When your public school is supposed to be one of the best but sucks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My experience is the opposite. My kids’ public school is supposed to be one of the “worst” in FCPS. It’s consistently ranked at the bottom of the GreatSchools list, but I think it’s excellent. Class sizes are small, the Principal is great, and there isn’t crazy pressure to keep up with the Joneses.

+1

OP here. This is exactly what I am talking about, I hear this all the time. For all the ("A,B,C) or bust" posts, you can keep it, really. If you want specifics, these kids are supposed to getting ready for college, yet can't even get into the appropriate classes - too crowded. Not to mention, any assistance with college prep (choosing classes and applying to college) is next to zero - again, too crowded. This is just two of many rather significant examples.

My kids went to a Title 1 ES in FCPS. Their MS/HS is routinely bashed in this forum. Yet, they've been fabulous. Sure, there are a number of kids who do really poorly/struggle or drop out - my 9th grader had an 11th grader in his Algebra class. But, we've had no problems with getting support from the counselors, no problems getting classes, etc.

Many families do not think a high number of kids taking Algebra in 9th and others taking Algebra in 11th are the marks of a good high school.

I'm not sure what you're saying but in FCPS, Algebra is a 9th grade class. My DSs' with IEPs were required to take it as freshman even though both failed the 7th and 8th grade SOLs. They offer is as a Part 1 and Part 2 class. In addition to being a mandatory class, it was also an elective. This allowed them to be taught at a slower pace and to have the class every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My experience is the opposite. My kids’ public school is supposed to be one of the “worst” in FCPS. It’s consistently ranked at the bottom of the GreatSchools list, but I think it’s excellent. Class sizes are small, the Principal is great, and there isn’t crazy pressure to keep up with the Joneses.

+1

OP here. This is exactly what I am talking about, I hear this all the time. For all the ("A,B,C) or bust" posts, you can keep it, really. If you want specifics, these kids are supposed to getting ready for college, yet can't even get into the appropriate classes - too crowded. Not to mention, any assistance with college prep (choosing classes and applying to college) is next to zero - again, too crowded. This is just two of many rather significant examples.

My kids went to a Title 1 ES in FCPS. Their MS/HS is routinely bashed in this forum. Yet, they've been fabulous. Sure, there are a number of kids who do really poorly/struggle or drop out - my 9th grader had an 11th grader in his Algebra class. But, we've had no problems with getting support from the counselors, no problems getting classes, etc.

Many families do not think a high number of kids taking Algebra in 9th and others taking Algebra in 11th are the marks of a good high school.

I'm not sure what you're saying but in FCPS, Algebra is a 9th grade class. My DSs' with IEPs were required to take it as freshman even though both failed the 7th and 8th grade SOLs. They offer is as a Part 1 and Part 2 class. In addition to being a mandatory class, it was also an elective. This allowed them to be taught at a slower pace and to have the class every day.

Algebra was a 6th, 7th, or 8th grade class for a third of our high school's graduating class. A decent Algebra class for 9th graders that has 11th graders in it as well, tells me the teacher is decent, but doesn't tell me it's an academically strong school. Being good at handling special ed students is a mark of a good or even great school yes, but other parents might be looking at schools from a different perspective.

[Anonymous]

Algebra 2...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Algebra 2...

No one is taking Algebra 2 as a 9th grader who failed their 7th and 8th grade SOL's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Algebra 2...

No one is taking Algebra 2 as a 9th grader who failed their 7th and 8th grade SOL's.

And what does that say about the feeder middle school?

[Anonymous]

Op - just wondered - what is your background and/ or long term school plans?
DH and I both went to public school and support public school.
With 3 kids, private school would be a hardship financially so it’s really not an option for us.

All that being said sometimes things happen in the public school that I’m not thrilled about. I try to tell my it’s good for all of us to learn some resilience and adaptability. And, just because I think something else should be happening - maybe in the long run we will see this other way is better and it’s probably good to do things different ways. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Algebra 2...

No one is taking Algebra 2 as a 9th grader who failed their 7th and 8th grade SOL's.

And what does that say about the feeder middle school?

NP. My DD took Algebra 2 even though she failed her 7th & 8th grade math SOLs. She, too, has an IEP for LDs. She's capable of learning higher level math but has working memory issues that make taking comprehensive examinations difficult - among other things. She's always done quite well in classes. I also have another kid in HS who fails, upon occasion, his classes but passes the SOLs. Incomplete homework is his downfall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to FCPS for k-8 and DCPS for 9-12. I hated fcps. Even though dcps had less money, less fancy buildings, and just less in general and is always bashed, I thrived there.

DCPS? Lucky you made it out alive.
I'll take FCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP's complaint seems to relate to over-crowding. That's a problem almost everywhere in FCPS.
What's your proposed solution to that OP.
(No dog in this fight; we went private).

Check residency!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My experience is the opposite. My kids’ public school is supposed to be one of the “worst” in FCPS. It’s consistently ranked at the bottom of the GreatSchools list, but I think it’s excellent. Class sizes are small, the Principal is great, and there isn’t crazy pressure to keep up with the Joneses.

+1

OP here. This is exactly what I am talking about, I hear this all the time. For all the ("A,B,C) or bust" posts, you can keep it, really. If you want specifics, these kids are supposed to getting ready for college, yet can't even get into the appropriate classes - too crowded. Not to mention, any assistance with college prep (choosing classes and applying to college) is next to zero - again, too crowded. This is just two of many rather significant examples.

So it's a high school. I think some posters earlier assumed it was an ES or MS, maybe.

I realize that you're here to vent and not really asking for advice, OP, but here goes anyway: My DC goes to a large FCPS HS (well, what FCPS HS isn't large now....) and honestly the squeaky wheel does get the grease. You may already be doing this, and if so I'm sorry to tell you what you know, but are you helping your student be extra assertive with being on the counseling office's radar? We've found that HS students who make themselves known early on to the counselors (and/or the AP or IB coordinators, if the kids are taking either of those) and who do a lot of follow-up in terms of dropping by to ask questions, making appointments to go over schedules or ask questions about course progressions, etc. do get that advice. It doesn't come to them proactively from the counselors but, unfortunately, has to be sought out, sometimes quite assertively.

Of course, counselors cannot make space appear in classes that are simply completely full. Have you asked the counseling office how they assign students to classes, and have you vented to them about your kids not getting into "appropriate" classes they need to get ready for their specific college plans? What response did you or your student get, if you said this to the counselors? It seems strange that classes aimed at the higher-level students who are clearly headed for college are so full that a student who is in that group would be shut out entirely--I know that at our school, students do (for instance) often get shut out of quickly-filled electives, or might have to juggle a schedule and lose something desirable in order to get into a class like a higher-level (or AP or IB) math or literature class that many college-bound seniors wanted, but -- it would be very unlikely for a kid to be totally shut out of a class if he or she were able to compromise on something else. Do you have a student who is trying to take several high-level courses at once, and is being told no, he or she won't be allowed to do that for whatever reason?

As for assistance with college applications/advice -- Does your school have a separate college and career counselor (some do) or are the regular counselors expected to do all the college and career stuff as well?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My experience is the opposite. My kids’ public school is supposed to be one of the “worst” in FCPS. It’s consistently ranked at the bottom of the GreatSchools list, but I think it’s excellent. Class sizes are small, the Principal is great, and there isn’t crazy pressure to keep up with the Joneses.

Yeah, that's that high school that was so bad they reverted back to an elementary school. They are calling them High Elementary. So for high achieving elementary aged children it's like high school and for low achieving high schoolers it like elementary school all over again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Algebra 2...

No one is taking Algebra 2 as a 9th grader who failed their 7th and 8th grade SOL's.

And what does that say about the feeder middle school?

NP. My DD took Algebra 2 even though she failed her 7th & 8th grade math SOLs. She, too, has an IEP for LDs. She's capable of learning higher level math but has working memory issues that make taking comprehensive examinations difficult - among other things. She's always done quite well in classes. I also have another kid in HS who fails, upon occasion, his classes but passes the SOLs. Incomplete homework is his downfall.

Why would you want your child in a high level math and failing in high school verses doing well in the standard level of math?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By best, most people means "full of kids from families with money." Even the "best" schools can be overcrowded since everyone wants their kids to go there.

Yep. We have an influx of kids who dont live in our neighborhood because ours is one of the best.

We even had a parent drop his kid off in a Maserati ... Our neighborhood is affluent but not Maserati level. At least borrow a Lexus for drop off if you want to stay under the radar.

Anyone can lease a car. Can

There's a dad in the Jamestown district who drives a Lambourghini and another with a Ferrari tho.

OMG DCUM posters always go for the pissing contests. Okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By best, most people means "full of kids from families with money." Even the "best" schools can be overcrowded since everyone wants their kids to go there.

Yep. We have an influx of kids who dont live in our neighborhood because ours is one of the best.

We even had a parent drop his kid off in a Maserati ... Our neighborhood is affluent but not Maserati level. At least borrow a Lexus for drop off if you want to stay under the radar.

That new Maserati is only like $80k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Disillusionment with “great” publics is why we are at a private.

Same. We started at a top notch private, followed conventional wisdom and moved to the most expensive zip code so that we could send our kids to great public schools. Simply, the only thing great was the level of disappointment in the quality of education and how over burdened the public school system is. It was awful. Over the weekend, we dropped our oldest off at boarding school and am currently making plans to send the younger DC's back to private next fall.