Which existing schools will send students to Coppermine? Are they coming out of Floris?

Just found this article:
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?archive=true&article=80209&paper=66&cat=104

Looks like just the area that will be sent to South Lakes. No split feeder.

Neen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> McNair can't be sent to Herndon because of the
> demographics.

It looks like the demographics of McNair south of the Toll Road are pretty good, close to the County average on FRL. Waiting to get a breakdown on ESOL for that part of McNair. Herndon is actually below County average on FRL, so it could take some more on that metric. ESOL is another story. Sending all of McNair to HHS also eliminates another split feeder.

> But you are right, all of
> Floris can't be sent to South Lakes,

Even a blind pig finds the occassional truffle.

> Floris will
> have to be like Navy and feed to different high
> schools. Since it's rather large, that shouldn't
> be a problem.

Send all of Navy to Oakton,(end that split feeder), and more of Poplar tree (already a split feeder) to Westfield, then Floris can fit at Chantilly with no need to split it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/2007 02:19AM by Thomas More.

Neen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just found this article:
> http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?ar
> chive=true&article=80209&paper=66&cat=104
>
> Looks like just the area that will be sent to
> South Lakes. No split feeder.

Coopermine is on the far side of Centreville Road from SL. That would create an island out of McNair south of the Toll Road. You're slipping.

Neen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Which existing schools will send students to
> Coppermine? Are they coming out of Floris?

Maybe some but mostly from McNair, especaily west of Centreville Road

Wow, I just found evidence that it is NOT true that people stay in Reston longer than in the areas around them. Fewer than half of the people in Reston have been there for 5 years or more, 48%. In the Lake Anne part of Reston only 33% of the people have been there for 5 years! While Oakton and Vienna have 52% to 56% of people who have been in the same place for over 5 years. In McLean it's 57.9% who have lived in the same home for 5 years or more. Reston has more turnover than the surrounding areas! So why aren't families moving there as they are in McLean, Vienna, and Oakton? Or why aren't the families in Reston sending their children to South Lakes?
http://zipskinny.com/index.php?zip=20190&x=41&y=14
http://zipskinny.com/index.php?zip=20191&x=36&y=17

We can now dispense with the argument that South Lakes is under enrolled because people age in place in Reston, but not in Vienna or Oakton or McLean.

If people who live in Reston aren't sending their kids to South Lakes, why would you think parents from other schools will?

How am I making McNair an island when I've said that McNair will go to South Lakes?

Neen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How am I making McNair an island when I've said
> that McNair will go to South Lakes?

OK maybe I misunderstood. Where does Coppermine go?

The article says Coppermine will draw from McNair and Floris. It's the area that I said will go to South Lakes.

Neen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The article says Coppermine will draw from McNair
> and Floris. It's the area that I said will go to
> South Lakes.

Which will go where? Do you see Coopermine and McNair both going to SL?

When do you people sleep?

deleted at posters request



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/2007 10:21PM by Thomas More.

This post accurately reflects my position on facilities utilization and any use of tax dollars for construction. Another clog is student drivers that could have less distance or road time if FCPS changed their attendance area. Add to that the modular buildings and trailer costs out of the operating budget. Where is my money going? The interest on the bonds is separate from the operating budget transfer. Does that push the schools to more than 52%?

david Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ...that can't be happy about underused school
> buildings or buses clogging their morning drive.
>
> And one building full of those folks pay more
> taxes than a whole neighborhood of little cougar
> families.

fcps has good maps with student counts on it's website towards the end of the pdf doc:
http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/westcoboundary/townmeeting11-12-07.pdf

The maps also show the peculiar boundaries for some elementary schools. There are some schools not included in this study which are glaring and named on the map [ie Forestville] and unmentionned Colvin Run that need yellow dots on the map. [I looked at other school maps to see what was in the unspecified areas -Fairfax City has a whole other school board ].

Neen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> More from the FCPS handout:
>
> >>>Smaller Schools Offer Fewer
> Advanced Level Math Classes
> • Generally, the following math classes are
> not available at smaller schools:
> – Discrete Math
> – PreCalculus Honors
> – Math Analysis
> – Multivariable Calculus
> – AP Statistics
> – Matrix Algebra<<<
>
> Guess what? Most schools, including Madison,
> don't have any of those classes, other than AP
> Statistics. Staff claims that Madison has
> Mulitvar, but it doesn't. Is staff claiming that
> South Lakes will have those classes if they get
> more students? Those classes aren't in IB.


Great point. I'm pretty sure the kids at Oakton in Multivar and/or Matrix drive themselves to Woodson to get those classes.

Thomas More Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Send all of Navy to Oakton,(end that split
> feeder), and more of Poplar tree (already a split
> feeder) to Westfield, then Floris can fit at
> Chantilly with no need to split it.


And how does any of this solve the underenrollment at South Lakes?

parent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thomas More Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >
> > Send all of Navy to Oakton,(end that split
> > feeder), and more of Poplar tree (already a
> split
> > feeder) to Westfield, then Floris can fit at
> > Chantilly with no need to split it.
>
>
> And how does any of this solve the underenrollment
> at South Lakes?

Because then they would take Fox Mill and/or Crossfield out of Oakton and move them to SL. But taking Navy from Chantilly only moves about 270 kids, so all of either one of Fox Mill or Crossfield would be too many. Again, just leave Oakton out of this. I really like the argument someone was making a little earlier that by effectively underenrolling Westfields to meet the random new capacity criteria, you are creating 300-400 empty seats there. Why is that any different than the 300-400 empty seats at South Lakes (assuming you do get some new students from somewhere to account for the other 300.) I've been saying all along that any redistricting now, in light of future demographics and enrollment figures, is only going to shift this problem to another school. Didn't they refuse to listen to the parents at South County, move 600 from Hayfield and have to turn around the next year, have an emergency boundary adjustment and fix it? They *need to look at the demographics and they *need to listen to all those well educated parents this time around. And if they are so hell bent on *fixing a problem that may or may not really exist, then they need to do it with as little disruption as possible. In other words, forget all this silly domino stuff and just make as few moves as they can to fix whatever the problem of the day is.

Sorry if I don’t understand, but why do you keep bringing up Ms. Jones and Ms. Trout’s sexual orientation? Are you saying that they should not have gotten the jobs they received because of their sexual orientations? I’m almost certain that is illegal and discrimination…

Question for South Lakes parents...

the South Lakes web site course catalog lists many courses taught at South LAkes (i.e. not at some other school), including the following that don't seem like things you would see at a school suffering from critical underenrollment,and in fact look like college level classes in many cases:

- advanced accounting
- business law / business management
- various Information Technology classes (web design, networking, programming)
- journalism 4 / photojournalism 3
- gourmet foods
- dance 3
- advanced mixed chorus
- theater arts 4 / technical theater 2
- sculpture 1 / ceramics 2
- chinese 4 / korean 4 / latin 4
- advanced sports and entertainment marketing (huh?)
- fashion marketing 2
- discrete mathematics
- architectural drawing
- engineering physics II

Are these really offered, or is the course catalog a fiction?

Including the academy and IB classes that are not listed above, there must be hundreds of courses, with any one student able to take about thirty maximum...?

I'm not getting what the problem is here...I see no shortage of course availability. Are we talking about American Sign Language and Economics as the classes that are not available? If so, they hardlty seem missed given the above...

Not to condone your diatribe/vendetta toward Ms. Jones and Ms. Trout, but you should be very careful about suggesting (what your kids told you) about the "new field hockey coach's sexual orientation", not the least of reasons being that she has a junior at Langley who excels in the sport and, I believe, she has other young kids too......I would suppose you don't wish to publish a false statement that may harm her reputation.

BTW: Did your kids mention that the SLHS girls had a great experience on the field as a team? Does that matter to you?

I am all for keeping the impact as small as possible, keeping feeder schools intact, except for the high growth wild card McNair. I agree that all of Navy to Oakton is an even swap (close enough) for Fox Mill to SLHS. Crossfield to SLHS does not make sense as you would have to replace them with kids sent to Oakton that would have a much further drive etc. We have to keep a reasonable balance of socioeconomic mix sent to Oakton but not get carried away elsewhere with this thought. Physical location of high schools and students tie our hands to a large degree. We can't turn this into a social experiement. Keep the impact small and don't break up "communities".

I assume that Westfield needs to move out approx. 400 kids, Chantilly needs to move out approx. 300 kids. SLHS needs up to 800 kids. We can argue about sending the "other" schools but we have to make sense of it. I have trouble with my scenarios because of the McNair factor and the "island" factor
...these things shouldn't prevent us from making sensible moves.

Is McNair east of Centerville socioeconomically via to be sent to SLHS? If so then perhaps both Floris and McNair west of Centerville Rd remain at Westfield and Floris/McNair east of Centerville Rd to SLHS.

Or minimize further Floris to SLHS by kicking Aldrin over (5 minutes to SLHS) and replacing with Coppermine at Herndon High.

With the location of Floris, need to reduce WF and lack of others reasonable options..they are going to contribute heavily.

Not knowing about Aldrin and too lazy to look it up,are they well performing students?

There many split-feeder elementary schools in Fairfax County. Why are you so certain that Navy needs to feed solely to Oakton? If you fix one....then fix them all.

That's one of the reasons this boundary study is a mess. Why haven't they included Centreville, Fairfax and Woodson? Where is Langley and Madison?

Stop trying to throw Navy under the bus.

CHS Parent

I don't disagree with you at all. I also am not trying to throw Navy under the bus, trust me. With Navy going to Oakton it dominoes me to be more at risk to go to SLHS. I would love for non movement to Oakton and keep my kids out of this.

The fact is something is going to happen and Navy to Oakton is a sensible option. The reason we are here are to question things, share thoughts and hopefully particpate in this process tomorrow.The school board has layed out the objectives and they aren't going to change.

Who should show up? The me that has will not support any change or the me that tries to add rational input that is also to the best of my interest? I just hope the decisions have not been made at this point. I will be pissed if a rampant rumor that existed a year ago comes to fruition as it will convince me that railroading has occurred,

Again, I would love for Navy to stay as is.

CHS Parent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There many split-feeder elementary schools in
> Fairfax County. Why are you so certain that Navy
> needs to feed solely to Oakton? If you fix
> one....then fix them all.
>
> That's one of the reasons this boundary study is a
> mess. Why haven't they included Centreville,
> Fairfax and Woodson? Where is Langley and
> Madison?
>
> Stop trying to throw Navy under the bus.


Hey, I would love to keep Navy at Chantilly...that way there is less liklihood that Crossfield and/or Fox Mill get moved out of Oakton. I think lots of people are incorrectly assuming that Navy would be happy to move to Oakton because it isn't South Lakes when the fact is that most Navy people want to stay at Chantilly. StopRD.org has such a great stance when it says stop ALL redistricting just so people won't start with the whole "take them, not me" stuff.
As for feeder schools, wouldn't it be more important to keep middle schools together rather than elementary schools? Looking at many of these scenarios, Carson is going to end up sending kids to Oakton, Westfield, South Lakes, Herndon (if Coppermine goes there) and Chantilly (GT kids). That doesn't exactly do much for a cohesive spirit in middle school or early high school, does it?

PAL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> CHS Parent
>
> I don't disagree with you at all. I also am not
> trying to throw Navy under the bus, trust me. With
> Navy going to Oakton it dominoes me to be more at
> risk to go to SLHS. I would love for non movement
> to Oakton and keep my kids out of this.
>
> The fact is something is going to happen and Navy
> to Oakton is a sensible option. The reason we are
> here are to question things, share thoughts and
> hopefully particpate in this process tomorrow.The
> school board has layed out the objectives and they
> aren't going to change.
>
> Who should show up? The me that has will not
> support any change or the me that tries to add
> rational input that is also to the best of my
> interest? I just hope the decisions have not been
> made at this point. I will be pissed if a rampant
> rumor that existed a year ago comes to fruition as
> it will convince me that railroading has
> occurred,
>
> Again, I would love for Navy to stay as is.

Thank you PAL for your very measured and reasonable assessment of the process. I hope that a majority of the parents who show up will approach the meeting with the same temperament. We will all be more productive that way and will have a chance to put some pretty good minds together to help assist the County with the process.

PAL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Not knowing about Aldrin and too lazy to look it
> up,are they well performing students?


Yes - or rather they are the "right" demographics - 10% free and reduced lunch. There are only about 500 students there.

Below is a letter from this week's Reston Connection from a citizen without children in FFX county schools. It is valuable from a disinterested (we can only assume) party. Of course it's easy to tell someone to be rational when their family is not being affected; but let's hope that we can all attend the meetings in a rational analytical approach.

We should also continue to push the board on the following regardless of our views of the specifics of the boundary changes:

AP - introduction of AP classes into SLHS

grandfathering - allow current high schoolers to remain in their schools

Langley - The Reston/Herndon folks in this pyramid know they are hanging on by a thread similar to Madison Island. The school board especially Janie Strauss and Stu Gibson need to hear that we realize they were purposefully left out of the study. With transportation costs what they are, and with the increased attention on decreased sleep for adolescents, they county SHOULD/HAS to address busing kids 45 minutes to McLean. Forget the bs in the FAQs on the boundary study website about creating a split feeder - what we've learned from this board is that at least two schools in this study area are already split feeders - McNair and Navy.



Redistrict for Right Reasons

To the Editor:

Most of us taxpayers in Fairfax County don’t have children in the county’s schools. What should we think about redrawing attendance area boundaries?

Redistricting offers an opportunity to make the most of our tax dollars. Empty seats in classrooms mean wasted tax dollars. Overcrowded schools also represent unnecessary expenditures and, equally important, detract from the quality of education provided to tomorrow’s citizens. Spending tax dollars so one high school can have an award-winning band or so that another can have a winning football team or, even, so that house prices in one or another area can remain higher than in neighboring areas is wasteful and irresponsible.
Redistricting offers an opportunity to provide all Fairfax County students with educations that will prepare them for productive futures. Research studies strongly suggest that all students learn best in diverse classrooms — diverse in terms of ability, learning styles, socio-economic backgrounds, and the like. Moreover, diverse schools prepare children for the diverse world in which they will live. Redrawing school boundaries to lessen socio-economic segregation is in everyone’s best interest.

Redistricting offers an opportunity to make a public policy decision based on facts and sound research, rather than on fears, misinformation, and prejudices. Change is difficult, but change we must. Fairfax County’s population has changed dramatically since the last redistricting and it will continue to change. School boundaries need to be redrawn to reflect the population changes and will need to be redrawn again in the future.

In our society, changes involving children often prompt parents to voice their ugliest and most irrational fears. While the rest of us can respect parents’ concern for their children, pandering to fear is no way to determine public policy. The simple fact is that all Fairfax County schools offer essentially the same educational opportunities. District lines need to be drawn with that in mind.
Several writers have argued that the quality of a school’s band or its football team depends most on the students that enroll at the school, and not, presumably, on the quality of the school’s music instruction or football coaching. They want their schools to continue to enroll the students most likely to play in the band or on the football team. It is interesting, therefore, that the same writers don’t grasp that the same is true of academic performance. The differences in SAT or SOL scores that many see as proving one Fairfax County high school is better than another are more the product of the students enrolled than of the instruction provided. The educational program, again, is essentially the same across all Fairfax County schools. Enrolling your child in a school with higher SAT or SOL scores is not likely to improve his or her SAT or SOL scores. In fact, enrolling him or her in a narrowly homogenous school may detract from the educational experience.

The School Board, for reasons best known to itself, has raised the issue of redistricting without producing a thoughtful, comprehensive proposal. We now face the prospect of at least three public meetings at which parents will vent their worst fears and prejudices. If, at the end of the process, we are to have district boundaries that make good use of our tax dollars and provide good educations to all students, the rest of us need to communicate to the School Board that, for once, it needs to demonstrate some courage and commitment to sound educational policy.

James P. Hubbard
Reston

Thomas More, aka John W. Farrell, attorney for McCandlish & Lillard, P.C., your practice must be languishing with all of the time you spend posting garbage to this site. Maybe some readers will find some trash to post about you. I'll remove this post when you remove yours.

annoyed Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thomas More, aka John W. Farrell, attorney for
> McCandlish & Lillard, P.C., your practice must be
> languishing with all of the time you spend posting
> garbage to this site. Maybe some readers will
> find some trash to post about you. I'll remove
> this post when you remove yours.


OOOh, good dirt. Tell me who Neen is and I'll send you flowers!

Show me the money Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> annoyed Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Thomas More, aka John W. Farrell, attorney for
> > McCandlish & Lillard, P.C., your practice must
> be
> > languishing with all of the time you spend
> posting
> > garbage to this site. Maybe some readers will
> > find some trash to post about you. I'll remove
> > this post when you remove yours.
>
>
> OOOh, good dirt. Tell me who Neen is and I'll
> send you flowers!


I thought Thomas More said his initials were K.O. (that's going waaaaay back - to maybe page 21 or so...)

Neen's initials are JM. When she crosses the line from revolting to defamatory, she too will be revealed.

SLHS Padre Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
I would suppose you don't wish to publish
> a false statement that may harm her reputation.

First let me say that forums such as these are hard to carry such
important discussions. Inflections and tone can be lost and misread
and I fear that has happened here. I have no problem with anyone's
sexual orientation, the point of the argument was to bring up concerns
parents might have about bringing their children to SL. If you've read my
past posts you'll know how highly I think of the SL student body and
how I think they are SL best attribute. However, if we proceed
without acknowledging some of SL's faults, we do the school and future
student body a disservice. For if we do not ask the question, "Why
can't it be better?" then who will?

My sincerest apologies to those who I might have offended in my last
post that was not my intention. The specific reference has been edited out.

Mr Farrell is not the author of these posts as I have already stated before.

good night and good luck



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/2007 02:19PM by Thomas More.

So then Annoyed your purpose here is to play Clue on the message bored and try and out people?  It is anonymous for a reason, to allow people to post their opinions freely, even if we disagree with them.  If you feel someone is lacking in class you do not stoop to their level by pulling stunts like this.

Besides Old Timer is right, Thomas said his initials were K.O

Thomas More is most definitely Tom Farrell. There is no one else is the SL Seahawk community with his views, animus, particular gripes with staff, and delusions of grandeur. I think the initials K.O. probably stood for 'kiss off.'

I also copied his slanderous post regarding a staff person at SL and will be saving it for the right moment. He has accused many on this site of slanderous and libelous (he spelled it lible) posts, but none compare with his post this morning.

Question -

Does anyone know how groups are taking FFX County school buses to the meetings tomorrow? Do they PAY for the buses or are the schools providing these - example Herndon High has at least one bus going to Chantilly for the first round of meetings.

Additionally, have heard anecdotally that some school principals have come out for/against redistricting boundary changes. Have others heard the same? Any specifics?

I should have said John Farrell. My bad: Thomas More/John Farrell.

Can we get back to the more productive discussion of school adjustment scenarios and the important considerations that need to be considered in the process. Am I more nervous than the rest of you or am I just an information nut?

Muse Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thomas More is most definitely Tom Farrell. There
> is no one else is the SL Seahawk community with
> his views, animus, particular gripes with staff,
> and delusions of grandeur. I think the initials
> K.O. probably stood for 'kiss off.'
>
> I also copied his slanderous post regarding a
> staff person at SL and will be saving it for the
> right moment. He has accused many on this site of
> slanderous and libelous (he spelled it lible)
> posts, but none compare with his post this
> morning.


Although I do know some SL parents, I won't pretend to have any idea who is who on this board. However, I agree with Hollywood that people should be allowed their privacy. What if the supposed identity is wrong? I have left clues that a determined stalker could probably piece together and maybe figure out who I am, but I would expect that anyone who wants to know would ask me off-line (and unless I already know you in the real world, I won't confirm). I was also put off by the sexual orientation post, but TM has apologized for that. Maybe he's homophobic, maybe not, but whether he is Tom Farrell or not should not be debated here. Playing Gottcha will scare people away, which would be a shame. I feel like I've learned a lot since I discovered this message board. Frankly, I spend too much time here, but it's often entertaining as well as educational.

Enough with the sewing circle guessing games.  The point of this board was to talk about the High Schools, not act like we're in them.  As fun as it is to arbitrarily throw names out there, Old Timer had a question, let's find him an answer.

Thomas More Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SLHS Padre Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> I would suppose you don't wish to publish
> > a false statement that may harm her reputation.
>
> First let me say that forums such as these are
> hard to carry such
> important discussions. Inflections and tone can
> be lost and misread
> and I fear that has happened here. I have no
> problem with anyone's
> sexual orientation, the point of the argument was
> to bring up concerns
> parents might have about bringing their children
> to SL. If you've read my
> past posts you'll know how highly I think of the
> SL student body and
> how I think they are SL best attribute. However,
> if we proceed
> without acknowledging some of SL's faults, we do
> the school and future
> student body a disservice. For if we do not ask
> the question, "Why
> can't it be better?" then who will?
>

TM - Please please keep this forum about redistricting. You obviously have concerns/complaints about the school and want someone - staff/parents/students to acknowledge their faults. EVERY single high school, middle school, and elementary school in this study has problems with imperfect humans. All the schools have similar problems - our elementary school is one. The principal is well regarded as is the school, everyone LOVES IT; however, I can name countless incidents and problems that were either overlooked, blown off, etc. concerning staff, curriculum, blah blah blah. BUT I don't air those hear as this is not the forum for doing so.

Obviously you care deeply about Reston and South Lakes. I'm supportive of your zeal in that.

You also must feel you and your kids got the rotten end of some bad deal made by Stu and Railly or whomever. We do feel for you.

But enough is enough.

Let's focus on the future. And how we can make the school, this redistricting work for all involved.

Old Timer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Question -
>
> Does anyone know how groups are taking FFX County
> school buses to the meetings tomorrow? Do they
> PAY for the buses or are the schools providing
> these - example Herndon High has at least one bus
> going to Chantilly for the first round of
> meetings.
>
> Additionally, have heard anecdotally that some
> school principals have come out for/against
> redistricting boundary changes. Have others heard
> the same? Any specifics?

I have not heard anything about school principals, but I do know that there are PTO presidents driving their executive boards to push or not push any agendas. Unfortunately, Oakton's PTSA has chosen to do nothing. I do know many of the teachers and extracurricular sponsors at Oakton are worried sick about their programs as I've spoken with several of them in the last few weeks. They are also wondering why it was okay for Herndon's PTA to be very vocal but Oakton's is choosing to do nothing.

foxmill/carson/oakton parent Wrote:
I was also put off
> by the sexual orientation post, but TM has
> apologized for that.

But John Farrell hasn't removed the slanderous post, has he? Nope, it's still there. I'm not just guessing that the author is John W. Farrell. I wouldn't mess with an attorney if I wasn't positively certain.

I feel like
> I've learned a lot since I discovered this message
> board. Frankly, I spend too much time here, but
> it's often entertaining as well as educational.

And John Farrell is certainly providing you with useful and relevent information about his perception of the sexual orientation of certain individuals at SLHS. How can you defend him?

>>>They were also concerned that Lindsey and Linda’s orientation would reduced girls participation rates in sports at SL. These issues were brought to Bruce’s attention. He gave Linda the job anyway and Lindsey got the ADSA job anyway.<<<

Surely you aren't saying that there should be discrimination based on sexual orientation, are you? That would certainly not be supported by the good liberals who run FCPS. How are lesbians to get ahead with attitudes like your's? Tsk, tsk, Thomas More.

Thomas More - I don't think the issue is that of orientation, although I could see how some could perceive it that way. But it really ought to be resisted. The issue should always be of professionalism (son of a female PE teacher speaking here) and concern for development of young people, irrespective of one's orientation or private life. So I don't think it helpful to view whatever issues may exist through the optics of orientation. By and large I have noticed that coaches, parents, supporters and the like appear to be equally enthusiastic and supportive of both the boys and girls teams. This was borne out personally in attending a Virginia state championship event yesterday, where prior to the event the excitement and sense of competitive apprehension was the same, and after the event the same form of blessed relief and camaraderie prevailed among both genders. And no doubt there were coaches and athletic directors attending the event of all kinds and walks of life.

If (and I don't know this is the case), an athletic administrator or coach is not acting professionally and supporting both sets of teams in an enthusiastic and professional way, (and that would confound me, because in my own experience most adult ex-jocks get an equal kick out of the boys and girls events), than that needs to directly be addressed. High school kids are not professional athletes or even quasi-professional athletes such as with NCAA Div. 1 types, and refraining from being enthusiastic and supportive to any one group (unless specific individuals have behavioral or accountability issues) will be seen as a slight, especially when one considers that for most people high school is the last time they will participate in organized sports and emotions can run strong. Would not a discourse that comments (provided it is factual) on how an administrator relates to the entire athletic community be more appropriate? And in my view, given the population of South Lakes (relatively small), I think their sports teams do well, although there may be gripes with individual squads.

hmmm07 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> I have not heard anything about school principals,
> but I do know that there are PTO presidents
> driving their executive boards to push or not push
> any agendas. Unfortunately, Oakton's PTSA has
> chosen to do nothing. I do know many of the
> teachers and extracurricular sponsors at Oakton
> are worried sick about their programs as I've
> spoken with several of them in the last few weeks.
> They are also wondering why it was okay for
> Herndon's PTA to be very vocal but Oakton's is
> choosing to do nothing.

I served on several PTSA boards in the past, and twice during redistricting fights. If memory serves, our bylaws stated that we were not allowed to endorse a preferred outcome. I guess it depends upon how the bylaws are written, but I know that the boiler-plate stuff comes from the County or State PTSA Council, so the answer may be with them.

>>>>by effectively underenrolling Westfields to meet the random new capacity criteria, you are creating 300-400 empty seats there.<<<

More like 700 empty seats at Westfield, to fill 700 empty seats at South Lakes. Westfield is too large (by this year's FCPS standard of perfect high school size) and South Lakes is too small. They have to make every school 'just right'. FCPS is striving for all Goldilocks high schools, this year. Next year they may well have a new philosophy.

It makes NO sense to move 700 empty seats from one school to another school. But that is the reality since NO school is over crowded. There will have to empty seats somewhere.

PTO's are not under PTA rules. PTSAs might be the same. They are run by their school and can do whatever they want. They are not controlled by state or national PTA rules. That's why schools elect to have a PTO rather than join in the PTA organization, they are independent and can do what they want.

>>>>for most people high school is the last time they will participate in organized sports<<<<

I would agree with you which makes me wonder why so many students spend so much time on sports and why our schools do too.

Neen,
I was talking to a Westfield parent today who said that Westfield IS overcrowded, that her and her neighbor's kids lament the lack of opportunities in sports, etc. for their kids.

18 trailers? Sounds overcrowded to me. Trailers should not be counted as true capacity.

Neen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> PTO's are not under PTA rules. PTSAs might be the
> same. They are run by their school and can do
> whatever they want. They are not controlled by
> state or national PTA rules. That's why schools
> elect to have a PTO rather than join in the PTA
> organization, they are independent and can do what
> they want.


I understand about the difference between PTOs/PTAs etc. Herndon's PTSA is under county, state, and national PTA rules/bylaws. I've reviewed their bylaws and they seem to be on shaky ground by taking a position.


I am more concerned about about Fairfax County employees and Fairfax County buses NOT about parents.

Why don't the FCPS numbers reflect that over crowding? Current enrollment at Westfield is 3,171 students. School capacity is 3,100 students. In five years, Westfield will have 2,900 students, 200 UNDER enrolled. If FCPS removes even 500 students, in 5 years Westfield will have just as many empty seats as South Lakes.
http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/westcoboundary/townmeeting11-12-07.pdf

Are the trailers used for classrooms or staff offices or are they empty, but nowhere to move them?

Yes, the staff's argument is that Westfield is too large for everyone to get on sports teams. Then why the heck did they build it that large? I do not find sports a compelling reasons for redistricting.

The reality is that no school around South Lakes is over enrolled now, by more than a handful, and ALL will be under enrolled in five years. There are no excess students to put into South Lakes. Period. In five years we can have South Lakes still 700 under enrolled, or Westfield 700 under enrolled. Or we can spread them out and make 4 schools under enrolled by 200. Why bother? There is simply no compelling reason to move all these students only to create empty seats at other schools. (Sports is not a compelling reason. Nor are jewelry making classes, anime, or guitar lessons.)

Neen,
Capacity as calculated includes trailers. So I guess you think that trailers are true capacity?

I don't think you are correct since the staff says Westfield was built, and an addition added, to accommodate 3,100 students.

Annoyed,
May I suggest that you remove your threatening post directed at Thomas More?

I assume that you know your IP is logged here.

Thank you.

You know what they say: Birds of a feather....

Muse, what do you mean?

Did Thomas More threaten someone here? I have seen no one do that, other than
"annoyed", who is most annoying.

Westfield is NOT too over-crowded to make a sports team! That is complete BS and just an excuse to reduce the enrollment when Westfield will be under-enrolled by next fall and substantially under-enrolled in subsequent years. My daughter, son and their friends (all from the Floris pyramid) have NEVER, EVER had any difficulty making a sports team and play all year in something. I honestly don't know where all this is coming from. They always give everyone an opportunity to participate. Some just can't handle the rigor of the practices which are daily and just drop out. This may account for their attitudes when they claim that there's too much competition to make a team. It's not a "house" league and there is some dedication and perservance required to make a Varsity team, JV and Freshman are more lenient.

Neen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Annoyed,
> May I suggest that you remove your threatening
> post directed at Thomas More?
>
> I assume that you know your IP is logged here.

I'm scared...How are my posts threatening? Being called a lawyer isn't so bad, is it?

John Farrell's "revelations" about the sexual orientation of several SLHS employees was posted with the intent of slandering these individuals. Many of you write as if he is simply confirming common knowledge, but there has never been so much as a rumor about this floating around SLHS. His intent is to make a shocking disclosure, but he's a moron. He knows nothing!

Westfield Parent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Westfield is NOT too over-crowded to make a sports
> team! That is complete BS and just an excuse to
> reduce the enrollment when Westfield will be
> under-enrolled by next fall and substantially
> under-enrolled in subsequent years. My daughter,
> son and their friends (all from the Floris
> pyramid) have NEVER, EVER had any difficulty
> making a sports team and play all year in
> something. I honestly don't know where all this
> is coming from. They always give everyone an
> opportunity to participate. Some just can't
> handle the rigor of the practices which are daily
> and just drop out. This may account for their
> attitudes when they claim that there's too much
> competition to make a team. It's not a "house"
> league and there is some dedication and
> perservance required to make a Varsity team, JV
> and Freshman are more lenient.


Well, some sports teams are harder to make than others based on what I've seen at Oakton. If your point is that redistricting shouldn't be done just to make it easier for kids to make teams, then I mostly agree with that. I can see how it would be frustrating at a huge school not to be able to participate in things that have limited slots. I can see how it would be frustrating at SL not to have all the goodies that larger schools have, although I must say that the list of SL electives that was posted was an eye-opener.

Perhaps someone is scared that you will 'out' her, annoyed. Maybe you should. I notice Thomas More has not been back since he was revealed. Then we could get back to the subject at hand, instead of bash SL and its students all the time, as some like to do.

Well yes you're right, some teams would be harder to make than others. But, you can't expect someone to just randomly try out for ay the basketball team that hasn't had a lot of experience. That's just the way it is. If you have a pool of kids trying out for the high school basketball team that hasn't been playing on a select team, they would need to bring some extraordinary talent to the table. This is especially true at South Lakes -- their basketball teams are exceptional because they feed in from Reston Select Teams. Even with the low enrollment that they have, it's very difficult to make their basketball teams!

And yes, this is a completely ridiculous reason to disrupt all these schools because they're trying to make it easier for kids to make a sports team.

From a SL perspective, it would be nice to have a bench as deep as some other schools. There are two sides to every issue.

SLVerity Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> From a SL perspective, it would be nice to have a
> bench as deep as some other schools. There are
> two sides to every issue.


And like I said before, if you get all those kids from a powerhouse sports program like Westfield, the ones sitting the bench will be the South Lakes kids who wanted a deeper bench. Will they be happy not playing? The same thing can be said for the music program. I know that in the all district bands, not many kids from South Lakes make districts. That has nothing to do with the size of the program because that is an individual audition. They will now be competing for chairs in their own program with kids from Westfield, Oakton or Chantilly, all of whom regularly send many kids to districts and will likely take those top spots. It goes back to what the student was saying earlier on this forum. The kids at South Lakes actually benefit from a smaller pool of kids in the sports programs because they all get to play. That will go away. I know you said that is a benefit you are willing to risk to get bigger teams and more volunteers, but is it worth it for the kids who will no longer be able to participate as actively?

hmmm07 Wrote:
>
>
> The same thing can be said for
> the music program. I know that in the all
> district bands, not many kids from South Lakes
> make districts. That has nothing to do with the
> size of the program because that is an individual
> audition. They will now be competing for chairs
> in their own program with kids from Westfield,
> Oakton or Chantilly, all of whom regularly send
> many kids to districts and will likely take those
> top spots.

Please don't confuse size with talent. You may want to check your numbers on All-District Band. SL has sent many kids to All-District Band, most in great chair positions. I recall that we actually sent more than Chantilly two or three years ago. I will ask the band director for the stats and post them here this week. If I am to understand you correctly, are you saying that percussionists from Westfield and Chantilly would have beaten out, for example, Kyle Brightwell-Class of 2006, now a percussionist at the Juilliard School, for first chair percussion? Just because we are smaller does not mean we don't have talented kids. We just don't have as many of them.

Are you also saying that the odds are just as good if 50 kids audition as they are if 100 kids audition? I am no mathematician, but I'm pretty sure that the odds are on the larger group.

The material prepared by the FCSB is very clear about the advantages and disadvantages of over/under crowded highschools. The whole issue of re-districting is about balance. Why do you want your highschooler(s) attending a school that is over-crowded? Conversly, I do not want my child to attend a school that is not afforded the advantages of a fully enrolled school. In addition I do not think that my districted highschool should be burdened with such a high percentage of ESOL and free lunch students (when compared to other Western FFX schools) when SLHS is physically (location wise) the obvious choice for attendance of a much more diverse/balanced student population.

My district is SLHS, the issue of me is to gain the best education possible for my children. The folks who would potentially be moving to SLHS, in many cases should have been attending there to begin with (at least based on physical proximity to SLHS).

Who exactly are you speaking to? You're not even AT at high school yet. You bought your home like everyone else to be in a school district. Stop trying to force people into your school to solve their problems. Our schools ARENT crowded - read the CIPs.

It seems that much of this debate is more about the reputation of SLHS than over statistics, so I simply wanted to speak my peace. I am a northern VA native. I went to Floris, Franklin, and Oakton, so I know where many of you are coming from when you envision your children attending SLHS. I probably would have felt the same way as many of you if I were told I would be switching schools ten years ago. Even when I interviewed for a job, I went in with the preconceived notion that SL was incomparable to most of the other schools in the county on a variety of levels.

However, throughout the past three years, I have had an amazing experience, thus debunking my naive notions. The staff and faculty are enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and I have met a plethora of students who aspire to be their bests, despite their economic backgrounds, family histories, or language deficiencies. True, we have a higher number of English Language Learners at SLHS-- a fact that will have a clear impact on state SOL and SAT scores and one that many seem to disregard when drawing comparisons.

Diversity is ubiquitous at SLHS, but this does not mean hoards of gang members and poor underachievers- a misconception that I have heard throughout the community. I see students befriend each other from different backgrounds and ethnicities. The students even pride themselves on the lack of structured "cliques" that germinate in most large schools.

I'm there every day. I am a witness to the students' achievements. I care deeply about the students and their education, and I challenge those of you who fear change or the reputation of SLHS to e-mail Bruce Butler; request a tour/observation/meeting/whatever you WANT to help put your mind at ease. I'm excited about the final stages of renovation and the positive changes that are occurring, whether they are visible or not. Re-districting is inevitable, so if your neighborhood is involved, please check things out for yourself before fighting "tooth and nail." That's all. :)

Muse and Annoyed,
How proud you must be of your bullying. Another fine example of South Lakes parents? And you wonder why people don't want anything to do with your school.

Please, direct us to any libelous post by Thomas More. We'll wait.

You are disgusting people who can't debate so you turn to insults and ad homineum attacks. You have done nothing but confirm the worst fears of those who don't want to attend South Lakes. Congratulations! You've hurt your own cause! How proud you must be.

Why is redistricting inevitable? There's no justification for it all. Floris was just moved 7 years ago from Oakton (but they're happy at Westfield and want to stay there) and Fox Mill and Crossfields don't want to leave Oakton. You say that you would not have liked being moved from Oakton, so why are you forcing it on everyone else. We do we have to clean up the mess that's been created by the school board. There is absolutely no reason to move anyone. You people at South Lakes just want it all. No one wants to go to this school. No one wants to leave their current school. It's completely unnecessary to force all this upon us when the school board is trying to justify their extravagant renovations. Go enjoy your nice, big state-of-the art school. You're welcome from the taxpayers, but we're just not interested in sharing in your joy so leave everyone else out of it!! Make a magnet school if you're so hell-bent in forcing people to attend. We don't want any part of it.

A magnet, like the ones at Montgomery Blair, ATTRACT students. They are competitive and not everyone can get in, although many want in. Such a program at South Lakes would attract students TO the school, just as those programs attract students to Blair. Why NOT do that, rather than simply FORCE students to go to a school they do not want to attend and that does not offer those attractive programs? What's wrong with making South Lakes a school that people WANT to attend?

>>>My district is SLHS<<< You need not say anything more. Of course we all understand that you want to improve South Lakes for your children. But there are much better ways that forcing other students into it.

Neen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> >>>My district is SLHS<<< You need not say
> anything more. Of course we all understand that
> you want to improve South Lakes for your children.
> But there are much better ways that forcing other
> students into it.


TROLL TROLL TROLL TROLL TROLL TROLL TROLL TROLL

Huh? How am I a troll? I've been posting since September!

Neen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Muse and Annoyed,
> How proud you must be of your bullying. Another
> fine example of South Lakes parents? And you
> wonder why people don't want anything to do with
> your school.
>
> Please, direct us to any libelous post by Thomas
> More. We'll wait.
>
> You are disgusting people who can't debate so you
> turn to insults and ad homineum attacks. You have
> done nothing but confirm the worst fears of those
> who don't want to attend South Lakes.
> Congratulations! You've hurt your own cause! How
> proud you must be.

Well the fact that Thomas removed his slanderous post speaks volumes about its true nature. I have seen both of you bully many people posting here, including students. This site is anonymous, but it does not give posters cover to report rumors about specific people as fact. I for one am glad that he was exposed. Until today, I did not post but just lurked with interest, reading the comments of others. But I had to speak up today when I saw the dangerous nature of his post, which had the potential to hurt a coach and her family, and another staff person and her family.

Be angry if you like. It is not my problem.

Neen, I forgot to ask, how do you know we are South Lakes parents? Please don't also paint them negatively with your broad brush. You've painted lesbians with it, low income students with it, all of Reston with it, liberals with it, the school board with it...have I left anyone out?

I was addressing the parent who said she was a South Lakes parent!

What the hell is wrong with you Muse? Are you always this nasty?

I've never said anything about lesbians, other than I thought liberals wanted them to have jobs.

The only thing I ever said about low income kids is that I think they deserve an education and they aren't getting one.

Please try to play nice at the meeting tonight. I don't want to see anyone get hurt.

Thomas removed the post? yeah, sure. hahahaha.........nice try, except that it wasn't.

SLVerity Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> hmmm07 Wrote:
> >
> >
> > The same thing can be said for
> > the music program. I know that in the all
> > district bands, not many kids from South Lakes
> > make districts. That has nothing to do with
> the
> > size of the program because that is an
> individual
> > audition. They will now be competing for
> chairs
> > in their own program with kids from Westfield,
> > Oakton or Chantilly, all of whom regularly send
> > many kids to districts and will likely take
> those
> > top spots.
>
> Please don't confuse size with talent. You may
> want to check your numbers on All-District Band.
> SL has sent many kids to All-District Band, most
> in great chair positions. I recall that we
> actually sent more than Chantilly two or three
> years ago. I will ask the band director for the
> stats and post them here this week. If I am to
> understand you correctly, are you saying that
> percussionists from Westfield and Chantilly would
> have beaten out, for example, Kyle
> Brightwell-Class of 2006, now a percussionist at
> the Juilliard School, for first chair percussion?
> Just because we are smaller does not mean we don't
> have talented kids. We just don't have as many of
> them.
>
> Are you also saying that the odds are just as good
> if 50 kids audition as they are if 100 kids
> audition? I am no mathematician, but I'm pretty
> sure that the odds are on the larger group.


I do apologize if South Lakes has, in fact, sent more than the other schools on a percentage basis, though I don't think the stats will bear that out. A Julliard acceptance is quite an accomplishment, but one student does not make a program. Has the South Lakes band program ever recieved Honor Band status? I checked the VBODA website and it does not appear that it has, going back to 1981 anyway. I know that there are smaller bands that do recieve superiro ratings, so why would I want my children, should they participate in band, to be moved to a school with a program less optimal than that of the high school they are currently slated to attend? I have also heard anecdotally from someone wihtin the SL community that the band director at South Lakes is "salivating" over the possibility of getting some Oakton, Chantilly or Westfield kids.

Neen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A magnet, like the ones at Montgomery Blair,
> ATTRACT students. They are competitive and not
> everyone can get in, although many want in. Such
> a program at South Lakes would attract students TO
> the school, just as those programs attract
> students to Blair. Why NOT do that, rather than
> simply FORCE students to go to a school they do
> not want to attend and that does not offer those
> attractive programs? What's wrong with making
> South Lakes a school that people WANT to attend?


When I asked the magnet question I was told that South Lakes doesn't WANT to be a magnet because they want to be a "community school." But apparently they only want to be a "community school" if it means they get to take a look at tax returns of potential student family households. I was also told, though not on this board, that creating a magnet school takes time...years, and this is a problem that needs fixing NOW. But grandfathering existing students, which they better by golly do, means it will be a minimum of three years before they get the student numbers they want. THen there are all those pupil placements that are going to happen to keep the numbers low as well. Seems to me they could plan for a magnet school to open in two years, have it full at the time it opens and not have to move anyone anywhere...except of coure those who actually WANT to move.

...this is the thread that will not end.... it just goes on and on my friend..... some people started posting to it, not knowing what it was..... and they will continue posting to it forever just because...

...this is the thread that will not end.... it just goes on and on my friend..... some people started posting to it, not knowing what it was..... and they will continue posting to it forever just because...

...this is the thread that will not end.... it just goes on and on my friend..... some people started posting to it, not knowing what it was..... and they will continue posting to it forever just because...

...this is the thread that will not end.... it just goes on and on my friend..... some people started posting to it, not knowing what it was..... and they will continue posting to it forever just because...

...this is the thread that will not end.... it just goes on and on my friend..... some people started posting to it, not knowing what it was..... and they will continue posting to it forever just because...

hmmm07 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Neen Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > A magnet, like the ones at Montgomery Blair,
> > ATTRACT students. They are competitive and not
> > everyone can get in, although many want in.
> Such
> > a program at South Lakes would attract students
> TO
> > the school, just as those programs attract
> > students to Blair. Why NOT do that, rather
> than
> > simply FORCE students to go to a school they do
> > not want to attend and that does not offer
> those
> > attractive programs? What's wrong with making
> > South Lakes a school that people WANT to
> attend?
>
>
> When I asked the magnet question I was told that
> South Lakes doesn't WANT to be a magnet because
> they want to be a "community school." But
> apparently they only want to be a "community
> school" if it means they get to take a look at tax
> returns of potential student family households. I
> was also told, though not on this board, that
> creating a magnet school takes time...years, and
> this is a problem that needs fixing NOW. But
> grandfathering existing students, which they
> better by golly do, means it will be a minimum of
> three years before they get the student numbers
> they want. THen there are all those pupil
> placements that are going to happen to keep the
> numbers low as well. Seems to me they could plan
> for a magnet school to open in two years, have it
> full at the time it opens and not have to move
> anyone anywhere...except of coure those who
> actually WANT to move.

There are pros and cons to doing a magnet school at SL, but it's annoying that the SB seems to have rejected it outright. I guess they think that changing boundaries is easier -ha! At this point I think they'd sooner do nothing than put a magnet in. As for some SL parents saying that they don't want a magnet, they want a community school, well, I hope that upon further reflection those people will realize that they sound a little insensitive, dismissing something that would solve most if not all of the school's problems w/o the upheaval of unwilling families. All of us, SL, Oakton, Chantilly and Westfield, choose to live where we do in part because we liked the schools. I'll bet many of us would consider sending our kids to SL if there were a good magnet there. SL parents, can you at least be open to this? It seems like a fair compromise.

FCPS Gamepiece Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Who exactly are you speaking to? You're not even
> AT at high school yet. You bought your home like
> everyone else to be in a school district. Stop
> trying to force people into your school to solve
> their problems. Our schools ARENT crowded - read
> the CIPs.


I'm speaking to you now, previously I was giving my opinion.

So I shouldn't worry about the school my child attends just because he isn't there yet? Don't you begin looking at colleges before you go? And actually if you read the FCPS material it is clear that schools ARE over-crowded. The school distribution should be FAIR, each school should be afforded the same opportunities. That what this re-districting is all about. We all pay for these schools through our taxes, and with time thru parent involvement. Don't you think that any FCPS you attend should have the same opportunities available to it's students?

FCO Parent,
What I've been told about a magnet from people who know more than me about it, is that a magnet by itself would not be enough to draw 500-700 kids. Only speaking for myself, I'd be open to a smaller magnet but would probably still need to draw some kids from surrounding schools. Like I've said in a previous post, I am a Hunters Woods parent and see the downside of having a magnet--increased complexity at the school level, with all the programs, and kids that don't come home to local neighborhoods but get bussed in, limiting my kids' ability to maintain friendships.

Did I understand all of these tradeoffs when I moved here? No. Just like many of you didn't understand the possibility of getting redistricted when you moved in. But FFX county does have to do this from time to time, for all the reasons mentioned. I would prefer isolated school districts comprised of one high school. That doesn't seem to be possible around here,

My brother lives in Pittsburgh, where they have small school districts, and even they are going through redistricting because populations are decreasing, and rather than refurbish high schools, are closing them and sending them to neighboring schools. It's just as contentious there.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2007 10:22AM by South Lakes Pyramid parent.

Future SLHS Parent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> FCPS Gamepiece Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Who exactly are you speaking to? You're not
> even
> > AT at high school yet. You bought your home
> like
> > everyone else to be in a school district. Stop
> > trying to force people into your school to
> solve
> > their problems. Our schools ARENT crowded -
> read
> > the CIPs.
>
>
> I'm speaking to you now, previously I was giving
> my opinion.
>
> So I shouldn't worry about the school my child
> attends just because he isn't there yet? Don't
> you begin looking at colleges before you go? And
> actually if you read the FCPS material it is clear
> that schools ARE over-crowded. The school
> distribution should be FAIR, each school should be
> afforded the same opportunities. That what this
> re-districting is all about. We all pay for these
> schools through our taxes, and with time thru
> parent involvement. Don't you think that any FCPS
> you attend should have the same opportunities
> available to it's students?


Well, if you did your homework before you bought your home (like we all did except apparently you), you would see the test results, enrollment, etc. for your school. We all bought our homes with this concept in mind. You can't force people into your school because now you realize what you bought into. I bought my house 12 years ago. I carefully studied test scores, enrollment and all aspects of what a responsible parent considers when selecting a school district. South Lakes was then what it is now. It's not the responsibility of every other school in Fairfax County to bring up test scores of all low-performing schools. We didn't want our children to be in this district for a reason and we still don't. Why don't you go after your Reston neighbors that go to Langley and determine why they don't go to South Lakes? I've been subjected to 5 boundary discussions in 9 years and 3 redistrictings. We just changed our high school 7 years ago and it's completely unreasonable to expect us to be subjected to ANOTHER boundary change. We've done our time. IS THAT "FAIR"????

FCPS Gamepiece Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Well, if you did your homework before you bought
> your home (like we all did except apparently you),
> you would see the test results, enrollment, etc.
> for your school. We all bought our homes with this
> concept in mind. You can't force people into your
> school because now you realize what you bought
> into. I bought my house 12 years ago. I
> carefully studied test scores, enrollment and all
> aspects of what a responsible parent considers
> when selecting a school district. South Lakes was
> then what it is now. It's not the responsibility
> of every other school in Fairfax County to bring
> up test scores of all low-performing schools. We
> didn't want our children to be in this district
> for a reason and we still don't. Why don't you go
> after your Reston neighbors that go to Langley and
> determine why they don't go to South Lakes?


You bought your home in the FAIRFAX COUNTY SCHOOL district. Show me on your deed where you "own" your school. You don't "own" it - we all do. This is the public school system - it's socialized government. Did you not think think there was the possibility that since you lived far away from the high school that there was the potential for redistricting? Did you not realize that FFX county does redistrict? Sounds like YOU didn't do YOUR due diligence.

The redistricting is occuring because demographics change over time. The purpose is not to boost test scores at a supposed low performing school. It is about under/overenrollment. There are 3100 kids at Westfield and 1400 at South Lakes. Tell me how that makes fiscal sense. We're driving kids 12 miles to Oakton when there is a high school 3 miles from their door?

I'm sorry you feel like you're a gamepiece. We feel for you. Bring that up tonight.

FCPS Gamepiece wrote: "I've been subjected to 5 boundary discussions in 9 years and 3 redistrictings. We just changed our high school 7 years ago and it's completely unreasonable to expect us to be subjected to ANOTHER boundary change. We've done our time. IS THAT "FAIR"????"

I'm curious--just how did these redistrictings really affect you? Had to buy new sweatshirts for the kids? Learn new driving directions? Obviously I'm skeptical, but it would be interesting to hear actual consequences, rather than just rhetorical flourishes.

Neen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't think you are correct since the staff says
> Westfield was built, and an addition added, to
> accommodate 3,100 students.


From Herndon PTSA site under boundary FAQs:
"The decision to add classrooms at Westfield was made for several reasons. The
overcrowding at Westfield has been significant for a number of years, requiring the use
of numerous temporary classroom trailers; even with the addition completed, the school
still requires temporary classrooms to accommodate its enrollment. "

Here's a new website started by parents who support redistricting -


http://mysite.verizon.net/vze84nt5/we_support_redistricting/



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2007 02:51PM by Old Timer.

Old Timer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here's a new website started by parents who
> support redistricting -
>
>
> http://mysite.verizon.net/vze84nt5/we_support_redi
> stricting/


This supports my earlier post suggesting that the boundaries be voluntary. The people who want to go to SLHS can be happy, those who prefer to go elsewhere can be happy, and we can all get along. 33 down, 400+ to go.

float like butterfly sting like a bee...

the trilla at Chantilla tonight

tighten you britches boys the bell rings at 730pm

undercard: Floris versus Crossfield

main event: Westfield versus SLHS

may the loser pupil place and the winners stay where you are.

Wear you colors... oh wait that is gang talk, rephrase that to support your school.

See you all tonight... who will be the "big Loser"?

SL(Reston)HS?
Wesfield?
Oakton?
Chantilly?
Floris?
Crossfield?

Old Timer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here's a new website started by parents who
> support redistricting -
>
>
> http://mysite.verizon.net/vze84nt5/we_support_redi
> stricting/


what a waste of time..can you say "copy and paste fcps' site?" there is nothing original here

yeah, they'll fit in well with the IB learnin program and the new art wing. i guess they just don't realize that they can go there no matter where their children are in school now. what morons....

Many, many thanks to a former student for getting into this discussion. You want to know what's going on in any school? Go there and get involved. Otherwise, you are spewing misinformation--again and again. I'd love to hear from more current and former students.

pyramidparent,
thats brilliant. lets get the westfields, chantilly, herndon, madison, and oakton students all on here to post what a wonderful school they have. then maybe the south lakes parents would see that what they thought they were eating was steak, but it was really dogshit.

Personally I think All children should be home schooled. An internet connection and a virtual classroom with a teacher leading instructions from a site. Screw it and you. no more redistricting just home school all your kids. Now pls. Fuckin stop this thread.

Hi, I am a current student at South Lakes High School, im graduating this year in fact. I feel really compelled to throw in my opinion about my own school because i feel many parents and concerned county members do not have a good perception or understanding of South Lakes.
Ive been at South Lakes my whole high school career and ive found it to be the best learning enviroment that i could ask for in a school. It really bothers me that our school has been the black sheep for so long, especially when the bad rep is all false.
The best way i can approach this is to just debunk as many of the rumors since im not really familiar with the technical nd economic aspects that also surround the debate over redistricting.

> First, South Lakes is not a so called "Ghetto or Gang School' yes some students have been involved in gang activity but it is such a small number it shouldn't even count, also i have never seen any proment gang active NEVER

>I feel the "ghetto" tag is a false interpretation of diversity, which is one of the most beautiful things about South Lakes, unlike other schools, South Lakes is a very cohesive and non-clanish School. Black, White, Latino, Asian, everyone really does get along, its a beautiful thing to see.

>Im also surprised no one has mentioned the IB art program, its n amazing program which im apart of. I feel no other school could have helped me develop such a since of apriciation for art and making it because our teachers let us explore and really think outside the boxs, unlike other schools where it i just basically paint by numbers. The Art department is something I will viamently defend zealously

>The IB program(which i also am apart of) is ten folds greater than AP to me because rather than just dump loads of more homework like AP does, The IB program really forces us to dig deeper in each subject. In IB English we annotate and anolizee amazing novels for months, In 20th Century Topics we explore every aspect of Modern History and imerse ourselves in not just our history but the world and see how it all comes together.

I hope my personal experience can help discredit some of these un fair rumors and labels.

If any one has any questions about the school and its enviroment please, PLEASe message me. I feel all this mudslinging is just ignorance and can be overcome with the truth, thank you

hmmm07 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SLVerity Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > hmmm07 Wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > > The same thing can be said for
> > > the music program. I know that in the all
> > > district bands, not many kids from South
> Lakes
> > > make districts. That has nothing to do with
> > the
> > > size of the program because that is an
> > individual
> > > audition. They will now be competing for
> > chairs
> > > in their own program with kids from
> Westfield,
> > > Oakton or Chantilly, all of whom regularly
> send
> > > many kids to districts and will likely take
> > those
> > > top spots.
> >
> > Please don't confuse size with talent. You may
> > want to check your numbers on All-District Band.
>
> > SL has sent many kids to All-District Band,
> most
> > in great chair positions. I recall that we
> > actually sent more than Chantilly two or three
> > years ago. I will ask the band director for
> the
> > stats and post them here this week. If I am to
> > understand you correctly, are you saying that
> > percussionists from Westfield and Chantilly
> would
> > have beaten out, for example, Kyle
> > Brightwell-Class of 2006, now a percussionist
> at
> > the Juilliard School, for first chair
> percussion?
> > Just because we are smaller does not mean we
> don't
> > have talented kids. We just don't have as many
> of
> > them.
> >
> > Are you also saying that the odds are just as
> good
> > if 50 kids audition as they are if 100 kids
> > audition? I am no mathematician, but I'm
> pretty
> > sure that the odds are on the larger group.
>
>
> I do apologize if South Lakes has, in fact, sent
> more than the other schools on a percentage basis,
> though I don't think the stats will bear that out.
> A Julliard acceptance is quite an accomplishment,
> but one student does not make a program. Has the
> South Lakes band program ever recieved Honor Band
> status? I checked the VBODA website and it does
> not appear that it has, going back to 1981 anyway.
> I know that there are smaller bands that do
> recieve superiro ratings, so why would I want my
> children, should they participate in band, to be
> moved to a school with a program less optimal than
> that of the high school they are currently slated
> to attend? I have also heard anecdotally from
> someone wihtin the SL community that the band
> director at South Lakes is "salivating" over the
> possibility of getting some Oakton, Chantilly or
> Westfield kids.

I don't see what the problem is. If your kids are as great and talented as you say they are, would that not improve the band to your standards? Why don't we put them to the test?

Dear SLstudent08,

Thank you for posting on this board. I want to prepare you for the onslaught of negative comments you are going to get from certain posters who seem duty bound to point out the grammatical and spelling flaws of any post by a SL student. Some don't understand the idiosyncrasies of posting in the ethernet, vs. writing a paper. Don't let them bother you and just ignore them.

FCPS Gamepiece Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Future SLHS Parent Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > FCPS Gamepiece Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Who exactly are you speaking to? You're not
> > even
> > > AT at high school yet. You bought your home
> > like
> > > everyone else to be in a school district.
> Stop
> > > trying to force people into your school to
> > solve
> > > their problems. Our schools ARENT crowded -
> > read
> > > the CIPs.
> >
> >
> > I'm speaking to you now, previously I was
> giving
> > my opinion.
> >
> > So I shouldn't worry about the school my child
> > attends just because he isn't there yet? Don't
> > you begin looking at colleges before you go?
> And
> > actually if you read the FCPS material it is
> clear
> > that schools ARE over-crowded. The school
> > distribution should be FAIR, each school should
> be
> > afforded the same opportunities. That what
> this
> > re-districting is all about. We all pay for
> these
> > schools through our taxes, and with time thru
> > parent involvement. Don't you think that any
> FCPS
> > you attend should have the same opportunities
> > available to it's students?
>
>
> Well, if you did your homework before you bought
> your home (like we all did except apparently you),
> you would see the test results, enrollment, etc.
> for your school. We all bought our homes with this
> concept in mind. You can't force people into your
> school because now you realize what you bought
> into. I bought my house 12 years ago. I
> carefully studied test scores, enrollment and all
> aspects of what a responsible parent considers
> when selecting a school district. South Lakes was
> then what it is now. It's not the responsibility
> of every other school in Fairfax County to bring
> up test scores of all low-performing schools. We
> didn't want our children to be in this district
> for a reason and we still don't. Why don't you go
> after your Reston neighbors that go to Langley and
> determine why they don't go to South Lakes? I've
> been subjected to 5 boundary discussions in 9
> years and 3 redistrictings. We just changed our
> high school 7 years ago and it's completely
> unreasonable to expect us to be subjected to
> ANOTHER boundary change. We've done our time. IS
> THAT "FAIR"????


First off, where the hell do you get off questions my parenting skills. For you information when we moved into our neighborhood we did not have children, and we had been informed by the doctor that we could not have children. Therefore, the school district was not an issue whn purchasing our house. So now fast forward some years and we have been blessed by children. So hold me at fault if you will, but now that I have a chance to speak my mind about re-districting I will. I am being the responsible parent in trying to improve SLHS. I am not as concerned with test scores as I want my children to have the opportunities at SLHS that are afforded to attendies of other FFX highschools in our area.

In fact on your point about Langley, I agree those folks with a Reston or Herndon address should not be attending Langley. I would be in favor of those areas moving to SLHS or Herndon depending on their address (Reston or Herndon).

In the future you should keep your comments to the school re-districting instead of trying to launch personal attacks against me when you know nothing about me.

Just back from the Chantilly meeting. If Fairfax County schools is among the best there is to offer, I hate to see the other guys! They did the presenation on the web site, then did the Q&A. Boy was that bad. Why no Langley? "see the web site...they're not over capacity (since they're building an addition)". "No decisions have been made". They asked the crowd who wanted the status quo...everybody except the contingent of South Lakes parents stood and applauded.
Stu, Kathy, etc, were there, and said NOTHING. I went to Stu afterwards and described his performance (or lack thereof) as cowardice.