that takes.

Most of the expensive construction have been at schools that needed massive renovations that repaired structural issues and then expanded buildings. I can see how that can cost a lot of money. There is nothing structurally wrong with KAA, it is mainly reconfiguring existing space so it should be less expensive.

If it were so simple and cost so little, why wouldn’t we have heard about that already?

If it were so difficult and would cost so much, wouldn't we have heard about that already?

Of course not. FCPS would delay that news as long as possible. At this looking they haven’t even managed to put out a release that the sale closed, much less clarified how the facility will be used or the total costs.

The purchase has already been widely publicized. Why are you so mad that an official press release didn’t go out? Who cares?

https://northernvirginiamag.com/news/2025/06/17/fcps-approves-150m-purchase-of-king-abdullah-academy-private-school-in-herndon/

Melanie Meren took Reid to task at the work session for not getting a press release out. She said the communications had been poor and that as a result she wasn’t able to answer basic questions from her constituents.

That report is from June. You would think they would put out a presser.

Some people would love for it to be a magnet: The Fairfax Federation, for one. They have lobbied for one for years--never mind that the role of a school system is to educate all students. And, honestly, shouldn't they at least attempt to educate them in their locality as much as possible?

Notice that they give huge lip service to equity, yet claim that high school kids are not watching younger siblings after school. Maybe, that is true, but it seems likely to me that it does fall on older siblings to help out in these poorer families.

They also do not pay attention to the fact that some kids want--and need--after school jobs. Good luck with that in Fairfax County.

Are you saying TJHSST should be returned to community use?

Because Chantilly and Oakton are two of the four pyramids that sent the most kids to TJ last year (McLean - 133; Chantilly - 119; Langley - 116; Oakton - 101).

Jefferson was a community high school once. It inconvenienced some when their neighborhood school got closed but it was deemed to be in the greater good. It seems a bit hypocritical to criticize magnet schools but then be among the top pyramids for TJ.

TJ is right by Annandale HS — 3.5 miles away. So the transportation isn’t that far for kids in what would be the neighborhood lines of TJ.

If they make KAA a magnet, then they’re shipping the kids who live right there off to South Lakes, Westfield or Oakton which are all significantly farther. Chantilly is closer but is already overcrowded and is already (and proposed to) turn close neighborhoods away because of capacity.

There are kids in neighborhoods that used to attend Jefferson who now have to cross both 395 and 495 to get to Edison. That’s arguably more problematic than the commute for any kids in western Fairfax.

But you never cared about that. Your pyramids send lots of your kids to TJ and now you want a new neighborhood school that will cost a lot and increase the excess capacity at some western high schools as well.

Do you have any idea how many schools have been built since TJ was formed? It opened, according to Wikipedia in 1985. Do you really think I had anything to do with it? You really think anyone in this area had anything to do with that?

If some of my neighbors want their kids to go there, that has nothing to do with my desire for my kids to have a normal high school education in a school where they are able to participate in extracurricular activities.

Why don't you lobby to go to Annandale?

You or your neighbors are the ones complaining magnets are bad, yet the data shows your pyramids send lots of kids to TJ.

So basically they’re good so long as they are in a building that had been and could be someone else’s neighborhood school, and bad if they get in the way of a neighborhood school you desire.

Well, have you lived there for over forty years? That's how long TJ has been a governor's school.

And, honestly, I see no need for ANY magnets, but I guess it is good if my neighbors go there. Our schools are already quite overcrowded.

Over 500 empty seats at Herndon. Adjustments could have been made already to move kids there.

Then Herndon can get the airline mechanic academy.

Herndon is configured as a traditional FCPS high school. KAA currently is not.

Tell us please how the classrooms are configured differently for a traditional school vs an academy or magnet.

Listen to the work session last week. Robyn Lady explained this.

I did. I heard Reid say that the setup of the school is not a barrier to the success of this school as a traditional high school.
https://youtu.be/u11acsrpEFo?list=PLSz76NCRDYQF3hPS2qS2SGEcoO4__Yd7Z&t=7994

Robyn Lady starts talking about it around the 2:52 mark and she did mention the lack of sports fields at KAA, but there was nothing about how the classrooms would be physically different between a traditional school and some type of academy or magnet...

The KAA site was a 4 parcel multi parcel sale. 2 have no structures and flat land. 1 fronts to Mclearen-no trees. Other is flat treed pie shape between HS site and Carson. No problem with field potential like hills, creeks, neighbors. Adding lights /bleachers to the existing field should not be an issue. Residential street Cedar Run is near Carson - walkers on a path to both from 93 townhouses. Current feed for that is Floris/Carson/Westfield. Floris should spin off the 2 spa's with <20 from south of the airport, west of Air & Space.

We know from the Reid directed Thru drafts that Reid has no problem with transport for walkers, loading sites to 105% trailer range, including unknown condition modulars on the same basis as bricks and mortar. Education Drive is 4 lanes with a grass median - Davidson to Mclean HS is 2 lanes , no median. FCPS adds 1437 seats from 5 modulars at the HS level. Chantilly, Centreville, Mclean are severely over capacity even with the modulars. EX KAA site comes with a parcel with 2 real buildings.

Davidson may be two lanes but there are two other roads - Westmoreland and Sea Cliff - that provide access to McLean. It’s not really relevant to KAA, just pointing it out since you made it sound like Davidson was the only way to get to MHS.

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Anonymous wrote:The classrooms are arranged in a dozen or so pods with an open space or lobby area connecting several rooms together in each pod. Typically one in each pod is a science lab and the others are more standard classrooms. The school also has two detached buildings on the property, a short walk across the main parking lot and road. The road has no through traffic, it's just the school ingress/egress road; a large driveway basically. Those buildings are your standard office park shells. They could convert them to standard classrooms but also seem like easy candidates for building any non-standard-classroom-type spaces (like an aviation CTE type program, for example). The school site also has some unique features that I don't believe most (any?) other FCPS schools have, such as pool and a large dance room with wood floor, mirrors, ballet bars, etc. The auditorium, like most of the facility, is also very up-to-date with modern theater tech, such that a performing arts program might be viable as well. However, I don't know much about the music spaces, just that the dedicated theater and dance facilities are top notch.

Carson is set up this way - in pods with a science room in each pod. It will be an easy transition for Carson kids to the new Western high school.

Science classes in HS are, obviously, different. You don't have them in pods because chemistry, biology, physics, and other classes need different set ups then you have for MS science. It should not be hard to convert one of the larger spaces into a science wing and outfit those classes for the needs for the HS classes, take the science class in each pod and make it a regular classroom.

I've no idea of how it can be done--I haven't seen it inside. I do know that the designers said that the spaces were flexible.
I also know that someone with some expertise and ingenuity could figure out how to make the main building educate more than 1200 students. There are three gyms, for heaven sake. Of course, it would require someone who wants to do it.
Sadly, I don't think the staff that was represented at the Work Session is equipped to do this. And, it doesn't sound like they were given any direction to do so. So, maybe, they could given the opportunity.
I think staff was directed by the Superintendent to come up with "creative" ideas for possible magnet, etc.

I don't know who came up with the idea of a traditional high school with a magnet restricted to western high schools--but I suspect it was our illustrious superintendent. I'm not even sure how that can be interpreted.

Does it mean that all extra-curriculars would be restricted to whatever the magnet is? No sports?

Someone said that Lady criticized the fields. I don't get that. I drove over the other day--there are lots of fields--mostly soccer. There is also a track. But, there is a baseball field at Carson, which is certainly accessible.

A PP described the area perfectly. Those two additional buildings can certainly be used--to expand the traditional high school or, if not needed for that, to create an academy.

I still don't understand Robyn Lady's 180 on the purpose of the school. She should know more than anyone how much it is needed. However, the only constituents affected are Coates.

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Anonymous wrote:I am not a general contractor but it sounds like they need to take down some non-load bearing walls and reconfigure classroom spaces. I am not certain how that gets to be millions of dollars but, again, not a contractor. Maybe someone who is can chime in on how much that takes.

Most of the expensive construction have been at schools that needed massive renovations that repaired structural issues and then expanded buildings. I can see how that can cost a lot of money. There is nothing structurally wrong with KAA, it is mainly reconfiguring existing space so it should be less expensive.

If it were so simple and cost so little, why wouldn’t we have heard about that already?

If it were so difficult and would cost so much, wouldn't we have heard about that already?

Of course not. FCPS would delay that news as long as possible. At this looking they haven’t even managed to put out a release that the sale closed, much less clarified how the facility will be used or the total costs.

The purchase has already been widely publicized. Why are you so mad that an official press release didn’t go out? Who cares?

https://northernvirginiamag.com/news/2025/06/17/fcps-approves-150m-purchase-of-king-abdullah-academy-private-school-in-herndon/

Melanie Meren took Reid to task at the work session for not getting a press release out. She said the communications had been poor and that as a result she wasn’t able to answer basic questions from her constituents.

That report is from June. You would think they would put out a presser.

Some people would love for it to be a magnet: The Fairfax Federation, for one. They have lobbied for one for years--never mind that the role of a school system is to educate all students. And, honestly, shouldn't they at least attempt to educate them in their locality as much as possible?

Notice that they give huge lip service to equity, yet claim that high school kids are not watching younger siblings after school. Maybe, that is true, but it seems likely to me that it does fall on older siblings to help out in these poorer families.

They also do not pay attention to the fact that some kids want--and need--after school jobs. Good luck with that in Fairfax County.

Are you saying TJHSST should be returned to community use?

Because Chantilly and Oakton are two of the four pyramids that sent the most kids to TJ last year (McLean - 133; Chantilly - 119; Langley - 116; Oakton - 101).

Jefferson was a community high school once. It inconvenienced some when their neighborhood school got closed but it was deemed to be in the greater good. It seems a bit hypocritical to criticize magnet schools but then be among the top pyramids for TJ.

TJ is right by Annandale HS — 3.5 miles away. So the transportation isn’t that far for kids in what would be the neighborhood lines of TJ.

If they make KAA a magnet, then they’re shipping the kids who live right there off to South Lakes, Westfield or Oakton which are all significantly farther. Chantilly is closer but is already overcrowded and is already (and proposed to) turn close neighborhoods away because of capacity.

There are kids in neighborhoods that used to attend Jefferson who now have to cross both 395 and 495 to get to Edison. That’s arguably more problematic than the commute for any kids in western Fairfax.

But you never cared about that. Your pyramids send lots of your kids to TJ and now you want a new neighborhood school that will cost a lot and increase the excess capacity at some western high schools as well.

Do you have any idea how many schools have been built since TJ was formed? It opened, according to Wikipedia in 1985. Do you really think I had anything to do with it? You really think anyone in this area had anything to do with that?

If some of my neighbors want their kids to go there, that has nothing to do with my desire for my kids to have a normal high school education in a school where they are able to participate in extracurricular activities.

Why don't you lobby to go to Annandale?

You or your neighbors are the ones complaining magnets are bad, yet the data shows your pyramids send lots of kids to TJ.

So basically they’re good so long as they are in a building that had been and could be someone else’s neighborhood school, and bad if they get in the way of a neighborhood school you desire.

Well, have you lived there for over forty years? That's how long TJ has been a governor's school.

And, honestly, I see no need for ANY magnets, but I guess it is good if my neighbors go there. Our schools are already quite overcrowded.

Over 500 empty seats at Herndon. Adjustments could have been made already to move kids there.

Then Herndon can get the airline mechanic academy.

Herndon is configured as a traditional FCPS high school. KAA currently is not.

Tell us please how the classrooms are configured differently for a traditional school vs an academy or magnet.

Listen to the work session last week. Robyn Lady explained this.

I did. I heard Reid say that the setup of the school is not a barrier to the success of this school as a traditional high school.
https://youtu.be/u11acsrpEFo?list=PLSz76NCRDYQF3hPS2qS2SGEcoO4__Yd7Z&t=7994

Robyn Lady starts talking about it around the 2:52 mark and she did mention the lack of sports fields at KAA, but there was nothing about how the classrooms would be physically different between a traditional school and some type of academy or magnet...

The KAA site was a 4 parcel multi parcel sale. 2 have no structures and flat land. 1 fronts to Mclearen-no trees. Other is flat treed pie shape between HS site and Carson. No problem with field potential like hills, creeks, neighbors. Adding lights /bleachers to the existing field should not be an issue. Residential street Cedar Run is near Carson - walkers on a path to both from 93 townhouses. Current feed for that is Floris/Carson/Westfield. Floris should spin off the 2 spa's with <20 from south of the airport, west of Air & Space.

We know from the Reid directed Thru drafts that Reid has no problem with transport for walkers, loading sites to 105% trailer range, including unknown condition modulars on the same basis as bricks and mortar. Education Drive is 4 lanes with a grass median - Davidson to Mclean HS is 2 lanes , no median. FCPS adds 1437 seats from 5 modulars at the HS level. Chantilly, Centreville, Mclean are severely over capacity even with the modulars. EX KAA site comes with a parcel with 2 real buildings.

This is some serious stream of consciousness shit here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The classrooms are arranged in a dozen or so pods with an open space or lobby area connecting several rooms together in each pod. Typically one in each pod is a science lab and the others are more standard classrooms. The school also has two detached buildings on the property, a short walk across the main parking lot and road. The road has no through traffic, it's just the school ingress/egress road; a large driveway basically. Those buildings are your standard office park shells. They could convert them to standard classrooms but also seem like easy candidates for building any non-standard-classroom-type spaces (like an aviation CTE type program, for example). The school site also has some unique features that I don't believe most (any?) other FCPS schools have, such as pool and a large dance room with wood floor, mirrors, ballet bars, etc. The auditorium, like most of the facility, is also very up-to-date with modern theater tech, such that a performing arts program might be viable as well. However, I don't know much about the music spaces, just that the dedicated theater and dance facilities are top notch.

Carson is set up this way - in pods with a science room in each pod. It will be an easy transition for Carson kids to the new Western high school.

Science classes in HS are, obviously, different. You don't have them in pods because chemistry, biology, physics, and other classes need different set ups then you have for MS science. It should not be hard to convert one of the larger spaces into a science wing and outfit those classes for the needs for the HS classes, take the science class in each pod and make it a regular classroom.

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Anonymous wrote:I am not a general contractor but it sounds like they need to take down some non-load bearing walls and reconfigure classroom spaces. I am not certain how that gets to be millions of dollars but, again, not a contractor. Maybe someone who is can chime in on how much that takes.

Most of the expensive construction have been at schools that needed massive renovations that repaired structural issues and then expanded buildings. I can see how that can cost a lot of money. There is nothing structurally wrong with KAA, it is mainly reconfiguring existing space so it should be less expensive.

If it were so simple and cost so little, why wouldn’t we have heard about that already?

If it were so difficult and would cost so much, wouldn't we have heard about that already?

Of course not. FCPS would delay that news as long as possible. At this looking they haven’t even managed to put out a release that the sale closed, much less clarified how the facility will be used or the total costs.

The purchase has already been widely publicized. Why are you so mad that an official press release didn’t go out? Who cares?

https://northernvirginiamag.com/news/2025/06/17/fcps-approves-150m-purchase-of-king-abdullah-academy-private-school-in-herndon/

Melanie Meren took Reid to task at the work session for not getting a press release out. She said the communications had been poor and that as a result she wasn’t able to answer basic questions from her constituents.

That report is from June. You would think they would put out a presser.

Some people would love for it to be a magnet: The Fairfax Federation, for one. They have lobbied for one for years--never mind that the role of a school system is to educate all students. And, honestly, shouldn't they at least attempt to educate them in their locality as much as possible?

Notice that they give huge lip service to equity, yet claim that high school kids are not watching younger siblings after school. Maybe, that is true, but it seems likely to me that it does fall on older siblings to help out in these poorer families.

They also do not pay attention to the fact that some kids want--and need--after school jobs. Good luck with that in Fairfax County.

Are you saying TJHSST should be returned to community use?

Because Chantilly and Oakton are two of the four pyramids that sent the most kids to TJ last year (McLean - 133; Chantilly - 119; Langley - 116; Oakton - 101).

Jefferson was a community high school once. It inconvenienced some when their neighborhood school got closed but it was deemed to be in the greater good. It seems a bit hypocritical to criticize magnet schools but then be among the top pyramids for TJ.

TJ is right by Annandale HS — 3.5 miles away. So the transportation isn’t that far for kids in what would be the neighborhood lines of TJ.

If they make KAA a magnet, then they’re shipping the kids who live right there off to South Lakes, Westfield or Oakton which are all significantly farther. Chantilly is closer but is already overcrowded and is already (and proposed to) turn close neighborhoods away because of capacity.

There are kids in neighborhoods that used to attend Jefferson who now have to cross both 395 and 495 to get to Edison. That’s arguably more problematic than the commute for any kids in western Fairfax.

But you never cared about that. Your pyramids send lots of your kids to TJ and now you want a new neighborhood school that will cost a lot and increase the excess capacity at some western high schools as well.

Do you have any idea how many schools have been built since TJ was formed? It opened, according to Wikipedia in 1985. Do you really think I had anything to do with it? You really think anyone in this area had anything to do with that?

If some of my neighbors want their kids to go there, that has nothing to do with my desire for my kids to have a normal high school education in a school where they are able to participate in extracurricular activities.

Why don't you lobby to go to Annandale?

You or your neighbors are the ones complaining magnets are bad, yet the data shows your pyramids send lots of kids to TJ.

So basically they’re good so long as they are in a building that had been and could be someone else’s neighborhood school, and bad if they get in the way of a neighborhood school you desire.

Well, have you lived there for over forty years? That's how long TJ has been a governor's school.

And, honestly, I see no need for ANY magnets, but I guess it is good if my neighbors go there. Our schools are already quite overcrowded.

Over 500 empty seats at Herndon. Adjustments could have been made already to move kids there.

Then Herndon can get the airline mechanic academy.

You must be the same idiot saying it’ll be a school for baggage handlers.

Annoyingly condescending? Must be great falls.

My kid is at SLHS and I think a new Academy should go to Herndon. The school has space and there are plenty of nearby high schools that it could draw from. It could decrease the number of kids who transfer to other schools and attract students interested in the program. And they have space. Herndon HS is not that far from Dulles.

KAA is a smaller school that should be used as a neighborhood high school to relieve overcrowding. The 400 seats that are discussed for the aviation program would fit at Herndon and allow for more students to be moved to KAA, relieving the overcrowded and filled to capacity schools in the area.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not a general contractor but it sounds like they need to take down some non-load bearing walls and reconfigure classroom spaces. I am not certain how that gets to be millions of dollars but, again, not a contractor. Maybe someone who is can chime in on how much that takes.

Most of the expensive construction have been at schools that needed massive renovations that repaired structural issues and then expanded buildings. I can see how that can cost a lot of money. There is nothing structurally wrong with KAA, it is mainly reconfiguring existing space so it should be less expensive.

If it were so simple and cost so little, why wouldn’t we have heard about that already?

If it were so difficult and would cost so much, wouldn't we have heard about that already?

Of course not. FCPS would delay that news as long as possible. At this looking they haven’t even managed to put out a release that the sale closed, much less clarified how the facility will be used or the total costs.

The purchase has already been widely publicized. Why are you so mad that an official press release didn’t go out? Who cares?

https://northernvirginiamag.com/news/2025/06/17/fcps-approves-150m-purchase-of-king-abdullah-academy-private-school-in-herndon/

Melanie Meren took Reid to task at the work session for not getting a press release out. She said the communications had been poor and that as a result she wasn’t able to answer basic questions from her constituents.

That report is from June. You would think they would put out a presser.

Some people would love for it to be a magnet: The Fairfax Federation, for one. They have lobbied for one for years--never mind that the role of a school system is to educate all students. And, honestly, shouldn't they at least attempt to educate them in their locality as much as possible?

Notice that they give huge lip service to equity, yet claim that high school kids are not watching younger siblings after school. Maybe, that is true, but it seems likely to me that it does fall on older siblings to help out in these poorer families.

They also do not pay attention to the fact that some kids want--and need--after school jobs. Good luck with that in Fairfax County.

Are you saying TJHSST should be returned to community use?

Because Chantilly and Oakton are two of the four pyramids that sent the most kids to TJ last year (McLean - 133; Chantilly - 119; Langley - 116; Oakton - 101).

Jefferson was a community high school once. It inconvenienced some when their neighborhood school got closed but it was deemed to be in the greater good. It seems a bit hypocritical to criticize magnet schools but then be among the top pyramids for TJ.

TJ is right by Annandale HS — 3.5 miles away. So the transportation isn’t that far for kids in what would be the neighborhood lines of TJ.

If they make KAA a magnet, then they’re shipping the kids who live right there off to South Lakes, Westfield or Oakton which are all significantly farther. Chantilly is closer but is already overcrowded and is already (and proposed to) turn close neighborhoods away because of capacity.

There are kids in neighborhoods that used to attend Jefferson who now have to cross both 395 and 495 to get to Edison. That’s arguably more problematic than the commute for any kids in western Fairfax.

But you never cared about that. Your pyramids send lots of your kids to TJ and now you want a new neighborhood school that will cost a lot and increase the excess capacity at some western high schools as well.

Do you have any idea how many schools have been built since TJ was formed? It opened, according to Wikipedia in 1985. Do you really think I had anything to do with it? You really think anyone in this area had anything to do with that?

If some of my neighbors want their kids to go there, that has nothing to do with my desire for my kids to have a normal high school education in a school where they are able to participate in extracurricular activities.

Why don't you lobby to go to Annandale?

You or your neighbors are the ones complaining magnets are bad, yet the data shows your pyramids send lots of kids to TJ.

So basically they’re good so long as they are in a building that had been and could be someone else’s neighborhood school, and bad if they get in the way of a neighborhood school you desire.

Well, have you lived there for over forty years? That's how long TJ has been a governor's school.

And, honestly, I see no need for ANY magnets, but I guess it is good if my neighbors go there. Our schools are already quite overcrowded.

Over 500 empty seats at Herndon. Adjustments could have been made already to move kids there.

Then Herndon can get the airline mechanic academy.

Herndon is configured as a traditional FCPS high school. KAA currently is not.

Tell us please how the classrooms are configured differently for a traditional school vs an academy or magnet.

Listen to the work session last week. Robyn Lady explained this.

I did. I heard Reid say that the setup of the school is not a barrier to the success of this school as a traditional high school.
https://youtu.be/u11acsrpEFo?list=PLSz76NCRDYQF3hPS2qS2SGEcoO4__Yd7Z&t=7994

Robyn Lady starts talking about it around the 2:52 mark and she did mention the lack of sports fields at KAA, but there was nothing about how the classrooms would be physically different between a traditional school and some type of academy or magnet...

The KAA site was a 4 parcel multi parcel sale. 2 have no structures and flat land. 1 fronts to Mclearen-no trees. Other is flat treed pie shape between HS site and Carson. No problem with field potential like hills, creeks, neighbors. Adding lights /bleachers to the existing field should not be an issue. Residential street Cedar Run is near Carson - walkers on a path to both from 93 townhouses. Current feed for that is Floris/Carson/Westfield. Floris should spin off the 2 spa's with <20 from south of the airport, west of Air & Space.

We know from the Reid directed Thru drafts that Reid has no problem with transport for walkers, loading sites to 105% trailer range, including unknown condition modulars on the same basis as bricks and mortar. Education Drive is 4 lanes with a grass median - Davidson to Mclean HS is 2 lanes , no median. FCPS adds 1437 seats from 5 modulars at the HS level. Chantilly, Centreville, Mclean are severely over capacity even with the modulars. EX KAA site comes with a parcel with 2 real buildings.

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Anonymous wrote:I am not a general contractor but it sounds like they need to take down some non-load bearing walls and reconfigure classroom spaces. I am not certain how that gets to be millions of dollars but, again, not a contractor. Maybe someone who is can chime in on how much that takes.

Most of the expensive construction have been at schools that needed massive renovations that repaired structural issues and then expanded buildings. I can see how that can cost a lot of money. There is nothing structurally wrong with KAA, it is mainly reconfiguring existing space so it should be less expensive.

If it were so simple and cost so little, why wouldn’t we have heard about that already?

If it were so difficult and would cost so much, wouldn't we have heard about that already?

Of course not. FCPS would delay that news as long as possible. At this looking they haven’t even managed to put out a release that the sale closed, much less clarified how the facility will be used or the total costs.

The purchase has already been widely publicized. Why are you so mad that an official press release didn’t go out? Who cares?

https://northernvirginiamag.com/news/2025/06/17/fcps-approves-150m-purchase-of-king-abdullah-academy-private-school-in-herndon/

Melanie Meren took Reid to task at the work session for not getting a press release out. She said the communications had been poor and that as a result she wasn’t able to answer basic questions from her constituents.

That report is from June. You would think they would put out a presser.

Some people would love for it to be a magnet: The Fairfax Federation, for one. They have lobbied for one for years--never mind that the role of a school system is to educate all students. And, honestly, shouldn't they at least attempt to educate them in their locality as much as possible?

Notice that they give huge lip service to equity, yet claim that high school kids are not watching younger siblings after school. Maybe, that is true, but it seems likely to me that it does fall on older siblings to help out in these poorer families.

They also do not pay attention to the fact that some kids want--and need--after school jobs. Good luck with that in Fairfax County.

Are you saying TJHSST should be returned to community use?

Because Chantilly and Oakton are two of the four pyramids that sent the most kids to TJ last year (McLean - 133; Chantilly - 119; Langley - 116; Oakton - 101).

Jefferson was a community high school once. It inconvenienced some when their neighborhood school got closed but it was deemed to be in the greater good. It seems a bit hypocritical to criticize magnet schools but then be among the top pyramids for TJ.

TJ is right by Annandale HS — 3.5 miles away. So the transportation isn’t that far for kids in what would be the neighborhood lines of TJ.

If they make KAA a magnet, then they’re shipping the kids who live right there off to South Lakes, Westfield or Oakton which are all significantly farther. Chantilly is closer but is already overcrowded and is already (and proposed to) turn close neighborhoods away because of capacity.

There are kids in neighborhoods that used to attend Jefferson who now have to cross both 395 and 495 to get to Edison. That’s arguably more problematic than the commute for any kids in western Fairfax.

But you never cared about that. Your pyramids send lots of your kids to TJ and now you want a new neighborhood school that will cost a lot and increase the excess capacity at some western high schools as well.

Do you have any idea how many schools have been built since TJ was formed? It opened, according to Wikipedia in 1985. Do you really think I had anything to do with it? You really think anyone in this area had anything to do with that?

If some of my neighbors want their kids to go there, that has nothing to do with my desire for my kids to have a normal high school education in a school where they are able to participate in extracurricular activities.

Why don't you lobby to go to Annandale?

You or your neighbors are the ones complaining magnets are bad, yet the data shows your pyramids send lots of kids to TJ.

So basically they’re good so long as they are in a building that had been and could be someone else’s neighborhood school, and bad if they get in the way of a neighborhood school you desire.

Well, have you lived there for over forty years? That's how long TJ has been a governor's school.

And, honestly, I see no need for ANY magnets, but I guess it is good if my neighbors go there. Our schools are already quite overcrowded.

Over 500 empty seats at Herndon. Adjustments could have been made already to move kids there.

Then Herndon can get the airline mechanic academy.

You must be the same idiot saying it’ll be a school for baggage handlers.

Annoyingly condescending? Must be great falls.

“Grumble grumble, great falls, great falls, Langley! Great falls, grumble grumble.” - homeless mumbler

DP

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Anonymous wrote:I am not a general contractor but it sounds like they need to take down some non-load bearing walls and reconfigure classroom spaces. I am not certain how that gets to be millions of dollars but, again, not a contractor. Maybe someone who is can chime in on how much that takes.

Most of the expensive construction have been at schools that needed massive renovations that repaired structural issues and then expanded buildings. I can see how that can cost a lot of money. There is nothing structurally wrong with KAA, it is mainly reconfiguring existing space so it should be less expensive.

If it were so simple and cost so little, why wouldn’t we have heard about that already?

If it were so difficult and would cost so much, wouldn't we have heard about that already?

Of course not. FCPS would delay that news as long as possible. At this looking they haven’t even managed to put out a release that the sale closed, much less clarified how the facility will be used or the total costs.

The purchase has already been widely publicized. Why are you so mad that an official press release didn’t go out? Who cares?

https://northernvirginiamag.com/news/2025/06/17/fcps-approves-150m-purchase-of-king-abdullah-academy-private-school-in-herndon/

Melanie Meren took Reid to task at the work session for not getting a press release out. She said the communications had been poor and that as a result she wasn’t able to answer basic questions from her constituents.

That report is from June. You would think they would put out a presser.

Some people would love for it to be a magnet: The Fairfax Federation, for one. They have lobbied for one for years--never mind that the role of a school system is to educate all students. And, honestly, shouldn't they at least attempt to educate them in their locality as much as possible?

Notice that they give huge lip service to equity, yet claim that high school kids are not watching younger siblings after school. Maybe, that is true, but it seems likely to me that it does fall on older siblings to help out in these poorer families.

They also do not pay attention to the fact that some kids want--and need--after school jobs. Good luck with that in Fairfax County.

Are you saying TJHSST should be returned to community use?

Because Chantilly and Oakton are two of the four pyramids that sent the most kids to TJ last year (McLean - 133; Chantilly - 119; Langley - 116; Oakton - 101).

Jefferson was a community high school once. It inconvenienced some when their neighborhood school got closed but it was deemed to be in the greater good. It seems a bit hypocritical to criticize magnet schools but then be among the top pyramids for TJ.

TJ is right by Annandale HS — 3.5 miles away. So the transportation isn’t that far for kids in what would be the neighborhood lines of TJ.

If they make KAA a magnet, then they’re shipping the kids who live right there off to South Lakes, Westfield or Oakton which are all significantly farther. Chantilly is closer but is already overcrowded and is already (and proposed to) turn close neighborhoods away because of capacity.

There are kids in neighborhoods that used to attend Jefferson who now have to cross both 395 and 495 to get to Edison. That’s arguably more problematic than the commute for any kids in western Fairfax.

But you never cared about that. Your pyramids send lots of your kids to TJ and now you want a new neighborhood school that will cost a lot and increase the excess capacity at some western high schools as well.

Do you have any idea how many schools have been built since TJ was formed? It opened, according to Wikipedia in 1985. Do you really think I had anything to do with it? You really think anyone in this area had anything to do with that?

If some of my neighbors want their kids to go there, that has nothing to do with my desire for my kids to have a normal high school education in a school where they are able to participate in extracurricular activities.

Why don't you lobby to go to Annandale?

You or your neighbors are the ones complaining magnets are bad, yet the data shows your pyramids send lots of kids to TJ.

So basically they’re good so long as they are in a building that had been and could be someone else’s neighborhood school, and bad if they get in the way of a neighborhood school you desire.

Well, have you lived there for over forty years? That's how long TJ has been a governor's school.

And, honestly, I see no need for ANY magnets, but I guess it is good if my neighbors go there. Our schools are already quite overcrowded.

Over 500 empty seats at Herndon. Adjustments could have been made already to move kids there.

Then Herndon can get the airline mechanic academy.

You must be the same idiot saying it’ll be a school for baggage handlers.

Annoyingly condescending? Must be great falls.

Anonymous wrote:The classrooms are arranged in a dozen or so pods with an open space or lobby area connecting several rooms together in each pod. Typically one in each pod is a science lab and the others are more standard classrooms. The school also has two detached buildings on the property, a short walk across the main parking lot and road. The road has no through traffic, it's just the school ingress/egress road; a large driveway basically. Those buildings are your standard office park shells. They could convert them to standard classrooms but also seem like easy candidates for building any non-standard-classroom-type spaces (like an aviation CTE type program, for example). The school site also has some unique features that I don't believe most (any?) other FCPS schools have, such as pool and a large dance room with wood floor, mirrors, ballet bars, etc. The auditorium, like most of the facility, is also very up-to-date with modern theater tech, such that a performing arts program might be viable as well. However, I don't know much about the music spaces, just that the dedicated theater and dance facilities are top notch.

Carson is set up this way - in pods with a science room in each pod. It will be an easy transition for Carson kids to the new Western high school.

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Anonymous wrote:I am not a general contractor but it sounds like they need to take down some non-load bearing walls and reconfigure classroom spaces. I am not certain how that gets to be millions of dollars but, again, not a contractor. Maybe someone who is can chime in on how much that takes.

Most of the expensive construction have been at schools that needed massive renovations that repaired structural issues and then expanded buildings. I can see how that can cost a lot of money. There is nothing structurally wrong with KAA, it is mainly reconfiguring existing space so it should be less expensive.

If it were so simple and cost so little, why wouldn’t we have heard about that already?

If it were so difficult and would cost so much, wouldn't we have heard about that already?

Of course not. FCPS would delay that news as long as possible. At this looking they haven’t even managed to put out a release that the sale closed, much less clarified how the facility will be used or the total costs.

The purchase has already been widely publicized. Why are you so mad that an official press release didn’t go out? Who cares?

https://northernvirginiamag.com/news/2025/06/17/fcps-approves-150m-purchase-of-king-abdullah-academy-private-school-in-herndon/

Melanie Meren took Reid to task at the work session for not getting a press release out. She said the communications had been poor and that as a result she wasn’t able to answer basic questions from her constituents.

That report is from June. You would think they would put out a presser.

Some people would love for it to be a magnet: The Fairfax Federation, for one. They have lobbied for one for years--never mind that the role of a school system is to educate all students. And, honestly, shouldn't they at least attempt to educate them in their locality as much as possible?

Notice that they give huge lip service to equity, yet claim that high school kids are not watching younger siblings after school. Maybe, that is true, but it seems likely to me that it does fall on older siblings to help out in these poorer families.

They also do not pay attention to the fact that some kids want--and need--after school jobs. Good luck with that in Fairfax County.

Are you saying TJHSST should be returned to community use?

Because Chantilly and Oakton are two of the four pyramids that sent the most kids to TJ last year (McLean - 133; Chantilly - 119; Langley - 116; Oakton - 101).

Jefferson was a community high school once. It inconvenienced some when their neighborhood school got closed but it was deemed to be in the greater good. It seems a bit hypocritical to criticize magnet schools but then be among the top pyramids for TJ.

TJ is right by Annandale HS — 3.5 miles away. So the transportation isn’t that far for kids in what would be the neighborhood lines of TJ.

If they make KAA a magnet, then they’re shipping the kids who live right there off to South Lakes, Westfield or Oakton which are all significantly farther. Chantilly is closer but is already overcrowded and is already (and proposed to) turn close neighborhoods away because of capacity.

There are kids in neighborhoods that used to attend Jefferson who now have to cross both 395 and 495 to get to Edison. That’s arguably more problematic than the commute for any kids in western Fairfax.

But you never cared about that. Your pyramids send lots of your kids to TJ and now you want a new neighborhood school that will cost a lot and increase the excess capacity at some western high schools as well.

Do you have any idea how many schools have been built since TJ was formed? It opened, according to Wikipedia in 1985. Do you really think I had anything to do with it? You really think anyone in this area had anything to do with that?

If some of my neighbors want their kids to go there, that has nothing to do with my desire for my kids to have a normal high school education in a school where they are able to participate in extracurricular activities.

Why don't you lobby to go to Annandale?

You or your neighbors are the ones complaining magnets are bad, yet the data shows your pyramids send lots of kids to TJ.

So basically they’re good so long as they are in a building that had been and could be someone else’s neighborhood school, and bad if they get in the way of a neighborhood school you desire.

Well, have you lived there for over forty years? That's how long TJ has been a governor's school.

And, honestly, I see no need for ANY magnets, but I guess it is good if my neighbors go there. Our schools are already quite overcrowded.

Over 500 empty seats at Herndon. Adjustments could have been made already to move kids there.

Then Herndon can get the airline mechanic academy.

Herndon is configured as a traditional FCPS high school. KAA currently is not.

Tell us please how the classrooms are configured differently for a traditional school vs an academy or magnet.

Listen to the work session last week. Robyn Lady explained this.

I did. I heard Reid say that the setup of the school is not a barrier to the success of this school as a traditional high school.
https://youtu.be/u11acsrpEFo?list=PLSz76NCRDYQF3hPS2qS2SGEcoO4__Yd7Z&t=7994

Robyn Lady starts talking about it around the 2:52 mark and she did mention the lack of sports fields at KAA, but there was nothing about how the classrooms would be physically different between a traditional school and some type of academy or magnet. Do you have a timestamp where she said this?

The classrooms are arranged in a dozen or so pods with an open space or lobby area connecting several rooms together in each pod. Typically one in each pod is a science lab and the others are more standard classrooms. The school also has two detached buildings on the property, a short walk across the main parking lot and road. The road has no through traffic, it's just the school ingress/egress road; a large driveway basically. Those buildings are your standard office park shells. They could convert them to standard classrooms but also seem like easy candidates for building any non-standard-classroom-type spaces (like an aviation CTE type program, for example). The school site also has some unique features that I don't believe most (any?) other FCPS schools have, such as pool and a large dance room with wood floor, mirrors, ballet bars, etc. The auditorium, like most of the facility, is also very up-to-date with modern theater tech, such that a performing arts program might be viable as well. However, I don't know much about the music spaces, just that the dedicated theater and dance facilities are top notch.

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Anonymous wrote:I am not a general contractor but it sounds like they need to take down some non-load bearing walls and reconfigure classroom spaces. I am not certain how that gets to be millions of dollars but, again, not a contractor. Maybe someone who is can chime in on how much that takes.

Most of the expensive construction have been at schools that needed massive renovations that repaired structural issues and then expanded buildings. I can see how that can cost a lot of money. There is nothing structurally wrong with KAA, it is mainly reconfiguring existing space so it should be less expensive.

If it were so simple and cost so little, why wouldn’t we have heard about that already?

If it were so difficult and would cost so much, wouldn't we have heard about that already?

Of course not. FCPS would delay that news as long as possible. At this looking they haven’t even managed to put out a release that the sale closed, much less clarified how the facility will be used or the total costs.

The purchase has already been widely publicized. Why are you so mad that an official press release didn’t go out? Who cares?

https://northernvirginiamag.com/news/2025/06/17/fcps-approves-150m-purchase-of-king-abdullah-academy-private-school-in-herndon/

Melanie Meren took Reid to task at the work session for not getting a press release out. She said the communications had been poor and that as a result she wasn’t able to answer basic questions from her constituents.

That report is from June. You would think they would put out a presser.

Some people would love for it to be a magnet: The Fairfax Federation, for one. They have lobbied for one for years--never mind that the role of a school system is to educate all students. And, honestly, shouldn't they at least attempt to educate them in their locality as much as possible?

Notice that they give huge lip service to equity, yet claim that high school kids are not watching younger siblings after school. Maybe, that is true, but it seems likely to me that it does fall on older siblings to help out in these poorer families.

They also do not pay attention to the fact that some kids want--and need--after school jobs. Good luck with that in Fairfax County.

Are you saying TJHSST should be returned to community use?

Because Chantilly and Oakton are two of the four pyramids that sent the most kids to TJ last year (McLean - 133; Chantilly - 119; Langley - 116; Oakton - 101).

Jefferson was a community high school once. It inconvenienced some when their neighborhood school got closed but it was deemed to be in the greater good. It seems a bit hypocritical to criticize magnet schools but then be among the top pyramids for TJ.

TJ is right by Annandale HS — 3.5 miles away. So the transportation isn’t that far for kids in what would be the neighborhood lines of TJ.

If they make KAA a magnet, then they’re shipping the kids who live right there off to South Lakes, Westfield or Oakton which are all significantly farther. Chantilly is closer but is already overcrowded and is already (and proposed to) turn close neighborhoods away because of capacity.

There are kids in neighborhoods that used to attend Jefferson who now have to cross both 395 and 495 to get to Edison. That’s arguably more problematic than the commute for any kids in western Fairfax.

But you never cared about that. Your pyramids send lots of your kids to TJ and now you want a new neighborhood school that will cost a lot and increase the excess capacity at some western high schools as well.

Do you have any idea how many schools have been built since TJ was formed? It opened, according to Wikipedia in 1985. Do you really think I had anything to do with it? You really think anyone in this area had anything to do with that?

If some of my neighbors want their kids to go there, that has nothing to do with my desire for my kids to have a normal high school education in a school where they are able to participate in extracurricular activities.

Why don't you lobby to go to Annandale?

You or your neighbors are the ones complaining magnets are bad, yet the data shows your pyramids send lots of kids to TJ.

So basically they’re good so long as they are in a building that had been and could be someone else’s neighborhood school, and bad if they get in the way of a neighborhood school you desire.

Well, have you lived there for over forty years? That's how long TJ has been a governor's school.

And, honestly, I see no need for ANY magnets, but I guess it is good if my neighbors go there. Our schools are already quite overcrowded.

Over 500 empty seats at Herndon. Adjustments could have been made already to move kids there.

Then Herndon can get the airline mechanic academy.

Herndon is configured as a traditional FCPS high school. KAA currently is not.

Tell us please how the classrooms are configured differently for a traditional school vs an academy or magnet.

Listen to the work session last week. Robyn Lady explained this.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I am not a general contractor but it sounds like they need to take down some non-load bearing walls and reconfigure classroom spaces. I am not certain how that gets to be millions of dollars but, again, not a contractor. Maybe someone who is can chime in on how much that takes.

Most of the expensive construction have been at schools that needed massive renovations that repaired structural issues and then expanded buildings. I can see how that can cost a lot of money. There is nothing structurally wrong with KAA, it is mainly reconfiguring existing space so it should be less expensive.

If it were so simple and cost so little, why wouldn’t we have heard about that already?

If it were so difficult and would cost so much, wouldn't we have heard about that already?

Of course not. FCPS would delay that news as long as possible. At this looking they haven’t even managed to put out a release that the sale closed, much less clarified how the facility will be used or the total costs.

The purchase has already been widely publicized. Why are you so mad that an official press release didn’t go out? Who cares?

https://northernvirginiamag.com/news/2025/06/17/fcps-approves-150m-purchase-of-king-abdullah-academy-private-school-in-herndon/

Melanie Meren took Reid to task at the work session for not getting a press release out. She said the communications had been poor and that as a result she wasn’t able to answer basic questions from her constituents.

That report is from June. You would think they would put out a presser.

Some people would love for it to be a magnet: The Fairfax Federation, for one. They have lobbied for one for years--never mind that the role of a school system is to educate all students. And, honestly, shouldn't they at least attempt to educate them in their locality as much as possible?

Notice that they give huge lip service to equity, yet claim that high school kids are not watching younger siblings after school. Maybe, that is true, but it seems likely to me that it does fall on older siblings to help out in these poorer families.

They also do not pay attention to the fact that some kids want--and need--after school jobs. Good luck with that in Fairfax County.

Are you saying TJHSST should be returned to community use?

Because Chantilly and Oakton are two of the four pyramids that sent the most kids to TJ last year (McLean - 133; Chantilly - 119; Langley - 116; Oakton - 101).

Jefferson was a community high school once. It inconvenienced some when their neighborhood school got closed but it was deemed to be in the greater good. It seems a bit hypocritical to criticize magnet schools but then be among the top pyramids for TJ.

TJ is right by Annandale HS — 3.5 miles away. So the transportation isn’t that far for kids in what would be the neighborhood lines of TJ.

If they make KAA a magnet, then they’re shipping the kids who live right there off to South Lakes, Westfield or Oakton which are all significantly farther. Chantilly is closer but is already overcrowded and is already (and proposed to) turn close neighborhoods away because of capacity.

There are kids in neighborhoods that used to attend Jefferson who now have to cross both 395 and 495 to get to Edison. That’s arguably more problematic than the commute for any kids in western Fairfax.

But you never cared about that. Your pyramids send lots of your kids to TJ and now you want a new neighborhood school that will cost a lot and increase the excess capacity at some western high schools as well.

Do you have any idea how many schools have been built since TJ was formed? It opened, according to Wikipedia in 1985. Do you really think I had anything to do with it? You really think anyone in this area had anything to do with that?

If some of my neighbors want their kids to go there, that has nothing to do with my desire for my kids to have a normal high school education in a school where they are able to participate in extracurricular activities.

Why don't you lobby to go to Annandale?

You or your neighbors are the ones complaining magnets are bad, yet the data shows your pyramids send lots of kids to TJ.

So basically they’re good so long as they are in a building that had been and could be someone else’s neighborhood school, and bad if they get in the way of a neighborhood school you desire.

Well, have you lived there for over forty years? That's how long TJ has been a governor's school.

And, honestly, I see no need for ANY magnets, but I guess it is good if my neighbors go there. Our schools are already quite overcrowded.

Over 500 empty seats at Herndon. Adjustments could have been made already to move kids there.

Then Herndon can get the airline mechanic academy.

Herndon is configured as a traditional FCPS high school. KAA currently is not.

KAA was a traditional school, not a magnet. It had regular classrooms. The only changes needed are to put up some partition walls to turn the giant rooms where they taught the younger kids into 2-3 regular classrooms each.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not a general contractor but it sounds like they need to take down some non-load bearing walls and reconfigure classroom spaces. I am not certain how that gets to be millions of dollars but, again, not a contractor. Maybe someone who is can chime in on how much that takes.

Most of the expensive construction have been at schools that needed massive renovations that repaired structural issues and then expanded buildings. I can see how that can cost a lot of money. There is nothing structurally wrong with KAA, it is mainly reconfiguring existing space so it should be less expensive.

If it were so simple and cost so little, why wouldn’t we have heard about that already?

If it were so difficult and would cost so much, wouldn't we have heard about that already?

Of course not. FCPS would delay that news as long as possible. At this looking they haven’t even managed to put out a release that the sale closed, much less clarified how the facility will be used or the total costs.

The purchase has already been widely publicized. Why are you so mad that an official press release didn’t go out? Who cares?

https://northernvirginiamag.com/news/2025/06/17/fcps-approves-150m-purchase-of-king-abdullah-academy-private-school-in-herndon/

Melanie Meren took Reid to task at the work session for not getting a press release out. She said the communications had been poor and that as a result she wasn’t able to answer basic questions from her constituents.

That report is from June. You would think they would put out a presser.

Some people would love for it to be a magnet: The Fairfax Federation, for one. They have lobbied for one for years--never mind that the role of a school system is to educate all students. And, honestly, shouldn't they at least attempt to educate them in their locality as much as possible?

Notice that they give huge lip service to equity, yet claim that high school kids are not watching younger siblings after school. Maybe, that is true, but it seems likely to me that it does fall on older siblings to help out in these poorer families.

They also do not pay attention to the fact that some kids want--and need--after school jobs. Good luck with that in Fairfax County.

Are you saying TJHSST should be returned to community use?

Because Chantilly and Oakton are two of the four pyramids that sent the most kids to TJ last year (McLean - 133; Chantilly - 119; Langley - 116; Oakton - 101).

Jefferson was a community high school once. It inconvenienced some when their neighborhood school got closed but it was deemed to be in the greater good. It seems a bit hypocritical to criticize magnet schools but then be among the top pyramids for TJ.

TJ is right by Annandale HS — 3.5 miles away. So the transportation isn’t that far for kids in what would be the neighborhood lines of TJ.

If they make KAA a magnet, then they’re shipping the kids who live right there off to South Lakes, Westfield or Oakton which are all significantly farther. Chantilly is closer but is already overcrowded and is already (and proposed to) turn close neighborhoods away because of capacity.

There are kids in neighborhoods that used to attend Jefferson who now have to cross both 395 and 495 to get to Edison. That’s arguably more problematic than the commute for any kids in western Fairfax.

But you never cared about that. Your pyramids send lots of your kids to TJ and now you want a new neighborhood school that will cost a lot and increase the excess capacity at some western high schools as well.

Do you have any idea how many schools have been built since TJ was formed? It opened, according to Wikipedia in 1985. Do you really think I had anything to do with it? You really think anyone in this area had anything to do with that?

If some of my neighbors want their kids to go there, that has nothing to do with my desire for my kids to have a normal high school education in a school where they are able to participate in extracurricular activities.

Why don't you lobby to go to Annandale?

You or your neighbors are the ones complaining magnets are bad, yet the data shows your pyramids send lots of kids to TJ.

So basically they’re good so long as they are in a building that had been and could be someone else’s neighborhood school, and bad if they get in the way of a neighborhood school you desire.

Well, have you lived there for over forty years? That's how long TJ has been a governor's school.

And, honestly, I see no need for ANY magnets, but I guess it is good if my neighbors go there. Our schools are already quite overcrowded.

Over 500 empty seats at Herndon. Adjustments could have been made already to move kids there.

Then Herndon can get the airline mechanic academy.

Herndon is configured as a traditional FCPS high school. KAA currently is not.

Tell us please how the classrooms are configured differently for a traditional school vs an academy or magnet.