A “Brief” History of Boundary Change

My most recent blog, Essential Boundary Policy for a New Century, identified some “interesting” school boundaries in our area. Any rational person would look at those boundaries and wonder how they came to be. Of course, those non-contiguous, gerrymandered boundaries are a developer’s dime a dozen in Fairfax County. Nevertheless, I did a little research (shared below), but first I want to discuss the recent history of Policy 8130. I was surprised by recent history and previous efforts to prevent updates to the Boundary Policy. 

Revisions to Boundary Policy 8130

Although Policy 8130 has not been updated since 2013, which was largely in response to the One Fairfax policy, it was not for trying. In fact in 2019, there was a concerted effort by the School Board to make minor changes, but of course these changes were fought by the loudest and most organized voices. They stormed the July 2019 school board work meeting with 102 people so that there was standing room only, carrying photo-copied, inflammatory, emotional signs like “We are watching you.” 

2019 was the year of a Fairfax County School Board (FCSB) race, thus there was a hard push by a local republican PAC, Voices of Fairfax, and Fairfax GOP candidates to frame the election as a boundary election. Basically, their rhetoric was that “radical social justice warriors want to bus your kids to failing schools because of equity.” 

In retrospect, it was disingenuous and divisive framing using a (then) ill-defined term (“equity”) to spur people to action in an election year. This disinformation campaign used the usual scare tactics to rile up citizens by leveraging their honest interest in protecting their children’s future by protecting their children’s education.

I wouldn’t have noticed it at all, except that they held a supposed “non-partisan” 2019 candidate forum at my elementary school that included inflammatory framing in terms of boundaries, equity, and busing (note the correct spelling is “busing” not bussing as was used in their alarmist video, because “bussing” is something completely different). I was confused at the time, but others were not, per local social media flame wars. It was u-g-l-y and neighbors were fighting neighbors. Watching this unfold on social media clued me into the less savory political undercurrents of Fairfax County. As a result, the 2019 event at Mantua ES was solely a republican candidate campaign forum. All of those candidates failed at the ballot box in November, mostly because of their reliance on culture war issues and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.

The ugliness of this race spurred me to donate to a school board candidate for the first time–in reaction to at-large candidate Vinson Palathingal referring to Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) as a “silly thing.” Thus, I donated special education advocate Rachna Sizemore-Heizer running against him. Why? Because there was no way in heck that I was going to vote for someone who discounted my child’s learning disability. But, I digress….

In the middle of all of this chaos, the FCSB was trying to complete the work that they begin in 2018 when they initiated discussions based in part by the Facilities Planning Advisory Council (FPAC) annual report (see page 10, recommendation 23) when FPAC requested an updated charge for 2018-19 to include, “FPAC work with staff to recommend changes to the boundary policies and processes.” 

The FCSB held four work sessions to discuss and review boundary policy from 2018-2019 for a variety of reasons, including: overcrowding, over-reliance on trailers, continued growth, inadequate bond funding for renovations, planned growth, demand for pre-K classrooms, and a failure in more than thirty years to have a comprehensive review of policy 8130. Additionally, it was felt that the expedited process added to the regulation in 2015 was a “less than transparent approach.” The 7/22/2019 work session involved the organized protest described above and an associated disinformation campaign, which likely forced the creation of this fact sheet.

Of course, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) and FCSB continued their work even after the election of a new school board, including holding three community meetings in 2019, facilitated by MGT Consulting Group (MGT), an education consulting firm who shared information and a boundary policy presentation while collecting community input. 

On December 4, 2021, MGT provided the FCSB a series of reports at a school board work session, including Boundary Policy Best Practices Review Report, Boundary Study Report, Boundary Study Supplemental Materials. Likely, these are materials that have influenced current boundary policy discussions.

On February 13, 2024, the FCSB held a public forum to update and align the boundary policy with the new strategic goals of safety, support, and equitable opportunity. 

All in all, I’m glad that the current FCSB is trying to avoid piecemeal, disruptive boundary changes through financial, capacity, and growth lenses. One of the biggest suggested changes in Policy 8130 is to do boundary reviews for the county, on a 5-year interval which means that the FCSB would get a better picture of all communities and communities like Glasgow MS wouldn’t have to beg for and be denied a boundary study.

Since boundary changes are often called the “third rail” of education policy, it is not surprising that it has taken this long. Speaking of “long” here is a “brief” history of FCPS boundary changes in the last 20 years.

Attendance Zone Changes in the last 20 Years

I know of seven significant boundary changes in the last 20 years; however, I’m sure there have been others. When reading these summaries, be aware that there are real families, students, and schools behind these events–there is no way to capture their stories in such a brief format.

Because this is my blog, I will start with my own kids’ school, Woodson High School (HS), to explain the “barbell.” By starting with my kids’ school, I am also making a point about boundary change discussions: we care the most about our own kids and typically know the most about our zoned schools. 

The idea that people mostly care about their kids and only know their own school is the primary theme that has run through every attendance zone change in history and will likely continue in the future. This commonality can build strength in advocacy, but it can also be a trap leading one to only think of one’s own child (i.e., the “not my kid” phenomenon), if one:

• Fails to understand other communities or schools outside of one’s own school zone.

• Fears or has distaste for another school or community.

• Does not look to original sources for information.

• Refuses to understand that change is inevitable, and it will affect each of us.

I will do my best to cover the last 20 years, but I’m sure that I will have missed some boundary changes. Also, I’ve found some older Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) (2016, 2017, 2019), which may reveal more information about boundaries, but there are not enough hours in the day for me to read several hundred more pages of capital improvement data, but some of you may be interested.

Woodson HS “Barbell”

This strange “barbell” attendance zone actually occurred during two boundary changes: 2011 and 2015. I knew of the 2011 change because we had just moved into our house when suddenly all of the single-family homes west of the beltway moved from Annandale HS to Woodson HS. Having studied land use policy in graduate school I was concerned, because it seemed like they were simply moving single-family homes from a school dominated by apartment buildings; however, it turns out that the boundary change was more nuanced than that. 

The 2011 change was spurred by overcrowding at Annandale HS combined with Wakefield Forest Elementary being a “split feeder,” which is a school that feeds two different upper level schools, in this case half of Wakefield Forest ES went on to the Annandale HS pyramid, while the other moved to the Woodson HS pyramid.

Also it turned out that many residents in those homes west of the beltway wanted to stay at Annandale, rather than move to the “higher performing” Woodson HS. This is key to understanding boundary discussions: those attending a school, even a school considered “low performing” by outsiders, want to stay at their school, because they love their school community. Although testing may show that one school is higher performing than another, there is more to a school than test scores: students, teachers, and families who make a community that is a great place for an education. Thus, there is always rivalry among schools, but perceptions are not the truth about a school community, and are often grounded in an “us versus them” mentality and fear of change. 

In 2011, almost 90 speakers gave four hours of testimony at the boundary hearing. Many gave passionate speeches about why the neighborhoods west of the beltway should remain in the Annandale HS pyramid, and others spoke about wanting to remain in the Stuart HS pyramid. As per usual, the student speeches were the most convincing, like 2011 Annandale HS graduate Emma Barker who said “it took 513 students to make a difference in her life and that she would not be where she is today without her AHS family. ‘For years, Wakefield Chapel has been a part of Annandale. For me, they come hand-in-hand,’ said Barker.”

Source: Home By School

The 2015 western “barbell” was formed to accommodate overcrowding at Fairfax HS and Katherine Johnson Middle School (MS), then known as Lanier MS. At the time, the City of Fairfax identified that Fairfax HS and Lanier MS would be overcrowded in the next 3-5 years, so they asked FCPS for help. In response, the FCSB asked for a study of the issue that included several adjoining high school boundaries in the study (e.g., Chantilly HS, Falls Church HS, Oakton HS, Robinson HS, and Woodson HS). The end result of the study and hearings held at the time determined that the affected Fairfax City elementary schools would remain in the Fairfax Pyramid, but the students would then move on to a number of middle and high schools, including Frost/Woodson, Lake Braddock Secondary School (SS), and Robinson SS. Specific changes can be found on this 2016-17 High School boundary map.

McLean HS Decades of Overcrowding

McLean HS has a long history of overcrowding due to rapid development in the Tysons area. A comprehensive 2019 Tyson’s Reporter article highlighted the extent and source of overcrowding, noting that nearly all schools in the McLean HS pyramid would be over capacity in the next school year. Of course, that was five years ago!

In 2020, McLean HS had 2,350 students in a building built to accommodate 1,993 students. The Highlander, a McLean HS student publication, covered a December 7, 2020 virtual discussion of the overcrowding issues and solutions, including former school board member Elaine Tholen making the point that holds true for all overcrowded schools:

“If the school is overcrowded, it might prevent us from introducing new programs or different things that we might want to do if we had classroom space ... .As the school becomes over capacity, you don’t have those basic spaces for people to go to the restroom [or] eat their lunch. Even those basic things become an issue.” –Dranesville district representative Elaine Tholen

During the meeting, parents had distinct ideas about where their own child should go, including picking out “acceptable” middle schools. Some questioned why McLean HS wasn’t given an addition to accommodate the students (likely answer: too expensive) and some added that the solutions offered were only temporary solutions, as one-off attendance adjustments cannot accommodate long-term growth or change.

On February 4, 2021, a boundary adjustment (informed by the boundary study) was adopted by the FCSB for Cooper and Longfellow MS and Langley and McLean HS to provide “capacity relief to McLean HS by using available capacity at Langley HS.” To avoid split feeders, Cooper and Longfellow MS were added to the boundary study and adjustment to “slowly shift” students over the 2021-22 school year “with as little disruption as possible” (i.e., starting with rising 7th graders). The plan also slowly shifted students from McLean HS to Langley HS until SY 25-26 when complete by giving options to students in the 2021-22 school year to remain or move the next year.

None of this would have happened without organization and advocacy. In 2019, boundary review was demanded by the McLean Citizens Association. 27 speakers addressed the FCSB during the McLean Boundary Change hearing on 1/21/21 and a number provided input to the December 7, 2020 Feedback session. To be clear, some community organizations are more organized and have more power than others, which can mean that their demands are met before less powerful communities.

Of course, McLean continued to grow. On December 4, 2023, the FCSB approved another McLean area boundary adjustment, this time at the elementary level. New boundaries for six elementary schools would begin in the 2024-25 school year with a “phasing plan…approved to allow students the option to remain at their existing schools for certain grades.” See map to the right.

By the way, I have yet to figure out the non-contiguous attendance zones of McLean HS. Please contact me if you have any information.

Justice Pyramid Elementary Boundary Changes

On June 17, 2021, the FCSB approved a boundary change for the elementary schools in the Justice HS pyramid to reassign an estimated 497 students with new boundaries starting the 2021-22 school year. The adjustment immediately moved rising kindergarten and 1st grader students into six elementary schools immediately, with choice and phasing for students in grades 2-5. Only the elementary boundaries changed in order to keep enrollment below 1,000 students at each elementary–the middle and high school boundaries remained the same. 

Most of the students (389) were moved from Glen Forest ES which was relying on 12 temporary and 17 modular classrooms. A few in the community voiced dissatisfaction with the speed of the changes; however, the boundary scoping meetings began in June 2019 and community meetings in April 2021. 

In all honesty, it is hard to keep track of expected boundary changes, and many ignore the happenings at the local government until it feels like a crisis. For example, I was completely ignorant of those in the Woodson community until after they happened. I strongly suggest that people subscribe to and read the FCPS bulletins, because the bulletins give timely information about such happenings.

Southwestern Fairfax Adjustments and the Closure of Clifton ES

The closure of Clifton ES in 2011 was an interesting one to look at, because I have seen former Springfield District School Board Member Elizabeth Schultz and other former school board candidates complain about the closure at school board meetings in the last three years, but never knew the real story. 

Clifton ES was closed because of the excessive cost of renovation and projected enrollment declines. The source documents tell the story that renovation at Clifton would cost about 50% more per student ($35,287 versus $22,805 per student) than similar renovations at FCPS combined with a projected student population of less than 300 students in 2015-16.

Thus on February 24, 2011, the FCSB approved phased adjustments to school attendance areas in the southwestern part of the county for 21 elementary schools, and to close Clifton ES in June 2011. Clifton ES principal informed the school of the closure in a heartbreaking letter: 

"This decision will have a profound impact on our students, staff, and families," the principal said in the letter.  "Clifton Elementary School has played a significant role in the lives of Clifton families.  Closing the school is comparable to losing a dear friend, and many of us have already recognized that we have been passing through the five stages of grief—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.”

These emotions are part of learning to live with loss and serve as tools to help us frame and identify what we may be feeling.  Acknowledging the sense of loss we all feel, allowing ourselves to grieve, and accepting the reality of our loss will enable us to move forward and embrace change.  Our students need to see that the adults in their lives have hope for their future."

School closures are truly sad–I can attest to this personally–but they can also be a necessary part of life. When schools become too small and too old to function for the students who attend, difficult decisions must be made. These decisions are both financial and logistic–there are economies of scale in education which are reflected in both cost and available opportunities for students.

Eagle View ES Opens

School openings are celebrated, but they also involve attendance zone changes, as happened with the opening of Eagle View ES on September 5, 2006. In 2005, FCPS held town halls to discuss the change and solicit input, which resulted in six elementary schools phasing students into Eagle View ES beginning in the 2006-07 school year. Existing school attendance areas related to West Springfield and Lewis High Schools remained the same.

West Springfield and Lewis HS Boundary Discussions

There is a long, uncomfortable history between West Springfield and Lewis high schools, much of which goes back to the last century. Much of this “history” seems to be based on perception and misperception with some West Springfield families declaring Lewis as “problematic” while Lewis HS families loudly defend their school. 

These debates underpinned the early 2005 boundary hearings that had 86 speakers signed up and and also during town halls held in late 2005 to deal with overcrowding at Lewis HS (then known as Lee HS) by adding a nearby neighborhood zoned for Lewis to West Springfield. In January 2006, during this process, there were 126 pages of input from students, teachers, and families. Mostly students asked to remain with their friends, celebrated their allegiance to their high school, and for the FCSB to put an end to split feeders, while adults posed “what ifs” and sometimes verged into “us versus them” territory. Others vigorously defended Lewis High School as the best place for their children.

Honestly, I can’t quite tell how this was resolved, which makes me suspect that the attendance zone adjustment didn’t happen.

Change is Constant so Why would Boundaries be Different

One thing I’ve learned in my five decades is that change is constant. Nothing highlights that as much as a large suburban school district like Fairfax County. 

In the 1980s, I played in creeks that are now filled with McMansions instead of water. The Shakey’s pizza that we went to in high school after football games is now a karaoke bar. The movie theater at Heritage shopping center where I saw The Breakfast Club is long gone. Although I may mourn these memories, they remind me that change is inevitable and important. 

Developments are built. Companies move in. Remaining open space is infilled. Older developments become filled with older people, until younger people with children move in. In some ways, this change is the cycle of life, but in others, it is a sign of a healthy county with an ever-expanding economy and millions of opportunities.

Boundary changes in the last 20 years have amended the failures of the previous decades where little thought was given to the impact on families and students when schools were closed or reassigned. Ask me how I know…or better yet, ask my parents because they are still mad nearly four decades later.

In this century, FCPS tries to give options that recognize the needs of different communities and work to slowly phase change to prevent harm and disruption, as much as possible. They try to minimize disruption and calculate exactly how many students will be affected during each year of phasing. This is an uncomfortable and often contentious process, but it must happen in a county with hundreds of buildings, 180,000 students, and limited funds for capital improvement.

However, one thing our county has failed to do is update policy 8130 to reduce the number of “one-off” boundary changes. This current FCSB recognizes that and has expounded on the need for comprehensive policy change to solve that problem. The FCSB is not advocating for comprehensive boundary changes, just policy changes to ensure that we have school boundaries that best serve the community in this century.

Another thing I’ve learned as both a former kid and current adult is that kids are resilient, particularly if their families show them the way. Every year, Fairfax is filled with newly relocated immigrants and military families, along with others who come for great opportunities and a stellar public school district. Joining our school system is a change for each of them, but their families, teachers, and communities show them the way. They make memories of the change, but if we work together, we can avoid long term disappointment or trauma. 

Decades later, I still remember kindergarten orientation. I remember the teacher showing us where we could nap in a comfy, dark, quiet space. I remember the rocking horses, book nooks, and free play areas. I also remember being completely shocked on the my day of elementary school when I arrived in a first grade classroom filled with desks, with no toys or rocking horses, because I had tested out of kindergarten.

I remember my feelings that first day of school seeing uninviting desks, but as an adult, I know that it was a sliding doors moment for me where I met lifelong friends in that first grade class, once my shock wore off. Being moved ahead a year placed me with people who have been my friends for life. Change can be scary, but it can also be filled with opportunity. I would love to know what each of the students experienced or learned through their change over the years in FCPS.

Please consider approaching an updated boundary policy 8130 with an open mind. Choose to look at primary sources for information, instead of listening to pundits or closed social groups with an agenda. Doing so can help you understand why change may be necessary and how to guide your family and community while living in this vibrant ever-changing community of Fairfax County.

Please consider signing up to speak at the next school board meeting (on July 18th) to share your views on this subject (or any subject because the Summer can be slow) by signing up here between Friday and Tuesday before the meeting.

Signup to Speak at a Fairfax County School Board Meeting