middle school start times

[Anonymous]

Was anyone able to go to any of the community meetings about this? Any updates?

[Anonymous]

Never went…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They aren’t solving the bus situation. It will probably stay because of that.

Solve the bus problem by getting rid of busses for TJ. There is no reason kids should be bussed an hour each way for a special school, unless its for blind or deaf kids. A fullsize bus pulls up in from of Spring Hill Rec in Mclean to drive maybe 5 or 10 kids all the way to Annandale.
Either that, or move the TJ start time to 7am and let the majority of kids get the sleep they need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was anyone able to go to any of the community meetings about this? Any updates?

It really boils down to: they really want to do it, but the busses are an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They aren’t solving the bus situation. It will probably stay because of that.

Solve the bus problem by getting rid of busses for TJ. There is no reason kids should be bussed an hour each way for a special school, unless its for blind or deaf kids. A fullsize bus pulls up in from of Spring Hill Rec in Mclean to drive maybe 5 or 10 kids all the way to Annandale.
Either that, or move the TJ start time to 7am and let the majority of kids get the sleep they need.

They can solve the bus problem by not offering busses to the AAP Center for any children that have an LLIV option at their base school - both elementary and middle. Those children can still have the option to go to the Center, but they should not be offered busses. They should be lumped in with kids who go to language immersion or arts & sciences schools - they are welcome to go to the schools, but FCPS does not provide bussing because they can still get the education they want/need at their base school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They aren’t solving the bus situation. It will probably stay because of that.

Solve the bus problem by getting rid of busses for TJ. There is no reason kids should be bussed an hour each way for a special school, unless its for blind or deaf kids. A fullsize bus pulls up in from of Spring Hill Rec in Mclean to drive maybe 5 or 10 kids all the way to Annandale.
Either that, or move the TJ start time to 7am and let the majority of kids get the sleep they need.

They can solve the bus problem by not offering busses to the AAP Center for any children that have an LLIV option at their base school - both elementary and middle. Those children can still have the option to go to the Center, but they should not be offered busses. They should be lumped in with kids who go to language immersion or arts & sciences schools - they are welcome to go to the schools, but FCPS does not provide bussing because they can still get the education they want/need at their base school.

This. I kept DD at the base school vs center for elementary. She’s now in MS and doing just as well, if not better, than the center kids. Meanwhile, we have buses coming to our neighborhood to pick-up 2-3 AAP kids when our base school is perfectly acceptable. It’s a huge waste of resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
This. I kept DD at the base school vs center for elementary. She’s now in MS and doing just as well, if not better, than the center kids. Meanwhile, we have buses coming to our neighborhood to pick-up 2-3 AAP kids when our base school is perfectly acceptable. It’s a huge waste of resources.

Maybe you don't understand how buses work? Our base school is a center school. There are 10 full buses that pick up and drop off each day. The buses aren't empty. They are all full.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This. I kept DD at the base school vs center for elementary. She’s now in MS and doing just as well, if not better, than the center kids. Meanwhile, we have buses coming to our neighborhood to pick-up 2-3 AAP kids when our base school is perfectly acceptable. It’s a huge waste of resources.

Maybe you don't understand how buses work? Our base school is a center school. There are 10 full buses that pick up and drop off each day. The buses aren't empty. They are all full.

Yes, I understand that those full buses need to drive far and wide to pick up a few kids from each area. If you are living in a neighborhood with an average home price of $2 million you can figure out transportation for your own kid if they need to be in a special environment vs the AAP IV offered at the base.

[Anonymous]

I wonder what is happening on the progress with middle school start times. My youngest is starting 6th this year and I want the change to be asap!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder what is happening on the progress with middle school start times. My youngest is starting 6th this year and I want the change to be asap!!

Nothing is changing b/c they do not have the funds to hire redundant bus drivers and buy hundreds of new buses. The little amount of changes for TJ/AAP these silly posters are suggesting would be a drop in the bucket.

Your kid will suffer like all the other FCPS MS kids before and after him. You aren't special and neither is he.

[Anonymous]

yes they could also solve part of the problem by not offering other transportation grandfathering. Insane that redistricted KGES students have free public transportation outside of their zoned school!

we are all describing little tiny pieces that add up to one big problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder what is happening on the progress with middle school start times. My youngest is starting 6th this year and I want the change to be asap!!

Nothing is changing b/c they do not have the funds to hire redundant bus drivers and buy hundreds of new buses. The little amount of changes for TJ/AAP these silly posters are suggesting would be a drop in the bucket.

Your kid will suffer like all the other FCPS MS kids before and after him. You aren't special and neither is he.

Then why did they even bother with having all those meetings?

The plan is they draft bell schedule options in Fall 2024 and makes a school board presentation in January 2025.

We will see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder what is happening on the progress with middle school start times. My youngest is starting 6th this year and I want the change to be asap!!

Nothing is changing b/c they do not have the funds to hire redundant bus drivers and buy hundreds of new buses. The little amount of changes for TJ/AAP these silly posters are suggesting would be a drop in the bucket.

Your kid will suffer like all the other FCPS MS kids before and after him. You aren't special and neither is he.

Then why did they even bother with having all those meetings?

The plan is they draft bell schedule options in Fall 2024 and makes a school board presentation in January 2025.

We will see.

Praying they can make it work!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This. I kept DD at the base school vs center for elementary. She’s now in MS and doing just as well, if not better, than the center kids. Meanwhile, we have buses coming to our neighborhood to pick-up 2-3 AAP kids when our base school is perfectly acceptable. It’s a huge waste of resources.

Maybe you don't understand how buses work? Our base school is a center school. There are 10 full buses that pick up and drop off each day. The buses aren't empty. They are all full.

This. Our center's busses are all full. They just have longer routes and pick up kids from a broader area, whereas my kids (for whom the school is also our base) at one point had a bus with just two stops because there were so many kids at those two stops that they alone filled the bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder what is happening on the progress with middle school start times. My youngest is starting 6th this year and I want the change to be asap!!

Nothing is changing b/c they do not have the funds to hire redundant bus drivers and buy hundreds of new buses. The little amount of changes for TJ/AAP these silly posters are suggesting would be a drop in the bucket.

Your kid will suffer like all the other FCPS MS kids before and after him. You aren't special and neither is he.

Then why did they even bother with having all those meetings?

The plan is they draft bell schedule options in Fall 2024 and makes a school board presentation in January 2025.

We will see.

Praying they can make it work!!!!

Why? Thousands of kids have gone through middle school with these start times. Your kid will be fine.

It's clear we can't afford the buses or the have drivers to make it work. Move on.