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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.
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Annandale High School overcrowding
Has anyone been following the proposals to alleviate the crowding at Annandale High School? Basically the school board is going to vote on 3 boundary change proposals and one non-boundary option (which basically makes AHS grades 10-12).
I'm interested in what other people here think. Our neighborhood is in the middle of all this and things are getting ugly.
Re: Annandale High School overcrowding
My alma mater! I didn't know about the overcrowding, but there should probably be a boundary change. I know I lived right on the border between Annandale and Woodson. In fact, more kids from my elementary school went on to Frost and Woodson than Poe and Annandale.
I don't think that making AHS 10-12 is going to do anything, because then there'd be overcrowding in the junior high schools.
Did you make it to one of the public meetings. I wish I could go, but with an infant and a toddler, it's difficult to manage. I did read about the last set on Annandale Patch if you haven't already. It sounds like the meetings were less town halls and more table topics.
I was looking at the Challenge Index from the WaPo this morning. I keep on hearing how Annandale High School works despite the challenging demographics but I was disheartened that every other Fairfax High School on the list was ranked between 100-400 and Annandale was ranked a little over a 1000. I know the rankings are not fully indicative of a school's success, but I think it should tell the Fairfax County School Board something about the disparity. Especially when Falls Church, a high school with similar demographics, is ranked so much higher.
I'm going to the meeting next Monday. My husband went to the one this past Monday. He didn't really think it was a forum for open feedback, the way it was structured. At this point, my kid could end up at either Annandale HS, Woodson, or Lake Braddock, based on the school board vote.
Honestly, I think Fairfax Co. schools are slipping a lot and should be doing better in a lot of areas.
I have been sort of following it.
My brother/SIL's neighborhood is in an uproar, because they are sort of a "fancy" (compared to mine) neighborhood where the kids go to Woodson. They are worried because one of the proposals has the kids going somewhere else - I forget where - but not to Annandale. My understanding is Woodson is rated very high, say, on greatschools.net, but the high school they're proposing for my brother's neighborhood kids to switch from Woodson to is rated exactly the same on greatschools.net so I'm not sure what they're so worried about. Except the obvious - nobody likes change, and some people (including my brother) bought houses in that neighborhood BECAUSE Woodson was the high school.
As for my neighborhood, it is affected by one of the options because our elementary school population would increase by 200. But from what I can see, that doesn't overcrowd that school, so I guess it's fine. Also, in that same option, my neighborhood would be split between two middle schools (or was it high schools?).
I don't have any heavy opinion about it because in all the options my kids would be slated to go to the same elementary school - middle school - and high school (AHS) - that they are currently slated to go to. I think.
ETA: I met a bunch of people in my brother's neighborhood at a neighborhood wine tasting thing they had and met a bunch of people who were like "your kids are going to go to Annandale HS? Oh dear. Well, that's OK honey, maybe it'll change when they do the boundary change." I had no idea I was supposed to be worried about my kids going to AHS.
Yep! I grew up on Sugarbush Court and went to Wakefield Forest. It's funny because I backed to Wakefield Woods park, and my friends on the other side of the creek went to Woodson.
Your brother/SIL's neighborhood is likely impacted by "Option 3" which moves kids from Woodson to Lake Braddock. This option has a lot of people in an uproar because it was added at the last minute by the facilities department of Fairfax Co. school. It was NOT a recommendation by the committee that studied the issues for months. Both Woodson and LB are good schools. The issue is that LB would be taking in more than 600 more students. While LB is under capacity for classroom space, their common areas like the cafeteria and gym are overcrowded. Woodson is under capacity as well, and yet the proposal is to more kids OUT of Woodson for no really good reason.
Yep, the people next door to us go to Woodson. We are zoned for Annandale. It's got to be sad for kids to have their friends go to a different school after 6th grade.
The way I see it, a large student-teacher ratio would be more damaging to test scores and school ratings than changing the demographic at a school.
I also know that school districts can affect real estate values, so I can see that there is going to be some push back. It would be best if FCPS could build another school, but as there have been budget cuts, I don't see that happening.
Yes - this exactly. My SIL is going to meetings for this very reason - it was a last minute proposal that nobody knew about, and they are po'd!
In today's world, it's not. People don't realize the major impact of home life on student learning.
On another note, I used to hang out in your neighborhood all the time in high school! I was Woodson class of 2000.
You'll have to report back on how the meeting goes. I am really curious.
Somewhat related question (but not really) - are there any impacts to the border areas between Lake Braddock and Robinson?
Based on the FCPS locator, it looks like my neice will go to Robinson... it's a little confusing though, because it says it's a magnet school? Do they also have a regular h.s.?
I think this is the best (text) summary I've seen so far:
http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/annandalestudy/regional/pdfs/outlinematrix.pdf
Robinson wasn't included in the study, so those students should not be impacted. Robinson is a secondary school (grades 7-12). I think they have a GT center there, which may be why it's listed as a magnet, but it's a regular school too.
It is a regular secondary school but they have a full IB program so I think that's why it's consider a magnet school. A lot of kids from other parts of the county go there to get an IB diploma.
DD1 9.24.06
DS 7.1.08
twins due 9.7.11 lost twin A at
DD2 4.7.12
This is funny to read... I grew up in walking distance to Lake Braddock, but the elementary schools closest to us (Kings Glen i think it was) was so full that we were bussed all the way to Ravensworth for K-6. Made no sense at all, but sometimes that's what Fairfax County does best.
I also knew someone in HS who was bussed past Woodson every day to go to LB.
I graduated from there, as did my brother, my dad, and two of his sisters (his youngest sister went to TJ--form the same house, just different boundaries for a few years).
Haven't been following it at all, but it doesn't shock me. I was there when the merger with TJ and it was overcrowded back then. And more people have moved into the area, with no new HS being opened to take on the overflow.
Two side notes. 1) I just went to official website, I wasn't surprised to see that Coach Adams was still there, but he's the only faculty name I recognized at all. I feel old.
2) I used to hang out in the Wakefield Chapel area a lot too. Lived in North Springfield back before they starting replacing the 1950/60s houses with ugly mansions on tiny lots.
I graduated from there, as did my brother, my dad (he went there back when it was 8-12 grades), and two of his sisters (his youngest sister went to TJ--form the same house, just different boundaries for a few years).
Haven't been following it at all, but it doesn't shock me. I was there when the merger with TJ and it was overcrowded back then. And more people have moved into the area, with no new HS being opened to take on the overflow.
Two side notes: 1) I just went to official website, I wasn't surprised to see that Coach Adams was still there, but he's the only faculty name I recognized at all. I feel old. 2) I used to hang out in the Wakefield Chapel area a lot too. Lived in North Springfield back before they starting replacing the 1950/60s houses with ugly mansions on tiny lots.