truth, the best schools in Fairfax county have farms 10 to 35%

[Anonymous]

State of Virginia reports have McLean HS at 8.27% FARMS and Springfield Estates ES at 29.22% FARMS for 2014-15.

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/support/nutrition/statistics/free_reduced_eligibility/2014-2015/schools/frpe_sch_report_sy2014-15.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:State of Virginia reports have McLean HS at 8.27% FARMS and Springfield Estates ES at 29.22% FARMS for 2014-15.

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/support/nutrition/statistics/free_reduced_eligibility/2014-2015/schools/frpe_sch_report_sy2014-15.pdf

Why is it different from what is posted by FCPS on the school profile?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:State of Virginia reports have McLean HS at 8.27% FARMS and Springfield Estates ES at 29.22% FARMS for 2014-15.

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/support/nutrition/statistics/free_reduced_eligibility/2014-2015/schools/frpe_sch_report_sy2014-15.pdf

Why is it different from what is posted by FCPS on the school profile?

Latest state information is as of 10/31/14; latest information on FCPS school profiles is of 6/14. Different school years.

[Anonymous]

Newbie question - what does FARM stand for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Newbie question - what does FARM stand for?

Free and reduced meals

[Anonymous]

Another thing people forget to mention when discussing "FARMs." It is my understanding that FCPS (not sure about other area districts) does absolutely nothing to verify income eligibility for FARMs. Of course, why would they want to if it means they get more funding?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another thing people forget to mention when discussing "FARMs." It is my understanding that FCPS (not sure about other area districts) does absolutely nothing to verify income eligibility for FARMs. Of course, why would they want to if it means they get more funding?

Your understanding is incorrect. Audits are done. Parents have to submit income verifications.

[Anonymous]

Wrong. Audits aren't done or if do very infrequently

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wrong. Audits aren't done or if do very infrequently

The poster said that "FCPS does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to verify income eligibility for FARMS." You can read it yourself at 8:31. That assertion is incorrect. FCPS does do audits. I know because I work for FCPS. They may not be as frequent as you like PP, but they are done.

[Anonymous]

What is involved with an audit?

[Anonymous]

I know because I work for FCPS. They may not be as frequent as you like PP, but they are done.

It's 9:30. Does FCPS pay you to monitor DCUM? And, you think an occasional check constitutes verification?

[Anonymous]

An occasional, randomly selected audit is not the same as requiring some sort of income verification at the time an application is submitted. If, for example, parents had to submit a W-2, pay stub, or tax return with their initial application for FARMs, I suspect you would see the percentage of FARMs plummet in many schools. Moreover, it's also very easy to lie about the number of people in your household. As we all know, many immigrant families group together in a house (which is usually perfectly legal when they're related), but it would be very easy not to include the entire household income when applying for FARMs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I know because I work for FCPS. They may not be as frequent as you like PP, but they are done.

It's 9:30. Does FCPS pay you to monitor DCUM? And, you think an occasional check constitutes verification?

I'm not working today. I knew I should have typed that. Silly me.

[Anonymous]

How would someone prove income if he/she is paid under the table?

By the way, Springfield Estates, according to the latest CIP attachment D, is 32.6% FARMs and has AAP students that outnumber Gen Ed students 2 to 1 sometimes 3 to1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are correct that schools with lower FARMS rates offer a better education to all the kids in the school.

But those schools with low FARMs rates are not "Title 1" and don't get the benefits from that program including the smaller class size.

Is this smaller class size for Title One school a VA thing? I teach in a MD school with appr. 95% FARMS and there is no cap on class sizes. One 2nd grade class currently has 32 students.

In Fairfax, they cap the class sizes for title one schools. Some schools are as low as a cap of 15 students and many are under 21. Plus they give many of these classes an extra assistant, individual computers, and they basically run a PTA out of the schools with additional trained personnel. Many people think it's unfair when other schools have 34-36 student class sizes and the teachers can't handle the high class size. They agree that the class sizes should be smaller at title one schools, but think the discrepancy is too much.

How do you feel about 32 children in a 2nd grade class? Isn't that against MD state laws? I've read MD state laws and they do not allow this.