Madison students come and go each year, whether it’s due to them moving in from somewhere else, or leaving for another school. Nevertheless, they all leave an impact on the Madison community.
One reason why students often move during high school in the Northern Virginia (NoVA) area is the large number of families with a parent working in the government. Due to the various military bases in the state of Virginia, many families are military families which means that these families occasionally move to a different state after only a few years. Virginia is also very important to the United States government as it is next to D.C. The Pentagon for example, is located in Arlington County, which creates many opportunities for government jobs that require moving a lot much like military families. The embassy in D.C also creates jobs such as diplomats, who have to move across the world to communicate with other countries.
Jack Ahmann (’26) has experienced the challenges of moving during high school first hand.
“It’s difficult because each school system has different expectations of academic levels,” Ahmann said. “Redoing math classes is the hardest part. I end up taking the same class multiple times when I move because of the expectations at different schools.”
In the 2022-23 school year, Madison had a mobility rate of 5.79 according to FCPS. Mobility rate is a measure of how many students are transferring in and out of school. According to the Colorado Department of Education, a student is considered “mobile” any time he or she enters or exits a school or district in a manner that is not part of the normal educational progression.
Students don’t only come from other parts of the country. In some cases, students come or go to other countries. William Roper (’26) faced this situation not too long ago.
“I think it was a great experience to be able to experience and live in different cultures throughout my childhood and I’m grateful for that,” Roper said. “However while still a kid I think that the best thing for a young person to have is a tight knit community of friends, and when you move every 2-4 years it’s hard to make quality friends and even harder to say goodbye.”
At the end of last year, Madison saw one of the star football players, Sonny Endicott (’23) move away.
“It was definitely difficult, it was hard leaving the community and all the great people at Madison,” Endicott said. “However, I am grateful for the experience and all the opportunities I have gotten. I have also enjoyed meeting all the new people over here.”
In the end, seeing someone move away is upsetting, but their legacy will live on in the Madison community.