Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My guess is that under "normal" circumstances
> these requests are reviewed as they come in, but
> given that everyone has tipped their hand I would
> expect that the requests will be collected and
> reviewed for a pattern before any decisions are
> made. If a school sees 5-10 pupil placement
> requests annually, but that spikes to 50 you know
> that something is going on.

Well of course they'll know exactly whats going on and have undoubtedly factored it into this whole scenario. They could really fuck with parents by assigning them a different school then the one they request for AP but I doubt they want that extra aggravation. If your kid can't cut it w/AP then they may as well go to South Lakes or look at some of those exotic lease/rent/buy primary residence schemes.

OurKidsGoWhereWeWant Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The FC School Board and the white South Lakes High
> School parents tell me I HAVE to stay in my
> current house and I HAVE to send my children to
> South Lakes. They tell me I HAVE to. White South
> Lakes High School parents on this thread tell me
> that I am like Hitler if my children do not go to
> South Lakes. I can't buy another house and move.
> I can't pupil-place my children because these
> requests will be turned down by the South Lakes
> principal.
>
> Don't tell me what I can and can't do.

Ma'am, with all due respect, nobody is telling you that you HAVE to do anything. If you choose to move because of the redistricting, so be it. If you can successfully pupil place, more power to you. Private school is an option too. My comments are addressed to those who would and have advocated surreptitiously and illegally gaming the system. I believe that you and I can both agree that the following statements are just that:

"Is that even necessary? What proof or residency do you need?"

"do I have to prove that I "live" there? Bills can be easily faked with a good printer and software. Could it be as easy as faking a utility bill or rental agreement? Do they check up on such things?"

"rent gets cheaper when "more people" live their--buddy up with a car pooler apartment share."

"Buy or lease a property/apt/room within the boundary of the desired public school and carpool or provide your own transportation."

"How would the administration know which is your primary residence? This is FCPS not the Gestapo. How would it be any different than if you rented or bought in any school district? All that must be produced is a signed lease or deed."

"FCPS doesn't have the money or resources to check where you live. No one has to actually move, or even pay any money. Just get a friend to sign a lease agreement and you can buy one of those to download from the internet for 10 bucks. Library probably has them too."

You get the idea. There are many more statements like these that demonstrate the mens rea of an intent to commit fraud against the county. Every enrolling parent signs the following (pay special attention to the class 3 mesdemeanor language) --


PURPOSE: To certify that I am the natural parent, the adoptive parent, or
the legal guardian of the child or children I am enrolling in school and that
we will be living together in Fairfax County on a permanent basis.

I certify that I am currently residing with my child(ren) in Fairfax County at:

I understand that providing false or otherwise untrue information for
school enrollment purposes constitutes a Class 3 misdemeanor.




Now, my point still stands. If you are concerned about your children's future so much, don't teach them that it is OK to lie and cheat.

Agreed. Someone let the school board in on this thread at the next meeting. It will make them either become the Gestopo with regards to checking up on addresses, or they will stop redistricting due to the massive attempts at cheating the system.

Probably the former will happen, but the latter could. So someone please tell the school board.

To Not So,

Thank you for the advice, we are educated parents who cares about our children's education, will do in legal way. No lie and cheat. Just Daddy and Mommy wants a good school for you so we moved. That's all!

I pupil placed my son at Hayfield for his senior year. I applied for pupil placement I think in Nov. of that year. I first got the paperwork from Fairfax High then took it to Hayfield and filled out more. I waited about a week to hear and my reason was "social." However, I was an employee of FCPS so I pretty much knew it would be approved.

I live across the street from a Korean family with 2 girls. The older attended Fairfax Villa for all six years. After she entered middle school, their youngest attended Fairfax Villa even though the family had a custom home biult in Merrifield. They rented the house out to GMU students and moved yet kept their youngest at Fairfax Villa instead of Cedar Lane or wherever their NEW elementaRY SCHOOL IS. The mom comes by every few days and collects her mail from the other home near Fairfax Villa. I really doubt that she has applied for pupil placement to send the younger girl there but she does own the house which is assigned to Fairfax Villa. Her child has been attending Fairfax Villa for 4 years now. I see the mom bringing her and picking her up after she collects her mail.

And to the poster who said no more that 5 or 10 kids are pupil placed each year, I think it's more than that. In a big high school, it's probably a couple hundred. I used to help our school office workers stuff envelopes with interims and stuff. The envelopes had an address labbel on it. Lots of them were addresses in another suburb. So kids were pupil placed legally and then driving tom school. Plus I bet there were a fair number who had given another address and the mail went to a "guardian" or something.

Trickie

NOT GOING SLHS Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> To Not So,
>
> Thank you for the advice, we are educated parents
> who cares about our children's education, will do
> in legal way. No lie and cheat. Just Daddy and
> Mommy wants a good school for you so we moved.
> That's all!

Perhaps you may feel this way, but as "Not So" has pointed out, many on this thread are contemplating committing fraud against the county with phony addresses. Look at it this way, if you are found guilty, your kids will be going to Fairfax High School as that is the school where residents of the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center would go.

Tricki Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And to the poster who said no more that 5 or 10
> kids are pupil placed each year, I think it's more
> than that. In a big high school, it's probably a
> couple hundred. I used to help our school office
> workers stuff envelopes with interims and stuff.
> The envelopes had an address labbel on it. Lots
> of them were addresses in another suburb. So kids
> were pupil placed legally and then driving tom
> school. Plus I bet there were a fair number who
> had given another address and the mail went to a
> "guardian" or something.
>
> Trickie

Trickie,

I was suggesting that it might be 5-10 PER SCHOOL per year, not across FCPS. I doubt that any one school is seeing 100s of pupil-placed students.

With regard to the Fairfax Villa family, I just might have my wife keep her eyes open since she is a secretary there and I am sure that the principal would want to put a stop to this.

Nope I still say in a large secondary school it is much more than 5 or 10. I do believe it's a lot more. Perhaps in a small elem school, 5 or 10 may be about right.

And as to the family who still has their daughter at Fairfax Villa, they own the house . Plus they own the one in Merrifield. So why would you ask your wife to go blabbing to the principal about that. I think you and your wife should mind your own business in this family's case. They are a nice family and they love the school and it's programs. It's not like this little girl is some kind of demon child trouble maker. So why would you go tattling about this????

"They are a nice family and they love the school and it's programs. It's not like this little girl is some kind of demon child trouble maker. So why would you go tattling about this????"


Oh, since they are a nice family and the little girl is not a trouble maker than it’s okay!!!

They are not stealing education, they own the house and they are contributing to the tax base of the county. They have not lied or been sneaky. Should this child be charged tuition?

> CheekyMonkey Wrote:

> With regard to the Fairfax Villa family, I just might have my wife keep her
> eyes open since she is a secretary there and I am sure that the principal would > want to put a stop to this.


Does anyone else find this as creepy as I do? I'm not afraid of the kids at SL but I am terrified of the parents.

Liar Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > CheekyMonkey Wrote:
>
> > With regard to the Fairfax Villa family, I just
> might have my wife keep her
> > eyes open since she is a secretary there and I
> am sure that the principal would > want to put a
> stop to this.
>
>
> Does anyone else find this as creepy as I do? I'm
> not afraid of the kids at SL but I am terrified of
> the parents.

Too bad Cheeky Monkey posted yesterday that he is from Springfield. I guess your attempt to bash the SL parents failed. Are you going to apologize?

OurKidsGoWhereWeWant Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Holy crap what happened here? Let's get back to
> the issue at hand of sharing ideas about how to
> enroll in the high school of our choice.
>
> So far we have:
>
> 1. Apply to private schools.
>
> 2. Move to a house/apt in the desired boundary.
>
> 3. Pupil-place based a curriculum request for
> AP.
>
> Remember the deadline for pupil-placement
> applications is April 15. We will find out then
> whether or not these requests will be
> categorically declined.
>
> Also remember that most private schools have
> deadlines for applications in the first few months
> of the year. Some do no fill up and will take
> students at any point throughout the year.
>
> None of these are illegal and will get you where
> you want to go. Good luck to everyone who is
> actually trying to figure this situation out and
> come up with a workable, effective solution. Take
> control of your options and don't be scared or
> intimidated by stupid comments. Those of us who
> want out will have to ignore the bullies.


To expand on OurKidsGoWhereWeWant's summary, here is what we have so far:

Option 1: Attend private school.

Option 2: Pupil placement

Option 3: Use family/friends addresses in desired school district.

Option 4: Buy/rent a property in desired school district.

The alternative option (a.k.a. AvoidSL Option 5): Move to desired school district.

CheekyMonkey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> With regard to the Fairfax Villa family, I just
> might have my wife keep her eyes open since she is
> a secretary there and I am sure that the principal
> would want to put a stop to this.


Who knew that this little comment was going to create such a shit storm. It was a poor attempt at sarcasm...my wife is busy with other things at school and while I am sure that the Fairfax Villa would be interested to know about this he has bigger things to worry about.

Casual observer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Liar Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > > CheekyMonkey Wrote:
> >
> > > With regard to the Fairfax Villa family, I
> just
> > might have my wife keep her
> > > eyes open since she is a secretary there and
> I
> > am sure that the principal would > want to put
> a
> > stop to this.
> >
> >
> > Does anyone else find this as creepy as I do?
> I'm
> > not afraid of the kids at SL but I am terrified
> of
> > the parents.
>
> Too bad Cheeky Monkey posted yesterday that he is
> from Springfield. I guess your attempt to bash
> the SL parents failed. Are you going to
> apologize?


Is he related to Curiousgeorge, one of the posters on the other thread?

> Who knew that this little comment was going to create such a shit storm. It was a poor attempt at sarcasm...my wife is busy with other things at school

You gotta be a little bit fuckin nuts for posting your wife's occupation and place of work on this forum. Seriously.

Casual observer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Too bad Cheeky Monkey posted yesterday that he is
> from Springfield. I guess your attempt to bash
> the SL parents failed. Are you going to
> apologize?


What does that have to do with anything? There are staff members at Fairfax Villa who live anywhere from Manassas to Arlington. Why would Springfield seem so unusual?

TheMeeper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > Who knew that this little comment was going to
> create such a shit storm. It was a poor attempt at
> sarcasm...my wife is busy with other things at
> school
>
> You gotta be a little bit fuckin nuts for posting
> your wife's occupation and place of work on this
> forum. Seriously.


Do you think that everything that you read on this board is 100% truthful?

>Do you think that everything that you read on this board is 100% truthful?

Just sayin

Fox Mill Estates Parent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Something from the Economist.
>
>
>
> http://www.economist.com/world/international/displ
> aystory.cfm?story_id=9119786

Thanks for that link! Very interesting! Of course choice makes schools better. When did competition NOT work? When was a government monopoly better than free enterprise and competition?

Choice is coming. Most of the republican Presidential candidates support choice. Of course the democrats can't support it or they'll lose the teacher's unions support.

Liar Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > CheekyMonkey Wrote:
>
> > With regard to the Fairfax Villa family, I just
> might have my wife keep her
> > eyes open since she is a secretary there and I
> am sure that the principal would > want to put a
> stop to this.
>
>
> Does anyone else find this as creepy as I do? I'm
> not afraid of the kids at SL but I am terrified of
> the parents.

Yup. That's what many of us have concluded. The South Lakes kids seem nice, but their parents are creepy, rabid zealots, who seem to put all their energy into the wrong things, and so little energy into actually improving the academics at South Lakes.

Neen, WTF does Cheeky Monkey's post have to do with South Lakes? It must really suck to be you.

Cheeky Monkey said:
>>>Does anyone else find this as creepy as I do? I'm
> not afraid of the kids at SL but I am terrified of
> the parents.<<<

What did YOU think he was saying? Hint: SL means South Lakes.

Perhaps that will help you to understand my response.

In your case, perhaps not. Don't care.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/2008 04:14AM by Neen.

I want to make a plea for any of you who are real estate agents or know real estate agents to help those families in the re-districted zones rent or move into the areas of their choice.

This would seem to be an opportunity to get some business during the real estate slump. Get out your maps and figure out exactly what streets and neighborhoods people need to move into in order to stay in their desired school pyramids.

I would appreciate help from real estate agents. Thanks.

Just heard from a friend that they are moving to Loudoun. She works there and doesn't want to make the commute all the way to OHS. She'd been thinking about moving but didn't want to upset her two kids but now that it's gonna happen anyway she's putting her house up. So OHS you heard it here theres a house for sale in the Fair Oaks Hunt.

Can't say as I blame her. Won't be too bad to get there but coming back is a bitch. Driving home from the metro to Fair ridge takes 45 minutes most nights at 6. Tried the bus but it can't go any faster either cause 66 is a parking lot

Navy Parent,
That makes perfect sense to me and further points out why I wouldn't want any of your children to attend SL (even though your friend would go to Oakton). Let's move 10 miles west so that my kids don't have to travel 3 more miles to school. Hope your friend likes to be redistricted because with all the growth in Loudoun, it happens quite frequently.

I hope your friend and/or spouse work in Ashburn. Good luck, schmuck!

Attn: This just in from the South Lakes High School Welcoming committee:

> Navy Parent,
> That makes perfect sense to me and further points out why I wouldn't want any
> of your children to attend SL (even though your friend would go to Oakton).
> Let's > move 10 miles west so that my kids don't have to travel 3 more miles to > school. Hope your friend likes to be redistricted because with all the growth
> in Loudoun, it happens quite frequently.

> I hope your friend and/or spouse work in Ashburn. Good luck, schmuck!

Nice. Now where are those real estate agents?

Neen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Cheeky Monkey said:
> >>>Does anyone else find this as creepy as I do?
> I'm
> > not afraid of the kids at SL but I am terrified
> of
> > the parents.<<<
>
> What did YOU think he was saying? Hint: SL means
> South Lakes.
>
> Perhaps that will help you to understand my
> response.
>
> In your case, perhaps not. Don't care.

Cheeky Monkey was not talking about the South Lakes community. He was talking about an area well to the east of Reston. At least get your friggin facts straight before making an ass of yourself.

OurKidsGoWhereWeWant:

Booya is not a SL parent. Below is a sampling of Booya's posts on the redistricting thread. Boy, people around here sure do have a knee-jerk reaction in their efforts to pin any and everything on the SL parents.

"SL PTSA is putting together welcome baskets for your little darlings on their first day. It will include a book by Dr. Phil entitled, "How to succeed in spite of your self-important, passive-aggressive helicopter parents".

There will also be a pamphlet on how we beat you at your own game and information on local martial arts academies."

Neen Free,
I am a SL parent - just not one to mince words. Admit it, you were laughing..........

I find it amusing that people will commit felonies and uproot their families (not just send them to different schools, but move to a different neighborhood/county) to avoid SL. That neighborhood bond aint so strong NOW, is it?

Like I said on the other thread - If they don't want to be at SL, why would we want them?

booya,
If I have to move, it's because of I'm forced *unfairly* to go to a HS that's not my choice, it's because the communities are SPLIT, dissected by the RD. The whole RD process is not really help SLH either, except for the 7% or so IB diploma students. Why shall I bother to go there, if it's not the best choise for my kids, and there are not many choices other than IB any ways. Get it?

booya Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Neen Free,
> I am a SL parent - just not one to mince words.
> Admit it, you were laughing..........
>
> I find it amusing that people will commit felonies
> and uproot their families (not just send them to
> different schools, but move to a different
> neighborhood/county) to avoid SL. That
> neighborhood bond aint so strong NOW, is it?
>
> Like I said on the other thread - If they don't
> want to be at SL, why would we want them?

I'm sure this guy booya is really SL parent but just one sat on the sidelines during the RD process and doesn't do a thing for the school. Now that the majority of SL parents seem to have gotten their wish, he's just trying to spook all you fearful parents who are being redistricted there.

Thanks for putting the info about martial arts accademies in the welcome baskets booya but fox mill shopping center already has one that's done great business for years before there was any talk of redistricting. Be sure your kid wears a nametag identifying him or her as your kid next fall. FWIW, this post is meant to be taken as seriously as anything he posts.

ALL OF YOU, JUST SEND YOUR KIDS TO PRIVATE SCHOOL AND BE DONE WITH IT!

New Hawk,
Actually I was in favor of, and tried to promote Option 4 to re-unite Reston. So you see, I didn't get what I wanted either, but I'm not whining.

booya Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> New Hawk,
> Actually I was in favor of, and tried to promote
> Option 4 to re-unite Reston. So you see, I didn't
> get what I wanted either, but I'm not whining.


You are not whining because you and your kid(s) are not being forced to redistrict against your will (choice taken away) so just zip up, will you?

Baffled Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You are not whining because you and your kid(s)
> are not being forced to redistrict against your
> will (choice taken away) so just zip up, will you?

Were you able to vote in the last election, if so, you need to zip it. We live in a representative democracy.

Mission Completed. My son should not be redistricted.

I just left South Lakes High School about an hour ago after submitting my son's High School Curricular Program Student Transfer Application to Principla Butler himself. He shook my hand. I thanked him for seeing me.

Thank You for creating this thread. One extreemly satisfied reader. I would never have known about the High School Curricular Program Student Transfer Application without looking here.

I will write more detail about my experience and what I learned latter as I have an appointment to keep.

Thank You Again

Fox Mill Estates Parent,

Thank you so much for posting. I am looking forward to any other information you can give us regarding your experience, and the success of your application. I sincerely hope it is successful.

Once again, thank you.

Dear Fox Mill parent,

I am glad Principal Butler smiled and shook your hand after you submitted the transfer application BUT ithas yet to be approved, right? I would not go around blabbing to all your friends and the other parents until it's a done deal.

Trickie

CheekyMonkey Wrote:

>
>
> Who knew that this little comment was going to
> create such a shit storm. It was a poor attempt
> at sarcasm...my wife is busy with other things at
> school and while I am sure that the Fairfax Villa
> would be interested to know about this he has
> bigger things to worry about.

Hey Cheeky Monkey,

If I was the secretary at Fairfax Villa, I would be busy with that cute male principal. He's a hottie. Mine were all old or ugly. Now make sure your wife doesn't go tattling. This family's kids raise the SOL scores at that school, I can assure you of that.

Trickie

Well, let's hope it does get approved.

Trickie, can you tell us about all the steps that a curriculum-based pupil placement goes through? Are you thinking that Butler would tell parents that he will sign them and then later in the approval process, they will be denied?

Tricki Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey Cheeky Monkey,
>
> If I was the secretary at Fairfax Villa, I would
> be busy with that cute male principal. He's a
> hottie. Mine were all old or ugly. Now make sure
> your wife doesn't go tattling. This family's kids
> raise the SOL scores at that school, I can assure
> you of that.
>
> Trickie


Are you referring to Dale Mann? I don't think that he would be interested in my wife. On the other hand, she really had a thing for Jeff Clark, even though he is about 15 years older.

I think that the majority of staff could not care less about a couple of students poaching at Fairfax Villa. That really is a great school with a very interesting demographic mix. You have people from Robinson Square living in Section 8 housing through homes costing nearly $1M and everyone seems to get along fine. While there are some rough kids, some as yound as seven or eight, my wife would be hard pressed to find another school that she likes better.

The staff is by and large very committed and I think that the size makes this a very comfortable place. My wife was a long-term sub at large schools like Laurel Ridge and really did not like it.

Fox Mill Estates Parent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Mission Completed. My son should not be
> redistricted.
>
> I just left South Lakes High School about an hour
> ago after submitting my son's High School
> Curricular Program Student Transfer Application to
> Principla Butler himself. He shook my hand. I
> thanked him for seeing me.
>
> Thank You for creating this thread. One extreemly
> satisfied reader. I would never have known about
> the High School Curricular Program Student
> Transfer Application without looking here.
>
> I will write more detail about my experience and
> what I learned latter as I have an appointment to
> keep.
>
> Thank You Again


I can think of only one problem with this FMEP, you're not in a South Lakes district yet so the transfer application is meaningless. I suppose it can't hurt to be proactive though, good luck.

Hey all, "Fox Mill Estates Parent " might be on to something. If ALL the parents in the redistricted area fill in these forms before the public hearing, then it will be clear to the SB that they will get NO NEW students from this crazy extortion attempt. Maybe they might give up then...

Thank you for all your well wishes. I will tell you what happened.

First, I went to Oakton High School and spoke to a Guidance Department Staff person. I told the staff person upfront why I was there and why I was requesting the form.I told her that my son was taking AP History at Oakton and I wanted to transfer to Oakton on that basis as my son might be sent to South Lakes.

The kind lady gave me the High School Curricular Program Student Transfer Application. She told me to fill it out and write South Lakes as my "base school" and Oakton the school for transfer -even though my son has not been sent there by the School Board. She then looked on her computer at my son's information and noted that he was taking ADVANCED JAPANESE at Oakton. For some reason she thought this was important as she became animated about the Japanese.

[So I would say that parents of rising 8th graders in Carson whose children are taking the advanced Japanese program have a very real way to pupil place into Oakton as freshmen without taking AP.]

I was told by guidance staff person to check the AP box and write "Advanced Japanese" next to the AP box. The guidance person made a copy of my son's academic courses and told me to take that paper with me.

I was also told that since the forms where being accepted as early as January 1 that technically I could submit the form. I filled out the form, high lighted the AP History Course and the Advanced Japanese Course, stappled the course schedule to application, and went to South Lakes High School.

At South Lakes High School I met the school receptionist in a very modern looking office --the office furniture is of a very modernistic style. Quite impressive.

I explained my situation to the receptionist who took the form and said that perhaps I should speak with the school principal. The school principal came out right away to great me. He looked at the form and said that though I was a bit early as the final ruling by the SB had not been made final, he would keep the form and process it should it be necessary.

The principal remarked that "
[Other posters here have remarked about the grandfathering of high school students. Mr. Butler was under the same impression. So that is good news for parents who want their children to stay with the high school they are attending.]

As one poster here has pointed out it was odd that I should be requesting a transfer from a school my son has yet to be sent to. But the form will not mean anything if my son is never sent there in the first place because both Principals have to sign this form and there is no reason for the Base School Principal to sign the from if my son doesn't get sent there. The principal understood my position, which was quite gracious of him really, and remarked "the early bird catches the worm."

So everything maybe for naught if the children are grandfathered in, which could change depending on the School Board's final decision --Principal Butler made reference to this. But I would not have known what I know now and be confident that my son will stay in Oakton by taking a little insurance regardless of the outcome. It was because of this thread that I was able to take action. So thanks again and I hope this helps.

Addendum: Sorry for the chopped sentence: "The principal remarked that ".

I should repeat two things:

1. The Advanced Japanese Program seemed important to the Guidance Staff Person at Oakton so anyone who is in that program should use it if they want to pupil place. Oakton has the whole shebang so-to-speak on this front.

2. The AP choice was used when I submitted my form. There was no confussion on the part of the staff person at Oakton or the Principal at South Lakes.

3. I brought my son's transcript with me and attached it to the application --high lighting the courses germane to the request.

One other point, my wife was so worried that the application might get lost in the works that she asked that whom ever receives the application should sign to that affect.

I made a second copy of the application and the transcript and stappled them togeather and wrote "Received by" and "Date" at the bottom of the application copy.

We got those signed. My wife was worried that a loose bananna peel from "a" cheeky monkey might undo the transfer.

[I couldn't help but stick that last line in there in good natured jest.]

Oh, and being nice really helped allot.

Good Luck to All of You

It is nice being a hero to your child when his or her world looks as if it is all comming undone.

You heard it here first from Fox Mill Estates Parent. I am going to OHS tomorrow to fill out forms for my kids. Can't see any downside to getting them over to SL asap. I'ts gotta be done by April and that give you what, two weeks?, once this thing is final. I don't want to wait and after reading this forum there is no way I'm risking losing out on this redistricting. And there's no way it's not going to happen and just the way it was posted before the SB revealed it on SLPTSA. OHS is just too good of a school to not try to stay. That's what it comes down to. It's worth it academically and especially if you really care about accelerated math/science/tech.

Calling all parents and other community members:

If you are frustrated by the fighting and incivility the school boundary study has fostered, please look at the "A New Start" thread.

This thread was established to facilitate a candid, open-minded discussion of the needs of all West County schools and their communities.

The goal is to build (and rebuild) bridges between neighborhoods and gain a thorough understanding of everyone's needs and interests.

The intended result is a plan which truly reflects the needs and interests of all.

If this interests you, please visit the "A New Start" thread and read the first message before posting.

I look forward to "seeing" you there.

If you want to pupil place your child based upon curriculum, your "base school" must not offer that curriculum, and you have to designate (choose) the closest school to you geographically that does offer the curriculum. AP vs. IB is probably the main reason for the requests.

Provided that you request a curriculum that your base school does not offer, the Prinicipal at the base school has no discretion to deny the request, he/she must sign off on it. It is the requested school that may cause problems. That Principal has the discretion to say, "my school is over capacity, I am not required to approve this placement". Hopefully this will not happen to you, it did to me when I tried to place my child in a school (the nearest geographically) that offerred AP.

I was figuring that the students whose base school is not yet South Lakes might be caught in limbo, in that the South Lakes Principal is probably not within his authority to sign off on curriculum-based pupil placements for those 8th graders yet. Maybe something has been worked out.

And,to answer the posts going back and forth about the number of pupil placements, the average is probably in the neighborhood of 40-50 per High School per year, but not all are based on curriculum offerred. (this includes renewals, I believe, if so, it is probably 10-15 students per class per year--you did know that you have to reapply every year, didn't you? :) )

Gee maybe someone better make an announcement that anyone who attends or works at OHS should plan to arrive very early tomorrow. The parking lot will be packed!!!!! Why would a kid want to take Japanese? Did you even check with your kid?

To Cheeky Monkey, I know all about Fairfax Villa. I live a few yards from the school. My child attended Catholic school but I agree that it is a very good school. I retired the same year as Jeff Clark and his wife. yes, he was an excellent administrator from what I hear. I probably know your wife too. Sometimes I drop stuff off there to be sent in the pony.

Trickie

Fox Mill Estate Parent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Addendum: Sorry for the chopped sentence: "The
> principal remarked that ".
>
> I should repeat two things:
>
> 1. The Advanced Japanese Program seemed important
> to the Guidance Staff Person at Oakton so anyone
> who is in that program should use it if they want
> to pupil place. Oakton has the whole shebang
> so-to-speak on this front.

I've got two kids in the JI program at Fox Mill. Is the Advanced Japanese program at Oakton a natural extension of the ES JI program, sans actual imersion, and is it a sufficient reason alone to pupil-place into Oakton based on your conversations w/both schools (ie- no AP also, just Adv.Japanese)?

Who knows what the deal will be by the time my kids are HS age, just wondering about the current situation. Thanks.

Read the Regulation!!!--or at least r Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hopefully this will not happen to
> you, it did to me when I tried to place my child
> in a school (the nearest geographically) that
> offerred AP.

I think that this is what happened to parents in the Crosspointe area who did not want their kids to attend Hayfield (prior to South County) and used IB at Robinson as the rationale for pupil placement since it was geographically closer. Unfortunately, Hayfield is an IB school and their request was denied. Some then tried to attend Lake Braddock for AP, but Hayfield also offers AP courses (although maybe not as many as LB, but that is not the point).

I understand that South Lakes is going to have Advanced Japanese.

SLVerity Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I understand that South Lakes is going to have
> Advanced Japanese.

NOT before April 15th, which is the deadline for curriculum-based pupil placements. So people, hurry and get em turned in now.

FME Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SLVerity Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I understand that South Lakes is going to have
> > Advanced Japanese.
>
> NOT before April 15th, which is the deadline for
> curriculum-based pupil placements. So people,
> hurry and get em turned in now.


This is what I am trying to understand here, to turn in the pupil placement transfers in to the "base" school even though the boundary plan has not been finalized yet? Yesterday I talked to the Oakton principal and he advised to wait til the SB decides and then submit the pupil placement transfer from the "base" school to the desired school district. The schools start their pupil placement process in April after the deadline. Hmmm, I will do that anyway and make extra copies of the forms just in case somebody missed or misplaced my form at the "base" school.

I have read some of the posts that follow mine, and I can see that I need to repeat some things for the unhappy posters on this thread.

1. I just picked the school I want to send my son to. I wrote in "Oakton High School." I DID IT. Please do not go on about "regulations." I JUST DID IT.


2. Principal Butler of South Lakes did not tell me that South Lakes has an Advanced Japanese Program. He looked squarley at my form. I repeat that NO ONE said to me at South Lakes that they have an Advanced Japanese Program.

[Remember the telemarketers that used to call your house to sell you things before you put your telephone number on the "Do Not Call List." Now look at some of the behavior of some of the posters on this and other threads. What are some of them really?]

The above two points reminds of the question:

Why would anyone want to force another person's child into a school against that person's wishes? Especially when evidence suggests that choice produces the very best learning experience for one's child. Again I offer the Economist as a reference.

http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9119786


Again I want to thank all of you that gave me advice on this thread. You helped my son. You helped my wife and me.

OurKidsGoWhereWeWAnt way to go! Thank you.

And yes, it is nice to be a reall hero to you child when the the chips are down. Thank you for helping me do that for my son.

Fox Mill Estates Parent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And yes, it is nice to be a reall hero to you
> child when the the chips are down. Thank you for
> helping me do that for my son.


I am glad it worked out for you, but can I ask you something? Did Principal Butler formally sign the form and approved it even though the boundary study has not been finalized? I just want to make sure before I go see Butler with my form and extra copies of the form. Thanks.

Baffled,

Principal Butler did not sign the transfer form infront of me. He said he would keep the form and send it along [with his signature of course] to Oakton [I presume because the form requires signature from the principal of Oakton High School.] Principal Butler was a very nice man and friendly. The receptionist was nice as well.

[In my case, I explained to them that my wife was from another country where forms regularly get lost and that she was concerned that someone acknowledge having receivied the form --which is all true. The receptionist was nice about that saying you should see her desk sometimes --in terms of the forms issue.]

Just be honest. Go to your guidance department and get their advice. Do what they tell you to do. It should work out.

In my wife's case she is very concerned about people acknowledging they receive papers --I probably would not have been that cautious. But I did this anyway to make my wife feel at ease.


I hope this helps.

How come Oakton and Chantilly HS are not offering some of the advanced classes that South Lakes is offering?

Shouldn't all schools be offering the same classes? Seems like somebody is favoring South Lakes?

Before everyone goes rushing out to fill out and submit transfer forms you might want to review this document linked below, presumably they'll update it for 2008/9 after redistricting:

http://www.fcps.edu/ss/student-transfer/infofiles/Schoolsclosed.pdf#xml=http://search.fcps.edu/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/webinator/search/xml.txt?query=school+capacity&pr=public&prox=sentence&rorder=750&rprox=750&rdfreq=500&rwfreq=500&rlead=500&sufs=1&order=r&cq=&id=4760d46e6e

To repeat a some information:

1. Curricular-based pupil-placement forms would be submitted to your "future" home school for the 2008-2009 school year. By April 15th. That means that you would get the form and fill it out and deliver it to Bruce Butler at South Lakes High School. Please take Fox Mill Parents advice and work with your current counselor (that would be an 8th grade counselor for rising 9th graders) to determine what courses you will put on the form. Fill in the high school of your choice as to where you want your child to go.

2. As another Fox Mill parent points out, Westfield and Chantilly are full for the current school year and could be for next year as well. Chantilly has a number of Academy class offerings like Girls in Engineering, Robotics, Computer-related classes, Cosmetology, Culinary Skills, and Animal Science to name a few. Students from other high schools pupil-place into Chantilly Academy classes each year so I would imagine that it would be an option for the Navy parents who want to stay.

3. As I read it, there could be a single grade (such as 9th) that could be underenrolled and therefore your pupil-placement application can be approved even at a high school that is over capacity like Chantilly and/or Westfield.

4. Even if all rising 9th-graders from Navy go to Oakton they are still projected to be under-enrolled for the freshman class for the 2008-2009 year so that's good news for parents of rising 9th-grade children trying to place at Oakton. I have since heard from two parents (one Chantilly and one South Lakes) who successfully pupil-placed into Oakton for this current school year citing the American Sign Language program as their reason for the transfer.

OurKidsGoWhereWeWant Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> To repeat a some information:
> 2. As another Fox Mill parent points out,
> Westfield and Chantilly are full for the current
> school year and could be for next year as well.
> Chantilly has a number of Academy class offerings
> like Girls in Engineering, Robotics,
> Computer-related classes, Cosmetology, Culinary
> Skills, and Animal Science to name a few.
> Students from other high schools pupil-place into
> Chantilly Academy classes each year so I would
> imagine that it would be an option for the Navy
> parents who want to stay.

I don't know if you can pupil-place for Academy classes since they are sort of a "school within a school" and may not be counted in the overall enrollment figures. The academies draw from all over the county and they are partial-day programs. We have a friend in the drama program at Fairfax Academy who wanted to transfer from Robinson in order to avoid the travel and it was denied.

Also, there may be a separate application/registration process for the academies.

>
> 3. As I read it, there could be a single grade
> (such as 9th) that could be underenrolled and
> therefore your pupil-placement application can be
> approved even at a high school that is over
> capacity like Chantilly and/or Westfield.
>
I think that a school is either above or below capacity, a binary state, and not viewed per grade level. If not, I don't understand the need to reapply each year since I doubt that there are large enrollment swings within a class year.

Arlington County police have arrested and charged a Fairfax County Public Schools teacher and coach with attempting to solicit a minor for sex over the Internet.

Matthew Edward McGuire, 29, of Alexandria has been charged with attempted indecent liberties with a minor and use of a computer to solicit sex with a minor.

McGuire is a teacher and coach at Chantilly High School.

Arlington police say they began investigating McGuire several months ago, when he allegedly made contact over the Internet with someone he believed to be a juvenile. The person was actually an Arlington detective assigned to the regional Internet Crimes Against Children task force. Investigators say McGuire engaged in sexually explicit communications with the detective.

Detectives are investigating whether he had had any alleged inappropriate contact with other children.

SapphicHokieMom Wrote:

> I think that a school is either above or below
> capacity, a binary state, and not viewed per grade
> level. If not, I don't understand the need to
> reapply each year since I doubt that there are
> large enrollment swings within a class year.

The need to reapply each year emanates from a supposed review that the student continues to qualify for the program that he/she placed in for at the outset.

The "binary state", while logical, is pretty much a joke for some schools. The Principal of the requested school can approve a placement to his school, even if his school is over capacity. The regulation leaves this totally to the Principal's discretion. For those of you who have had children attend Oakton HS, did you know that there is a school pretty close to you whose baseball team has probably a higher than average percentage of pupil-placed students? The school is over capacity, yet the Prinicpal has approved a number of incoming pupil placements anyway.

Fox Mill Estates Parent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Baffled,
>
> Principal Butler did not sign the transfer form
> infront of me. He said he would keep the form and
> send it along to Oakton Principal Butler was a
> very nice man and friendly. The receptionist was
> nice as well.
>
>
>
> Just be honest. Go to your guidance department
> and get their advice. Do what they tell you to
> do. It should work out.
>
> In my wife's case she is very concerned about
> people acknowledging they receive papers --I
> probably would not have been that cautious. But I
> did this anyway to make my wife feel at ease.
>
>
> I hope this helps.

Please do NOT trust your local guidance office. They know little about other schools and their course offerings. Some guidance counselors are very good, others know little about county rules.

Some schools think they can make up their own rules. So, please, know your rights before you ask for anything in the school system. Do NOT rely on school officials for information, many just do not know, and others are not above being less than honest, and making up their own rules. Do your homework and go in with evidence of the rules and your compliance with them.

Fairfax School Board to Discuss Boundaries
January 10, 2008 - 10:51am

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - Fairfax County school officials are considering a proposal that would affect high school attendance boundaries in the western part of the county.
Under the plan, South Lakes would gain hundreds of students bound for Westfield, Madison and Oakton high schools. In addition, some students bound for Chantilly High School would be rerouted to Oakton.

The plan will be discussed Thursday night at a school board meeting. The new boundaries would take effect this fall and would not affect current high school students.

South Lakes is operating far below capacity and serves more low-income and minority families than the other schools.

Some parents have voiced concerns about the proposal, saying they are reluctant to send their children to South Lakes because it has lower test scores than neighboring schools.

Information from: The Washington Post

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - Fairfax County school officials are considering a proposal that would affect high school attendance boundaries in the western part of the county.
Under the plan, South Lakes would gain hundreds of students bound for Westfield, Madison and Oakton high schools. In addition, some students bound for Chantilly High School would be rerouted to Oakton.

The plan will be discussed Thursday night at a school board meeting. The new boundaries would take effect this fall and would not affect current high school students.

South Lakes is operating far below capacity and serves more low-income and minority families than the other schools.

Some parents have voiced concerns about the proposal, saying they are reluctant to send their children to South Lakes because it has lower test scores than neighboring schools.

First of all, let me voice my best wishes to all of the children, parents and administrators at Chantilly High School. This is a difficult situation and one of the nightmares we as parents have for any child, not just our own. I would ask that out of common decency that no one laugh or make light of the recent events at Chantilly in this thread. Thank you.


A point has been made here that we should really look at the course offerings between your "future" base school and your school of choice and make sure that the classes/curriculum you indicate on the form is accurate and the best choice/s for a successful pupil-placement.

Also, it would seem that folks out there have knowledge of certain students with athletic abilities have successfully pupil-placed. It's up to the principal signing the form.

This is for OurKidsGoWhereWeWant...

How did you like Flint Hill School? Is it worth the money. We are currently at Oakton Elementary and are probably going to switch next year.

Thought I would bump this thread...looks like it will be needed.

School board just voted to lock in to 5 years of IB. There you go folks, there's your pupil-placement reason handed to you on a platter.

Please get the word out that you only have until April 15th to pupil-place. Another sneaky move on behalf of our crappy school board to try to pull this on us with very little time to react.

So for anyone filling out the pupil placement forms- or anyone else- now is a great time to step up and fight for FCPS to not build the NEW South County Middle School. Last year Bradsher, Dave Albo, Tom Davis,Jerry Hyland had Bradsher's area removed complete from a boundary process. There was an amendment on them finding the money for the school and that got changed in the January 2008 CIP vote.

So get it off the CIP or we all will be paying for that.