Anyone else educated by FCPS and sees the decline?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t we just admit that the schools are failing and then look to the root cause?

It may not be the teachers? It may not be the students? Maybe we need a path to ESL competency before you can be mainstreamed.

There is a lot of judgment involved in declaring a school “failing.” The right-wingers just want to set a high bar and declare schools “failures” to generate anti-immigrant sentiments.

Of course, there should be a focus on the best way to try and bring up kids who aren’t necessarily going to perform like native English speakers on standardized tests, but that doesn’t have to involve labeling schools as “failing.” That stigmatizes a bunch of people trying to do their best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t we just admit that the schools are failing and then look to the root cause?

It may not be the teachers? It may not be the students? Maybe we need a path to ESL competency before you can be mainstreamed.

There is a lot of judgment involved in declaring a school “failing.” The right-wingers just want to set a high bar and declare schools “failures” to generate anti-immigrant sentiments.

Of course, there should be a focus on the best way to try and bring up kids who aren’t necessarily going to perform like native English speakers on standardized tests, but that doesn’t have to involve labeling schools as “failing.” That stigmatizes a bunch of people trying to do their best.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t we just admit that the schools are failing and then look to the root cause?

It may not be the teachers? It may not be the students? Maybe we need a path to ESL competency before you can be mainstreamed.

There is a lot of judgment involved in declaring a school “failing.” The right-wingers just want to set a high bar and declare schools “failures” to generate anti-immigrant sentiments.

Of course, there should be a focus on the best way to try and bring up kids who aren’t necessarily going to perform like native English speakers on standardized tests, but that doesn’t have to involve labeling schools as “failing.” That stigmatizes a bunch of people trying to do their best.

But not at the expense of other non-ESOL students. Funding and resources aren’t unlimited, like a teachers time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If school choice/vouchers becomes a thing we are going to see enrollment drop to the floor.

That’s a Republican wet dream. Underfund schools for decades, complain about the quality, and then defund for the final nail in the coffin.

Why do they hate public schools so much? I don’t get it.

The Republicans see public schools as an opportunity to build opposition to Democratic policies at the national level relating to immigration and DEI. Youngkin's administration is on path now to deny accreditation to a slew of FCPS schools in a year or two, declare them "failing schools," blame others for the problem, and offer vouchers (and lower funding for public schools) as the "solution."

It's opportunistic and unfortunate, but one reason that it resonates with some people is that the Democrats in charge of systems like FCPS have also made it clear that they resent wealthier public schools and communities. They do plenty on their own to reduce support for public education.

And democrat school board has no problem with a bunch of schools failing by just about every objective measure

Historically the benchmarks for state accreditation have moved around a quite a bit. Youngkin wants to tighten the screws so his VDOE can label more public schools “failing.”

It’s hard not to have sympathy for teachers who do everything they can to help students who arrive here unable to speak English and barely literate in their first language. It’s going to be demoralizing when officials in Richmond who’ve never taught, or never had to teach in those environments, deny their schools accreditation and label them as “failing.”

Send you kid to Hybla Valley elementary and then complain about how it's Youngkin's fault the screws are being tightened

If Youngkin wants to complain about the number of Hispanic immigrants in Virginia, he can go ahead and do so. It’s just a bit shitty that he’s chosen to do so in a manner that will imply teachers are failing their kids when, in fact, they are going above and beyond to try and help them.

You don’t seem too bright.

Maybe the kids who live in bounds for these crappy schools should have options to attend better schools. School choice is evil according to the school board, so those kids just get a crappy education even though the same board operates some of the best schools in the state 10 miles away

School choice is mostly a tool for middle and high income kids to get away from the low income ones and everyone knows it.

It's a tool for kids from families who care about education to escape failing schools.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure why we think Fairfax County Public Schools are "failing."

Just last week, we honored 191 FCPS students for being named National Merit Semi-Finalists. For those looking at the stats, there were approx 16,000 students in that category nationwide which is an average of 320 per state. In Virginia there were 397 honorees.

A full HALF of the VA honorees were from a single county - FCPS. The next largest school district in the state, Prince William County, had 6 honorees.

It seems like FCPS is still producing a high level of excellence in comparison to other districts in the state and country.

We are ALSO working hard to educate students whose 1st language is not English, who have special needs and who struggle academically.

We can accomplish both things simultaneously without being labelled as "failing" - it's not an either or situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t we just admit that the schools are failing and then look to the root cause?

It may not be the teachers? It may not be the students? Maybe we need a path to ESL competency before you can be mainstreamed.

There is a lot of judgment involved in declaring a school “failing.” The right-wingers just want to set a high bar and declare schools “failures” to generate anti-immigrant sentiments.

Of course, there should be a focus on the best way to try and bring up kids who aren’t necessarily going to perform like native English speakers on standardized tests, but that doesn’t have to involve labeling schools as “failing.” That stigmatizes a bunch of people trying to do their best.

By what metric would you not consider this school failing? Half of the students failed the english SOL last year, 62% failed state writing tests, 59% failed the math sol. At least school choice gives the couple of kids who still manage to do well an out.


https://schoolquality.virginia.gov/schools/mount-vernon-woods-elementary#fndtn-desktopTabs-assessments

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure why we think Fairfax County Public Schools are "failing."

Just last week, we honored 191 FCPS students for being named National Merit Semi-Finalists. For those looking at the stats, there were approx 16,000 students in that category nationwide which is an average of 320 per state. In Virginia there were 397 honorees.

A full HALF of the VA honorees were from a single county - FCPS. The next largest school district in the state, Prince William County, had 6 honorees.

It seems like FCPS is still producing a high level of excellence in comparison to other districts in the state and country.

We are ALSO working hard to educate students whose 1st language is not English, who have special needs and who struggle academically.

We can accomplish both things simultaneously without being labelled as "failing" - it's not an either or situation.

As a county yes, but there are still failing schools within the county. Langley or Chantilly excelling doesn't make Lewis or Justice good schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure why we think Fairfax County Public Schools are "failing."

Just last week, we honored 191 FCPS students for being named National Merit Semi-Finalists. For those looking at the stats, there were approx 16,000 students in that category nationwide which is an average of 320 per state. In Virginia there were 397 honorees.

A full HALF of the VA honorees were from a single county - FCPS. The next largest school district in the state, Prince William County, had 6 honorees.

It seems like FCPS is still producing a high level of excellence in comparison to other districts in the state and country.

We are ALSO working hard to educate students whose 1st language is not English, who have special needs and who struggle academically.

We can accomplish both things simultaneously without being labelled as "failing" - it's not an either or situation.

As a county yes, but there are still failing schools within the county. Langley or Chantilly excelling doesn't make Lewis or Justice good schools

But shouldn't we be measuring student outcomes by the progress and growth a student makes during their educational journey? Maybe the teachers at Lewis and Justice are working wonders with a higher population of students who need more support. I'd be more impressed to know what the growth trajectory is for students at those schools. How many students improved test scores during their years? What are the growth trends. To be honest, it's a whole hell of a lot easier to take credit for students' educational outcomes at a school like Langley when they come to you with affluent English speaking educated parents who can afford their own private tutoring and enrichment programming outside of school time in order to bolster a school's outcomes.

This doesn't mean that schools like Lewis or Justice are "failing" - maybe it means that they are working harder and achieving more incremental success with a more challenging subset of students to educate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure why we think Fairfax County Public Schools are "failing."

Just last week, we honored 191 FCPS students for being named National Merit Semi-Finalists. For those looking at the stats, there were approx 16,000 students in that category nationwide which is an average of 320 per state. In Virginia there were 397 honorees.

A full HALF of the VA honorees were from a single county - FCPS. The next largest school district in the state, Prince William County, had 6 honorees.

It seems like FCPS is still producing a high level of excellence in comparison to other districts in the state and country.

We are ALSO working hard to educate students whose 1st language is not English, who have special needs and who struggle academically.

We can accomplish both things simultaneously without being labelled as "failing" - it's not an either or situation.

As a county yes, but there are still failing schools within the county. Langley or Chantilly excelling doesn't make Lewis or Justice good schools

But shouldn't we be measuring student outcomes by the progress and growth a student makes during their educational journey? Maybe the teachers at Lewis and Justice are working wonders with a higher population of students who need more support. I'd be more impressed to know what the growth trajectory is for students at those schools. How many students improved test scores during their years? What are the growth trends. To be honest, it's a whole hell of a lot easier to take credit for students' educational outcomes at a school like Langley when they come to you with affluent English speaking educated parents who can afford their own private tutoring and enrichment programming outside of school time in order to bolster a school's outcomes.

This doesn't mean that schools like Lewis or Justice are "failing" - maybe it means that they are working harder and achieving more incremental success with a more challenging subset of students to educate.

What about the kids with potential at those schools? Sorry your parents can't afford a good district, sorry for you? Growth is a ridiculous measurement. Either the school can get students to a state standard or it can't. The factors may be outside of the teacher and school's control, but that doesn't make it a good school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t we just admit that the schools are failing and then look to the root cause?

It may not be the teachers? It may not be the students? Maybe we need a path to ESL competency before you can be mainstreamed.

There is a lot of judgment involved in declaring a school “failing.” The right-wingers just want to set a high bar and declare schools “failures” to generate anti-immigrant sentiments.

Of course, there should be a focus on the best way to try and bring up kids who aren’t necessarily going to perform like native English speakers on standardized tests, but that doesn’t have to involve labeling schools as “failing.” That stigmatizes a bunch of people trying to do their best.

DP. I’d categorize them as failing because the school board is focusing its efforts on those poor performing schools, hell bent on fixing them with the boundary moves. The school board is leading the charge in making these kids feel like $#%* by emphasizing that they need other more successful kids to join the schools to bring those scores up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure why we think Fairfax County Public Schools are "failing."

Just last week, we honored 191 FCPS students for being named National Merit Semi-Finalists. For those looking at the stats, there were approx 16,000 students in that category nationwide which is an average of 320 per state. In Virginia there were 397 honorees.

A full HALF of the VA honorees were from a single county - FCPS. The next largest school district in the state, Prince William County, had 6 honorees.

It seems like FCPS is still producing a high level of excellence in comparison to other districts in the state and country.

We are ALSO working hard to educate students whose 1st language is not English, who have special needs and who struggle academically.

We can accomplish both things simultaneously without being labelled as "failing" - it's not an either or situation.

As a county yes, but there are still failing schools within the county. Langley or Chantilly excelling doesn't make Lewis or Justice good schools

But shouldn't we be measuring student outcomes by the progress and growth a student makes during their educational journey? Maybe the teachers at Lewis and Justice are working wonders with a higher population of students who need more support. I'd be more impressed to know what the growth trajectory is for students at those schools. How many students improved test scores during their years? What are the growth trends. To be honest, it's a whole hell of a lot easier to take credit for students' educational outcomes at a school like Langley when they come to you with affluent English speaking educated parents who can afford their own private tutoring and enrichment programming outside of school time in order to bolster a school's outcomes.

This doesn't mean that schools like Lewis or Justice are "failing" - maybe it means that they are working harder and achieving more incremental success with a more challenging subset of students to educate.

What about the kids with potential at those schools? Sorry your parents can't afford a good district, sorry for you? Growth is a ridiculous measurement. Either the school can get students to a state standard or it can't. The factors may be outside of the teacher and school's control, but that doesn't make it a good school

How do you know kids with potential aren't being well educated at those schools?? I happen to live in a pyramid that gets crapped on all the time on this forum. I have two HS kids who are receiving an excellent education. My senior has excelled in almost a dozen AP classes and exams and is applying to several Ivies. He is far from the only student in this category at his school. It is possible to serve both high-achieving and under-achieving students under the same roof. The only way to compare a "good" school with a "bad" school is to give them a level playing field and then assess the effectiveness of its teaching staff and administration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure why we think Fairfax County Public Schools are "failing."

Just last week, we honored 191 FCPS students for being named National Merit Semi-Finalists. For those looking at the stats, there were approx 16,000 students in that category nationwide which is an average of 320 per state. In Virginia there were 397 honorees.

A full HALF of the VA honorees were from a single county - FCPS. The next largest school district in the state, Prince William County, had 6 honorees.

It seems like FCPS is still producing a high level of excellence in comparison to other districts in the state and country.

We are ALSO working hard to educate students whose 1st language is not English, who have special needs and who struggle academically.

We can accomplish both things simultaneously without being labelled as "failing" - it's not an either or situation.

As a county yes, but there are still failing schools within the county. Langley or Chantilly excelling doesn't make Lewis or Justice good schools

But shouldn't we be measuring student outcomes by the progress and growth a student makes during their educational journey? Maybe the teachers at Lewis and Justice are working wonders with a higher population of students who need more support. I'd be more impressed to know what the growth trajectory is for students at those schools. How many students improved test scores during their years? What are the growth trends. To be honest, it's a whole hell of a lot easier to take credit for students' educational outcomes at a school like Langley when they come to you with affluent English speaking educated parents who can afford their own private tutoring and enrichment programming outside of school time in order to bolster a school's outcomes.

This doesn't mean that schools like Lewis or Justice are "failing" - maybe it means that they are working harder and achieving more incremental success with a more challenging subset of students to educate.

What about the kids with potential at those schools? Sorry your parents can't afford a good district, sorry for you? Growth is a ridiculous measurement. Either the school can get students to a state standard or it can't. The factors may be outside of the teacher and school's control, but that doesn't make it a good school

How do you know kids with potential aren't being well educated at those schools?? I happen to live in a pyramid that gets crapped on all the time on this forum. I have two HS kids who are receiving an excellent education. My senior has excelled in almost a dozen AP classes and exams and is applying to several Ivies. He is far from the only student in this category at his school. It is possible to serve both high-achieving and under-achieving students under the same roof. The only way to compare a "good" school with a "bad" school is to give them a level playing field and then assess the effectiveness of its teaching staff and administration.

Look at the SOL results. One or two kids with a pass advanced in most classes most years. Those kids belong at schools that are able to teach to their level. Your kid is at a HS that offers a dozen APs which means not MVHS, not Lewis and not Justice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t we just admit that the schools are failing and then look to the root cause?

It may not be the teachers? It may not be the students? Maybe we need a path to ESL competency before you can be mainstreamed.

There is a lot of judgment involved in declaring a school “failing.” The right-wingers just want to set a high bar and declare schools “failures” to generate anti-immigrant sentiments.

Of course, there should be a focus on the best way to try and bring up kids who aren’t necessarily going to perform like native English speakers on standardized tests, but that doesn’t have to involve labeling schools as “failing.” That stigmatizes a bunch of people trying to do their best.

But not at the expense of other non-ESOL students. Funding and resources aren’t unlimited, like a teachers time.

If VDOE denies or conditions accreditation to a school, that school is going to get more resources from FCPS, not fewer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t we just admit that the schools are failing and then look to the root cause?

It may not be the teachers? It may not be the students? Maybe we need a path to ESL competency before you can be mainstreamed.

There is a lot of judgment involved in declaring a school “failing.” The right-wingers just want to set a high bar and declare schools “failures” to generate anti-immigrant sentiments.

Of course, there should be a focus on the best way to try and bring up kids who aren’t necessarily going to perform like native English speakers on standardized tests, but that doesn’t have to involve labeling schools as “failing.” That stigmatizes a bunch of people trying to do their best.

DP. I’d categorize them as failing because the school board is focusing its efforts on those poor performing schools, hell bent on fixing them with the boundary moves. The school board is leading the charge in making these kids feel like $#%* by emphasizing that they need other more successful kids to join the schools to bring those scores up.

I don't think PP wants the boundary changes. That could keep certain schools accredited. They want schools denied accreditation, so that it triggers provisions that give parents at those schools the option to attend other schools until the state has determined that appropriate remediation has occurred. It doesn't happen often in FCPS, but it occurred years ago at Dogwood ES in Reston. That puts its own strains on the system - if a large number of Justice HS families, for example, were to declare they wanted to another school, does FCPS have to give them the option to attend schools that are already overcrowded?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t we just admit that the schools are failing and then look to the root cause?

It may not be the teachers? It may not be the students? Maybe we need a path to ESL competency before you can be mainstreamed.

There is a lot of judgment involved in declaring a school “failing.” The right-wingers just want to set a high bar and declare schools “failures” to generate anti-immigrant sentiments.

Of course, there should be a focus on the best way to try and bring up kids who aren’t necessarily going to perform like native English speakers on standardized tests, but that doesn’t have to involve labeling schools as “failing.” That stigmatizes a bunch of people trying to do their best.

DP. I’d categorize them as failing because the school board is focusing its efforts on those poor performing schools, hell bent on fixing them with the boundary moves. The school board is leading the charge in making these kids feel like $#%* by emphasizing that they need other more successful kids to join the schools to bring those scores up.

I don't think PP wants the boundary changes. That could keep certain schools accredited. They want schools denied accreditation, so that it triggers provisions that give parents at those schools the option to attend other schools until the state has determined that appropriate remediation has occurred. It doesn't happen often in FCPS, but it occurred years ago at Dogwood ES in Reston. That puts its own strains on the system - if a large number of Justice HS families, for example, were to declare they wanted to another school, does FCPS have to give them the option to attend schools that are already overcrowded?

If they claim all local performing schools are over crowded, then they'll have a problem with VDOE and the department of education. Transfer to a better performing school is a remedy that the district is required to provide