APS Duran School Performance Email - Is Long Branch a Failing School?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So… upon review of VA’s math standards (elementary anyway), it’s pretty obvious that they just… aren’t that rigorous.

Purchase ANY decent math curriculum and consistently use it. Many of them surpass VA’s standards!

Then complain to the state. Get VA to align to common core. This isn’t an APS issue.

Huh? No need to complain to the state when many math programs DO cover (and exceed!) current standards. APS just needs to pick one and teachers need to actually use it.

Envision is crap, but there are many good options.

You should complain to the state because the state standards are not rigorous enough and the issue with unaligned curriculum would go aware if VA went to common core.

There's no rule against exceeding the state standard. That's a minimum.

It gets hard to match up when the local curriculum is different from the state's. And also there's the issue with curriculum literally not matching. There are tons that match common core. But there are some who want to undermine public ed and get vouchers so maybe that's just you instead of looking to the real source of the problem which is Youngkin.

APS not having math curriculum has nothing to do with Youngkin or vouchers. It was the situation before Youngkin and will be after Youngkin. It's an APS issue. Duran knows math test scores are falling across the district and across all demographics, as measured by MAP, SOL and NWEA scores. Yet he literally sent an email saying he was going to watch and wait. That's not okay.

State standards being different than than off the shelf curriculums has been an issue for ages. You can work with the publisher to get a special edition made or put together your own rubric to tell teachers how to match the curriculum to standards. But APS hasn't provided a solution for teachers and isn't even looking for a way to do so because they don't think falling test scores are a problem.

APS only got its act together and dropped Lucy Caulkins after there was nationwide uproar that compelled it to act. Parents need to speak up and tell Syphax to get off its duff and do its job. This isn't an unsolvable problem. APS administrators are just lazy and would prefer to talk more about DEI and make excuses instead of doing their jobs.

yes it's been an issue for ages but youngkin is gov and has been for 4 years and didnt' fix it

Youngkin pushed for more advanced math classes and harder SOL standards. That's something. We now have Math 6 Intensified, a very needed course, only because of Youngkin. I'm not a Republican but am very glad APS now offers that course. There was too big a gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra, leaving many kids either bored or underwater.

Math 6 intensified wasn't because of Youngkin. Duran finally gave us more intensified classes in middle school. But you will never give him credit for that or anything else will you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know whether that curriculum is any good, but you also need to consider APS' budget timeline and process. APS generally adopts a new curriculum every 5-7 years, or at least they are supposed to. Sometimes they don't because of budget restraints.

Virginia adopted new standards in 2023, affecting curriculum for 2024-25. Virginia did this without regard for when and whether individual school districts already had purchased curriculum going beyond that school year.

There are plenty of things I think APS can and should do differently, but it helps nobody to blame APS for things beyond their control, like the standards set by Virginia state government and whether any curriculum available (let alone a good curriculum) aligns with those standards.

Contact the APS math department and the school board. Ask when APS is due for a new math curriculum. If it isn't soon, ask why not given the new VA standards. Ask what APS has done to align with VA standards. Ask what APS needs to get a better curriculum. is it for the board to prioritize this in the budget? Is it for parents to contact APS? Ask how you can contribute to the process of finding an excellent math curriculum.

The Envision curriculum pre-dates 2023. I've been recycling those workbooks for years now. That's not an excuse. And we pay an APS employee at Syphax to be responsible for the APS math curriculum and they have done *nothing* to fix this issue for years now. They need to lose their job ASAP for incompetence.

Lots of states have specific standards and curriculum companies are used to having to make versions to meet those standards. If APS is too small to get a company to work with them, they could team up with a larger district(s) to get it done. Or we could do our own mapping of a curriculum to VA standards. This isn't an unsolvable problem. APS is just choosing not to solve it. Total incompetence.

Yes, Envision predates 2023 because APS purchased it before 2023. APS buys curriculum on multi-year contracts. Can you imagine the chaos if they bought (and required teachers to use) a new curriculum each year? So here is the timeline. APS buys curriculum. State changes math standards. APS still has the old curriculum. Do you see the problem? The current APS math supervisor has only been in his position for 1-2 years. I'd say he inherited this mess. His predecessor was great too. She tried for years to get APS to adopt a new (and better curriculum). It has been so long since APS had adopted a curriculum that it was in violation of its own policy for how often it adopts a new curriculum. Budget constraints was always the reason given why APS couldn't act sooner, it wasn't for lack of trying by math educators and the math supervisor. Duran arrived in APS only in the last few years, so he can't be blamed for what was a preexisting problem. I really think you need to contact the school board. Tell them you care about math and that APS needs a better curriculum.

Another thing the previous math supervisor tried to get was math coaches in each elementary school. Some school principals paid for them out of their own budgets. Some higher need schools got them via central office funding as part of a pilot program (the results were phenomenal by the way). The request got thrown out because people said it was just Syphax bloat. I don't blame parents entirely for this because it is hard to tell what is in the APS budget and what it actually all means. But it was a really good idea.

Bottom line, if you care about math, contact the school board. It is great to talk to your own school's teachers and principal too, but the funding decisions about curriculum and more math staff are being made higher than that, and good ideas have died due to resource constraints.

No, I don't work for APS. I just care a lot about math education and wish it got even 20% of the attention literacy does. Literacy is important too, but math is equally important IMO.

Duran has been superintendent since May 7, 2020. That's far longer than 1-2 years. It's inexcusable he's choosing to do nothing about the lack of a quality math curriculum. You keep making excuses that don't hold up. He absolutely could speak out about a problem, request funding and propose making changes if he wanted to do so. But instead he sent a gaslighting email to the whole district saying that scores were dropping and he was not going to make any changes. That's a choice and one that should cost him his job.

He added positions to help with math then the stupid APEs said the positions were central office bloat. How is that duran's fault? He tried.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know whether that curriculum is any good, but you also need to consider APS' budget timeline and process. APS generally adopts a new curriculum every 5-7 years, or at least they are supposed to. Sometimes they don't because of budget restraints.

Virginia adopted new standards in 2023, affecting curriculum for 2024-25. Virginia did this without regard for when and whether individual school districts already had purchased curriculum going beyond that school year.

There are plenty of things I think APS can and should do differently, but it helps nobody to blame APS for things beyond their control, like the standards set by Virginia state government and whether any curriculum available (let alone a good curriculum) aligns with those standards.

Contact the APS math department and the school board. Ask when APS is due for a new math curriculum. If it isn't soon, ask why not given the new VA standards. Ask what APS has done to align with VA standards. Ask what APS needs to get a better curriculum. is it for the board to prioritize this in the budget? Is it for parents to contact APS? Ask how you can contribute to the process of finding an excellent math curriculum.

The Envision curriculum pre-dates 2023. I've been recycling those workbooks for years now. That's not an excuse. And we pay an APS employee at Syphax to be responsible for the APS math curriculum and they have done *nothing* to fix this issue for years now. They need to lose their job ASAP for incompetence.

Lots of states have specific standards and curriculum companies are used to having to make versions to meet those standards. If APS is too small to get a company to work with them, they could team up with a larger district(s) to get it done. Or we could do our own mapping of a curriculum to VA standards. This isn't an unsolvable problem. APS is just choosing not to solve it. Total incompetence.

Yes, Envision predates 2023 because APS purchased it before 2023. APS buys curriculum on multi-year contracts. Can you imagine the chaos if they bought (and required teachers to use) a new curriculum each year? So here is the timeline. APS buys curriculum. State changes math standards. APS still has the old curriculum. Do you see the problem? The current APS math supervisor has only been in his position for 1-2 years. I'd say he inherited this mess. His predecessor was great too. She tried for years to get APS to adopt a new (and better curriculum). It has been so long since APS had adopted a curriculum that it was in violation of its own policy for how often it adopts a new curriculum. Budget constraints was always the reason given why APS couldn't act sooner, it wasn't for lack of trying by math educators and the math supervisor. Duran arrived in APS only in the last few years, so he can't be blamed for what was a preexisting problem. I really think you need to contact the school board. Tell them you care about math and that APS needs a better curriculum.

Another thing the previous math supervisor tried to get was math coaches in each elementary school. Some school principals paid for them out of their own budgets. Some higher need schools got them via central office funding as part of a pilot program (the results were phenomenal by the way). The request got thrown out because people said it was just Syphax bloat. I don't blame parents entirely for this because it is hard to tell what is in the APS budget and what it actually all means. But it was a really good idea.

Bottom line, if you care about math, contact the school board. It is great to talk to your own school's teachers and principal too, but the funding decisions about curriculum and more math staff are being made higher than that, and good ideas have died due to resource constraints.

No, I don't work for APS. I just care a lot about math education and wish it got even 20% of the attention literacy does. Literacy is important too, but math is equally important IMO.

Duran has been superintendent since May 7, 2020. That's far longer than 1-2 years. It's inexcusable he's choosing to do nothing about the lack of a quality math curriculum. You keep making excuses that don't hold up. He absolutely could speak out about a problem, request funding and propose making changes if he wanted to do so. But instead he sent a gaslighting email to the whole district saying that scores were dropping and he was not going to make any changes. That's a choice and one that should cost him his job.

He added positions to help with math then the stupid APEs said the positions were central office bloat. How is that duran's fault? He tried.

Adding a handful of math coaches doesn’t make up for a shtty math curriculum that goes unused every year. But you know that already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So… upon review of VA’s math standards (elementary anyway), it’s pretty obvious that they just… aren’t that rigorous.

Purchase ANY decent math curriculum and consistently use it. Many of them surpass VA’s standards!

Then complain to the state. Get VA to align to common core. This isn’t an APS issue.

Huh? No need to complain to the state when many math programs DO cover (and exceed!) current standards. APS just needs to pick one and teachers need to actually use it.

Envision is crap, but there are many good options.

You should complain to the state because the state standards are not rigorous enough and the issue with unaligned curriculum would go aware if VA went to common core.

There's no rule against exceeding the state standard. That's a minimum.

It gets hard to match up when the local curriculum is different from the state's. And also there's the issue with curriculum literally not matching. There are tons that match common core. But there are some who want to undermine public ed and get vouchers so maybe that's just you instead of looking to the real source of the problem which is Youngkin.

APS not having math curriculum has nothing to do with Youngkin or vouchers. It was the situation before Youngkin and will be after Youngkin. It's an APS issue. Duran knows math test scores are falling across the district and across all demographics, as measured by MAP, SOL and NWEA scores. Yet he literally sent an email saying he was going to watch and wait. That's not okay.

State standards being different than than off the shelf curriculums has been an issue for ages. You can work with the publisher to get a special edition made or put together your own rubric to tell teachers how to match the curriculum to standards. But APS hasn't provided a solution for teachers and isn't even looking for a way to do so because they don't think falling test scores are a problem.

APS only got its act together and dropped Lucy Caulkins after there was nationwide uproar that compelled it to act. Parents need to speak up and tell Syphax to get off its duff and do its job. This isn't an unsolvable problem. APS administrators are just lazy and would prefer to talk more about DEI and make excuses instead of doing their jobs.

yes it's been an issue for ages but youngkin is gov and has been for 4 years and didnt' fix it

Youngkin pushed for more advanced math classes and harder SOL standards. That's something. We now have Math 6 Intensified, a very needed course, only because of Youngkin. I'm not a Republican but am very glad APS now offers that course. There was too big a gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra, leaving many kids either bored or underwater.

Math 6 intensified wasn't because of Youngkin. Duran finally gave us more intensified classes in middle school. But you will never give him credit for that or anything else will you?

You are wrong. Math 6 Intensified was added over the summer, in a rush, in order to meet requirements in a new law passed by Youngkin's administration. APS was forced into it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know whether that curriculum is any good, but you also need to consider APS' budget timeline and process. APS generally adopts a new curriculum every 5-7 years, or at least they are supposed to. Sometimes they don't because of budget restraints.

Virginia adopted new standards in 2023, affecting curriculum for 2024-25. Virginia did this without regard for when and whether individual school districts already had purchased curriculum going beyond that school year.

There are plenty of things I think APS can and should do differently, but it helps nobody to blame APS for things beyond their control, like the standards set by Virginia state government and whether any curriculum available (let alone a good curriculum) aligns with those standards.

Contact the APS math department and the school board. Ask when APS is due for a new math curriculum. If it isn't soon, ask why not given the new VA standards. Ask what APS has done to align with VA standards. Ask what APS needs to get a better curriculum. is it for the board to prioritize this in the budget? Is it for parents to contact APS? Ask how you can contribute to the process of finding an excellent math curriculum.

The Envision curriculum pre-dates 2023. I've been recycling those workbooks for years now. That's not an excuse. And we pay an APS employee at Syphax to be responsible for the APS math curriculum and they have done *nothing* to fix this issue for years now. They need to lose their job ASAP for incompetence.

Lots of states have specific standards and curriculum companies are used to having to make versions to meet those standards. If APS is too small to get a company to work with them, they could team up with a larger district(s) to get it done. Or we could do our own mapping of a curriculum to VA standards. This isn't an unsolvable problem. APS is just choosing not to solve it. Total incompetence.

Yes, Envision predates 2023 because APS purchased it before 2023. APS buys curriculum on multi-year contracts. Can you imagine the chaos if they bought (and required teachers to use) a new curriculum each year? So here is the timeline. APS buys curriculum. State changes math standards. APS still has the old curriculum. Do you see the problem? The current APS math supervisor has only been in his position for 1-2 years. I'd say he inherited this mess. His predecessor was great too. She tried for years to get APS to adopt a new (and better curriculum). It has been so long since APS had adopted a curriculum that it was in violation of its own policy for how often it adopts a new curriculum. Budget constraints was always the reason given why APS couldn't act sooner, it wasn't for lack of trying by math educators and the math supervisor. Duran arrived in APS only in the last few years, so he can't be blamed for what was a preexisting problem. I really think you need to contact the school board. Tell them you care about math and that APS needs a better curriculum.

Another thing the previous math supervisor tried to get was math coaches in each elementary school. Some school principals paid for them out of their own budgets. Some higher need schools got them via central office funding as part of a pilot program (the results were phenomenal by the way). The request got thrown out because people said it was just Syphax bloat. I don't blame parents entirely for this because it is hard to tell what is in the APS budget and what it actually all means. But it was a really good idea.

Bottom line, if you care about math, contact the school board. It is great to talk to your own school's teachers and principal too, but the funding decisions about curriculum and more math staff are being made higher than that, and good ideas have died due to resource constraints.

No, I don't work for APS. I just care a lot about math education and wish it got even 20% of the attention literacy does. Literacy is important too, but math is equally important IMO.

Duran has been superintendent since May 7, 2020. That's far longer than 1-2 years. It's inexcusable he's choosing to do nothing about the lack of a quality math curriculum. You keep making excuses that don't hold up. He absolutely could speak out about a problem, request funding and propose making changes if he wanted to do so. But instead he sent a gaslighting email to the whole district saying that scores were dropping and he was not going to make any changes. That's a choice and one that should cost him his job.

He added positions to help with math then the stupid APEs said the positions were central office bloat. How is that duran's fault? He tried.

We don't have math curriculum in APS. That's entirely his fault.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So… upon review of VA’s math standards (elementary anyway), it’s pretty obvious that they just… aren’t that rigorous.

Purchase ANY decent math curriculum and consistently use it. Many of them surpass VA’s standards!

Then complain to the state. Get VA to align to common core. This isn’t an APS issue.

Huh? No need to complain to the state when many math programs DO cover (and exceed!) current standards. APS just needs to pick one and teachers need to actually use it.

Envision is crap, but there are many good options.

You should complain to the state because the state standards are not rigorous enough and the issue with unaligned curriculum would go aware if VA went to common core.

There's no rule against exceeding the state standard. That's a minimum.

It gets hard to match up when the local curriculum is different from the state's. And also there's the issue with curriculum literally not matching. There are tons that match common core. But there are some who want to undermine public ed and get vouchers so maybe that's just you instead of looking to the real source of the problem which is Youngkin.

APS not having math curriculum has nothing to do with Youngkin or vouchers. It was the situation before Youngkin and will be after Youngkin. It's an APS issue. Duran knows math test scores are falling across the district and across all demographics, as measured by MAP, SOL and NWEA scores. Yet he literally sent an email saying he was going to watch and wait. That's not okay.

State standards being different than than off the shelf curriculums has been an issue for ages. You can work with the publisher to get a special edition made or put together your own rubric to tell teachers how to match the curriculum to standards. But APS hasn't provided a solution for teachers and isn't even looking for a way to do so because they don't think falling test scores are a problem.

APS only got its act together and dropped Lucy Caulkins after there was nationwide uproar that compelled it to act. Parents need to speak up and tell Syphax to get off its duff and do its job. This isn't an unsolvable problem. APS administrators are just lazy and would prefer to talk more about DEI and make excuses instead of doing their jobs.

yes it's been an issue for ages but youngkin is gov and has been for 4 years and didnt' fix it

Youngkin pushed for more advanced math classes and harder SOL standards. That's something. We now have Math 6 Intensified, a very needed course, only because of Youngkin. I'm not a Republican but am very glad APS now offers that course. There was too big a gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra, leaving many kids either bored or underwater.

Math 6 intensified wasn't because of Youngkin. Duran finally gave us more intensified classes in middle school. But you will never give him credit for that or anything else will you?

RealClearEducation https://share.google/ze9FYu3YjPpOHt6PP

This article explains that the prior Dem administration in Virginia tried to de-track math for equity reasons like San Francisco, which would have eliminated the opportunity to take algebra in middle school. Youngkin passed this advance math law for grades 5-8 law to ensure access to accelerated math classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So… upon review of VA’s math standards (elementary anyway), it’s pretty obvious that they just… aren’t that rigorous.

Purchase ANY decent math curriculum and consistently use it. Many of them surpass VA’s standards!

Then complain to the state. Get VA to align to common core. This isn’t an APS issue.

Huh? No need to complain to the state when many math programs DO cover (and exceed!) current standards. APS just needs to pick one and teachers need to actually use it.

Envision is crap, but there are many good options.

You should complain to the state because the state standards are not rigorous enough and the issue with unaligned curriculum would go aware if VA went to common core.

There's no rule against exceeding the state standard. That's a minimum.

It gets hard to match up when the local curriculum is different from the state's. And also there's the issue with curriculum literally not matching. There are tons that match common core. But there are some who want to undermine public ed and get vouchers so maybe that's just you instead of looking to the real source of the problem which is Youngkin.

APS not having math curriculum has nothing to do with Youngkin or vouchers. It was the situation before Youngkin and will be after Youngkin. It's an APS issue. Duran knows math test scores are falling across the district and across all demographics, as measured by MAP, SOL and NWEA scores. Yet he literally sent an email saying he was going to watch and wait. That's not okay.

State standards being different than than off the shelf curriculums has been an issue for ages. You can work with the publisher to get a special edition made or put together your own rubric to tell teachers how to match the curriculum to standards. But APS hasn't provided a solution for teachers and isn't even looking for a way to do so because they don't think falling test scores are a problem.

APS only got its act together and dropped Lucy Caulkins after there was nationwide uproar that compelled it to act. Parents need to speak up and tell Syphax to get off its duff and do its job. This isn't an unsolvable problem. APS administrators are just lazy and would prefer to talk more about DEI and make excuses instead of doing their jobs.

yes it's been an issue for ages but youngkin is gov and has been for 4 years and didnt' fix it

Youngkin pushed for more advanced math classes and harder SOL standards. That's something. We now have Math 6 Intensified, a very needed course, only because of Youngkin. I'm not a Republican but am very glad APS now offers that course. There was too big a gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra, leaving many kids either bored or underwater.

Math 6 intensified wasn't because of Youngkin. Duran finally gave us more intensified classes in middle school. But you will never give him credit for that or anything else will you?

RealClearEducation https://share.google/ze9FYu3YjPpOHt6PP

This article explains that the prior Dem administration in Virginia tried to de-track math for equity reasons like San Francisco, which would have eliminated the opportunity to take algebra in middle school. Youngkin passed this advance math law for grades 5-8 law to ensure access to accelerated math classes.

Here's another link: https://virginiamercury.com/2021/04/26/virginia-isnt-eliminating-accelerated-math-courses-but-its-one-of-many-states-rethinking-math-education/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So… upon review of VA’s math standards (elementary anyway), it’s pretty obvious that they just… aren’t that rigorous.

Purchase ANY decent math curriculum and consistently use it. Many of them surpass VA’s standards!

Then complain to the state. Get VA to align to common core. This isn’t an APS issue.

Huh? No need to complain to the state when many math programs DO cover (and exceed!) current standards. APS just needs to pick one and teachers need to actually use it.

Envision is crap, but there are many good options.

You should complain to the state because the state standards are not rigorous enough and the issue with unaligned curriculum would go aware if VA went to common core.

There's no rule against exceeding the state standard. That's a minimum.

It gets hard to match up when the local curriculum is different from the state's. And also there's the issue with curriculum literally not matching. There are tons that match common core. But there are some who want to undermine public ed and get vouchers so maybe that's just you instead of looking to the real source of the problem which is Youngkin.

APS not having math curriculum has nothing to do with Youngkin or vouchers. It was the situation before Youngkin and will be after Youngkin. It's an APS issue. Duran knows math test scores are falling across the district and across all demographics, as measured by MAP, SOL and NWEA scores. Yet he literally sent an email saying he was going to watch and wait. That's not okay.

State standards being different than than off the shelf curriculums has been an issue for ages. You can work with the publisher to get a special edition made or put together your own rubric to tell teachers how to match the curriculum to standards. But APS hasn't provided a solution for teachers and isn't even looking for a way to do so because they don't think falling test scores are a problem.

APS only got its act together and dropped Lucy Caulkins after there was nationwide uproar that compelled it to act. Parents need to speak up and tell Syphax to get off its duff and do its job. This isn't an unsolvable problem. APS administrators are just lazy and would prefer to talk more about DEI and make excuses instead of doing their jobs.

yes it's been an issue for ages but youngkin is gov and has been for 4 years and didnt' fix it

Youngkin pushed for more advanced math classes and harder SOL standards. That's something. We now have Math 6 Intensified, a very needed course, only because of Youngkin. I'm not a Republican but am very glad APS now offers that course. There was too big a gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra, leaving many kids either bored or underwater.

Math 6 intensified wasn't because of Youngkin. Duran finally gave us more intensified classes in middle school. But you will never give him credit for that or anything else will you?

You are wrong. Math 6 Intensified was added over the summer, in a rush, in order to meet requirements in a new law passed by Youngkin's administration. APS was forced into it.

Math 6 intensified is not new this year. I don’t recall when it was added but kids were in it for at least the last 2 years, based on what my friends with older kids tell me. Math 6 advanced was added over the summer because the VA legislature passed a law last spring requiring all kids who score in the top X% of VA SOLs to be in an “advanced math” class. Math 6 intensified is a lot, 3 years in one, so math 6 advanced was created to be something between that and regular Math 6.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So… upon review of VA’s math standards (elementary anyway), it’s pretty obvious that they just… aren’t that rigorous.

Purchase ANY decent math curriculum and consistently use it. Many of them surpass VA’s standards!

Then complain to the state. Get VA to align to common core. This isn’t an APS issue.

Huh? No need to complain to the state when many math programs DO cover (and exceed!) current standards. APS just needs to pick one and teachers need to actually use it.

Envision is crap, but there are many good options.

You should complain to the state because the state standards are not rigorous enough and the issue with unaligned curriculum would go aware if VA went to common core.

There's no rule against exceeding the state standard. That's a minimum.

It gets hard to match up when the local curriculum is different from the state's. And also there's the issue with curriculum literally not matching. There are tons that match common core. But there are some who want to undermine public ed and get vouchers so maybe that's just you instead of looking to the real source of the problem which is Youngkin.

APS not having math curriculum has nothing to do with Youngkin or vouchers. It was the situation before Youngkin and will be after Youngkin. It's an APS issue. Duran knows math test scores are falling across the district and across all demographics, as measured by MAP, SOL and NWEA scores. Yet he literally sent an email saying he was going to watch and wait. That's not okay.

State standards being different than than off the shelf curriculums has been an issue for ages. You can work with the publisher to get a special edition made or put together your own rubric to tell teachers how to match the curriculum to standards. But APS hasn't provided a solution for teachers and isn't even looking for a way to do so because they don't think falling test scores are a problem.

APS only got its act together and dropped Lucy Caulkins after there was nationwide uproar that compelled it to act. Parents need to speak up and tell Syphax to get off its duff and do its job. This isn't an unsolvable problem. APS administrators are just lazy and would prefer to talk more about DEI and make excuses instead of doing their jobs.

yes it's been an issue for ages but youngkin is gov and has been for 4 years and didnt' fix it

Youngkin pushed for more advanced math classes and harder SOL standards. That's something. We now have Math 6 Intensified, a very needed course, only because of Youngkin. I'm not a Republican but am very glad APS now offers that course. There was too big a gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra, leaving many kids either bored or underwater.

Math 6 intensified wasn't because of Youngkin. Duran finally gave us more intensified classes in middle school. But you will never give him credit for that or anything else will you?

You are wrong. Math 6 Intensified was added over the summer, in a rush, in order to meet requirements in a new law passed by Youngkin's administration. APS was forced into it.

Math 6 intensified is not new this year. I don’t recall when it was added but kids were in it for at least the last 2 years, based on what my friends with older kids tell me. Math 6 advanced was added over the summer because the VA legislature passed a law last spring requiring all kids who score in the top X% of VA SOLs to be in an “advanced math” class. Math 6 intensified is a lot, 3 years in one, so math 6 advanced was created to be something between that and regular Math 6.

This is all incorrect. The class that is math 6-7-8 is called Pre-Algebra for 6th grade, not Math 6 Intensified. There was a new class added over the summer because of Youngkin 's new law. It fills be gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra. It's absolutely new and a class APS resisted adding it for years until they were forced to do so by this new law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:So… upon review of VA’s math standards (elementary anyway), it’s pretty obvious that they just… aren’t that rigorous.

Purchase ANY decent math curriculum and consistently use it. Many of them surpass VA’s standards!

Then complain to the state. Get VA to align to common core. This isn’t an APS issue.

Huh? No need to complain to the state when many math programs DO cover (and exceed!) current standards. APS just needs to pick one and teachers need to actually use it.

Envision is crap, but there are many good options.

You should complain to the state because the state standards are not rigorous enough and the issue with unaligned curriculum would go aware if VA went to common core.

There's no rule against exceeding the state standard. That's a minimum.

It gets hard to match up when the local curriculum is different from the state's. And also there's the issue with curriculum literally not matching. There are tons that match common core. But there are some who want to undermine public ed and get vouchers so maybe that's just you instead of looking to the real source of the problem which is Youngkin.

APS not having math curriculum has nothing to do with Youngkin or vouchers. It was the situation before Youngkin and will be after Youngkin. It's an APS issue. Duran knows math test scores are falling across the district and across all demographics, as measured by MAP, SOL and NWEA scores. Yet he literally sent an email saying he was going to watch and wait. That's not okay.

State standards being different than than off the shelf curriculums has been an issue for ages. You can work with the publisher to get a special edition made or put together your own rubric to tell teachers how to match the curriculum to standards. But APS hasn't provided a solution for teachers and isn't even looking for a way to do so because they don't think falling test scores are a problem.

APS only got its act together and dropped Lucy Caulkins after there was nationwide uproar that compelled it to act. Parents need to speak up and tell Syphax to get off its duff and do its job. This isn't an unsolvable problem. APS administrators are just lazy and would prefer to talk more about DEI and make excuses instead of doing their jobs.

yes it's been an issue for ages but youngkin is gov and has been for 4 years and didnt' fix it

Youngkin pushed for more advanced math classes and harder SOL standards. That's something. We now have Math 6 Intensified, a very needed course, only because of Youngkin. I'm not a Republican but am very glad APS now offers that course. There was too big a gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra, leaving many kids either bored or underwater.

Math 6 intensified wasn't because of Youngkin. Duran finally gave us more intensified classes in middle school. But you will never give him credit for that or anything else will you?

You are wrong. Math 6 Intensified was added over the summer, in a rush, in order to meet requirements in a new law passed by Youngkin's administration. APS was forced into it.

Math 6 intensified is not new this year. I don’t recall when it was added but kids were in it for at least the last 2 years, based on what my friends with older kids tell me. Math 6 advanced was added over the summer because the VA legislature passed a law last spring requiring all kids who score in the top X% of VA SOLs to be in an “advanced math” class. Math 6 intensified is a lot, 3 years in one, so math 6 advanced was created to be something between that and regular Math 6.

This is all incorrect. The class that is math 6-7-8 is called Pre-Algebra for 6th grade, not Math 6 Intensified. There was a new class added over the summer because of Youngkin 's new law. It fills be gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra. It's absolutely new and a class APS resisted adding it for years until they were forced to do so by this new law.

We're saying the same thing. Math 6 Advanced is the class added over the summer to, as you say, fill the gap.

You're correct that Math 6 Intensified is the name of an older class. Pre-Algebra for 6th grade is the name of the most advanced math class for 6th graders this year, not sure if it was called that the last two years. But again, the existence of an advanced math class and a "regular" math class is NOT new this year. The new class this year was the THIRD class to fill the gap between the other two. It was added because of legislation VA passed Spring 2025.

[Anonymous]

Here is the only math pathways for middle school which I can find.
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/MS-Pathways-SY21.pdf

The url indicates this is from SY 2021. It does NOT include the 3rd 6th grade math class added this year, but it does show that there has been more than just 1 6th grade math class since at lease 2021.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So… upon review of VA’s math standards (elementary anyway), it’s pretty obvious that they just… aren’t that rigorous.

Purchase ANY decent math curriculum and consistently use it. Many of them surpass VA’s standards!

Then complain to the state. Get VA to align to common core. This isn’t an APS issue.

Huh? No need to complain to the state when many math programs DO cover (and exceed!) current standards. APS just needs to pick one and teachers need to actually use it.

Envision is crap, but there are many good options.

You should complain to the state because the state standards are not rigorous enough and the issue with unaligned curriculum would go aware if VA went to common core.

There's no rule against exceeding the state standard. That's a minimum.

It gets hard to match up when the local curriculum is different from the state's. And also there's the issue with curriculum literally not matching. There are tons that match common core. But there are some who want to undermine public ed and get vouchers so maybe that's just you instead of looking to the real source of the problem which is Youngkin.

APS not having math curriculum has nothing to do with Youngkin or vouchers. It was the situation before Youngkin and will be after Youngkin. It's an APS issue. Duran knows math test scores are falling across the district and across all demographics, as measured by MAP, SOL and NWEA scores. Yet he literally sent an email saying he was going to watch and wait. That's not okay.

State standards being different than than off the shelf curriculums has been an issue for ages. You can work with the publisher to get a special edition made or put together your own rubric to tell teachers how to match the curriculum to standards. But APS hasn't provided a solution for teachers and isn't even looking for a way to do so because they don't think falling test scores are a problem.

APS only got its act together and dropped Lucy Caulkins after there was nationwide uproar that compelled it to act. Parents need to speak up and tell Syphax to get off its duff and do its job. This isn't an unsolvable problem. APS administrators are just lazy and would prefer to talk more about DEI and make excuses instead of doing their jobs.

yes it's been an issue for ages but youngkin is gov and has been for 4 years and didnt' fix it

Youngkin pushed for more advanced math classes and harder SOL standards. That's something. We now have Math 6 Intensified, a very needed course, only because of Youngkin. I'm not a Republican but am very glad APS now offers that course. There was too big a gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra, leaving many kids either bored or underwater.

Math 6 intensified wasn't because of Youngkin. Duran finally gave us more intensified classes in middle school. But you will never give him credit for that or anything else will you?

You are wrong. Math 6 Intensified was added over the summer, in a rush, in order to meet requirements in a new law passed by Youngkin's administration. APS was forced into it.

Math 6 intensified is not new this year. I don’t recall when it was added but kids were in it for at least the last 2 years, based on what my friends with older kids tell me. Math 6 advanced was added over the summer because the VA legislature passed a law last spring requiring all kids who score in the top X% of VA SOLs to be in an “advanced math” class. Math 6 intensified is a lot, 3 years in one, so math 6 advanced was created to be something between that and regular Math 6.

This is all incorrect. The class that is math 6-7-8 is called Pre-Algebra for 6th grade, not Math 6 Intensified. There was a new class added over the summer because of Youngkin 's new law. It fills be gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra. It's absolutely new and a class APS resisted adding it for years until they were forced to do so by this new law.

We're saying the same thing. Math 6 Advanced is the class added over the summer to, as you say, fill the gap.

You're correct that Math 6 Intensified is the name of an older class. Pre-Algebra for 6th grade is the name of the most advanced math class for 6th graders this year, not sure if it was called that the last two years. But again, the existence of an advanced math class and a "regular" math class is NOT new this year. The new class this year was the THIRD class to fill the gap between the other two. It was added because of legislation VA passed Spring 2025.

No it's not. You're still wrong. There was nothing between Math 6 and Pre-algebra last year for 6th graders. Now there is a class in between, and only because of the new law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So… upon review of VA’s math standards (elementary anyway), it’s pretty obvious that they just… aren’t that rigorous.

Purchase ANY decent math curriculum and consistently use it. Many of them surpass VA’s standards!

Then complain to the state. Get VA to align to common core. This isn’t an APS issue.

Huh? No need to complain to the state when many math programs DO cover (and exceed!) current standards. APS just needs to pick one and teachers need to actually use it.

Envision is crap, but there are many good options.

You should complain to the state because the state standards are not rigorous enough and the issue with unaligned curriculum would go aware if VA went to common core.

There's no rule against exceeding the state standard. That's a minimum.

It gets hard to match up when the local curriculum is different from the state's. And also there's the issue with curriculum literally not matching. There are tons that match common core. But there are some who want to undermine public ed and get vouchers so maybe that's just you instead of looking to the real source of the problem which is Youngkin.

APS not having math curriculum has nothing to do with Youngkin or vouchers. It was the situation before Youngkin and will be after Youngkin. It's an APS issue. Duran knows math test scores are falling across the district and across all demographics, as measured by MAP, SOL and NWEA scores. Yet he literally sent an email saying he was going to watch and wait. That's not okay.

State standards being different than than off the shelf curriculums has been an issue for ages. You can work with the publisher to get a special edition made or put together your own rubric to tell teachers how to match the curriculum to standards. But APS hasn't provided a solution for teachers and isn't even looking for a way to do so because they don't think falling test scores are a problem.

APS only got its act together and dropped Lucy Caulkins after there was nationwide uproar that compelled it to act. Parents need to speak up and tell Syphax to get off its duff and do its job. This isn't an unsolvable problem. APS administrators are just lazy and would prefer to talk more about DEI and make excuses instead of doing their jobs.

yes it's been an issue for ages but youngkin is gov and has been for 4 years and didnt' fix it

Youngkin pushed for more advanced math classes and harder SOL standards. That's something. We now have Math 6 Intensified, a very needed course, only because of Youngkin. I'm not a Republican but am very glad APS now offers that course. There was too big a gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra, leaving many kids either bored or underwater.

Math 6 intensified wasn't because of Youngkin. Duran finally gave us more intensified classes in middle school. But you will never give him credit for that or anything else will you?

You are wrong. Math 6 Intensified was added over the summer, in a rush, in order to meet requirements in a new law passed by Youngkin's administration. APS was forced into it.

Math 6 intensified is not new this year. I don’t recall when it was added but kids were in it for at least the last 2 years, based on what my friends with older kids tell me. Math 6 advanced was added over the summer because the VA legislature passed a law last spring requiring all kids who score in the top X% of VA SOLs to be in an “advanced math” class. Math 6 intensified is a lot, 3 years in one, so math 6 advanced was created to be something between that and regular Math 6.

This is all incorrect. The class that is math 6-7-8 is called Pre-Algebra for 6th grade, not Math 6 Intensified. There was a new class added over the summer because of Youngkin 's new law. It fills be gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra. It's absolutely new and a class APS resisted adding it for years until they were forced to do so by this new law.

We're saying the same thing. Math 6 Advanced is the class added over the summer to, as you say, fill the gap.

You're correct that Math 6 Intensified is the name of an older class. Pre-Algebra for 6th grade is the name of the most advanced math class for 6th graders this year, not sure if it was called that the last two years. But again, the existence of an advanced math class and a "regular" math class is NOT new this year. The new class this year was the THIRD class to fill the gap between the other two. It was added because of legislation VA passed Spring 2025.

No it's not. You're still wrong. There was nothing between Math 6 and Pre-algebra last year for 6th graders. Now there is a class in between, and only because of the new law.

That's exactly what PP is saying...last year there were two math options for 6th graders: on-grade level math and advanced math (pre-algebra). This year, there is another advanced option (a third class), which is more challenging than on-grade level math but not quite as challenging as pre-algebra. You want so badly for PP to be wrong that you're not fully reading the post.
-DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So… upon review of VA’s math standards (elementary anyway), it’s pretty obvious that they just… aren’t that rigorous.

Purchase ANY decent math curriculum and consistently use it. Many of them surpass VA’s standards!

Then complain to the state. Get VA to align to common core. This isn’t an APS issue.

Huh? No need to complain to the state when many math programs DO cover (and exceed!) current standards. APS just needs to pick one and teachers need to actually use it.

Envision is crap, but there are many good options.

You should complain to the state because the state standards are not rigorous enough and the issue with unaligned curriculum would go aware if VA went to common core.

There's no rule against exceeding the state standard. That's a minimum.

It gets hard to match up when the local curriculum is different from the state's. And also there's the issue with curriculum literally not matching. There are tons that match common core. But there are some who want to undermine public ed and get vouchers so maybe that's just you instead of looking to the real source of the problem which is Youngkin.

APS not having math curriculum has nothing to do with Youngkin or vouchers. It was the situation before Youngkin and will be after Youngkin. It's an APS issue. Duran knows math test scores are falling across the district and across all demographics, as measured by MAP, SOL and NWEA scores. Yet he literally sent an email saying he was going to watch and wait. That's not okay.

State standards being different than than off the shelf curriculums has been an issue for ages. You can work with the publisher to get a special edition made or put together your own rubric to tell teachers how to match the curriculum to standards. But APS hasn't provided a solution for teachers and isn't even looking for a way to do so because they don't think falling test scores are a problem.

APS only got its act together and dropped Lucy Caulkins after there was nationwide uproar that compelled it to act. Parents need to speak up and tell Syphax to get off its duff and do its job. This isn't an unsolvable problem. APS administrators are just lazy and would prefer to talk more about DEI and make excuses instead of doing their jobs.

yes it's been an issue for ages but youngkin is gov and has been for 4 years and didnt' fix it

Youngkin pushed for more advanced math classes and harder SOL standards. That's something. We now have Math 6 Intensified, a very needed course, only because of Youngkin. I'm not a Republican but am very glad APS now offers that course. There was too big a gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra, leaving many kids either bored or underwater.

Math 6 intensified wasn't because of Youngkin. Duran finally gave us more intensified classes in middle school. But you will never give him credit for that or anything else will you?

You are wrong. Math 6 Intensified was added over the summer, in a rush, in order to meet requirements in a new law passed by Youngkin's administration. APS was forced into it.

Math 6 intensified is not new this year. I don’t recall when it was added but kids were in it for at least the last 2 years, based on what my friends with older kids tell me. Math 6 advanced was added over the summer because the VA legislature passed a law last spring requiring all kids who score in the top X% of VA SOLs to be in an “advanced math” class. Math 6 intensified is a lot, 3 years in one, so math 6 advanced was created to be something between that and regular Math 6.

This is all incorrect. The class that is math 6-7-8 is called Pre-Algebra for 6th grade, not Math 6 Intensified. There was a new class added over the summer because of Youngkin 's new law. It fills be gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra. It's absolutely new and a class APS resisted adding it for years until they were forced to do so by this new law.

We're saying the same thing. Math 6 Advanced is the class added over the summer to, as you say, fill the gap.

You're correct that Math 6 Intensified is the name of an older class. Pre-Algebra for 6th grade is the name of the most advanced math class for 6th graders this year, not sure if it was called that the last two years. But again, the existence of an advanced math class and a "regular" math class is NOT new this year. The new class this year was the THIRD class to fill the gap between the other two. It was added because of legislation VA passed Spring 2025.

No it's not. You're still wrong. There was nothing between Math 6 and Pre-algebra last year for 6th graders. Now there is a class in between, and only because of the new law.

This conversation started as a disagreement about whether there was any advanced math for 6th graders in APS prior to Youngkin. It got confusing because of mixed up class names. There were 2 math classes for 6th graders last year: pre-algebra and Math 6. Now there are 3 math classes for 6th graders: pre-algebra, Math 6 Advanced, and Math 6.

The first person said "We now have Math 6 Intensified, a very needed course, only because of Youngkin." As has been pointed out, there is no "Math 6 Intensified." I think some posters thought "Math 6 Intensified" was the name of the math class that was/is more advanced than Math 6, which is actually pre-algebra and which existed before this past summer. The poster probably meant "Math 6 Advanced."

See this comment: "Math 6 intensified wasn't because of Youngkin. Duran finally gave us more intensified classes in middle school. But you will never give him credit for that or anything else will you?" This poster probably meant to reference pre-algebra and thought the poster they responded to thought there had only been one math class for all 6 graders before this past summer.

Then someone replied "You are wrong. Math 6 Intensified was added over the summer." This person probably meant to reference Math 6 Advanced which was added over the summer. The PP they responded to correct there had been 2 math classes before this summer.

Then "Math 6 intensified is not new this year...." This person probably meant pre-algebra.

Then someone wrote "There was a new class added over the summer because of Youngkin 's new law. It fills be gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra." This new class is Math 6 Advanced, and yes, it fills in between Math 6 and pre-algebra.

Bottom line, there were two math classes for 6th graders before this year. Now there is a third, between the other two, and yes, this 3rd class is due to the new law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arlington has to pay its teachers more. How do we compete if Loudoun pays more? Although it won’t solve these problems, it will help new problems from developing.

Although temporarily we were not, we are again now the highest paying county in the region iirc.

Teachers here are paid very well. Should they shrink the staff that is not student facing - yes. Half seems to have been brought over from Alexandria so they can sit here and earn more while doing less. Also, we are a super welcoming county we really do not need 100 translators at every event, and no, we do not need entire diversity and equity offices at every school and at headquarters.