Staff Recommendation Approved by School Board

On July 28, 2011, the School Board approved the Staff Recommendation in its entirety, passing and including the amendments regarding Pine Spring, Columbia Pines and Barcroft Knolls.  The vote on the amendment to keep Wakefield Forest ES at Poe MS and Annandale HS failed on a 6-6 tie.  School board members voting for the amendment (and therefore to keep Wakefield Forest ES at Poe MS and Annandale HS) were Jane Strauss, Ilryong Moon, Daniel Storck, Patty Reed, Tina Hone and Sandy Evans.  Those voting against the amendment were Tessie Wilson, Brad Center, Stu Gibson, Liz Bradsher, Jim Raney and Kathy Smith.  The School Board was obviously torn in this decision, and we understand that.  However, we are pleased that in the end, the School Board valued a long-term approach to resolve the overcrowding.

We wish to thank the hardworking Facilities staff, the School Board and their staff and the Ad Hoc Committee for the considerable time and effort they put into this process.  Thank you also to the many of you who wrote the School Board to let them know your opinion.  Your voice was heard!

Now is the time to move forward and heal.  We are hopeful that we will once again be able to come together as a community.

Amendments Proposed to Staff Recommendations

Yesterday, six amendments were proposed to the Staff Recommendation to relieve the overcrowding at Annandale High School.  Those amendments, and the school board member who proposed them, are:

1.  A motion to postpone action on the Staff Recommendation until the September 22, 2011, Board meeting, proposed by Sandy Evans.

(If the motion to postpone passes, then the rest of the amendments would not be offered.)

2.  A motion to amend the Staff Recommendation by retaining the eastern portion of the Wakefield Forest Elementary School attendance area at Poe Middle School and Annandale High School, proposed by Tina Hone and Sandy Evans.

3.  A motion to amend the Staff Recommendation by retaining the assignment of students in the Bren Mar Park “west” attendance area (those portions west of 395) at Annandale High School, proposed by Sandy Evans.

4.  A motion to amend the Staff Recommendation for the new elementary school at the Lacey site by retaining the current Pine Spring ES attendance island assignment at all school levels (Pine Spring ES, Jackson MS, and Falls Church HS), proposed by Patty Reed.

5.  A motion to amend the Staff Recommendation by assigning the Columbia Pines subdivision from Poe Middle School and Falls Church High School to Glasgow Middle School and Stuart High School, effective with rising 6th and 9th graders in school year 2012-2013, proposed by Sandy Evans.

6.  A motion to amend the Staff Recommendation by retaining Barcroft Knolls, Overlook Knolls and the Dean Subdivision in the Belvedere Elementary School attendance area, proposed by Sandy Evans.

For those who support the Staff Recommendation or who believe that Annandale HS is overcrowded and needs relief, you need to write the School Board NOW to voice your support and stress the overcrowding.   Not only is there a proposal to keep Wakefield Forest ES at Poe MS and Annandale HS, there is a proposal to keep Bren Mar Park ES west of 395 at Annandale HS, leaving Annandale HS severely overcrowded.  You should also tell the School Board that you do not want a delay.  Any delay will just put off the hard decisions until later and continue the divisiveness that we have all been experiencing already.

The School Board will vote on this subject on Thursday, July 28 at 7:00 p.m. at Luther Jackson MS.  The public is permitted to attend.

 Let the School Board hear your VOICE!

We received the following comment from a reader and wished to share it with the public:

From “Keep the Atom Together:"

You attempt to merely present an argument that it is solely about the overcrowding and the necessity to resolve the same "for the sake of Annandale". Annandale has been overcrowded more or less for the past 7 to 8 years. It made AYP based on SOL scores. The retired principal expressed in a letter to the school board earlier this week that the WFES community which attends Annandale is essential to the fabric of Annandale and their loss would be disruptive to the advances that the school has made over the past 5 to 6 years. It is NOT just an overcrowding issue. The school has been able to flourish in spite of the overcrowding conditions. It is just as much a socioeconomic issue. I completely understand your disdain with the thought of all of WFES being shipped off to Lake Braddock, and I suspect as far as I can tell that this option is dead. Why still push for all of WFES be sent to Woodson and Frost? Particularly given the fact that most who currently feed to Annandale from WFES would prefer to stay at Poe and Annandale. I find your request to send e-mail to the school board most misplaced. Without moving out the WFES feed from Annandale in 2015 Annandale would be at 102% capacity and 110% of core capacity. Yes, still overcrowded, but really no different from how it has been the past 6 or 7 years. Additionally, because of the liberal grandfathering, any shift in the attendance area will not reduce the attendance area for several years. Because there will be a need for additional boundary changes in the next 5 years, why not take a more cautious approach rather than one which endangers Annandale to closer to the tipping point.

As we read this statement, the writer has acknowledged that (1) Annandale HS is overcrowded; (2) Annandale will be overcrowded in the future, as overcrowded as it has been during the past 6 or 7 years, during which time FCPS did a boundary change to relieve the overcrowding; (3) that liberal grandfathering will not help relieve the overcrowding; and (4) there will be a need for a future boundary change in the next five years.  We are pleased that we agree on all of these points.  We cannot agree with the writer on five issues:

1.      The writer’s short-term approach.  If the writer cares so much about Annandale HS, WHY would the writer want to put AHS through another boundary change in five years?  Why not take a more long-term approach like the one we have advocated all along by moving more children out of Annandale HS and actually relieve the overcrowding?

2.      The entire reason that FCPS is looking at Annandale HS and attempting to come up with a solution is the OVERCROWDING.  This has nothing to do with socioeconomic issues.  Overcrowding is not good for any child.  ALL children learn better in an uncrowded environment.  Those who oppose the move of WFES to Frost MS and Woodson HS have not offered a solution to reduce the overcrowding to the same level as the Staff Recommendation (96% of program capacity).  To the extent AHS has succeeded (and it has), it has done so in spite of the overcrowding and not because of it.  That success has been a result of great leadership and of the performance of the ENTIRE student body, not just one neighborhood.  Imagine how successful the school might become if the population were reduced to within the building's capacity.

3.      A majority of those who currently feed into Annandale from WFES recognize that Annandale HS is overcrowded, that WFES can be a solution, and are in fact in favor of the Staff Recommendation.

4.      As demonstrated by the comments made by others disagreeing with the solutions espoused on our blog, which we have freely published, we believe in freedom of speech and expression.  We are astonished that the writer would tell anyone else not to write the School Board to express an opinion.  We respect the fact that there are those that have alternate viewpoints, and we ask them to respect the fact that our opinions may vary from theirs.

If you believe that the Staff Recommendation with regard to WFES is the correct solution, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.  We are a majority of Wakefield Forest.  Stand up and let your voice be heard.  Write the School Board today and ask them to relieve the overcrowding at Annandale HS.

Work Session Update

The School Board held a work session on Monday, July 18 to discuss the Staff Recommendation to relieve the overcrowding at AHS.  There will be an amendment proposed to keep Wakefield Forest ES students at Poe MS and Annandale HS.  It is unclear exactly what this amendment would be, but it appears that would be a return to "Option 1," whereby the only students removed from Annandale HS would be the 302 students from Bren Mar Park ES, who would be moved to Edison HS.  This does not move enough students to relieve the overcrowding.  Only removing 302 students is a short-term solution, and FCPS will be forced to revisit the overcrowding in the near term if this solution is adopted.  This opinion is borne out in part by birth rate data presented by Facilities staff to the school board during the meeting, which made it very clear that the density of population at Annandale HS is not a temporary change, but will continue to increase at a rapid rate.   

We still believe strongly that Annandale HS is severely overcrowded and needs relief.  AHS has the second smallest campus in Fairfax County, uses 16 trailers with 33 outside classrooms, plus a 14 room modular to educate its current student population, and has no space left to add any additional capacity.

We question why it is acceptable to keep one school at 110% of design capacity and 102% of program capacity when a neighboring school will be at 89% capacity, especially given the numbers of children coming in the future.  Overcrowding is not good for ANY child.  Option 1 is a short-term solution and is unfair to ALL of the students of Annandale HS.  

The final vote by the School Board will be Thursday, July 28 at 7 p.m. at Luther Jackson Middle School.  Please continue to send your e-mails to the school board supporting the staff recommendation and emphasizing the overcrowding.  If you have already sent an e-mail, we very much appreciate it, and we would appreciate it even more if you would send yet another one (or several) in the next 10 days.  Let your voice be heard!

One More Chance to Support the Staff Recommendation

We are asking our many supporters to write the School Board one more time to express your support for the Staff Recommendation because of the tremendous overcrowding at Annandale HS.  The School Board votes on this issue on Thursday, July 28 - a mere two weeks from now. There are those who would like to amend the Staff Recommendation to eliminate a Wakefield Forest ES unification at Frost MS and Woodson HS, leaving AHS still overcrowded. We are being portrayed as to the School Board and in the media as people who only care about test scores and are afraid of diversity. We and our over 200 supporters know this is not true, and now we need you to write the School Board and let them know that the majority of Wakefield Forest supports the Staff Recommendation.

We chose the name "VOICE" for this group because we felt strongly that, although a majority of Wakefield recognized that AHS was overcrowded and that WFES might be an ideal solution to the overcrowding, our voices were consistently drowned out by a small, very vocal minority that wants to stay at AHS. These are passionate people who are entitled to have and express their views. SO ARE WE.

When you write the School Board, if you believe these points to be true, you may wish to highlight the following:

1. The overcrowding: AHS is extremely overcrowded. The lunchroom, hallways, gymnasium and library at AHS were built for 2,179. The enrollment projection for the 2012 school year is 2,617. For the 2016 school year, they project 2,704. This is a difference of 400-500 students. No matter how many classrooms they add to AHS (and they have added a 14 room modular, as well as over 25 trailers), which helps with classroom space, they cannot increase the capacity of these core spaces because there is no room to do so. AHS is also the smallest campus in FCPS. There is simply no room to add any additional space. The Staff Recommendation moves 441 students by the 2016 school year, bringing AHS from 115.1% capacity to 96.3% capacity.
   
2. What is best for ALL of the students at AHS, rather than just a few? Is it better to keep a school overcrowded? Do students learn better in an overcrowded environment when they cannot negotiate the hallways or the lunchroom?
   
3. WFES is the only K-6 school in FCPS to enter a 6-8 middle school in 7th grade.
   
4. This is not about diversity or test scores. This is, simply, about overcrowding. The ad hoc committee looked at the overcrowding issue for six months, and one of its recommendations was to move WFES to Frost MS and Woodson HS. Facilities examined this issue further, sought, received and considered public comment, and agreed that the Staff Recommendation was the best solution here.

The possibility of a proposal of an amendment keeping WFES at an overcrowded AHS is very real. We need action NOW. Please write the School Board today and stay engaged on the issue.

Support the FCPS Staff Recommendation

Send All WFES Students to Frost & Woodson


The School Board still needs to hear from you!  Even if you have previously written to the school board, please send another e-mail to support the FCPS Staff Recommendation to send all WFES students together to Frost MS and Woodson HS.

The Staff Recommendation is being introduced to the School Board as new business on Thursday, June 23 at 7:00 p.m. at Luther Jackson MS.  During the next month, the School Board may be hearing from some in the community who wish to amend the Staff Recommendation.  It is imperative that the School Board hear support for the Staff Recommendation as it stands.  The School Board's final vote on this issue will be July 28.  If you support the Staff Recommendation, please e-mail ALL school board members.

Those interested in registering to provide public comment on the recommendation should do so by signing up online or by calling the FCPS Board Office at 571-423-1075. Public comments will be received at the public hearings scheduled for July 11 and 12, at 6:00 pm at the Luther Jackson Middle School, Auditorium, 3020 Gallows Rd, Falls Church, VA.

The staff recommendation will be voted upon by the School Board on July 28.  Please continue to communicate your opinions to the School Board members.

Why We Strongly Support the FCPS Staff Recommendation

We strongly support the Staff Recommendation because it:

1) Provides enrollment relief for Annandale HS that serves the long term.
The Staff Recommendation successfully eliminates the over-crowding of Annandale HS.  In the 2016-2017 school year, upon full implementation of the Staff Recommendation, enrollment at Annandale HS is projected to be 2,263, which is still 85 students over AHS' design capacity of 2,178, but well under the revised program capacity of 2,350.  This amount of students will allow AHS to remain robust in terms of class offerings while allowing for future pupil placement of students wishing to pursue an IB degree.  We have always believed a long-term solution was necessary and this proposal meets that need.


2) Balances HS enrollment in the region.
The Staff Recommendation does an excellent job of balancing high school enrollment in a region that includes some of the densest population ‘pockets’ in the County.  With US Census trends predicting a significant population spike within the Beltway, this solution allows for growth in all but one high school in the region.

3) Eliminates the only K-6 feeder into a 6-8 middle school in the county.
Wakefield Forest ES is currently the only K-6 elementary school to feed into a 6-8 middle school in Fairfax County.  The Staff Recommendation would send Wakefield Forest ES to a 7-8 middle school, making it consistent with its structure.


4) Minimizes impact on ESOL and FRL populations.
The recommended solution echoes a primary goal of the Annandale Ad Hoc Committee to minimize the impact of any change to Annandale HS on ESOL and FRL demographics and to maintain socio-economic balance to the extent possible, both requirements of School Board Policy 8130.


5) Permits liberal grandfathering.
Facilities has proposed a gradual transition of the Staff Recommendation to allow students who have begun their high school career at Annandale HS to remain in the school. Implementation of the boundary changes would begin with rising 9th grade students at the high school level and rising 6th or 7th grade students at the middle school level (depending upon the grade model) in SY 2012-13.  We believe once students have invested themselves in a particular school, its programs and community, that they be allowed to remain should they wish to do so.  We, therefore, heartily support the grandfathering proposal as detailed in the recommended solution.


6) Satisfies the requirements of SB Policy 8130.
The recommended solution adheres closely to SB Policy 8130.  It considers: the proximity of schools to student residences; enrollment balance; transportation costs and times;  geographic boundaries, school feeder alignments and contiguous areas; the impact on neighborhoods; and long-range capital planning.

There is no one perfect solution for everyone; however, VOICE believes the Staff Recommendation makes the best possible solution out of this difficult situation. We greatly appreciate the time and effort everyone, particularly the Facilities staff, has expended these past long months.

Staff Recommendation Is Out

After careful examination of the overcrowding situation at Annandale High School, the various options for resolving the overcrowding, and review of public feedback on the options, Facilities staff for Fairfax County Public Schools presented its recommendation to the school board today. In brief, the recommendation:

1. moves the Wakefield Forest ES students who would attend Poe MS and Annandale HS to Frost MS and Woodson HS;
2. moves the Bren Mar Park ES children to Holmes MS and Edison HS;
3. sends 85% of the new Lacey Center children to Poe MS and Falls Church HS, with the remainder going to Glasgow MS and Stuart HS; and
4. moves the Pine Spring ES island to Beech Tree ES, Glasgow MS and Stuart HS. 

The AAP Center at Glasgow MS will not be relocated. 

Facilities staff also recommended liberal grandfathering, applying to any student who started 9^th grade in the 2011-2012 school year.

The full text of the recommendation can be found on the FCPS site.

Those interested in registering to provide public comment on the recommendation, should do so by signing up online or by calling the FCPS Board Office at 571-423-1075, starting at 6 a.m. Friday, June 17. Public comments will be received at the public hearings scheduled for July 11 and 12, at 6:00pm at the Luther Jackson Middle School, Auditorium, 3020 Gallows Rd, Falls Church, VA.

The staff recommendation will be voted upon by the School Board on July 28.  Please continue to communicate your opinions to the School Board members.

Why Opposing Option 3 is Not Enough

We know some who oppose Option 3 believe Option 1 is the best choice because it maintains the status quo. As we’ve said before, that’s the problem. The status quo leaves AHS overcrowded with a burgeoning population within the Beltway, both now and in the future. Option 2 does the best job of removing a sufficient number of students from Annandale HS to relieve the overcrowding, now and for the foreseeable future. It even removes enough students from AHS to allow pupil placement for students who wish to take IB classes. We believe Option 2 is a WIN/WIN/WIN choice.

Survey Results Show an Overwhelming Majority of Voters Support Option 2

Thank you to the hundreds of you who have visited VOICE, signed our petition, and/or taken our survey tailored specifically to the Wakefield Forest community.  Your voices have been heard!  The results of our survey show overwhelming support for Option 2, an option which, if adopted, would unite Wakefield Forest ES as one feeder to Frost MS and Woodson HS.  Specifically, the results show the following:

• 82% of survey respondents agreed that the school board should change the boundaries so that all of the WFES students attend Frost/Woodson together.
• 94% of survey respondents agreed that the school board should eliminate the split feeder at WFES and send all of WFES students to Woodson if given a choice between shifting the AHS portion of the WFES attendance area to the Woodson pyramid, or shifting the entire WFES attendance area to the Lake Braddock Pyramid.
• 84% of survey respondents signed our petition in favor of having the school board make a boundary change to unify the WFES attendance area within the Woodson pyramid ("VOICE for WFES unification.")

These results are of adult voters only, living locally, and do not include children’s signatures.  Also, we only permitted an individual to complete the survey one time; multiple votes were eliminated.

Note that these results are not related in any way to the petition to oppose Option 4 (formerly Option 1a), to which there are currently over 250 signatures.  There are some in the community who are ambivalent to a move to a specific school who still realize that Option 4 is a terrible choice.  These are two entirely separate petitions and have been treated as such.

There are those in the community who try to paint us as a small group of parents with elementary age children from the east side of Wakefield Chapel.  On the contrary, as you can see by the survey results and as shown on the map below, we are part of a group of over 150 parents and families who have children of all ages, including high school, and who live on both sides of Wakefield Chapel Road.   Some of us do not have children.  Some of us have children of elementary school age.  Some of us have children who attend or will attend Poe MS and Annandale HS; some of us have children who attend or will attend Frost MS and Woodson HS.  We are not a small group, nor are we a minority.  We are instead a large, vibrant majority of the local community who supports Option 2 as providing the best long-term solution to the overcrowding at Annandale HS.

 

If you wish to join our campaign, sign our petition, or send us an e-mail at wakefieldvoice@gmail.com

Coming Next Week: Facilities Recommendation to School Board, Ensure Your Voice is Heard

On or about Thursday, June 16, 2011, FCPS Facilities staff will post their recommended solution to AHS overcrowding to the School Board’s website. The recommended solution will be introduced as “new business” at the School Board meeting on June 23 (7:00 p.m., Luther Jackson MS). Once the recommended solution has been released, the only way to make a change to the solution is for the School Board members to agree to amend the solution. The recommended solution may be any of the four options currently on the table or a combination of some or all of them. There will be no community feedback meetings after the release of the recommended solution.


What Can You Do?

1. Send an e-mail to the School Board members and Facilities staff to make your voices heard. Please be respectful in your comments. The School Board listens to specific, factually supported comments and suggested solutions rather than emotional argument. We recommend you support a particular solution and back it up with sound reasoning instead of just opposing any change. Many of the issues are discussed from our perspective on our web page. If you have already sent a letter or e-mail, we ask you to, please, send another outlining your position and your support.  Click here to send an e-mail to the School Board members and Facilities staff.
2. Sign up to speak at the public hearings, which will be held on Monday and Tuesday, July 11 and 12, at 6pm at Luther Jackson MS. To reserve a space on the speaker’s lists, you can sign up online starting on June 17 or call the School Board Office at 571-423-1075 from 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. The speakers list will close at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, July 8. Each speaker is given 3 minutes. Students get to speak first no matter when they sign up.
3. Be aware of other upcoming events: (a) School Board Work Session, at which the recommended solution will be discussed on Monday, July 18 (time TBA); and (b) final School Board action on this matter on Thursday, July 28 at 7:00 p.m. at Luther Jackson MS.

If you believe Option 2 is the best solution, here are some points you may want to consider in your message:

• It moves a sufficient number of children to relieve the overcrowding in the long-term.
• Option 2 best meets the requirements of School Board Policy 8130.
• Option 2 alleviates the overcrowding at AHS by using existing capacity at neighboring schools.
• Option 2 demonstrates even HS capacity across the region, ranging from 88.5% (Edison) to 105.3% (Stuart) whereas Option 3 ranges from 83% (Woodson) to 102.6% (Stuart).
• Approximately 70% of the WFES area is physically closer to Frost and Woodson than to LBSS. The transportation routes are already set in that buses to Frost and Woodson currently run through our neighborhoods.
• Woodson HS has a program capacity of 2,339 and requires approximately 570 incoming freshman per year to reach that enrollment but Frost currently sends fewer than 500 as the sole middle school feeder to Woodson HS.
• Option 2 will add only 12 children to the current enrollment of 1,049 at Frost and is scheduled for renovation in 6-7 years to increase its capacity. Frost design capacity (core building facilities such as the cafeteria, library and gymnasium) is 1,062 students (equal to 2016-17 projected enrollment). Frost’s program capacity (based on classroom usage) is 864, nearly 200 fewer students than its design capacity.
• Wakefield Forest ES is the only K-6 school in FCPS to enter a 6-8 middle school (Poe). Option 2 solves this inconsistency by sending WFES students to a 7-8 middle school (Frost). It eliminates two attendance islands and a split-feeder and reconfigures one K-5 school to a K-6.

Option 1 does not remove a sufficient number of students from AHS to allow for the projected enrollment, let alone the predicted population surge in downtown Annandale (2010 US Census). NOTE: AHS design capacity is 2,179 according to FCPS Dashboard and AHS will exceed this at 110% within five years; AHS program capacity (2,350) exceeds design by 171 students.

Option 3 requires students to be transported through two of the most dangerous intersections in the West Springfield Police District: (a) Braddock Road and Burke Lake Road, and (b) Burke Lake Road and Rolling Road.

Option 4 merely reshuffles the population within the subject area, resulting in a 105.6% capacity at Poe, and 133.2% at Holmes MS by the 2016-2017 school year, while AHS, at a projected 76.8%, would be severely underutilized.

Let the School Board Hear Your Voice!

Over the next two weeks, the School Board and Facilities staff will wrap up the community meetings and start narrowing down the options for addressing AHS’s overcrowding. EACH ONE of these options would have some impact, possibly dramatic, on your community and its school children. Once the School Board eliminates a particular option, it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to resurrect that option. If you have strong feelings about one or more of the options currently on the table, NOW is the time let the School Board hear your voice. Your voice CAN make a difference, but, if you do not speak out, the School Board may not know the true state of public opinion in the Wakefield neighborhoods. Here is what you can do:


1. Fill out the personal “Community Feedback Form” on the FCPS Facilities webpage.

Even if you answered similar questions at a community meeting with your table, you should still fill out this form because the School Board has indicated that they are also interested in hearing people’s INDIVIDUAL views. Submitting this form on your own will ensure that the School Board hears YOUR thoughts and concerns, undiluted by members of a group. The more specific comments you leave, the more helpful it will be to the School Board.

2. Write a letter or an email to the School Board members and Facilities staff.

The School Board has indicated that it pays closer attention to specific, factually supported comments and suggested solutions than it does to emotional arguments, so try to support a particular solution and back it up with sound reasoning instead of just opposing any change. Many of the issues are discussed from our perspective on our web page. If you have already sent a letter or e-mail, please send another outlining your position and your support.

3. Take our online survey, which is SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED on ensuring the voices of the Wakefield Forest community are heard.

If you have already taken the survey but your spouse has not, please have them do so—you are both voters, and members of the community, and both your voices should be heard by our elected officials. This is very important, even if you have already signed our petition opposing Option 4 (formerly Option 1a).

4. If you are opposed to Option 4 (the non-boundary suggestion), please sign our “Opposed to Option 4” petition.

For all of those who have contributed to this effort so far, we thank you. At the same time, please keep in mind that this matter will not be resolved until late July. Between now and then, changes in the proposed solutions can occur, even after they have been narrowed down to one or two, so it is important to keep the School Board and staff aware of what you, as a voter and community member, want to see happen. LET THE SCHOOL BOARD KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

Community Meetings Tonight

Please plan to attend one of the two community meetings tonight, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., at either Falls Church High School, Cafeteria, 7521 Jaguar Trail, Falls Church, VA 22042 (Use Entrance 8), or Lake Braddock Secondary School, Large Cafeteria, 9200 Burke Lake Rd, Burke, VA 22015, (Use Entrance 15).

After tonight, there will be one other community meeting, on Monday, June 6, 2011, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., at Annandale Terrace Elementary School, 7604 Herald Street, Annandale, VA 22003 (Use Entrance 1 and proceed to the gymnasium, which is immediately adjacent to the Parent Resource Center), which is intended for English speakers of other languages. Interpreters will be provided.

Come and let your voice be heard!

Frost Capacity

We've had many questions about the overcrowding at Frost MS. Specifically, we have been asked why we would advocate leaving an overcrowded school (Annandale HS) to go to an overcrowded school (Frost MS). The answer is that there is a difference in the type of overcrowding. There are two different types of capacity: program capacity and design capacity. Program capacity is dependent upon the programs that are offered by a school; design capacity is what the building is able to handle, programs or not. The program capacity of Frost MS is 864, but the design capacity of Frost is 1,062. Based upon the building capacity alone, Frost MS is not overcrowded and could easily accommodate the children who would be moved under Option 2. The children at Frost MS move around easily in the hallways and cafeteria and are able to get to their classrooms on time with minimal disruption. Contrast this with the current overcrowding at Annandale, where every ounce of space in the building itself and the modular is used every day. The classrooms at Annandale HS are used for every period, and teachers do not have their own classroom, but have to move around to use available space. This is why the school board is examining Annandale HS to reduce the overcrowding.

At its current program capacity, Frost MS does not have sufficient capacity to fill its high school completely, and there are no local middle schools available to supply additional capacity to Woodson HS. This is why there is a planned expansion of Frost MS, and why Frost MS has been identified by the CIP as “uniquely positioned” to be renovated. Again, contrast to Annandale HS, which has been configured to its optimal space and has been renovated. Modulars are in use, and there is no available way to create additional design capacity.

Option 2 includes sending AAP children from North Springfield ES (including children to be moved from Bren Mar Park ES) to Frost MS for the AAP Center, despite the fact that North Springfield ES feeds into Holmes MS, which is proposed to receive an AAP Center. These children could be reunited with the children from their base school and still receive AAP services by being sent to Holmes MS. We also question whether AAP children from Annandale Terrace ES and Braddock ES could be sent to the AAP Center at Holmes MS in that Holmes MS is closer to Annandale Terrace ES and Braddock ES. Also, we note that Ravensworth ES is currently an AAP split feeder, with some students attending Frost MS and some attending Lake Braddock SS, which also has an AAP Center. FCPS Staff has indicated that “[t]he final staff recommendation may include reassigning AAP students from a portion of Ravensworth Elementary School to [the] AAP Center at Lake Braddock Middle School, making the school a single feeder assignment for the AAP Center assignment at the middle school level." AAP reassignments to Holmes MS and Lake Braddock SS would serve three purposes: use capacity at those schools, reunite children with their base schools, and relieve some technical overcrowding in the AAP Center at Frost.

With regard to Woodson HS, program capacity utilization percentage at Woodson HS in the 2012-2013 school year is 100.3%, but drops to 95.3% by the 2016-2017 school year. Woodson HS program capacity is 2,339, and its design capacity is 2,356 (a difference of only 17 students). While we want to adjust schools for overcrowding, we can also object to schools being so severely under-crowded that they are negatively impacted. Option 3 would hurt Woodson HS by reducing its program capacity to 83.1% in the 2016-2017 school year. It does not provide adequate county-wide balance for the schools. Option 2 would serve to under-crowd Annandale HS while filling excess capacity at Woodson HS, providing better county-wide balance.

We are looking at long-term solutions to the overcrowding at Annandale HS rather than band-aids. In the long-term, Option 2, including the move of WFES to Frost MS and Woodson HS, is a more balanced solution to the overcrowding.

Thank you

A big thank you to all who attended the community meetings last night. Many opinions were expressed. Your voices were heard - exactly what we have been advocating.

For those who are planning to attend the community meetings at Lake Braddock SS and Falls Church HS on Monday, May 23 from 7-9 p.m., we wish to reiterate that:

1. Although Options 2 and 3 both remove sufficient children from Annandale HS to relieve the overcrowding, we prefer Option 2 because it is easier to implement administratively and does a better job of achieving regional balance.

2. We do not support Options 1 or 4. Option 1 does not move enough children from Annandale HS to relieve the overcrowding, even assuming the county's new capacity number of 2,350 for Annandale HS. If Option 1 is implemented, this area will be revisiting this issue again (for what will be the third time in 10 years). Option 4 does not allow FCPS the flexibility it needs to make boundary adjustments in the long term, will not relieve the overcrowding at AHS in the long term, and is disruptive to all of the children in the pyramid, but especially those at Wakefield Forest ES.

We will post detailed analysis of these options in the coming days.

Vote Option 2

Based upon our review of the boundary and non-boundary options proposed by FCPS to relieve the overcrowding at Annandale HS, we prefer Boundary Option 2 as the solution that makes long-term sense for FCPS because it provides the most enrollment balance for FCPS and it is easier to implement administratively. Option 2 eliminates some split feeders and attendance islands, both stated goals of School Board policy 8130, providing smooth transitions throughout their school years.

Boundary Option 1 does not remove enough students from AHS, and will more than likely require another boundary study soon to relieve additional overcrowding. Non-Boundary Option 4 will not give FCPS the flexibility it may need in future years to resolve other boundary adjustments, will not relieve the overcrowding at AHS in the long term, and will be disruptive to the lives of all AHS-bound students. Options 2 and 3 relieve the overcrowding at AHS, Option 2 is easier to administrate and does a better job of balancing enrollments across our region.

There will be calls to retain the status quo. However, if you do not want to revisit this situation and are a part of WFES that currently feeds to Frost MS and Woodson HS, OR if you believe that Frost MS or Woodson HS should not lose additional students, we believe that your best course of action is to tell the school board members that you are in support of Boundary Option 2.

Please write the school board members (schoolboardmembers@fcps.edu) and Denise James and Ajay Rawat of FCPS Facilities staff (djames@fcps.edu; ajay.rawat@fcps.edu) and tell them that you support Boundary Option 2 and that additional WFES students will be welcomed at Frost MS and Woodson HS. Backing Boundary Option 1 will not help in this situation as it will merely put us all in the same position again in a few years. Let's fix this situation now.

Look for more detailed analysis of these options on this site in the days to come. In the meantime, please take our survey indicating which option you prefer! See "Take Our WFES Boundary Survey" adjacent to this post.

Boundary Options Are Up!

The options being considered by the FCPS School Board are available.  There are three boundary changes (Options 1-3) and one non-boundary (Option 4, previously referred to as Option 1a).  Details are available on the FCPS site (http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/annandalestudy/regional/communitymeetings.htm).

Five community meetings are scheduled to answer your questions and collect your input are scheduled.  Each of these meetings will follow the same format and we encourage you to attend one of these sessions:

Monday, May 16, 2011, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
1. Annandale High School, Cafeteria, 4700 Medford Dr, Annandale, VA 22003, (Use Entrance 7)
2. Edison High School, Cafeteria, 5801 Franconia Rd, Alexandria, VA 22310, (Use Entrance 1)

Monday, May 23, 2011, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
3. Falls Church High School, Cafeteria, 7521 Jaguar Trail, Falls Church, VA 22042, (Use Entrance 8)
4. Lake Braddock Secondary School, Large Cafeteria, 9200 Burke Lake Rd, Burke, VA 22015, (Use Entrance 15)

Monday, June 6, 2011, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
5. Annandale Terrace Elementary School*, 7604 Herald Street, Annandale, VA 22003
(Use Entrance 1 and proceed to the gymnasium, which is immediately adjacent to the Parent Resource Center)
*This meeting is intended for English speakers of other languages, interpreters will be provided.

You will need to register for the session you plan to attend so Facilities staff will have sufficient material on hand.  To register please visit the FCPS Annandale Regional Study page (http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/annandalestudy/regional/).

Long-Term Solutions!

We believe that long-term solutions to the overcrowding in Fairfax County Public Schools are the only ways to end school congestion effectively.  The School Board recently established FPAC, the Facilities Planning Advisory Council (http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/fpac/appointees.htm),  to look at the county with an overall approach to resolve boundary issues.

In the boundary study addressing the overcrowding at Annandale High School, we encourage the School Board to view any of the boundary and non-boundary options with this same long-term view.  This is one of the many reasons that we oppose Non-Boundary Option 1a; instead of relieving the overcrowding at AHS by removing the population, it reshuffles the population to different schools, and prohibits flexibility to relieve further overcrowding. We believe that any boundary options should be examined from this perspective as well.

Boundary Options To Be Announced Thursday, May 12

It is our understanding that suggested boundary options will be released by FCPS Facilities Staff on Thursday, May 12.  The boundary options will be released at the following website: http://www.fcps.edu/fts/planning/annandalestudy/regional/index.htm.  These boundary options are in addition to Non-Boundary Option 1a, which the School Board previously included in the scope of the boundary study.

Welcome to VOICE!

VOICE  is a group of parents and residents who live in and near the Annandale High School attendance area.  We are dedicated to promoting smart and minimally-disruptive solutions to the overcrowding problems at Annandale High School (AHS).  We oppose non-boundary "Option 1a”, currently being considered by the Fairfax County School Board.  Given the absence of any other reasonable alternative, we also support elimination of the “split feeder” at Wakefield Forest Elementary School and unification of the WFES students within the Woodson pyramid as an essential element of any overcrowding solution, in large part because Wakefield Forest ES is the only school in the current Annandale pyramid which is a K-6 school, and the only school to go to Poe in 7th grade.  No matter what solution the School Board chooses, we believe that liberal grandfathering and/or pupil placement policies will minimize the disruptions to current AHS students and families, and we fully endorse the adoption of such policies.

We are aware that there are some who oppose “Option 1a” but who also oppose boundary changes that would remove WFES from the AHS pyramid.  For this reason, our advocacy will proceed on separate but simultaneous tracks, much as the school board is simultaneously considering both nonboundary ("1a") and boundary options.  We will not represent to the School Board or any other party that petition signers support BOTH our positions unless we have received approval from the petition signer.  If you would like to sign our petition opposing "1a", but are not in favor of WFES boundary changes, we still welcome you, encourage you to sign our "1a" petition, and will advocate strongly for rejection of “1a” regardless of the outcome of the boundary deliberations.

We welcome all voices to our site.  Our vision is that the Annandale High School crowding can be solved without resorting to "Option 1a", while all of the children in our community that graduate from WFES can transition together to Frost Middle School and Woodson High School.  Please be aware that there are some in our community who do not share our vision-- the possibility of changing schools is highly emotional.  Therefore, we ask that you please respect other people's opinions, that you abide by the site's "terms of service", and that you actively participate in the formal process the county is facilitating to help our children!  In the end it will be the 12 School Board members that vote and make the decisions on these issues.  In the meantime, we welcome the discussion!