Any Glasgow/justice families here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, we were in your shoes and moved last year. We loved our neighbors, and many had kids that were just leaving for college from JEB. The stories they told us seemed balanced (some good, some bad), and most admitted that if they were going to do it again they might have considered private. Some indeed ended up sending their kids to catholic schools. In the end we talked to several teachers and two school administrators (including two family members that teach in NoVa), and as much as we know there are some kids that thrive in that school pyramid - we decided that we would rather stake the odds in their favor by moving to a better school pyramid. Looking back we have no regrets.

We stayed and I regret staying. It's frowned upon in my group of friends to say anything but positive things about Justice, but I wish I had moved before our oldest got to high school. Moving in the middle of high school isn't ideal. I think your kids get exposed to diversity in that there are kids of different races, but it's segregated because you don't have a significant number of higher SES minority families. My DC's friends refer to themselves as "the white girls" and generally stick to themselves. I think there is very much a have and have not divide, and I don't think it's a positive way to experience diversity. The academics are fine, but not great. I'm considering moving when my oldest is a senior and can drive to school and sending my younger kids to a different high school. I'd move sooner rather than later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we were in your shoes and moved last year. We loved our neighbors, and many had kids that were just leaving for college from JEB. The stories they told us seemed balanced (some good, some bad), and most admitted that if they were going to do it again they might have considered private. Some indeed ended up sending their kids to catholic schools. In the end we talked to several teachers and two school administrators (including two family members that teach in NoVa), and as much as we know there are some kids that thrive in that school pyramid - we decided that we would rather stake the odds in their favor by moving to a better school pyramid. Looking back we have no regrets.

We stayed and I regret staying. It's frowned upon in my group of friends to say anything but positive things about Justice, but I wish I had moved before our oldest got to high school. Moving in the middle of high school isn't ideal. I think your kids get exposed to diversity in that there are kids of different races, but it's segregated because you don't have a significant number of higher SES minority families. My DC's friends refer to themselves as "the white girls" and generally stick to themselves. I think there is very much a have and have not divide, and I don't think it's a positive way to experience diversity. The academics are fine, but not great. I'm considering moving when my oldest is a senior and can drive to school and sending my younger kids to a different high school. I'd move sooner rather than later.

Why do the nonwhite families need to be “higher SES”? So many amazing IB students and past valedictorians at Justice are from very humble beginnings, and from what I see the kids all hang out with the other kids they have classes with regardless of race. Maybe your daughter has some implicit race/class biases considering you seem to only want her hanging out with nonwhite kids if their families have money and she self-refers to her friend group as “the whote girls”. There are amazing teachers and students at Justice, the majority are. It’s a great school with some challenges due to struggling ESOL students, but your post sounds like a you/your daughter problem rather than a pervasive problem at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we were in your shoes and moved last year. We loved our neighbors, and many had kids that were just leaving for college from JEB. The stories they told us seemed balanced (some good, some bad), and most admitted that if they were going to do it again they might have considered private. Some indeed ended up sending their kids to catholic schools. In the end we talked to several teachers and two school administrators (including two family members that teach in NoVa), and as much as we know there are some kids that thrive in that school pyramid - we decided that we would rather stake the odds in their favor by moving to a better school pyramid. Looking back we have no regrets.

We stayed and I regret staying. It's frowned upon in my group of friends to say anything but positive things about Justice, but I wish I had moved before our oldest got to high school. Moving in the middle of high school isn't ideal. I think your kids get exposed to diversity in that there are kids of different races, but it's segregated because you don't have a significant number of higher SES minority families. My DC's friends refer to themselves as "the white girls" and generally stick to themselves. I think there is very much a have and have not divide, and I don't think it's a positive way to experience diversity. The academics are fine, but not great. I'm considering moving when my oldest is a senior and can drive to school and sending my younger kids to a different high school. I'd move sooner rather than later.

Why do the nonwhite families need to be “higher SES”? So many amazing IB students and past valedictorians at Justice are from very humble beginnings, and from what I see the kids all hang out with the other kids they have classes with regardless of race. Maybe your daughter has some implicit race/class biases considering you seem to only want her hanging out with nonwhite kids if their families have money and she self-refers to her friend group as “the whote girls”. There are amazing teachers and students at Justice, the majority are. It’s a great school with some challenges due to struggling ESOL students, but your post sounds like a you/your daughter problem rather than a pervasive problem at the school.

Actually, the groups are very segregated in large part because the haves and have nots are divided along racial lines. The white kids definitely self segregate, and I don't like that. I'm not saying minority families need to be higher SES, I'm saying that the wealth disparity along race lines seems to magnify the segregation. We stayed because of the neighborhood and because I value diversity, but it really is a toxic kind of diversity. Also, OP is asking for feedback from people to make an important decision. To say Justice is "a great school" is not really an accurate description. It's an OK school that is very segregated. I don't like that. If OP is fine with the segregation, then maybe she'll be fine with the school, but it still is only an OK school.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you to those of you who responded. I really just want the best education for my kids and it sounds like justice isn’t it. Thank you for confirming my suspicions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you to those of you who responded. I really just want the best education for my kids and it sounds like justice isn’t it. Thank you for confirming my suspicions.

OK, dokie.

Funny, though, that it’s usually the parents zoned for Langley who end up complaining the most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we were in your shoes and moved last year. We loved our neighbors, and many had kids that were just leaving for college from JEB. The stories they told us seemed balanced (some good, some bad), and most admitted that if they were going to do it again they might have considered private. Some indeed ended up sending their kids to catholic schools. In the end we talked to several teachers and two school administrators (including two family members that teach in NoVa), and as much as we know there are some kids that thrive in that school pyramid - we decided that we would rather stake the odds in their favor by moving to a better school pyramid. Looking back we have no regrets.

We stayed and I regret staying. It's frowned upon in my group of friends to say anything but positive things about Justice, but I wish I had moved before our oldest got to high school. Moving in the middle of high school isn't ideal. I think your kids get exposed to diversity in that there are kids of different races, but it's segregated because you don't have a significant number of higher SES minority families. My DC's friends refer to themselves as "the white girls" and generally stick to themselves. I think there is very much a have and have not divide, and I don't think it's a positive way to experience diversity. The academics are fine, but not great. I'm considering moving when my oldest is a senior and can drive to school and sending my younger kids to a different high school. I'd move sooner rather than later.

I also found this assessment useful. Our neighbors are divided about the new name, but what matters to us are the academics and it doesn’t sound like “Justice” delivers.

[Anonymous]

A colleague of mine, colleague A, just moved to VA from the South and she just bought a house near the Culmore area which is in the Stuart/Justice HS district and her daughter is currently attending there. Another colleague of mine, colleague B, just recently left that area and rent space at my home so that her daughter can attend Mclean HS. According to colleague B, Justice has lot of students issues, according to her, gang, possibly MS 13.

I checked the web and one of the ring leaders, Douglas Cerritos, attended Justice HS in 2013/2014 and while he was there, he recruited other members to join gang. You can read it here: https://www.apnews.com/4987812edec949e09bdeaa15fc7ad4b1

Not a good place to send your kid to.

[Anonymous]

Another suspected MS 13 gang member from Justice school: http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/human-smuggling-victim-found-dead-in-tractor-trailer-grew-up-in-va-was-suspected-ms-13-member

Thumb up for Justice HS

[Anonymous]

Lot of tension over new name.

http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/opinions/an-open-letter-to-j-e-b-stuart-justice-high/article_f0dbf38e-bdd6-11e8-9a04-0bb28d3e9e03.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lot of tension over new name.

http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/opinions/an-open-letter-to-j-e-b-stuart-justice-high/article_f0dbf38e-bdd6-11e8-9a04-0bb28d3e9e03.html

Much of that piece is inaccurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lot of tension over new name.

http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/opinions/an-open-letter-to-j-e-b-stuart-justice-high/article_f0dbf38e-bdd6-11e8-9a04-0bb28d3e9e03.html

The letter is laughable. This is a quote from it: "J.E.B. Stuart High School was a model of student civility, interracial harmony, cultural diversity, and mutual support." The student body hasn't changed, only the name. If the authors were really that caring, why would they punish the student body (which according to the article supported keeping the name JEB Stuart) by withdrawing financial support because of something the students had no control over? We are mad so won't support the students who are aren't even to blame is basically what they are saying. That's fine, but it says a lot about the authors. They come across as bitter and petty. As far as the voting process, they are correct that it was not well executed. There was no name that garnered over 50 percent of the vote so, contrary to what the opinion pieces says, there was no "unequivocal support to retain the name" of the school or for any other name. The majority of voters selected something other than JEB Stuart. As no name garnered more than 50 percent, there should have been a run off between the top two vote getters. Instead, the school board chose a name other than JEB Stuart because most voters didn't want to retain the name (as reflected in the fact that less than 50 percent of the voters voted to keep the name), and also didn't select one of the other names because they also didn't receive over 50 percent of the vote. The school board instead selected a name themselves, which they had a legal right to do. It is interesting that more than 50 percent of the votes didn't want to retain JEB Stuart or "Stuart," and yet the authors claim there was "unequivocal support" for keeping the name and that the name change was unwanted. While I agree the voting process was botched, the opinion piece is exactly that, an opinion piece that slants facts and misunderstand the meaning of unequivocal and unwanted.

[Anonymous]

and yet no one addresses the issue of MS-13 at Justice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lot of tension over new name.

http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/opinions/an-open-letter-to-j-e-b-stuart-justice-high/article_f0dbf38e-bdd6-11e8-9a04-0bb28d3e9e03.html

The letter is laughable. This is a quote from it: "J.E.B. Stuart High School was a model of student civility, interracial harmony, cultural diversity, and mutual support." The student body hasn't changed, only the name. If the authors were really that caring, why would they punish the student body (which according to the article supported keeping the name JEB Stuart) by withdrawing financial support because of something the students had no control over? We are mad so won't support the students who are aren't even to blame is basically what they are saying. That's fine, but it says a lot about the authors. They come across as bitter and petty. As far as the voting process, they are correct that it was not well executed. There was no name that garnered over 50 percent of the vote so, contrary to what the opinion pieces says, there was no "unequivocal support to retain the name" of the school or for any other name. The majority of voters selected something other than JEB Stuart. As no name garnered more than 50 percent, there should have been a run off between the top two vote getters. Instead, the school board chose a name other than JEB Stuart because most voters didn't want to retain the name (as reflected in the fact that less than 50 percent of the voters voted to keep the name), and also didn't select one of the other names because they also didn't receive over 50 percent of the vote. The school board instead selected a name themselves, which they had a legal right to do. It is interesting that more than 50 percent of the votes didn't want to retain JEB Stuart or "Stuart," and yet the authors claim there was "unequivocal support" for keeping the name and that the name change was unwanted. While I agree the voting process was botched, the opinion piece is exactly that, an opinion piece that slants facts and misunderstand the meaning of unequivocal and unwanted.

Like I said, lots of tension and hard feelings there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:and yet no one addresses the issue of MS-13 at Justice?

Are you saying "the MS-13 issue" only popped up when the name changed over the summer? I find it interesting that some people who would get offended if anyone mentioned potential issues at Stuart are now doing everything to make the school look bad after the name change. You may or may not be one of them, but they are plentiful. Since you are so knowledgeable about the MS-13 issue at Justice, please provide specific information so that OP can make an informed decision. That's not said sarcastically, give the details rather than unsubstantiated innuendo if you're trying to be helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you saying "the MS-13 issue" only popped up when the name changed over the summer? I find it interesting that some people who would get offended if anyone mentioned potential issues at Stuart are now doing everything to make the school look bad after the name change. You may or may not be one of them, but they are plentiful. Since you are so knowledgeable about the MS-13 issue at Justice, please provide specific information so that OP can make an informed decision. That's not said sarcastically, give the details rather than unsubstantiated innuendo if you're trying to be helpful.

I don't care about the name changed over the summer. They could have name the school Jefferson Davis and I couldn't careless.

I do care about the school and the MS-13 gang related activities. Is it still an issue? From what I've read in the local newspapers, a lot of those gang members did attend Stuart HS and recruited other members too:

http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/human-smuggl...-va-was-suspected-ms-13-member

https://www.apnews.com/4987812edec949e09bdeaa15fc7ad4b1