School board reckoning?

[Anonymous]

This is the hard truth and anyone who has worked in a “bad” school knows this. Thanks t doesn’t mean you don’t work like hell to help kids try to get caught up or achieve their potential. But teachers are not miracle workers and cannot overcome a bad home environment with parents who don’t care.

And busing them to a different school won't solve the problem. Just covers it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate Chief Equity Officer position and use savings to hire additional teachers.

No more speaker stipends over $5000 for CRT-pushing hucksters like Ibram Kendi.

No $2M contracts with outside vendors for SEL surveys with loaded questions exploring student attitudes about race, sexuality, and drugs.

No more taxpayer-subsidized teacher training courses using textbooks or materials that draw heavily from CRT texts.

Stop spending scarce FCPS resources on an "equity dashboard" with "equity profiles."

No more school name changes without clear support of the majority of the affected school communities.

Moratorium on development of "anti-racism, anti-bias" education policy until academic remediation efforts have raised test scores to pre-Covid levels.

Termination of contracts with NYC-based "Leadership Academy" and boundary review consultant.

Restoration of prior FCPS "controversial issues policy" successfully in place for many years.

Removal of "Lewis Social Justice & Advocacy Academy" proposal from School Board calendar until at least 2024.

Reinstatement of math/science aptitude testing requirements for admission to TJHSST.

Excellent summary. I would also suggest raising hourly pay for substitute teachers. 14usd per hour? I want motivated folks with college degrees to substitute teach my kids. Especially given the large amount of school holidays, when teachers like to take additional days off and schools struggle to find subs.

+1m all of the above

YES. I'd vote for the pp with this list. Please run!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not PP but having different opinions doesn’t mean someone is out of touch, it means they do not agree with you. I’m not happy with the SB either but I think right wingers completely astroturfed social media-including this forum-and convinced parents Democrats alone are responsible for the fall of education. Ignoring the changing demographics that contribute to local systems being overwhelmed. Ignoring that Republican led states often completely undermine public education and do not have good outcomes. Ignoring that CRT is not a thing. And that outsiders were brought in to stir crap up. That charter schools and vouchers have failed miserably in most cases bc they are not held to any standards.
You can call me names, be patronizing, etc, I still do not agree with you PPs. And yes, I am paying attention. I will vote for SB who are focused on academics in 2023. But this? Sticking it to the Dems when there is so much more at stake? Nah.

Democrats alone run the fcps school board, the lcps school board, the aps school board, the fcc school board, the arps school hoard and the Virginia Departmemt of Ed and have for many years.

So yes, without exception, the democratic party owns all of the school issues in northern Virginia.

And none of that changed by electing Youngkin.

Congrats on accomplishing nothing.

Virginia Department of Ed will change almost immediately after his inauguration.

He is going to be firing the current appointees and replacing them with professionals who value education, rigor and excellence over indoctrination, low standards and racism.

Just think, once Youngkin gets his policies in place, our teachers can return to using their planning days on things like literacy and math skills, instead of spending all their training hours on Ibrahim X and white privilege.

I really hope so. I’m worried it will be all about charter schools and cutting spending.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With the governor's race ending up the way it did, will the FCPS school board now tone down their nonsense out of fear of being kicked out at the next election?

Very cringe because you think you just voted out the school board when in fact you voted for governor.

Precisely, a lot of dumb people were duped.

Nope, we are patient. We’re coming for the school board next.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Republicans are idiots
They literally voted in Youngkin on the CRT issue .

Now he’s going to “ban” crt 😂 given it was never taught in schools that’s pretty amazing

As for these school board crazies good luck VA you just voted to destroy schools. And now have screaming religious zealots with their lovely Church going behaviors. Fun times!

Saying that CRT was "never taught in schools" is the latest mating call for progressives in denial who just got their asses handed to them on a platter.

No one was claiming 4th graders were being forced to read law-school texts on CRT. What has been said - and, correctly so - is that CRT-motivated pedagogy is now standard training in school systems like FCPS, and then impacts entire school systems. Here is an excerpt from part of the introduction to one of the leading CRT treatises:

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1456228658134323200/photo/1

When a bumbling educrat like Scott Brabrand spends the better part of the last two years claiming "equity is at the center of everything we do," that is more than a slight nod to CRT. And it really isn't helping anyone, except the "anti-racist" experts and consultancies, like the one founded by Merrick Garland's son-in-law, who get rich milking school systems to sell their speeches, training sessions, and surveys.

What's ironic is that this same group of people will argue until their face is red, that there are things such as implicit bias, or that our systems are inherently racist even though they are not outwardly or explicitly racist. But when it comes to CRT, all of a sudden, even explicit references to CRT ideology and terminology is somehow not CRT because it's not the whole thing that is taught in college courses.

Stop laser-focusing on "CRT" then and articulate exactly what it is that you want to go away. Stop throwing tantrums and use your words.

Eliminate Chief Equity Officer position and use savings to hire additional teachers.

No more speaker stipends over $5000 for CRT-pushing hucksters like Ibram Kendi.

No $2M contracts with outside vendors for SEL surveys with loaded questions exploring student attitudes about race, sexuality, and drugs.

No more taxpayer-subsidized teacher training courses using textbooks or materials that draw heavily from CRT texts.

Stop spending scarce FCPS resources on an "equity dashboard" with "equity profiles."

No more school name changes without clear support of the majority of the affected school communities.

Moratorium on development of "anti-racism, anti-bias" education policy until academic remediation efforts have raised test scores to pre-Covid levels.

Termination of contracts with NYC-based "Leadership Academy" and boundary review consultant.

Restoration of prior FCPS "controversial issues policy" successfully in place for many years.

Removal of "Lewis Social Justice & Advocacy Academy" proposal from School Board calendar until at least 2024.

Reinstatement of math/science aptitude testing requirements for admission to TJHSST.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Republicans are idiots
They literally voted in Youngkin on the CRT issue .

Now he’s going to “ban” crt 😂 given it was never taught in schools that’s pretty amazing

As for these school board crazies good luck VA you just voted to destroy schools. And now have screaming religious zealots with their lovely Church going behaviors. Fun times!

Saying that CRT was "never taught in schools" is the latest mating call for progressives in denial who just got their asses handed to them on a platter.

No one was claiming 4th graders were being forced to read law-school texts on CRT. What has been said - and, correctly so - is that CRT-motivated pedagogy is now standard training in school systems like FCPS, and then impacts entire school systems. Here is an excerpt from part of the introduction to one of the leading CRT treatises:

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1456228658134323200/photo/1

When a bumbling educrat like Scott Brabrand spends the better part of the last two years claiming "equity is at the center of everything we do," that is more than a slight nod to CRT. And it really isn't helping anyone, except the "anti-racist" experts and consultancies, like the one founded by Merrick Garland's son-in-law, who get rich milking school systems to sell their speeches, training sessions, and surveys.

What's ironic is that this same group of people will argue until their face is red, that there are things such as implicit bias, or that our systems are inherently racist even though they are not outwardly or explicitly racist. But when it comes to CRT, all of a sudden, even explicit references to CRT ideology and terminology is somehow not CRT because it's not the whole thing that is taught in college courses.

Stop laser-focusing on "CRT" then and articulate exactly what it is that you want to go away. Stop throwing tantrums and use your words.

Eliminate Chief Equity Officer position and use savings to hire additional teachers.

No more speaker stipends over $5000 for CRT-pushing hucksters like Ibram Kendi.

No $2M contracts with outside vendors for SEL surveys with loaded questions exploring student attitudes about race, sexuality, and drugs.

No more taxpayer-subsidized teacher training courses using textbooks or materials that draw heavily from CRT texts.

Stop spending scarce FCPS resources on an "equity dashboard" with "equity profiles."

No more school name changes without clear support of the majority of the affected school communities.

Moratorium on development of "anti-racism, anti-bias" education policy until academic remediation efforts have raised test scores to pre-Covid levels.

Termination of contracts with NYC-based "Leadership Academy" and boundary review consultant.

Restoration of prior FCPS "controversial issues policy" successfully in place for many years.

Removal of "Lewis Social Justice & Advocacy Academy" proposal from School Board calendar until at least 2024.

Reinstatement of math/science aptitude testing requirements for admission to TJHSST.

+1000

Yes! Could I add an extensive review of all IB programs in high schools?

[Anonymous]

Yes f the lower income kids, why should they get the same good quality education as us especially at Langley.

No more bussing and no more equity, why should I have to work myself half to death to get them up to grade level. It’s just too much, it’s insane, I’m not god, I cannot create miracles okrrr

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This is the hard truth and anyone who has worked in a “bad” school knows this. Thanks t doesn’t mean you don’t work like hell to help kids try to get caught up or achieve their potential. But teachers are not miracle workers and cannot overcome a bad home environment with parents who don’t care.

And busing them to a different school won't solve the problem. Just covers it up.

For the most part I think everyone should go to schools closest to their house. I don't like that that makes poverty concentrated in certain schools. I am not so sure how to easily change that, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not PP but having different opinions doesn’t mean someone is out of touch, it means they do not agree with you. I’m not happy with the SB either but I think right wingers completely astroturfed social media-including this forum-and convinced parents Democrats alone are responsible for the fall of education. Ignoring the changing demographics that contribute to local systems being overwhelmed. Ignoring that Republican led states often completely undermine public education and do not have good outcomes. Ignoring that CRT is not a thing. And that outsiders were brought in to stir crap up. That charter schools and vouchers have failed miserably in most cases bc they are not held to any standards.
You can call me names, be patronizing, etc, I still do not agree with you PPs. And yes, I am paying attention. I will vote for SB who are focused on academics in 2023. But this? Sticking it to the Dems when there is so much more at stake? Nah.

Democrats alone run the fcps school board, the lcps school board, the aps school board, the fcc school board, the arps school hoard and the Virginia Departmemt of Ed and have for many years.

So yes, without exception, the democratic party owns all of the school issues in northern Virginia.

And none of that changed by electing Youngkin.

Congrats on accomplishing nothing.

Virginia Department of Ed will change almost immediately after his inauguration.

He is going to be firing the current appointees and replacing them with professionals who value education, rigor and excellence over indoctrination, low standards and racism.

Just think, once Youngkin gets his policies in place, our teachers can return to using their planning days on things like literacy and math skills, instead of spending all their training hours on Ibrahim X and white privilege.

I really hope so. I’m worried it will be all about charter schools and cutting spending.

Plan is to announce the new secretary of education on December 30th, so you'll know even before the inauguration.

[Anonymous]

Getting rid of Qarni is a great step in the right direction. Getting rid of the incompetent, hypocritical hacks on the FCPS School Board in 2023 will be even better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes f the lower income kids, why should they get the same good quality education as us especially at Langley.

No more bussing and no more equity, why should I have to work myself half to death to get them up to grade level. It’s just too much, it’s insane, I’m not god, I cannot create miracles okrrr

There is no busing. The only kids who are bused are kids going to the AAP Centers. And most of those kids are not the lower income kids that you are worried about. The kids moving from the Title I school to the AAP Center are the Middle Class kids whose parents bought into a Title I school boundary so they could afford a bigger house in FCPS. They wanted the 4-5 bedroom house with big kitchen but couldn't pay McLean/Great Falls/Vienna prices so they bought into Dogwood and now they want to leave Dogwood ES. The lower income kids at Dogwood tend to stay at Dogwood because the parents don't understand AAP or don't/can't deal with kids at different schedules.

No one is saying that the kids in Title I schools shouldn't receive a quality education. What people are saying is that you should not lower the standards at other schools so that the gap between the Title I schools and the other schools looks to be less. Lowering the standards for MC and UMC class kids does not solve the problem at Title I schools. It does a crappy job of hiding the problem but it doesn't solve the problem.

The reality is that people with lower levels of education tend to value education less then people with higher levels of education. People with lower levels of education tend to read less to their kids when they are babies/toddlers/in preschool ages. They tend to play fewer games with their kids that would teach reading, math, and problem solving. There is a ton of research out there showing the correlation between income level and a child's preparedness for school and a child's performance in school.

Kids from MC and UMC families start school with a huge advantage in learning because they had parents who engaged with them in academic subjects in non-academic ways. The kids of MC and UMC families tend to have been read to, they know their sounds and letters and numbers. They know their colors and shapes. They have been exposed to math and science through trips to museums and watching TV shows that are meant to stimulate those interests.

PreK programs like Head Start are meant to help bridge that gap but they can only do so much. And parents have to be willing to enroll their kids in Head Start, or similar programs, which means learning about the program, working through the process to enroll the child, and get the child to the program. Those are hurdles that many lower income families struggle with.

Title I schools receive additional funds and have smaller classes and provide more supports for kids because we want to address this educational gap but the gap continues to grow.

Screwing over the kids of MC and UMC families in public schools does nothing to help the kids of lower income families. It is not helping those kids catch up it is simply stunting kids whose parents are better off.

I would not oppose a program to bus kids from Title I schools MC and UMC schools. If the parents could volunteer their kids to participate and the parents wanted their kids to attend those schools. And if there were supports in place in K-2 to help those kids address the gaps that exist. I suspect that the families who would take that option would be the same families desperate to send their kids to the AAP Center because they want to escpae the school. Kind of like the families who say they want their kid to go to an AP program in high school isn't IB. The parents really don't care about the IB, they just don't want their kid at Justice or Lewis or Mt. Vernon and AP is the excuse for leaving for a different high school.

I would not oppose a program to bus kids from MC and UMC kids to Title I schools if there are parents who want to do that. But I seriously doubt that would happen. I can't see a parent at Great Falls or any of the Langley or McLean pyramids being willing to send their kids to Hutchinson or Dogwood.

The equity agenda that the School Board has been pushing does nothing to fix the systemic causes of the education gap and only hinders the education of kids whose parents are are middle and upper middle class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

This is the hard truth and anyone who has worked in a “bad” school knows this. Thanks t doesn’t mean you don’t work like hell to help kids try to get caught up or achieve their potential. But teachers are not miracle workers and cannot overcome a bad home environment with parents who don’t care.

And busing them to a different school won't solve the problem. Just covers it up.

For the most part I think everyone should go to schools closest to their house. I don't like that that makes poverty concentrated in certain schools. I am not so sure how to easily change that, though.

I agree for ES. MS and HS kids could take the bus.

FCPS is too big for that - needs to be broken up first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ Remove AAP, make all classes honors and have everyone in the same classes. Everyone should get the same thing. There should be no more separation.

+1

Conservative former teacher who voted for Youngkin.

This should be the policy until middle school--or no earlier than fifth grade. Kids blossom at different times.

They myth of AAP is that they are gifted. Not true. Another myth-they are all on the same level.

It created two schools within a school. Funds spent on busing that could be better used elsewhere. Tracks kids way too early.

So you support detracking K-6?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes f the lower income kids, why should they get the same good quality education as us especially at Langley.

No more bussing and no more equity, why should I have to work myself half to death to get them up to grade level. It’s just too much, it’s insane, I’m not god, I cannot create miracles okrrr

There is no busing. The only kids who are bused are kids going to the AAP Centers. And most of those kids are not the lower income kids that you are worried about. The kids moving from the Title I school to the AAP Center are the Middle Class kids whose parents bought into a Title I school boundary so they could afford a bigger house in FCPS. They wanted the 4-5 bedroom house with big kitchen but couldn't pay McLean/Great Falls/Vienna prices so they bought into Dogwood and now they want to leave Dogwood ES. The lower income kids at Dogwood tend to stay at Dogwood because the parents don't understand AAP or don't/can't deal with kids at different schedules.

No one is saying that the kids in Title I schools shouldn't receive a quality education. What people are saying is that you should not lower the standards at other schools so that the gap between the Title I schools and the other schools looks to be less. Lowering the standards for MC and UMC class kids does not solve the problem at Title I schools. It does a crappy job of hiding the problem but it doesn't solve the problem.

The reality is that people with lower levels of education tend to value education less then people with higher levels of education. People with lower levels of education tend to read less to their kids when they are babies/toddlers/in preschool ages. They tend to play fewer games with their kids that would teach reading, math, and problem solving. There is a ton of research out there showing the correlation between income level and a child's preparedness for school and a child's performance in school.

Kids from MC and UMC families start school with a huge advantage in learning because they had parents who engaged with them in academic subjects in non-academic ways. The kids of MC and UMC families tend to have been read to, they know their sounds and letters and numbers. They know their colors and shapes. They have been exposed to math and science through trips to museums and watching TV shows that are meant to stimulate those interests.

PreK programs like Head Start are meant to help bridge that gap but they can only do so much. And parents have to be willing to enroll their kids in Head Start, or similar programs, which means learning about the program, working through the process to enroll the child, and get the child to the program. Those are hurdles that many lower income families struggle with.

Title I schools receive additional funds and have smaller classes and provide more supports for kids because we want to address this educational gap but the gap continues to grow.

Screwing over the kids of MC and UMC families in public schools does nothing to help the kids of lower income families. It is not helping those kids catch up it is simply stunting kids whose parents are better off.

I would not oppose a program to bus kids from Title I schools MC and UMC schools. If the parents could volunteer their kids to participate and the parents wanted their kids to attend those schools. And if there were supports in place in K-2 to help those kids address the gaps that exist. I suspect that the families who would take that option would be the same families desperate to send their kids to the AAP Center because they want to escpae the school. Kind of like the families who say they want their kid to go to an AP program in high school isn't IB. The parents really don't care about the IB, they just don't want their kid at Justice or Lewis or Mt. Vernon and AP is the excuse for leaving for a different high school.

I would not oppose a program to bus kids from MC and UMC kids to Title I schools if there are parents who want to do that. But I seriously doubt that would happen. I can't see a parent at Great Falls or any of the Langley or McLean pyramids being willing to send their kids to Hutchinson or Dogwood.

The equity agenda that the School Board has been pushing does nothing to fix the systemic causes of the education gap and only hinders the education of kids whose parents are are middle and upper middle class.

All this is good theory but no one in the Langley Pyramid is going to agree to sending their kids to Dogwood unless they are complete idiots. Any school board that even thinks about this would be limited to a single term at best. If they persist, those folks in McLean will fund candidates at ALL levels that would make sure Republicans win and push for the other extreme - school vouchers - so the busing people have to go on the defensive. I have heard that school vouchers and busing co-exist very well in some parts of Florida and was surprised to hear that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not PP but having different opinions doesn’t mean someone is out of touch, it means they do not agree with you. I’m not happy with the SB either but I think right wingers completely astroturfed social media-including this forum-and convinced parents Democrats alone are responsible for the fall of education. Ignoring the changing demographics that contribute to local systems being overwhelmed. Ignoring that Republican led states often completely undermine public education and do not have good outcomes. Ignoring that CRT is not a thing. And that outsiders were brought in to stir crap up. That charter schools and vouchers have failed miserably in most cases bc they are not held to any standards.
You can call me names, be patronizing, etc, I still do not agree with you PPs. And yes, I am paying attention. I will vote for SB who are focused on academics in 2023. But this? Sticking it to the Dems when there is so much more at stake? Nah.

Democrats alone run the fcps school board, the lcps school board, the aps school board, the fcc school board, the arps school hoard and the Virginia Departmemt of Ed and have for many years.

So yes, without exception, the democratic party owns all of the school issues in northern Virginia.

And none of that changed by electing Youngkin.

Congrats on accomplishing nothing.

Virginia Department of Ed will change almost immediately after his inauguration.

He is going to be firing the current appointees and replacing them with professionals who value education, rigor and excellence over indoctrination, low standards and racism.

Just think, once Youngkin gets his policies in place, our teachers can return to using their planning days on things like literacy and math skills, instead of spending all their training hours on Ibrahim X and white privilege.

I really hope so. I’m worried it will be all about charter schools and cutting spending.

About a decade ago there was a liberal social studies teacher who wanted to start a charter school in the Justice HS/Falls Church HS area because he felt a segment of the at-risk students at those schools weren't being well-served. He had lined up a bunch of private businesses prepared to assist with funding. The biggest opposition was from Falls Church HS parents worried a charter school might delay FCPS's funding of the renovation of Falls Church, or end up attracting some of the higher-performing kids away from FCHS.

The FCPS School Board, controlled then as now by Democrats, was not receptive to the idea. So either state law in Virginia would have to change, so that the power to approve charter schools rested with the VDOE rather than local school boards, or there would need School Board members in Fairfax less hostile to charter schools.