V.O.I.C.E.

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.