how bad are alexandria city public schools anyway?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well that's not the real world. But mommy will try to shield her little snow flake from it for as long as possible apparently.

Nor is TC the "real world" ... it's a heavily skewed world were the belief that the govt owes you lifelong housing and food prevails. Alexandria city has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the area yet is one of the smallest jurisdictions. It's really sad how bad it is.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you take you're little GOP act back to Prince Billy County, put your falsies in,and try not to burn down your trailer while cooking up some meth. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

There are many, many kids who graduate from TC who go on to colleges that I did not name in the earlier list. It's not like you've got 50 kids going to great colleges and 500 others who drop out. The "jail or Yale" myth is ridiculous. You have many more kids going to Virginia state schools than you do at private schools for financial reasons. Therefore, for example, you're going to see lots more kids going to GMU instead of Rollins or a comparable private school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you take you're little GOP act back to Prince Billy County, put your falsies in,and try not to burn down your trailer while cooking up some meth. Thanks.

If this is the type of person defending Alexandria Public Schools, I guess I don't have to explain why none of my friends kept their kids there through middle school.

I think it's amusing that someone always points out how many Alexandria Public School kids go to college, as though that somehow makes it a great school. It is a huge school, and there are many bright kids there. I did say, however, that I know people who started out at ACPS for middle school, but I don't know any who finished there. They have all switched to private or moved to Arlington or Falls Church or McLean. I do know some (actually, one I can think of) who went back to ACPS for high school after doing private for middle school. The middle school is the real weak spot.

[Anonymous]

I'm on here defending ACPS and I did not make the derogatory post. I am, however, upset that you are propagating a rumor about the quality of Alexandria city schools. Have you had children at one of the middle schools? Have you ever visited them? I have. Have your children attended an ACPS school? Mine has. Yes, there are poor children there. Yes, some of them get pregnant. Some of them had limbs cut off during civil wars in Africa. Some of them wear the hijab. Some are mired in generations of poverty. Others come from families that are simply doing the best they can, and others come from highly educated, wealthy families that vacation in Europe every summer. Please don't smear our students and community the way you have, with very little understanding or empathy. It serves no purpose.

[Anonymous]

Oh wow, someone did reply to me.

10:47, I did live in a South Arlington area zoned for Oakcrest. Is Alexandria City really all that different? Given demographics, test scores, etc., Wakefield and TC seem similar enough, although the presence of Woodlawn, smaller school size, and ability to get into TJ would tip the scale towards Wakefield, at least for me.

I'll also re-iterate the point I've made earlier -- it's better to live in the better part of a "bad" school zone than the bad part of a "good" school zone. Or, I'd rather live in a charming condo in Old Town than the Vienna Park Apartments.

15:38, while living in Fairfax (and now Loudoun) I didn't have a drug dealer across the street from me, nor did I see my neighbors out on their front lawn having a huge argument. In fact, it's been four months in Leesburg now and none of my neighbors have been asking me for money. They all seem at least politely interested in getting to know us, even if we're not going to be BFFs. The decent neighbors I had in Parkway (Arlington) all moved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm on here defending ACPS and I did not make the derogatory post. I am, however, upset that you are propagating a rumor about the quality of Alexandria city schools. Have you had children at one of the middle schools? Have you ever visited them? I have. Have your children attended an ACPS school? Mine has. Yes, there are poor children there. Yes, some of them get pregnant. Some of them had limbs cut off during civil wars in Africa. Some of them wear the hijab. Some are mired in generations of poverty. Others come from families that are simply doing the best they can, and others come from highly educated, wealthy families that vacation in Europe every summer. Please don't smear our students and community the way you have, with very little understanding or empathy. It serves no purpose.

My good friend was a middle school teacher in ACPS. She refused to send kid there and quit to go work in Fairfax because she couldn't take the whole system anymore.

It's not that some of the kids fit the profiles you mentioned, its that the majority of the kids fit the profile. The City continues to prop up low income families in public housing - a terrible idea - and does nothing to help break those cycle of poverty. In this area, in this day in age, there should be no reason why those kids today can't move out of the cycle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well that's not the real world. But mommy will try to shield her little snow flake from it for as long as possible apparently.

Ok, you used "little snow flake" in an argument, so you lose.

Yes, TC sends graduates to some fine colleges. They are the exception, not the rule. If you want your child influenced by the "real world" that views college as unachievable or worse, with disdain, that's fine. But don't behave like you've got virtue and those of us who seek more positive influences do not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm on here defending ACPS and I did not make the derogatory post. I am, however, upset that you are propagating a rumor about the quality of Alexandria city schools. Have you had children at one of the middle schools? Have you ever visited them? I have. Have your children attended an ACPS school? Mine has. Yes, there are poor children there. Yes, some of them get pregnant. Some of them had limbs cut off during civil wars in Africa. Some of them wear the hijab. Some are mired in generations of poverty. Others come from families that are simply doing the best they can, and others come from highly educated, wealthy families that vacation in Europe every summer. Please don't smear our students and community the way you have, with very little understanding or empathy. It serves no purpose.

Yes, I toured GW when we were trying to decide whether to add on or move. My favorite memory of GW tour was the principal saying, sheeplishly, that they're trying to "do something about boob day" where evidently the boys score points by touching the girls' breasts. I've also been inside TC and seen the chaos. We moved.

So, yes, I come by my conclusions honestly and after in-person inspection. Other school systems have poverty and handle it well. Other schools have diversity and handle it well. ACPS does not, for whatever reason, seem to be able to handle this well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi! Mom of Burgundy grad here. DD was 1 year behind ACPS peers because Burgundy (and I would imagine most K-8 privates) don't offer geometry to 8th graders. If it had been, she would have taken it. Some Burgundy kids now at TC took Pre-calculus over the summer so that they could take calculus as 11th graders this year, thereby bringing them into the most advanced math group at TC. The point I was making is that ACPS does offer advanced courses to its students. DD is being challenged at TC; she took two APs as a sophomore and scored 5s on both of them. Some private schools do not allow 10th graders to take AP courses. I stand by my statement that TC is a terrific school for self-motivated kids (and I am a big Burgundy fan as well).

Our suburban K-8 offers geometry to their students. I realize this is off-topic, but makes me wonder about BF.

[Anonymous]

OMG about boob day.

PS-I grew up in Prince William County and still have all my teeth!

[Anonymous]

It's suburban hell down there ... Hoodbridge, Hoodbridge! And Dumpfries!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's suburban hell down there ... Hoodbridge, Hoodbridge! And Dumpfries!

Didn't you see Bambi? If you can't say anything nice...