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| Fairfax County high school pyramids would be divided among five regions. |
Instead of eight clusters, the new system would group schools into five administrative regions, with high-achieving schools that serve affluent populations grouped with those with more diverse student bodies and larger proportions of lower-income students.
Region 2 would have a total of 44 schools, including all the elementary and middle schools that feed into those high schools.
Currently, the Annandale, Stuart, and Woodson pyramids plus Thomas Jefferson are in Cluster 3. The Falls Church, Marshall, and Madison pyramids are in Cluster 2. McLean, Langley, and Herndon are in Cluster 1.
In an email to FCPS employees May 16, Garza said the new structure “will serve to better align our system, improve our decision making, and facilitate stronger and more differentiated support of our schools.”
It’s not clear how putting two wealthy high schools—McLean and Marshall—in the same region with Annandale, Falls Church, and Stuart will help the latter schools. The reorganization wouldn’t change attendance boundaries or change the structure within the pyramids.
According to Garza, the restructuring is being done following nine months of study, including numerous surveys, interviews conducted by consultants, input from staff, and evaluations of how other school systems of similar size are structured.
“There were a number of reasons for considering a new organizational structure primarily to help us to be more effective and responsive to our schools,” she said. “I am pleased to report that this new design is also cost effective and will create significant budgetary savings, once fully implemented.” The savings presumably will come from the reduction of cluster offices and administrators.
“There were a number of reasons for considering a new organizational structure primarily to help us to be more effective and responsive to our schools,” she said. “I am pleased to report that this new design is also cost effective and will create significant budgetary savings, once fully implemented.” The savings presumably will come from the reduction of cluster offices and administrators.
The new organization chart is more streamlined than the current one. Currently eight administrators or department heads plus the interim deputy superintendent report directly to the superintendent.
With the new structure, six people will report directly to Garza: the deputy superintendent, director of operations, division counsel, chief academic officer, chief of staff, and chief operating officer. The heads of the new regional offices will report to the deputy superintendent.
Each region would have a regional assistant superintendent, an “executive principal,” and an “executive principal for school improvement.”
Each region would have a regional assistant superintendent, an “executive principal,” and an “executive principal for school improvement.”
Here’s the breakdown of the new regional system:
Region 1: Herndon, Langley, Madison, Oakton, and South Lakes (36,600 students).
Region 2: Annandale, Falls Church, Marshall, McLean, Stuart, and Thomas Jefferson.
(36,800 students).
Region 3: Edison, Hayfield, Lee, Mount Vernon, and West Potomac (36,200 students).
Region 4: Centreville, Lake Braddock, Robinson, South County, and West Springfield (36,200 students).
Region 5: Chantilly, Fairfax, Westfield, and Woodson (33,000 students).