Addressing Teaching Quality and Equity in Education at McLean High School

[Anonymous]

You really do not get it, OP.

McLean already benefits from so much unearned white/Asian privilege.

No one - especially inside FCPS - is going to take your grievance seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reaching out to share a concern and seek your insights. At McLean High School, known for its excellence, we've encountered a situation where our child's performance in two subjects did not improve until we hired private tutors, despite months of trying to work with the teachers. This drastic change from Ds and Fs to As has raised serious questions about the teaching effectiveness and the reliance on external tutoring for academic success.

It's troubling that success in these subjects seems contingent upon additional tutoring, which not all families can afford. This disparity begs the question: Why aren't teachers who consistently underperform held accountable, and how can we ensure all students have equal opportunities to succeed without external help?

I believe it's crucial for our community to discuss these issues and advocate for a fair, high-quality educational experience for all students.

Maybe your child is in classes that they shouldn't be in if they require tutoring and extra hours studying? Not every kid needs to be in AP and Honors classes for every subject. It sound slike your child is capable of doing the work but needs a lot of extra support.

If that was the case why would tutoring fix the situation and same for other peers? Does it seem like a teaching problem?

We have no idea what the grade distribution is in the class that you are discussing, you don't have an idea of what the grade distribution looks like. You probably know how a few kids are doing because they are friends of your kid. I would be more prone to look at the Teacher if there was a class where 1/4 or more kids were struggling but I am not going to put it on the Teacher if a few kids are struggling.

Has your child worked with the Teacher during office hours and still isn't understanding the material? If so then it might be a difference in how the Teacher presents the material and how your child learns. Have you seen the emails from your child to the Teacher asking for help? Have you seen emails from your child to the Teacher trying to better understand the material? Have you checked to see that your child is turning in that material? If not, start there. If the Teacher isn't responding to your child, talk to the Department Chair.

It could be that your child needs the extra support to understand the material for the class. It could be that your child needs the extra support to move at the pace that the class is moving at. It could be that the Tutor is effectively forcing your child to study when before they were not or maybe they are helping your child study more effectively. It could also be that the Teacher is awful, that does happen but it is normally not the case.

Also, the teachers have had challenges updating the grades online and missing the students' homework weekly, so there is no way to understand if it's a homework problem. Are there any administrators who can tell us if there is an avenue to understand whether a teacher is being investigated for poor performance and if we can provide documentation to support their investigation?

No, there is no avenue for administration to tell parents that a teacher is under investigation, and to submit their own documentation. Are you for real?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids have outside tutors at Mclean. It's expensive, but that's what you are going to have to do to compete.

if this is the case do teachers just grade the papers and rely on the tutors to teach? That's how it feels for some of these teachers however some don't even grade and submit he grades on time. Maybe they are overwhelmed and need more help?

This is the nature of the high income parents here in Mclean. The kids have tutors from early grades to give them a leg up. kids also have other enrichment camps and clinics and travel in the summer. All of this raises the bar at Mclean. Also most kids get study drugs. Get your kid a tutor and stop trying to get extra help from the teacher. You will probably need an SAT prep course too. Tutors, drugs, camps, prep. That's how Mclean rolls.

+100, I tutor quite a few students in NoVA that don’t actually need tutoring. The parents want enrichment, the students are doing fine in school without actual tutoring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids have outside tutors at Mclean. It's expensive, but that's what you are going to have to do to compete.

if this is the case do teachers just grade the papers and rely on the tutors to teach? That's how it feels for some of these teachers however some don't even grade and submit he grades on time. Maybe they are overwhelmed and need more help?

This is the nature of the high income parents here in Mclean. The kids have tutors from early grades to give them a leg up. kids also have other enrichment camps and clinics and travel in the summer. All of this raises the bar at Mclean. Also most kids get study drugs. Get your kid a tutor and stop trying to get extra help from the teacher. You will probably need an SAT prep course too. Tutors, drugs, camps, prep. That's how Mclean rolls.

+100, I tutor quite a few students in NoVA that don’t actually need tutoring. The parents want enrichment, the students are doing fine in school without actual tutoring.

+2 Those parents claim that American schools are inferior. Oh, really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh, please people. There are some horrific teachers at McLean. Just like there are at about every public high school. People who want their kids to get A’s or not fall behind in math hire tutors when their kid lands in a horrific teacher’s class.

Thank you. Welcome to public school.

Many of the students in my daughter’s math class sophomore year went home at night and used Khan academy (some needed tutoring too I am sure) because the teacher was that bad.

At a neighborhood barbecue a new arrival to the pyramid was shocked to hear this. She had elementary aged children.
I was amused that she was so surprised. Langley may be high-performing but it is still a public school. It can be common knowledge that a teacher sucks, and they still stay on year after year. This was before the craziness of 2020. And the extra challenges it brought for everyone.
Overall the teachers have been excellent, others competent but there are no guarantees.

No McLean student is being treated unfairly / inequitably. OMG.

Fairfax offers free online tutoring available to everyone.

Just use that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You really do not get it, OP.

McLean already benefits from so much unearned white/Asian privilege.

No one - especially inside FCPS - is going to take your grievance seriously.

It is very entertaining reading complaining from Mclean parents and responds like above after McLean residents cast their votes in last Nov.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids have outside tutors at Mclean. It's expensive, but that's what you are going to have to do to compete.

if this is the case do teachers just grade the papers and rely on the tutors to teach? That's how it feels for some of these teachers however some don't even grade and submit he grades on time. Maybe they are overwhelmed and need more help?

This is the nature of the high income parents here in Mclean. The kids have tutors from early grades to give them a leg up. kids also have other enrichment camps and clinics and travel in the summer. All of this raises the bar at Mclean. Also most kids get study drugs. Get your kid a tutor and stop trying to get extra help from the teacher. You will probably need an SAT prep course too. Tutors, drugs, camps, prep. That's how Mclean rolls.

+100, I tutor quite a few students in NoVA that don’t actually need tutoring. The parents want enrichment, the students are doing fine in school without actual tutoring.

+2 Those parents claim that American schools are inferior. Oh, really?

Actually, American schools are among the tops
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/pisa-scores-by-country

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Funny how posters are bringing up other schools when the OP is only talking about McLean.

It's a pretty universal experience in any school system. I was a poor who went to a public school in the Bronx in the bad old days. I had some excellent teachers, and some mediocre ones. My DD has been in private school and FCPS, and she has had everything from excellent to bad teachers. And when I say bad teachers, it's not on the basis of whether they can teach, but based on their behavior (being racist/sexist/shouty etc.).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids have outside tutors at Mclean. It's expensive, but that's what you are going to have to do to compete.

if this is the case do teachers just grade the papers and rely on the tutors to teach? That's how it feels for some of these teachers however some don't even grade and submit he grades on time. Maybe they are overwhelmed and need more help?

This is the nature of the high income parents here in Mclean. The kids have tutors from early grades to give them a leg up. kids also have other enrichment camps and clinics and travel in the summer. All of this raises the bar at Mclean. Also most kids get study drugs. Get your kid a tutor and stop trying to get extra help from the teacher. You will probably need an SAT prep course too. Tutors, drugs, camps, prep. That's how Mclean rolls.

+100, I tutor quite a few students in NoVA that don’t actually need tutoring. The parents want enrichment, the students are doing fine in school without actual tutoring.

+2 Those parents claim that American schools are inferior. Oh, really?

Actually, American schools are among the tops
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/pisa-scores-by-country

I don’t know if I would call the 22nd place one if the tops. The article also says the U.S. score is only slightly above the average fir all countries assessed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids have outside tutors at Mclean. It's expensive, but that's what you are going to have to do to compete.

if this is the case do teachers just grade the papers and rely on the tutors to teach? That's how it feels for some of these teachers however some don't even grade and submit he grades on time. Maybe they are overwhelmed and need more help?

This is the nature of the high income parents here in Mclean. The kids have tutors from early grades to give them a leg up. kids also have other enrichment camps and clinics and travel in the summer. All of this raises the bar at Mclean. Also most kids get study drugs. Get your kid a tutor and stop trying to get extra help from the teacher. You will probably need an SAT prep course too. Tutors, drugs, camps, prep. That's how Mclean rolls.

+100, I tutor quite a few students in NoVA that don’t actually need tutoring. The parents want enrichment, the students are doing fine in school without actual tutoring.

+2 Those parents claim that American schools are inferior. Oh, really?

Actually, American schools are among the tops
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/pisa-scores-by-country

I don’t know if I would call the 22nd place one if the tops. The article also says the U.S. score is only slightly above the average fir all countries assessed.

+1 And if one focuses on math and science (which matter most for technological advancement), it's a bit worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids have outside tutors at Mclean. It's expensive, but that's what you are going to have to do to compete.

if this is the case do teachers just grade the papers and rely on the tutors to teach? That's how it feels for some of these teachers however some don't even grade and submit he grades on time. Maybe they are overwhelmed and need more help?

This is the nature of the high income parents here in Mclean. The kids have tutors from early grades to give them a leg up. kids also have other enrichment camps and clinics and travel in the summer. All of this raises the bar at Mclean. Also most kids get study drugs. Get your kid a tutor and stop trying to get extra help from the teacher. You will probably need an SAT prep course too. Tutors, drugs, camps, prep. That's how Mclean rolls.

I would venture to guess OPs real problem is that she wants her child to be able to compete with the other high achieving kids at McLean but the kid just isn't cut out for HN or AP level in that particular course. And instead of actually acknowledging that, she's blaming the teacher. If your kid can't hack it in an HN or AP class without tutors or high levels of extra one-on-one support, it's too hard for them. And many FCPS parents need to learn that that is ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most kids have outside tutors at Mclean. It's expensive, but that's what you are going to have to do to compete.

if this is the case do teachers just grade the papers and rely on the tutors to teach? That's how it feels for some of these teachers however some don't even grade and submit he grades on time. Maybe they are overwhelmed and need more help?

This is the nature of the high income parents here in Mclean. The kids have tutors from early grades to give them a leg up. kids also have other enrichment camps and clinics and travel in the summer. All of this raises the bar at Mclean. Also most kids get study drugs. Get your kid a tutor and stop trying to get extra help from the teacher. You will probably need an SAT prep course too. Tutors, drugs, camps, prep. That's how Mclean rolls.

+100, I tutor quite a few students in NoVA that don’t actually need tutoring. The parents want enrichment, the students are doing fine in school without actual tutoring.

+2 Those parents claim that American schools are inferior. Oh, really?

Actually, American schools are among the tops
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/pisa-scores-by-country

I don’t know if I would call the 22nd place one if the tops. The article also says the U.S. score is only slightly above the average fir all countries assessed.

Isn’t it also partly bc American schools are a lot more inclusive than other countries?

[Anonymous]

I see lots of people saying no one should complain because of the privilege skewing things at McLean, and I get it. That said, I have a an 8th graders at Longfellow now and I'd say a 1/4 of his teachers over the 2 years have been there for many years and are phoning it in with no one questioning their poor organization, tired lessons, and lazy teaching because of the perception of "excellence." Scores here - and I presume at McLean, we'll see soon! - are absolutely padded by families supplementing at lot with at-home help and tutors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I see lots of people saying no one should complain because of the privilege skewing things at McLean, and I get it. That said, I have a an 8th graders at Longfellow now and I'd say a 1/4 of his teachers over the 2 years have been there for many years and are phoning it in with no one questioning their poor organization, tired lessons, and lazy teaching because of the perception of "excellence." Scores here - and I presume at McLean, we'll see soon! - are absolutely padded by families supplementing at lot with at-home help and tutors.

So if 75% are not consider yourself fortunate.

[Anonymous]

Mclean is a high achiever school, so your kid is probably struggling more than at a mediocre school. Just get a tutor and send them to enrichment camps in the summer. Or lower your expectations at Mclean. Or move to a less competitive school district.