Please SOUND OFF if you think FCPS is in decline!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Er, you acknowledged yourself that your posts are emotional.

Since you are not in the Franconia ES or West Springfield ES catchment areas and don't have a special needs child, yes, you just come across as hysterical.

Emotional hysterical poster here. Are you the statistical apologist? Awesome.

How do you know which area I'm in? How do you know if I have a special needs child?

Hint: you don't.

Also, can I have some of those special magical powers that allow you to know everything about everyone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s true. I am also very wealthy and my child will inherit that wealth and pull further and further away from the herd. It’s incredibly comforting.

Brown immigrant here again. This would actually be funny if it weren't true. To make it more entertaining for me, I will make sure your white child marries a brown immigrant so your wealth is properly and equitably redistributed. A win-win situation for the rest of us.

Well, I’d care more about your experience if you had grown up in FCPS. My “brown” classmates certainly weren’t held back. They were pushed with the rest of us and went on to great Universities. Of course they were well integrated into their communities and didn’t spend much time navel gazing.
I guess it’s fun to make believe FCPS was holding kids back in the 80’s and 90’s. Everybody needs a hobby...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Er, you acknowledged yourself that your posts are emotional.

Since you are not in the Franconia ES or West Springfield ES catchment areas and don't have a special needs child, yes, you just come across as hysterical.

Emotional hysterical poster here. Are you the statistical apologist? Awesome.

How do you know which area I'm in? How do you know if I have a special needs child?

Hint: you don't.

Also, can I have some of those special magical powers that allow you to know everything about everyone?

You seem to be conflating multiple posts and posters.

I notice that, when you don't come across as hysterical, you come across as belligerent. Neither suggests your views on FCPS merit much weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You seem to be conflating multiple posts and posters.

I notice that, when you don't come across as hysterical, you come across as belligerent. Neither suggests your views on FCPS merit much weight.

I've also noticed that you come across as a privileged and entitled know-it-all who actually knows next to nothing. TAKE THAT anonymous a**hole!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You seem to be conflating multiple posts and posters.

I notice that, when you don't come across as hysterical, you come across as belligerent. Neither suggests your views on FCPS merit much weight.

I've also noticed that you come across as a privileged and entitled know-it-all who actually knows next to nothing. TAKE THAT anonymous a**hole!

LOL. Your kid almost surely got plenty of attention in FCPS; it's YOU no one wanted to deal with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS has screwed the middle class

If you get into AAP it's fine

If you are lower class in Title 1 you are actually getting a decent education

The people that are getting screwed are the folks who miss the cut for AAP and are forced to go at a snails pace for all the Title 1 kids to get it

Bingo! And remember, the middle kids are meant to lift up everyone else.

Yep.
If your kid is on either extreme then rest assured FCPS takes good care of you. For the rest of us with average/normal kids, we are overlooked bc so many of the resources go to coddling the really smart kids or the struggling ones.

From what I've seen, the smart kids are in the more crowded classes--30+ most of the time. Schools usually go out of their way to lower the student/teacher ratio in regular classes.

The classes that are a cruel joke for taxpayers are those with fewer than five kids with both a teacher and an IA, where the kids are presumably classified as LD or in need or remediation but in fact just refuse to work and are so disruptive that they have to be quarantined so that the bulk of the student body can learn something. That's nothing against kids with legitimate LD who need small classes and are trying. But there are far too many of the first kind and that's just not sustainable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS has screwed the middle class

If you get into AAP it's fine

If you are lower class in Title 1 you are actually getting a decent education

The people that are getting screwed are the folks who miss the cut for AAP and are forced to go at a snails pace for all the Title 1 kids to get it

Bingo! And remember, the middle kids are meant to lift up everyone else.

Yep.
If your kid is on either extreme then rest assured FCPS takes good care of you. For the rest of us with average/normal kids, we are overlooked bc so many of the resources go to coddling the really smart kids or the struggling ones.

From what I've seen, the smart kids are in the more crowded classes--30+ most of the time. Schools usually go out of their way to lower the student/teacher ratio in regular classes.

The classes that are a cruel joke for taxpayers are those with fewer than five kids with both a teacher and an IA, where the kids are presumably classified as LD or in need or remediation but in fact just refuse to work and are so disruptive that they have to be quarantined so that the bulk of the student body can learn something. That's nothing against kids with legitimate LD who need small classes and are trying. But there are far too many of the first kind and that's just not sustainable.

I understand that the classes for disruptive kids are expensive, but I’d rather pay for this than have those kids mainstreamed, especially when they are threatening other students or creating an unsafe learning environment (throwing chairs, etc). One of my kid’s had a classmate like that in Gen Ed one year and it was a nightmare for the entire class and, I assume, the teacher and admins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS has screwed the middle class

If you get into AAP it's fine

If you are lower class in Title 1 you are actually getting a decent education

The people that are getting screwed are the folks who miss the cut for AAP and are forced to go at a snails pace for all the Title 1 kids to get it

Bingo! And remember, the middle kids are meant to lift up everyone else.

Yep.
If your kid is on either extreme then rest assured FCPS takes good care of you. For the rest of us with average/normal kids, we are overlooked bc so many of the resources go to coddling the really smart kids or the struggling ones.

From what I've seen, the smart kids are in the more crowded classes--30+ most of the time. Schools usually go out of their way to lower the student/teacher ratio in regular classes.

The classes that are a cruel joke for taxpayers are those with fewer than five kids with both a teacher and an IA, where the kids are presumably classified as LD or in need or remediation but in fact just refuse to work and are so disruptive that they have to be quarantined so that the bulk of the student body can learn something. That's nothing against kids with legitimate LD who need small classes and are trying. But there are far too many of the first kind and that's just not sustainable.

I understand that the classes for disruptive kids are expensive, but I’d rather pay for this than have those kids mainstreamed, especially when they are threatening other students or creating an unsafe learning environment (throwing chairs, etc). One of my kid’s had a classmate like that in Gen Ed one year and it was a nightmare for the entire class and, I assume, the teacher and admins.

The dark truth is FCPS does a very good job dealing with these issues. So much so that it actually attracts these folks and increases costs for everyone else. Those are the facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS has screwed the middle class

If you get into AAP it's fine

If you are lower class in Title 1 you are actually getting a decent education

The people that are getting screwed are the folks who miss the cut for AAP and are forced to go at a snails pace for all the Title 1 kids to get it

Bingo! And remember, the middle kids are meant to lift up everyone else.

Yep.
If your kid is on either extreme then rest assured FCPS takes good care of you. For the rest of us with average/normal kids, we are overlooked bc so many of the resources go to coddling the really smart kids or the struggling ones.

From what I've seen, the smart kids are in the more crowded classes--30+ most of the time. Schools usually go out of their way to lower the student/teacher ratio in regular classes.

The classes that are a cruel joke for taxpayers are those with fewer than five kids with both a teacher and an IA, where the kids are presumably classified as LD or in need or remediation but in fact just refuse to work and are so disruptive that they have to be quarantined so that the bulk of the student body can learn something. That's nothing against kids with legitimate LD who need small classes and are trying. But there are far too many of the first kind and that's just not sustainable.

The bolded is accurate; AAP classes on average have larger class sizes. Not sure how this is "coddling." I think it's a smart use of resources. Gather most academically advanced kids from multiple schools, put them in larger classes. This both reduces the variability in the other classes and allows for smaller class sizes. I think FCPS, like any complex institution has flaws, but I think it generally uses its resources wisely, has sound practices and adapts to changing situations. It's a huge school system. Being a principal at one of the FCPS hs is like being a superintendent in many rural school districts in terms of the number of teachers, students, parents you engage with. I can't imagine being a superintendent of such a large, unwieldy system.

[Anonymous]

I understand that the classes for disruptive kids are expensive, but I’d rather pay for this than have those kids mainstreamed, especially when they are threatening other students or creating an unsafe learning environment (throwing chairs, etc). One of my kid’s had a classmate like that in Gen Ed one year and it was a nightmare for the entire class and, I assume, the teacher and admins.

True. But, the issue is that the parents are demanding that these kids be mainstreamed.

[Anonymous]

Many parents don’t want maintstreaming
But mainstreaming is cheaper for the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many parents don’t want maintstreaming
But mainstreaming is cheaper for the system.

Some parents are in denial and think their kids belong in the regular classroom. Especially, those whose kids are disruptive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many parents don’t want maintstreaming
But mainstreaming is cheaper for the system.

Some parents are in denial and think their kids belong in the regular classroom. Especially, those whose kids are disruptive.

+1

Yes! This! And those parents will try to pin it on anyone. It is so obvious, I feel bad for their child, really. The school admin are not stupid, those parents may wish they were.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I understand that the classes for disruptive kids are expensive, but I’d rather pay for this than have those kids mainstreamed, especially when they are threatening other students or creating an unsafe learning environment (throwing chairs, etc). One of my kid’s had a classmate like that in Gen Ed one year and it was a nightmare for the entire class and, I assume, the teacher and admins.

True. But, the issue is that the parents are demanding that these kids be mainstreamed.

PP here. I don't disagree with you, especially in the case involving my kid's class. I also don't disagree with the PP who said that FCPS largely handles these cases well and has a lot of resources at its disposal that smaller, less-wealthy counties don't have. I think the main issue is that this area sends way too much money downstate and should be looking for a way to curb that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many parents don’t want maintstreaming
But mainstreaming is cheaper for the system.

Some parents are in denial and think their kids belong in the regular classroom. Especially, those whose kids are disruptive.

+1

Yes! This! And those parents will try to pin it on anyone. It is so obvious, I feel bad for their child, really. The school admin are not stupid, those parents may wish they were.

Let's be clear about this thread.

FCPS is a s**t show.

They need to redraw boundaries to "spread the wealth".

They are not transparent regarding indiscretions, and negligence.

They treat those that are not LD and AAP like animals.

WHO can we vote for to change this???