The Superintendent’s Recommendation - Amended Comprehensive School Boundary Review undergoes eleventh-hour changes, as seen in red.
Leading up to the Fairfax County School Board’s Jan. 22 vote on the division’s comprehensive boundary plan, Superintendent Michelle Reid and her staff scrambled to revise school boundary plans, leaving it looking more like a patchwork quilt, amid fierce community pushback in the days just ahead of the vote. Eleventh-hour reversal adjustments, going from impacting 2,210 students to 1,697 in just two weeks (Jan. 8 to Jan. 22), ended a chaotic two-week period that left parents chasing outdated maps to determine their children’s future.
Ultimately, the board’s 8-3 vote spared several neighborhoods, 513 students, but delayed addressing overcrowding issues. It forces officials back to the table long before the five-year mark designated by board policy. They wanted a five-year cycle of stability.
According to a bulletin from School Board member Robyn Lady (Dranesville) that Fairfax County Public Schools sent Jan. 21, the public should “view the school board’s amended presentation with revised recommendations for changes to school boundaries. Changes are noted in red. The amended executive summary has also been updated to include additional sites to be reviewed by January 2027, as well as those to be reviewed during the next boundary review cycle. Find more information on Board docs.
However, according to Fairfax County Public Schools, while the district recommends using the official FCPS Boundary Review Scenario Explorer at https://boundary.fcps.edu/boundary/, as of Jan. 28, a caution headline fronts the boundary explorer tool: “Please note: The Boundary Explorer tool will be updated by the end of January.”
Superintendent Reid confirmed on Jan. 26 that families specifically affected by the changes will receive direct mail or email notifications in the coming weeks.
Sites for Review in One Year, January 2027
* The neighborhoods within the boundaries of the Gunston, Halley, Laurel Hill, and Lorton Station elementary schools.
* The Bren Mar Park Elementary School middle and high school feeders.
* Greenway Downs, Jefferson Village, City Park Homes and Kingsley Commons neighborhoods.
* Rolling Valley Elementary School middle and high school feeders (SPA 8922).
* Glasgow Middle School changes related to the Beech Tree Elementary School and Belvedere Elementary School areas.
* Keene Mill Elementary School attendance island and the surrounding schools (e.g., Cardinal Forest Elementary School and White Oaks Elementary School).
Flagged Sites for the Next Five-Year Review Cycle
Flagged schools for the next review cycles, or areas for closer examination ahead of or during the next boundary review in five years, include but are not limited to the following:
* The Briarwood Trace and Briarwood Farms communities: To be reviewed in approximately two years. This is to ensure that data is collected on the impact of the opening of the new Western High School on enrollment at Oakton High School.
* The Tysons Green community: To integrate a priority transfer space option during the gap year timeline, starting in fall 2026, for high school students only who wish to transfer to Madison High School and provide their own transportation. The middle school option for Thoreau is not possible at this time.
* The Bull Run Elementary School boundary is on hold for now and will be reviewed with the Western High School boundary study.
* Lewis High School: Review the boundary and other under-capacity schools.
* West Springfield High School: Review the boundary and other over-capacity schools (105% or more).
* Riverside Elementary School Full-time Advanced Academic Program Center: To be considered for relocation to Woodley Hills Elementary School before the next comprehensive boundary review, with a possible soft launch sooner.
* Non-residential areas: School boundary realignment for areas such as the Buckman Road and Richmond Highway intersection, and Greendale Golf Course and the surrounding area.
* Minor adjustments: Small school boundary adjustments (e.g., 2817 Douglas St. was addressed in the current comprehensive boundary review).
If the school board moves forward with establishing Advanced Academic Program (AAP) Centers in all middle schools, board members directed Reid last fall to present an implementation plan by this March.