Parents weigh priorities for FCPS boundary study

*One goal of the boundary study is to reduce long bus rides and transportation costs.*

Parents and community members discussed their priorities for a districtwide boundary review at Glasgow Middle School on Nov. 18.

This is the first time Fairfax County Public Schools is looking at school boundaries in a holistic way in nearly 40 years, Superintendent Michelle Reid told approximately 170 attendees.

The session at Glasgow was the first of six community meetings – one in each FCPS region – to discuss the school boundary study. A meeting at Annandale High School will be held on Dec. 12, 6:45-8:15 p.m.

David Irwin of Thru Consulting, which was hired by FCPS to oversee the boundary study, outlined the four priorities identified by the school board:

Ensure equitable access to programs and facilities.
Address the imbalance of over and under-enrolled schools.
Establish contiguous attendance zones and maintain neighborhood groupings.
Reduce the amount of time students sit on school buses.

Phase 1 of the boundary study, underway now, includes community engagement and data collection, said Namratha Bharadwaj of Thru Consulting. Data analysis will begin in March 2025.

A 50-member Boundary Review Advisory Committee – with two parents or caregivers from each region – will draft boundary adjustment scenarios considering community feedback and data analysis.

During phase 2, starting in summer 2025, there will be additional community meetings and surveys based on the scenarios developed by the committee.

The superintendent will then submit a recommendation to the school board. The school board is expected to approve a new boundary plan in 2026.

The whole process will be “driven by collaboration and community input,” Bharadwaj said.

In the Annandale/Mason District area, there are several schools over capacity and others with split feeders.

The audience was divided into breakout groups to discuss their top priorities, data or other insights that should be considered, their hopes for the outcome of the boundary study, and questions about the next steps.

Here are some takeaways from the breakout sessions:

The top priority should be equity among schools.
Promote safer ways to get to school.
Focus on schools that are over and under capacity.
Minimize the number of students relocated to another school.
Students’ proximity to school is a major priority.
Keep neighborhoods together.
Avoid having attendance areas divided by a major road, such as Route 50.
Make middle schools consistent in terms of grades; some have grades 6-8 and others have 7-8.
Take housing development plans into consideration when projecting enrollment.
Have transparency around data collection.
Overcrowding isn’t always a boundary issue; in some cases, it’s due to Advanced Academic Program centers or other special programs.
Students shouldn’t have to cross major streets.
Eliminate split feeders.
Shorter bus times will promote better mental health, improve student outcomes, strengthen communities, and reduce transportation costs.
Avoid disruption for students. Current students should be grandfathered in, allowing them to stay in the same school.
Promote more socioeconomic diversity.
When projecting enrollment, consider single-family homes with multiple households.
Have meetings in underrepresented neighborhoods, such as Culmore.
How will the new boundaries be phased in?
Surveys should be done earlier in the process, not at the end of phase 2.
The process shouldn’t end up with winners and losers.

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