PSA: Fairfax County Proposed Budget CANCELS Middle School After School Programs

[Anonymous]

It would be foolish to run late buses just for the running club. Very few kids participate.

[Anonymous]

Of course they should offer after school programs. That would be awful if they were removed. I’d say it’s much more important than pre-K for kids. Spending 3 hours at home without parents around in our teenage years could lead to so many issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The afterschool programs in FCPS middle schools are nothing special.

This is something that the Rec Centers should take care of.

But they are EXPENSIVE. 325 for a one hour 8 week class at 8pm? I don't think so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oof, if I were a local business owner I’d be campaigning to keep the program. On Fridays when it doesn’t happen the local shopping centers are mobbed with middle schoolers behaving poorly, to the point cops have been called many times.

12-14 year olds cannot get out at 2:15 and be on their own for 3-5 hours. They will find trouble.

If they’re pushing middle schoolers to be the late start/end schools, I’m okay with it.

What kind of 12-14 year olds do you know? This is odd, that they can't entertain themselves.

So you obviously have never been to a shopping plaza near a middle school between 2:15-4:00 PM.

I'm going to be honest- I am a middle schooler and the things I see is insane. Kids wear literal shorts so small you can see their whole butt cheek. It's gross to me. Regular fights, drugs, sex- all of these things are NOT OKAY, but are still regular occurrences for me to see everyday. At this point, I'm scared to go to the bathroom in case I get bullied. I dress not too crazily, but I do wear a lot of bracelets and slightly alternative clothing, like hot topic clothing, and I wear headphones a lot because kids are LOUD. I don't have any developmental issues, but I do have ADHD. Some of the comments said about me this year have been crazy. I have been called the f-slur, the t-slur for trans people, the r-slur. I've also been called a b^^ch, a b^^^^rd, and I regularly get shoved into lockers and shoved into hard things in the hallways. Most modern kids don't read books, no, they bully, steal, break, and hurt other people. They go on social media to crap on other people. I have had to help at least 6 people THIS YEAR with their mental health because of how bad it is. The kids like me who dress differently or look different or talk different, almost all of them have scars on their wrists. Almost all of them have anxiety and PTSD, just because they get shoved around and yelled at just because they wear black accessories and are autistic or trans or wear headphones everyday. These kids are horrible. Not everyone, but, unfortunately, MOST of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some MS programs aren’t that great, like D&D.

Have you not heard of track and field? Soccer? Dance teams? And then, on the educational side, Science Olympiad? Math Counts? Model United Nations? Student Council association? Even the school plays have benefits, like community and confidence. Maybe D&D isn't educational or physical, but it's a social activity for children to get along and make friends in. Imagine not having friends to be around, just because of afterschool budget cuts. I know two out of three of my kids made all their friends during afterschool. The in-school classes had no one who was nice or no one who liked them, not because they were mean kids, but because they were bullied for not being "neuro-typical".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some MS programs aren’t that great, like D&D.

Have you not heard of track and field? Soccer? Dance teams? And then, on the educational side, Science Olympiad? Math Counts? Model United Nations? Student Council association? Even the school plays have benefits, like community and confidence. Maybe D&D isn't educational or physical, but it's a social activity for children to get along and make friends in. Imagine not having friends to be around, just because of afterschool budget cuts. I know two out of three of my kids made all their friends during afterschool. The in-school classes had no one who was nice or no one who liked them, not because they were mean kids, but because they were bullied for not being "neuro-typical".

D&D is great, my kid loves it. He has 7 other kids in his group and there are a bunch more games being played. They have a good time and have a chance to create a character, a world, and mess around in that world. And there are a lot of other clubs, some academic, some artistic, some athletics. It can be a good outlet for kids to make friends and relax after school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It would be foolish to run late buses just for the running club. Very few kids participate.

It's not a club, it's an actual organized sport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oof, if I were a local business owner I’d be campaigning to keep the program. On Fridays when it doesn’t happen the local shopping centers are mobbed with middle schoolers behaving poorly, to the point cops have been called many times.

12-14 year olds cannot get out at 2:15 and be on their own for 3-5 hours. They will find trouble.

If they’re pushing middle schoolers to be the late start/end schools, I’m okay with it.

What kind of 12-14 year olds do you know? This is odd, that they can't entertain themselves.

So you obviously have never been to a shopping plaza near a middle school between 2:15-4:00 PM.

I'm going to be honest- I am a middle schooler and the things I see is insane. Kids wear literal shorts so small you can see their whole butt cheek. It's gross to me. Regular fights, drugs, sex- all of these things are NOT OKAY, but are still regular occurrences for me to see everyday. At this point, I'm scared to go to the bathroom in case I get bullied. I dress not too crazily, but I do wear a lot of bracelets and slightly alternative clothing, like hot topic clothing, and I wear headphones a lot because kids are LOUD. I don't have any developmental issues, but I do have ADHD. Some of the comments said about me this year have been crazy. I have been called the f-slur, the t-slur for trans people, the r-slur. I've also been called a b^^ch, a b^^^^rd, and I regularly get shoved into lockers and shoved into hard things in the hallways. Most modern kids don't read books, no, they bully, steal, break, and hurt other people. They go on social media to crap on other people. I have had to help at least 6 people THIS YEAR with their mental health because of how bad it is. The kids like me who dress differently or look different or talk different, almost all of them have scars on their wrists. Almost all of them have anxiety and PTSD, just because they get shoved around and yelled at just because they wear black accessories and are autistic or trans or wear headphones everyday. These kids are horrible. Not everyone, but, unfortunately, MOST of them.

Troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be foolish to run late buses just for the running club. Very few kids participate.

It's not a club, it's an actual organized sport.

I mean call it what you like, but its no cut, they don't practice on tracks, and they had what? 2 meets?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The afterschool programs in FCPS middle schools are nothing special.

This is something that the Rec Centers should take care of.

But they are EXPENSIVE. 325 for a one hour 8 week class at 8pm? I don't think so.

Middle school classes are usually free or minimum cost with the ability to subsidize and they don't require transportation to the activity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It would be foolish to run late buses just for the running club. Very few kids participate.

It's not a club, it's an actual organized sport.

I mean call it what you like, but its no cut, they don't practice on tracks, and they had what? 2 meets?

4 meets and regular practice. It's not travel but it has regular practice and enough meets to see growth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that these programs or after school busses could be cut in favor of having funds for other priorities like teacher raises

Or is it to preserve the Superintendent's & 400k plus salary? None of this should be happening

[Anonymous]

Can there be after school clubs and just not offer buses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is getting buried in the start times thread, but wanted to ask everyone to please contact the Board of Supervisors and ask them to NOT push this proposed cut through next year. Middle schoolers love the after school program and it give a lot of kids who might otherwise get in trouble or be at home all alone something to do after school a few days a week. Everyone I've talked to has praised this program. Again, please contact your district's supervisor and ask them to say no to this proposal.

*NOTE this is NOT related to the start times at all. This is a COUNTY budget issue, whereas the start times are an FCPS issue.

I am really not seeing the problem with FCPS plan to cut the program. Could you all just please stop criticizing FCPS??

Just hire a PT nanny.

[Anonymous]

The clubs and activities are really important, way beyond childcare. They keep kids connected to the school, especially in large schools where it can be hard to find your place.

Lack of transportation would be a hardship for many families.