Addressing Teaching Quality and Equity in Education at McLean High School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you the poster who uses Chatbot to air out your grievances like a letter to a politician on McLean/FCPS?

Not sure what you are talking about, but my concern here is that I have to hire a tutor and so do many other families. Makes you wonder if it's teaching quality or parent support that makes this school.

I don’t think your experience is the norm. It’s certainly not ours as our children haven’t needed any tutors to get good grades there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reaching out to share a concern and seek your insights. At McLean High School, known for its excellence, we've encountered a situation where our child's performance in two subjects did not improve until we hired private tutors, despite months of trying to work with the teachers. This drastic change from Ds and Fs to As has raised serious questions about the teaching effectiveness and the reliance on external tutoring for academic success.

It's troubling that success in these subjects seems contingent upon additional tutoring, which not all families can afford. This disparity begs the question: Why aren't teachers who consistently underperform held accountable, and how can we ensure all students have equal opportunities to succeed without external help?

I believe it's crucial for our community to discuss these issues and advocate for a fair, high-quality educational experience for all students.

Maybe your child is in classes that they shouldn't be in if they require tutoring and extra hours studying? Not every kid needs to be in AP and Honors classes for every subject. It sound slike your child is capable of doing the work but needs a lot of extra support.

If that was the case why would tutoring fix the situation and same for other peers? Does it seem like a teaching problem?

We have no idea what the grade distribution is in the class that you are discussing, you don't have an idea of what the grade distribution looks like. You probably know how a few kids are doing because they are friends of your kid. I would be more prone to look at the Teacher if there was a class where 1/4 or more kids were struggling but I am not going to put it on the Teacher if a few kids are struggling.

Has your child worked with the Teacher during office hours and still isn't understanding the material? If so then it might be a difference in how the Teacher presents the material and how your child learns. Have you seen the emails from your child to the Teacher asking for help? Have you seen emails from your child to the Teacher trying to better understand the material? Have you checked to see that your child is turning in that material? If not, start there. If the Teacher isn't responding to your child, talk to the Department Chair.

It could be that your child needs the extra support to understand the material for the class. It could be that your child needs the extra support to move at the pace that the class is moving at. It could be that the Tutor is effectively forcing your child to study when before they were not or maybe they are helping your child study more effectively. It could also be that the Teacher is awful, that does happen but it is normally not the case.

Also, the teachers have had challenges updating the grades online and missing the students' homework weekly, so there is no way to understand if it's a homework problem. Are there any administrators who can tell us if there is an avenue to understand whether a teacher is being investigated for poor performance and if we can provide documentation to support their investigation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most kids have outside tutors at Mclean. It's expensive, but that's what you are going to have to do to compete.

if this is the case do teachers just grade the papers and rely on the tutors to teach? That's how it feels for some of these teachers however some don't even grade and submit he grades on time. Maybe they are overwhelmed and need more help?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I attended Madison back in the 90s and it was always a fantastic school, was then and still is now. If your child needs a tutor, why don’t you look at the reasons your CHILD needs a tutor and stop blaming the teacher?

When my son does poorly in a class, I look at him. If he needs additional help, he gets a tutor. I dint blame it on poor teaching. Is the entire class failing?

[Anonymous]

Oh, please people. There are some horrific teachers at McLean. Just like there are at about every public high school. People who want their kids to get A’s or not fall behind in math hire tutors when their kid lands in a horrific teacher’s class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids have outside tutors at Mclean. It's expensive, but that's what you are going to have to do to compete.

if this is the case do teachers just grade the papers and rely on the tutors to teach? That's how it feels for some of these teachers however some don't even grade and submit he grades on time. Maybe they are overwhelmed and need more help?

This is the nature of the high income parents here in Mclean. The kids have tutors from early grades to give them a leg up. kids also have other enrichment camps and clinics and travel in the summer. All of this raises the bar at Mclean. Also most kids get study drugs. Get your kid a tutor and stop trying to get extra help from the teacher. You will probably need an SAT prep course too. Tutors, drugs, camps, prep. That's how Mclean rolls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I attended Madison back in the 90s and it was always a fantastic school, was then and still is now. If your child needs a tutor, why don’t you look at the reasons your CHILD needs a tutor and stop blaming the teacher?

My kids are at Madison - and all the kids I know at Madison have tutors for math at a minimum. I tutor kids from Madison in another subject. It is not a great school anymore because of the stupid equity grading system.

The need for tutoring in FCPS is partly due to the number of students a teacher has. I think if a teacher taught 1 less class, and they could focus on the needs of 30 less students, it would greatly improve everyone's experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids have outside tutors at Mclean. It's expensive, but that's what you are going to have to do to compete.

if this is the case do teachers just grade the papers and rely on the tutors to teach? That's how it feels for some of these teachers however some don't even grade and submit he grades on time. Maybe they are overwhelmed and need more help?

This is the nature of the high income parents here in Mclean. The kids have tutors from early grades to give them a leg up. kids also have other enrichment camps and clinics and travel in the summer. All of this raises the bar at Mclean. Also most kids get study drugs. Get your kid a tutor and stop trying to get extra help from the teacher. You will probably need an SAT prep course too. Tutors, drugs, camps, prep. That's how Mclean rolls.

Yes, kids in UMC communities often get tutors and other enrichment. But, no, when it comes to the "study drugs." We'd have known if our kids were buying Ritalin and they simply were not. Not saying it doesn't happen but it is not the norm.

[Anonymous]

We sent two kids through McLean HS. Most of the teachers were excellent. A small number were mediocre, and one was a despicable woman who is no longer there.

But there's a real crisis in the teaching profession now with major turnover in FCPS. It doesn't matter how good the school-based administration is - and it's generally very strong - if Gatehouse makes teaching untenable for people a significant number will leave and their replacements may or may not be good teachers.

Ironically, McLean kids are about as sensitive to the demands on teachers as any kids in the county - see the lead in this month's school paper: https://thehighlandernews.com/flipbook/issue-4-february-2024/#1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, please people. There are some horrific teachers at McLean. Just like there are at about every public high school. People who want their kids to get A’s or not fall behind in math hire tutors when their kid lands in a horrific teacher’s class.

Thank you. Welcome to public school.

Many of the students in my daughter’s math class sophomore year went home at night and used Khan academy (some needed tutoring too I am sure) because the teacher was that bad.

At a neighborhood barbecue a new arrival to the pyramid was shocked to hear this. She had elementary aged children.
I was amused that she was so surprised. Langley may be high-performing but it is still a public school. It can be common knowledge that a teacher sucks, and they still stay on year after year. This was before the craziness of 2020. And the extra challenges it brought for everyone.
Overall the teachers have been excellent, others competent but there are no guarantees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reaching out to share a concern and seek your insights. At McLean High School, known for its excellence, we've encountered a situation where our child's performance in two subjects did not improve until we hired private tutors, despite months of trying to work with the teachers. This drastic change from Ds and Fs to As has raised serious questions about the teaching effectiveness and the reliance on external tutoring for academic success.

It's troubling that success in these subjects seems contingent upon additional tutoring, which not all families can afford. This disparity begs the question: Why aren't teachers who consistently underperform held accountable, and how can we ensure all students have equal opportunities to succeed without external help?

I believe it's crucial for our community to discuss these issues and advocate for a fair, high-quality educational experience for all students.

Maybe your child is in classes that they shouldn't be in if they require tutoring and extra hours studying? Not every kid needs to be in AP and Honors classes for every subject. It sound slike your child is capable of doing the work but needs a lot of extra support.

If that was the case why would tutoring fix the situation and same for other peers? Does it seem like a teaching problem?

Not always. Even it was a teacher problem, everyone had had a subpar teacher. How do you suspect the issue be fixed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reaching out to share a concern and seek your insights. At McLean High School, known for its excellence, we've encountered a situation where our child's performance in two subjects did not improve until we hired private tutors, despite months of trying to work with the teachers. This drastic change from Ds and Fs to As has raised serious questions about the teaching effectiveness and the reliance on external tutoring for academic success.

It's troubling that success in these subjects seems contingent upon additional tutoring, which not all families can afford. This disparity begs the question: Why aren't teachers who consistently underperform held accountable, and how can we ensure all students have equal opportunities to succeed without external help?

I believe it's crucial for our community to discuss these issues and advocate for a fair, high-quality educational experience for all students.

Maybe your child is in classes that they shouldn't be in if they require tutoring and extra hours studying? Not every kid needs to be in AP and Honors classes for every subject. It sound slike your child is capable of doing the work but needs a lot of extra support.

If that was the case why would tutoring fix the situation and same for other peers? Does it seem like a teaching problem?

Not always. Even it was a teacher problem, everyone had had a subpar teacher. How do you suspect the issue be fixed?

I am not saying the teachers are all bad but if there is some type of survey and FCPS understood how many students are in tutoring and supplement to get passing grades it should be a good case to reduce teacher's workloads and other things to help the teachers. Again saying the teacher are bad or whatever isn't a solution its a complaint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reaching out to share a concern and seek your insights. At McLean High School, known for its excellence, we've encountered a situation where our child's performance in two subjects did not improve until we hired private tutors, despite months of trying to work with the teachers. This drastic change from Ds and Fs to As has raised serious questions about the teaching effectiveness and the reliance on external tutoring for academic success.

It's troubling that success in these subjects seems contingent upon additional tutoring, which not all families can afford. This disparity begs the question: Why aren't teachers who consistently underperform held accountable, and how can we ensure all students have equal opportunities to succeed without external help?

I believe it's crucial for our community to discuss these issues and advocate for a fair, high-quality educational experience for all students.

Maybe your child is in classes that they shouldn't be in if they require tutoring and extra hours studying? Not every kid needs to be in AP and Honors classes for every subject. It sound slike your child is capable of doing the work but needs a lot of extra support.

If that was the case why would tutoring fix the situation and same for other peers? Does it seem like a teaching problem?

Are ANY students in the class grasping the materials and getting As/Bs without tutoring? The face that some of the kids need additional tutoring and/or don't mesh well with that teacher's style is not sufficient information to conclude that there's a teaching problem. If the ONLY kids who are doing well in the class are ALL getting external tutoring in order to access and retain the material, then that might suggest there's a teaching issue, but otherwise no.

[Anonymous]

Funny how posters are bringing up other schools when the OP is only talking about McLean.

[Anonymous]

Teachers are paid poorly and there aren’t enough of them. I’m not sure how op expects them to be “held accountable “.