General Frustration and Disappointment

[Anonymous]

School administrators have a lot of control, OP, so start with the principal and then move up. I just posted in a different thread that my elementary child's laptop usage is minimal because the school admin listened to the parents about that, for example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it is very common for parents to remember their own experiences with rose-colored glasses. When my kids started in FCPS I was very wary of certain ways of doing things that were different from when I was in school. I had a hard time with the lack of physical text books and differentiated learning was a very new type of learning than I had experienced.

But what I have come to learn is that different doesn't mean worse and that education is an evolving discipline. There is a lot in 2026 that is different than it was in the 1990s. Namely, the internet and computers have reshaped education completely.

Now as the parent of two FCPS educated college students both of whom are at universities that attract students from all over the country, I can say that comparatively speaking, my students are better prepared than many of their peers. Not just in the knowledge accrued, but in work habits and their approach to education.

If you look at statistics of outcomes, FCPS also ranks very well when compared across the country.

I think it's easy to criticize without fully understanding the whole picture. But also, comparing today's educational landscape to the landscape of 30 years ago when most of us were just children ourselves and probably didn't grasp the larger picture of what was going on around us is probably not the most accurate assessment of the reality and the evolution.

See, you were doing real well until this. I had four kids go to various colleges, including highly prestigious ones, and I couldn't tell you how prepared they are compared to their peers. How on earth can you possibly know that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is very common for parents to remember their own experiences with rose-colored glasses. When my kids started in FCPS I was very wary of certain ways of doing things that were different from when I was in school. I had a hard time with the lack of physical text books and differentiated learning was a very new type of learning than I had experienced.

But what I have come to learn is that different doesn't mean worse and that education is an evolving discipline. There is a lot in 2026 that is different than it was in the 1990s. Namely, the internet and computers have reshaped education completely.

Now as the parent of two FCPS educated college students both of whom are at universities that attract students from all over the country, I can say that comparatively speaking, my students are better prepared than many of their peers. Not just in the knowledge accrued, but in work habits and their approach to education.

If you look at statistics of outcomes, FCPS also ranks very well when compared across the country.

I think it's easy to criticize without fully understanding the whole picture. But also, comparing today's educational landscape to the landscape of 30 years ago when most of us were just children ourselves and probably didn't grasp the larger picture of what was going on around us is probably not the most accurate assessment of the reality and the evolution.

See, you were doing real well until this. I had four kids go to various colleges, including highly prestigious ones, and I couldn't tell you how prepared they are compared to their peers. How on earth can you possibly know that?

DP here. I'm a teacher and have many graduates each year come and say the same thing. Just as in high school where everyone knows who the smart ones and the less-smart ones are, college students know who is prepared and who is not.

[Anonymous]

The OP should google her pyramid's high school and look at the colleges where the students are going. It's reassuring.

[Anonymous]

Same issues in LCPS. We're at a title 1 school and most of the parents just don't care. They don't care about behavior, they don't care about scores and they don't care about what their kids are learning. The other 1/3 of the school is middle class and cares deeply about all of that and is constantly upset at the school, admin, and teachers about what's not being taught. I think most schools don't have differences as stark as our school, but it's still there. Year after year, teachers can't make it through the curriculum or teach to the grade level. Which just isn't fair to students who could be doing grade level appropriate work. Obviously the answer is differentiated classrooms (because the current system is failing everyone), but that's not politically feasible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is very common for parents to remember their own experiences with rose-colored glasses. When my kids started in FCPS I was very wary of certain ways of doing things that were different from when I was in school. I had a hard time with the lack of physical text books and differentiated learning was a very new type of learning than I had experienced.

But what I have come to learn is that different doesn't mean worse and that education is an evolving discipline. There is a lot in 2026 that is different than it was in the 1990s. Namely, the internet and computers have reshaped education completely.

Now as the parent of two FCPS educated college students both of whom are at universities that attract students from all over the country, I can say that comparatively speaking, my students are better prepared than many of their peers. Not just in the knowledge accrued, but in work habits and their approach to education.

If you look at statistics of outcomes, FCPS also ranks very well when compared across the country.

I think it's easy to criticize without fully understanding the whole picture. But also, comparing today's educational landscape to the landscape of 30 years ago when most of us were just children ourselves and probably didn't grasp the larger picture of what was going on around us is probably not the most accurate assessment of the reality and the evolution.

See, you were doing real well until this. I had four kids go to various colleges, including highly prestigious ones, and I couldn't tell you how prepared they are compared to their peers. How on earth can you possibly know that?

DP here. I'm a teacher and have many graduates each year come and say the same thing. Just as in high school where everyone knows who the smart ones and the less-smart ones are, college students know who is prepared and who is not.

Well, I'll tell you this: I've never had a discussion with any of my kids, ever, about how "prepared" their college classmates and friends are compared to them. Certainly not enough to come up with a hierarchy of a "preparedness" to come to the conclusion that they are more prepared than "many." That's just plain weird.

On top of that, with the average GPA in almost every college being well above a 3.0 how the hell can you possibly know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same issues in LCPS. We're at a title 1 school and most of the parents just don't care. They don't care about behavior, they don't care about scores and they don't care about what their kids are learning. The other 1/3 of the school is middle class and cares deeply about all of that and is constantly upset at the school, admin, and teachers about what's not being taught. I think most schools don't have differences as stark as our school, but it's still there. Year after year, teachers can't make it through the curriculum or teach to the grade level. Which just isn't fair to students who could be doing grade level appropriate work. Obviously the answer is differentiated classrooms (because the current system is failing everyone), but that's not politically feasible.

You're a terrible person. You are equating poverty and lack of resources in the home with not "caring." Shame on you.

[Anonymous]

I remember thinking FCPS was faltering in 2012-13. Our kids are young adults now. Parents in NOVA have a lot of heavy mental investment in the phrase "but the schools are good, we live here for the schools". The cost of living is insane, but at least the schools make the financial pain worth it. So it's very tough to get people in Fairfax to admit the hard truth to themselves that the schools have declined substantially, because if you admit that, then it means the cost of living is insane AND the schools aren't as great anymore and you're staying for both why, exactly?? Answering the question requires getting real. It would force hard decisions about one's life decisions.

[Anonymous]

Yes I agree op. Benchmark for ELA has some pros, but the big con is that it’s all short passage reading unless a teacher decides to go rogue, see Natalie wexlar’s critiques on Benchmark.

Nationwide, unfortunately a good % of teachers report not teaching math facts and working to ensure fluency (Ed week had some survey once), so it’s not just FCPS. This is a gap parents need to stay on top of. If your kid learns them at school, you are lucky but it’s not guaranteed.

History and science get short shifted some years due to heavy standardized testing.

Math is weird bc they don’t drill basics but they are pushing 6th graders into algebra now.

And yes, the screens make it all worse.

There are bright spots (class sizes are not bad, teachers are generally dedicated, diversity), but overall I’d give the actual educational experience a B-. Thinking back to my childhood, diversity would get a C but academics would get a A-.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is very common for parents to remember their own experiences with rose-colored glasses. When my kids started in FCPS I was very wary of certain ways of doing things that were different from when I was in school. I had a hard time with the lack of physical text books and differentiated learning was a very new type of learning than I had experienced.

But what I have come to learn is that different doesn't mean worse and that education is an evolving discipline. There is a lot in 2026 that is different than it was in the 1990s. Namely, the internet and computers have reshaped education completely.

Now as the parent of two FCPS educated college students both of whom are at universities that attract students from all over the country, I can say that comparatively speaking, my students are better prepared than many of their peers. Not just in the knowledge accrued, but in work habits and their approach to education.

If you look at statistics of outcomes, FCPS also ranks very well when compared across the country.

I think it's easy to criticize without fully understanding the whole picture. But also, comparing today's educational landscape to the landscape of 30 years ago when most of us were just children ourselves and probably didn't grasp the larger picture of what was going on around us is probably not the most accurate assessment of the reality and the evolution.

See, you were doing real well until this. I had four kids go to various colleges, including highly prestigious ones, and I couldn't tell you how prepared they are compared to their peers. How on earth can you possibly know that?

DP here. I'm a teacher and have many graduates each year come and say the same thing. Just as in high school where everyone knows who the smart ones and the less-smart ones are, college students know who is prepared and who is not.

Well, I'll tell you this: I've never had a discussion with any of my kids, ever, about how "prepared" their college classmates and friends are compared to them. Certainly not enough to come up with a hierarchy of a "preparedness" to come to the conclusion that they are more prepared than "many." That's just plain weird.

On top of that, with the average GPA in almost every college being well above a 3.0 how the hell can you possibly know?

You sound crazy. If your kid is getting A+s and As in college pre-med classes and the grade distribution is 5% or fewer A+ and 25% or fewer As, then your kid was well prepared relative to their peers. It is not that hard.

[Anonymous]

I remember when we left FCPS and moved our kids to elsewhere in Virginia. Our upper elementary student came home after the first day of school sort of freaking out. I asked what was wrong. Did you get bullied? What happened!? Kid said the teachers and students were nice and fine, it was the assignment they got to write a three-page, single spaced essay with subheads due in a week that had them freaking out. In FCPS, kid had never written more than a few paragraphs, and mostly fill in the blank worksheets. Suddenly, kid had to write a real essay that was organized, well written, and researched with sourcing. The other kids in class were used to doing it, our kid was not. I had to sit with kid and coach them through it. In that moment, I realized just how far ahead other schools in the state were compared to FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is very common for parents to remember their own experiences with rose-colored glasses. When my kids started in FCPS I was very wary of certain ways of doing things that were different from when I was in school. I had a hard time with the lack of physical text books and differentiated learning was a very new type of learning than I had experienced.

But what I have come to learn is that different doesn't mean worse and that education is an evolving discipline. There is a lot in 2026 that is different than it was in the 1990s. Namely, the internet and computers have reshaped education completely.

Now as the parent of two FCPS educated college students both of whom are at universities that attract students from all over the country, I can say that comparatively speaking, my students are better prepared than many of their peers. Not just in the knowledge accrued, but in work habits and their approach to education.

If you look at statistics of outcomes, FCPS also ranks very well when compared across the country.

I think it's easy to criticize without fully understanding the whole picture. But also, comparing today's educational landscape to the landscape of 30 years ago when most of us were just children ourselves and probably didn't grasp the larger picture of what was going on around us is probably not the most accurate assessment of the reality and the evolution.

See, you were doing real well until this. I had four kids go to various colleges, including highly prestigious ones, and I couldn't tell you how prepared they are compared to their peers. How on earth can you possibly know that?

DP here. I'm a teacher and have many graduates each year come and say the same thing. Just as in high school where everyone knows who the smart ones and the less-smart ones are, college students know who is prepared and who is not.

Well, I'll tell you this: I've never had a discussion with any of my kids, ever, about how "prepared" their college classmates and friends are compared to them. Certainly not enough to come up with a hierarchy of a "preparedness" to come to the conclusion that they are more prepared than "many." That's just plain weird.

On top of that, with the average GPA in almost every college being well above a 3.0 how the hell can you possibly know?

Then maybe your kid just isn't one of the more "prepared" kids in college bc my kids talk about it all the time. They talk about how their friends spend more time partying and miss important deadlines for classes, how group projects are frustrating because other students don't do the required reading before coming to the meetings and how they thought college would be harder than it is but they think high school was harder in a lot of ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No standards in elementary. Passing kids that should be held back. No more classroom novels with discussions. No spelling tests. Kids can’t read and write on grade-level and are pushed through the system.

Escape if you can.

That's an every school district problem, not just FCPS.

Sadly you have to move to Mississippi to get standards in the schools now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I remember thinking FCPS was faltering in 2012-13. Our kids are young adults now. Parents in NOVA have a lot of heavy mental investment in the phrase "but the schools are good, we live here for the schools". The cost of living is insane, but at least the schools make the financial pain worth it. So it's very tough to get people in Fairfax to admit the hard truth to themselves that the schools have declined substantially, because if you admit that, then it means the cost of living is insane AND the schools aren't as great anymore and you're staying for both why, exactly?? Answering the question requires getting real. It would force hard decisions about one's life decisions.

How do you measure "decline"? And what are you comparing that decline to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Same issues in LCPS. We're at a title 1 school and most of the parents just don't care. They don't care about behavior, they don't care about scores and they don't care about what their kids are learning. The other 1/3 of the school is middle class and cares deeply about all of that and is constantly upset at the school, admin, and teachers about what's not being taught. I think most schools don't have differences as stark as our school, but it's still there. Year after year, teachers can't make it through the curriculum or teach to the grade level. Which just isn't fair to students who could be doing grade level appropriate work. Obviously the answer is differentiated classrooms (because the current system is failing everyone), but that's not politically feasible.

You're a terrible person. You are equating poverty and lack of resources in the home with not "caring." Shame on you.

Mississippi is getting good results with low income families. Incomes in the state are much lower than in Fairfax County. Mississippi has introduced standards and a focus on the basics and will hold children back if need be.