School board approves boundary changes
The Fairfax County School Board on Jan. 22 approved a comprehensive revision of school boundaries.
The final boundary adjustments incorporate the revisions submitted by Superintendent Michelle Reid on Jan. 15 that pause an earlier recommendation that would have created split feeders at Beech and Belvedere elementary schools.
As a result, all students at those schools would move on to their previously assigned middle school for the sixth grade. The feeders for Beech Tree and Belvedere will be reconsidered in 2027.
Related story: Revised boundary plan pauses split feeder at Beech Tree
The goals of the boundary study, which started in 2024, were to reduce overcrowding and eliminate split feeders and attendance islands. Â
The final boundary plan reduces overcrowding at Glasgow Middle School, but not by as much as proposed before the plan was revised.
During the school board meeting, several follow-on motions failed to pass, including a motion to reduce the number of trailers and modulars in the next cyclical boundary review. Another motion that failed would have required a comprehensive after-action report on best practices and lessons learned from the 2024-25 boundary review.
Related story: Beech Tree families oppose split feeder plan
You’ve left out the fact that the Sleepy Hollow Woods and Columbia Pines neighborhoods now at Mason Crest/Glasgow/Justice are, in fact, being moved to Poe/Falls Church. Since those are the neighborhoods in the Annandale area actually affected by what’s now been adopted, it seems like that ought to be highlighted as much as the fact that there aren’t changes, at least not yet, to the assignments for Beech Tree and Belvedere students.
Boundary changes have been happening forever and will continue as long as population density changes from neighborhood to neighborhood. Just the way it is.
Can you imagine in the late 60s kids on Annandale Road across from the Chalk mansion (look it up) went to that new school (Woodson) they built waay out in Fairfax? Just the way it was.
Another thing to remember, government bureaucrats run the schools, not parents. Just the way it is.
Homeschooling is the way to go. You can design the entire curriculum (and extra curriculars) in a manner that suits schedules and kids’ likings, strengths, development opportunities.
Have a 30 minute family conversation at the end of the year, and make whatever changes are necessary for the upcoming year.
It takes some planning and isn’t for everyone. But if you’ve been thinking about it, do a little digging and you’ll find tons of local co-ops, online resources, and nearby families willing to help.