Langley 25?

[Anonymous]

Check out University of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Delaware and Auburn, Clemson. My kids and their friends have been looking into and going to these schools. And the schools are giving $$ to students from our area--some as much as awarding in-state tuition (not financial aid but merit $$). There are options beyond VaTech and JMU and UMD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here are five things that would reduce student stress in FCPS.

1. Later HS start times
2. Scaled-back AAP programs
3. Higher teacher/administrator salaries
4. Firing of teachers who are incompetent/have track records of verbally abusing students
5. Redistrict certain middle/high schools to avoid current concentrations of low and high-income students

If we do none of them, nothing will change, except at some point we may start to candidly acknowledge student deaths as a cost of doing business around here, in the same way that people at Toyota and GM meet behind the scenes and consider if they really want to fix a problem with their vehicles.

Do what is in your power. I think it begins at home. Earlier bedtime if that is a problem. Have your child take a less rigorous course load if that is a problem. Have your child take fewer extra curricular activities if that is a problem. 3 out of 5 of your suggestions are within the parents domain- not the school's. My children attend McLean HS. Both take the higher level classes and have plenty of time to do their homework. Why? They do not overload their time with tons of extra curricular activities and they go to bed at a reasonable time. I have noticed that they are able to do their homework faster before dinner than after dinner- because they are fresher. If they wait until after dinner it takes 30-50% longer- partly because they are tired and partly because they keep checking their social networks more frequently than right after school. So, if you are complaining about the amount of homework- observe your child to see if they are being efficient with the time.

That was not our experience. It was very much teacher dependent. My kid's English teacher gave reams of homework, lots of essays had 5-7 pages of requirements. The math teacher gave 50+ problems to solve/night. Of course work for EACH problem needed to be fully shown, even though there were maybe four different kinds of problems. Those two classes could give her 2+ hours per night of work combined. Now let's add the others. And that was freshman year, where she was taking one honors course because we told her not to overload herself straight off. Now let's add to that, the 'teacher wars'. If A teacher was going to require a kid to be gone on a field trip and B teacher was giving a test that day, it was often left up to the kid to figure it out; oh, and school policy was if you were gone for only part of the day then you had to take the test you missed by end of day. So it became a catch-22. Then there were the assignments that required the kids rely on their parents to help them get from point A to point B. Well, in this busy area, we know how THAT often goes. So you had administrators out of touch with teachers, teachers out of touch with administrators, and teachers out of touch with teachers. Completely dysfunctional.

For those kids participating in sports, the problems become worse. Now if you were a really good athlete, your GPA wasn't as important because a college was probably recruiting you without even caring much about GPA. If a parent was willing to pony up for college out of state, then GPA isn't that critical - kids can keep a B or even a C average and still find a college to go to. But that's often not the case, which is where the parental pressure comes in. It doesn't take much reading on DCUM to see how competitive and mean the people are in this area. So, as Jack Chen stated so succinctly in his suicide note, the pressures from all sides became intolerable. Unlivable. And thus, sadly, he chose his fate. He took control because no one listened.

But there ARE options. Lots of private schools in this area DO listen, HAVE made these changes, and kids are given the opportunity to excel AND enjoy their high school years. When those administrators read Jack Chen's note, they feel profound sadness. They've found the solution. They could have made things better for Jack because they have made things better for so many kids like Jack.

If you have time, or any inclination, bookmark the blog of John Potter, the headmaster at The New School of Northern VA. This school is often the butt of jokes of parents in this area, but it is highly regarded by the No. VA. educational system. It's not unusual to see other schools send staff and administrators to The New School to see why it works so well. There are blog entries by John, and by New School teachers. It's definitely worth a read

http://newschoolva.com/blog/

So, you want to blame the schools and not take responsibility for your own choices and your children's choices. Again, my children are at McLean HS taking Honors and AP courses and, yes, they do get about 3 hours of home a night. School ends at 2:05 and they go to bed at 9:30pm. That is almost 7 1/2 hours in which to do homework, relax, do an extra curricular , eat dinner, do chores......... If your child is having trouble completing the homework, maybe they need to take a lower level class or reduce the number of extra curricular activities in which they participate. Don't blame the schools for offering too many options. Students do not need to have 4.0 GPAs and tons of ECs to go to college. Pare it down to suit your child. There are hundreds of colleges out there.

The NEW school cherry picks and has their niche. School that specialize in niches are great for those students that are in their niche and are lucky enough to have parents that can afford the cost. It costs too much per student to do what they do for public schools, unless you are suggesting to double (or more) the current tax load AND many students are not in their niche.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here are five things that would reduce student stress in FCPS.

1. Later HS start times
2. Scaled-back AAP programs
3. Higher teacher/administrator salaries
4. Firing of teachers who are incompetent/have track records of verbally abusing students
5. Redistrict certain middle/high schools to avoid current concentrations of low and high-income students

If we do none of them, nothing will change, except at some point we may start to candidly acknowledge student deaths as a cost of doing business around here, in the same way that people at Toyota and GM meet behind the scenes and consider if they really want to fix a problem with their vehicles.

Do what is in your power. I think it begins at home. Earlier bedtime if that is a problem. Have your child take a less rigorous course load if that is a problem. Have your child take fewer extra curricular activities if that is a problem. 3 out of 5 of your suggestions are within the parents domain- not the school's. My children attend McLean HS. Both take the higher level classes and have plenty of time to do their homework. Why? They do not overload their time with tons of extra curricular activities and they go to bed at a reasonable time. I have noticed that they are able to do their homework faster before dinner than after dinner- because they are fresher. If they wait until after dinner it takes 30-50% longer- partly because they are tired and partly because they keep checking their social networks more frequently than right after school. So, if you are complaining about the amount of homework- observe your child to see if they are being efficient with the time.

That was not our experience. It was very much teacher dependent. My kid's English teacher gave reams of homework, lots of essays had 5-7 pages of requirements. The math teacher gave 50+ problems to solve/night. Of course work for EACH problem needed to be fully shown, even though there were maybe four different kinds of problems. Those two classes could give her 2+ hours per night of work combined. Now let's add the others. And that was freshman year, where she was taking one honors course because we told her not to overload herself straight off. Now let's add to that, the 'teacher wars'. If A teacher was going to require a kid to be gone on a field trip and B teacher was giving a test that day, it was often left up to the kid to figure it out; oh, and school policy was if you were gone for only part of the day then you had to take the test you missed by end of day. So it became a catch-22. Then there were the assignments that required the kids rely on their parents to help them get from point A to point B. Well, in this busy area, we know how THAT often goes. So you had administrators out of touch with teachers, teachers out of touch with administrators, and teachers out of touch with teachers. Completely dysfunctional.

For those kids participating in sports, the problems become worse. Now if you were a really good athlete, your GPA wasn't as important because a college was probably recruiting you without even caring much about GPA. If a parent was willing to pony up for college out of state, then GPA isn't that critical - kids can keep a B or even a C average and still find a college to go to. But that's often not the case, which is where the parental pressure comes in. It doesn't take much reading on DCUM to see how competitive and mean the people are in this area. So, as Jack Chen stated so succinctly in his suicide note, the pressures from all sides became intolerable. Unlivable. And thus, sadly, he chose his fate. He took control because no one listened.

But there ARE options. Lots of private schools in this area DO listen, HAVE made these changes, and kids are given the opportunity to excel AND enjoy their high school years. When those administrators read Jack Chen's note, they feel profound sadness. They've found the solution. They could have made things better for Jack because they have made things better for so many kids like Jack.

If you have time, or any inclination, bookmark the blog of John Potter, the headmaster at The New School of Northern VA. This school is often the butt of jokes of parents in this area, but it is highly regarded by the No. VA. educational system. It's not unusual to see other schools send staff and administrators to The New School to see why it works so well. There are blog entries by John, and by New School teachers. It's definitely worth a read

http://newschoolva.com/blog/

So, you want to blame the schools and not take responsibility for your own choices and your children's choices. Again, my children are at McLean HS taking Honors and AP courses and, yes, they do get about 3 hours of home a night. School ends at 2:05 and they go to bed at 9:30pm. That is almost 7 1/2 hours in which to do homework, relax, do an extra curricular , eat dinner, do chores......... If your child is having trouble completing the homework, maybe they need to take a lower level class or reduce the number of extra curricular activities in which they participate. Don't blame the schools for offering too many options. Students do not need to have 4.0 GPAs and tons of ECs to go to college. Pare it down to suit your child. There are hundreds of colleges out there.

The NEW school cherry picks and has their niche. School that specialize in niches are great for those students that are in their niche and are lucky enough to have parents that can afford the cost. It costs too much per student to do what they do for public schools, unless you are suggesting to double (or more) the current tax load AND many students are not in their niche.

Let's look at what you've done in your post:

1) Singled out YOUR kids with bold - so they are special kids - this is how most of the people in McLean and Great Falls think. Since your kids are special, OTHER people's kids don't matter, especially nameless, faceless one's that kill themselves. Why should they matter when your kids can handle it?

2) You've insulted my kids by saying they need to take lower level classes and/or pare down extra-curriculars, when you don't KNOW my kids. Grades were not an issue. College admissions were not an issue. Attitude definitely WAS an issue. You assumed we are the push-push kinds of parents in this area that schools bow to. In actuality, we are tech people, and so far from the nasty driven parents here it's not even funny. Trust me when I tell you we don't have friends like that in this area - it's not who we choose to hang with. What we saw at Langley shocked us, both from the administration's point of view, from the students' point of view, and from the parents' point of view. And from the parent's point of view, they had NO trouble insulting anyone else's child in order to build their child up. Sounds like you'd fit right in.

3) You assumed we are intent on getting my kids into top colleges. In fact, we made it a point to tell our kids we would not pay for Ivies as the people are just too superficial for my tastes. My kids can go to whatever school fits their needs. Since I am not a VA native (and frankly don't like it here anymore), I'd prefer my kids go down south, so we can get finally just move.

4) The New School most definitely does not cherry-pick their students. It's not terribly hard to get into, not like 'the big three' people around here seem so intent on getting into. What they DO expect is for their students to take charge of their own education. I feel that helps set kids up for life - one of the biggest issues with the welfare culture we live in now is that people are forgetting how to take charge of their own lives, as government becomes more and more intent on doing it for them. Any child is capable of doing so, truthfully. It's the parents that aren't willing to allow it.

5) I suggest you take a look at Langley vs. McLean. McLean has a different demographic. Langley has no apartments or condos feeding into it. Kids there are rich or richer. If you don't think that affects the administration and how they respond, I suggest you think again.

6) I have taken responsibility for my choices and my children's choices by abandoning the publics for the privates. We made a great decision, and that's felt universally. It saddens me that some kids have taken their own lives (and will continue to take their own lives) because of issues that can be easily handled by the schools and school boards. who simply do not want to. It also makes me a bit sick to think there are parents like you out there who simply don't care, because 'your kids got theirs'. But I'm not surprised by anything that's thrown at me anymore, especially by people in this area. Allen West made a good point last night at his book signing - he said it's no accident that the most blinded of people, the most insular, live in this area. Given the wealth here compared to lots of other areas in the country, and how many people here work for the feds in some fashion, they simply don't have to live with the policies they foist on others. So true!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here are five things that would reduce student stress in FCPS.

1. Later HS start times
2. Scaled-back AAP programs
3. Higher teacher/administrator salaries
4. Firing of teachers who are incompetent/have track records of verbally abusing students
5. Redistrict certain middle/high schools to avoid current concentrations of low and high-income students

If we do none of them, nothing will change, except at some point we may start to candidly acknowledge student deaths as a cost of doing business around here, in the same way that people at Toyota and GM meet behind the scenes and consider if they really want to fix a problem with their vehicles.

Do what is in your power. I think it begins at home. Earlier bedtime if that is a problem. Have your child take a less rigorous course load if that is a problem. Have your child take fewer extra curricular activities if that is a problem. 3 out of 5 of your suggestions are within the parents domain- not the school's. My children attend McLean HS. Both take the higher level classes and have plenty of time to do their homework. Why? They do not overload their time with tons of extra curricular activities and they go to bed at a reasonable time. I have noticed that they are able to do their homework faster before dinner than after dinner- because they are fresher. If they wait until after dinner it takes 30-50% longer- partly because they are tired and partly because they keep checking their social networks more frequently than right after school. So, if you are complaining about the amount of homework- observe your child to see if they are being efficient with the time.

That was not our experience. It was very much teacher dependent. My kid's English teacher gave reams of homework, lots of essays had 5-7 pages of requirements. The math teacher gave 50+ problems to solve/night. Of course work for EACH problem needed to be fully shown, even though there were maybe four different kinds of problems. Those two classes could give her 2+ hours per night of work combined. Now let's add the others. And that was freshman year, where she was taking one honors course because we told her not to overload herself straight off. Now let's add to that, the 'teacher wars'. If A teacher was going to require a kid to be gone on a field trip and B teacher was giving a test that day, it was often left up to the kid to figure it out; oh, and school policy was if you were gone for only part of the day then you had to take the test you missed by end of day. So it became a catch-22. Then there were the assignments that required the kids rely on their parents to help them get from point A to point B. Well, in this busy area, we know how THAT often goes. So you had administrators out of touch with teachers, teachers out of touch with administrators, and teachers out of touch with teachers. Completely dysfunctional.

For those kids participating in sports, the problems become worse. Now if you were a really good athlete, your GPA wasn't as important because a college was probably recruiting you without even caring much about GPA. If a parent was willing to pony up for college out of state, then GPA isn't that critical - kids can keep a B or even a C average and still find a college to go to. But that's often not the case, which is where the parental pressure comes in. It doesn't take much reading on DCUM to see how competitive and mean the people are in this area. So, as Jack Chen stated so succinctly in his suicide note, the pressures from all sides became intolerable. Unlivable. And thus, sadly, he chose his fate. He took control because no one listened.

But there ARE options. Lots of private schools in this area DO listen, HAVE made these changes, and kids are given the opportunity to excel AND enjoy their high school years. When those administrators read Jack Chen's note, they feel profound sadness. They've found the solution. They could have made things better for Jack because they have made things better for so many kids like Jack.

If you have time, or any inclination, bookmark the blog of John Potter, the headmaster at The New School of Northern VA. This school is often the butt of jokes of parents in this area, but it is highly regarded by the No. VA. educational system. It's not unusual to see other schools send staff and administrators to The New School to see why it works so well. There are blog entries by John, and by New School teachers. It's definitely worth a read

http://newschoolva.com/blog/

So, you want to blame the schools and not take responsibility for your own choices and your children's choices. Again, my children are at McLean HS taking Honors and AP courses and, yes, they do get about 3 hours of home a night. School ends at 2:05 and they go to bed at 9:30pm. That is almost 7 1/2 hours in which to do homework, relax, do an extra curricular , eat dinner, do chores......... If your child is having trouble completing the homework, maybe they need to take a lower level class or reduce the number of extra curricular activities in which they participate. Don't blame the schools for offering too many options. Students do not need to have 4.0 GPAs and tons of ECs to go to college. Pare it down to suit your child. There are hundreds of colleges out there.

The NEW school cherry picks and has their niche. School that specialize in niches are great for those students that are in their niche and are lucky enough to have parents that can afford the cost. It costs too much per student to do what they do for public schools, unless you are suggesting to double (or more) the current tax load AND many students are not in their niche.

Let's look at what you've done in your post:

1) Singled out YOUR kids with bold - so they are special kids - this is how most of the people in McLean and Great Falls think. Since your kids are special, OTHER people's kids don't matter, especially nameless, faceless one's that kill themselves. Why should they matter when your kids can handle it? I bolded to indicate that I have experience at these so called intense driven HSs.

2) You've insulted my kids by saying they need to take lower level classes and/or pare down extra-curriculars, when you don't KNOW my kids. Grades were not an issue. College admissions were not an issue. Attitude definitely WAS an issue. You assumed we are the push-push kinds of parents in this area that schools bow to. In actuality, we are tech people, and so far from the nasty driven parents here it's not even funny. Trust me when I tell you we don't have friends like that in this area - it's not who we choose to hang with. What we saw at Langley shocked us, both from the administration's point of view, from the students' point of view, and from the parents' point of view. And from the parent's point of view, they had NO trouble insulting anyone else's child in order to build their child up. Sounds like you'd fit right in. I did not intend to insult your children. I am sorry you took it that way. We have pared down our children's ECs so that they can take the courses they want to take. We have also chosen for our children to take one GeEd course for one of the four core course rather than all Honors/AP. Again, our choice. We have pared down- again I did not mean it as an insult- but a strategy. We do not blame the school for over scheduling our our children. The Honors and AP classes are SUPPOSED to be challenging and most kids should not take ALL honors/AP.

3) You assumed we are intent on getting my kids into top colleges. In fact, we made it a point to tell our kids we would not pay for Ivies as the people are just too superficial for my tastes. My kids can go to whatever school fits their needs. Since I am not a VA native (and frankly don't like it here anymore), I'd prefer my kids go down south, so we can get finally just move. Okay, then why are you making assumptions about a public school system in VA- if you do not live here?

4) The New School most definitely does not cherry-pick their students. It's not terribly hard to get into, not like 'the big three' people around here seem so intent on getting into. What they DO expect is for their students to take charge of their own education. I feel that helps set kids up for life - one of the biggest issues with the welfare culture we live in now is that people are forgetting how to take charge of their own lives, as government becomes more and more intent on doing it for them. Any child is capable of doing so, truthfully. It's the parents that aren't willing to allow it. The New School DOES cherry pick students- unless they accept EVERY student who applies and offer full FA to ALL who need it- and they do not. Private schools cherry pick- it is the reason people send their children to them.

5) I suggest you take a look at Langley vs. McLean. McLean has a different demographic. Langley has no apartments or condos feeding into it. Kids there are rich or richer. If you don't think that affects the administration and how they respond, I suggest you think again. How do you know this if you don't even live in the State?[b]

6) I have taken responsibility for my choices and my children's choices by abandoning the publics for the privates. We made a great decision, and that's felt universally. It saddens me that some kids have taken their own lives (and will continue to take their own lives) because of issues that can be easily handled by the schools and school boards. who simply do not want to. It also makes me a bit sick to think there are parents like you out there who simply don't care, because 'your kids got theirs'. But I'm not surprised by anything that's thrown at me anymore, especially by people in this area. Allen West made a good point last night at his book signing - he said it's no accident that the most blinded of people, the most insular, live in this area. Given the wealth here compared to lots of other areas in the country, and how many people here work for the feds in some fashion, they simply don't have to live with the policies they foist on others. So true!

It saddens me that children take their lives. I do not place the entire blame on the schools. Our community, our parenting, our mental health system, our medical system..... are all contributors. This is a problem where there are plenty of places to point fingers, but no one seems to be able to own up to their part of the solution and problem. You haven't you have just run away with your financial (crutch) ability to buy yourself out of the problem and abandoned your part of the solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Check out University of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Delaware and Auburn, Clemson. My kids and their friends have been looking into and going to these schools. And the schools are giving $$ to students from our area--some as much as awarding in-state tuition (not financial aid but merit $$). There are options beyond VaTech and JMU and UMD.

Thank you! I'll let my daughter know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here are five things that would reduce student stress in FCPS.

1. Later HS start times
2. Scaled-back AAP programs
3. Higher teacher/administrator salaries
4. Firing of teachers who are incompetent/have track records of verbally abusing students
5. Redistrict certain middle/high schools to avoid current concentrations of low and high-income students

If we do none of them, nothing will change, except at some point we may start to candidly acknowledge student deaths as a cost of doing business around here, in the same way that people at Toyota and GM meet behind the scenes and consider if they really want to fix a problem with their vehicles.

Do what is in your power. I think it begins at home. Earlier bedtime if that is a problem. Have your child take a less rigorous course load if that is a problem. Have your child take fewer extra curricular activities if that is a problem. 3 out of 5 of your suggestions are within the parents domain- not the school's. My children attend McLean HS. Both take the higher level classes and have plenty of time to do their homework. Why? They do not overload their time with tons of extra curricular activities and they go to bed at a reasonable time. I have noticed that they are able to do their homework faster before dinner than after dinner- because they are fresher. If they wait until after dinner it takes 30-50% longer- partly because they are tired and partly because they keep checking their social networks more frequently than right after school. So, if you are complaining about the amount of homework- observe your child to see if they are being efficient with the time.

That was not our experience. It was very much teacher dependent. My kid's English teacher gave reams of homework, lots of essays had 5-7 pages of requirements. The math teacher gave 50+ problems to solve/night. Of course work for EACH problem needed to be fully shown, even though there were maybe four different kinds of problems. Those two classes could give her 2+ hours per night of work combined. Now let's add the others. And that was freshman year, where she was taking one honors course because we told her not to overload herself straight off. Now let's add to that, the 'teacher wars'. If A teacher was going to require a kid to be gone on a field trip and B teacher was giving a test that day, it was often left up to the kid to figure it out; oh, and school policy was if you were gone for only part of the day then you had to take the test you missed by end of day. So it became a catch-22. Then there were the assignments that required the kids rely on their parents to help them get from point A to point B. Well, in this busy area, we know how THAT often goes. So you had administrators out of touch with teachers, teachers out of touch with administrators, and teachers out of touch with teachers. Completely dysfunctional.

For those kids participating in sports, the problems become worse. Now if you were a really good athlete, your GPA wasn't as important because a college was probably recruiting you without even caring much about GPA. If a parent was willing to pony up for college out of state, then GPA isn't that critical - kids can keep a B or even a C average and still find a college to go to. But that's often not the case, which is where the parental pressure comes in. It doesn't take much reading on DCUM to see how competitive and mean the people are in this area. So, as Jack Chen stated so succinctly in his suicide note, the pressures from all sides became intolerable. Unlivable. And thus, sadly, he chose his fate. He took control because no one listened.

But there ARE options. Lots of private schools in this area DO listen, HAVE made these changes, and kids are given the opportunity to excel AND enjoy their high school years. When those administrators read Jack Chen's note, they feel profound sadness. They've found the solution. They could have made things better for Jack because they have made things better for so many kids like Jack.

If you have time, or any inclination, bookmark the blog of John Potter, the headmaster at The New School of Northern VA. This school is often the butt of jokes of parents in this area, but it is highly regarded by the No. VA. educational system. It's not unusual to see other schools send staff and administrators to The New School to see why it works so well. There are blog entries by John, and by New School teachers. It's definitely worth a read

http://newschoolva.com/blog/

So, you want to blame the schools and not take responsibility for your own choices and your children's choices. Again, my children are at McLean HS taking Honors and AP courses and, yes, they do get about 3 hours of home a night. School ends at 2:05 and they go to bed at 9:30pm. That is almost 7 1/2 hours in which to do homework, relax, do an extra curricular , eat dinner, do chores......... If your child is having trouble completing the homework, maybe they need to take a lower level class or reduce the number of extra curricular activities in which they participate. Don't blame the schools for offering too many options. Students do not need to have 4.0 GPAs and tons of ECs to go to college. Pare it down to suit your child. There are hundreds of colleges out there.

The NEW school cherry picks and has their niche. School that specialize in niches are great for those students that are in their niche and are lucky enough to have parents that can afford the cost. It costs too much per student to do what they do for public schools, unless you are suggesting to double (or more) the current tax load AND many students are not in their niche.

Let's look at what you've done in your post:

1) Singled out YOUR kids with bold - so they are special kids - this is how most of the people in McLean and Great Falls think. Since your kids are special, OTHER people's kids don't matter, especially nameless, faceless one's that kill themselves. Why should they matter when your kids can handle it? I bolded to indicate that I have experience at these so called intense driven HSs.

2) You've insulted my kids by saying they need to take lower level classes and/or pare down extra-curriculars, when you don't KNOW my kids. Grades were not an issue. College admissions were not an issue. Attitude definitely WAS an issue. You assumed we are the push-push kinds of parents in this area that schools bow to. In actuality, we are tech people, and so far from the nasty driven parents here it's not even funny. Trust me when I tell you we don't have friends like that in this area - it's not who we choose to hang with. What we saw at Langley shocked us, both from the administration's point of view, from the students' point of view, and from the parents' point of view. And from the parent's point of view, they had NO trouble insulting anyone else's child in order to build their child up. Sounds like you'd fit right in. I did not intend to insult your children. I am sorry you took it that way. We have pared down our children's ECs so that they can take the courses they want to take. We have also chosen for our children to take one GeEd course for one of the four core course rather than all Honors/AP. Again, our choice. We have pared down- again I did not mean it as an insult- but a strategy. We do not blame the school for over scheduling our our children. The Honors and AP classes are SUPPOSED to be challenging and most kids should not take ALL honors/AP.

3) You assumed we are intent on getting my kids into top colleges. In fact, we made it a point to tell our kids we would not pay for Ivies as the people are just too superficial for my tastes. My kids can go to whatever school fits their needs. Since I am not a VA native (and frankly don't like it here anymore), I'd prefer my kids go down south, so we can get finally just move. Okay, then why are you making assumptions about a public school system in VA- if you do not live here?

4) The New School most definitely does not cherry-pick their students. It's not terribly hard to get into, not like 'the big three' people around here seem so intent on getting into. What they DO expect is for their students to take charge of their own education. I feel that helps set kids up for life - one of the biggest issues with the welfare culture we live in now is that people are forgetting how to take charge of their own lives, as government becomes more and more intent on doing it for them. Any child is capable of doing so, truthfully. It's the parents that aren't willing to allow it. The New School DOES cherry pick students- unless they accept EVERY student who applies and offer full FA to ALL who need it- and they do not. Private schools cherry pick- it is the reason people send their children to them.

5) I suggest you take a look at Langley vs. McLean. McLean has a different demographic. Langley has no apartments or condos feeding into it. Kids there are rich or richer. If you don't think that affects the administration and how they respond, I suggest you think again. How do you know this if you don't even live in the State?[b]

6) I have taken responsibility for my choices and my children's choices by abandoning the publics for the privates. We made a great decision, and that's felt universally. It saddens me that some kids have taken their own lives (and will continue to take their own lives) because of issues that can be easily handled by the schools and school boards. who simply do not want to. It also makes me a bit sick to think there are parents like you out there who simply don't care, because 'your kids got theirs'. But I'm not surprised by anything that's thrown at me anymore, especially by people in this area. Allen West made a good point last night at his book signing - he said it's no accident that the most blinded of people, the most insular, live in this area. Given the wealth here compared to lots of other areas in the country, and how many people here work for the feds in some fashion, they simply don't have to live with the policies they foist on others. So true!

It saddens me that children take their lives. I do not place the entire blame on the schools. Our community, our parenting, our mental health system, our medical system..... are all contributors. This is a problem where there are plenty of places to point fingers, but no one seems to be able to own up to their part of the solution and problem. You haven't you have just run away with your financial (crutch) ability to buy yourself out of the problem and abandoned your part of the solution.

Neither do I. But your first response was to attack my kids and me. SO typical in the DC area.

I was able to buy my kids into other schools - yep, I did. Why? Because I see no reason to leave them in what I consider a failing system when I don't have to. They are not experiments, they are my kids. That doesn't mean I've abandoned the fight - far from it. What I HAVE done is recognized the fight as being wholly politically and am attacking it from that angle.

I suggest you talk to some of those people in the 'failing' mental health system. They are overwhelmed and stunned with what they see coming in the door. Some consider the system abusive. I agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here are five things that would reduce student stress in FCPS.

1. Later HS start times
2. Scaled-back AAP programs
3. Higher teacher/administrator salaries
4. Firing of teachers who are incompetent/have track records of verbally abusing students
5. Redistrict certain middle/high schools to avoid current concentrations of low and high-income students

If we do none of them, nothing will change, except at some point we may start to candidly acknowledge student deaths as a cost of doing business around here, in the same way that people at Toyota and GM meet behind the scenes and consider if they really want to fix a problem with their vehicles.

Do what is in your power. I think it begins at home. Earlier bedtime if that is a problem. Have your child take a less rigorous course load if that is a problem. Have your child take fewer extra curricular activities if that is a problem. 3 out of 5 of your suggestions are within the parents domain- not the school's. My children attend McLean HS. Both take the higher level classes and have plenty of time to do their homework. Why? They do not overload their time with tons of extra curricular activities and they go to bed at a reasonable time. I have noticed that they are able to do their homework faster before dinner than after dinner- because they are fresher. If they wait until after dinner it takes 30-50% longer- partly because they are tired and partly because they keep checking their social networks more frequently than right after school. So, if you are complaining about the amount of homework- observe your child to see if they are being efficient with the time.

That was not our experience. It was very much teacher dependent. My kid's English teacher gave reams of homework, lots of essays had 5-7 pages of requirements. The math teacher gave 50+ problems to solve/night. Of course work for EACH problem needed to be fully shown, even though there were maybe four different kinds of problems. Those two classes could give her 2+ hours per night of work combined. Now let's add the others. And that was freshman year, where she was taking one honors course because we told her not to overload herself straight off. Now let's add to that, the 'teacher wars'. If A teacher was going to require a kid to be gone on a field trip and B teacher was giving a test that day, it was often left up to the kid to figure it out; oh, and school policy was if you were gone for only part of the day then you had to take the test you missed by end of day. So it became a catch-22. Then there were the assignments that required the kids rely on their parents to help them get from point A to point B. Well, in this busy area, we know how THAT often goes. So you had administrators out of touch with teachers, teachers out of touch with administrators, and teachers out of touch with teachers. Completely dysfunctional.

For those kids participating in sports, the problems become worse. Now if you were a really good athlete, your GPA wasn't as important because a college was probably recruiting you without even caring much about GPA. If a parent was willing to pony up for college out of state, then GPA isn't that critical - kids can keep a B or even a C average and still find a college to go to. But that's often not the case, which is where the parental pressure comes in. It doesn't take much reading on DCUM to see how competitive and mean the people are in this area. So, as Jack Chen stated so succinctly in his suicide note, the pressures from all sides became intolerable. Unlivable. And thus, sadly, he chose his fate. He took control because no one listened.

But there ARE options. Lots of private schools in this area DO listen, HAVE made these changes, and kids are given the opportunity to excel AND enjoy their high school years. When those administrators read Jack Chen's note, they feel profound sadness. They've found the solution. They could have made things better for Jack because they have made things better for so many kids like Jack.

If you have time, or any inclination, bookmark the blog of John Potter, the headmaster at The New School of Northern VA. This school is often the butt of jokes of parents in this area, but it is highly regarded by the No. VA. educational system. It's not unusual to see other schools send staff and administrators to The New School to see why it works so well. There are blog entries by John, and by New School teachers. It's definitely worth a read

http://newschoolva.com/blog/

So, you want to blame the schools and not take responsibility for your own choices and your children's choices. Again, my children are at McLean HS taking Honors and AP courses and, yes, they do get about 3 hours of home a night. School ends at 2:05 and they go to bed at 9:30pm. That is almost 7 1/2 hours in which to do homework, relax, do an extra curricular , eat dinner, do chores......... If your child is having trouble completing the homework, maybe they need to take a lower level class or reduce the number of extra curricular activities in which they participate. Don't blame the schools for offering too many options. Students do not need to have 4.0 GPAs and tons of ECs to go to college. Pare it down to suit your child. There are hundreds of colleges out there.

The NEW school cherry picks and has their niche. School that specialize in niches are great for those students that are in their niche and are lucky enough to have parents that can afford the cost. It costs too much per student to do what they do for public schools, unless you are suggesting to double (or more) the current tax load AND many students are not in their niche.

Let's look at what you've done in your post:

1) Singled out YOUR kids with bold - so they are special kids - this is how most of the people in McLean and Great Falls think. Since your kids are special, OTHER people's kids don't matter, especially nameless, faceless one's that kill themselves. Why should they matter when your kids can handle it? I bolded to indicate that I have experience at these so called intense driven HSs.

2) You've insulted my kids by saying they need to take lower level classes and/or pare down extra-curriculars, when you don't KNOW my kids. Grades were not an issue. College admissions were not an issue. Attitude definitely WAS an issue. You assumed we are the push-push kinds of parents in this area that schools bow to. In actuality, we are tech people, and so far from the nasty driven parents here it's not even funny. Trust me when I tell you we don't have friends like that in this area - it's not who we choose to hang with. What we saw at Langley shocked us, both from the administration's point of view, from the students' point of view, and from the parents' point of view. And from the parent's point of view, they had NO trouble insulting anyone else's child in order to build their child up. Sounds like you'd fit right in. I did not intend to insult your children. I am sorry you took it that way. We have pared down our children's ECs so that they can take the courses they want to take. We have also chosen for our children to take one GeEd course for one of the four core course rather than all Honors/AP. Again, our choice. We have pared down- again I did not mean it as an insult- but a strategy. We do not blame the school for over scheduling our our children. The Honors and AP classes are SUPPOSED to be challenging and most kids should not take ALL honors/AP.

3) You assumed we are intent on getting my kids into top colleges. In fact, we made it a point to tell our kids we would not pay for Ivies as the people are just too superficial for my tastes. My kids can go to whatever school fits their needs. Since I am not a VA native (and frankly don't like it here anymore), I'd prefer my kids go down south, so we can get finally just move. Okay, then why are you making assumptions about a public school system in VA- if you do not live here?

4) The New School most definitely does not cherry-pick their students. It's not terribly hard to get into, not like 'the big three' people around here seem so intent on getting into. What they DO expect is for their students to take charge of their own education. I feel that helps set kids up for life - one of the biggest issues with the welfare culture we live in now is that people are forgetting how to take charge of their own lives, as government becomes more and more intent on doing it for them. Any child is capable of doing so, truthfully. It's the parents that aren't willing to allow it. The New School DOES cherry pick students- unless they accept EVERY student who applies and offer full FA to ALL who need it- and they do not. Private schools cherry pick- it is the reason people send their children to them.

5) I suggest you take a look at Langley vs. McLean. McLean has a different demographic. Langley has no apartments or condos feeding into it. Kids there are rich or richer. If you don't think that affects the administration and how they respond, I suggest you think again. How do you know this if you don't even live in the State?[b]

6) I have taken responsibility for my choices and my children's choices by abandoning the publics for the privates. We made a great decision, and that's felt universally. It saddens me that some kids have taken their own lives (and will continue to take their own lives) because of issues that can be easily handled by the schools and school boards. who simply do not want to. It also makes me a bit sick to think there are parents like you out there who simply don't care, because 'your kids got theirs'. But I'm not surprised by anything that's thrown at me anymore, especially by people in this area. Allen West made a good point last night at his book signing - he said it's no accident that the most blinded of people, the most insular, live in this area. Given the wealth here compared to lots of other areas in the country, and how many people here work for the feds in some fashion, they simply don't have to live with the policies they foist on others. So true!

It saddens me that children take their lives. I do not place the entire blame on the schools. Our community, our parenting, our mental health system, our medical system..... are all contributors. This is a problem where there are plenty of places to point fingers, but no one seems to be able to own up to their part of the solution and problem. You haven't you have just run away with your financial (crutch) ability to buy yourself out of the problem and abandoned your part of the solution.

Neither do I. But your first response was to attack my kids and me. SO typical in the DC area.

I was able to buy my kids into other schools - yep, I did. Why? Because I see no reason to leave them in what I consider a failing system when I don't have to. They are not experiments, they are my kids. That doesn't mean I've abandoned the fight - far from it. What I HAVE done is recognized the fight as being wholly politically and am attacking it from that angle.

I suggest you talk to some of those people in the 'failing' mental health system. They are overwhelmed and stunned with what they see coming in the door. Some consider the system abusive. I agree.

No, your response assumed an attack on your child. As I explained, when I suggested paring down and/or taking a lower level class it was as a strategy that I have used with my own children. As I explained, no attack was intended.

[Anonymous]

Is it BM or her disciple who just won't let go of the bone here? Ruins every thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^I'm not BM (Bullis/bully mom) but I have to add: it's not just that she insists on having the last word (she does) but that every single thread that directly, indirectly, tangentially relates to Langley or any high school issue becomes her personal battlefield where she trots out her same 5 stories of how Langley was too stressful for her (er, her DD). And then goes on and on and on and on as if saying over and over makes it sound like others agree. Any point raised by any other poster is shot down immediately with her tired little retorts such that no one else wants to bother discussing the relevant issue anymore. So the thread dies (and maybe she thinks she's won). Bully for you.

not sure why everyone thinks there is only 1 person unhappy at Langley. There are many. And most of the type A parents are still oblivious even after 2 suicides and multiple channels of dissemination of info that children are stressed and have difficulties at fcps high schools and ESPECIALLY Langley.

It is just a shame what goes on and on and on. same problems, same stress and same denials.

same crowd of over achievers and athletes that bond together and reinforce how nice Langley is.

see - http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/after-woodson-high-suicides-a-search-for-solace-and-answers/2014/04/11/a394dc64-b069-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html

Ok, I've had more than enough of your innuendo. I'm a Langley parent and my kids are by no means overachievers or athletes. They're pretty much your average kids, with average friends. And they are happy, or as happy as any teen in any high school is going to be. They try hard, do their work, get enough sleep, hang out with friends, live their lives. They don't have whatever hangups you're trying to make it sound like "many" Langley students have. You and your ridiculous axe to grind need to take a vacation and see a therapist about YOUR issues and stop trying to make it sound like the entire school community is at fault. Clearly, you have larger issues going on.

Um, I'm Bullis Mom. And I didn't post any of the above. But by all means, enjoy your rant

Didn't say you were Bullis Mom. Doesn't really matter who you are; your bitterness speaks volumes. And my "rant" was simply in reaction to your rants. That's what happens as a consequence of people posting the same things over and over. Eventually, rational people lose their patience.

My 'bitterness' is not 'bitterness'. It's sadness over the fact that Jack Chen wrote EXACTLY why he committed suicide, his parents shared that, perhaps hoping to help someone else, and the article says teachers, administrators and the community are 'baffled and searching for answers'. No, actually they aren't. They are searching for reasons not to look inward and make changes. Jack Chen told them outright what to do. If they would take that note and make changes based on it, things would get much better for teenagers, especially in high pressure schools. But I could tell by the 'baffled people' in that article, they STILL don't get it, even though Jack Chen's note hit them in the face with it.

So you can throw whatever crap you want at me - I truly don't care because it's not YOUR feelings I am trying to protect. I don't need to stroke your ego, or that of any other parent, because how you feel doesn't really matter to me. It's not about you sweetheart. It's about kids like Jack Chen, who step in front of trains because they feel that's their only option. And even THAT isn't enough to get people to listen.

So, let's get this straight: on a thread about Langley, you see fit to quote a suicide note from a former Woodson HS student, and proceed to lecture the rest of us on what we are doing wrong. Got it. Your arrogance really knows no bounds, does it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think also changing our state's colleges acceptance policies. A lot of the stress comes from the kids in NOVA needing a 4.3 to get into UVA compared to a student in other parts of the state needing a 3.6.

This I completely agree with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here are five things that would reduce student stress in FCPS.

1. Later HS start times
2. Scaled-back AAP programs
3. Higher teacher/administrator salaries
4. Firing of teachers who are incompetent/have track records of verbally abusing students
5. Redistrict certain middle/high schools to avoid current concentrations of low and high-income students

If we do none of them, nothing will change, except at some point we may start to candidly acknowledge student deaths as a cost of doing business around here, in the same way that people at Toyota and GM meet behind the scenes and consider if they really want to fix a problem with their vehicles.

Do what is in your power. I think it begins at home. Earlier bedtime if that is a problem. Have your child take a less rigorous course load if that is a problem. Have your child take fewer extra curricular activities if that is a problem. 3 out of 5 of your suggestions are within the parents domain- not the school's. My children attend McLean HS. Both take the higher level classes and have plenty of time to do their homework. Why? They do not overload their time with tons of extra curricular activities and they go to bed at a reasonable time. I have noticed that they are able to do their homework faster before dinner than after dinner- because they are fresher. If they wait until after dinner it takes 30-50% longer- partly because they are tired and partly because they keep checking their social networks more frequently than right after school. So, if you are complaining about the amount of homework- observe your child to see if they are being efficient with the time.

That was not our experience. It was very much teacher dependent. My kid's English teacher gave reams of homework, lots of essays had 5-7 pages of requirements. The math teacher gave 50+ problems to solve/night. Of course work for EACH problem needed to be fully shown, even though there were maybe four different kinds of problems. Those two classes could give her 2+ hours per night of work combined. Now let's add the others. And that was freshman year, where she was taking one honors course because we told her not to overload herself straight off. Now let's add to that, the 'teacher wars'. If A teacher was going to require a kid to be gone on a field trip and B teacher was giving a test that day, it was often left up to the kid to figure it out; oh, and school policy was if you were gone for only part of the day then you had to take the test you missed by end of day. So it became a catch-22. Then there were the assignments that required the kids rely on their parents to help them get from point A to point B. Well, in this busy area, we know how THAT often goes. So you had administrators out of touch with teachers, teachers out of touch with administrators, and teachers out of touch with teachers. Completely dysfunctional.

For those kids participating in sports, the problems become worse. Now if you were a really good athlete, your GPA wasn't as important because a college was probably recruiting you without even caring much about GPA. If a parent was willing to pony up for college out of state, then GPA isn't that critical - kids can keep a B or even a C average and still find a college to go to. But that's often not the case, which is where the parental pressure comes in. It doesn't take much reading on DCUM to see how competitive and mean the people are in this area. So, as Jack Chen stated so succinctly in his suicide note, the pressures from all sides became intolerable. Unlivable. And thus, sadly, he chose his fate. He took control because no one listened.

But there ARE options. Lots of private schools in this area DO listen, HAVE made these changes, and kids are given the opportunity to excel AND enjoy their high school years. When those administrators read Jack Chen's note, they feel profound sadness. They've found the solution. They could have made things better for Jack because they have made things better for so many kids like Jack.

If you have time, or any inclination, bookmark the blog of John Potter, the headmaster at The New School of Northern VA. This school is often the butt of jokes of parents in this area, but it is highly regarded by the No. VA. educational system. It's not unusual to see other schools send staff and administrators to The New School to see why it works so well. There are blog entries by John, and by New School teachers. It's definitely worth a read

http://newschoolva.com/blog/

So, you want to blame the schools and not take responsibility for your own choices and your children's choices. Again, [b]my children are at McLean HS taking Honors and AP courses and, yes, they do get about 3 hours of home a night. School ends at 2:05 and they go to bed at 9:30pm. That is almost 7 1/2 hours in which to do homework, relax, do an extra curricular , eat dinner, do chores......... If your child is having trouble completing the homework, maybe they need to take a lower level class or reduce the number of extra curricular activities in which they participate. Don't blame the schools for offering too many options. Students do not need to have 4.0 GPAs and tons of ECs to go to college. Pare it down to suit your child. There are hundreds of colleges out there. [/b]
.

Completely agree, and my child is at Langley. His schedule/homework load sounds much like your children's. We are very much about balance and just because a school has many AP offerings, or extra-curriculars, doesn't mean your child has to do all of them. It's up to the parents to set the tone and make sure the child isn't over-extending. So tired of posters blaming the schools for the issues their children encounter. They need to step back, and make sure their children do as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:. . . .
So, you want to blame the schools and not take responsibility for your own choices and your children's choices? Again, my children are at McLean HS taking Honors and AP courses and, yes, they do get about 3 hours of home a night. School ends at 2:05 and they go to bed at 9:30pm. That is almost 7 1/2 hours in which to do homework, relax, do an extra curricular , eat dinner, do chores......... If your child is having trouble completing the homework, maybe they need to take a lower level class or reduce the number of extra curricular activities in which they participate. Don't blame the schools for offering too many options. Students do not need to have 4.0 GPAs and tons of ECs to go to college. Pare it down to suit your child. There are hundreds of colleges out there.

Completely agree, and my child is at Langley. His schedule/homework load sounds much like your children's. We are very much about balance and just because a school has many AP offerings, or extra-curriculars, doesn't mean your child has to do all of them. It's up to the parents to set the tone and make sure the child isn't over-extending. So tired of posters blaming the schools for the issues their children encounter. They need to step back, and make sure their children do as well.

This this this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it BM or her disciple who just won't let go of the bone here? Ruins every thread.

+1,000,000
Both of them need to meet for coffee sometime so they can just hash things out together. Pretty pathetic rantings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here are five things that would reduce student stress in FCPS.

1. Later HS start times
2. Scaled-back AAP programs
3. Higher teacher/administrator salaries
4. Firing of teachers who are incompetent/have track records of verbally abusing students
5. Redistrict certain middle/high schools to avoid current concentrations of low and high-income students

If we do none of them, nothing will change, except at some point we may start to candidly acknowledge student deaths as a cost of doing business around here, in the same way that people at Toyota and GM meet behind the scenes and consider if they really want to fix a problem with their vehicles.

Do what is in your power. I think it begins at home. Earlier bedtime if that is a problem. Have your child take a less rigorous course load if that is a problem. Have your child take fewer extra curricular activities if that is a problem. 3 out of 5 of your suggestions are within the parents domain- not the school's. My children attend McLean HS. Both take the higher level classes and have plenty of time to do their homework. Why? They do not overload their time with tons of extra curricular activities and they go to bed at a reasonable time. I have noticed that they are able to do their homework faster before dinner than after dinner- because they are fresher. If they wait until after dinner it takes 30-50% longer- partly because they are tired and partly because they keep checking their social networks more frequently than right after school. So, if you are complaining about the amount of homework- observe your child to see if they are being efficient with the time.

That was not our experience. It was very much teacher dependent. My kid's English teacher gave reams of homework, lots of essays had 5-7 pages of requirements. The math teacher gave 50+ problems to solve/night. Of course work for EACH problem needed to be fully shown, even though there were maybe four different kinds of problems. Those two classes could give her 2+ hours per night of work combined. Now let's add the others. And that was freshman year, where she was taking one honors course because we told her not to overload herself straight off. Now let's add to that, the 'teacher wars'. If A teacher was going to require a kid to be gone on a field trip and B teacher was giving a test that day, it was often left up to the kid to figure it out; oh, and school policy was if you were gone for only part of the day then you had to take the test you missed by end of day. So it became a catch-22. Then there were the assignments that required the kids rely on their parents to help them get from point A to point B. Well, in this busy area, we know how THAT often goes. So you had administrators out of touch with teachers, teachers out of touch with administrators, and teachers out of touch with teachers. Completely dysfunctional.

For those kids participating in sports, the problems become worse. Now if you were a really good athlete, your GPA wasn't as important because a college was probably recruiting you without even caring much about GPA. If a parent was willing to pony up for college out of state, then GPA isn't that critical - kids can keep a B or even a C average and still find a college to go to. But that's often not the case, which is where the parental pressure comes in. It doesn't take much reading on DCUM to see how competitive and mean the people are in this area. So, as Jack Chen stated so succinctly in his suicide note, the pressures from all sides became intolerable. Unlivable. And thus, sadly, he chose his fate. He took control because no one listened.

But there ARE options. Lots of private schools in this area DO listen, HAVE made these changes, and kids are given the opportunity to excel AND enjoy their high school years. When those administrators read Jack Chen's note, they feel profound sadness. They've found the solution. They could have made things better for Jack because they have made things better for so many kids like Jack.

If you have time, or any inclination, bookmark the blog of John Potter, the headmaster at The New School of Northern VA. This school is often the butt of jokes of parents in this area, but it is highly regarded by the No. VA. educational system. It's not unusual to see other schools send staff and administrators to The New School to see why it works so well. There are blog entries by John, and by New School teachers. It's definitely worth a read

http://newschoolva.com/blog/

So, you want to blame the schools and not take responsibility for your own choices and your children's choices. Again, my children are at McLean HS taking Honors and AP courses and, yes, they do get about 3 hours of home a night. School ends at 2:05 and they go to bed at 9:30pm. That is almost 7 1/2 hours in which to do homework, relax, do an extra curricular , eat dinner, do chores......... If your child is having trouble completing the homework, maybe they need to take a lower level class or reduce the number of extra curricular activities in which they participate. Don't blame the schools for offering too many options. Students do not need to have 4.0 GPAs and tons of ECs to go to college. Pare it down to suit your child. There are hundreds of colleges out there.

The NEW school cherry picks and has their niche. School that specialize in niches are great for those students that are in their niche and are lucky enough to have parents that can afford the cost. It costs too much per student to do what they do for public schools, unless you are suggesting to double (or more) the current tax load AND many students are not in their niche.

Let's look at what you've done in your post:

1) Singled out YOUR kids with bold - so they are special kids - this is how most of the people in McLean and Great Falls think. Since your kids are special, OTHER people's kids don't matter, especially nameless, faceless one's that kill themselves. Why should they matter when your kids can handle it? I bolded to indicate that I have experience at these so called intense driven HSs.

2) You've insulted my kids by saying they need to take lower level classes and/or pare down extra-curriculars, when you don't KNOW my kids. Grades were not an issue. College admissions were not an issue. Attitude definitely WAS an issue. You assumed we are the push-push kinds of parents in this area that schools bow to. In actuality, we are tech people, and so far from the nasty driven parents here it's not even funny. Trust me when I tell you we don't have friends like that in this area - it's not who we choose to hang with. What we saw at Langley shocked us, both from the administration's point of view, from the students' point of view, and from the parents' point of view. And from the parent's point of view, they had NO trouble insulting anyone else's child in order to build their child up. Sounds like you'd fit right in. I did not intend to insult your children. I am sorry you took it that way. We have pared down our children's ECs so that they can take the courses they want to take. We have also chosen for our children to take one GeEd course for one of the four core course rather than all Honors/AP. Again, our choice. We have pared down- again I did not mean it as an insult- but a strategy. We do not blame the school for over scheduling our our children. The Honors and AP classes are SUPPOSED to be challenging and most kids should not take ALL honors/AP.

3) You assumed we are intent on getting my kids into top colleges. In fact, we made it a point to tell our kids we would not pay for Ivies as the people are just too superficial for my tastes. My kids can go to whatever school fits their needs. Since I am not a VA native (and frankly don't like it here anymore), I'd prefer my kids go down south, so we can get finally just move. Okay, then why are you making assumptions about a public school system in VA- if you do not live here?

4) The New School most definitely does not cherry-pick their students. It's not terribly hard to get into, not like 'the big three' people around here seem so intent on getting into. What they DO expect is for their students to take charge of their own education. I feel that helps set kids up for life - one of the biggest issues with the welfare culture we live in now is that people are forgetting how to take charge of their own lives, as government becomes more and more intent on doing it for them. Any child is capable of doing so, truthfully. It's the parents that aren't willing to allow it. The New School DOES cherry pick students- unless they accept EVERY student who applies and offer full FA to ALL who need it- and they do not. Private schools cherry pick- it is the reason people send their children to them.

5) I suggest you take a look at Langley vs. McLean. McLean has a different demographic. Langley has no apartments or condos feeding into it. Kids there are rich or richer. If you don't think that affects the administration and how they respond, I suggest you think again. How do you know this if you don't even live in the State?[b]

6) I have taken responsibility for my choices and my children's choices by abandoning the publics for the privates. We made a great decision, and that's felt universally. It saddens me that some kids have taken their own lives (and will continue to take their own lives) because of issues that can be easily handled by the schools and school boards. who simply do not want to. It also makes me a bit sick to think there are parents like you out there who simply don't care, because 'your kids got theirs'. But I'm not surprised by anything that's thrown at me anymore, especially by people in this area. Allen West made a good point last night at his book signing - he said it's no accident that the most blinded of people, the most insular, live in this area. Given the wealth here compared to lots of other areas in the country, and how many people here work for the feds in some fashion, they simply don't have to live with the policies they foist on others. So true!

It saddens me that children take their lives. I do not place the entire blame on the schools. Our community, our parenting, our mental health system, our medical system..... are all contributors. This is a problem where there are plenty of places to point fingers, but no one seems to be able to own up to their part of the solution and problem. You haven't you have just run away with your financial (crutch) ability to buy yourself out of the problem and abandoned your part of the solution.

Neither do I. But your first response was to attack my kids and me. SO typical in the DC area.

I was able to buy my kids into other schools - yep, I did. Why? Because I see no reason to leave them in what I consider a failing system when I don't have to. They are not experiments, they are my kids. That doesn't mean I've abandoned the fight - far from it. What I HAVE done is recognized the fight as being wholly politically and am attacking it from that angle.

I suggest you talk to some of those people in the 'failing' mental health system. They are overwhelmed and stunned with what they see coming in the door. Some consider the system abusive. I agree.

No, your response assumed an attack on your child. As I explained, when I suggested paring down and/or taking a lower level class it was as a strategy that I have used with my own children. As I explained, no attack was intended.

You knew nothing about my child. You knew nothing about me. How about asking instead of "suggesting"? If you had, you would have seen how very far off you were. And then you did it again by assuming that I abandoned my part of the solution. Know what I didn't do? What I didn't do was say "MY kids haven't had a problem, like you did, implying the problems don't exist but in the parent's minds. But Jack Chen, and at least 7 others, felt it enough to kill themselves. You can play 'good mommy' all you want; the reality is, if you tuned in to the actual political issues surrounding this, on a local, state and national level, you would not blame it on the parents. You would see where the problems lie, how quotas work, how political correctness and 'fairness' plays such a huge role, and how it is affecting these kids.

It doesn't matter if you intended an attack or not. The fact is, it was perceived that way, not only by me, but by others who made comments about how you were a typical Langley/McLean parent, in that your response was very self-centered. Would you go give the same advice to Jack Chen's parents now? Tell them how you feel their parenting was what killed their kid and what they could have done to prevent it?

Again, McLean is not Langley. Langley is it's own special kind of crazy. Administration can temper that. They do not.

[Anonymous]

Dog with a bone. Everyone else should just walk away because she won't stop until Jeff shuts her down.