Title 1 Top 10%

[Anonymous]

No, because I am not arrogant enough to assume my kid would be in the top 10%. And all kids of weird things happen like schools artificially inflating GPAs for some kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are one or two title 1 high schools in FCPS. Justice in Falls Church and maybe Bryant in Alexandria.

I could see sending my kid to these schools because what makes them title 1 is a high population of immigrants that are poor english language learners. Not violent, not criminal. But I wouldn't do it just for college admissions. It would have to be because it was the best option avasilable to me.

We are a Justice family. We fell in love with our neighborhood and moved here despite people "warning" us that the schools were "bad." Our kids have done really well. They and their friends ended up at all kinds of schools—from Ivies to NOVA—but most are at UVA, W&M, VT, and JMU. I honestly don’t think they would have received a better education at another FCPS school. They also had opportunities they might not have had elsewhere: making just about any sports team they tried out for, leading clubs, building strong relationships with teachers, and growing up with a truly diverse (ethnically and socioeconomically) group of friends.

I’m not saying all Title I schools are the same, but I wouldn't rule one out just because it’s Title I. Research consistently shows that parental involvement is one of the strongest predictors of student success, often more than school demographics or funding levels. Visit the school. Follow their Instagram accounts. Talk to parents and students who are at the school.

Living in NOVA, where people often say they value diversity, I wish more families felt comfortable actually embracing it in their school choices. When families from different backgrounds share the same schools, it can be a great experience for kids. Schools really shouldn’t be as segregated as they sometimes are.

+1000

[Anonymous]

There can be good opportunities to excel at title 1 schools, for the right kid. You have to have a kid that will seek out opportunities for advancement , make their own, take on leadership, and be able to tone out blatant terrible behavior from peers. If daily fights, vaping in halls, locked bathrooms, and hearing the N word 100x per day would bother them, don’t send to a title 1 school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Title 1 schools are sad. So many students below and far below grade level that your kid will be an outlier and I don’t want my kid being too of the class just for showing up and handing in work.

Depending on the school, the honors/AP cohort can basically be a separate school within the school with proper rigor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are one or two title 1 high schools in FCPS. Justice in Falls Church and maybe Bryant in Alexandria.

I could see sending my kid to these schools because what makes them title 1 is a high population of immigrants that are poor english language learners. Not violent, not criminal. But I wouldn't do it just for college admissions. It would have to be because it was the best option avasilable to me.

We are a Justice family. We fell in love with our neighborhood and moved here despite people "warning" us that the schools were "bad." Our kids have done really well. They and their friends ended up at all kinds of schools—from Ivies to NOVA—but most are at UVA, W&M, VT, and JMU. I honestly don’t think they would have received a better education at another FCPS school. They also had opportunities they might not have had elsewhere: making just about any sports team they tried out for, leading clubs, building strong relationships with teachers, and growing up with a truly diverse (ethnically and socioeconomically) group of friends.

I’m not saying all Title I schools are the same, but I wouldn't rule one out just because it’s Title I. Research consistently shows that parental involvement is one of the strongest predictors of student success, often more than school demographics or funding levels. Visit the school. Follow their Instagram accounts. Talk to parents and students who are at the school.

Living in NOVA, where people often say they value diversity, I wish more families felt comfortable actually embracing it in their school choices. When families from different backgrounds share the same schools, it can be a great experience for kids. Schools really shouldn’t be as segregated as they sometimes are.

How did your kids have an athletic advantage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Title 1 schools are sad. So many students below and far below grade level that your kid will be an outlier and I don’t want my kid being too of the class just for showing up and handing in work.

Funny that you think your kid wouldn’t have to work as hard. They still have AP.

And they let students in those classes who aren’t qualified to be in them. The teachers have to spend time teaching to those students who are below grade level and it’s an impossible task. My DH is one of those teachers. He’s exhausted by it.

100 percent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Title 1 schools are sad. So many students below and far below grade level that your kid will be an outlier and I don’t want my kid being too of the class just for showing up and handing in work.

Funny that you think your kid wouldn’t have to work as hard. They still have AP.

And they let students in those classes who aren’t qualified to be in them. The teachers have to spend time teaching to those students who are below grade level and it’s an impossible task. My DH is one of those teachers. He’s exhausted by it.

Nice anecdote. Where is your citation from peer-reviewed literature?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are one or two title 1 high schools in FCPS. Justice in Falls Church and maybe Bryant in Alexandria.

I could see sending my kid to these schools because what makes them title 1 is a high population of immigrants that are poor english language learners. Not violent, not criminal. But I wouldn't do it just for college admissions. It would have to be because it was the best option avasilable to me.

We are a Justice family. We fell in love with our neighborhood and moved here despite people "warning" us that the schools were "bad." Our kids have done really well. They and their friends ended up at all kinds of schools—from Ivies to NOVA—but most are at UVA, W&M, VT, and JMU. I honestly don’t think they would have received a better education at another FCPS school. They also had opportunities they might not have had elsewhere: making just about any sports team they tried out for, leading clubs, building strong relationships with teachers, and growing up with a truly diverse (ethnically and socioeconomically) group of friends.

I’m not saying all Title I schools are the same, but I wouldn't rule one out just because it’s Title I. Research consistently shows that parental involvement is one of the strongest predictors of student success, often more than school demographics or funding levels. Visit the school. Follow their Instagram accounts. Talk to parents and students who are at the school.

Living in NOVA, where people often say they value diversity, I wish more families felt comfortable actually embracing it in their school choices. When families from different backgrounds share the same schools, it can be a great experience for kids. Schools really shouldn’t be as segregated as they sometimes are.

How did your kids have an athletic advantage?

I an earlier poster with kids at a school similar to Justice. Most kids at our school cannot afford club sports. The few that can, not only make their sport’s team, they can usually make other ones. My kids grew up playing basketball and soccer. They also made the volleyball and tennis teams with little to no experience in those sports. There is very little competition. At our school, the softball coach was begging any pseudo-athletic girl to try out.

On the other hand, our teams are rarely district winners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There can be good opportunities to excel at title 1 schools, for the right kid. You have to have a kid that will seek out opportunities for advancement , make their own, take on leadership, and be able to tone out blatant terrible behavior from peers. If daily fights, vaping in halls, locked bathrooms, and hearing the N word 100x per day would bother them, don’t send to a title 1 school.

This. And it's also okay to accept that your kid is not going to do well in that environment. It's not a merit test. My kid is on the sensitive side and needs encouragement. In a calm environment with supportive teachers and admin, she can really excel. In a chaotic environment where there is a lot of rule/boundary breaking and other deregulated behavior, she becomes anxious, distracted, and afraid to assert herself. We made the choice that would bring out the best in her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There can be good opportunities to excel at title 1 schools, for the right kid. You have to have a kid that will seek out opportunities for advancement , make their own, take on leadership, and be able to tone out blatant terrible behavior from peers. If daily fights, vaping in halls, locked bathrooms, and hearing the N word 100x per day would bother them, don’t send to a title 1 school.

This. And it's also okay to accept that your kid is not going to do well in that environment. It's not a merit test. My kid is on the sensitive side and needs encouragement. In a calm environment with supportive teachers and admin, she can really excel. In a chaotic environment where there is a lot of rule/boundary breaking and other deregulated behavior, she becomes anxious, distracted, and afraid to assert herself. We made the choice that would bring out the best in her.

Is she in private? There is nothing calm about any FCPS high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There can be good opportunities to excel at title 1 schools, for the right kid. You have to have a kid that will seek out opportunities for advancement , make their own, take on leadership, and be able to tone out blatant terrible behavior from peers. If daily fights, vaping in halls, locked bathrooms, and hearing the N word 100x per day would bother them, don’t send to a title 1 school.

This. And it's also okay to accept that your kid is not going to do well in that environment. It's not a merit test. My kid is on the sensitive side and needs encouragement. In a calm environment with supportive teachers and admin, she can really excel. In a chaotic environment where there is a lot of rule/boundary breaking and other deregulated behavior, she becomes anxious, distracted, and afraid to assert herself. We made the choice that would bring out the best in her.

Some might argue being a student in a high stress academic environment can also be detrimental to mental health, especially if your kid is not in the top 10% of the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are one or two title 1 high schools in FCPS. Justice in Falls Church and maybe Bryant in Alexandria.

I could see sending my kid to these schools because what makes them title 1 is a high population of immigrants that are poor english language learners. Not violent, not criminal. But I wouldn't do it just for college admissions. It would have to be because it was the best option avasilable to me.

We are a Justice family. We fell in love with our neighborhood and moved here despite people "warning" us that the schools were "bad." Our kids have done really well. They and their friends ended up at all kinds of schools—from Ivies to NOVA—but most are at UVA, W&M, VT, and JMU. I honestly don’t think they would have received a better education at another FCPS school. They also had opportunities they might not have had elsewhere: making just about any sports team they tried out for, leading clubs, building strong relationships with teachers, and growing up with a truly diverse (ethnically and socioeconomically) group of friends.

I’m not saying all Title I schools are the same, but I wouldn't rule one out just because it’s Title I. Research consistently shows that parental involvement is one of the strongest predictors of student success, often more than school demographics or funding levels. Visit the school. Follow their Instagram accounts. Talk to parents and students who are at the school.

Living in NOVA, where people often say they value diversity, I wish more families felt comfortable actually embracing it in their school choices. When families from different backgrounds share the same schools, it can be a great experience for kids. Schools really shouldn’t be as segregated as they sometimes are.

Justice is one of either 1 or 2 title 1 high schools in FCPS.

And most people here don't actually value diversity. They value being able to SAY they value diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Big difference between Title 1 elementary school vs Title 1 high school. Strong students can find strong cohorts in AP and honors classes. My kids attend a school that is not quite Title 1, but close enough. It rarely sends kids to Ivys, but sends a few to UVA every year, and many more to VT. This is an fcps school.

There’s a huge difference between most DCPS T1 high schools and where your kids are. If anything I found that elementary and MS were less important for the academic “cohort” because the kids are all learning a lot of the same basics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There can be good opportunities to excel at title 1 schools, for the right kid. You have to have a kid that will seek out opportunities for advancement , make their own, take on leadership, and be able to tone out blatant terrible behavior from peers. If daily fights, vaping in halls, locked bathrooms, and hearing the N word 100x per day would bother them, don’t send to a title 1 school.

This. And it's also okay to accept that your kid is not going to do well in that environment. It's not a merit test. My kid is on the sensitive side and needs encouragement. In a calm environment with supportive teachers and admin, she can really excel. In a chaotic environment where there is a lot of rule/boundary breaking and other deregulated behavior, she becomes anxious, distracted, and afraid to assert herself. We made the choice that would bring out the best in her.

Some might argue being a student in a high stress academic environment can also be detrimental to mental health, especially if your kid is not in the top 10% of the school.

I agree that a high-stress or chaotic academic environment can be detrimental to mental health. But I disagree with the assumption that every Title I school is high-stress and chaotic, and that every non-Title I school is low stress and orderly. Even if there is a trend, there are many exceptions. You should judge the actual high schools available to you, not make sweeping judgments about thousands of high schools based solely on Title I status.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There can be good opportunities to excel at title 1 schools, for the right kid. You have to have a kid that will seek out opportunities for advancement , make their own, take on leadership, and be able to tone out blatant terrible behavior from peers. If daily fights, vaping in halls, locked bathrooms, and hearing the N word 100x per day would bother them, don’t send to a title 1 school.

+1. We have been reasonably happy with our T1 MS but the rubber is hitting the road now - while I think teachers and admins are excellent, I don’t think my kid is self motivated enough to be able to take advantage of opportunities to an extent that they outweigh the lack of an academic cohort and the type of severely disruptive behavior that started this year (8th). The schools are not set up for kids like my kid.