FCPS schedules community meetings on school boundary changes

Fairfax County Public Schools has scheduled a series of community meetings on a districtwide review of school boundaries.

Meetings in Mason District will be held:

• Nov. 18 at Glasgow Middle School, 6:30-8 p.m., and
• Dec. 12 at Annandale High School, 6:45-8:15 p.m.

At each meeting, Superintendent Michelle Reid will present the rationale and process for revising school boundaries. Small-group breakout sessions will follow, with a moderator facilitating a conversation with scripted questions.

The information collected and views expressed during these meetings will inform the development of potential scenarios for amending school boundaries. 

There will be a second round of community meetings at every high school during June-September 2025. These meetings will occur after FCPS has developed potential boundary scenarios.

The School Board approved an updated boundary policy on July 18. This was the first time the policy was reviewed in nearly four decades.

According to FCPS, the policy ensures every student has access to excellence and opportunities in alignment with the FCPS 2023-30 Strategic Plan.

On Sept. 12, the School Board awarded a $546,953 contract to Thru Consulting to manage a 16-month review of school boundaries across the district.

The review would establish consistent “attendance zones” by removing isolated attendance areas and reducing split feeder patterns. This would increase the likelihood that students from the same neighborhood would be assigned to the same school which are also the closest option. That would minimize travel time for students.

The superintendent’s Boundary Review Advisory Committee – to be made up of parents/caregivers, school-based administrators, teachers, operational staff, and community members – will offer additional perspectives.

Without a comprehensive review, piecemeal boundary changes have resulted in split feeders, “attendance islands,” overcrowding, excessive transportation costs, and lots of trailers and modular classrooms.

A split feeder happens when students in an elementary school are assigned to different middle schools or when students in a middle school attend different high schools.

According to the FCPS Capital Improvement Program for 2025-29, 31 elementary schools and six middle schools are split feeders, including several schools in the Mason District/Annandale area:

• Columbia Elementary School – some students go on to Holmes Middle School and others go to Poe Middle School.
• Mason Crest ES – Poe and Glasgow Middle School.
• Parklawn ES – Glasgow and Poe.
• Holmes MS – Annandale High School and Edison High School.
• Poe MS – Annandale and Falls Church High School.

An attendance island is a neighborhood that is assigned to attend a distant, under-enrolled school. Those students endure long bus rides instead of being able to attend schools in their neighborhoods.

There are 16 elementary schools, four middle schools, and three high schools that have attendance islands. The only one close to the Annandale/Mason District area is Ravensworth Elementary in North Springfield.

Fifteen elementary schools have significant overcrowding, defined as above 115 percent of capacity. Parklawn Elementary would be at 138 percent if its many modular classrooms aren’t counted, according to the CIP. Bailey’s Elementary would be at 117 percent without modulars.

Underutilized elementary schools where enrollment is expected to decline include Columbia, Westlawn, Woodburn, Glen Forest, Annandale Terrace, and Bren Mar Park.

The comprehensive boundary review would also consider school programs, such as Advanced Academic Program Centers and International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, special education, and early childhood programs.