Herndon high - what’s going on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP and the stupid equity lens is myopic! Woe to the average, native language speaker without a 504. You know who gets left behind? The “unlabeled” quiet, well-mannered, respectful DC with equally polite and engaged parents.

These are the students who get no additional support, guidance or almighty, nebulous “resources” or even attention. These kids fall through the cracks.

Why? The teachers, admins, counselors, social workers, front office admins, SROs are all in crisis mode and there’s literally no time for your bright DC (not bright enough for AAP though) who needs help with …anything. As I’ve been told, “average is absolutely fine” or, “DC is doing just fine and doesn’t need anything else - she’ll pick it up eventually” or “let’s wait until next year - sometimes boys mature later” or “no conference needed - no issues.”

You as the parent, however, will do kitchen-table teaching and tutoring all throughout ES. You’ll teach your own DC how to read, administer spelling tests, teach geography, make vocabulary and math facts flash cards.

You’ll also need to hire a professional tutor for higher level math and science around freshman year. Plan to do intensive SAT prep to include test-taking strategies and DC will likely learn more from SAT prep than from class subjects.

Mom of 2 FCPS graduates: one college graduate and one rising college senior.

Don't try and pin this on Special Needs kids. You don't know just how lucky you are to get to deal with "average" without complications. And the result is a college graduate--and I assume another going to college? Big old middle finger to that attitude.

Put down your middle finger. I was directly criticizing the carefully orchestrate 504 plans that savvy parents know to get and game the system. Same for gaining admission to AAP (go to the right child psychologist, go to the correct tutoring center, join the THHSST study group). My “expert” relative did extensive research to get her neurotypical DC a 504 that allows for additional testing time and some very specific supports.

When every other student has a 504, you can understand how this gamesmanship ends up undermining those students who have a genuine and legal right and need. We’ve gummed up the system.

An entire generation of FCPS parents arrive to register their DC in Head Start or peek with their hands out and ready to avail themselves of all resources.

A pregnant teen FCPS student gets showered with “resources” and all the help and services you can imagine - ok, great, nice but ask for some help with the very basics or if your kid slips behind-no worries. Average is just fine.

See also thread re: FCPS graduations. Everyone graduates.

Nope, leaving it up. A kid who got into college and graduated was prepared. I don’t think anyone considers that falling through the cracks. Seems solidly average or above. Where were you shortchanged? How do you know the detailed medical histories of all these 504 moochers? And IQs of AAP kids? Yes, average is just fine, why all the animosity towards those who researched and were able to use a resource?

lol. 50% of Navy elementary is AAP. You really think 50% of those kids have a 130 IQ or higher?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know they got rid of their French Immersion program and switched it to Spanish, if it still exists at all.

At this point simply going to Herndon MS/HS counts as Spanish immersion.

This is a really ignorant post.

https://schoolquality.virginia.gov/schools/herndon-high#fndtn-desktopTabs-enrollment

53% Hispanic and growing fast. 70% of whom are English learners.

My kids are HES-HMS-HHS. Your comment that going to these schools is equivalent to Spanish immersion isn’t true. Nearly all the children who spoke Spanish at home were already bilingual when they arrived at school. The language of the playground was English. My kids were in the Spanish immersion program and only 2 kids did not speak English.

Don’t stop believing!

PP and this is an idealized version and fictional.

By MS, cliques form and are neither utopian nor cross-cultural. This “separation” or really segregation was essentially what potential Luther Jackson MS parents were told of/when they expressed concerns about their AAP student given the choice (!) to attend there v. zoned Thoreau.

“Don’t worry - your student will *only* take classes with his cohort of other AAP students, except for P.E. Also, the bus will be all neighborhood AAP students. Your student really will only eat lunch with AAP kids. We will keep your precious DC in a safe cocoon.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone at Herndon know what is leading to the massive projected enrollment drop at Herndon high? Just last year in the CIP they were projecting Herndon to be over 2300 in 2027 and this year they are projecting 1900 in 2027. That is a 20% decline. Is it SBG and bad administration that is causing kids to go elsewhere (private, pupil placement, moving) or something else?

I’ll speak up: my ILs are zoned to HHS and moved there long ago to send their DC to the best possible FCPS HS they could afford and still have easy commutes (fed govt employees both -now retired). They’ve maintained their house beautifully but being zoned to HHS isn’t a selling point anymore. They are selling soon and it may be a tough sell - solidly Herndon zoned but perhaps over-improved to the point they won’t get a huge windfall and make as much of a profit as they hope.

First thought:That sucks.
Second thought: if they have been consistently voting blue they quite frankly deserve it.
Third thought: if the overall neighborhood is nice perhaps they can get a decent offer from some nice family who loves the house, neighborhood and commute and had the extra cheddar for private. Good luck to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know they got rid of their French Immersion program and switched it to Spanish, if it still exists at all.

At this point simply going to Herndon MS/HS counts as Spanish immersion.

This is a really ignorant post.

https://schoolquality.virginia.gov/schools/herndon-high#fndtn-desktopTabs-enrollment

53% Hispanic and growing fast. 70% of whom are English learners.

Sure pero el famoso “bubble” will keep English-speaking children from having too much contact with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know they got rid of their French Immersion program and switched it to Spanish, if it still exists at all.

At this point simply going to Herndon MS/HS counts as Spanish immersion.

This is a really ignorant post.

https://schoolquality.virginia.gov/schools/herndon-high#fndtn-desktopTabs-enrollment

53% Hispanic and growing fast. 70% of whom are English learners.

My kids are HES-HMS-HHS. Your comment that going to these schools is equivalent to Spanish immersion isn’t true. Nearly all the children who spoke Spanish at home were already bilingual when they arrived at school. The language of the playground was English. My kids were in the Spanish immersion program and only 2 kids did not speak English.

Don’t stop believing!

And where do your kids go to school? I have first hand knowledge of these schools.

[Anonymous]

FCPS parents should be pushing hard to get access to their school's "School Profile" to see what is being sent to colleges. And get it back to school-specific School Profiles. This is what college admissions officers look at to compare kids within a school.

At our school, the "School Profile" that is sent is no longer school specific. It shows all of FCPS data (GPA/SAT averages)-- and that's it. This is different from pre-COVID.

If it were school specific, it would show average GPA across the school. So if your child had a lower GPA that year but was still top 10%, the colleges would see it.

Frankly, we should stop hiding rankings too. But even a school specific GPA range would help kids in the Herndon/Madison/SPG grade situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP and the stupid equity lens is myopic! Woe to the average, native language speaker without a 504. You know who gets left behind? The “unlabeled” quiet, well-mannered, respectful DC with equally polite and engaged parents.

These are the students who get no additional support, guidance or almighty, nebulous “resources” or even attention. These kids fall through the cracks.

Why? The teachers, admins, counselors, social workers, front office admins, SROs are all in crisis mode and there’s literally no time for your bright DC (not bright enough for AAP though) who needs help with …anything. As I’ve been told, “average is absolutely fine” or, “DC is doing just fine and doesn’t need anything else - she’ll pick it up eventually” or “let’s wait until next year - sometimes boys mature later” or “no conference needed - no issues.”

You as the parent, however, will do kitchen-table teaching and tutoring all throughout ES. You’ll teach your own DC how to read, administer spelling tests, teach geography, make vocabulary and math facts flash cards.

You’ll also need to hire a professional tutor for higher level math and science around freshman year. Plan to do intensive SAT prep to include test-taking strategies and DC will likely learn more from SAT prep than from class subjects.

Mom of 2 FCPS graduates: one college graduate and one rising college senior.

Don't try and pin this on Special Needs kids. You don't know just how lucky you are to get to deal with "average" without complications. And the result is a college graduate--and I assume another going to college? Big old middle finger to that attitude.

Put down your middle finger. I was directly criticizing the carefully orchestrate 504 plans that savvy parents know to get and game the system. Same for gaining admission to AAP (go to the right child psychologist, go to the correct tutoring center, join the THHSST study group). My “expert” relative did extensive research to get her neurotypical DC a 504 that allows for additional testing time and some very specific supports.

When every other student has a 504, you can understand how this gamesmanship ends up undermining those students who have a genuine and legal right and need. We’ve gummed up the system.

An entire generation of FCPS parents arrive to register their DC in Head Start or peek with their hands out and ready to avail themselves of all resources.

A pregnant teen FCPS student gets showered with “resources” and all the help and services you can imagine - ok, great, nice but ask for some help with the very basics or if your kid slips behind-no worries. Average is just fine.

See also thread re: FCPS graduations. Everyone graduates.

Nope, leaving it up. A kid who got into college and graduated was prepared. I don’t think anyone considers that falling through the cracks. Seems solidly average or above. Where were you shortchanged? How do you know the detailed medical histories of all these 504 moochers? And IQs of AAP kids? Yes, average is just fine, why all the animosity towards those who researched and were able to use a resource?

lol. 50% of Navy elementary is AAP. You really think 50% of those kids have a 130 IQ or higher?

AAP isn't the same thing as gifted right? I don't see why hard working kids should be denied classes just because they weren't 130+ IQ. If they can make the A's, shouldn't they be allowed in the class?

[Anonymous]

You know HHS has a large number of AP classes, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know HHS has a large number of AP classes, right?

Where is the can diagram to show the percentage of ELL/ES students enrolled in AP? There are two different tracks here; essentially two different schools within a school. This is the FCPS way.

[Anonymous]

Venn diagram

[Anonymous]

Herndon parent here - yes the same AAP classes as all other school. And let’s be clear, while the school does have its issues, most HHS parents and students were happy at Herndon until this year. The way SBG was implemented was the start of the problem. Then came the lies, cover-up, nastiness, anger etc from the Admin. SBG and the principals off putting demeanor is what made Herndon the mess it is today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Herndon parent here - yes the same AAP classes as all other school. And let’s be clear, while the school does have its issues, most HHS parents and students were happy at Herndon until this year. The way SBG was implemented was the start of the problem. Then came the lies, cover-up, nastiness, anger etc from the Admin. SBG and the principals off putting demeanor is what made Herndon the mess it is today.

Yes agree. So take away SBG and replace Liz. Done and done!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Herndon parent here - yes the same AAP classes as all other school. And let’s be clear, while the school does have its issues, most HHS parents and students were happy at Herndon until this year. The way SBG was implemented was the start of the problem. Then came the lies, cover-up, nastiness, anger etc from the Admin. SBG and the principals off putting demeanor is what made Herndon the mess it is today.

+100 another HHS parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Herndon parent here - yes the same AAP classes as all other school. And let’s be clear, while the school does have its issues, most HHS parents and students were happy at Herndon until this year. The way SBG was implemented was the start of the problem. Then came the lies, cover-up, nastiness, anger etc from the Admin. SBG and the principals off putting demeanor is what made Herndon the mess it is today.

Yes agree. So take away SBG and replace Liz. Done and done!

Hey, hey, ho, ho. Dr. Noto’s got to go!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Herndon parent here - yes the same AAP classes as all other school. And let’s be clear, while the school does have its issues, most HHS parents and students were happy at Herndon until this year. The way SBG was implemented was the start of the problem. Then came the lies, cover-up, nastiness, anger etc from the Admin. SBG and the principals off putting demeanor is what made Herndon the mess it is today.

[phone]