What happened to learning as a national priority?

[Anonymous]

According to this (gift) article from the New York Times, learning used to be a national priority but fell to the wayside in the Bush-Obama years during which principals became focused on NOT failing - rather than succeeding. Now, Louisiana leading the way is introducing reforms that are really working, including the idea that, "Developing a mature attention span is crucial for work."

That means no screens.

"Unlike in many elementary-school classrooms, the students did not have computers or tablets on their desks. They had open books, which they were avidly marking up with highlighters and pencils ... Children cannot learn to focus their attention on books or anything else if they are constantly distracted by addictive technology."

They also focus on building a big vocabulary through science and social studies, the exact subjects that the Bush-Obama reforms often stripped from the school day. Louisiana is teaching history in elementary school. From the article,

"Ms. Cascio reviewed vocabulary words that students would need: heretic, rational, skepticism, heliocentric. Then, over the course of an hour, 10- and 11-year-olds broke into groups to discuss why Leonardo da Vinci was interested in human anatomy. They wrote about how the ideas of Copernicus and Galileo differed from those of the ancient Greeks."

In our FCPS elementary school, we definitely are NOT learning about the Renaissance.

During the Bush-Obama years, schools were punished when their kids did not pass standardized tests - "Tying punishments to test scores led to a predictable outcome: a curriculum that, in too many schools, centered on test prep. Students practiced reading short passages and answering multiple choice questions about those passages, over and over again." Long form books were out, short passages were in - and as a result, many kids have never read a full book before college.

What will it take to make FCPS care about learning rather than just not failing?

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/us/education-politics-learning.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GU8.iFDG.q9HYXoaiuR_S&smid=url-share

[Anonymous]

Paying and treating teachers like professionals.

[Anonymous]

There is too much teaching to the test. That’s for sure. All material has to be crammed into 3 quarters so the fourth quarter is review for the SOLs and take the SOLs. The reading has become ‘read the passage’ and ‘answer the multiple questions’ below.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is too much teaching to the test. That’s for sure. All material has to be crammed into 3 quarters so the fourth quarter is review for the SOLs and take the SOLs. The reading has become ‘read the passage’ and ‘answer the multiple questions’ below.

"No Child Left Behind" was well intentioned, but has been an utter failure.

My kids were in school when it started. With SOL's came a "sea change" in instruction. And, sadly, test scores probably would have been better if they had continued teaching as before.

Lots of fun learning activities were eliminated.

[Anonymous]

FCPS is a social services program. Education is a secondary mission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS is a social services program. Education is a secondary mission.

Yes. FCPS needs to stay in their lane. Additionally people employed by FCPS are largely unqualified to practice in the social services arena.

[Anonymous]

“The country is deeply polarized. But a survey of some of the most exciting work happening in schools shows that educators and parents have the ability to embrace new ideas and come together around the goal of giving the next generation a quality education. It could even be the beginning of a political platform.“

The problem is these aren’t new ideas. The Core Knowledge Foundation—similar to what they highlight in Louisiana—has been around since the 80s. There just hasn’t been appetite to focus on content over nebulous skills. Too much of the blame in this article is on NCLB and Common Core, not enough on education schools that resist evidence (particularly in cognitive science) and school districts/administrators that are captured by EdTech and resist any higher level oversight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS is a social services program. Education is a secondary mission.

MCPS is worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS is a social services program. Education is a secondary mission.

MCPS is worse.

Not sure about that.

MCPS and APS both moved recently to CKLA, which teaches actual content integrated with Language Arts. CKLA is from the Core Knowledge Foundation — CKF is NOT related to Common Core, btw. The cited article thinks CKLA is an example of what we should be moving to, and both APS and MCPS have already made that switch.

However, FCPS recently moved to the Phonics variant of Benchmark, which does not integrate content the way CKLA does (but still is a huge improvement over the previous non-Phonics language arts program). MCPS no longer uses Benchmark for LA, having replaced it with CKLA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS is a social services program. Education is a secondary mission.

This. They’ve lost the plot.

I’ve posted this before but pick ANY FCPS ES and read the mission statement! Absolutely shameful!

Here are a few examples:

We, as a professional learning community, utilize research-based instructional strategies, monitor student progress for active learning, provide our students with the tools they need to succeed in life and model and encourage positive behavior to facilitate student learning of academics, life skills, and good citizenship.
———————

By providing an inclusive learning environment that embraces the contributions of each child, we will create a community of empowered lifelong learners and critical thinkers.
_________________
we envision a school where students will become literate, self-motivated, well-rounded, independent learners who demonstrate their responsibility to self and society.

—————————-
And from a HS

We prepare students to be principled and open-minded inquirers.
We challenge students academically with diverse and authentic learning opportunities.
We empower students to become reflective, knowledgeable, risk takers.
We encourage students to take pride in their contributions to their local, national and global communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS is a social services program. Education is a secondary mission.

This. They’ve lost the plot.

I’ve posted this before but pick ANY FCPS ES and read the mission statement! Absolutely shameful!

Here are a few examples:

We, as a professional learning community, utilize research-based instructional strategies, monitor student progress for active learning, provide our students with the tools they need to succeed in life and model and encourage positive behavior to facilitate student learning of academics, life skills, and good citizenship.
———————

By providing an inclusive learning environment that embraces the contributions of each child, we will create a community of empowered lifelong learners and critical thinkers.
_________________
we envision a school where students will become literate, self-motivated, well-rounded, independent learners who demonstrate their responsibility to self and society.

—————————-
And from a HS

We prepare students to be principled and open-minded inquirers.
We challenge students academically with diverse and authentic learning opportunities.
We empower students to become reflective, knowledgeable, risk takers.
We encourage students to take pride in their contributions to their local, national and global communities.

Is this sarcasm? The Es ones especially seem fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS is a social services program. Education is a secondary mission.

This. They’ve lost the plot.

I’ve posted this before but pick ANY FCPS ES and read the mission statement! Absolutely shameful!

Here are a few examples:

We, as a professional learning community, utilize research-based instructional strategies, monitor student progress for active learning, provide our students with the tools they need to succeed in life and model and encourage positive behavior to facilitate student learning of academics, life skills, and good citizenship.
———————

By providing an inclusive learning environment that embraces the contributions of each child, we will create a community of empowered lifelong learners and critical thinkers.
_________________
we envision a school where students will become literate, self-motivated, well-rounded, independent learners who demonstrate their responsibility to self and society.

—————————-
And from a HS

We prepare students to be principled and open-minded inquirers.
We challenge students academically with diverse and authentic learning opportunities.
We empower students to become reflective, knowledgeable, risk takers.
We encourage students to take pride in their contributions to their local, national and global communities.

Is this sarcasm? The Es ones especially seem fine.

Not sarcasm. Just edu-speak. Nonsensical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS is a social services program. Education is a secondary mission.

This. They’ve lost the plot.

I’ve posted this before but pick ANY FCPS ES and read the mission statement! Absolutely shameful!

Here are a few examples:

We, as a professional learning community, utilize research-based instructional strategies, monitor student progress for active learning, provide our students with the tools they need to succeed in life and model and encourage positive behavior to facilitate student learning of academics, life skills, and good citizenship.
———————

By providing an inclusive learning environment that embraces the contributions of each child, we will create a community of empowered lifelong learners and critical thinkers.
_________________
we envision a school where students will become literate, self-motivated, well-rounded, independent learners who demonstrate their responsibility to self and society.

—————————-
And from a HS

We prepare students to be principled and open-minded inquirers.
We challenge students academically with diverse and authentic learning opportunities.
We empower students to become reflective, knowledgeable, risk takers.
We encourage students to take pride in their contributions to their local, national and global communities.

Is this sarcasm? The Es ones especially seem fine.

+1. I would kill for those mission statements. Here is Alexandria City High School, where I live:

“Our Mission Statement: To engage and equip all Titans to embrace anti-racism as a mindset and in practice. This includes:
1) Nurturing a community mindset that values diverse perspectives and backgrounds.
2) Committing to breaking down barriers--identifying the why and target supports for ALL students to succeed academically and behaviorally.
3) Embracing the restorative framework and exhibiting compassion.
4) Encouraging transparency and collaboration at all levels.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS is a social services program. Education is a secondary mission.

This. They’ve lost the plot.

I’ve posted this before but pick ANY FCPS ES and read the mission statement! Absolutely shameful!

Here are a few examples:

We, as a professional learning community, utilize research-based instructional strategies, monitor student progress for active learning, provide our students with the tools they need to succeed in life and model and encourage positive behavior to facilitate student learning of academics, life skills, and good citizenship.
———————

By providing an inclusive learning environment that embraces the contributions of each child, we will create a community of empowered lifelong learners and critical thinkers.
_________________
we envision a school where students will become literate, self-motivated, well-rounded, independent learners who demonstrate their responsibility to self and society.

—————————-
And from a HS

We prepare students to be principled and open-minded inquirers.
We challenge students academically with diverse and authentic learning opportunities.
We empower students to become reflective, knowledgeable, risk takers.
We encourage students to take pride in their contributions to their local, national and global communities.

Is this sarcasm? The Es ones especially seem fine.

I don't see much teacher involvement. They provide tools and monitor. Hopefully, the students teach each other. I guess.

[Anonymous]

Still a national priority. Unfortunately the focus shifted to equity, so now the goal of education is mediocrity for all.