Should we leave Alexandria?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ...

I think you have touched on something, your older kids went through a different school system than your younger one is in. Education has changed a lot in a decade.

Yup. ACPS has never been spectacular, but (1) some of the individual Elementaries were very good, and (2) a student with strong support could go through the ACPS system and do very well. That's simply no longer the case. There is not a single good Elementary in Alexandria, and the Middles are in horribly rough shape. The former TC is mismanaged and the two-campus system doesn't;t work in the slightest. But if ACPS sets up two fully separate high schools, only one will have all the academic sweeteners (full roster of AP courses, an active HS newspaper, etc) - the School Board has indicated as much for years.

ACPS is completely busted. Nothing will bring it back. Literally no one with any authority cares. That's all.

Would you say even schools like Lyles-Crouch and Brooks aren’t good? They seem to be more highly regarded and even got good scores from the accountability system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ...

I think you have touched on something, your older kids went through a different school system than your younger one is in. Education has changed a lot in a decade.

Yup. ACPS has never been spectacular, but (1) some of the individual Elementaries were very good, and (2) a student with strong support could go through the ACPS system and do very well. That's simply no longer the case. There is not a single good Elementary in Alexandria, and the Middles are in horribly rough shape. The former TC is mismanaged and the two-campus system doesn't;t work in the slightest. But if ACPS sets up two fully separate high schools, only one will have all the academic sweeteners (full roster of AP courses, an active HS newspaper, etc) - the School Board has indicated as much for years.

ACPS is completely busted. Nothing will bring it back. Literally no one with any authority cares. That's all.

Would you say even schools like Lyles-Crouch and Brooks aren’t good? They seem to be more highly regarded and even got good scores from the accountability system.

I'd say they are OK but not good. They're both failing with comments, BTW. Neither had a good score. And they feed into ACPS middles, which are disasters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ...

I think you have touched on something, your older kids went through a different school system than your younger one is in. Education has changed a lot in a decade.

Yup. ACPS has never been spectacular, but (1) some of the individual Elementaries were very good, and (2) a student with strong support could go through the ACPS system and do very well. That's simply no longer the case. There is not a single good Elementary in Alexandria, and the Middles are in horribly rough shape. The former TC is mismanaged and the two-campus system doesn't;t work in the slightest. But if ACPS sets up two fully separate high schools, only one will have all the academic sweeteners (full roster of AP courses, an active HS newspaper, etc) - the School Board has indicated as much for years.

ACPS is completely busted. Nothing will bring it back. Literally no one with any authority cares. That's all.

Would you say even schools like Lyles-Crouch and Brooks aren’t good? They seem to be more highly regarded and even got good scores from the accountability system.

I'd say they are OK but not good. They're both failing with comments, BTW. Neither had a good score. And they feed into ACPS middles, which are disasters.

In the latest they did, Lyles was Distinguished and Brooks was On Track. The accreditation is separate and all of ACPS got tanked because they didn’t fill it out correctly (which is telling).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ...

I think you have touched on something, your older kids went through a different school system than your younger one is in. Education has changed a lot in a decade.

Yup. ACPS has never been spectacular, but (1) some of the individual Elementaries were very good, and (2) a student with strong support could go through the ACPS system and do very well. That's simply no longer the case. There is not a single good Elementary in Alexandria, and the Middles are in horribly rough shape. The former TC is mismanaged and the two-campus system doesn't;t work in the slightest. But if ACPS sets up two fully separate high schools, only one will have all the academic sweeteners (full roster of AP courses, an active HS newspaper, etc) - the School Board has indicated as much for years.

ACPS is completely busted. Nothing will bring it back. Literally no one with any authority cares. That's all.

Would you say even schools like Lyles-Crouch and Brooks aren’t good? They seem to be more highly regarded and even got good scores from the accountability system.

And then they filter into crappy middle schools and an overcrowded high school.

[Anonymous]

Ahhh. Finally the ACPS lunatic lady found the chat even though her autistic daugher graduated 7 years ago. Bless her heart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Burke is great. I live close in because the commute to Burke is too much, but every time we visit friends there I think how lovely it would be to live there.

Priorities, my friend, priorities. Commute via bus and/or VRE is not bad at all. Time at home is grand and kids were in safe neighborhood and school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ...

I think you have touched on something, your older kids went through a different school system than your younger one is in. Education has changed a lot in a decade.

Yup. ACPS has never been spectacular, but (1) some of the individual Elementaries were very good, and (2) a student with strong support could go through the ACPS system and do very well. That's simply no longer the case. There is not a single good Elementary in Alexandria, and the Middles are in horribly rough shape. The former TC is mismanaged and the two-campus system doesn't;t work in the slightest. But if ACPS sets up two fully separate high schools, only one will have all the academic sweeteners (full roster of AP courses, an active HS newspaper, etc) - the School Board has indicated as much for years.

ACPS is completely busted. Nothing will bring it back. Literally no one with any authority cares. That's all.

Would you say even schools like Lyles-Crouch and Brooks aren’t good? They seem to be more highly regarded and even got good scores from the accountability system.

And then they filter into crappy middle schools and an overcrowded high school.

I thought the high school (Alexandria City HS) expanded across the street when they launched the advanced academy programs in their new, state-of-the-art facilities. So it shouldn't be overcrowded. (I'm in APS so I don't have first hand knowledge of Alexandria, but I read the news stories / press releases on the new campus with interest.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ...

I think you have touched on something, your older kids went through a different school system than your younger one is in. Education has changed a lot in a decade.

Yup. ACPS has never been spectacular, but (1) some of the individual Elementaries were very good, and (2) a student with strong support could go through the ACPS system and do very well. That's simply no longer the case. There is not a single good Elementary in Alexandria, and the Middles are in horribly rough shape. The former TC is mismanaged and the two-campus system doesn't;t work in the slightest. But if ACPS sets up two fully separate high schools, only one will have all the academic sweeteners (full roster of AP courses, an active HS newspaper, etc) - the School Board has indicated as much for years.

ACPS is completely busted. Nothing will bring it back. Literally no one with any authority cares. That's all.

Would you say even schools like Lyles-Crouch and Brooks aren’t good? They seem to be more highly regarded and even got good scores from the accountability system.

And then they filter into crappy middle schools and an overcrowded high school.

Well that’s not quite accurate… the middle schools are overcrowded too.

And it’s not AN overcrowded high school... they’re likely to have to move back and forth between TWO overcrowded high school buildings. In a dysfunctional transportation system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our oldest daughter will enter kindergarten next year. We had planned to send her to the elementary we are zoned for, one of the ones that's supposed to be "better" - but the recent abysmal report card from the state is seriously disturbing. Not a single school fully accredited in ACPS, almost all elementaries (including ours) listed as off track. I've seen many defend clerical issues that led to the scores, but even if that's true - it's no prize. It's also bad and indicative of the kind of environment that's been allowed to continue in the system here it seems.

It would be a huge stretch to pay for private. We love living in ALX, but it seems like the families around us much be much much richer if they can afford to send multiple kids to private school and continue to live in the community.

Do we just leave Alexandria for Bethesda or somewhere else? Uprooting our lives to move? Do we plant a money tree and hope for the best? What are families here doing?

Thanks.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. We were in the exact same position in 2004. We "emigrated" to Burke and never looked back. Bigger house, lovely community, wonderful school system that reminded me of my upbringing. Each of our 3 kids went to a T50 (or better).

What FCPS pyramid serves Burke?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get that college acceptance rates are important, but there are other factors too.

My MS (Hammond) kid had to deal with not enough bathrooms, insufficient passing time between classes in an overcrowded building (and finding classroom doors locked per school rules when arriving 1 min. late as a result), administrators moving through the halls yelling at kids thru bullhorns, the cafeteria running out of food, and the general feel of a place that’s more like a prison than a human educational institution. The icing on the cake is watching a parent bring up the bathroom issue and the superintendent just responding, “bathrooms are available.”

So at least while they’re in MS, even fabulous college admissions are unable to compensate for daily life in these buildings.

This was exactly my older DD's experience at GWMS. Locked bathrooms during transition times and for the first and last 10 minutes of class with administrators yelling at kids. Terrible situation for all, but especially for tweens/teens learning to deal with menstruation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our oldest daughter will enter kindergarten next year. We had planned to send her to the elementary we are zoned for, one of the ones that's supposed to be "better" - but the recent abysmal report card from the state is seriously disturbing. Not a single school fully accredited in ACPS, almost all elementaries (including ours) listed as off track. I've seen many defend clerical issues that led to the scores, but even if that's true - it's no prize. It's also bad and indicative of the kind of environment that's been allowed to continue in the system here it seems.

It would be a huge stretch to pay for private. We love living in ALX, but it seems like the families around us much be much much richer if they can afford to send multiple kids to private school and continue to live in the community.

Do we just leave Alexandria for Bethesda or somewhere else? Uprooting our lives to move? Do we plant a money tree and hope for the best? What are families here doing?

Thanks.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. We were in the exact same position in 2004. We "emigrated" to Burke and never looked back. Bigger house, lovely community, wonderful school system that reminded me of my upbringing. Each of our 3 kids went to a T50 (or better).

What FCPS pyramid serves Burke?

Lake Braddock

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get that college acceptance rates are important, but there are other factors too.

My MS (Hammond) kid had to deal with not enough bathrooms, insufficient passing time between classes in an overcrowded building (and finding classroom doors locked per school rules when arriving 1 min. late as a result), administrators moving through the halls yelling at kids thru bullhorns, the cafeteria running out of food, and the general feel of a place that’s more like a prison than a human educational institution. The icing on the cake is watching a parent bring up the bathroom issue and the superintendent just responding, “bathrooms are available.”

So at least while they’re in MS, even fabulous college admissions are unable to compensate for daily life in these buildings.

This was exactly my older DD's experience at GWMS. Locked bathrooms during transition times and for the first and last 10 minutes of class with administrators yelling at kids. Terrible situation for all, but especially for tweens/teens learning to deal with menstruation.

So maddening. But don’t worry…. “Restrooms are available,” per the superintendent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our oldest daughter will enter kindergarten next year. We had planned to send her to the elementary we are zoned for, one of the ones that's supposed to be "better" - but the recent abysmal report card from the state is seriously disturbing. Not a single school fully accredited in ACPS, almost all elementaries (including ours) listed as off track. I've seen many defend clerical issues that led to the scores, but even if that's true - it's no prize. It's also bad and indicative of the kind of environment that's been allowed to continue in the system here it seems.

It would be a huge stretch to pay for private. We love living in ALX, but it seems like the families around us much be much much richer if they can afford to send multiple kids to private school and continue to live in the community.

Do we just leave Alexandria for Bethesda or somewhere else? Uprooting our lives to move? Do we plant a money tree and hope for the best? What are families here doing?

Thanks.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. We were in the exact same position in 2004. We "emigrated" to Burke and never looked back. Bigger house, lovely community, wonderful school system that reminded me of my upbringing. Each of our 3 kids went to a T50 (or better).

What FCPS pyramid serves Burke?

Lake Braddock

An average FCPS at best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get that college acceptance rates are important, but there are other factors too.

My MS (Hammond) kid had to deal with not enough bathrooms, insufficient passing time between classes in an overcrowded building (and finding classroom doors locked per school rules when arriving 1 min. late as a result), administrators moving through the halls yelling at kids thru bullhorns, the cafeteria running out of food, and the general feel of a place that’s more like a prison than a human educational institution. The icing on the cake is watching a parent bring up the bathroom issue and the superintendent just responding, “bathrooms are available.”

So at least while they’re in MS, even fabulous college admissions are unable to compensate for daily life in these buildings.

This was exactly my older DD's experience at GWMS. Locked bathrooms during transition times and for the first and last 10 minutes of class with administrators yelling at kids. Terrible situation for all, but especially for tweens/teens learning to deal with menstruation.

So maddening. But don’t worry…. “Restrooms are available,” per the superintendent.

It was (is?) so bad.
I don’t know the current bathroom situation at KS. I just don’t think my daughter goes?
When I use the bathroom at KS at events, it’s not good…broken faucets, no soap. How this happens is beyond me,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get that college acceptance rates are important, but there are other factors too.

My MS (Hammond) kid had to deal with not enough bathrooms, insufficient passing time between classes in an overcrowded building (and finding classroom doors locked per school rules when arriving 1 min. late as a result), administrators moving through the halls yelling at kids thru bullhorns, the cafeteria running out of food, and the general feel of a place that’s more like a prison than a human educational institution. The icing on the cake is watching a parent bring up the bathroom issue and the superintendent just responding, “bathrooms are available.”

So at least while they’re in MS, even fabulous college admissions are unable to compensate for daily life in these buildings.

This was exactly my older DD's experience at GWMS. Locked bathrooms during transition times and for the first and last 10 minutes of class with administrators yelling at kids. Terrible situation for all, but especially for tweens/teens learning to deal with menstruation.

So maddening. But don’t worry…. “Restrooms are available,” per the superintendent.

It was (is?) so bad.
I don’t know the current bathroom situation at KS. I just don’t think my daughter goes?
When I use the bathroom at KS at events, it’s not good…broken faucets, no soap. How this happens is beyond me,

What is KS?