City of Alexandria - Mt. Vernon Elem School - likely to return to traditional calendar

[Anonymous]

For those who are not at the school and may not be familiar with this, there is a request to turn the school back to a traditional calendar school for the 2014-2015 school year. The reason cited was the year round calendar had no effect on better outcomes for at risk groups and in fact the gap widened.

[Anonymous]

Is this the reasoning for the year-round calendar at other schools too? I ask because we're zoned for Samuel Tucker, which also has year-round school.

[Anonymous]

OP, is there any word on whether the school will transition to mandatory immersion for all incoming K students in 2014? I know that was on the table, as well.

[Anonymous]

This is ACPS we're talking about. Everything is always on the table, but nothing ever decided.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is ACPS we're talking about. Everything is always on the table, but nothing ever decided.

Well, -some- things are decided. Firing Sherman, internal admin-transfers to closed-access schools by a school board member, appointment of two acting Superintendents in a row -- that all gets decided by the School Board.

[Anonymous]

What is the deal with this school? We are zoned for it but don't know anyone there. All of our neighbors are going private or St. Mary's or moving. I don't even know how to evaluate it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the deal with this school? We are zoned for it but don't know anyone there. All of our neighbors are going private or St. Mary's or moving. I don't even know how to evaluate it.

It's the largest elementary (by student population) in Alexandria. About 800 students. 25% are white, so about 200 students. These white kids are getting some of the highest scores in Alexandria, 100% pass-rates on the SOLs. But the Hispanic kids are doing very very poorly.

Your kid will have plenty of high-achieving peers to socialize with. And the alternative calendar will probably get tossed next year (if that was bothering you.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the deal with this school? We are zoned for it but don't know anyone there. All of our neighbors are going private or St. Mary's or moving. I don't even know how to evaluate it.

It's the largest elementary (by student population) in Alexandria. About 800 students. 25% are white, so about 200 students. These white kids are getting some of the highest scores in Alexandria, 100% pass-rates on the SOLs. But the Hispanic kids are doing very very poorly.

Your kid will have plenty of high-achieving peers to socialize with. And the alternative calendar will probably get tossed next year (if that was bothering you.)

Another neighbor zoned for Mount Vernon with a rising Kindergartener. We did a tour when considering options and very quickly ruled it out. The school is very large, and principal said will only get bigger and may have over 900 students in 2014. Because of the size, kindergarteners eat a rushed lunch at 10am, so everyone can get through. Principal said that 68% of school is Hispanic and 30% white. Of that 30%, 90% are in the TAG program. The classes we observed seemed disorganized with lots of rambunctious kids and exhausted looking teachers (who also weren't particularly friendly). We were told there was a good chance that the school would be mandatory dual language for all K in 2014. We know some families who are quite happy there. We know others who aren't because so much effort and resources are dedicated to bringing up the bottom and the ESL kids that the bar is lowered and curriculum is dumbed down. It's also a school that uses "success for all" for reading and "everyday math" curriculums. Neither of which I am a fan. Especially learning Everyday Math in Spanish.

The environment didn't feel right for us. We are considering all the options a PP suggested.

[Anonymous]

I think it's telling that a school board leader refused to enroll DC there. Didn't the child transfer to Lyles Crouch (despite LC being closed to regular transfers)? That speaks volumes and is incredibly unfair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's telling that a school board leader refused to enroll DC there. Didn't the child transfer to Lyles Crouch (despite LC being closed to regular transfers)? That speaks volumes and is incredibly unfair.

Exactly. This is the Alex School Board serving itself and its members' political aspirations by throwing the schools and the staff and the students into the tracks. Not one parent got a transfer into LC except for employees, special-needs cases -- and the school board member.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's telling that a school board leader refused to enroll DC there. Didn't the child transfer to Lyles Crouch (despite LC being closed to regular transfers)? That speaks volumes and is incredibly unfair.

Exactly. This is the Alex School Board serving itself and its members' political aspirations by throwing the schools and the staff and the students into the tracks. Not one parent got a transfer into LC except for employees, special-needs cases -- and the school board member.

Not you again - I already explained, as did someone else, you don't need to be anyone special to get a transfer to Lyles-Crouch. They do need to have space available, and you do need to follow the transfer guidelines. If you want your kid to go to Lyles-Crouch, call them up tomorrow and discuss with the principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, is there any word on whether the school will transition to mandatory immersion for all incoming K students in 2014? I know that was on the table, as well.

No, the Powerpoint posted on the School Board website only discusses the change back to the traditional calendar.

[Anonymous]

Last year when I was standing in front of the firehouse waiting to vote, someone approached me to encourage me to vote for a particular candidate for school board. She went on and on about all the great things at Lyles Crouch. Then I said, well, I am zoned for Jefferson-Houston, what will this person do for my kid? All I got back was a blank stare.

For whomever keeps posting that it is possible to transfer into L-C, give it up. None of us can plan for our children's future educational needs, our mortgages, and our commutes based on a wing and a prayer.

In case you can't tell, I am really disgusted with ACPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's telling that a school board leader refused to enroll DC there. Didn't the child transfer to Lyles Crouch (despite LC being closed to regular transfers)? That speaks volumes and is incredibly unfair.

Not true. Lyles Crouch was open last year for certain grade levels and based on Principal approval. They had space. I (who am not Karen Graf) was given the option of transferring my own DC there. You've mentioned ad nauseam (if you're the same poster) that it patently unfair that she got her kids into LC and that its closed for transfer. Problem is, its not true. It may be true for kinder, but it is not true for the older grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, is there any word on whether the school will transition to mandatory immersion for all incoming K students in 2014? I know that was on the table, as well.

No, the Powerpoint posted on the School Board website only discusses the change back to the traditional calendar.

I think that is one of the ideas on the table, not one that I think is a good idea at all. Personally, I think the dual language program is part of the problem. If I had to pick a program to keep, I'd keep the modified calendar. It is different now, but when my DD started they were teaching math and science in Spanish, which I thought was a bad idea given that those two subjects have their own specialized vocabulary so we went the "traditional" route. I had friends whose DD did terribly once story problems were introduced because she was falling behind in Spanish and then because she was working so hard to translate the Spanish she was having a hard time with the actual math of the problem. We went the traditional route and since DC was in TAG she did fine, but still. Parents who think their child will be bilingual coming out of the program are also sadly mistaken, there is (or was not) any real language instructions, kids were just spoken to in Spanish, plus that was never the goal. The school had an unfortunate cycle of two not so great principals but the new one, Peter Balas is great, he just has a long road ahead of him. Teachers were sort of overwhelmed in DCs last year there, between curriculum changes, SFA and principal switches, it was getting tiring for them. That said, some of the most dedicated teachers I know are at that school. It has so much potential to be an amazing school, a very involved community of parents, a supportive neighborhood, dedicated teachers, and a super enthusiastic principal - it just has to get there .