Escaping Alexandria Schools

[Anonymous]

We had some kid-specific problems in a good Alexandria elementary a few years ago (kid-specific in that we thought the education, the peer group, etc were fine, but our kid was not gelling with the school). We looked into moving to Fairfax or Arlington, but found that class size - which we felt was one of the biggest drivers of our child's issues - was larger in both the FFX and Arlington systems on average. We ended up going to private. It's worked out very well. It might be worth considering a few years of private and then TC if you love where you live (as we do!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Honey. The good high schools don't need to trot out their anomalous college placements. TC has a graduation rate of under 80 percent.

It's very well known that if you're white and bright you can survive TC and leverage the stigma into a top college placement. But please don't imply that TC is a college prep environment because, really it is not, except for a subset of students. Some of us don't want our children to be in such a cynical education environment.

But, hey, if it makes you feel better to keep yelling "But! Penn! Columbia!" then more power to you.

I think you're just baiting the other poster to make yourself feel better about your own decisions.

We're not in Alexandria, but I can assure you that both the privates and the higher-ranked publics let parents know early and often where their seniors are being admitted. And why is it "cynical" for a school that serves many challenged students to celebrate the achievements of those who have thrived?

I think you're just baiting the other poster to make yourself feel better about your own decisions.

Privates do this as a marketing thing. They're also uniformly college prep. The fact that TC attempts to mimic this marketing without following through on the other part is laughable.

The "cynical" bit refers to parents who see TC as a pathway to elite colleges because they'll be perceived as having overcome a bad school. Yes, some parents think this way. It's part of the problem. The rationing of excellence is sad.

No, I'm perfectly secure in my own decisions. My strong feelings about this stem from my anger at having to leave Alexandria after trying, and failing, to make some changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Privates do this as a marketing thing. They're also uniformly college prep. The fact that TC attempts to mimic this marketing without following through on the other part is laughable.

The "cynical" bit refers to parents who see TC as a pathway to elite colleges because they'll be perceived as having overcome a bad school. Yes, some parents think this way. It's part of the problem. The rationing of excellence is sad.

No, I'm perfectly secure in my own decisions. My strong feelings about this stem from my anger at having to leave Alexandria after trying, and failing, to make some changes.

Got it. You were rebuffed that your own proposals weren't adopted, so the parents who didn't share your frustrations are cynics.

TC has a tougher mission than Episcopal. It wants to appeal to those also considering privates, but has the responsibility to educate all the students who attend. In that regard, it's not much different than Wakefield.

[Anonymous]

Exactly!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Privates do this as a marketing thing. They're also uniformly college prep. The fact that TC attempts to mimic this marketing without following through on the other part is laughable.

The "cynical" bit refers to parents who see TC as a pathway to elite colleges because they'll be perceived as having overcome a bad school. Yes, some parents think this way. It's part of the problem. The rationing of excellence is sad.

No, I'm perfectly secure in my own decisions. My strong feelings about this stem from my anger at having to leave Alexandria after trying, and failing, to make some changes.

Got it. You were rebuffed that your own proposals weren't adopted, so the parents who didn't share your frustrations are cynics.

TC has a tougher mission than Episcopal. It wants to appeal to those also considering privates, but has the responsibility to educate all the students who attend. In that regard, it's not much different than Wakefield.

Actually, no it doesn't. The superintendent has explicitly said this. He does not intend to appeal to or compete with privates. And the city mayor has dubbed people who've left in search of more quality education to be racists.

I'm not the cynic. It's a completely dysfunctional system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Actually, no it doesn't. The superintendent has explicitly said this. He does not intend to appeal to or compete with privates. And the city mayor has dubbed people who've left in search of more quality education to be racists.

I'm not the cynic. It's a completely dysfunctional system.

I think you're taking comments out of context.

Enjoy your IPod storybooks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Actually, no it doesn't. The superintendent has explicitly said this. He does not intend to appeal to or compete with privates. And the city mayor has dubbed people who've left in search of more quality education to be racists.

I'm not the cynic. It's a completely dysfunctional system.

I think you're taking comments out of context.

Enjoy your IPod storybooks.

If I only were. Sigh.

Thanks, I will! You enjoy your first grader learning about smoking crack and how people get arrested! (my dd got such an education at MacArthur!)

[Anonymous]

As the president of the TC Wiliams PTSA last year, I can assure you that the school has arranged tours and special visits for parents from Alexandria private schools. Yvonne Folkerts (former chair of the school board) and Principal Maxey have attended events set up for private school parents interested in finding out more about TC Williams. 8th graders were able to shadow current students and attend classes with them. Mrs. Maxey's secretary, Patty Moran, would be happy to set up a visit for a group of private school parents if they wish. We would love for you to visit!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Actually, no it doesn't. The superintendent has explicitly said this. He does not intend to appeal to or compete with privates. And the city mayor has dubbed people who've left in search of more quality education to be racists.

I'm not the cynic. It's a completely dysfunctional system.

I think you're taking comments out of context.

Enjoy your IPod storybooks.

If I only were. Sigh.

Thanks, I will! You enjoy your first grader learning about smoking crack and how people get arrested! (my dd got such an education at MacArthur!)

I have a kid at MacArthur, and love it. Your story, if true, is antecdotal at best and hardly an indictment of a whole school system. So sorry your upper-middle class sensibilities were upset. White peope, jeez!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Actually, no it doesn't. The superintendent has explicitly said this. He does not intend to appeal to or compete with privates. And the city mayor has dubbed people who've left in search of more quality education to be racists.

I'm not the cynic. It's a completely dysfunctional system.

I think you're taking comments out of context.

Enjoy your IPod storybooks.

If I only were. Sigh.

Thanks, I will! You enjoy your first grader learning about smoking crack and how people get arrested! (my dd got such an education at MacArthur!)

I have a kid at MacArthur, and love it. Your story, if true, is antecdotal at best and hardly an indictment of a whole school system. So sorry your upper-middle class sensibilities were upset. White peope, jeez!

Toured GW yet? You're going to love it there too.

[Anonymous]

Know plenty of people who are fine at GW. Sorry you're too much of a pussy to hack it. BTW, just slit your tires on your BMW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Know plenty of people who are fine at GW. Sorry you're too much of a pussy to hack it. BTW, just slit your tires on your BMW.

Have fun sending your child someplace where they need to "hack it." You make it sound real appealing. The misogny and vandalistic imagery are nice touches, too. You stay Klassy!

[Anonymous]

You stay Klanny, Mrs. Duke!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You stay Klanny, Mrs. Duke!

the hell are you prattling on about now, dimwit?

[Anonymous]

ACPS parent and teacher here. Instead of complaining about how awful the system is, why don't you get involved and try to change things? Sure, you can be an uninvolved parent that sticks to the rumors or you can get your hands dirty and help us work on this school system. For what it's worth, I graduated from TC, went to an ivy league school, and have come back to give to a school system that gave to me.