Re: Which schools pyramids in FFX county are "desirable"?
Posted by:
Marshall Booster
()
Date: April 19, 2008 12:10AM
MR Wrote:
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> Thanks Marshall parent- just wondering what you
> think may drive a RD- we are in a great school
> district (at least real estate wise- madison) but
> need a larger home due to our expanding family- we
> both work in FFX cty and don't want hellish
> commutes..
>
> I take it your kids go to Marshall- I am
> interested in your comment of how the school has
> not supporters like Madison with town of vienna
> has- and how it may get sold (is that possible?) -
>
>
> where do you live (obviously somewhere that feeds
> to marshall)
As far as I can tell, there are two main factors that drive a redistricting. The first is the construction of a new school to alleviate overcrowding that, by design, results in a reallocation of students to the new school. The second is a particular school board member taking up a personal cause, either on his or her own initiative or at the behest of parents with more influence than the average shlub, to shift the boundaries to achieve some goal that may or may not be appropriate, but probably can be defended under FCPS guidelines. Parents and students generally are happy with the first type of redistricting, over time if not immediately; the second type of redistricting is far more divisive. We don't have to look very far for examples of that.
With respect to Marshall, my comment about community support was not intended to suggest that parents don't support the school; to the contrary, there is an active PTA and many parents are outspoken in their enthusiasm for the school, the IB program, etc. I only meant that Madison is treated by the town of Vienna, which has a discernible core, as the local school, so there is a very nice element of civic support for the school from local merchants and small businesses. Marshall - which sits near 495 and Tysons Corners Mall - just doesn't get that.
From time to time, there is speculation that the county will sell Marshall since it has a small, albeit increasing, enrollment (only Falls Church is smaller) and is near Tysons. Right now, the SB has Marshall slotted for major renovations over the next five years, after Woodson and Edison, but the funds have not yet been raised through a bond issuance for that purpose. Until that actually happens, those rumors will continue to persist. If Marshall were closed, I assume the students would get sent mostly to Madison and Falls Church, and there could be spillover effects that would result in some Madison students being sent to South Lakes and Oakton.
The other big uncertainty is whether the SB will decide to RD to increase Falls Church's enrollment, like it did earlier this year with South Lakes. It seems like the easiest fix to accomplish that goal, however, would be to move the boundary between Falls Church and Annandale, which has the largest student body by far of any of the county schools in the eastern part of the county, rather than change Marshall's boundaries or those of its neighboring schools.