The following is a guest editorial by AHS PTSA President Emily Slough.

You may be thinking any (or several) of the following things right now regarding the potential boundary changes: (1) I don’t care; (2) Oh no! I’m a freshman and this means I/my friends might get moved junior year; (3) this is so complicated – I can’t begin to understand it; (4) “BOOST.” There are still cookies left at D Lunch! or (5) nothing I say or do is going to make a difference, so why bother?  I am always happy about cookies myself.  As to the other thoughts: it’s not that complicated, and you do have a say.

Anyhow – in case it somehow escaped your notice, AHS is overcrowded.  We have 2539 now and are told we’ll have 2704 students by 2016.  The goal is to get that number down to 2350 or fewer students; therefore, the community has been given 4 possible solutions to consider.  If you don’t know what they are, you really should look them up.  But basically, if you live in the Bren Mar Park ES, Wakefield Forest ES or Parklawn ES attendance areas – you/your neighborhood could be redistricted.  You should also understand that the “non-boundary option” means taking 9th grade out of AHS, and having all 6th-7th grade students attend Holmes and all 8th-9th grade students attend Poe.

I’ve looked at all four proposals closely and here’s my take: none of them will “fix” the problem (result in long-term relief for our school and/or our region).  If what they (FCPS staff) are saying about the future is true (that the number of students at AHS and most schools in our region will just keep going up), then it is likely we will be back at the drawing table in 3-6 years due to our own overcrowding or that in neighboring schools (Stuart HS, Glasgow MS, Jackson MS).  Building additions or even another school (MS or HS) may be deemed necessary.

So – given all that, what do I think is the right solution?  That is a terribly loaded question.  My kids have friends who live in just about every part of our attendance area; the thought of losing any student who wants to be at this school is heart-breaking.  But we must lose some students.  To that end, I have two preferences. Although I don’t like the idea of removing 9th grade from AHS, I do like the “non-boundary” option for a variety of reasons, and many families with young children prefer it over any other option because it preserves our community.  Opinions of these families should get some weight  because many of us (current students and  families) would likely be unaffected by this change; as long as no boundary shifts occur with this option, each student in the building as of this coming fall should get to graduate from AHS.  There is much resistance to this idea (from FCPS staff, School Board, some parents), however, because it is “too different.” Boundary changes only with generous “grandfathering” that would allow every student who is in the building as of this fall to remain until graduation.  Since we are likely to revisit all of this in a few years, I don’t think we have to take a huge number of students out of AHS now.

There is much discussion about the impact of boundary changes and it is true that many programs and activities at AHS could be hit pretty hard.  At this point, I suggest the following: we need to figure out how to start working on a new reality here at AHS, no matter what happens.  AHS is always in a state of change – whether boundaries shift or not – so it is important to consider what kind of school you want and how to achieve it and maintain it in light of that change.  Having a school with a wide variety of options (advanced academics, sports, and activities) is an American tradition and it helps attract families and students to any school, but there must be participants to keep those opportunities alive, and there have to be parents willing to provide support.   We can encourage each other to try new things.  Here’s the bottom line: as long as we each – whether student, administrator, parent,  teacher or coach – choose to bring our very best efforts to this place, then AHS will continue to be the wonderful school it has been for us all.  I welcome questions! Please feel free to contact me at [email protected].