Boundaries assessment update 2023

[Anonymous]

At the latest work session, supervisor Reid and a few others were talking about laying out the maps on tables this summer and taking a close look at a county-wide boundary assessment. This was after the FPAC annual report presentation and the conversation about inefficient boundaries was largely driven by ongoing issues with transportation, aging facilities, and overcrowding versus capacity surplus.

Is this just idle table talk or something with real willpower behind it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At the latest work session, supervisor Reid and a few others were talking about laying out the maps on tables this summer and taking a close look at a county-wide boundary assessment. This was after the FPAC annual report presentation and the conversation about inefficient boundaries was largely driven by ongoing issues with transportation, aging facilities, and overcrowding versus capacity surplus.

Is this just idle table talk or something with real willpower behind it?

What do you think the odds are that FCPS and the School Board are going to take a "close look at a county-wide boundary assessment" a few months before a School Board election in the fall?

They tiptoed around this in 2018 and early 2019 and then killed any such discussions in the months before the fall 2019 elections. The whole reason for hiring a boundary consultant at the time was to offload the discussion and get it off the SB's plate.

[Anonymous]

1. Get rid of IB
Then see what happens in high schools

2. If transportation is an issue, take a serious look at eliminating AAP centers. Or, go back to GT centers which were for the highly gifted

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. Get rid of IB
Then see what happens in high schools

2. If transportation is an issue, take a serious look at eliminating AAP centers. Or, go back to GT centers which were for the highly gifted

You point out why these discussions never go anywhere. If they are thinking about ever changing programs, they kind of need to decide that before they change boundaries. But it's just as hard for them to make decisions about programs (IB, AAP, etc.) as it is to make decisions about boundaries. It would be nuts to change boundaries and then end up with even worse capacity imbalances if they did eventually decide to change programs.

[Anonymous]

Simple answer is LLIV at all elementary schools (almost there already) remove AAP in middle schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Simple answer is LLIV at all elementary schools (almost there already) remove AAP in middle schools.

Except for some the AAP alleviates crowding elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Simple answer is LLIV at all elementary schools (almost there already) remove AAP in middle schools.

Except for some the AAP alleviates crowding elsewhere.

DP. At least at the MS level, AAP programs are either aligned with a school's base boundaries (Cooper, Johnson, Longfellow, South County) or have previously contributed to overcrowding (for example, Carson, Frost, Glasgow, Kilmer). They'd have to run the numbers, but I'm not sure what MS besides Thoreau might be overcrowded if AAP students returned to their base schools (Thoreau's boundaries were expanded a few years clearly assuming that most AAP kids at Thoreau would continue to go to Jackson and Kilmer).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Get rid of IB
Then see what happens in high schools

2. If transportation is an issue, take a serious look at eliminating AAP centers. Or, go back to GT centers which were for the highly gifted

You point out why these discussions never go anywhere. If they are thinking about ever changing programs, they kind of need to decide that before they change boundaries. But it's just as hard for them to make decisions about programs (IB, AAP, etc.) as it is to make decisions about boundaries. It would be nuts to change boundaries and then end up with even worse capacity imbalances if they did eventually decide to change programs.

How would the staffing model account for IB elimination (with grandfathering) and simultaneous recruitment and implementation of AP qualified teachers? That sounds… Complicated

[Anonymous]

Well they must know how many people request IB compared to AP and opt to transfer in any given year. The know how many kids take IB classes and AP classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Get rid of IB
Then see what happens in high schools

2. If transportation is an issue, take a serious look at eliminating AAP centers. Or, go back to GT centers which were for the highly gifted

You point out why these discussions never go anywhere. If they are thinking about ever changing programs, they kind of need to decide that before they change boundaries. But it's just as hard for them to make decisions about programs (IB, AAP, etc.) as it is to make decisions about boundaries. It would be nuts to change boundaries and then end up with even worse capacity imbalances if they did eventually decide to change programs.

How would the staffing model account for IB elimination (with grandfathering) and simultaneous recruitment and implementation of AP qualified teachers? That sounds… Complicated

I wouldn't grandfather for IB. Just eliminate it and replace it with AP. The College Board specifies the AP course curriculum but doesn't insist on "AP qualified teachers."

[Anonymous]

[img]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Get rid of IB
Then see what happens in high schools

2. If transportation is an issue, take a serious look at eliminating AAP centers. Or, go back to GT centers which were for the highly gifted

You point out why these discussions never go anywhere. If they are thinking about ever changing programs, they kind of need to decide that before they change boundaries. But it's just as hard for them to make decisions about programs (IB, AAP, etc.) as it is to make decisions about boundaries. It would be nuts to change boundaries and then end up with even worse capacity imbalances if they did eventually decide to change programs.

How would the staffing model account for IB elimination (with grandfathering) and simultaneous recruitment and implementation of AP qualified teachers? That sounds… Complicated

I wouldn't grandfather for IB. Just eliminate it and replace it with AP. The College Board specifies the AP course curriculum but doesn't insist on "AP qualified teachers."

This shows how little you actually know about IB. What about kids who are working on an IB diploma or taking a 2 year course Vs 1 year? Of course it would have to be phased out. And they should keep IB where there are students interested in it like SL or Marshall. Put AP in schools that parents flee so now they don’t have excuse anymore.

[Anonymous]

Boundary conversations always have tons of parental push back and no one has the balls to follow through with it. It should happen, but it won’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[img]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Get rid of IB
Then see what happens in high schools

2. If transportation is an issue, take a serious look at eliminating AAP centers. Or, go back to GT centers which were for the highly gifted

You point out why these discussions never go anywhere. If they are thinking about ever changing programs, they kind of need to decide that before they change boundaries. But it's just as hard for them to make decisions about programs (IB, AAP, etc.) as it is to make decisions about boundaries. It would be nuts to change boundaries and then end up with even worse capacity imbalances if they did eventually decide to change programs.

How would the staffing model account for IB elimination (with grandfathering) and simultaneous recruitment and implementation of AP qualified teachers? That sounds… Complicated

I wouldn't grandfather for IB. Just eliminate it and replace it with AP. The College Board specifies the AP course curriculum but doesn't insist on "AP qualified teachers."

This shows how little you actually know about IB. What about kids who are working on an IB diploma or taking a 2 year course Vs 1 year? Of course it would have to be phased out. And they should keep IB where there are students interested in it like SL or Marshall. Put AP in schools that parents flee so now they don’t have excuse anymore.

Cold turkey is best. Just scrap IB and let the seniors take AP or Honors classes their senior year.

[Anonymous]

Just get rid of AAP and AAP centers. Beef up the curriculum for everyone instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[img]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Get rid of IB
Then see what happens in high schools

2. If transportation is an issue, take a serious look at eliminating AAP centers. Or, go back to GT centers which were for the highly gifted

You point out why these discussions never go anywhere. If they are thinking about ever changing programs, they kind of need to decide that before they change boundaries. But it's just as hard for them to make decisions about programs (IB, AAP, etc.) as it is to make decisions about boundaries. It would be nuts to change boundaries and then end up with even worse capacity imbalances if they did eventually decide to change programs.

How would the staffing model account for IB elimination (with grandfathering) and simultaneous recruitment and implementation of AP qualified teachers? That sounds… Complicated

I wouldn't grandfather for IB. Just eliminate it and replace it with AP. The College Board specifies the AP course curriculum but doesn't insist on "AP qualified teachers."

This shows how little you actually know about IB. What about kids who are working on an IB diploma or taking a 2 year course Vs 1 year? Of course it would have to be phased out. And they should keep IB where there are students interested in it like SL or Marshall. Put AP in schools that parents flee so now they don’t have excuse anymore.

Cold turkey is best. Just scrap IB and let the seniors take AP or Honors classes their senior year.

You know some actually prefer IB? Keep it in a few schools.