Lewis HS: Is it really that bad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only thing I can contribute here, because it is not directly relevant, is that based on experience, good teachers/bad teachers are at every school. So-called "good" schools have plenty of terrible teachers. What seems to make a difference is that these schools generally are more affluent/have very involved parents who will do whatever it takes to help their kids, as a result of which, the academics appear better than they would be if the only source of teaching were the teachers.

Are you anti helping your kid succeed? I agree that good teachers and bad teachers can be found everywhere, but I also think it is part of parenting to help your kid with school work as necessary. I”m pretty hands off with my high schooler, but I do ask if he has homework and if he does what is his plan to help him do it. That should be part of having a kid, not “extra.”

Where did I say that I was against helping kids succeed? I was saying that test scores are more a reflection of the support system a student has than anything else, and to not judge the quality of teaching on that basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also you won't be able to take field trips to DC because they have too many Hispanic kids.

Just what the heck is that supposed to mean?

[Anonymous]

Key is the smallest middle school and has the most discipline referrals of any middle school in the district. The special education department chair is very bad at her job. The staff has a lot of turnover most years. None of the admin have any special education experience, but there are a lot of special education students. The principal has only a couple of years of experience. The district has been sending more people in from the region to try to make changes. These struggling schools need the most experienced principals, not the least.

I would not send my child there. Lewis staff are frustrated with their Key kids due to the problems that have not been addressed.

[Anonymous]

I taught at key for years until I couldn't handle it anymore. It wasn't safe and no one was learning. "Honors" classes were taught at a remedial level because so many people opted their kids in to escape the gen ed classrooms expecting behaviors to be better.

If you have the ability to go elsewhere, I would.

[Anonymous]

Keep it simple. Schools with high FARMS and/or high ESL population (they can’t all be diplomat kids right?) have many high needs kids, therefore they are not suitable for an average or above average kid with low needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have kids at a different HS that is often bashed here, and I can say without reservation that our school is great. I love it. My kids are thriving in IB, have become great critical thinkers, and have had a myriad of opportunities to round out their HS years. I couldn’t have hoped for a better experience for them. People are afraid of poverty. They act like it’s a contagious disease. IME my children have made friends across economic lines and their friendships are driven mostly by shared sports/activities and shared classes. I was worried that our own affluence would be uncomfortable for our kids, but it’s a non issue. I will say, that there is some self segregation at school based on language. English language learners tend to hang out with each other and less with native speakers. Some sports like soccer and baseball help bridge that divide. Call up the school and ask for a tour. I know our principal and admin gives them to prospective families.

You’re a real wuss for reporting posts that call you out for your hypocrisy.

Yeah but, their wonderful, "affluent" children didn't feel uncomfortable around the poors, and or, brown skinned students. There's that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only thing I can contribute here, because it is not directly relevant, is that based on experience, good teachers/bad teachers are at every school. So-called "good" schools have plenty of terrible teachers. What seems to make a difference is that these schools generally are more affluent/have very involved parents who will do whatever it takes to help their kids, as a result of which, the academics appear better than they would be if the only source of teaching were the teachers.

Are you anti helping your kid succeed? I agree that good teachers and bad teachers can be found everywhere, but I also think it is part of parenting to help your kid with school work as necessary. I”m pretty hands off with my high schooler, but I do ask if he has homework and if he does what is his plan to help him do it. That should be part of having a kid, not “extra.”

Where did I say that I was against helping kids succeed? I was saying that test scores are more a reflection of the support system a student has than anything else, and to not judge the quality of teaching on that basis.

You should start understanding tone when you write.

“parents who will do whatever it takes to help their kids, as a result of which, the academics appear better than they would be if the only source of teaching were the teachers.“

Think about your word choice here. Will do “whatever it takes”. Rather than parents who support their kids in school and help them academically outside of school. Is saying something about how you feel about helping kids.

Not to mention “the academics APPEAR better” when in fact, the test scores are higher, it isn’t just appearances. Absolutely that has to do with parent involvement, mothers education level and SES status (more kids in higher SES have larger vocabularies at younger ages/parents of higher SES status have questioning and conversation styles that are similar to schools, more books at home etc).

I even agree with your point that the teachers aren’t bad at schools like Lewis. I’m one of them. None of that takes away from your comment being loaded with condescension for higher SES parents who help their kids at home. Their kids start off having more from birth anyway (see above for reasons).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also you won't be able to take field trips to DC because they have too many Hispanic kids.

Just what the heck is that supposed to mean?

It means literally what it says. They sent an email to their staff saying they are not doing field trips to DC right now because of the presence of ICE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also you won't be able to take field trips to DC because they have too many Hispanic kids.

Just what the heck is that supposed to mean?

It means literally what it says. They sent an email to their staff saying they are not doing field trips to DC right now because of the presence of ICE.

I don't think that was the wording used.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I taught at key for years until I couldn't handle it anymore. It wasn't safe and no one was learning. "Honors" classes were taught at a remedial level because so many people opted their kids in to escape the gen ed classrooms expecting behaviors to be better.

If you have the ability to go elsewhere, I would.

Thank you for confirming this. My kid went to Key and was encouraged to take “Honors” courses simply because the Gen Ed courses were for “troublemakers” (his words, not mine).

We begrudgingly sent him to Key, but we won’t make the same mistake by sending him or our other children to Lewis.

[Anonymous]

Lewis serves central Springfield, which is majority Latino and has relatively lower incomes compared to surrounding areas. The school has higher ESL and FARMS numbers and lower test scores compared to other high schools.

Lewis also serves some middle and upper middle income neighborhoods on the fringes of central Springfield and to the south of it. These are the areas from which most of the chatter about Lewis originate — people who are upset that their neighborhoods aren’t zoned to other high schools with lower ESL and FARMS numbers and higher so-called prestige, or people who are upset that FCPS doesn’t rezone more higher income neighborhoods into Lewis so they can feel better about themselves.

Let’s be real here and stop screwing around. People with economic means don’t want their kids to go to Lewis and most people who send their kids to Lewis aren’t on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lewis serves central Springfield, which is majority Latino and has relatively lower incomes compared to surrounding areas. The school has higher ESL and FARMS numbers and lower test scores compared to other high schools.

Lewis also serves some middle and upper middle income neighborhoods on the fringes of central Springfield and to the south of it. These are the areas from which most of the chatter about Lewis originate — people who are upset that their neighborhoods aren’t zoned to other high schools with lower ESL and FARMS numbers and higher so-called prestige, or people who are upset that FCPS doesn’t rezone more higher income neighborhoods into Lewis so they can feel better about themselves.

Let’s be real here and stop screwing around. People with economic means don’t want their kids to go to Lewis and most people who send their kids to Lewis aren’t on DCUM.

Got it. Only people who live in certain areas should get a good education.

[Anonymous]

My kids attended Key and had a good experience. I’m really not sure why it’s getting such a bad rep. They are in college now, and I’m sure they would say that some of their best teachers were at Key. They didn’t attend Lewis due to the fact that it did not offer some subjects they were interested in, but their friends who did ended up at good colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Key is the smallest middle school and has the most discipline referrals of any middle school in the district. The special education department chair is very bad at her job. The staff has a lot of turnover most years. None of the admin have any special education experience, but there are a lot of special education students. The principal has only a couple of years of experience. The district has been sending more people in from the region to try to make changes. These struggling schools need the most experienced principals, not the least.

I would not send my child there. Lewis staff are frustrated with their Key kids due to the problems that have not been addressed.

Are you referring to Key's newest principal after Aimee Holleb left? The new principal, Mr. Drew Campbell, had over 10 years of experience as an Assistant Principal within FCPS before he became Key's principal, including years as special education chair before he was an AP. He actually seems to be getting Key on track in the couple years he has been there.

The data you point out on most discipline referrals is quite interesting. The latest VDOE data, 2023-24, indeed shows Key with the most total events at 1635 even above Glasgow that has only 1097 events. 2023 was the year Drew Campbell became principal. In the years before 2023 with Aimee as admin, Key did not stand out in the data - even Frost MS was reporting similar numbers as Key. Seems to be the new admin is taking a hardline approach to report every single incident which is a good thing to drive change at Key. It's well known that some admin choose to report selectively so their discipline numbers stay low and reputation high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids attended Key and had a good experience. I’m really not sure why it’s getting such a bad rep. They are in college now, and I’m sure they would say that some of their best teachers were at Key. They didn’t attend Lewis due to the fact that it did not offer some subjects they were interested in, but their friends who did ended up at good colleges.

Sounds like your kids attended the school years ago (probably back when Lewis was still Lee). Things have changed dramatically since then, and not in a positive way.