Rising ninth- and 10th-graders from a wide swath of western Fairfax County will have the opportunity to attend the county’s newest high school starting next fall.
Fairfax County School Board members voted last Thursday (Nov. 13) to allow students who otherwise would attend Centreville, Chantilly, Westfield, Oakton or South Lakes high schools to instead join the first classes at the currently unnamed new high school.
School board members earlier this year agreed to purchase the King Abdullah Academy campus on Education Drive in the Herndon area for $150 million — a price proponents argued is preferable to the estimated $430 million needed to acquire land and construct a new high school from scratch.
The site is part of Fairfax County Public Schools’ effort to ease crowded conditions at Centreville, Chantilly and Westfield high schools.
“This is a gift, to be able to address that overcrowding,” Braddock District School Board Representative Rachna Sizemore Heizer said.
At the Nov. 13 meeting, board members agreed that the school would have a comprehensive academic curriculum, similar to surrounding high schools, with a “special programming pathway” to be determined later.
Eligible students from the five surrounding schools will be able to decide in January whether they want to go to the new school. In subsequent years, the school will add 11th- and 12th-graders.
Franconia District Representative Marcia St. John-Cunning said she had no doubt the school would be able to fill up with ninth- and 10th-graders for the coming school year.
“The community wants this. The students want this,” she said.
St. John-Cunning was among those supportive of phasing in both the student body and planned renovations, rather than waiting several years to complete construction and bring in students.
“We bought this school for a reason,” she said. “We don’t need it sitting there.”
Those opting in will be able to attend whether they live within the eventual boundaries of the school or not. Those boundaries will be set early next year as part of a countywide school redistricting process currently underway.
While they will be permitted to attend, students who live outside the future boundary area will be responsible for their own transportation to and from class, Superintendent Michelle Reid said.
In a lengthy discussion, a number of board members expressed concern that the process was moving too quickly. Mason District’s Ricardy Anderson said she thought the goal of the Nov. 13 meeting was to determine the school’s specialization area, and that had not happened.
“We haven’t even identified what that special programming piece will be,” she said. “What are we going to present to the community?”
The same question was raised by at-large board member Ilryong Moon, who pressed Reid to explain what classes would be offered to students in 2026-2027, and how the course offerings would be shared with families as they make decisions about attendance.
St. John-Cunning said much of the discussion was sidetracking key issues that need to be addressed immediately, including letting families know who will be eligible to attend the school.
“We have spun ourselves into more confusion than is necessary,” she said.
Hunter Mill District Representative Melanie Meren said the concerns being raised should not be glossed over in an unnecessary rush.
“We have rules and procedures [in place] so we know what’s coming and the public knows what’s coming,” Meren said.
Ultimately, Anderson, Meren and Ryan McElveen (at-large) voted against approving “traditional” boundaries, a specialized programming pathway and a phased-in approach for the western high school. Dranesville District Representative Robyn Lady abstained, largely because she had wanted the facility used as a magnet school as opposed to an all-purpose comprehensive school.
The name “Western High School” has been used as a placeholder by school officials since the acquisition was announced. Board members plan on selecting a permanent name in February.
Funded by Saudi Arabia’s government, King Abdullah Academy opened at 2949 Education Drive, east of Dulles International Airport, in 2016.
The school previously was known as Islamic Saudi Academy, and had operated out of the old Mount Vernon High School Building from 1985 until relocating to western Fairfax.
Officials at the academy said financial pressures led them to decide to shut down operations after the 2024-2025 school year.
Image via Google Maps
