Level IV AAP Courses at Cooper MS Next School Year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh you die hard limousine liberals are so holier than thou!

I am not for a tax break or saying the neediest schools should go without-simply that Cluster 1 deserves their fair share of lower class sizes and resources too! I am all for a meals tax to raise revenues, but I do pay my fair share of property taxes and my kids schools shouldn't always get the short end of the stick just because my school board representative thinks I am "wealthy" and can afford to supplement everything the schools lack. So there!

AMEN. I agree completely.

Thanks!!! I am glad there are still some realistic and sensible people out there!!

The defeats of Chronis, Kurzenhauser and Parisot last night tell us that the Republican effort to portray the richest in the county as victims did not work. Time now for Janie to move to require the AAP students in the Langley pyramid to attend Cooper, starting next fall.

If you think the "richest" in the county paying taxes that benefit everyone BUT their own kids is fair, then you have a serious screw loose. I'm all for my taxes helping ALL kids in FCPS. And that includes my own children and the schools they attend. If anything, you seem to enjoy the victim mentality.

. +100000 to this poster!! We needed a school board representative that wants the best for schools in our Cluster, and we didn't get that person by reelecting Janie Strauss-she should have run for At Large post instead of a Dranesville post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh you die hard limousine liberals are so holier than thou!

I am not for a tax break or saying the neediest schools should go without-simply that Cluster 1 deserves their fair share of lower class sizes and resources too! I am all for a meals tax to raise revenues, but I do pay my fair share of property taxes and my kids schools shouldn't always get the short end of the stick just because my school board representative thinks I am "wealthy" and can afford to supplement everything the schools lack. So there!

AMEN. I agree completely.

Thanks!!! I am glad there are still some realistic and sensible people out there!!

The defeats of Chronis, Kurzenhauser and Parisot last night tell us that the Republican effort to portray the richest in the county as victims did not work. Time now for Janie to move to require the AAP students in the Langley pyramid to attend Cooper, starting next fall.

If you think the "richest" in the county paying taxes that benefit everyone BUT their own kids is fair, then you have a serious screw loose. I'm all for my taxes helping ALL kids in FCPS. And that includes my own children and the schools they attend. If anything, you seem to enjoy the victim mentality.

. +100000 to this poster!! We needed a school board representative that wants the best for schools in our Cluster, and we didn't get that person by reelecting Janie Strauss-she should have run for At Large post instead of a Dranesville post.

I'm glad that this selfish view did not prevail in Dranesville. And FCPS got rid of clusters some time ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh you die hard limousine liberals are so holier than thou!

I am not for a tax break or saying the neediest schools should go without-simply that Cluster 1 deserves their fair share of lower class sizes and resources too! I am all for a meals tax to raise revenues, but I do pay my fair share of property taxes and my kids schools shouldn't always get the short end of the stick just because my school board representative thinks I am "wealthy" and can afford to supplement everything the schools lack. So there!

AMEN. I agree completely.

Thanks!!! I am glad there are still some realistic and sensible people out there!!

The defeats of Chronis, Kurzenhauser and Parisot last night tell us that the Republican effort to portray the richest in the county as victims did not work. Time now for Janie to move to require the AAP students in the Langley pyramid to attend Cooper, starting next fall.

If you think the "richest" in the county paying taxes that benefit everyone BUT their own kids is fair, then you have a serious screw loose. I'm all for my taxes helping ALL kids in FCPS. And that includes my own children and the schools they attend. If anything, you seem to enjoy the victim mentality.

. +100000 to this poster!! We needed a school board representative that wants the best for schools in our Cluster, and we didn't get that person by reelecting Janie Strauss-she should have run for At Large post instead of a Dranesville post.

I agree. Dranesville residents are simply used as cash cows. Forget the fact that we have kids too and would like to see them in smaller classes and more effective schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh you die hard limousine liberals are so holier than thou!

I am not for a tax break or saying the neediest schools should go without-simply that Cluster 1 deserves their fair share of lower class sizes and resources too! I am all for a meals tax to raise revenues, but I do pay my fair share of property taxes and my kids schools shouldn't always get the short end of the stick just because my school board representative thinks I am "wealthy" and can afford to supplement everything the schools lack. So there!

AMEN. I agree completely.

Thanks!!! I am glad there are still some realistic and sensible people out there!!

The defeats of Chronis, Kurzenhauser and Parisot last night tell us that the Republican effort to portray the richest in the county as victims did not work. Time now for Janie to move to require the AAP students in the Langley pyramid to attend Cooper, starting next fall.

If you think the "richest" in the county paying taxes that benefit everyone BUT their own kids is fair, then you have a serious screw loose. I'm all for my taxes helping ALL kids in FCPS. And that includes my own children and the schools they attend. If anything, you seem to enjoy the victim mentality.

. +100000 to this poster!! We needed a school board representative that wants the best for schools in our Cluster, and we didn't get that person by reelecting Janie Strauss-she should have run for At Large post instead of a Dranesville post.

I agree. Dranesville residents are simply used as cash cows. Forget the fact that we have kids too and would like to see them in smaller classes and more effective schools.

I hate it when the rich are full of self-pity. There seems to be a lot of that in the Cooper area, particularly between those parents who claim Cooper can't offer a good AAP program and the others who say they don't want the AAP kids zoned for Cooper. Do these people realize that kids in other districts don't have access to one school as good as Cooper, Longfellow or Kilmer, much less two?

It's long past time to stop spoiling these people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh you die hard limousine liberals are so holier than thou!

I am not for a tax break or saying the neediest schools should go without-simply that Cluster 1 deserves their fair share of lower class sizes and resources too! I am all for a meals tax to raise revenues, but I do pay my fair share of property taxes and my kids schools shouldn't always get the short end of the stick just because my school board representative thinks I am "wealthy" and can afford to supplement everything the schools lack. So there!

AMEN. I agree completely.

Thanks!!! I am glad there are still some realistic and sensible people out there!!

The defeats of Chronis, Kurzenhauser and Parisot last night tell us that the Republican effort to portray the richest in the county as victims did not work. Time now for Janie to move to require the AAP students in the Langley pyramid to attend Cooper, starting next fall.

If you think the "richest" in the county paying taxes that benefit everyone BUT their own kids is fair, then you have a serious screw loose. I'm all for my taxes helping ALL kids in FCPS. And that includes my own children and the schools they attend. If anything, you seem to enjoy the victim mentality.

. +100000 to this poster!! We needed a school board representative that wants the best for schools in our Cluster, and we didn't get that person by reelecting Janie Strauss-she should have run for At Large post instead of a Dranesville post.

I agree. Dranesville residents are simply used as cash cows. Forget the fact that we have kids too and would like to see them in smaller classes and more effective schools.

I hate it when the rich are full of self-pity. There seems to be a lot of that in the Cooper area, particularly between those parents who claim Cooper can't offer a good AAP program and the others who say they don't want the AAP kids zoned for Cooper. Do these people realize that kids in other districts don't have access to one school as good as Cooper, Longfellow or Kilmer, much less two?

It's long past time to stop spoiling these people.

There is a difference between self-pity and standing up for one's beliefs and rights. It's a pity you can't understand the other side of the story, just as legitimate as the other side.

Plus, when I read the sentiments put up on these boards by the Cooper parents, it seems as though they don't want my AAP kid there anyhow....lot of us vs. them that I don't see in our center elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Your right to express your views are perfectly legitimate, but the arguments made by many Langley parents - that they are the big "givers" being victimized by all the "takers" elsewhere - are repulsive and, yes, self-pitying.

As for Cooper, the sniping among the Cooper parents would be reduced if FCPS just resolved the issue and made Cooper the AAP option for students in the Langley pyramid. Most of these kids attend the same elementary schools and high school and they surely could get along in middle school as well.

[Anonymous]

Look at it this way...if you had a choice to send your kid to a beautifully renovated newish school with an amazing reputation versus a dilapidated run down building badly in need of a renovation, even though teachers equally talented...which would you choose?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your right to express your views are perfectly legitimate, but the arguments made by many Langley parents - that they are the big "givers" being victimized by all the "takers" elsewhere - are repulsive and, yes, self-pitying.

As for Cooper, the sniping among the Cooper parents would be reduced if FCPS just resolved the issue and made Cooper the AAP option for students in the Langley pyramid. Most of these kids attend the same elementary schools and high school and they surely could get along in middle school as well.

In my opinion, AAP kids shouldn't be given any option the rest of the kids aren't given. So that goes for you too. Why should some kids (but not all) get a choice in where they go to school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at it this way...if you had a choice to send your kid to a beautifully renovated newish school with an amazing reputation versus a dilapidated run down building badly in need of a renovation, even though teachers equally talented...which would you choose?

Depends. I'd also want to know which school is closest to my house, whether either school is overcrowded, and which school is attended by more of my child's past and future classmates. The age of the facility would just be one consideration.

[Anonymous]

But the faculty are not necessarily equal. For example, Google some of the Longfellow teachers and the fun stuff they have on the web for students. Also, I have no doubt that Cooper can be a decent AAP program by 2016. But a few years ago it did not have an AAP program. It had to build one. I realize some parents don't want AAP and they think that TJ just sucks and anyone who wants to go there is insane. But other parents don't agree. And their kids don't either (despite what people think or say, some kids, like mine, decide they want to be at TJ, after considering Langley, Sidwell, and other options -- and yes, after being at Longfellow AAP, they got admitted everywhere they applied for high school). As of a couple years ago, you could bet money you would not get into TJ from Cooper. And, ironically, having attended Churchill Road AAP, which was our base school, after being at Longfellow instead of Cooper, most of our DC's best middle school friends are at McLean(not our base school Langley). And that's not an option. So DC is extremely happy at TJ where DC can play varsity sports that there wouldn't be a prayer to play at Langley, among other things that are actually easier at TJ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But the faculty are not necessarily equal. For example, Google some of the Longfellow teachers and the fun stuff they have on the web for students. Also, I have no doubt that Cooper can be a decent AAP program by 2016. But a few years ago it did not have an AAP program. It had to build one. I realize some parents don't want AAP and they think that TJ just sucks and anyone who wants to go there is insane. But other parents don't agree. And their kids don't either (despite what people think or say, some kids, like mine, decide they want to be at TJ, after considering Langley, Sidwell, and other options -- and yes, after being at Longfellow AAP, they got admitted everywhere they applied for high school). As of a couple years ago, you could bet money you would not get into TJ from Cooper. And, ironically, having attended Churchill Road AAP, which was our base school, after being at Longfellow instead of Cooper, most of our DC's best middle school friends are at McLean(not our base school Langley). And that's not an option. So DC is extremely happy at TJ where DC can play varsity sports that there wouldn't be a prayer to play at Langley, among other things that are actually easier at TJ.

Longfellow has better PR to be sure, but having had two children go through it, it isn't as great as its reputation.min addition, there are plenty of ECs in the area that your child can participate and there is nothing stopping the teachers and parents of Cooper in starting a few themselves.

[Anonymous]

I think even if the issue is not forced that there will be a bigger split among 6th grade parents this year-the earlier point made about more Caucasian families choosing Cooper and more Asian families sticking with the AAP centers like Longfellow/Kilmer definitely seems to be the sentiment at most center elementary schools at the moment and I think that's largely driven by the ultimate desire to apply to TJ or an elite private for high school. As Cooper establishes more of a record of entry for its students over the next couple of years it can confidently march forward as the great new center we all know it will be with all of the talented kids coming from Churchill, Spring Hill and Colvin Run-Franklin Sherman should be added here too IMO. Why they still go to Haycock makes no logistical sense.

[Anonymous]

All of this talk about middle schools to TJ is making the assumption that it is the school rather than the individual student that makes the difference. While the school offerings certainly are important, I can't help but wonder if this is a chicken and the egg situation: if the high-achieving, motivated-to-attend-TJ kids were at Cooper, would their admission numbers be higher? Also keep in mind that TJ has publicly shared that students need to be taking geometry by 8th grade to be admitted (in most cases). This track starts in elementary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of this talk about middle schools to TJ is making the assumption that it is the school rather than the individual student that makes the difference. While the school offerings certainly are important, I can't help but wonder if this is a chicken and the egg situation: if the high-achieving, motivated-to-attend-TJ kids were at Cooper, would their admission numbers be higher? Also keep in mind that TJ has publicly shared that students need to be taking geometry by 8th grade to be admitted (in most cases). This track starts in elementary.

Of course! Cooper will immediately have one of the largest AAP programs in the county when the School Board moves all the Langley kids at Kilmer and Longfellow there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of this talk about middle schools to TJ is making the assumption that it is the school rather than the individual student that makes the difference. While the school offerings certainly are important, I can't help but wonder if this is a chicken and the egg situation: if the high-achieving, motivated-to-attend-TJ kids were at Cooper, would their admission numbers be higher? Also keep in mind that TJ has publicly shared that students need to be taking geometry by 8th grade to be admitted (in most cases). This track starts in elementary.

Of course! Cooper will immediately have one of the largest AAP programs in the county when the School Board moves all the Langley kids at Kilmer and Longfellow there.

Yeeesh. I hope my kids can get through Cooper before this occurs and the entire dynamic of the school is changed.