Lewis HS: Is it really that bad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lewis serves central Springfield, which is majority Latino and has relatively lower incomes compared to surrounding areas. The school has higher ESL and FARMS numbers and lower test scores compared to other high schools.

Lewis also serves some middle and upper middle income neighborhoods on the fringes of central Springfield and to the south of it. These are the areas from which most of the chatter about Lewis originate — people who are upset that their neighborhoods aren’t zoned to other high schools with lower ESL and FARMS numbers and higher so-called prestige, or people who are upset that FCPS doesn’t rezone more higher income neighborhoods into Lewis so they can feel better about themselves.

Let’s be real here and stop screwing around. People with economic means don’t want their kids to go to Lewis and most people who send their kids to Lewis aren’t on DCUM.

Got it. Only people who live in certain areas should get a good education.

This is the reality of public education. You must have been born yesterday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lewis serves central Springfield, which is majority Latino and has relatively lower incomes compared to surrounding areas. The school has higher ESL and FARMS numbers and lower test scores compared to other high schools.

Lewis also serves some middle and upper middle income neighborhoods on the fringes of central Springfield and to the south of it. These are the areas from which most of the chatter about Lewis originate — people who are upset that their neighborhoods aren’t zoned to other high schools with lower ESL and FARMS numbers and higher so-called prestige, or people who are upset that FCPS doesn’t rezone more higher income neighborhoods into Lewis so they can feel better about themselves.

Let’s be real here and stop screwing around. People with economic means don’t want their kids to go to Lewis and most people who send their kids to Lewis aren’t on DCUM.

Got it. Only people who live in certain areas should get a good education.

This is the reality of public education. You must have been born yesterday.

Not in FCPS. This is a pretty recent development. The last 15 years has seen a huge change. And FCPS has only contributed to the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Key is the smallest middle school and has the most discipline referrals of any middle school in the district. The special education department chair is very bad at her job. The staff has a lot of turnover most years. None of the admin have any special education experience, but there are a lot of special education students. The principal has only a couple of years of experience. The district has been sending more people in from the region to try to make changes. These struggling schools need the most experienced principals, not the least.

I would not send my child there. Lewis staff are frustrated with their Key kids due to the problems that have not been addressed.

Are you referring to Key's newest principal after Aimee Holleb left? The new principal, Mr. Drew Campbell, had over 10 years of experience as an Assistant Principal within FCPS before he became Key's principal, including years as special education chair before he was an AP. He actually seems to be getting Key on track in the couple years he has been there.

The data you point out on most discipline referrals is quite interesting. The latest VDOE data, 2023-24, indeed shows Key with the most total events at 1635 even above Glasgow that has only 1097 events. 2023 was the year Drew Campbell became principal. In the years before 2023 with Aimee as admin, Key did not stand out in the data - even Frost MS was reporting similar numbers as Key. Seems to be the new admin is taking a hardline approach to report every single incident which is a good thing to drive change at Key. It's well known that some admin choose to report selectively so their discipline numbers stay low and reputation high.

Former key teacher: Agree that campbell is a major step up from Holleb (who was awful in every way shape and form). She swept everything under the rug and let the kids run the school. Drew is trying to clean things up but it's a major hole to dig out of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at an elementary school that split feeds to Lewis, but my kids don't go there.

What I have heard is that at Key there is a lot of bullying/fights. I know several kids who pupil placed out because of bullying.

For Lewis, most of the best students place out to Edison's stem program - they call it getting out of juvy. Not kidding. There are lots of behavior issues at Lewis and just not enough others to make up for it.

Positives: My friends whose kids do the IB program there, though, love it. I think they have a decent arts program for both theater and band, and not as much competition to participate. There are some AP classes offered there, but not many.
You can walk on to literally any sports team you want except soccer. They didn't even have a varsity baseball team til last year and I think they lost every game. So you can play, but it's not very satisfying.

I think you can make the school work for you if you're involved and have kids who are self-motivated and on the right track. But I don't think it's as good of an FCPS experience as others get.

Max Preps lists Lewis having a varsity team for over a decade - https://www.maxpreps.com/va/springfield/lewis-lancers/baseball/

They're just bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lewis serves central Springfield, which is majority Latino and has relatively lower incomes compared to surrounding areas. The school has higher ESL and FARMS numbers and lower test scores compared to other high schools.

Lewis also serves some middle and upper middle income neighborhoods on the fringes of central Springfield and to the south of it. These are the areas from which most of the chatter about Lewis originate — people who are upset that their neighborhoods aren’t zoned to other high schools with lower ESL and FARMS numbers and higher so-called prestige, or people who are upset that FCPS doesn’t rezone more higher income neighborhoods into Lewis so they can feel better about themselves.

Let’s be real here and stop screwing around. People with economic means don’t want their kids to go to Lewis and most people who send their kids to Lewis aren’t on DCUM.

Got it. Only people who live in certain areas should get a good education.

This is the reality of public education. You must have been born yesterday.

Not in FCPS. This is a pretty recent development. The last 15 years has seen a huge change. And FCPS has only contributed to the problem.

DP. What could FCPS done differently? The influx of kids from the border + FCPS apparent inability to put them in separate classrooms made this inevitable.

Test scores will suffer. There will be behavior problems. Importing poverty to the county does lead to these outcomes. I fault FCPS for some things done poorly but this really isn't in their control to fix. We have poured so much money into this problem and still get terrible results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lewis serves central Springfield, which is majority Latino and has relatively lower incomes compared to surrounding areas. The school has higher ESL and FARMS numbers and lower test scores compared to other high schools.

Lewis also serves some middle and upper middle income neighborhoods on the fringes of central Springfield and to the south of it. These are the areas from which most of the chatter about Lewis originate — people who are upset that their neighborhoods aren’t zoned to other high schools with lower ESL and FARMS numbers and higher so-called prestige, or people who are upset that FCPS doesn’t rezone more higher income neighborhoods into Lewis so they can feel better about themselves.

Let’s be real here and stop screwing around. People with economic means don’t want their kids to go to Lewis and most people who send their kids to Lewis aren’t on DCUM.

Got it. Only people who live in certain areas should get a good education.

This is the reality of public education. You must have been born yesterday.

Not in FCPS. This is a pretty recent development. The last 15 years has seen a huge change. And FCPS has only contributed to the problem.

DP. What could FCPS done differently? The influx of kids from the border + FCPS apparent inability to put them in separate classrooms made this inevitable.

Test scores will suffer. There will be behavior problems. Importing poverty to the county does lead to these outcomes. I fault FCPS for some things done poorly but this really isn't in their control to fix. We have poured so much money into this problem and still get terrible results.

I am glad to see you identified the root cause of the problem - unfettered immigration. But what could FCPS have done differently:

Not moving out wealthier neighborhoods the last two times they changed boundaries. Keeping all AAP kids in the pyramid in ES and MS. Dropping IB and reinstating AP when it was clear IB was driving an exodus. Trying to keep the language program more robust. Not creating yet another program at a nearby school - Edison STEM - that is siphoning off students. All of these things have contributed to the demise of a once standard FCPS high school. FCPS has decided that certain schools will have to suffer the majority of immigrant students.

[Anonymous]

See for yourself: here is the official school profile, according to FCPS

https://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:50::::0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID,P0_EDSL:160,0

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids attended Key and had a good experience. I’m really not sure why it’s getting such a bad rep. They are in college now, and I’m sure they would say that some of their best teachers were at Key. They didn’t attend Lewis due to the fact that it did not offer some subjects they were interested in, but their friends who did ended up at good colleges.

Sounds like your kids attended the school years ago (probably back when Lewis was still Lee). Things have changed dramatically since then, and not in a positive way.

No. They graduated HS recently, so their experience at Key wasn’t that long ago. They enjoyed Key and made good friends there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:See for yourself: here is the official school profile, according to FCPS

https://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:50::::0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID,P0_EDSL:160,0

Notice: they switched to using SBAR codes after 2021.

Anyone know where to find to find the published SBAR codes by high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:See for yourself: here is the official school profile, according to FCPS

https://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:50::::0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID,P0_EDSL:160,0

Here is the VDOE profile for Lewis

https://schoolquality.virginia.gov/schools/lewis-high#fndtn-desktopTabs-climate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at an elementary school that split feeds to Lewis, but my kids don't go there.

What I have heard is that at Key there is a lot of bullying/fights. I know several kids who pupil placed out because of bullying.

For Lewis, most of the best students place out to Edison's stem program - they call it getting out of juvy. Not kidding. There are lots of behavior issues at Lewis and just not enough others to make up for it.

Positives: My friends whose kids do the IB program there, though, love it. I think they have a decent arts program for both theater and band, and not as much competition to participate. There are some AP classes offered there, but not many.
You can walk on to literally any sports team you want except soccer. They didn't even have a varsity baseball team til last year and I think they lost every game. So you can play, but it's not very satisfying.

I think you can make the school work for you if you're involved and have kids who are self-motivated and on the right track. But I don't think it's as good of an FCPS experience as others get.

Max Preps lists Lewis having a varsity team for over a decade - https://www.maxpreps.com/va/springfield/lewis-lancers/baseball/

They're just bad.

Lewis should have a robust baseball program.

Their feeder little league is quite solid.

Where are their baseball players going for high school?

[Anonymous]

We own a house zoned for Lewis, I went to Lewis in the 90s, and we decided to move this year to another pyramid. I would have loved for my kids to go to my alma mater and not move out of what was close to my dream house - but we pored over test scores, parental involvement, other opportunities (clubs, sports, languages, etc) and ultimately decided to move.

I think kids would get a fine education there, but potentially miss out on other opportunities and the sense of community involvement.

[Anonymous]

I'll put the lede right up front for you: no, Lewis is not that bad. Yes, your kid can get a good education and a wonderful high school experience there.

Pros of Lewis:
- The teachers and administration. Hands down the best teachers and administration we've experienced in FCPS. This is where the school's small size comes into play, as the teachers really get to know their students, with smaller class sizes and fewer kids overall. Teachers do not go easy on their students, but they will reach out to parents if they see students struggling or if coursework is missing. The teachers really want their kids to succeed.

- More opportunities for participation. Be it sports or drama or music, there are more chances for your kid to join in. Several talented freshmen took to the stage in starring roles in the spring musical last year. The marching band encourages its players to take on leadership roles. The sports teams aren't the best, but those kids get out there and work hard. And your kid will most likely make the sports team. All of those things will look great when applying to colleges.

Negatives of Lewis:
- The size. It's both a pro and a con, as the smaller size means less of a population to draw from for donations, for parent participation. It's hard getting volunteers. Many parents don't speak English, and it can be a struggle to navigate the school environment, but I will say that those parents still want their kids to succeed.


I think a big worry parents have about going to Lewis is whether the large ESOL population holds more advanced students back, or even regular students back, and I will say no. My kid's getting pass-advanced on tests, and I'm not doing any supplemental work. My child's not the only one doing well there.

The test scores look bad, yes, but again, remember that Lewis has one of the highest ESOL populations of schools. It's not easy doing standardized testing in another language. Those scores do not reflect the hard work and dedication of the teachers, but rather, the challenges of an international student population.

The school also has some of the nicest, most hardworking kids I've encountered. They're the ones who hold the door for you and notice when someone enters the room and needs a chair. My kid went to a different, larger middle school, and my kid has said many times that they feel safer walking the hallways of Lewis than at the other school.

Ultimately, I realize this won't change the minds of people. I wish people would just walk the halls or meet the community before forming conclusions. I'm also aware that right next door to Lewis, there's a school pyramid that had a drug overdose death earlier this school year and has problems with middle schoolers rampaging through the shopping centers, which people have rather shrugged away. Apparently test scores mean more? All schools can have problems. But Lewis has already been painted negatively, and it's like those medieval paintings done by some monk who's obviously never seen a lion. Whatever picture folks have painted off Lewis, let me tell you, it's really far off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at an elementary school that split feeds to Lewis, but my kids don't go there.

What I have heard is that at Key there is a lot of bullying/fights. I know several kids who pupil placed out because of bullying.

For Lewis, most of the best students place out to Edison's stem program - they call it getting out of juvy. Not kidding. There are lots of behavior issues at Lewis and just not enough others to make up for it.

Positives: My friends whose kids do the IB program there, though, love it. I think they have a decent arts program for both theater and band, and not as much competition to participate. There are some AP classes offered there, but not many.
You can walk on to literally any sports team you want except soccer. They didn't even have a varsity baseball team til last year and I think they lost every game. So you can play, but it's not very satisfying.

I think you can make the school work for you if you're involved and have kids who are self-motivated and on the right track. But I don't think it's as good of an FCPS experience as others get.

Max Preps lists Lewis having a varsity team for over a decade - https://www.maxpreps.com/va/springfield/lewis-lancers/baseball/

They're just bad.

Did you look at the site you posted? No baseball team at Lewis in 2022.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at an elementary school that split feeds to Lewis, but my kids don't go there.

What I have heard is that at Key there is a lot of bullying/fights. I know several kids who pupil placed out because of bullying.

For Lewis, most of the best students place out to Edison's stem program - they call it getting out of juvy. Not kidding. There are lots of behavior issues at Lewis and just not enough others to make up for it.

Positives: My friends whose kids do the IB program there, though, love it. I think they have a decent arts program for both theater and band, and not as much competition to participate. There are some AP classes offered there, but not many.
You can walk on to literally any sports team you want except soccer. They didn't even have a varsity baseball team til last year and I think they lost every game. So you can play, but it's not very satisfying.

I think you can make the school work for you if you're involved and have kids who are self-motivated and on the right track. But I don't think it's as good of an FCPS experience as others get.

Max Preps lists Lewis having a varsity team for over a decade - https://www.maxpreps.com/va/springfield/lewis-lancers/baseball/

They're just bad.

They absolutely skipped a year two years ago. No team at all.