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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
What happens at a public meeting?
The Fairfax County School Board is having a public meeting to discuss solutions to alleviate the overcrowding of Annandale High School. Since any changes they come up with will likely affect my son, who is supposed to go to AHS under the currently district boundaries, I will be going to the meeting. Anyone have experience with the school board? What happens at a public meeting? Are they usually open to comments/questions?
Also, is anyone here a teacher or administrator in FCPS? Do you know the issues surrounding the proposal to make Annandale High School grade 10-12 only?
Re: What happens at a public meeting?
My mom has been on the school board in my hometown for almost 20 years and there public meetings are usually a chance for the school to succinctly present the options and for the public to ask questions and provide comment. I assume this will be similar.
I've been following this with interest as well since we are zoned to Annandale High School as well. I don't know about your HOA, but ours has been printing articles on how many families want the HS to stay as is. I read through all the plans last week and I am just not sure where I stand. As far as I am concerned, any solution also needs to solve the middle school overcrowding issue too. I really don't know the schools well enough to have a loyalty to the status quo - which is where I assume my HOA's opinions come from.
The families in my neighborhood are pretty ticked off at the solutions the school board is considering. They are supposed to consider both boundary solutions (which would basically just rezone the school district and probably send our neighborhood to either the Woodson or Lake Braddock district) and non-boundary solutions, which is looking like turning AHS into a 10-12 school. The non-boundary solution would end up having my kid go to 4 different schools in 7 years, which is ridiculous, in my opinion. Right now there are no boundary solutions being considered.
I'm impressed that so many of the families that go to AHS want to keep the make-up of the school (ethnic and financial diversity) consistent, and AHS seems like a great school. But keeping the same neighborhoods in the AHS pyramid means bussing some kids to two separate middle schools -- something no other disctrict in Fairfax County does.
my 'hood went through this a few years ago, when Oakton HS was redistricted so that some of the kids now go to South Lakes. Frankly, I think when these hearings take place, the school board has really all but made up its mind and is going through the motions to "gather public feedback," but unless there is a great hue and cry against the proposed change, it wil happen.
Your bigger issue seems to be the number of school changes and I'd agree, 4 in 7 seems highly undesireable. Why so many? (my kids had only three -- elementary, middle, and high -- bc Oakton is 9-12). Does your child have to attend more than one elementary school to get from K to 6?
"What is a week-end?"
I don't know what to think either, I'm getting those same notes from our HOA. I think the issue is that people don't want our zip code to be split in two - which from what I gather is what will happen under one of the rezoning plans... anyone inside the beltway goes one place, and outside the beltway goes another place. I assume parents are disturbed that their kids will be separated from their friends with whom they've gone to school for the first ten years of their lives?
My brother used to work right near AHS and says that more than once he saw fights taking place in front of the school, spilling out into the streets. He moved back to this area recently and deliberately moved to a neighborhood NOT zoned for AHS for this reason. Then again, he had more money to spend on a house than I did, so he lives in a neighborhood zoned for the schmancy high school - Woodson I think?
Under one of the proposals, DS would got to one school for K-6th grade; another for 7th grade; another for 8-9th grade; and AHS for 10-12th grade. It's a different structure than any other district in the county.
We are literally on the border of the AHS/Woodson HS district. Our next-door neighbors go to Woodson. AHS reportedly has a gang problem, but I don't know how bad it is. I'm sure Woodson has problems too, but it is currently one of the highest-ranked public schools in the country. I've talked to a bunch of people whose kids go to AHS and they love the school. The school board seems set on preserving the "diversity" of AHS and doesn't want to change the boundaries. Frankly, they reason they don't want to change the boundaries is because the higher-income neighborhoods now in the AHS boundaries would shift to Woodson. Obviously less "diversity," but many people also think this would result in lower performance of AHS. So, most people in the AHS district want to keep the school as it is -- not risk it getting worse.
I am ticked because when my child is in 6th grade, half of his class (about 25-30 kids) will go to one middle school and the other half will go to another. He will have to go to one MS for 7th grade, then another for 8-9th grade, then another for HS.
Did you send me a PM? I didn't get anything.
Yes, I just tried again...sorry it didn't go through the first time
Thanks -- I got your message and replied!
I was concerned about moving to AHS for some of those reasons, but all of my neighbors whom I've talked to had great experiences for their children there. They generally all took advantage of the AP/IB programs and went to top Virginia Universities. Essentially everything I want for my children. I do keep on telling DD every time we pass TJ that that is her future HS. I come from the land of small school districts and these large ones scare me. I have to believe that raising my kids with the ethical and behavioral standards I favor will preclude problems down the road. FWIW, I've read in the Post that the gang taskforce's work at AHS has turned some impressive results and that the problems of a decade ago, are not the problems of today. Of course I won't even have kids in HS for another 10 years, so who knows where things will be redistricted then.
I was concerned about moving to AHS for some of those reasons, but all of my neighbors whom I've talked to had great experiences for their children there. They generally all took advantage of the AP/IB programs and went to top Virginia Universities. Essentially everything I want for my children. I do keep on telling DD every time we pass TJ that that is her future HS. I come from the land of small school districts and these large ones scare me. I have to believe that raising my kids with the ethical and behavioral standards I favor will preclude problems down the road. FWIW, I've read in the Post that the gang taskforce's work at AHS has turned some impressive results and that the problems of a decade ago, are not the problems of today. Of course I won't even have kids in HS for another 10 years, so who knows where things will be redistricted then.
I would be fine with either Annandale HS or Woodson. I just think all of the kids in an elementary school (especially a small elementary school) should go to the same middle and high schools. It seems ridiculous to break up a class of 50-60 students primarily for the sake of diversity. AHS is overcrowded; Woodson is not -- makes sense to send the kids from the split-feeder school to the less crowded school. But like you said, by the time my kid gets to HS, I am sure things will have changed.
TJHS is such a great school. I'd like my kid to go there, but I am afraid if he inherited my math/science genes there is no hope.