March/April 2025
Message from Waples Mill Boundary Review Committee
As promised, the Waples Mill Boundary Review Committee has been watching developments from FCPS on the boundary review process.
There was a meeting of the Superintendent’s Boundary Review Advisory Committee on March 26th (a summary and documents from the meeting can be found here).
During the meeting, an overview of current boundaries was presented to committee members. It included an in-depth explanation of two issues the committee hopes to fix with the boundary review process: Attendance islands and split feeders.
- Attendance islands: an area assigned to a school that is not contiguous to the school boundary. In plain language, it means that instead of a school’s assigned zone being a continuous stretch, it is broken up.
- Split feeders: When students from a single elementary school or middle school go to multiple schools at the next level (middle or high school). These have historically arisen to deal with over capacity issues at higher level schools.
- Franklin Middle School, where Waples Mill students go next, is a split feeder
A new FAQ page was also released after the March 26th meeting. This new FAQ page highlights a key change in timing. Until this page was launched, FCPS had anticipated releasing maps for public comment in June 2025 with new boundaries being implemented for the 2026-2027 school year. However, now the timeline is listed as being “not yet determined.”
The timeline change is an excellent reason to reach out to the school board and make your point of view be known! In addition to your specific concerns and point of view, we recommend asking the following questions:
- FCPS had previously said maps would be shared in June 2025 and changes would take effect in Fall 2026. Why has the timeline changed?
- When will we know more about the timing of the boundary review?
- In what school year are changes most likely to take effect?
Here is a link to contact information for key School Board members: https://weareoakton.org/county-officials
Thank you for being engaged on this issue!
Waples Mill Boundary Review Committee
