Welcome to Just Outside DC — the local newsletter that puts a little wind in your weekend’s sails.

THE BIG IDEA

FFX County Public Schools reviews boundaries for the first time in forty years.

Most school districts check their boundaries every five years as a best practice. Remember when gas was under a dollar? That's the last time Fairfax County Public Schools did a full boundary review (1986 to be exact).

Now, with 200 schools to evaluate and a limited amount of resources, officials are finally saying: It's time.

Why now, you might ask?

• Well, some schools are bursting at the seams while others have empty seats

• Lots of kids also end up at schools that aren't actually the closest one to them, which is inefficient

• The dreaded "split-feeder" problem (ending up at a different middle school than all your friends from 6th grade 😔)

The consultant hired to handle all of this kicked off community feedback meetings in July 2024, and…surprise!

A lot of people showed up. Like, hundreds of them per each of FCPS's six regions.

The crowds typically fell into three camps:

• The curious — just here for info.

• The change makers — ready to shake things up.

• The status quo warriors — don't you dare touch my school zone!

For example, at one meeting, parents living in the Langley High School pyramid weren't shy about voicing their concerns (such as their property values potentially going down).

Meeting attendees were put into feedback groups, and many shared the same sentiment. They just wanted to know what factors go into the decision-making process, and how these factors are weighed.

To give you an idea of how serious NoVA residents are about this topic, more than 1,500 people applied to join the Superintendent’s Boundary Review Advisory Committee.

The community feedback meetings wrapped up on February 10th. Now the analysts are taking that feedback and data to inform any proposed changes in the future. These changes, if approved, will go live in 2026.

Bulletin Board 📌 

Reader Restaurant Recommendation: One of our readers, Karen, recommends you guys check out Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern.

It’s a cozy vintage tavern in Herndon serving up cocktails and grub with a side of pool and sports broadcasts. It has also served an the unofficial refuge for Bills fans living in NoVA for the last 27 years.

QUICK HITS

• The Tysons casino bill has stalled and is effectively (but not officially) dead as of February 2025 🎰 

• The costs of the proposed FBI relocation to Springfield were… greatly exaggerated 🕵️ 

• Check out this lovely spread on Shotted Specialty Coffee (Tysons, Dulles) — also known as the unofficial co-working space for Just Outside D.C. writers ☕️ 

• George Mason University has banned the use of Chinese AI product DeepSeek after Glenn Youngkin’s executive order 🤖 

LIVE EVENT LOWDOWN

• George Washington Birthday Parade | celebrate the first president’s 293th birthday in Alexandria tomorrow 🎂 

• In The Heights | Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical romance is playing at Signature Theatre in Arlington from now until early May 🎭️ 

• Stout Fest 2025 | an entire weekend tailor-made for dark beer lovers, hosted by Mustang Sally Brewing in Chantilly 🍺 

• Won’t You Be My Owlentine? | come hang out with owls at Potomac Overlook Regional Park tomorrow afternoon (ages 6+) 🦉

• We Heart STEM | a kids night out at the Children’s Science Center in Fairfax tomorrow evening 🧪 

• LEGO Creativity Academy | special building activities and a mini master building competition at the LEGO Discovery Center at Springfield Town Center until March 🧱 

• Crime and Punishment | the American Ballet Theatre is playing this choreographed adaptation of Dostoevsky’s novel at the Kennedy Center until the 16th 🩰 

• International Gem & Jewelry Show | the largest exhibition of gems, minerals, and jewels in the world is coming to Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly this weekend 💎 

• Tom Segura is performing this weekend at The Anthem in DC and there’s still tickets left 🎙️

• 2025 College Baseball | you can view the the full home game calendar for Marymount, GMU, and Georgetown at Capital One Park here ⚾️ 

Thanks so much for reading today’s issue of Just Outside D.C.

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