ACPS Schools Opinions on Here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ACPS has a very high FARMS rate, nearly 70% at some schools, and thus test scores reflect that. Alexandria is FULL of super wealthy white people (and some wealthy minorities) who like the convenient location and the beautiful neighborhoods, and who can afford to send their kids to private. Thus they have no skin in the game on the success of ACPS kids. Even in my middle class west end neighborhood a lot of parents send their kids to private. We’ve had a middling experience with some great teachers, some mediocre teachers, and fortunately no terrible teachers. We receive special education services which we’ve had to fight for but not like I’ve heard from parents in other districts. I don’t think my son was actually delayed in reading, I think they just don’t know how to teach reading. My son was guessing words left and right. He’s finally above grade level like his testing/intelligence scores suggest he should be, but it was a long frustrating road to get there. ACPS has hugely managed the pandemic but I don’t know that I’d judge a district on 2020/2021. If you’re educated your kids will probably do well. (Disclosure my experience is only elementary so far.)

Why wouldn't you judge a district's leadership during a crisis? Anyone who was paying attention to ACPS, the SB, Hutchings prior to 2020/2021 is not be surprised at how ACPS mishandled this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP. So I'll say that PP 13:47 isn't wrong but take it with a grain. I'll agree ACPS has poor leadership and a focus bordering on manic obsession with equity but the scores you see on Great Schools reflect our FARMS numbers.

Yes, there is a weird cadre of ACPS groupies (I have steered clear) and definitely some failing schools or burned out teachers/principals. BUT there are a lot of parents who are content (I won't say happy since that may be a stretch) with their child's education within ACPS. Or as content as you can get in a public school system these days.

Speaking specifically to your questions about Alexandria High (formally TC), your kids will do just fine. In fact, they will have opportunities to thrive. The rowing team is world class, the robotics team is nationally ranked, they still teach German and Latin at a HS level, and there is a ton of diversity to keep everyone grounded. Fun fact, two years ago the winner of the Intel Science Fair was from TC. She's at Stanford now. So to answer your question, yes, your kids have a good shot at a great and FREE education there. It's worth a shot!

PS: Don't let these other posts make it seem like there are amazing private school alternatives in the immediate Alexandria area. We've either had a student there or done our due diligence, and none of them are world class. Maybe the Big 3 in DC are worth the $$$ but that add a whole lot of hassle to your life.

Good luck with the move!

Can you point me to the posts on this thread that make it seem like there amazing private school alternative in the immediate Alexandria area? Because I don't see them.

I wasn't just speaking about this thread but even within these posts, it was alluded to that "rich/white" Alexandrians send their children to private schools. While this is true to a certain extent, I didn't want OP to imply that that because this happens, those private schools are inherently better than the public schools here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ACPS is a joke. Its superintendent doesn't even send his kids there.

People, we have gone over this repeatedly. He pulled his daughter because she was being bullied. The situation wasn't remedied despite an awful lot of effort made by the school and her parents. He made a tough choice. I respect his choice because he could have forced her to tough it out so that it would make his life easier. He didn't do that and I respect that as a Dad.

Now people will fight back. Bullies? Here in Alexandria? Nah, we don't have any of that.

In which case I will direct your attention to the OpenACPS Facebook page. Yeah. We definitely have bullies. If you don't look at that and then conclude we have bullies, then we have an extreme disconnect in understanding what a bully is.

Use the search feature on this thread and look for the terms ACPS, Maury and MacArthur. Even with all the redacting and reporting of inappropriate content it is painfully obvious that we have a bully problem in Alexandria and it isn't only in the schools. Kids learn their bully behavior at home and they bring it to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACPS is a joke. Its superintendent doesn't even send his kids there.

People, we have gone over this repeatedly. He pulled his daughter because she was being bullied. The situation wasn't remedied despite an awful lot of effort made by the school and her parents. He made a tough choice. I respect his choice because he could have forced her to tough it out so that it would make his life easier. He didn't do that and I respect that as a Dad.

Now people will fight back. Bullies? Here in Alexandria? Nah, we don't have any of that.

In which case I will direct your attention to the OpenACPS Facebook page. Yeah. We definitely have bullies. If you don't look at that and then conclude we have bullies, then we have an extreme disconnect in understanding what a bully is.

Use the search feature on this thread and look for the terms ACPS, Maury and MacArthur. Even with all the redacting and reporting of inappropriate content it is painfully obvious that we have a bully problem in Alexandria and it isn't only in the schools. Kids learn their bully behavior at home and they bring it to school.

As noted above, Hutchings is a hypocrite because he did what was best for his daughter (sending her to BI) but attacked parents who took similar steps for their children. (Considered forming pods).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACPS is a joke. Its superintendent doesn't even send his kids there.

People, we have gone over this repeatedly. He pulled his daughter because she was being bullied. The situation wasn't remedied despite an awful lot of effort made by the school and her parents. He made a tough choice. I respect his choice because he could have forced her to tough it out so that it would make his life easier. He didn't do that and I respect that as a Dad.

Now people will fight back. Bullies? Here in Alexandria? Nah, we don't have any of that.

In which case I will direct your attention to the OpenACPS Facebook page. Yeah. We definitely have bullies. If you don't look at that and then conclude we have bullies, then we have an extreme disconnect in understanding what a bully is.

Use the search feature on this thread and look for the terms ACPS, Maury and MacArthur. Even with all the redacting and reporting of inappropriate content it is painfully obvious that we have a bully problem in Alexandria and it isn't only in the schools. Kids learn their bully behavior at home and they bring it to school.

As noted above, Hutchings is a hypocrite because he did what was best for his daughter (sending her to BI) but attacked parents who took similar steps for their children. (Considered forming pods).

Understand. That is a different matter and I did not address it because it did not matter to me. I clarified why the daughter was pulled. The sentences by the first poster imply a problem with the quality of the education, which is not the reason why the daughter was pulled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ACPS is a broken system. I have a child in elementary and basic fundamentals weren't taught (math facts & grammar being the main ones) and I didn't get any meaningful communication from my child's school about what they were working on or struggling with. At every parent teacher conference I was told that everything was fine. No tests or work was every shared (beyond kindergarten). And then I discovered that it wasn't fine and there were serious holes in my child's education.

And the PPs are right. Superintendent Hutchings and school board chair Alderton send their kids to private schools. The issues with ACPS run very deep and I doubt will every change.

The school board's general attitude is that parents are the enemy and are there to be ignored at best and mocked at worst. Margaret Lorber was an example of this over this year (google her). But Anderson, Nolan and Gentry have all exhibited this attitude in the past both in public and in private over their years in office. Gentry has been somewhat redeemed of late but it wasn't that long ago that she was saying vocal parents should have their input discounted.

Central Office and Hutchings have the same anti parent attitude. Hutchings chastised parents last summer and told them they were privileged and responsible for the learning gap for keeping their kids in ACPS but forming learning pods. And then he quietly removed one of his kids from ACPS and put them in a private school. And never apologized for his hypocritical comments in the summer. In the few years that he has been superintendent - and particularly this year - he has belittled parents publicly. Generally, parents aren't communicated with & are treated poorly by central office when questions are asked. Of course, all of this has been exacerbated this year.

An earlier poster on this thread claimed that anyone on this board who posts about ACPS' failures is a private school parent. That's a completely ridiculous notion but it illustrated another systemic problem in the schools and in the city. There is a small group of parents who think they are leaders in the community & who seek to shut down any parents who complain. Even on anonymous message boards apparently. Some went so far to sign on to an op-ed in the Alexandria Times, extolling how wonderfully ACPS handled virtual school while ignoring special ed teachers, english language learners, kids' emotional troubles and the testimony of parents. I've seen the actions of some of those signers have taken against vocal parents behind the scenes and it's chilling. Their need to attack their neighbors, who may not be having similar experiences with ACPS that they did, boarders on obsessive. I've never seen anything like it. It seems like a lot to protect home values or their political aspirations in the city.

Your kids may be able to get through Alexandria High School just fine and I hope that they do. But the SB, Central Office and Hutchings, and these self appointed parent "leaders" have done serious harm to kids at every grade level. It's so toxic that I'll be homeschooling my kid after this year.

+1. We're also going to be homeschooling going forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACPS is a joke. Its superintendent doesn't even send his kids there.

People, we have gone over this repeatedly. He pulled his daughter because she was being bullied. The situation wasn't remedied despite an awful lot of effort made by the school and her parents. He made a tough choice. I respect his choice because he could have forced her to tough it out so that it would make his life easier. He didn't do that and I respect that as a Dad.

Now people will fight back. Bullies? Here in Alexandria? Nah, we don't have any of that.

In which case I will direct your attention to the OpenACPS Facebook page. Yeah. We definitely have bullies. If you don't look at that and then conclude we have bullies, then we have an extreme disconnect in understanding what a bully is.

Use the search feature on this thread and look for the terms ACPS, Maury and MacArthur. Even with all the redacting and reporting of inappropriate content it is painfully obvious that we have a bully problem in Alexandria and it isn't only in the schools. Kids learn their bully behavior at home and they bring it to school.

As noted above, Hutchings is a hypocrite because he did what was best for his daughter (sending her to BI) but attacked parents who took similar steps for their children. (Considered forming pods).

Understand. That is a different matter and I did not address it because it did not matter to me. I clarified why the daughter was pulled. The sentences by the first poster imply a problem with the quality of the education, which is not the reason why the daughter was pulled.

Was this reported publicly? Not Hutchings being a hypocrite but the bullying? Any update on why restorative justice circles didn't work? A lot of people have gone through that with no resolution too but they can't afford to send their kid to an expensive private school. So I guess that makes him a double hypocrite. Thanks for reminding everyone of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP. So I'll say that PP 13:47 isn't wrong but take it with a grain. I'll agree ACPS has poor leadership and a focus bordering on manic obsession with equity but the scores you see on Great Schools reflect our FARMS numbers.

Yes, there is a weird cadre of ACPS groupies (I have steered clear) and definitely some failing schools or burned out teachers/principals. BUT there are a lot of parents who are content (I won't say happy since that may be a stretch) with their child's education within ACPS. Or as content as you can get in a public school system these days.

Speaking specifically to your questions about Alexandria High (formally TC), your kids will do just fine. In fact, they will have opportunities to thrive. The rowing team is world class, the robotics team is nationally ranked, they still teach German and Latin at a HS level, and there is a ton of diversity to keep everyone grounded. Fun fact, two years ago the winner of the Intel Science Fair was from TC. She's at Stanford now. So to answer your question, yes, your kids have a good shot at a great and FREE education there. It's worth a shot!

PS: Don't let these other posts make it seem like there are amazing private school alternatives in the immediate Alexandria area. We've either had a student there or done our due diligence, and none of them are world class. Maybe the Big 3 in DC are worth the $$$ but that add a whole lot of hassle to your life.

Good luck with the move!

Can you point me to the posts on this thread that make it seem like there amazing private school alternative in the immediate Alexandria area? Because I don't see them.

I wasn't just speaking about this thread but even within these posts, it was alluded to that "rich/white" Alexandrians send their children to private schools. While this is true to a certain extent, I didn't want OP to imply that that because this happens, those private schools are inherently better than the public schools here.

Well from personal experience, I will tell you that the small class sizes and the responsiveness of faculty and the administrators and the insight into where my child is thriving and where challenged, has vastly improved our family’s experience. And the curriculum is evidenced based. Lastly no one is trying to inject their political/social justice agenda into the classroom — something which happens at ACPS. Plus we’ve been in the classroom since September, rather than on the iPad. Big difference from ow things were or would have been in ACPS. So is it better? I’d say so, but at some level there are aspects that are the same as public. Sure. But there ls a lot that isn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACPS is a joke. Its superintendent doesn't even send his kids there.

People, we have gone over this repeatedly. He pulled his daughter because she was being bullied. The situation wasn't remedied despite an awful lot of effort made by the school and her parents. He made a tough choice. I respect his choice because he could have forced her to tough it out so that it would make his life easier. He didn't do that and I respect that as a Dad.

Now people will fight back. Bullies? Here in Alexandria? Nah, we don't have any of that.

In which case I will direct your attention to the OpenACPS Facebook page. Yeah. We definitely have bullies. If you don't look at that and then conclude we have bullies, then we have an extreme disconnect in understanding what a bully is.

Use the search feature on this thread and look for the terms ACPS, Maury and MacArthur. Even with all the redacting and reporting of inappropriate content it is painfully obvious that we have a bully problem in Alexandria and it isn't only in the schools. Kids learn their bully behavior at home and they bring it to school.

As noted above, Hutchings is a hypocrite because he did what was best for his daughter (sending her to BI) but attacked parents who took similar steps for their children. (Considered forming pods).

Understand. That is a different matter and I did not address it because it did not matter to me. I clarified why the daughter was pulled. The sentences by the first poster imply a problem with the quality of the education, which is not the reason why the daughter was pulled.

Was this reported publicly? Not Hutchings being a hypocrite but the bullying? Any update on why restorative justice circles didn't work? A lot of people have gone through that with no resolution too but they can't afford to send their kid to an expensive private school. So I guess that makes him a double hypocrite. Thanks for reminding everyone of that.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACPS is a joke. Its superintendent doesn't even send his kids there.

People, we have gone over this repeatedly. He pulled his daughter because she was being bullied. The situation wasn't remedied despite an awful lot of effort made by the school and her parents. He made a tough choice. I respect his choice because he could have forced her to tough it out so that it would make his life easier. He didn't do that and I respect that as a Dad.

Now people will fight back. Bullies? Here in Alexandria? Nah, we don't have any of that.

In which case I will direct your attention to the OpenACPS Facebook page. Yeah. We definitely have bullies. If you don't look at that and then conclude we have bullies, then we have an extreme disconnect in understanding what a bully is.

Use the search feature on this thread and look for the terms ACPS, Maury and MacArthur. Even with all the redacting and reporting of inappropriate content it is painfully obvious that we have a bully problem in Alexandria and it isn't only in the schools. Kids learn their bully behavior at home and they bring it to school.

You must be new to town and ACPS. These issues didn't just start in March of 2020. Ever hear of PTAC? Apparently you have if you are searching for Maury and MacArthur.

I'm not an openACPS fan for a number of reasons but a facebook group that can't seem to do anything other than get yard signs made is not the source of the parent on parent bullying problems in the city. Again, these things were happening well before the schools were closed.

And yes, the Hutchings Hypocrisy has been gone over repeatedly. You may want to ignore it but the fact remains that he shamed parents for keeping their kids IN ACPS and quietly pulled his own. He shamed parents for doing what was best for their kids and never apologized when he did the same for his own. THAT is the issue. Avoiding it in your post doesn't make it any less true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACPS is a broken system. I have a child in elementary and basic fundamentals weren't taught (math facts & grammar being the main ones) and I didn't get any meaningful communication from my child's school about what they were working on or struggling with. At every parent teacher conference I was told that everything was fine. No tests or work was every shared (beyond kindergarten). And then I discovered that it wasn't fine and there were serious holes in my child's education.

And the PPs are right. Superintendent Hutchings and school board chair Alderton send their kids to private schools. The issues with ACPS run very deep and I doubt will every change.

The school board's general attitude is that parents are the enemy and are there to be ignored at best and mocked at worst. Margaret Lorber was an example of this over this year (google her). But Anderson, Nolan and Gentry have all exhibited this attitude in the past both in public and in private over their years in office. Gentry has been somewhat redeemed of late but it wasn't that long ago that she was saying vocal parents should have their input discounted.

Central Office and Hutchings have the same anti parent attitude. Hutchings chastised parents last summer and told them they were privileged and responsible for the learning gap for keeping their kids in ACPS but forming learning pods. And then he quietly removed one of his kids from ACPS and put them in a private school. And never apologized for his hypocritical comments in the summer. In the few years that he has been superintendent - and particularly this year - he has belittled parents publicly. Generally, parents aren't communicated with & are treated poorly by central office when questions are asked. Of course, all of this has been exacerbated this year.

An earlier poster on this thread claimed that anyone on this board who posts about ACPS' failures is a private school parent. That's a completely ridiculous notion but it illustrated another systemic problem in the schools and in the city. There is a small group of parents who think they are leaders in the community & who seek to shut down any parents who complain. Even on anonymous message boards apparently. Some went so far to sign on to an op-ed in the Alexandria Times, extolling how wonderfully ACPS handled virtual school while ignoring special ed teachers, english language learners, kids' emotional troubles and the testimony of parents. I've seen the actions of some of those signers have taken against vocal parents behind the scenes and it's chilling. Their need to attack their neighbors, who may not be having similar experiences with ACPS that they did, boarders on obsessive. I've never seen anything like it. It seems like a lot to protect home values or their political aspirations in the city.

Your kids may be able to get through Alexandria High School just fine and I hope that they do. But the SB, Central Office and Hutchings, and these self appointed parent "leaders" have done serious harm to kids at every grade level. It's so toxic that I'll be homeschooling my kid after this year.

+1. We're also going to be homeschooling going forward.

Same. Kid with a learning disability, and can't afford private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACPS is a broken system. I have a child in elementary and basic fundamentals weren't taught (math facts & grammar being the main ones) and I didn't get any meaningful communication from my child's school about what they were working on or struggling with. At every parent teacher conference I was told that everything was fine. No tests or work was every shared (beyond kindergarten). And then I discovered that it wasn't fine and there were serious holes in my child's education.

And the PPs are right. Superintendent Hutchings and school board chair Alderton send their kids to private schools. The issues with ACPS run very deep and I doubt will every change.

The school board's general attitude is that parents are the enemy and are there to be ignored at best and mocked at worst. Margaret Lorber was an example of this over this year (google her). But Anderson, Nolan and Gentry have all exhibited this attitude in the past both in public and in private over their years in office. Gentry has been somewhat redeemed of late but it wasn't that long ago that she was saying vocal parents should have their input discounted.

Central Office and Hutchings have the same anti parent attitude. Hutchings chastised parents last summer and told them they were privileged and responsible for the learning gap for keeping their kids in ACPS but forming learning pods. And then he quietly removed one of his kids from ACPS and put them in a private school. And never apologized for his hypocritical comments in the summer. In the few years that he has been superintendent - and particularly this year - he has belittled parents publicly. Generally, parents aren't communicated with & are treated poorly by central office when questions are asked. Of course, all of this has been exacerbated this year.

An earlier poster on this thread claimed that anyone on this board who posts about ACPS' failures is a private school parent. That's a completely ridiculous notion but it illustrated another systemic problem in the schools and in the city. There is a small group of parents who think they are leaders in the community & who seek to shut down any parents who complain. Even on anonymous message boards apparently. Some went so far to sign on to an op-ed in the Alexandria Times, extolling how wonderfully ACPS handled virtual school while ignoring special ed teachers, english language learners, kids' emotional troubles and the testimony of parents. I've seen the actions of some of those signers have taken against vocal parents behind the scenes and it's chilling. Their need to attack their neighbors, who may not be having similar experiences with ACPS that they did, boarders on obsessive. I've never seen anything like it. It seems like a lot to protect home values or their political aspirations in the city.

Your kids may be able to get through Alexandria High School just fine and I hope that they do. But the SB, Central Office and Hutchings, and these self appointed parent "leaders" have done serious harm to kids at every grade level. It's so toxic that I'll be homeschooling my kid after this year.

+1. We're also going to be homeschooling going forward.

Same. Kid with a learning disability, and can't afford private.

PP. Exact same situation here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACPS is a joke. Its superintendent doesn't even send his kids there.

People, we have gone over this repeatedly. He pulled his daughter because she was being bullied. The situation wasn't remedied despite an awful lot of effort made by the school and her parents. He made a tough choice. I respect his choice because he could have forced her to tough it out so that it would make his life easier. He didn't do that and I respect that as a Dad.

Now people will fight back. Bullies? Here in Alexandria? Nah, we don't have any of that.

In which case I will direct your attention to the OpenACPS Facebook page. Yeah. We definitely have bullies. If you don't look at that and then conclude we have bullies, then we have an extreme disconnect in understanding what a bully is.

Use the search feature on this thread and look for the terms ACPS, Maury and MacArthur. Even with all the redacting and reporting of inappropriate content it is painfully obvious that we have a bully problem in Alexandria and it isn't only in the schools. Kids learn their bully behavior at home and they bring it to school.

Um...it wasn't because she was being bullied...it was because people were angry that she didn't get the same punishment for doing what others were doing. I'll leave it at that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACPS has a very high FARMS rate, nearly 70% at some schools, and thus test scores reflect that. Alexandria is FULL of super wealthy white people (and some wealthy minorities) who like the convenient location and the beautiful neighborhoods, and who can afford to send their kids to private. Thus they have no skin in the game on the success of ACPS kids. Even in my middle class west end neighborhood a lot of parents send their kids to private. We’ve had a middling experience with some great teachers, some mediocre teachers, and fortunately no terrible teachers. We receive special education services which we’ve had to fight for but not like I’ve heard from parents in other districts. I don’t think my son was actually delayed in reading, I think they just don’t know how to teach reading. My son was guessing words left and right. He’s finally above grade level like his testing/intelligence scores suggest he should be, but it was a long frustrating road to get there. ACPS has hugely managed the pandemic but I don’t know that I’d judge a district on 2020/2021. If you’re educated your kids will probably do well. (Disclosure my experience is only elementary so far.)

Why wouldn't you judge a district's leadership during a crisis? Anyone who was paying attention to ACPS, the SB, Hutchings prior to 2020/2021 is not be surprised at how ACPS mishandled this.

I have friends at FCPS and APS who are just as pissed about the pandemic response. I think it should be taken in context. Absolutely judge Hutchings on his comments belittling parents, though!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACPS is a joke. Its superintendent doesn't even send his kids there.

People, we have gone over this repeatedly. He pulled his daughter because she was being bullied. The situation wasn't remedied despite an awful lot of effort made by the school and her parents. He made a tough choice. I respect his choice because he could have forced her to tough it out so that it would make his life easier. He didn't do that and I respect that as a Dad.

Now people will fight back. Bullies? Here in Alexandria? Nah, we don't have any of that.

In which case I will direct your attention to the OpenACPS Facebook page. Yeah. We definitely have bullies. If you don't look at that and then conclude we have bullies, then we have an extreme disconnect in understanding what a bully is.

Use the search feature on this thread and look for the terms ACPS, Maury and MacArthur. Even with all the redacting and reporting of inappropriate content it is painfully obvious that we have a bully problem in Alexandria and it isn't only in the schools. Kids learn their bully behavior at home and they bring it to school.

Um...it wasn't because she was being bullied...it was because people were angry that she didn't get the same punishment for doing what others were doing. I'll leave it at that.

Doing what?