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

[Anonymous]

I’m too tired to do this now, but I hope someone will explain subgroup size, the subgroup reporting requirements, and how that skews the data in — if I may say so — stupid systems like this.

[Anonymous]

A whole bunch of schools are now apparently failing. Will the VDOE actually give supports and funding to these schools to bring their scores up or is it an unfunded mandate that APS is just supposed to figure out?

Or is this just a way to point fingers so that Virginia goes the charter school and voucher route leaving the most vulnerable kids with even less funding in their public schools?

[Anonymous]

The middle schools are reasonably tightly clustered, as are the high schools. Some differences, but none of the schools are failing (excluding Arlington Community High, which should really be evaluated differently, IMO).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We knew this would happen when Youngkin’s board of ed proposed the new standards a year or so ago. They knew then how many and which schools would be labeled “off track” and “needs intensive support.” They’re new labels applied to the same test scores that used to be considered okay. It’s all part of the relentless attack on public schools to argue for vouchers and a two-tiered system.

The governor's office will be blue come January. Hopefully this assessment will be used to support those schools and isn't just thrown out because it was ordered by Youngkin. If there are schools in need of intensive supports, they should be provided. If there are schools off track, that should be fixed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The middle schools are reasonably tightly clustered, as are the high schools. Some differences, but none of the schools are failing (excluding Arlington Community High, which should really be evaluated differently, IMO).

But if so many elementary schools are falling behind and not preparing the students for the next level. how will the middle school and high school assessment numbers look 3-6 years from now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The middle schools are reasonably tightly clustered, as are the high schools. Some differences, but none of the schools are failing (excluding Arlington Community High, which should really be evaluated differently, IMO).

But if so many elementary schools are falling behind and not preparing the students for the next level. how will the middle school and high school assessment numbers look 3-6 years from now?

I don't think those elementary schools were doing better a few years ago. The current middle schoolers were all affected hard by COVID. I'm suspicious that there is catching up that seems to be happening by middle school or you'd see a bigger impact from unprepared kids arriving from poor performing elementary schools. I have to work, but it would be interesting to look through that data more closely.

[Anonymous]

Weren’t most of the elementary schools in APS failing only with respect to serving students with disabilities? Not all of the students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work at another school that is on the list and IMO it’s justified. I am neither a fan or huge critic of Duran though I feel he is partially responsible for some of what is happening. When I talk to friends across the county they have similar concerns. The way we are educating special education students and ELs is not supportive in many cases. At the same time there have been huge cultural shifts in parenting that are impacting achievement.

THIS. This is the problem, and there’s nothing Duran can do to fix it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work at another school that is on the list and IMO it’s justified. I am neither a fan or huge critic of Duran though I feel he is partially responsible for some of what is happening. When I talk to friends across the county they have similar concerns. The way we are educating special education students and ELs is not supportive in many cases. At the same time there have been huge cultural shifts in parenting that are impacting achievement.

THIS. This is the problem, and there’s nothing Duran can do to fix it.

Fix it entirely? No. But there is a huge amount schools can do to boost performance and outcomes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work at another school that is on the list and IMO it’s justified. I am neither a fan or huge critic of Duran though I feel he is partially responsible for some of what is happening. When I talk to friends across the county they have similar concerns. The way we are educating special education students and ELs is not supportive in many cases. At the same time there have been huge cultural shifts in parenting that are impacting achievement.

THIS. This is the problem, and there’s nothing Duran can do to fix it.

Fix it entirely? No. But there is a huge amount schools can do to boost performance and outcomes.

I guess they could hire a bunch of people to show up at students’ homes and make them go to school. Maybe these same people can be 1:1 aides for students who don’t know how to behave/pay attention in school.

Is it a shock that students who just entered the country and speak little to no English don’t perform well?

These are huge problems, and no, we don’t need to throw ALL of our resources in that direction. All of the money in the world can’t fix parental IFGAF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work at another school that is on the list and IMO it’s justified. I am neither a fan or huge critic of Duran though I feel he is partially responsible for some of what is happening. When I talk to friends across the county they have similar concerns. The way we are educating special education students and ELs is not supportive in many cases. At the same time there have been huge cultural shifts in parenting that are impacting achievement.

THIS. This is the problem, and there’s nothing Duran can do to fix it.

Fix it entirely? No. But there is a huge amount schools can do to boost performance and outcomes.

Like WHAT? Seriously, what — specifically — would you do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m too tired to do this now, but I hope someone will explain subgroup size, the subgroup reporting requirements, and how that skews the data in — if I may say so — stupid systems like this.

Someone? Anyone?

[Anonymous]

APS cut self contained rooms, pushes kids out of MIPAA programs and shoots for 80% of SPED students in gen ed 80% of the time. It’s a huge failure and does damage to SPED students and their gen ed peers.

[Anonymous]

Just another way to demonstrate schools’ SES levels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:APS cut self contained rooms, pushes kids out of MIPAA programs and shoots for 80% of SPED students in gen ed 80% of the time. It’s a huge failure and does damage to SPED students and their gen ed peers.

This is such a problem. No one benefits and everyone is disrupted in the name of inclusion.