Hearing Testimony on FCPS Proposed CIP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Then Virginia decided to change its testing standards in a way that assessment people determine would torpedo Lee. Do they admit defeat? No.

By doing what? What bill was passed that changed the law?

DP. It looks like this was the bill, but it then took several years before the VGLA was phased out.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+CHAP0076

I understand PP to be stating that FCPS can't avail of the VGLA any longer with respect to ESOL students at Lee, and that the ESOL transitional students at Lee may threaten the school's accreditation at some point.

Turning Lee into a regional IB school would get around the accreditation issue, but likely require other Lee students to be redistricted to West Springfield, Annandale, etc.

That will just turn Annandale into the new Lee and drop WS way down.

They are just shuffling around a problem from a one school issue to a 2 to 3 school issue.

The WS parents always want to treat Lee like a place where Ebola victims are quarantined.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Then Virginia decided to change its testing standards in a way that assessment people determine would torpedo Lee. Do they admit defeat? No.

By doing what? What bill was passed that changed the law?

DP. It looks like this was the bill, but it then took several years before the VGLA was phased out.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+CHAP0076

I understand PP to be stating that FCPS can't avail of the VGLA any longer with respect to ESOL students at Lee, and that the ESOL transitional students at Lee may threaten the school's accreditation at some point.

Turning Lee into a regional IB school would get around the accreditation issue, but likely require other Lee students to be redistricted to West Springfield, Annandale, etc.

That will just turn Annandale into the new Lee and drop WS way down.

They are just shuffling around a problem from a one school issue to a 2 to 3 school issue.

Well better than just one. WS can handle it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Then Virginia decided to change its testing standards in a way that assessment people determine would torpedo Lee. Do they admit defeat? No.

By doing what? What bill was passed that changed the law?

DP. It looks like this was the bill, but it then took several years before the VGLA was phased out.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+CHAP0076

I understand PP to be stating that FCPS can't avail of the VGLA any longer with respect to ESOL students at Lee, and that the ESOL transitional students at Lee may threaten the school's accreditation at some point.

Turning Lee into a regional IB school would get around the accreditation issue, but likely require other Lee students to be redistricted to West Springfield, Annandale, etc.

'

The superintendent and the school board chairman shall certify to the Board of Education, as a part of certifying compliance with the Standards of Quality, that there is a justification in the Individual Education Program for every student who takes the Virginia Grade Level Alternative.


FCPS couldn't provide justification for the VGLA? There's nothing in this bill that eliminates the VGLA. It just requires a student justification.

The legislature said the VDOE should phase out the VGLA and it has now done so. That wasn’t FCPS’s decision to make.

Did FCPS push back? If there was no push from the feds, I don't understand why the VADOE did this. They are advocating now for reduced numbers of tests stating that there are many kids who can't pass them because of one special need or another. Sounds like what they should just do is to bring back the VGLA.

[Anonymous]

Push back? I don’t think you understand how government works lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Then Virginia decided to change its testing standards in a way that assessment people determine would torpedo Lee. Do they admit defeat? No.

By doing what? What bill was passed that changed the law?

DP. It looks like this was the bill, but it then took several years before the VGLA was phased out.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+CHAP0076

I understand PP to be stating that FCPS can't avail of the VGLA any longer with respect to ESOL students at Lee, and that the ESOL transitional students at Lee may threaten the school's accreditation at some point.

Turning Lee into a regional IB school would get around the accreditation issue, but likely require other Lee students to be redistricted to West Springfield, Annandale, etc.

That will just turn Annandale into the new Lee and drop WS way down.

They are just shuffling around a problem from a one school issue to a 2 to 3 school issue.

The WS parents always want to treat Lee like a place where Ebola victims are quarantined.

That is rude an inaccurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Then Virginia decided to change its testing standards in a way that assessment people determine would torpedo Lee. Do they admit defeat? No.

By doing what? What bill was passed that changed the law?

DP. It looks like this was the bill, but it then took several years before the VGLA was phased out.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?101+ful+CHAP0076

I understand PP to be stating that FCPS can't avail of the VGLA any longer with respect to ESOL students at Lee, and that the ESOL transitional students at Lee may threaten the school's accreditation at some point.

Turning Lee into a regional IB school would get around the accreditation issue, but likely require other Lee students to be redistricted to West Springfield, Annandale, etc.

That will just turn Annandale into the new Lee and drop WS way down.

They are just shuffling around a problem from a one school issue to a 2 to 3 school issue.

Well better than just one. WS can handle it.

But Annandale may not be able to.

Dispersing Lee into the surrounding high school zones, and moving high performing schools out of WS, Annandale and Edison to make room for these kids will tip the balance in Annandale and possibly Edison, creating 2 Lee situations with Annandale and Edison, and will lower WS' achievement by quite a bit.

FCPS needs to remove IB from Lee and switch to AP. That will eliminate the IB escape loophole. It will also give bright kids who perhaps cannot handle IB due to language/writing/second language issues an advanced track with flexibility.

Then perhaps fcps needs to look at rezoning some neighborhoods back into Lee and adding an academy program to Lee.

Swinging to extremes when fcps has not tried any practical steps is just going to continue the problems in another building or two.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Push back? I don’t think you understand how government works lol

School boards rejected every single request from legislators the cost money this past session. I do understand and I see them push back all the time to the point where nothing gets done.

[Anonymous]

I saw the presentation. I believe only one feeder was proposed to go to Annandale. Two, I think were proposed for West Springfield, One was for Edison, and South County and Hayfield also got one, IIRC.

There was shifts from WS to Lake Braddock proposed. Orange Hunt, I think? Maybe Sangster? And there was a shift of one feeder to Robinson from Lake Braddock. White Oaks, I think? There was a mention of moving part of Woodson back to Annandale because it is so under utilized.

There was also a net out from each of these schools proposed. I think each of the five schools (Edison, West Springfield, South County, Hayfield, and Annandale) would be allocated 100 seats at the proposed center. The working assumption is that would alleviate crowding and potentially reduce the need for the Lake Braddock/Robinson redistricting. One wrinkle is that Annandale's feeder is a 6-8 and the others are all 7-8. It may just get the additional school from Lee and Woodson and not participate in the program, fwiw. If that's the case, only four schools would participate and they'd get more seats.

They are doing research into the program as a contingency plan. IIRC, a lot depends on whether Lee's performance tracks the current e-cart performance assessment has been seeing.

The idea is being developed, but I don't think it will happen unless the crap hits the fan, fwiw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I saw the presentation. I believe only one feeder was proposed to go to Annandale. Two, I think were proposed for West Springfield, One was for Edison, and South County and Hayfield also got one, IIRC.

There was shifts from WS to Lake Braddock proposed. Orange Hunt, I think? Maybe Sangster? And there was a shift of one feeder to Robinson from Lake Braddock. White Oaks, I think? There was a mention of moving part of Woodson back to Annandale because it is so under utilized.

There was also a net out from each of these schools proposed. I think each of the five schools (Edison, West Springfield, South County, Hayfield, and Annandale) would be allocated 100 seats at the proposed center. The working assumption is that would alleviate crowding and potentially reduce the need for the Lake Braddock/Robinson redistricting. One wrinkle is that Annandale's feeder is a 6-8 and the others are all 7-8. It may just get the additional school from Lee and Woodson and not participate in the program, fwiw. If that's the case, only four schools would participate and they'd get more seats.

They are doing research into the program as a contingency plan. IIRC, a lot depends on whether Lee's performance tracks the current e-cart performance assessment has been seeing.

The idea is being developed, but I don't think it will happen unless the crap hits the fan, fwiw.

Where on earth did they get the idea that there are 100 students from each of those schools that would want IB? There just is not. They would be lucky to get a dozen total per school.

People do not want IB. Why does fcps keep doubling down on it?

[Anonymous]

Oh, I could definitely see people clamoring for a spot in a IB school. If it's exclusively full of high achieving college bound kids, people are going to run, not walk, to get their kids' a spot. It's common sense, PP. It's not the program; it's the cohort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, I could definitely see people clamoring for a spot in a IB school. If it's exclusively full of high achieving college bound kids, people are going to run, not walk, to get their kids' a spot. It's common sense, PP. It's not the program; it's the cohort.

You are wrong.

They are not clamoring to transfer to IB schools now, even high performing IB programs like Robinson.

The high achieving families choose AP over IB by wide margins.

It is delusional to think that each of those schools will send around 100 kids to an IB center.

[Anonymous]

I could see (1) keeping IB at Lee and eliminating it at Stuart, Annandale, Edison and Mount Vernon to encourage more pupil placements to Lee; (2) eliminating IB at Lee and moving part of West Springfield there; or (3) turning Lee into the county's sole IB magnet school. Each of those would avoid the accreditation issue.

On the other hand, turning Lee into a regional IB magnet dependent on pupil placements from five other high schools, while at the same time redistricting all of Lee's current feeders to other schools, seems like a bad idea. I don't see how that school would attract a critical mass of kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I could see (1) keeping IB at Lee and eliminating it at Stuart, Annandale, Edison and Mount Vernon to encourage more pupil placements to Lee; (2) eliminating IB at Lee and moving part of West Springfield there; or (3) turning Lee into the county's sole IB magnet school. Each of those would avoid the accreditation issue.

On the other hand, turning Lee into a regional IB magnet dependent on pupil placements from five other high schools, while at the same time redistricting all of Lee's current feeders to other schools, seems like a bad idea. I don't see how that school would attract a critical mass of kids.

It wouldn't.

If Robinson and Marshall are not averaging 100 kids per neighboring high school pupil placing in for IB there is no was WS, Edison, Haycock and Annandale are going to each send 100 kids for IB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I could see (1) keeping IB at Lee and eliminating it at Stuart, Annandale, Edison and Mount Vernon to encourage more pupil placements to Lee; (2) eliminating IB at Lee and moving part of West Springfield there; or (3) turning Lee into the county's sole IB magnet school. Each of those would avoid the accreditation issue.

On the other hand, turning Lee into a regional IB magnet dependent on pupil placements from five other high schools, while at the same time redistricting all of Lee's current feeders to other schools, seems like a bad idea. I don't see how that school would attract a critical mass of kids.

It wouldn't.

If Robinson and Marshall are not averaging 100 kids per neighboring high school pupil placing in for IB there is no was WS, Edison, Haycock and Annandale are going to each send 100 kids for IB.

Actually, I would put my West Springfield kids in an IB center if it was exclusively an IB diploma pool of students. It's much, much more desirable to have my kids are high achieving kids. The program looks way better to me.

Robinson and Marshall aren't a good comparison because there's a general ed part of the school population. This would be much more exclusive and hence desirable.

[Anonymous]

I have a high achieving child who is not TJ student material (not into math/science more into English/History). I would put my child in an IB magnet school where there are admission criteria for example completing a foreign language by 8th grade; A's and B's final grades in 7th and 2nd semester in 8th; etc.