Positives of FCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Best public schools in the region if your kids are smart and you live in the right areas.

This could be said of almost any suburban school district in America. This is not saying anything about added value from FCPS specifically.

Not sure what axe you have to grind, but no other system has the mix of top magnet programs, AAP, language immersion, special Academy programs, and IB/AP programs.

None of these programs mean anything at all unless the basics are being taught and taught well. Wish they haven't been, in our experience.

[Anonymous]

^Which^

[Anonymous]

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How come they couldn't get 4 more desks? 34 to a class isn't terrible for high school.

Tell that to the teacher. You are talking about 10% more students when the teacher's pay raise was .67% for the year. Twenty more students over the course of a day is very significant. Horrible.

BTW, a chunk of that .67% will disappear with health care cost increases in January.

Not a bad health care increase. Ours will be going up by 15%.

What percentage is that of your salary?

25%

A 15% increase to your healthcare cost represents 25% of your salary? That does not make sense. How much a month do you pay for health insurance?

I will be paying $1,600 (roughly) in January.

So your increase is around $200 more a month or $2400 a year or about 3% of your salary (assuming you meant that you spend 25% of your gross salary on healthcare).

$1,025 to $1,,600

That is a56% increase not 15%. That is quite high and fairly unusual for a one year bump. Did your employer change the way they subsidize, stop subsidizing, did to change your options from single to couple or couple to family....?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was in your spot last year- kid in Montessori for K and we decided to go to FCPS for 1st grade because we are in a really good pyramid, have a highly rated elementary school, we pay a lot in taxes and we kept hearing 'the best schools in the country.' Sadly, the negative reviews are true. I don't having anything positive to say about our experience so far.

Then go private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And thank you to everyone for the great comments. It sounds like MS and HS are really pretty good. ES is where more of the issues seem to come up from what I can tell.

issues will come up in MS and HS as well. FCPS is a great system, but as a lot of the schools get bigger, it's more and more difficult for anyone but the brightest to succeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And thank you to everyone for the great comments. It sounds like MS and HS are really pretty good. ES is where more of the issues seem to come up from what I can tell.

issues will come up in MS and HS as well. FCPS is a great system, but as a lot of the schools get bigger, it's more and more difficult for anyone but the brightest to succeed.

My kids weren't the brightest at their schools, but they had good GPAs and SATs and easily were accepted to multiple universities, where they are now thriving and realizing they were better prepared than many of their classmates.

As schools get bigger, new schools like Mason Crest ES and South County MS get built, and FCPS redistricts to take advantage of capacity at other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

How come they couldn't get 4 more desks? 34 to a class isn't terrible for high school.

Tell that to the teacher. You are talking about 10% more students when the teacher's pay raise was .67% for the year. Twenty more students over the course of a day is very significant. Horrible.

BTW, a chunk of that .67% will disappear with health care cost increases in January.

Not a bad health care increase. Ours will be going up by 15%.

What percentage is that of your salary?

25%

A 15% increase to your healthcare cost represents 25% of your salary? That does not make sense. How much a month do you pay for health insurance?

I will be paying $1,600 (roughly) in January.

So your increase is around $200 more a month or $2400 a year or about 3% of your salary (assuming you meant that you spend 25% of your gross salary on healthcare).

$1,025 to $1,,600

That is a56% increase not 15%. That is quite high and fairly unusual for a one year bump. Did your employer change the way they subsidize, stop subsidizing, did to change your options from single to couple or couple to family....?

Employer changed options available to HDHP or PPO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in your spot last year- kid in Montessori for K and we decided to go to FCPS for 1st grade because we are in a really good pyramid, have a highly rated elementary school, we pay a lot in taxes and we kept hearing 'the best schools in the country.' Sadly, the negative reviews are true. I don't having anything positive to say about our experience so far.

Then go private.

we might. thanks for pointing out the obvious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in your spot last year- kid in Montessori for K and we decided to go to FCPS for 1st grade because we are in a really good pyramid, have a highly rated elementary school, we pay a lot in taxes and we kept hearing 'the best schools in the country.' Sadly, the negative reviews are true. I don't having anything positive to say about our experience so far.

Then go private.

we might. thanks for pointing out the obvious.

Different poster, but please do. It's makes life easier for everyone else when the high-maintenance types move their snowflakes to privates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in your spot last year- kid in Montessori for K and we decided to go to FCPS for 1st grade because we are in a really good pyramid, have a highly rated elementary school, we pay a lot in taxes and we kept hearing 'the best schools in the country.' Sadly, the negative reviews are true. I don't having anything positive to say about our experience so far.

Then go private.

we might. thanks for pointing out the obvious.

Different poster, but please do. It's makes life easier for everyone else when the high-maintenance types move their snowflakes to privates.

Perhaps, but it's not like your school will be any better because of their move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in your spot last year- kid in Montessori for K and we decided to go to FCPS for 1st grade because we are in a really good pyramid, have a highly rated elementary school, we pay a lot in taxes and we kept hearing 'the best schools in the country.' Sadly, the negative reviews are true. I don't having anything positive to say about our experience so far.

Then go private.

we might. thanks for pointing out the obvious.

Different poster, but please do. It's makes life easier for everyone else when the high-maintenance types move their snowflakes to privates.

Perhaps, but it's not like your school will be any better because of their move.

Actually, it will. It gives everyone else a bit more room to breathe when the helicopter parents take their snowflakes elsewhere. And then the rest of us can sit back and watch how, in a few years, our FCPS kids will get into the same schools as their private-school kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in your spot last year- kid in Montessori for K and we decided to go to FCPS for 1st grade because we are in a really good pyramid, have a highly rated elementary school, we pay a lot in taxes and we kept hearing 'the best schools in the country.' Sadly, the negative reviews are true. I don't having anything positive to say about our experience so far.

Then go private.

we might. thanks for pointing out the obvious.

Different poster, but please do. It's makes life easier for everyone else when the high-maintenance types move their snowflakes to privates.

Perhaps, but it's not like your school will be any better because of their move.

Actually, it will. It gives everyone else a bit more room to breathe when the helicopter parents take their snowflakes elsewhere. And then the rest of us can sit back and watch how, in a few years, our FCPS kids will get into the same schools as their private-school kids.

How does it give you room to breathe? How would it affect you in the slightest? Why do you hate certain parents so much? You seem a bit preoccupied with parents who have any personal issue with the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in your spot last year- kid in Montessori for K and we decided to go to FCPS for 1st grade because we are in a really good pyramid, have a highly rated elementary school, we pay a lot in taxes and we kept hearing 'the best schools in the country.' Sadly, the negative reviews are true. I don't having anything positive to say about our experience so far.

Then go private.

we might. thanks for pointing out the obvious.

Different poster, but please do. It's makes life easier for everyone else when the high-maintenance types move their snowflakes to privates.

Perhaps, but it's not like your school will be any better because of their move.

Actually, it will. It gives everyone else a bit more room to breathe when the helicopter parents take their snowflakes elsewhere. And then the rest of us can sit back and watch how, in a few years, our FCPS kids will get into the same schools as their private-school kids.

Sorry, they do not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in your spot last year- kid in Montessori for K and we decided to go to FCPS for 1st grade because we are in a really good pyramid, have a highly rated elementary school, we pay a lot in taxes and we kept hearing 'the best schools in the country.' Sadly, the negative reviews are true. I don't having anything positive to say about our experience so far.

Then go private.

we might. thanks for pointing out the obvious.

Different poster, but please do. It's makes life easier for everyone else when the high-maintenance types move their snowflakes to privates.

Perhaps, but it's not like your school will be any better because of their move.

Actually, it will. It gives everyone else a bit more room to breathe when the helicopter parents take their snowflakes elsewhere. And then the rest of us can sit back and watch how, in a few years, our FCPS kids will get into the same schools as their private-school kids.

I din't think I qualify as a helicopter parent. Besides, the open house and back to school night- I have not spoken to the teacher. I just see my kid being sad about the work she is being given and the newsletters and assignments that the teacher sends that are full of spelling and grammar issues.

[Anonymous]

They teach kids about bullying, how to deal with bullies, how to prevent it. Years ago it was accepted and people didn't do anything. Now they teach it at an Early age to prevent it.