The sky is falling in the DMV

[Anonymous]

My kids are in advanced programs in middle of the road FCPS schools and I haven't done any academic supplementation (other than normal family life things such as having conversations, going to museums, reading together) and I feel that their needs have been met well enough. The eldest was just accepted at good colleges and the younger (sophomore in HS) seems on a path to be also. They both have learned skills to pursue some of their intellectual interests on their own, both have stayed avid readers, can handle their own in a political or other intellectual conversation, have kept up senses of humor and curiosity, have a good group of friends, seem aware of diverse perspectives and open to the world, and have developed some talents in their extracurricular, school-supported activities. I appreciate what the schools have provided for them.Of course, I don't think we can say this is all the schools--it's part of being raised in a fairly well-off, culturally diverse, educated neighborhood--but that's essentially what most people are trying to purchase when they buy a house in the DMV areas with good public schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in advanced programs in middle of the road FCPS schools and I haven't done any academic supplementation (other than normal family life things such as having conversations, going to museums, reading together) and I feel that their needs have been met well enough. The eldest was just accepted at good colleges and the younger (sophomore in HS) seems on a path to be also. They both have learned skills to pursue some of their intellectual interests on their own, both have stayed avid readers, can handle their own in a political or other intellectual conversation, have kept up senses of humor and curiosity, have a good group of friends, seem aware of diverse perspectives and open to the world, and have developed some talents in their extracurricular, school-supported activities. I appreciate what the schools have provided for them.Of course, I don't think we can say this is all the schools--it's part of being raised in a fairly well-off, culturally diverse, educated neighborhood--but that's essentially what most people are trying to purchase when they buy a house in the DMV areas with good public schools.

agree with all of this top 2/3 of schools are fine in this area

the issue is the bottom 1/3 of schools are bad, lower performers are increasingly at a higher rate and redistricting is going to happen and some of the top 2/3 schools are going to start going downhill

it's just classic sorting pretty soon 1/2 of the schools will be bad and real estate prices will shoot up even higher in the remaining good pyramids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in advanced programs in middle of the road FCPS schools and I haven't done any academic supplementation (other than normal family life things such as having conversations, going to museums, reading together) and I feel that their needs have been met well enough. The eldest was just accepted at good colleges and the younger (sophomore in HS) seems on a path to be also. They both have learned skills to pursue some of their intellectual interests on their own, both have stayed avid readers, can handle their own in a political or other intellectual conversation, have kept up senses of humor and curiosity, have a good group of friends, seem aware of diverse perspectives and open to the world, and have developed some talents in their extracurricular, school-supported activities. I appreciate what the schools have provided for them.Of course, I don't think we can say this is all the schools--it's part of being raised in a fairly well-off, culturally diverse, educated neighborhood--but that's essentially what most people are trying to purchase when they buy a house in the DMV areas with good public schools.

agree with all of this top 2/3 of schools are fine in this area

the issue is the bottom 1/3 of schools are bad, lower performers are increasingly at a higher rate and redistricting is going to happen and some of the top 2/3 schools are going to start going downhill

it's just classic sorting pretty soon 1/2 of the schools will be bad and real estate prices will shoot up even higher in the remaining good pyramids

We definitely need some corrections to old boundaries that don't make a lot of sense in this day and age. Seems like a lot were gerrymandered to keep schools segregated. If these county's did a better job evenly distributing FARMS, all schools would be great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in advanced programs in middle of the road FCPS schools and I haven't done any academic supplementation (other than normal family life things such as having conversations, going to museums, reading together) and I feel that their needs have been met well enough. The eldest was just accepted at good colleges and the younger (sophomore in HS) seems on a path to be also. They both have learned skills to pursue some of their intellectual interests on their own, both have stayed avid readers, can handle their own in a political or other intellectual conversation, have kept up senses of humor and curiosity, have a good group of friends, seem aware of diverse perspectives and open to the world, and have developed some talents in their extracurricular, school-supported activities. I appreciate what the schools have provided for them.Of course, I don't think we can say this is all the schools--it's part of being raised in a fairly well-off, culturally diverse, educated neighborhood--but that's essentially what most people are trying to purchase when they buy a house in the DMV areas with good public schools.

agree with all of this top 2/3 of schools are fine in this area

the issue is the bottom 1/3 of schools are bad, lower performers are increasingly at a higher rate and redistricting is going to happen and some of the top 2/3 schools are going to start going downhill

it's just classic sorting pretty soon 1/2 of the schools will be bad and real estate prices will shoot up even higher in the remaining good pyramids

We definitely need some corrections to old boundaries that don't make a lot of sense in this day and age. Seems like a lot were gerrymandered to keep schools segregated. If these county's did a better job evenly distributing FARMS, all schools would be great.

I'm the PP who's happy with the schools and I agree with some of these sentiments. Their schools are in the 15-20% FARMS range so they aren't at a school with virtually no poverty, but on the lesser side compared to some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system. It's all about the students. The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

[Anonymous]

Report and deport should be an objective

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system. It's all about the students. The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

MCPS BOE voted to favor diversity when reworking school boundaries so I expect they'll to start bussing this population into the W schools to end the segregation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system. It's all about the students. The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

MCPS BOE voted to favor diversity when reworking school boundaries so I expect they'll to start bussing this population into the W schools to end the segregation.

correct if we are talking 5% I don't think anything will happen if we are talking 10% plus you can expect to see an uptick in private school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system. It's all about the students. The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

MCPS BOE voted to favor diversity when reworking school boundaries so I expect they'll to start bussing this population into the W schools to end the segregation.

correct if we are talking 5% I don't think anything will happen if we are talking 10% plus you can expect to see an uptick in private school

Why does adding 5% more FARMs student cause the school to tank? Sure, the overall school test scores could go down, but your DC's outcome wouldn't change. Despite what you may think, being poor or not being able to speak English well is not contagious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP thanks for posting. I've wondered the same thing as all I read on here is how terrible all the schools are (save a few, and even then there are detractors). Part of me totally panicked. And part of me realized that most of the schools in the area are as good as the one I went to and often notably better.

The reality is kids of college-educated, middle class or richer parents will do fine, basically regardless of the school they attend (unless it is truly a dangerous place -- think the worst parts of Anacostia, LA, NYC, or Detroit, not anything in the DMV suburbs). This has basically always been true.

Non-magnet public schools have always been geared towards the average to below-average kid. They're meant to provide an adequate education. Essentially, you're getting a Chevy. It's not fancy, but it's fine, especially if you do some work on it at home. If you want a Cadillac education, you have to either have a kid who can get into a magnet program, or you pay for a good private school.

My parents found this with my sister and me in Chappaqua schools back in the 90s (aka a district that is ranked much higher than the DMV school districts). They ended up putting us into private school because the public school teachers were burned out and could really only deal with the kids who were struggling.

Sniff sniff. Just because your parents weren’t sure you had what it takes to thrive in the local public schools does not mean they are not equipped to educate bright kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system. It's all about the students. The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

MCPS BOE voted to favor diversity when reworking school boundaries so I expect they'll to start bussing this population into the W schools to end the segregation.

You expect them to do this, or is this a real proposal? I don't follow MCPS close enough, so I'm not trying to be snarky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system. It's all about the students. The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

MCPS BOE voted to favor diversity when reworking school boundaries so I expect they'll to start bussing this population into the W schools to end the segregation.

You expect them to do this, or is this a real proposal? I don't follow MCPS close enough, so I'm not trying to be snarky.

Wrong. Please stop spreading lies. There are 4 factors that are evaluated when looking at boundary assignments. There is not one preference over the others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system. It's all about the students. The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

MCPS BOE voted to favor diversity when reworking school boundaries so I expect they'll to start bussing this population into the W schools to end the segregation.

correct if we are talking 5% I don't think anything will happen if we are talking 10% plus you can expect to see an uptick in private school

Why does adding 5% more FARMs student cause the school to tank? Sure, the overall school test scores could go down, but your DC's outcome wouldn't change. Despite what you may think, being poor or not being able to speak English well is not contagious.

Fairfax County did a study several years ago that showed detriment to a school starting at around 15% FARMS rate. After 40% the school became a failure. Students with higher needs require more time money and energy which is detrimental to the kids who are ignored.

I'm treating this like an economist. I'm just stating facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

Teacher responding here. No. More compensation will not affect my effectiveness even a teeny tiny bit. I'm damn effective already. While I'd love more pay and use it to help my own family, more pay isn't what I need to be more effective with EL's or kids in poverty or special needs kids. What I personally need is the following: Cap class sizes in K-3 to 15 kids per teacher. Hire teachers to come help do all the RTI (interventions that either help keep kids out of special ed or identify them as non responders to interventions and thus qualify them for sped) that needs to happen. Hire more social workers and psychs and instead of 90% of their job description (in practice) being to attend meeting or to give me ideas of how to help certain kids? How about having some of those folks spending 90% of their time actually helping children? All K-1 classes should have a full time, dedicated aide with extensive training and pay HER way more please.
I want every single one of my students to have every advantage my own children have. Paying me more money, while I'd take it, won't help the massive needs in public education. I'm in another state and the projection for the number of kids living in poverty in my state in the next 20 years goes up to over 50%. Schools with more than about 20% of their population in poverty need a whole additional set of supports that they currently don't have and a whole hell of a lot more staff.