APS Duran School Performance Email - Is Long Branch a Failing School?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MAGA attack on public ed

No it isn’t. 2/3 of the schools are on track. If this is an attack why are t there more failing schools? The reality is that these schools are pretty bad and Arlington does have a two tier educational system. Hopefully this puts an end to the myth that all Arlington public schools are the same. This is why there is such a long waitlist for ATS. Parents know how bad these schools are and want an out.

It’s a maga move to vouchers which maybe you support

The confidence with which people state baseless conspiracy theories.

It's easier than admitting that Dems have been running Arlington for a long time and we still have massive discrepancies between schools.

okay so what's your plan?

I think someone needs to say this out loud. But politically speaking, democrats need to first realize that they might be really bad on education. and I'm sorry if that ruffles some feathers. We have one political voice in Arlington, and one only. If you dare speak out against what the tribe has chosen, you are immediately cast aside. Dare i say, what we are seeing with our public schools in Arlington has much less to do with Youngkin (or any Va Governor's) tenure, and more to do with decades-long democratic leadership embracing liberal and trending academic attitudes in public education. For those who were willing to go for the ride, because even if we want to see EVERYONE challenged, I think many of us would be fine with a change that resulted in stark improvements to those who were traditionally under-served - we just simply have not see anything to suggest what Duran is doing is working. Someone tell me I'm wrong.

I agree with you. Inclusion (SPED and ELL) is a main driver of the struggles. We need to get much more comfortable with these student groups spending much, much more of their day in smaller, supportive settings. I have worked in self-contained special education and students who would have been in one of those programs 10-15 years ago are now spending all of their day, outside of maybe 30 minute lessons, in gen ed and they are melting down constantly.
EL students are coming with zero English and spending maybe an hour a day in small groups. I am in a different role now an see every kid in the school. Some of them are not picking up much functional English even after several years (others pick it up easily.)
Finally we need to bring back consequences and failure. Why are students getting one day of in-school suspension for weapons violations or assault? That's not enough. It might now "look good" but it results in kids correctly believing they can get away with anything and erodes the feeling of safety for kids who are trying their best.
I know that SPED and EL changes are budget and shortage issues as well but modern policy is not serving anyone well and a lot of this started in the Obama era.

omg now you're blaming Obama? you sounds like Trump. He's literally destroying public ed but it's somehow Obama's fault?!

The erosion of consequences in schools leading to an increase in behavioral issues did start during the Obama years. I think the intent was good but school districts like APS took it too far.
“national school discipline guidelines urging schools to remove students from classrooms for disciplinary reasons only as a last resort.”
Ask your kids how often their classrooms are disrupted and what happens next.
https://jjie.org/2014/01/09/obama-administration-unveils-school-discipline-guidelines/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MAGA attack on public ed

No it isn’t. 2/3 of the schools are on track. If this is an attack why are t there more failing schools? The reality is that these schools are pretty bad and Arlington does have a two tier educational system. Hopefully this puts an end to the myth that all Arlington public schools are the same. This is why there is such a long waitlist for ATS. Parents know how bad these schools are and want an out.

It’s a maga move to vouchers which maybe you support

The confidence with which people state baseless conspiracy theories.

It's easier than admitting that Dems have been running Arlington for a long time and we still have massive discrepancies between schools.

okay so what's your plan?

I think someone needs to say this out loud. But politically speaking, democrats need to first realize that they might be really bad on education. and I'm sorry if that ruffles some feathers. We have one political voice in Arlington, and one only. If you dare speak out against what the tribe has chosen, you are immediately cast aside. Dare i say, what we are seeing with our public schools in Arlington has much less to do with Youngkin (or any Va Governor's) tenure, and more to do with decades-long democratic leadership embracing liberal and trending academic attitudes in public education. For those who were willing to go for the ride, because even if we want to see EVERYONE challenged, I think many of us would be fine with a change that resulted in stark improvements to those who were traditionally under-served - we just simply have not see anything to suggest what Duran is doing is working. Someone tell me I'm wrong.

I agree with you. Inclusion (SPED and ELL) is a main driver of the struggles. We need to get much more comfortable with these student groups spending much, much more of their day in smaller, supportive settings. I have worked in self-contained special education and students who would have been in one of those programs 10-15 years ago are now spending all of their day, outside of maybe 30 minute lessons, in gen ed and they are melting down constantly.
EL students are coming with zero English and spending maybe an hour a day in small groups. I am in a different role now an see every kid in the school. Some of them are not picking up much functional English even after several years (others pick it up easily.)
Finally we need to bring back consequences and failure. Why are students getting one day of in-school suspension for weapons violations or assault? That's not enough. It might now "look good" but it results in kids correctly believing they can get away with anything and erodes the feeling of safety for kids who are trying their best.
I know that SPED and EL changes are budget and shortage issues as well but modern policy is not serving anyone well and a lot of this started in the Obama era.

omg now you're blaming Obama? you sounds like Trump. He's literally destroying public ed but it's somehow Obama's fault?!

The erosion of consequences in schools leading to an increase in behavioral issues did start during the Obama years. I think the intent was good but school districts like APS took it too far.
“national school discipline guidelines urging schools to remove students from classrooms for disciplinary reasons only as a last resort.”
Ask your kids how often their classrooms are disrupted and what happens next.
https://jjie.org/2014/01/09/obama-administration-unveils-school-discipline-guidelines/

yeah because what does suspension solve? nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MAGA attack on public ed

No it isn’t. 2/3 of the schools are on track. If this is an attack why are t there more failing schools? The reality is that these schools are pretty bad and Arlington does have a two tier educational system. Hopefully this puts an end to the myth that all Arlington public schools are the same. This is why there is such a long waitlist for ATS. Parents know how bad these schools are and want an out.

It’s a maga move to vouchers which maybe you support

The confidence with which people state baseless conspiracy theories.

It's easier than admitting that Dems have been running Arlington for a long time and we still have massive discrepancies between schools.

okay so what's your plan?

I think someone needs to say this out loud. But politically speaking, democrats need to first realize that they might be really bad on education. and I'm sorry if that ruffles some feathers. We have one political voice in Arlington, and one only. If you dare speak out against what the tribe has chosen, you are immediately cast aside. Dare i say, what we are seeing with our public schools in Arlington has much less to do with Youngkin (or any Va Governor's) tenure, and more to do with decades-long democratic leadership embracing liberal and trending academic attitudes in public education. For those who were willing to go for the ride, because even if we want to see EVERYONE challenged, I think many of us would be fine with a change that resulted in stark improvements to those who were traditionally under-served - we just simply have not see anything to suggest what Duran is doing is working. Someone tell me I'm wrong.

so you have no plan and just want to criticize?

I'm sorry if I didn't offer a fix, but I'm just not used to Arlingtonians even considering getting past my first point that there is a very big problem. That said, many other posters have offered compelling ideas that I would gladly support. At the end of the day, at minimum, I'd just want to see something anything done. And sadly, right now, it sure seems like nothing is being done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MAGA attack on public ed

No it isn’t. 2/3 of the schools are on track. If this is an attack why are t there more failing schools? The reality is that these schools are pretty bad and Arlington does have a two tier educational system. Hopefully this puts an end to the myth that all Arlington public schools are the same. This is why there is such a long waitlist for ATS. Parents know how bad these schools are and want an out.

It’s a maga move to vouchers which maybe you support

The confidence with which people state baseless conspiracy theories.

It's easier than admitting that Dems have been running Arlington for a long time and we still have massive discrepancies between schools.

okay so what's your plan?

I think someone needs to say this out loud. But politically speaking, democrats need to first realize that they might be really bad on education. and I'm sorry if that ruffles some feathers. We have one political voice in Arlington, and one only. If you dare speak out against what the tribe has chosen, you are immediately cast aside. Dare i say, what we are seeing with our public schools in Arlington has much less to do with Youngkin (or any Va Governor's) tenure, and more to do with decades-long democratic leadership embracing liberal and trending academic attitudes in public education. For those who were willing to go for the ride, because even if we want to see EVERYONE challenged, I think many of us would be fine with a change that resulted in stark improvements to those who were traditionally under-served - we just simply have not see anything to suggest what Duran is doing is working. Someone tell me I'm wrong.

I agree with you. Inclusion (SPED and ELL) is a main driver of the struggles. We need to get much more comfortable with these student groups spending much, much more of their day in smaller, supportive settings. I have worked in self-contained special education and students who would have been in one of those programs 10-15 years ago are now spending all of their day, outside of maybe 30 minute lessons, in gen ed and they are melting down constantly.
EL students are coming with zero English and spending maybe an hour a day in small groups. I am in a different role now an see every kid in the school. Some of them are not picking up much functional English even after several years (others pick it up easily.)
Finally we need to bring back consequences and failure. Why are students getting one day of in-school suspension for weapons violations or assault? That's not enough. It might now "look good" but it results in kids correctly believing they can get away with anything and erodes the feeling of safety for kids who are trying their best.
I know that SPED and EL changes are budget and shortage issues as well but modern policy is not serving anyone well and a lot of this started in the Obama era.

omg now you're blaming Obama? you sounds like Trump. He's literally destroying public ed but it's somehow Obama's fault?!

The erosion of consequences in schools leading to an increase in behavioral issues did start during the Obama years. I think the intent was good but school districts like APS took it too far.
“national school discipline guidelines urging schools to remove students from classrooms for disciplinary reasons only as a last resort.”
Ask your kids how often their classrooms are disrupted and what happens next.
https://jjie.org/2014/01/09/obama-administration-unveils-school-discipline-guidelines/

yeah because what does suspension solve? nothing.

Removing disruptive or violent students from the classroom gives the other children a chance to learn, forces parents to realize there is an issue and deal with the consequences. But this trickled down into fewer and fewer consequences for anything including egregious, retesting, and 50% scores and students don’t even turn things in. I work at a lower level so I don’t know if that last thing is still occurring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MAGA attack on public ed

No it isn’t. 2/3 of the schools are on track. If this is an attack why are t there more failing schools? The reality is that these schools are pretty bad and Arlington does have a two tier educational system. Hopefully this puts an end to the myth that all Arlington public schools are the same. This is why there is such a long waitlist for ATS. Parents know how bad these schools are and want an out.

It’s a maga move to vouchers which maybe you support

The confidence with which people state baseless conspiracy theories.

It's easier than admitting that Dems have been running Arlington for a long time and we still have massive discrepancies between schools.

okay so what's your plan?

Expand summer school to be offered to more at risk and struggling students, like it used to before the pandemic.

ok but you do realize these discrepancies existed before the pandemic too right?

It was a quality program that was good for students. I know several students who benefited.

Your proposal is to do nothing? Got it.

I have asked you for a proposal, then pointed out yours won't fix it because your only plan is to restore something that, while helpful, didn't work to fix disparities in the past. Do you have anything else?

I'm a parent, not a magic genie. I'm not, nor any other parent on this forum, going to have some perfect magical plan to fix this.

But I did suggest two solid proposals that could be done to help: putting in place an actual math curriculum and un-gutting summer school so it's available to more at risk students. Both are evidence-based answers to narrowing disparities.

As far as I can tell, Duran is doing nothing to actually address this issue, but just doubling down on recognizing groups for whatever appreciation month, finding more religious holidays to close schools, and running a food kitchen out of our schools. It took Youngkin for us to get Math 6 Intensified this year, which was badly needed for math differentiation. I'm absolutely not a Republican, but I am super frustrated that Dems aren't taking education seriously and are making excuses instead of doing what we can to best educate students.

[Anonymous]

Duran presented on these results to the school board and didn't seem to have any concerns with APS schools being classified as "Needs Intensive Supports.". He made no suggestions he was going to do anything.

D-2 Superintendent's Announcements 12.18.25.pdf https://share.google/ZVe2vW7xrc1WQGCEU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Duran presented on these results to the school board and didn't seem to have any concerns with APS schools being classified as "Needs Intensive Supports.". He made no suggestions he was going to do anything.

D-2 Superintendent's Announcements 12.18.25.pdf https://share.google/ZVe2vW7xrc1WQGCEU

It’s because he knows that the “feel good” policies like inclusion and EdTech are a huge part of the problem but doing anything about it is “caving to APE” which makes you MAGA and persona non grata in Arlington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MAGA attack on public ed

No it isn’t. 2/3 of the schools are on track. If this is an attack why are t there more failing schools? The reality is that these schools are pretty bad and Arlington does have a two tier educational system. Hopefully this puts an end to the myth that all Arlington public schools are the same. This is why there is such a long waitlist for ATS. Parents know how bad these schools are and want an out.

It’s a maga move to vouchers which maybe you support

The confidence with which people state baseless conspiracy theories.

It's easier than admitting that Dems have been running Arlington for a long time and we still have massive discrepancies between schools.

okay so what's your plan?

I think someone needs to say this out loud. But politically speaking, democrats need to first realize that they might be really bad on education. and I'm sorry if that ruffles some feathers. We have one political voice in Arlington, and one only. If you dare speak out against what the tribe has chosen, you are immediately cast aside. Dare i say, what we are seeing with our public schools in Arlington has much less to do with Youngkin (or any Va Governor's) tenure, and more to do with decades-long democratic leadership embracing liberal and trending academic attitudes in public education. For those who were willing to go for the ride, because even if we want to see EVERYONE challenged, I think many of us would be fine with a change that resulted in stark improvements to those who were traditionally under-served - we just simply have not see anything to suggest what Duran is doing is working. Someone tell me I'm wrong.

I agree with you. Inclusion (SPED and ELL) is a main driver of the struggles. We need to get much more comfortable with these student groups spending much, much more of their day in smaller, supportive settings. I have worked in self-contained special education and students who would have been in one of those programs 10-15 years ago are now spending all of their day, outside of maybe 30 minute lessons, in gen ed and they are melting down constantly.
EL students are coming with zero English and spending maybe an hour a day in small groups. I am in a different role now an see every kid in the school. Some of them are not picking up much functional English even after several years (others pick it up easily.)
Finally we need to bring back consequences and failure. Why are students getting one day of in-school suspension for weapons violations or assault? That's not enough. It might now "look good" but it results in kids correctly believing they can get away with anything and erodes the feeling of safety for kids who are trying their best.
I know that SPED and EL changes are budget and shortage issues as well but modern policy is not serving anyone well and a lot of this started in the Obama era.

omg now you're blaming Obama? you sounds like Trump. He's literally destroying public ed but it's somehow Obama's fault?!

The erosion of consequences in schools leading to an increase in behavioral issues did start during the Obama years. I think the intent was good but school districts like APS took it too far.
“national school discipline guidelines urging schools to remove students from classrooms for disciplinary reasons only as a last resort.”
Ask your kids how often their classrooms are disrupted and what happens next.
https://jjie.org/2014/01/09/obama-administration-unveils-school-discipline-guidelines/

yeah because what does suspension solve? nothing.

Removing disruptive or violent students from the classroom gives the other children a chance to learn, forces parents to realize there is an issue and deal with the consequences. But this trickled down into fewer and fewer consequences for anything including egregious, retesting, and 50% scores and students don’t even turn things in. I work at a lower level so I don’t know if that last thing is still occurring.

Yes. I think the number 1 thing APS could do is impose real consequences. Suspensions when warranted and kids held back when they don’t meet minimum standards. If students need more support, summer school and/or self contained classrooms. There’s plenty of money, it’s just being spent on administrators and ed tech instead of teachers and aides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MAGA attack on public ed

No it isn’t. 2/3 of the schools are on track. If this is an attack why are t there more failing schools? The reality is that these schools are pretty bad and Arlington does have a two tier educational system. Hopefully this puts an end to the myth that all Arlington public schools are the same. This is why there is such a long waitlist for ATS. Parents know how bad these schools are and want an out.

It’s a maga move to vouchers which maybe you support

The confidence with which people state baseless conspiracy theories.

It's easier than admitting that Dems have been running Arlington for a long time and we still have massive discrepancies between schools.

okay so what's your plan?

Expand summer school to be offered to more at risk and struggling students, like it used to before the pandemic.

ok but you do realize these discrepancies existed before the pandemic too right?

It was a quality program that was good for students. I know several students who benefited.

Your proposal is to do nothing? Got it.

I have asked you for a proposal, then pointed out yours won't fix it because your only plan is to restore something that, while helpful, didn't work to fix disparities in the past. Do you have anything else?

I'm a parent, not a magic genie. I'm not, nor any other parent on this forum, going to have some perfect magical plan to fix this.

But I did suggest two solid proposals that could be done to help: putting in place an actual math curriculum and un-gutting summer school so it's available to more at risk students. Both are evidence-based answers to narrowing disparities.

As far as I can tell, Duran is doing nothing to actually address this issue, but just doubling down on recognizing groups for whatever appreciation month, finding more religious holidays to close schools, and running a food kitchen out of our schools. It took Youngkin for us to get Math 6 Intensified this year, which was badly needed for math differentiation. I'm absolutely not a Republican, but I am super frustrated that Dems aren't taking education seriously and are making excuses instead of doing what we can to best educate students.

DP. It’s also not the role of parents to come up with the solutions. This is why the administrators exist. If they can’t solve problems then it’s time to find new ones. Not saying every single problem can be fully fixed but I don’t understand the defeatist attitude that nothing can be improved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MAGA attack on public ed

No it isn’t. 2/3 of the schools are on track. If this is an attack why are t there more failing schools? The reality is that these schools are pretty bad and Arlington does have a two tier educational system. Hopefully this puts an end to the myth that all Arlington public schools are the same. This is why there is such a long waitlist for ATS. Parents know how bad these schools are and want an out.

It’s a maga move to vouchers which maybe you support

The confidence with which people state baseless conspiracy theories.

It's easier than admitting that Dems have been running Arlington for a long time and we still have massive discrepancies between schools.

okay so what's your plan?

I think someone needs to say this out loud. But politically speaking, democrats need to first realize that they might be really bad on education. and I'm sorry if that ruffles some feathers. We have one political voice in Arlington, and one only. If you dare speak out against what the tribe has chosen, you are immediately cast aside. Dare i say, what we are seeing with our public schools in Arlington has much less to do with Youngkin (or any Va Governor's) tenure, and more to do with decades-long democratic leadership embracing liberal and trending academic attitudes in public education. For those who were willing to go for the ride, because even if we want to see EVERYONE challenged, I think many of us would be fine with a change that resulted in stark improvements to those who were traditionally under-served - we just simply have not see anything to suggest what Duran is doing is working. Someone tell me I'm wrong.

I agree with you. Inclusion (SPED and ELL) is a main driver of the struggles. We need to get much more comfortable with these student groups spending much, much more of their day in smaller, supportive settings. I have worked in self-contained special education and students who would have been in one of those programs 10-15 years ago are now spending all of their day, outside of maybe 30 minute lessons, in gen ed and they are melting down constantly.
EL students are coming with zero English and spending maybe an hour a day in small groups. I am in a different role now an see every kid in the school. Some of them are not picking up much functional English even after several years (others pick it up easily.)
Finally we need to bring back consequences and failure. Why are students getting one day of in-school suspension for weapons violations or assault? That's not enough. It might now "look good" but it results in kids correctly believing they can get away with anything and erodes the feeling of safety for kids who are trying their best.
I know that SPED and EL changes are budget and shortage issues as well but modern policy is not serving anyone well and a lot of this started in the Obama era.

omg now you're blaming Obama? you sounds like Trump. He's literally destroying public ed but it's somehow Obama's fault?!

The erosion of consequences in schools leading to an increase in behavioral issues did start during the Obama years. I think the intent was good but school districts like APS took it too far.
“national school discipline guidelines urging schools to remove students from classrooms for disciplinary reasons only as a last resort.”
Ask your kids how often their classrooms are disrupted and what happens next.
https://jjie.org/2014/01/09/obama-administration-unveils-school-discipline-guidelines/

yeah because what does suspension solve? nothing.

It didn’t solve much for the problem kids, but it was much, MUCH better for everyone else. Now, everyone loses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MAGA attack on public ed

No it isn’t. 2/3 of the schools are on track. If this is an attack why are t there more failing schools? The reality is that these schools are pretty bad and Arlington does have a two tier educational system. Hopefully this puts an end to the myth that all Arlington public schools are the same. This is why there is such a long waitlist for ATS. Parents know how bad these schools are and want an out.

It’s a maga move to vouchers which maybe you support

The confidence with which people state baseless conspiracy theories.

It's easier than admitting that Dems have been running Arlington for a long time and we still have massive discrepancies between schools.

okay so what's your plan?

I think someone needs to say this out loud. But politically speaking, democrats need to first realize that they might be really bad on education. and I'm sorry if that ruffles some feathers. We have one political voice in Arlington, and one only. If you dare speak out against what the tribe has chosen, you are immediately cast aside. Dare i say, what we are seeing with our public schools in Arlington has much less to do with Youngkin (or any Va Governor's) tenure, and more to do with decades-long democratic leadership embracing liberal and trending academic attitudes in public education. For those who were willing to go for the ride, because even if we want to see EVERYONE challenged, I think many of us would be fine with a change that resulted in stark improvements to those who were traditionally under-served - we just simply have not see anything to suggest what Duran is doing is working. Someone tell me I'm wrong.

I agree with you. Inclusion (SPED and ELL) is a main driver of the struggles. We need to get much more comfortable with these student groups spending much, much more of their day in smaller, supportive settings. I have worked in self-contained special education and students who would have been in one of those programs 10-15 years ago are now spending all of their day, outside of maybe 30 minute lessons, in gen ed and they are melting down constantly.
EL students are coming with zero English and spending maybe an hour a day in small groups. I am in a different role now an see every kid in the school. Some of them are not picking up much functional English even after several years (others pick it up easily.)
Finally we need to bring back consequences and failure. Why are students getting one day of in-school suspension for weapons violations or assault? That's not enough. It might now "look good" but it results in kids correctly believing they can get away with anything and erodes the feeling of safety for kids who are trying their best.
I know that SPED and EL changes are budget and shortage issues as well but modern policy is not serving anyone well and a lot of this started in the Obama era.

omg now you're blaming Obama? you sounds like Trump. He's literally destroying public ed but it's somehow Obama's fault?!

The erosion of consequences in schools leading to an increase in behavioral issues did start during the Obama years. I think the intent was good but school districts like APS took it too far.
“national school discipline guidelines urging schools to remove students from classrooms for disciplinary reasons only as a last resort.”
Ask your kids how often their classrooms are disrupted and what happens next.
https://jjie.org/2014/01/09/obama-administration-unveils-school-discipline-guidelines/

yeah because what does suspension solve? nothing.

It didn’t solve much for the problem kids, but it was much, MUCH better for everyone else. Now, everyone loses.

Everyone losing is a surefire way to achieve equity. So, Duran is succeeding here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MAGA attack on public ed

No it isn’t. 2/3 of the schools are on track. If this is an attack why are t there more failing schools? The reality is that these schools are pretty bad and Arlington does have a two tier educational system. Hopefully this puts an end to the myth that all Arlington public schools are the same. This is why there is such a long waitlist for ATS. Parents know how bad these schools are and want an out.

It’s a maga move to vouchers which maybe you support

The confidence with which people state baseless conspiracy theories.

It's easier than admitting that Dems have been running Arlington for a long time and we still have massive discrepancies between schools.

okay so what's your plan?

I think someone needs to say this out loud. But politically speaking, democrats need to first realize that they might be really bad on education. and I'm sorry if that ruffles some feathers. We have one political voice in Arlington, and one only. If you dare speak out against what the tribe has chosen, you are immediately cast aside. Dare i say, what we are seeing with our public schools in Arlington has much less to do with Youngkin (or any Va Governor's) tenure, and more to do with decades-long democratic leadership embracing liberal and trending academic attitudes in public education. For those who were willing to go for the ride, because even if we want to see EVERYONE challenged, I think many of us would be fine with a change that resulted in stark improvements to those who were traditionally under-served - we just simply have not see anything to suggest what Duran is doing is working. Someone tell me I'm wrong.

I agree with you. Inclusion (SPED and ELL) is a main driver of the struggles. We need to get much more comfortable with these student groups spending much, much more of their day in smaller, supportive settings. I have worked in self-contained special education and students who would have been in one of those programs 10-15 years ago are now spending all of their day, outside of maybe 30 minute lessons, in gen ed and they are melting down constantly.
EL students are coming with zero English and spending maybe an hour a day in small groups. I am in a different role now an see every kid in the school. Some of them are not picking up much functional English even after several years (others pick it up easily.)
Finally we need to bring back consequences and failure. Why are students getting one day of in-school suspension for weapons violations or assault? That's not enough. It might now "look good" but it results in kids correctly believing they can get away with anything and erodes the feeling of safety for kids who are trying their best.
I know that SPED and EL changes are budget and shortage issues as well but modern policy is not serving anyone well and a lot of this started in the Obama era.

omg now you're blaming Obama? you sounds like Trump. He's literally destroying public ed but it's somehow Obama's fault?!

The erosion of consequences in schools leading to an increase in behavioral issues did start during the Obama years. I think the intent was good but school districts like APS took it too far.
“national school discipline guidelines urging schools to remove students from classrooms for disciplinary reasons only as a last resort.”
Ask your kids how often their classrooms are disrupted and what happens next.
https://jjie.org/2014/01/09/obama-administration-unveils-school-discipline-guidelines/

yeah because what does suspension solve? nothing.

It didn’t solve much for the problem kids, but it was much, MUCH better for everyone else. Now, everyone loses.

How was it better exactly? These kids come right back after a few days with nothing changed except now they are behind academically due to a forced absence. Do you think absences are ok?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MAGA attack on public ed

No it isn’t. 2/3 of the schools are on track. If this is an attack why are t there more failing schools? The reality is that these schools are pretty bad and Arlington does have a two tier educational system. Hopefully this puts an end to the myth that all Arlington public schools are the same. This is why there is such a long waitlist for ATS. Parents know how bad these schools are and want an out.

It’s a maga move to vouchers which maybe you support

The confidence with which people state baseless conspiracy theories.

It's easier than admitting that Dems have been running Arlington for a long time and we still have massive discrepancies between schools.

okay so what's your plan?

I think someone needs to say this out loud. But politically speaking, democrats need to first realize that they might be really bad on education. and I'm sorry if that ruffles some feathers. We have one political voice in Arlington, and one only. If you dare speak out against what the tribe has chosen, you are immediately cast aside. Dare i say, what we are seeing with our public schools in Arlington has much less to do with Youngkin (or any Va Governor's) tenure, and more to do with decades-long democratic leadership embracing liberal and trending academic attitudes in public education. For those who were willing to go for the ride, because even if we want to see EVERYONE challenged, I think many of us would be fine with a change that resulted in stark improvements to those who were traditionally under-served - we just simply have not see anything to suggest what Duran is doing is working. Someone tell me I'm wrong.

I agree with you. Inclusion (SPED and ELL) is a main driver of the struggles. We need to get much more comfortable with these student groups spending much, much more of their day in smaller, supportive settings. I have worked in self-contained special education and students who would have been in one of those programs 10-15 years ago are now spending all of their day, outside of maybe 30 minute lessons, in gen ed and they are melting down constantly.
EL students are coming with zero English and spending maybe an hour a day in small groups. I am in a different role now an see every kid in the school. Some of them are not picking up much functional English even after several years (others pick it up easily.)
Finally we need to bring back consequences and failure. Why are students getting one day of in-school suspension for weapons violations or assault? That's not enough. It might now "look good" but it results in kids correctly believing they can get away with anything and erodes the feeling of safety for kids who are trying their best.
I know that SPED and EL changes are budget and shortage issues as well but modern policy is not serving anyone well and a lot of this started in the Obama era.

omg now you're blaming Obama? you sounds like Trump. He's literally destroying public ed but it's somehow Obama's fault?!

The erosion of consequences in schools leading to an increase in behavioral issues did start during the Obama years. I think the intent was good but school districts like APS took it too far.
“national school discipline guidelines urging schools to remove students from classrooms for disciplinary reasons only as a last resort.”
Ask your kids how often their classrooms are disrupted and what happens next.
https://jjie.org/2014/01/09/obama-administration-unveils-school-discipline-guidelines/

yeah because what does suspension solve? nothing.

It didn’t solve much for the problem kids, but it was much, MUCH better for everyone else. Now, everyone loses.

How was it better exactly? These kids come right back after a few days with nothing changed except now they are behind academically due to a forced absence. Do you think absences are ok?

Two things, specifically:

1. The suspensions resulted in a greater number of days in which instruction could move forward without disruption.

2. (And this I think is even more helpful) All students learned that behavior mattered and would be taken seriously, so there weren’t as many kids willing to take the risk. Behavior is completely out of control now, mostly because students know that no consequences are coming.

Bring back suspensions. Bring back EXPULSIONS. Bring back alternative schools for the kids who can’t handle learning in a typical environment.

Do we think future employers won’t fire them if they behave this way? Get real.

[Anonymous]

The disparities existed back when there were more suspensions so how exactly is this a solution? It's not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The disparities existed back when there were more suspensions so how exactly is this a solution? It's not.

What data are you comparing?