Stop School Overcrowding -- Support Quality Learning Space
FACTS & FIGURES
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).
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A boundary adjustment between McLean/Langley high schools has been proposed but not officially debated.
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Langley High is at 82 percent capacity with 1,923 students. The numbers are expect to fall to 1,861 unless students are brought in. (1)
More Class Trailers
the Big Idea
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MHS has 14 trailer based classrooms which during a class period seats 420 students. There are 30 students per trailer class on average (2).
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By comparison, West Potomac has 18 trailer classes and is scheduled for “capacity enhancement” in 2022 (2,4). Centerville High School, the second most congested, has 14 trailer classes (2,4).
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McLean High School’s class trailers are anywhere from 180 to 380 feet from the main building. The trailers are outside the building’s security envelope and students are exposed to the elements while walking to and from class (6).
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Plans are for a 14 classroom “modular” building to be installed sometime in the future on the softball field south of the current 14 classroom trailer park (5,7).
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The modular structure would be at least 450 feet from the doors of the school and 840 students would then be outside the building’s security envelope (6).
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Herndon is the only high school in the county with 28 trailer classes and it is currently undergoing renovation (2).
SOURCES
(1) FCPS Dashboard – Capacity & Enrollment SY 2018-2019
(2) FCPS Dashboard – Facility & Site SY 2018-2109
(3) FCPS Capital Improvement Program FY 2020-2024 p. 62
(4) FCPS Capital Improvement Program FY 2020-2024 p. 45
(5) FCPS Capital Improvement Program FY 2020-2024 p. 85-86
(6) Google Maps, visual observation and manual measurement
(7) Kevin Sneed, Special Projects Administrator of Capital Projects and Planning, community meeting 2/21/19
(8) FCPS Capital Improvement Program FY 2020-2024 p. 91
(9) A fifth grader today would be a freshman in Fall 2022
(10) LMS/FCPS School Profile – Membership
(11) MHS/FCPS School Profile -- Membership
(above) One side of 14 class modular complex slated for McLean High.