Three hundred eighty-four South Lakes High School students will be reassigned to the new Skyview High School in Herndon starting in the 2027-28 school year, after the Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously on Thursday to finalize attendance boundaries for the campus.

The decision is projected to drop South Lakes' capacity utilization from 99% to 88%, according to the FCPS boundary recommendation document presented to the board. South Lakes currently enrolls 2,413 students against a program capacity of 2,449.

Countywide, the boundary changes affect approximately 2,544 students: 2,124 high schoolers and 420 middle schoolers. Westfield High School loses the most students to Skyview (1,062), followed by South Lakes (384) and Chantilly (333). Overcrowding relief extends beyond Reston: Chantilly's capacity drops from 110% to 87%, and Centreville's from 104% to 92%.

What the phasing plan means for Reston families

The transition unfolds over three years. During the current 2026-27 school year, Skyview is open only to ninth and 10th graders who opted in. In 2027-28, all rising ninth graders within the new Skyview boundary must enroll there, though they may opt out and return to South Lakes based on educational needs. By 2028-29, the boundaries take full effect with no opt-out option, though standard FCPS transfer requests remain available.

The new school

Skyview High School sits at 2949 Education Drive, Herndon, in the Floris area south of town. FCPS purchased the 32-acre campus, formerly the King Abdullah Academy, in August 2025 for $150 million. The property includes 355,000 square feet of educational space, multipurpose halls, libraries, fine arts facilities and athletic fields. Principal Dave Jagels leads the school, which offers three specialized pathways alongside the standard FCPS curriculum: aerospace science, technology and artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Public hearing testimony

The board held public hearings on Sunday, July 13, before the vote. Carlos Nazario, a rising eighth grader at Rocky Run Middle School, told the board: "To adults, rezoning might look like lines on a map. But to students, it is much more than that. It affects our friendships, our routines, our confidence and our ability to feel secure at school."

Nazario's testimony focused on keeping his Stonebrook neighborhood zoned for Chantilly rather than Westfield, a separate boundary question that nonetheless illustrates the personal stakes students feel across the affected zones.

Daniel Glynn, a community member who spoke in support of the plan at the same hearing, called it "a stable, sustainable and fundamentally fair map" that grants families along the Centreville Road corridor access to a neighborhood school.

What Reston families need to know

Langston Hughes Middle School, which feeds into the South Lakes pyramid, has no boundary changes under this plan. Elementary school boundaries also remain unchanged, according to the boundary document.

Families can check their new school assignment by address at boundary.fcps.edu/boundary. For questions, contact the FCPS Office of Facilities Planning Services at 571-423-2320.