Base school or center?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Churchill Road is far from a "shark tank" environment-no idea what that is supposed to refer to. The class sizes tend to be large, esp for AAP, as the AAP kids do slightly outnumber the GE kids, as there are identified kids from Kent Gardens that come over to the school-very few come from Spring Hill. The overall school culture is friendly, teachers are excellent, and the PTA is very involved (close to 90% participation).

A few points to mention:

* Spring Hill is not an AAP center
* Spring Hill has huge student population
* Churchill Road is a center
* Churchill Road is projected to be underenrolled
* KG is starting a LLIV program next year which may decrease enrollment at CR.

The underenrollment argument is a fallacy, just as Cooper/Langley projected underenrollments are a fallacy too. Churchill currently has about 850 students, and the 2nd/3rd graders have to be in a mod (glorified trailer attached to the main building). Spring Hill currently runs at about 945, so the differences are really not that great. Not sure what building situation is at SH.

I am glad to hear KG is starting a center to relieve congestion at Churchill. 1st grade was up to 28 students in a class last year, for example, with no aides. Overall, the McLean school class sizes will be negatively affected by next year's budget cuts due to the likes of certain school board members who are content to let class sizes be 14 in some parts of the county and closer to 30 in McLean/GF.

KG will offer LLIV services (not center) less so to relieve congestion at Churchill, but moreso to allow all kids in the KG zone to have their needs met at KG.

If you talk to any principal who has 35 kids in their classes, they'll tell you that the actual student/teacher ratio is cut in half b/c an aide is provided. So, you'll lose that battle with any administrator when you try to point that out along with trying to point out how the higher tax paying areas are made to suffer compared to the lower tax paying areas.

Again, the prognosticators were correct a few years ago when they predicted that after PW Cty starts enforcing the residency check with any traffic violation, that families will flee to FFX and Mont. Counties.

Strauss should evaluate McLean and consider rezoning some neighborhoods to spread the McLean kids around.

[Anonymous]

My daughter had 34 students in her class one year and NO aide was provided. Nor was there any extra support for the teachers in that grade. In the Mclean pyramid, class sizes ballooning to 35 is a reality (not all the time but in many cases).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter had 34 students in her class one year and NO aide was provided. Nor was there any extra support for the teachers in that grade. In the Mclean pyramid, class sizes ballooning to 35 is a reality (not all the time but in many cases).

What is utterly mystifying is why more McLean parents are fighting against this rather than shrugging their shoulders! Vote Strauss out in 2016 for crying out loud! Or increase property taxes-better alternative than paying for a low class ratio in private school and will retain better teachers.

[Anonymous]

Strauss should evaluate McLean and consider rezoning some neighborhoods to spread the McLean kids around.

Good luck with no opposition to that one!!!!

[Anonymous]

AAP should be severely cut back to just the kids who actually "need" it. That way, centers could be eliminated, and LLIV could be successfully carried out at each school without AAP classes outnumbering Gen Ed. The way it's going now, we may as well say "most" kids in FCPS are AAP (which is insane), as the Gen Ed population is rapidly becoming the minority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AAP should be severely cut back to just the kids who actually "need" it. That way, centers could be eliminated, and LLIV could be successfully carried out at each school without AAP classes outnumbering Gen Ed. The way it's going now, we may as well say "most" kids in FCPS are AAP (which is insane), as the Gen Ed population is rapidly becoming the minority.

AAP Centers should be eliminated in McLean, Vienna and Great Falls. Critical mass exists in those areas not to require Centers and simply have Local Level IV everywhere.

Then Centers can remain in the remainder of the county where there is not critical mass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Strauss should evaluate McLean and consider rezoning some neighborhoods to spread the McLean kids around.

Good luck with no opposition to that one!!!!

Do you see a lot of opposition with kids being moved around in McLean when all the McLean ES's are of high quality and end up in either Cooper or LMS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP should be severely cut back to just the kids who actually "need" it. That way, centers could be eliminated, and LLIV could be successfully carried out at each school without AAP classes outnumbering Gen Ed. The way it's going now, we may as well say "most" kids in FCPS are AAP (which is insane), as the Gen Ed population is rapidly becoming the minority.

AAP Centers should be eliminated in McLean, Vienna and Great Falls. Critical mass exists in those areas not to require Centers and simply have Local Level IV everywhere.

Then Centers can remain in the remainder of the county where there is not critical mass.

And move some of those center teachers to the LLIV programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter had 34 students in her class one year and NO aide was provided. Nor was there any extra support for the teachers in that grade. In the Mclean pyramid, class sizes ballooning to 35 is a reality (not all the time but in many cases).

The principal will tell you that the max is 35 students, but given that, did he/she try to alleviate your concerns?

or

"suck it up?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AAP should be severely cut back to just the kids who actually "need" it. That way, centers could be eliminated, and LLIV could be successfully carried out at each school without AAP classes outnumbering Gen Ed. The way it's going now, we may as well say "most" kids in FCPS are AAP (which is insane), as the Gen Ed population is rapidly becoming the minority.

Not true when you look at the Longfellow Middle School numbers, for example-only 40% of kids are in AAP at that center.

And I disagree with McLean not having center schools-ridiculous to keep changing the rules just for McLean/GF. Driving out the high paying tax payers that carry the rest of the county is a pretty stupid idea on the county's part-but then with the way the rest of the country is going, I am not surprised...

[Anonymous]

Several FCPS are starting up LLIV classes across the county not just MCLean. A push to eliminate centers(which will also just have LLIV classes as well) it balances out numbers and keeps kids in their neighborhood schools across the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AAP should be severely cut back to just the kids who actually "need" it. That way, centers could be eliminated, and LLIV could be successfully carried out at each school without AAP classes outnumbering Gen Ed. The way it's going now, we may as well say "most" kids in FCPS are AAP (which is insane), as the Gen Ed population is rapidly becoming the minority.

That doesn't solve the overcrowding, it just moves it to different schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP should be severely cut back to just the kids who actually "need" it. That way, centers could be eliminated, and LLIV could be successfully carried out at each school without AAP classes outnumbering Gen Ed. The way it's going now, we may as well say "most" kids in FCPS are AAP (which is insane), as the Gen Ed population is rapidly becoming the minority.

That doesn't solve the overcrowding, it just moves it to different schools.

And places a burden on schools that are ill-equipped to suck up hundreds of extra students-like the proposed plan to move AAP to Cooper, which does not have capacity or resources for 200-250 more kids overnight.

But, as with everything, it is all about the Benjamins and what the county can get away with, rather than doing what is actually in the best interests of its students..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP should be severely cut back to just the kids who actually "need" it. That way, centers could be eliminated, and LLIV could be successfully carried out at each school without AAP classes outnumbering Gen Ed. The way it's going now, we may as well say "most" kids in FCPS are AAP (which is insane), as the Gen Ed population is rapidly becoming the minority.

That doesn't solve the overcrowding, it just moves it to different schools.

And places a burden on schools that are ill-equipped to suck up hundreds of extra students-like the proposed plan to move AAP to Cooper, which does not have capacity or resources for 200-250 more kids overnight.

But, as with everything, it is all about the Benjamins and what the county can get away with, rather than doing what is actually in the best interests of its students..

Coooper has plenty of room in their back field to accommodate trailers.

[Anonymous]

Cooper has plenty of room in their back field to accommodate trailers.

Whoop dee!