Friends of Madison

It does seem silly since Madison does not appear to have the overcrowding issues. Why mess with JMHS since they're not overcrowded or under enrolled.

The reasoning that they are not tied into the Reston community is justified. Whether or not people think the "island" is almost to Reston, those kids went to Madison when I was in high school and the neighborhood is tied into Vienna and not Reston.

But, I will say this on the flip side - when I read a Washington Post article and parents stand up in front of South Lakes students and scream their children will be "traumatized" if they attend the school, that is just stupid. My college roommate attended South Lakes '90 and I sure she'd be very surprised to know that she is traumatized by the event.

Find some 30-40 year old Vienna residents around here and ask them how many of their older siblings attended Oakton HS and they went to Madison HS? Boundaries change and people get unhappy. Life is not fair. We adapt. We change. We survive.

p.s. I know a great new home for sale in Madison HS district if anyone is looking! :)

It doesn't make sense for an island in Reston to go to Madison if South Lakes is underenrolled. If I lived in that island, I would be seriously upset about my kids having to change schools, but what is the Superintendent supposed to do? He has to make choices that are best for the whole system, and this kind of thing seems like a no-brainer. If South Lakes were redistricted to include some wealthier areas, like the Madison island (or if wealthier Reston families pulled their kids from private schools and sent them to SL), I'm sure it would improve dramatically. That's an unfortunate reality. I'm not saying low-income kids are less academically able, but higher-income families are sometimes able to put more effort into a school. Eventually, SL will be a good school. Unfortunately, that might not happen in the next few years. School districts can't remain static forever if demographics change. It's absurd to have one school bursting at the seams and another one a few miles away underenrolled by hundreds of kids.

That said, we moved to Vienna in order to be in the Madison pyramid. If this happened to me, I'd move to remain in Madison. But I wouldn't say it wasn't fair. It sucks if it happens to you, but it's not unfair.

It's a done deal:

Fairfax School Board Approves New Boundary Plan

By Michael Alison Chandler
Washington Post
Friday, February 29, 2008

Fairfax County is reshaping the school pipeline for thousands of students in the western part of the county, with new attendance zones for five high schools.

Just before 11 p.m. last night, the Fairfax school board voted 10 to 2 vote for the new school boundary plan. The action, over the objections of many parents from the affected schools, came after the board rejected proposals for a moratorium on new boundaries.

The vote culminated a long and often acrimonious debate over how to reduce disparities in enrollment and academic programs in the Washington region's largest school system. The debate was especially notable for a board that has prized consensus in recent years.

Under the plan approved by the board, yearly enrollment at South Lakes High School in Reston will grow by as many as 600 students by 2012, an expansion that will switch the destination high school for thousands of students.

The new students will come from neighborhoods previously assigned to Westfield High School in Chantilly and Oakton and Madison high schools in Vienna. In addition, the plan calls for some students in Chantilly High's zone to be rerouted to Oakton. No current high school students will be affected.

The plan, to be phased in starting this fall, will help boost enrollment at South Lakes High and reduce the proportion of students there who come from poverty (about a third) and speak English as a second language (nearly one-sixth).

South Lakes has somewhat lower test scores than most of its neighbors and a higher percentage of disadvantaged students. But administrators boast about renovations underway on campus, strong course offerings and motivated students.

Board member Stuart D. Gibson (Hunter Mill), a proponent of the plan, said it is "about making sure that all children we serve have the same access to the services we expect for all our children."

Newly elected board members Martina A. Hone (At Large) and James L. Raney (At Large) urged the board to halt the process and rethink the school system's approach toward drawing boundaries.

Hone proposed a countywide moratorium on boundary changes, with exceptions for new schools, to allow a review of all attendance zones.

"I believe that this is the healthiest thing for our community to do," she said, "especially after this very difficult exercise: to stop, assess, plan and make the difficult decisions that we have to do countywide."

Her proposal drew an ovation from parents who oppose new boundaries but failed 10 to 2. Several board members said changes in western Fairfax are needed now. A moratorium "does not address the immediate problem," said member Tessie Wilson (Braddock).

The same majority held in the final roll call for the boundary plan, which concluded shortly before 11 p.m., with Hone and Raney dissenting.

In hearings leading up to the vote, many parents skeptical of South Lakes High called the plan unnecessary and urged the board to reject any change in high school attendance boundaries.

Some vowed to fight the plan in court if it was approved. Others said they would rather pay for private school or seek permission to place their children in another public school instead of South Lakes.

But there were also many parents and students who defended South Lakes, calling the school underrated and challenging skeptics to tour the campus.

The School Board started the boundary study in July. Officials held town hall meetings in November and December that drew thousands of residents, an unusual outpouring. The board also held several public hearings in recent weeks.

Last night the board also approved plans to move some students from Wolftrap Elementary School in Vienna to Sunrise Valley Elementary in Reston and from Thoreau Middle School in Vienna to Hughes Middle in Reston.