Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yes, there are fights, kids vaping, vandalism, and other problems. However, these issues are usually confined to a small group of kids. It’s possible your kid might witness something, but they are unlikely to get involved. Also, the reports of violence are often exaggerated. (Last month’s DCUM post on the staff member who was attacked was far from the truth of what actually happened.) Just get your kid in the honors classes, since those attract better students.
Teacher retention is not just a problem at GWMS; it’s a national issue. You don’t have to read far into DCUM to realize that teachers are not respected. Even if the majority of kids and parents are great, it only takes a few bad apples to make a teacher’s life miserable. GWMS is particularly challenging because it draws from Alexandria’s richest and poorest neighborhoods, which have competing priorities. Teachers have to instruct the affluent kid who travels to Europe and whose parents expect them to attend an Ivy League college, as well as the student five grade levels behind whose single parent doesn’t speak English and is struggling to put food on the table. Obviously those are extreme examples, but it is hard to meet everyone’s needs, and the differences have become more pronounced in the last few years. There are lots of easier jobs out there that pay a lot more.
-ACPS staff member
The Alexandria way...segregation is the solution. Always.
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