How did Herndon/Westfield HS go from top to bottom?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Yeah, the ESOL rates are climbing through the roof at Langley because of all the Chinese, Russian, and Japanese immigrants....lol.

No one said they were ESOL.

Do you know what ESOL means?

[Anonymous]

Yes. I don't think you do, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that there are not many kids who can handle rigor at Herndon. Therefore, there are not as many AP classes and not as much variety to boot. Lessclubs, weaker athletics. It is an unfortunate reality and FCPS should really consider boundary changes that help with equity.

“Fewer”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Yeah, the ESOL rates are climbing through the roof at Langley because of all the Chinese, Russian, and Japanese immigrants....lol.

No one said they were ESOL.

PP thinks all kids who speak another language at home didn’t also learn English at home.

I’m my junior high we had a pair of brothers, American by birth, who spoke both Spanish and English at home, and were fluent in both.

Their parents had them taking Spanish for the spelling, grammar, composition and literature.

One of my kids at Langley has at least one classmate who speaks Russian at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that there are not many kids who can handle rigor at Herndon. Therefore, there are not as many AP classes and not as much variety to boot. Less clubs, weaker athletics. It is an unfortunate reality and FCPS should really consider boundary changes that help with equity.

Could you explain why boundary changes would help with equity?

Good question.
1. It is not going to make lower achieving kids achieve more.
2. It is going to make the School Board happy because it will cover up the problems.

It is true that more AP classes can be offered where there are more high achieving students. However, I would like someone to show me where Herndon does not have enough AP classes. Pretty sure they have plenty of them.

FWIW, just because a school offers more AP classes does not mean that every kid who wants to take AP Basket Weaving can get into that class. It might be full.
Different schools offer different world languages for different reasons. All languages are not offered at any one school. Some may have more choices than others, but they may not have the one your child desires to take.

Don’t let the course catalog on the Herndon High website fool you. If only 10 kids want to take a class, they will drop it. Also, if a small number of kids want a class, there may only be one offered at a specific time that may conflict with another important class. Less variation, less options. Evening out the FARMs kids would help everyone.

How do you even out the FARMs kids? What percentage of the FARMs kids live closer to another HS then Herndon? There are a good number of low income families that live closest to Herndon High, you are not going to move those kids to other schools. So how do you propose to deal with the poverty issue at the school?

As long as a boundary as ridiculously gerrymandered as Woodson's exists, then anything can be done. There is a multitude of ways that a chunk of Herndon's boundary could be given to Langley and exchanged for a chunk of that prime Great Falls real estate. Just use Woodson's boundary as a model for a reaching arm.

It's indefensible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yeah, the ESOL rates are climbing through the roof at Langley because of all the Chinese, Russian, and Japanese immigrants....lol.

No one said they were ESOL.

PP thinks all kids who speak another language at home didn’t also learn English at home.

I’m my junior high we had a pair of brothers, American by birth, who spoke both Spanish and English at home, and were fluent in both.

Their parents had them taking Spanish for the spelling, grammar, composition and literature.

One of my kids at Langley has at least one classmate who speaks Russian at home.

I know there are a lot of Russian immigrants in Fairfax. I don't know if there is an area of Fairfax that has more than others. Certainly, Langley CIA has lots of speakers of other languages--and it is not unreasonable to expect that some live in Langley school district--contrary to what an earlier poster said. Not all Langley kids live in mansions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Equity is a term used to mask the fact that some families do not support their childrens education as much as others. Moving kids around isn’t going to fix parents who won’t invest the time into their childrens success.

Some families do not have the resources to support their kids’ education much. It’s not that they don’t want to, it’s that they can’t. They don’t know how, or they don’t have the money to.

It doesn’t take money to be involved in your child’s curriculum and studies. Just be aware of homework and test deadlines, and you will see success, even if moderate. The closer to stay involved, usually the more success and awareness you have.

But let’s let that point stand, how is a kid from a family that does stay on top of it moving into a class of kids families that don’t fix that at home problem?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Equity is a term used to mask the fact that some families do not support their childrens education as much as others. Moving kids around isn’t going to fix parents who won’t invest the time into their childrens success.

Some families do not have the resources to support their kids’ education much. It’s not that they don’t want to, it’s that they can’t. They don’t know how, or they don’t have the money to.

Half the kids at NYCs elite public schools get free lunch. It's possible to be poor and prioritize education.

[Anonymous]

As long as a boundary as ridiculously gerrymandered as Woodson's exists, then anything can be done. There is a multitude of ways that a chunk of Herndon's boundary could be given to Langley and exchanged for a chunk of that prime Great Falls real estate. Just use Woodson's boundary as a model for a reaching arm.

It's indefensible.

Indefinsible is to take communities out of schools that they are happy with just to make you happy. So, you want boundary adjustments just for the sake of equity? No matter how inconvenient it is or how much pain it causes?

Do you really think it will help poor kids to put them on a bus and send them miles away from their own communitiy? The kids who need those after school jobs? The kids who babysit their younger siblings? The kids who want have a way to school if they miss the bus? The kids who will not be able to participate in after school activities because of a lack of transportation?

You really don't understand "equity."

[Anonymous]

The consultant said all that.

The board was not happy lol.

[Anonymous]

As long as a boundary as ridiculously gerrymandered as Woodson's exists, then anything can be done. There is a multitude of ways that a chunk of Herndon's boundary could be given to Langley and exchanged for a chunk of that prime Great Falls real estate. Just use Woodson's boundary as a model for a reaching arm.

You do realize that one reason Woodson is so "gerrymandered" is because all City of Fairfax kids are required to go to Fairfax High School? Woodson is right across the street from the City of Fairfax and those kids must go to Fairfax High because this is what the City of Fairfax requires.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that there are not many kids who can handle rigor at Herndon. Therefore, there are not as many AP classes and not as much variety to boot. Less clubs, weaker athletics. It is an unfortunate reality and FCPS should really consider boundary changes that help with equity.

Could you explain why boundary changes would help with equity?

Good question.
1. It is not going to make lower achieving kids achieve more.
2. It is going to make the School Board happy because it will cover up the problems.

It is true that more AP classes can be offered where there are more high achieving students. However, I would like someone to show me where Herndon does not have enough AP classes. Pretty sure they have plenty of them.

FWIW, just because a school offers more AP classes does not mean that every kid who wants to take AP Basket Weaving can get into that class. It might be full.
Different schools offer different world languages for different reasons. All languages are not offered at any one school. Some may have more choices than others, but they may not have the one your child desires to take.

Don’t let the course catalog on the Herndon High website fool you. If only 10 kids want to take a class, they will drop it. Also, if a small number of kids want a class, there may only be one offered at a specific time that may conflict with another important class. Less variation, less options. Evening out the FARMs kids would help everyone.

How do you even out the FARMs kids? What percentage of the FARMs kids live closer to another HS then Herndon? There are a good number of low income families that live closest to Herndon High, you are not going to move those kids to other schools. So how do you propose to deal with the poverty issue at the school?

The same way that FCPS currently busses kids 16+ miles to Langley from wealthy neighborhoods that are much closer to Herndon.

[Anonymous]

Whoo hoo! Another Herndon/Langley boundary dispute thread!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Indefinsible is to take communities out of schools that they are happy with just to make you happy. So, you want boundary adjustments just for the sake of equity? No matter how inconvenient it is or how much pain it causes?

Do you really think it will help poor kids to put them on a bus and send them miles away from their own communitiy? The kids who need those after school jobs? The kids who babysit their younger siblings? The kids who want have a way to school if they miss the bus? The kids who will not be able to participate in after school activities because of a lack of transportation?

You really don't understand "equity."

Tearing apart the community is commonly presented as an excuse to keep everything the same. That works on the assumption that the current status of the situation is the "correct" status, and that it has "always been that way." It's a downward spiral when one pocket of poverty gets established, and it will stay that way without intervention.

Do we just give up and accept that Herndon will forever be a place where low-income families live, and poor kids have to be nearby so they can go to work after school, and we need to keep them in that state because that's just what poor people do? I'm sure many people would be in favor of that, but it's obvious that school boundaries are a significant factor in further concentrating poverty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Indefinsible is to take communities out of schools that they are happy with just to make you happy. So, you want boundary adjustments just for the sake of equity? No matter how inconvenient it is or how much pain it causes?

Do you really think it will help poor kids to put them on a bus and send them miles away from their own communitiy? The kids who need those after school jobs? The kids who babysit their younger siblings? The kids who want have a way to school if they miss the bus? The kids who will not be able to participate in after school activities because of a lack of transportation?

You really don't understand "equity."

Tearing apart the community is commonly presented as an excuse to keep everything the same. That works on the assumption that the current status of the situation is the "correct" status, and that it has "always been that way." It's a downward spiral when one pocket of poverty gets established, and it will stay that way without intervention.

Do we just give up and accept that Herndon will forever be a place where low-income families live, and poor kids have to be nearby so they can go to work after school, and we need to keep them in that state because that's just what poor people do? I'm sure many people would be in favor of that, but it's obvious that school boundaries are a significant factor in further concentrating poverty.

It’s actually personal responsibility that is a defining factor of a students success, either on the part of the student or parent. Mixing in successful families doesn’t fix parents or students.