An end to Fairfax County Public Schools’ first district-wide boundary overhaul in four decades is within sight, though the approval of new maps is unlikely to resolve all questions.
Superintendent Michelle Reid’s final recommendations for the revised boundaries have been released ahead of a presentation to the Fairfax County School Board tonight (Thursday) and a public hearing that will be held at Luther Jackson Middle School this Saturday (Jan. 10) at 10 a.m.
Supported by the hired consulting firm Thru Consultants, the comprehensive boundary review kicked off in fall 2024 after the school board adopted a new policy requiring the superintendent to reevaluate boundaries across the division every five years.
Years of tweaking boundaries to address capacity issues on a case-by-case basis — most recently, for McLean-area elementary schools in 2023 — created “several challenges” with split feeders separating students into two or more middle or high schools, and attendance islands assigned to schools with no geographic connection, according to a white paper accompanying Reid’s presentation:
As of School Year (SY) 2025–26, 42 schools function as split feeders across two school levels, affecting all six regions and 18 of the division’s 24 high school pyramids. This includes 30 elementary schools feeding into multiple middle schools, 33 elementary schools feeding into more than one high school, and six middle schools split between multiple high schools. In addition, 22 schools across the division have attendance islands (16 at the elementary level, three in middle school, and three in high school) spanning five of the six regions and 14 of the 24 high school pyramids. Collectively, these patterns create inconsistencies in student progression, strain operational efficiency, and underscore the need for a systemwide, modernized boundary approach.
More regular reviews will result in “a clearer, more predictable, and more equitable process” for addressing crowding and other changes in facility needs, Reid said in a message to the community.
After the presentation and public hearing this week, the school board is expected to vote on the proposed boundary changes at its Jan. 22 meeting.
Which schools would be affected?
Reid’s recommended scenario will affect approximately 2,210 students across 52 schools, most of them in elementary school, and eliminate eight split feeders and four attendance islands.
Elementary schools
- Coates: shifts students to McNair, McNair Upper (108 students), Floris (65) and Herndon Elementary (190), eliminating middle and high-school-level split feeders. The changes would address crowding at Coates, dropping capacity use from 137% to 86%, but push Herndon Elementary over 100%.
- Crossfield: reassigns one area to Lees Corner, affecting 12 elementary students and reducing Crossfield from three to two feeder middle schools
- Fort Belvoir Primary: shifts students to Fort Belvoir Upper Elementary School and Washington Mill, affecting 19 elementary students
- Fort Hunt: reassigns about 107 students to Mount Vernon Woods, eliminating an attendance island
- Groveton: reassigns about 58 students to Hybla Valley, eliminating an attendance island
- Hollin Meadows: reassigns what appears to be a single house on Douglas Street to Stratford Landing. No current elementary school students would be affected.
- Keene Mill: some students will be reassigned to Cardinal Forest and White Oaks, eliminating split feeders at both the middle and high school level as well as an attendance island
- Olde Creek: reassigns students to Laurel Ridge, affecting 53 students and decreasing capacity utilization from 92% to 79%. The change would eliminate an attendance island and split feeders at the middle and high school levels.
- Parklawn: reassigns students to Belvedere (78 students) and Columbia (20 students), reducing capacity utilization from 99% to 89% with modulars
- Riverside: reassigns students to Stratford Landing (35 students) and Woodlawn (76 students), eliminating middle and high school split feeders
- Rolling Valley: a reassignment of 48 students to Saratoga Elementary reduces capacity from 99% to 90%, while bringing the latter up to 84% utilization
- Westbriar: reassigns one area to Colvin Run, affecting fewer than 10 students and eliminating a middle school split feeder
Middle schools
- Glasgow: reassigns students to Poe (67 students) and Holmes (46) and accommodates a new full-time Advanced Academic Program (AAP) Center recently approved for Poe
- Katherine Johnson: two areas would be reassigned to Rocky Run Middle School, affecting 23 current students and resulting in a 2% difference in capacity
- Kilmer: reassigns the Wolf Trap area and a sliver of Vienna to Thoreau, affecting 172 students and eliminating a Vienna Elementary School split feeder. Capacity utilization drops from 118% to 101%, though at Thoreau, it would jump from 91% to 103%.
- Longfellow: reassigns the north central area of Tysons to Cooper, eliminating a Longfellow attendance island and Spring Hill Elementary School split feeder. About 107 middle school students would be affected.
- Sandburg: reassigns one area with about 32 students to Whitman, decreasing capacity use
High schools
- Fairfax: Gates of Fair Lakes and Willow Oaks condos reassigned to Chantilly, affecting 45 students and reducing capacity to 97%. Capacity utilization at already crowded Chantilly High School, however, would reach 112% even with modular classrooms.
- Justice: reassigns part of West Falls Church to Falls Church High School, affecting 101 students and eliminating a Mason Crest split feeder. About 60 students in the Lake Barcroft area would be shifted to Annandale High School
- Marshall: reassigns much of the Wolf Trap area and one area in Dunn Loring (128 students) to Madison, eliminating Wolftrap and Vienna elementary school split feeders. Town of Vienna students remain at Madison, as requested by the town council.
- McLean: reassigns north central Tysons to Langley, reducing crowding at McLean — a recurring complaint — but pushing Langley up to 102% capacity usage. The change would affect 201 high school students and eliminate a high school-level split feeder for Spring Hill Elementary.
- West Potomac: reassigns one area to Mount Vernon, affecting 54 high school students
Future concerns
Though the current boundary review is intended to be comprehensive, FCPS has already flagged several sites as needing further evaluation:
As noted in the white paper, the recommended changes don’t eliminate any existing middle-to-high-school split feeders, but FCPS and its consultant said they could “see some progress” when determining boundaries for the new western high school slated to open in the McNair area south of Herndon this fall.
The impending boundary study for that school, which hasn’t yet been named, led FCPS to put adjustments for Bull Run Elementary School in Centreville on hold for now. The Briarwood Trace and Briarwood Farms communities could also be revisited in about two years to see how the new school affects enrollment at Oakton High School.
Other sites already flagged for future review include:
- The neighborhoods in Gunston, Halley, Laurel Hill, and Lorton Station elementary schools’ boundaries, with a recommendation going to the school board by January 2027
- Bren Mar Park Elementary School middle and high school feeders will be reviewed in approximately two years.
- Tysons Green community, where high school students could be offered a “priority transfer option” for Madison High School if they provide their own transportation
- Riverside Elementary School, whose AAP Center is being considered for relocation to Woodley Hills Elementary before the next redistricting review
The school board revised its phasing policy last July to allow boundary adjustments to be implemented on a grade-by-grade basis, giving students entering their final grade at their current school the option to remain or transfer to their newly assigned location.
However, board members are torn on whether FCPS should provide transportation to students who stay. Reid told the board on Dec. 18 that an estimated 57 additional school buses would be needed in the next five years to accommodate students attending a school outside their assigned boundaries, costing the school system over $10.4 million.
School boundaries could also be subject to change if the school board moves forward with a proposal to establish AAP centers in every middle school.
