Are we wrong to leave ACPS?

[Anonymous]

I was saying a similar thing about a school in a neighboring district and I regret it

[Anonymous]

Most of the information is accurate in terms of poor building conditions, overcrowding, some day-to-day violence, poor communication, and a certain level of disorganization that comes with all that baggage. You have to decide what your family is willing to tolerate. We left in middle school after a year at GW and have no regrets, but I also have a kid with a disability and anxiety. That chaotic environment was not conducive to a good learning environment for our child. Elementary school was generally fine but there is a real shift in culture and climate at the middle school level.

The situation with the bathrooms at GW is very real (they are often closed, trashed or have no supplies like soap and TP). Many kids hold it in all day. Sad that middle schoolers can’t have basic toileting needs met.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We moved when our eldest got to MS. I can think of one or two families that stayed within ACPS - and dozens who moved or went private.

Same here. We moved long before middle school as did everyone we know. Or they went to private.

Your kid might be fine. Maybe they won’t. We didn’t want to take chances so we left. It has gotten worse, not better, in the ten years since we moved.

[Anonymous]

For those that moved - where to? Are you happy?

[Anonymous]

We moved when my oldest was heading to middle, and ended up with another year of elementary. When I say the disorganization is bad, I didn’t realize how bad until we moved. We are in FCPS now and the communication is like night and day. Our IEP teams so far have been great and much more proactive and informed than what we dealt with at ACPS, especially with the middle school transition, which was horrid. It’s a long story I won’t get into here, but I’m glad we made the move. Things are not perfect, but when I thought about the battles I was going to have to didn’ fight from an IEP perspective, I Diane have the energy to fight against bullying and violence, too. I also didn’t love our neighborhood and found people to be very entitled, clique-y and exclusive. We didn’t fit in. We moved to a much friendlier area IMO. I wish we had just started in FCPS from the beginning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those that moved - where to? Are you happy?

Western Fairfax county. It’s not perfect but better. It’s ten years later for us and both of my kids are teens. One kid is thriving in every way. The other has an IEP and generally dislikes school so there are other issues there.

But I’ve never worried about safety at school where we live now. Not in the school day, in our neighborhood or in any after school activities. Drinking, drugs and the possibility of sex are everywhere. I was starting to get worried about crime in our old neighborhood. The kids were little and I started worrying more about them playing outside without me. I never had that in our new neighborhood and it makes a huge difference now that they are out on their own a lot as teens. I feel safe here.

[Anonymous]

I think attending middle school or high school in Alexandria is like driving a car, or crossing a street, or drinking alcohol, or smoking cigarettes. There are known and well documented risks, and your kids ability to navigate this school system is going to depend on his/her personality and choices. In the list I gave, all those things are deadly, sometimes, but not always. Basically, your kid will have to make good decisions, and they will also have to get lucky. Not extraordinary lucky, but regular lucky. And there's a chance they could die, or be raped, or that they will know someone that does, but there's also a pretty decent chance they won't.

[Anonymous]

Colleague’s kids went to ACPS, until one day they didn’t because of something adverse which happened in MS. They all were withdrawn. A little while later they all went to some kind of private school. Colleague said it became clear one day that ACPS could not keep their DC physically safe while they wew at school.

Not sure about ES in ACPS, but for MS/HS I would quit my job and homeschool if necessary to keep my kids safe and keep them learning - and we actually need my income to pay the bills. First choice would be a nearby private if we could afford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those that moved - where to? Are you happy?

Loudoun. It's not perfect but we're happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those that moved - where to? Are you happy?

West Springfield—so far so good

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Colleague’s kids went to ACPS, until one day they didn’t because of something adverse which happened in MS. They all were withdrawn. A little while later they all went to some kind of private school. Colleague said it became clear one day that ACPS could not keep their DC physically safe while they wew at school.

Not sure about ES in ACPS, but for MS/HS I would quit my job and homeschool if necessary to keep my kids safe and keep them learning - and we actually need my income to pay the bills. First choice would be a nearby private if we could afford.

Oh please. TC sent three dozen kids to UVA this year. The hyperbole is off the hook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleague’s kids went to ACPS, until one day they didn’t because of something adverse which happened in MS. They all were withdrawn. A little while later they all went to some kind of private school. Colleague said it became clear one day that ACPS could not keep their DC physically safe while they wew at school.

Not sure about ES in ACPS, but for MS/HS I would quit my job and homeschool if necessary to keep my kids safe and keep them learning - and we actually need my income to pay the bills. First choice would be a nearby private if we could afford.

Oh please. TC sent three dozen kids to UVA this year. The hyperbole is off the hook.

Did you read the very smart posts upthread about how some kids do just fine and some don’t? About getting lucky or unlucky? About how getting services or IEP compliance is extremely difficult? Sending kids to UVA and also being an unsafe school that’s run by a disorganized, uncommunicative district are not incompatible realities.

You have no idea what you’re taking about.

[Anonymous]

Agreed with PP above...

To anyone who cites college admissions, you are missing the point. WHY should our kids endure the lack of safety that is insanely present and obvious in ACPS (doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of communication or their inability to treat children with disabilities with any respect).

[Anonymous]

Run, don't walk. I have always felt that my child is relatively physically safe, but ACPS is still a complete s**t show. My child has no science teacher and for weeks, I have been trying to get basic answers on what is going to happen - this is at the high school level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Run, don't walk. I have always felt that my child is relatively physically safe, but ACPS is still a complete s**t show. My child has no science teacher and for weeks, I have been trying to get basic answers on what is going to happen - this is at the high school level.

How on earth can they meet accreditation standards and graduation requirements when some students aren’t even being taught core subjects? Practically speaking, how is your child being taught and graded in that class? Is there just a long-term sub or are they sitting in the library doing their own thing? I’m sorry, that is incredibly frustrating! I remember a whole section of my daughter’s grade in middle school (at GW) had no PE teacher for almost an entire year and they just sat in the gym.