Waiting Lists Greet Loudoun Students

Leesburg elementary schools have been particularly jammed because a school that had been scheduled to open last year was delayed while the School Board searched for land.

In the meantime, teachers at Evergreen Mill have been eating lunch in a hallway nook surrounded by partitions because their lounge was converted to a special education resource room.

When more schools open next year, there will be more shuffling for as many as 2,000 children. Officials expect a record redistribution of students as 35 of Loudoun's 68 schools have their boundary lines redrawn. For many residents, switching schools has become an exhausting ritual in a county known for proliferating homes and big families. Sometimes, it's hard to keep track of which school-logo sweat shirts are current.

"There are people who have a lot of spirit-wear in their closet because they have to move" so many times, Byard said.

The system seeks to cushion the transitions by using uniform designs for its schools so new buildings will be familiar to students, officials said. It also has adopted uniform standards for teachers and curricula. But for some families, the moves can be jarring, separating siblings into different schools or requiring students to make new friends every year or two.

Such transience is not exclusive to Loudoun. Residents in developing parts of Howard County, for example, have seen large-scale redistribution of students in recent years to offset crowding. Fairfax County schools and other systems often add trailers to campuses. But Loudoun officials have sought to minimize the use of trailers, citing added expense and strain on cafeterias and other services.

In anticipation of new schools next year, the system has set dates for about 30 hearings to gather input on boundaries. Plans are also underway to redraw lines to accommodate a new high school in western Loudoun scheduled to open in 2008.

Times and locations of the hearings are listed at http://www.loudoun.k12.va.us/ . Officials are urging parents to participate so they won't be surprised by the results.

School Board Chairman Robert F. DuPree Jr. (Dulles) said his goal is to minimize the number of children who will have to change elementary schools more than once.

"They are not chess pieces; they're children," DuPree said. "We need to take care that we don't make a decision now that a year or two later we have to revisit."