Alexandria schools - why so bad?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How did this delusional debate about TC being even comparable to LBSS get started?
Apples and oranges.
TC is mostly acceptable for what it is. You get a somewhat better commute and some festivals. You also get a hugely underperforming school, that your UMC will be fine at.
LB is a more suburban area with a much better regraded school.
The end.

It got started because LBSS isn't that great, and Springfield and Burke are death. UMC do more than fine at TC. Top TC students get into better schools than top LBSS students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did this delusional debate about TC being even comparable to LBSS get started?
Apples and oranges.
TC is mostly acceptable for what it is. You get a somewhat better commute and some festivals. You also get a hugely underperforming school, that your UMC will be fine at.
LB is a more suburban area with a much better regraded school.
The end.

It got started because LBSS isn't that great, and Springfield and Burke are death. UMC do more than fine at TC. Top TC students get into better schools than top LBSS students.

I find it interesting since I did move from Old Town (to avoid Jefferson Houston) and live in Fairfax near Burke. Honestly, it was a really good move for me. I take the VRE to work, my train schedule has forced me to put stronger parameters at work and this has improved my work life balance. I actually see my kids more than I did before. If anything, I will say my social life is different. We don't do happy hours or random dinners. It's more kids, commute, work, kids, dinner, etc. But our loves are more family and kid focused than when we lived in Old Town.

I do have many friends who did send their kids to Jefferson Houston. The reviews haven't been great but their kids are still young (entering 2nd grade). I will say they all pan the principal and do not like how the school is run. Parents seem to have a hard time getting traction in that building.

I will also say our FCPS experience has been great so far. I love our little elementary school.

[Anonymous]

The reason we parents worry about schools is our individual child's education. School averages don't tell you anything about how well your child is taught. So the question is always, what kind of education will my child get. At TC, if you are a well-educated family in Rosemont, Del Ray, Old Town, Beverly Hills or Northridge, your child will have small honors and AP classes, involved teachers, and great academic options. The college admissions and recent Regeneron science fair winner are evidence of that. (The story is not so rosy for TC students from less privileged backgrounds)

Focusing on the school average is silly if you take a simple thought experiment. Imagine if TJHSST was combined with another school exclusively for students who were English learners. They would take art, music, drama, gym and personal finance together but otherwise continue to have separate faculty and courses. Suddenly TJHSST's average scores would fall drastically after the merger, but in fact the quality of the education for the TJ students would remain equally high. I'm not saying TC is as good as TJ, but it has more than a passing resemblance to this thought experiment.

[Anonymous]

Is the true question "ACPS why so bad"? Or is the more insightful question: "ACPS why no drastic improvement after decades"?

We are a wealthy town, and have shelled out 100's of thousands of tax money to ACPS over the decades (recently it's been even more).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did this delusional debate about TC being even comparable to LBSS get started?
Apples and oranges.
TC is mostly acceptable for what it is. You get a somewhat better commute and some festivals. You also get a hugely underperforming school, that your UMC will be fine at.
LB is a more suburban area with a much better regraded school.
The end.

It got started because LBSS isn't that great, and Springfield and Burke are death. UMC do more than fine at TC. Top TC students get into better schools than top LBSS students.

LBSS is a perfectly fine school.
Of course when you compare it to TC it looks like an amazing school. Whatever, just slap that T.C. CREW sticker on your SUV and pop that collar. You do you, baby!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did this delusional debate about TC being even comparable to LBSS get started?
Apples and oranges.
TC is mostly acceptable for what it is. You get a somewhat better commute and some festivals. You also get a hugely underperforming school, that your UMC will be fine at.
LB is a more suburban area with a much better regraded school.
The end.

It got started because LBSS isn't that great, and Springfield and Burke are death. UMC do more than fine at TC. Top TC students get into better schools than top LBSS students.

LBSS is a perfectly fine school.
Of course when you compare it to TC it looks like an amazing school. Whatever, just slap that T.C. CREW sticker on your SUV and pop that collar. You do you, baby!

I'm sure LBSS is a perfectly fine school. But top TC students outshine top LBSS students. Shouldn't you be getting ready to queue in your slug line with the rest of the slugs? I'll do me, baby! Enjoy your ride!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is the true question "ACPS why so bad"? Or is the more insightful question: "ACPS why no drastic improvement after decades"?

We are a wealthy town, and have shelled out 100's of thousands of tax money to ACPS over the decades (recently it's been even more).

ugh again TC Williams is nearly 50% poverty/FARMS (48% to be exact) There is no school in the country that has gotten good to great results with a population like that period.

The achievement gap is almost solely due to poverty and no education policy has made a dent in this fact anywhere across the country.... so the logical question becomes perhaps there is a better way to be spending Billions over the years.

My personal opinion is this is a social worker issue not an education issue. Until parents can actually parent and there is a more stable homelife the schools can't do anything. Schools are designed to teach they aren't designed to address the issues associated with poverty which again is better served through social workers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did this delusional debate about TC being even comparable to LBSS get started?
Apples and oranges.
TC is mostly acceptable for what it is. You get a somewhat better commute and some festivals. You also get a hugely underperforming school, that your UMC will be fine at.
LB is a more suburban area with a much better regraded school.
The end.

It got started because LBSS isn't that great, and Springfield and Burke are death. UMC do more than fine at TC. Top TC students get into better schools than top LBSS students.

LBSS is a perfectly fine school.
Of course when you compare it to TC it looks like an amazing school. Whatever, just slap that T.C. CREW sticker on your SUV and pop that collar. You do you, baby!

I'm sure LBSS is a perfectly fine school. But top TC students outshine top LBSS students. Shouldn't you be getting ready to queue in your slug line with the rest of the slugs? I'll do me, baby! Enjoy your ride!

No need to slug anywhere. You are remarkably imaginative. It’s a fun make-believe land, where all TC kids are going to elite colleges, and people in fairfax spend three hours commuting every day and send the kids to NOVA. What fun pretend can be!
Make sure you have Hatsy do some community service in the TC Williams daycare for her essay. Princeton will love it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did this delusional debate about TC being even comparable to LBSS get started?
Apples and oranges.
TC is mostly acceptable for what it is. You get a somewhat better commute and some festivals. You also get a hugely underperforming school, that your UMC will be fine at.
LB is a more suburban area with a much better regraded school.
The end.

It got started because LBSS isn't that great, and Springfield and Burke are death. UMC do more than fine at TC. Top TC students get into better schools than top LBSS students.

What you post is completely false. You are picking the wrong battle on this forum.

I mean, enjoy your lantern festival, but ACPS sucks. LBSS is one of the top 15 high schools in the state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did this delusional debate about TC being even comparable to LBSS get started?
Apples and oranges.
TC is mostly acceptable for what it is. You get a somewhat better commute and some festivals. You also get a hugely underperforming school, that your UMC will be fine at.
LB is a more suburban area with a much better regraded school.
The end.

It got started because LBSS isn't that great, and Springfield and Burke are death. UMC do more than fine at TC. Top TC students get into better schools than top LBSS students.

What you post is completely false. You are picking the wrong battle on this forum.

I mean, enjoy your lantern festival, but ACPS sucks. LBSS is one of the top 15 high schools in the state.

+1. It’s completely absurd

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the true question "ACPS why so bad"? Or is the more insightful question: "ACPS why no drastic improvement after decades"?

We are a wealthy town, and have shelled out 100's of thousands of tax money to ACPS over the decades (recently it's been even more).

ugh again TC Williams is nearly 50% poverty/FARMS (48% to be exact) There is no school in the country that has gotten good to great results with a population like that period.

The achievement gap is almost solely due to poverty and no education policy has made a dent in this fact anywhere across the country.... so the logical question becomes perhaps there is a better way to be spending Billions over the years.

My personal opinion is this is a social worker issue not an education issue. Until parents can actually parent and there is a more stable homelife the schools can't do anything. Schools are designed to teach they aren't designed to address the issues associated with poverty which again is better served through social workers.

It’s a birth control issue

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did this delusional debate about TC being even comparable to LBSS get started?
Apples and oranges.
TC is mostly acceptable for what it is. You get a somewhat better commute and some festivals. You also get a hugely underperforming school, that your UMC will be fine at.
LB is a more suburban area with a much better regraded school.
The end.

It got started because LBSS isn't that great, and Springfield and Burke are death. UMC do more than fine at TC. Top TC students get into better schools than top LBSS students.

What you post is completely false. You are picking the wrong battle on this forum.

I mean, enjoy your lantern festival, but ACPS sucks. LBSS is one of the top 15 high schools in the state.

What I post is completely true. Top students at TC attend better schools than top students at LBSS. Let's compare. Where is this year's LBSS valedictorian going to college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did this delusional debate about TC being even comparable to LBSS get started?
Apples and oranges.
TC is mostly acceptable for what it is. You get a somewhat better commute and some festivals. You also get a hugely underperforming school, that your UMC will be fine at.
LB is a more suburban area with a much better regraded school.
The end.

It got started because LBSS isn't that great, and Springfield and Burke are death. UMC do more than fine at TC. Top TC students get into better schools than top LBSS students.

What you post is completely false. You are picking the wrong battle on this forum.

I mean, enjoy your lantern festival, but ACPS sucks. LBSS is one of the top 15 high schools in the state.

What I post is completely true. Top students at TC attend better schools than top students at LBSS. Let's compare. Where is this year's LBSS valedictorian going to college?

Wherever they wanted

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did this delusional debate about TC being even comparable to LBSS get started?
Apples and oranges.
TC is mostly acceptable for what it is. You get a somewhat better commute and some festivals. You also get a hugely underperforming school, that your UMC will be fine at.
LB is a more suburban area with a much better regraded school.
The end.

It got started because LBSS isn't that great, and Springfield and Burke are death. UMC do more than fine at TC. Top TC students get into better schools than top LBSS students.

What you post is completely false. You are picking the wrong battle on this forum.

I mean, enjoy your lantern festival, but ACPS sucks. LBSS is one of the top 15 high schools in the state.

What I post is completely true. Top students at TC attend better schools than top students at LBSS. Let's compare. Where is this year's LBSS valedictorian going to college?

Plenty of LB kids currently at top colleges, including each of HYP And the LB quarterback (a rising junior) already has offers from Harvard, Yale and Penn.

The attrition for the Class of 2019 at TC was awful - over 80 fewer seniors in 2018-19 than freshmen in 2015-16. Over the same period, the class of 2019 at LBSS grew over 25 kids. No question about the superior learning environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did this delusional debate about TC being even comparable to LBSS get started?
Apples and oranges.
TC is mostly acceptable for what it is. You get a somewhat better commute and some festivals. You also get a hugely underperforming school, that your UMC will be fine at.
LB is a more suburban area with a much better regraded school.
The end.

It got started because LBSS isn't that great, and Springfield and Burke are death. UMC do more than fine at TC. Top TC students get into better schools than top LBSS students.

What you post is completely false. You are picking the wrong battle on this forum.

I mean, enjoy your lantern festival, but ACPS sucks. LBSS is one of the top 15 high schools in the state.

What I post is completely true. Top students at TC attend better schools than top students at LBSS. Let's compare. Where is this year's LBSS valedictorian going to college?

Wherever they wanted

And where would that be?