Revised boundary plan pauses split feeder at Beech Tree
Fairfax County Schools Superintendent Michelle Reed has revised the school boundary proposal to pause the recommendation that would have created split feeders for Beech Tree and Belvedere elementary schools.
Beech Tree families had complained that a previous proposal to split off some students, sending them to Poe Middle School, then to Falls Church High School, was announced late in the process without providing adequate notice. That change wasn’t reflected in the boundary map tool until early January.
As a result, all Beech Tree students will continue to go to Glasgow Middle School for the sixth grade.
Related story: Beech Tree families oppose split feeder plan
The revised recommendations, announced Jan. 15, also pause the recommendation to create a split feeder at Belvedere Elementary School, which called for reassigning some students from Glasgow to Holmes Middle School.
One of the key objectives of the comprehensive boundary study was to eliminate split feeders, while the superintendent’s earlier recommendations would have created new ones.
The school board is set to vote on a comprehensive boundary plan for the entire county on Jan. 22.
The updated proposal says changes to the Glasgow attendance area related to Beech Tree and Belvedere will be developed by January 2027, following additional opportunities for community engagement. A previous recommendation affecting Bren Mar Park Elementary School’s feeders has also been paused.
The superintendent’s recommendations announced on Jan. 8 would have affected 2,210 students countywide. The revised plan reduces that number to 1,697.
Related story: Bren Mar Park ES parents concerned about last-minute boundary proposal