APS to offer direct path to college at GMU at 3 high schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great idea, but I need to question the rationale for limiting it to only these 3 schools. There are about 400 FRL kids at HB Woodlawn and Yorktown that get left out, while kids from $$$$ Aurora Hills and Lyon Village who have all the advantages but not top grades get the benefit. And wouldn’t we want people to seek transfers as needed to balance enrollment? This discourages that.

The implementation is going to have unintended and undesirable consequences. In the interest of being truly equitable, this program should be implemented district wide. GMU is a state school, affordable, and with an improving state and national profile every year. Good students from all types of families are choosing to go there. It’s not equitable to offer this program to some students and not others.

Those poor HB and YHS kids. They never get a break.

[Anonymous]

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good.

This is a good thing. Great job APS and GMU!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great idea, but I need to question the rationale for limiting it to only these 3 schools. There are about 400 FRL kids at HB Woodlawn and Yorktown that get left out, while kids from $$$$ Aurora Hills and Lyon Village who have all the advantages but not top grades get the benefit. And wouldn’t we want people to seek transfers as needed to balance enrollment? This discourages that.

The implementation is going to have unintended and undesirable consequences. In the interest of being truly equitable, this program should be implemented district wide. GMU is a state school, affordable, and with an improving state and national profile every year. Good students from all types of families are choosing to go there. It’s not equitable to offer this program to some students and not others.

Those poor HB and YHS kids. They never get a break.

This is dumb. There are some HB and YHS kids who need a break. Is it fewer than the kids at the other high schools? Sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great idea, but I need to question the rationale for limiting it to only these 3 schools. There are about 400 FRL kids at HB Woodlawn and Yorktown that get left out, while kids from $$$$ Aurora Hills and Lyon Village who have all the advantages but not top grades get the benefit. And wouldn’t we want people to seek transfers as needed to balance enrollment? This discourages that.

The implementation is going to have unintended and undesirable consequences. In the interest of being truly equitable, this program should be implemented district wide. GMU is a state school, affordable, and with an improving state and national profile every year. Good students from all types of families are choosing to go there. It’s not equitable to offer this program to some students and not others.

Those poor HB and YHS kids. They never get a break.

This is dumb. There are some HB and YHS kids who need a break. Is it fewer than the kids at the other high schools? Sure.

But this isn't the purpose of the program. It is GMU's goal to increase representation in applications. YHS and HB don't really advance that goal. You advance that goal by targeting schools like WHS where 75% of students are non-white, not by targeting schools that are 25% white.

This is a GMU initiative and GMU has pursued this agreement with high-FRL schools across districts - this is not an APS initiative, nor is it APS-exclusive.

The students at YHS and HB have significant resources to help them succeed. Resources at schools like Wakefield are stretched way way farther and far more students overall need more breaks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great idea, but I need to question the rationale for limiting it to only these 3 schools. There are about 400 FRL kids at HB Woodlawn and Yorktown that get left out, while kids from $$$$ Aurora Hills and Lyon Village who have all the advantages but not top grades get the benefit. And wouldn’t we want people to seek transfers as needed to balance enrollment? This discourages that.

The implementation is going to have unintended and undesirable consequences. In the interest of being truly equitable, this program should be implemented district wide. GMU is a state school, affordable, and with an improving state and national profile every year. Good students from all types of families are choosing to go there. It’s not equitable to offer this program to some students and not others.

Those poor HB and YHS kids. They never get a break.

This is dumb. There are some HB and YHS kids who need a break. Is it fewer than the kids at the other high schools? Sure.

But this isn't the purpose of the program. It is GMU's goal to increase representation in applications. YHS and HB don't really advance that goal. You advance that goal by targeting schools like WHS where 75% of students are non-white, not by targeting schools that are 25% white.

This is a GMU initiative and GMU has pursued this agreement with high-FRL schools across districts - this is not an APS initiative, nor is it APS-exclusive.

The students at YHS and HB have significant resources to help them succeed. Resources at schools like Wakefield are stretched way way farther and far more students overall need more breaks.

Exactly. Wake and WL are two of the most diverse schools in the DMV. This helps GMU.

[Anonymous]

How do I transfer my DC from Yorktown to W-L or Wakefield!?

Seriously, competition to get into state schools like George Mason can be tough for students who do well (As and Bs) but don't take AP classes and don't score well on SATs. My DC feels as if only option is to start a NoVA CC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do I transfer my DC from Yorktown to W-L or Wakefield!?

Seriously, competition to get into state schools like George Mason can be tough for students who do well (As and Bs) but don't take AP classes and don't score well on SATs. My DC feels as if only option is to start a NoVA CC.

IB program or AP Capstone are the ways to transfer to those schools. But you said you kid doesn’t take classes like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the real benefit is not having to go through the application process.

I don't quite see why they couldn't offer this to all APS students? What is the downside in offering it across the board? Clearly George Mason must not have wanted to agree to that.

They could have offered it to all high schoolers who qualify for FRE, regardless of high school.

This would land a lot better. Lots of kids at W-L, Career Center, and Wakefield don't need this option and yes even a few at Yorktown or HB could use it.

It isn't about affordability. It's about "underrepresented populations" which includes lower income students, as well as students of color who aren't necessarily so impoverished as to qualify for free meals. Many of them still wouldn't necessarily be willing/as supported going through the complicated process of college searches and applications. This makes it simpler - with them KNOWING they are admitted and being able to just focus on that rather than finding and applying to other schools that are probably harder for them to access for reasons beyond finances. Just being able to live at home and commute to GMU makes college more financially accessible for a lot of students.

Exactly. Navigating the college admissions process is complicated and daunting, even for families who speak English and have college-educated parents.

I think this is a great way of breaking down barriers, especially for first-gen and EL families.

[Anonymous]

Going to HB is a choice, so…

[Anonymous]

Plenty or Rosslyn and Courthouse kids zoned for Yorktown. Those kids could use this. There is a lot of diversity and a lot of immigrant families in that area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wakefield, W-K, and the career center will now offer a direct admission to college for any students with a GPA Of 3.25 or above. It is only offered at those schools because it is designed to target schools with a higher rate of free and reduced lunch. This is going to be good for a lot of kids.

The exact population who can't afford the instate tuition at GMU and other VA state schools. Yes, they get in, and yes, some will get aid - not much bc in state you don't get much aid - than take out loans. And after a semester, or maybe even a whole year, realize it is unaffordable to continue. Or they will get a full time job and limp along getting grades just enough to keep them in school if they are lucky.

I no longer think these kind of programs should be hailed as an achievement but instead look at these equity efforts as window dressing and a bit exploitative of students who need more support than just getting their foot in the door.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do I transfer my DC from Yorktown to W-L or Wakefield!?

Seriously, competition to get into state schools like George Mason can be tough for students who do well (As and Bs) but don't take AP classes and don't score well on SATs. My DC feels as if only option is to start a NoVA CC.

And that's a fine option. My Wakefield graduate started at NOVA and is now at GMU. There are many pathways, including the 2+2 guaranteed admission (2 years NOVA, meeting the pre-requisites, guaranteed admission to GMU). In fact, there are such agreements for most of the Virginia state schools and therefore more options than GMU.

If your child gets As and Bs, perhaps they should consider trying an AP class or two in one of their stronger subjects. It's ok to get a B in an AP class, and it demonstrates their willingness to take challenging courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Plenty or Rosslyn and Courthouse kids zoned for Yorktown. Those kids could use this. There is a lot of diversity and a lot of immigrant families in that area.

And there are lots of similar kids in south Arlington who could benefit from the influences and resources at Yorktown and HB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the real benefit is not having to go through the application process.

I don't quite see why they couldn't offer this to all APS students? What is the downside in offering it across the board? Clearly George Mason must not have wanted to agree to that.

They could have offered it to all high schoolers who qualify for FRE, regardless of high school.

This would land a lot better. Lots of kids at W-L, Career Center, and Wakefield don't need this option and yes even a few at Yorktown or HB could use it.

It isn't about affordability. It's about "underrepresented populations" which includes lower income students, as well as students of color who aren't necessarily so impoverished as to qualify for free meals. Many of them still wouldn't necessarily be willing/as supported going through the complicated process of college searches and applications. This makes it simpler - with them KNOWING they are admitted and being able to just focus on that rather than finding and applying to other schools that are probably harder for them to access for reasons beyond finances. Just being able to live at home and commute to GMU makes college more financially accessible for a lot of students.

Affirmative action is illegal now dum dum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great idea, but I need to question the rationale for limiting it to only these 3 schools. There are about 400 FRL kids at HB Woodlawn and Yorktown that get left out, while kids from $$$$ Aurora Hills and Lyon Village who have all the advantages but not top grades get the benefit. And wouldn’t we want people to seek transfers as needed to balance enrollment? This discourages that.

The implementation is going to have unintended and undesirable consequences. In the interest of being truly equitable, this program should be implemented district wide. GMU is a state school, affordable, and with an improving state and national profile every year. Good students from all types of families are choosing to go there. It’s not equitable to offer this program to some students and not others.

Those poor HB and YHS kids. They never get a break.

This is dumb. There are some HB and YHS kids who need a break. Is it fewer than the kids at the other high schools? Sure.

But this isn't the purpose of the program. It is GMU's goal to increase representation in applications. YHS and HB don't really advance that goal. You advance that goal by targeting schools like WHS where 75% of students are non-white, not by targeting schools that are 25% white.

This is a GMU initiative and GMU has pursued this agreement with high-FRL schools across districts - this is not an APS initiative, nor is it APS-exclusive.

The students at YHS and HB have significant resources to help them succeed. Resources at schools like Wakefield are stretched way way farther and far more students overall need more breaks.

Exactly. Wake and WL are two of the most diverse schools in the DMV. This helps GMU.

What is this helping ? Why would gmu be helped?