Stop School Overcrowding -- Support Quality Learning Space
Community Boundary Meeting Monday (12/7)
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Fairfax County Public Schools system staff will be online Monday (12/7) to present tentative proposals and provide community discussion of a boundary adjustment between middle and high schools in the McLean/Langley pyramids.
The virtual meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. with everyone invited. Meeting Link
According to an FCPS Letter to the Community: "staff will present information and provide options for the community to consider. After the presentation, community members will work in virtual breakout rooms to share feedback on those options. The feedback will be collected and shared with the School Board."
The meeting is the second in a series that began last December to determine how many students from overcrowded McLean High will be moved to Langley High School which currently is under capacity.
During those meetings it was discovered that Longfellow and Cooper middle schools were not part of the boundary adjustment process. Including the Longfellow/Cooper students required FCPS school board action in March.
Last year before Covid-19 shut down the schools, McLean High was at 118 percent capacity with 2,350 students in a facility designed for 1,993. Langley High was at 1,972 students or 84 percent capacity last year.
When schools reopen McLean High students will be in 16 temporary classrooms. Roughly 500 students move from the security of the building to the detached classrooms during each class period.
Modular Classroom Complex Going Up at McLean
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Construction is continuing on a 12 classroom modular complex that will replace 14 class trailers, but will not provide any additional permanent, protected, quality learning space at McLean High School.
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The foundation is poured for the pre-fabricated modular which will connect classrooms through a main hall and have built-in bathrooms.
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The timeline is for the modular to be installed by January and ready for students and staff whenever they return to in-person classes.
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Fourteen trailer classes were moved off the site of the former basketball court 40 yards from the southwest doors of the school. Another four trailer classes will remain in use 30 yards from the school's southeast doors.
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FCPS is touting the modular as capacity relief. In reality, the modular does not add any permanent, protected square footage to the school. It will add much needed restrooms for students and staff on the crowded campus.
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Once the modular is installed, it will count as regular classroom space to determine school capacity. For example, last year Cooper Middle School reported 92 percent capacity with a modular. The school is at 117 percent capacity when the modular is not counted as permanent classroom space. (FCPS 2021-2025 CIP p. 84)
Expect the same kind of capacity counting when the McLean modular is installed.
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One proposal for overcrowding relief is a Boundary Adjustment between McLean/Langley high schools. Langley is currently 82 percent under capacity. Current FCPS Boundary Maps are available HERE.
Make Your Voice Heard -- School Officials say a boundary adjustment is the first step in McLean High overcrowding relief.
Now is the Time -- Boundary scoping meetings are complete and school system has posted questions, comments and concerns on their Boundary Adjustment Website.
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The scoping meetings are designed for students, parents and the public to “learn about the process, background information, possible scenarios, and work in small groups to provide feedback to staff about what schools should be considered in the boundary study.”
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Next step is drawing up proposals that will be prented in public meetings sometime in the spring.
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FCPS Superintendent Scott Braband responds to McSPaCES letters asking for administrative or emergency boundary adjustment to relieve overcrowding. He writes:
McLean Citizens Association Approves McLean High Boundary Adjustment Resolution (3/6/19)​
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WUSA9 Reports on Overcrowding (3/6/19)
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INCREDIBLE TURNOUT -- The scene inside the McLean High cafeteria during the 12/4/19 boundary scoping meeting where more than 200 students, parents and community members participated in the FCPS exercise to begin exploring a boundary adjustment between McLean and Langley high schools.
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Officials are also proposing relocating a 14 class modular complex to the McLean High Campus.
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The modular would most likely be installed on current site of the 14 trailer classes. The walk from the building to the modular complex would be at least 30 yards.
School board members with direct impact on McLean High overcrowding
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* Elaine Tholen -- Dranesville
* Karl Frisch -- Providence
At-Large
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McLean High Overcrowding
Too Many Students and More on the Way
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McLean High School (MHS) currently has 2,255 students which is 262 students over its stated 1,993 capacity (1).
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By 2023 enrollment will be at 2,505 students, a 10.6 percent increase over 2019 and 22.7 percent over the reported school capacity of 1,993 students (1).
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The main MHS feeder -- Longfellow Middle School – currently has 660 7th graders and 666 8th graders (10). The 2018-19 freshman class is 600 students (11).
Not Enough Building
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MHS, at 114 percent over capacity, is currently the fourth most crowded among the 25 high schools in the FCPS system (2).
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MHS is expected to be over 127 percent of capacity and the most crowded high school in the system by 2022 (8,9).
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At 127 square feet, MHS is ranked third worst in square footage space allotted per student (2). The worst is Oakton High School at 110 square feet and currently undergoing renovation (2,4). The second worst is Centerville High School at 126 square feet which is scheduled to undergo renovation in 2025 (2,4).​
No Plans for Building Relief
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MHS, last renovated in 2004, is not included in any “capacity enhancement” plan or renovation schedule in the current Capital Improvement Program which runs through 2028 (4).
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There is no indication in any school system document that MHS student population will decrease within the next five years or beyond.
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There is discussion of a boundary adjustment to reduce student numbers, but there is no scope or time frame for any relief (5).