APS is failing my gifted child
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Anonymous
+1 JLARC is an independent, bipartisan commission which is looking for cost savings. And they said it’s underfunded. |
Anonymous
Ok. Thanks for proving my point. Schools that have many kids with higher needs (EL, economically disadvantaged, SN) require even more funding. |
Anonymous
There's no way it's underfunded, just misappropriated. APS ranks among the highest per capita in the nation. This includes schools in New York state, of which there are close to 100 in the top 1000 in USNWR. College outcomes are terrible in APS as well. They just don't know how to run a school system in Arlington. |
Anonymous
Or better parenting. No amount of money can help an IDGAF attitude. |
Anonymous
They did not say *APS* is underfunded. There are many counties in Virginia with significantly less funding that they are talking about (even when adjusted for COL). |
Anonymous
WTF? You’re gross. |
Anonymous
JLARC, the independent, bipartisan commission which is looking for cost savings, found that APS was underfunded by both the state and the county. Short-term recommendations were an additional $7M from the state and $29M from the county. Accounting for ALL of their recommendations, VA underfunded APS by $51M and the county underfunded by $206M. https://jlarc.virginia.gov/pdfs/other/JLARC%20SOQ%20model%20division%20level%20cost%20estimates-3.pdf page 25 (short-term), 27 (all) |
Anonymous
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Also, the APS spending is significantly skewed because funding for capital projects is included in the operating budget.
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Anonymous
not the PP but why is this gross? School is not a substitute for parents |
Anonymous
PP was referring to the parents of kids with higher needs (EL, economically disadvantaged, SN). Blaming higher needs on poor parenting is gross AF. |
Anonymous
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If we look within APS, we can see how increased funding is NOT what actually achieves academic success.
For instance: Let’s compare Arlington Traditional School to any of Arlington’s other elementary schools with a similar racial and socioeconomic make-up. Does ATS spend more per student than any of our other elementary schools? No. What they DO is spend their funds well — using them to implement solid teaching strategies that have been known to work (rather than getting distracted by each year’s new and greatest idea). Another thing ATS has going for it: a school culture where families prioritize education. So it may be “gross” to say that parenting matters. But it’s also true. Dumping millions of dollars into a sinking ship won’t save it when the people on board are using it for paint rather than plugging the actual holes. No, we shouldn’t provide more funding. APS needs to show that they can spend what they’ve been given in a responsible manner. (Including not signing on for huge capital expenses that are wholly unnecessary.) |
Anonymous
ATS has all of those things — ELs, economically disadvantaged students, SNs — yet is still able to produce results without more funding than any of our other elementary schools. What’s the difference? Oh, all of the parents (despite lack of privilege by many) give a crap about their kids’ education. |
Anonymous
| And no one was blaming higher needs on poor parenting. I AM saying that in the absence of good parenting, academic achievement won’t improve — even with more and more and more funding. |
Anonymous
A not insignificant portion of special needs is definitely a direct result of poor parenting. Babies don't get to choose if their gestational years are inside an obese or addicted parent. Kids aren't buying their own food to stuff their mouths with 3000 calories of soda and chips. Infants aren't buying their own ipads and phones to watch cartoons with. Kids don't learn on their own that life without rules and consequences is the only rule. I see this every single day and these families are not specific to any one demographic except the "poor parenting" one. |
Anonymous
If you think parents in APS DGAF, you really don't know what other school districts are like. We are in a bubble. |