FCPS NEW SUPERINTENDENT : Michelle Reid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since I don’t know Dr. Reid at present I have a much more favorable opinion about her than I do of the current School Board. What happened last night was an embarrassing spectacle, with most of the School Board members making it very clear that they care less about our kids’ education than making sure they constantly check off the boxes needed to keep them in good standing with the special interest groups, whether it’s the Fairfax NAACP, Pride Liberation, or the “equity”-obsessed types who dominate the FCDC and control the endorsements for School Board races.

I challenge anyone to watch Abrar Omeish’s rambling speech last night and not come away saying to themselves “WTF is this silly narcissist talking about and what does it have to do with FCPS?” The only saving grace was Pekarsky muttering “oh boy” on a hot mic as Omeish launched into her lengthy spiel.

Politics and spiels aside though, equity is one of the biggest problems any superintendent is going to have to face. FCPS is a big county with schools where wealth is concentrated and schools where it is not and that impacts a lot of the educational process. The equity push actually came from George W. Bush in 2001 with No Child Left Behind where equity was the primary focus. So an equity-focus isn't some new democratic school board thing--it's that there's been 2 decades of pressure to improve equity nationally starting with a Republican president who put it into strong policy. And with 2 decades of trying, FCPS is better than many places--and Virginia has been in the top 5 states in terms of educational achievement for a long time with FCPS near the top in the state-- but it's still been a persistent problem nationally.

Well, maybe, except what you're calling equity hasn't necessarily meant the same thing over that period.

NCLB's focus was to close achievement gaps, not to do away with the notion of achievement or merit.

But it ran into problems because gaps are hard to narrow, teachers felt like they were being punished for failures to solve problems not of their making, and parents in wealthier communities saw how some of their kids and schools received fewer resources as school districts began to spend much more per pupil on poorer schools.

Now, the equity advocates still want more money spent on schools in low-income communities, but they've figured out that one way to curry favor with the educational establishment is to assert that tests are discriminatory, the idea of merit is racist, and that teachers should never be held accountable for "systemic" problems. That's a lot more attractive than being constantly expected to close an achievement gap.

But at the same time, it breeds suspicion among those whose children were doing well in the public schools, especially those who don't otherwise have a lot of political power, because they no longer see an obvious path for their kids to advance or distinguish themselves. The assumption is that the "equity" advocates want a short-cut to equal outcomes, which won't actually involve raising the academic performance of lower-achieving students, but instead simply reallocating wealth and opportunity through overtly political means (such as the recent admissions to the TJ admissions policies).

Reid appears to have been an adept practitioner of this new form of "equity" but she's going to find that FCPS is a much larger and more diverse community than her prior district, and that the degree of suspicion with respect to FCPS's leadership and School Board is currently at an all-time high.

I think the current equity push is the logical end point of focusing on the achievement gap. It's not politically palatable to admit that it will never be closed unless economic disparities cease to exist, but politicians need to find way to make it appear like the gap is closing. At some point they realized that you can close a gap by raising the low to meet the high, but you can also close it by pushing down the high to meet the low. It turns out the latter is easier than the former.

Yes, this is what we are seeing. It's a happy marriage of political rhetoric and practical expediency, but it's not necessarily good for a school system (when there are alternatives), much less a broader society. Immigrants came to the US because it was viewed as a land of opportunity, not Ground Zero for "equity."

[Anonymous]

Loved her video, I think she's going to be great. She seems really caring and down to earth. Also, unlike Brabrand, she can speak coherently and eloquently and seemed to really connect with the kids. Brabrand really lacks that ability to connect with people. Looking forward to seeing what she can do for us!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since I don’t know Dr. Reid at present I have a much more favorable opinion about her than I do of the current School Board. What happened last night was an embarrassing spectacle, with most of the School Board members making it very clear that they care less about our kids’ education than making sure they constantly check off the boxes needed to keep them in good standing with the special interest groups, whether it’s the Fairfax NAACP, Pride Liberation, or the “equity”-obsessed types who dominate the FCDC and control the endorsements for School Board races.

I challenge anyone to watch Abrar Omeish’s rambling speech last night and not come away saying to themselves “WTF is this silly narcissist talking about and what does it have to do with FCPS?” The only saving grace was Pekarsky muttering “oh boy” on a hot mic as Omeish launched into her lengthy spiel.

Politics and spiels aside though, equity is one of the biggest problems any superintendent is going to have to face. FCPS is a big county with schools where wealth is concentrated and schools where it is not and that impacts a lot of the educational process. The equity push actually came from George W. Bush in 2001 with No Child Left Behind where equity was the primary focus. So an equity-focus isn't some new democratic school board thing--it's that there's been 2 decades of pressure to improve equity nationally starting with a Republican president who put it into strong policy. And with 2 decades of trying, FCPS is better than many places--and Virginia has been in the top 5 states in terms of educational achievement for a long time with FCPS near the top in the state-- but it's still been a persistent problem nationally.

THIS. It is total bullshit that nobody remembers that NCLB is what destroyed schools over the past 20 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since I don’t know Dr. Reid at present I have a much more favorable opinion about her than I do of the current School Board. What happened last night was an embarrassing spectacle, with most of the School Board members making it very clear that they care less about our kids’ education than making sure they constantly check off the boxes needed to keep them in good standing with the special interest groups, whether it’s the Fairfax NAACP, Pride Liberation, or the “equity”-obsessed types who dominate the FCDC and control the endorsements for School Board races.

I challenge anyone to watch Abrar Omeish’s rambling speech last night and not come away saying to themselves “WTF is this silly narcissist talking about and what does it have to do with FCPS?” The only saving grace was Pekarsky muttering “oh boy” on a hot mic as Omeish launched into her lengthy spiel.

Politics and spiels aside though, equity is one of the biggest problems any superintendent is going to have to face. FCPS is a big county with schools where wealth is concentrated and schools where it is not and that impacts a lot of the educational process. The equity push actually came from George W. Bush in 2001 with No Child Left Behind where equity was the primary focus. So an equity-focus isn't some new democratic school board thing--it's that there's been 2 decades of pressure to improve equity nationally starting with a Republican president who put it into strong policy. And with 2 decades of trying, FCPS is better than many places--and Virginia has been in the top 5 states in terms of educational achievement for a long time with FCPS near the top in the state-- but it's still been a persistent problem nationally.

Ok, what are your ideas to bring MVHS up to par with Langley?

For one thing, FCPS should push for equity in quantity in regards to student population. MVHS is far under-enrolled. It is designed for 2451 students but floats around 1900 and has 1923 at the moment. Meanwhile most high-performing schools tend to sit at 2500-3000. It is no question that having more students in a school pulls up the potential for expanded advanced course opportunities and greater diversity in clubs and activities. Some of the under-enrolled schools can't field a Freshman or JV team for various sports because there aren't enough students to participate. Under-enrollment affects multiple facets of school performance which add up to create a rift.

It's under enrolled because most parents with the means to not send their kids to a failing school will choose to not send their kids to a failing school.

MVHS wouldn't be viewed as a "failing school" if FCPS didn't treat it like a pariah, which is what they do when they leave the unsuccessful IB program there unexamined and expand nearby West Potomac to a monstrous 3,000 seats so no one from West Potomac has to be redistricted there. That's all on Karen Corbett Sanders and her cronies on the School Board.

But it's not like MVHS has been denied accreditation by VDOE in recent years. At most it's had an "accredited with warning" status due to the dropout rate, which is mostly an issue with the Hispanic population there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since I don’t know Dr. Reid at present I have a much more favorable opinion about her than I do of the current School Board. What happened last night was an embarrassing spectacle, with most of the School Board members making it very clear that they care less about our kids’ education than making sure they constantly check off the boxes needed to keep them in good standing with the special interest groups, whether it’s the Fairfax NAACP, Pride Liberation, or the “equity”-obsessed types who dominate the FCDC and control the endorsements for School Board races.

I challenge anyone to watch Abrar Omeish’s rambling speech last night and not come away saying to themselves “WTF is this silly narcissist talking about and what does it have to do with FCPS?” The only saving grace was Pekarsky muttering “oh boy” on a hot mic as Omeish launched into her lengthy spiel.

Politics and spiels aside though, equity is one of the biggest problems any superintendent is going to have to face. FCPS is a big county with schools where wealth is concentrated and schools where it is not and that impacts a lot of the educational process. The equity push actually came from George W. Bush in 2001 with No Child Left Behind where equity was the primary focus. So an equity-focus isn't some new democratic school board thing--it's that there's been 2 decades of pressure to improve equity nationally starting with a Republican president who put it into strong policy. And with 2 decades of trying, FCPS is better than many places--and Virginia has been in the top 5 states in terms of educational achievement for a long time with FCPS near the top in the state-- but it's still been a persistent problem nationally.

Well, maybe, except what you're calling equity hasn't necessarily meant the same thing over that period.

NCLB's focus was to close achievement gaps, not to do away with the notion of achievement or merit.

But it ran into problems because gaps are hard to narrow, teachers felt like they were being punished for failures to solve problems not of their making, and parents in wealthier communities saw how some of their kids and schools received fewer resources as school districts began to spend much more per pupil on poorer schools.

Now, the equity advocates still want more money spent on schools in low-income communities, but they've figured out that one way to curry favor with the educational establishment is to assert that tests are discriminatory, the idea of merit is racist, and that teachers should never be held accountable for "systemic" problems. That's a lot more attractive than being constantly expected to close an achievement gap.

But at the same time, it breeds suspicion among those whose children were doing well in the public schools, especially those who don't otherwise have a lot of political power, because they no longer see an obvious path for their kids to advance or distinguish themselves. The assumption is that the "equity" advocates want a short-cut to equal outcomes, which won't actually involve raising the academic performance of lower-achieving students, but instead simply reallocating wealth and opportunity through overtly political means (such as the recent admissions to the TJ admissions policies).

Reid appears to have been an adept practitioner of this new form of "equity" but she's going to find that FCPS is a much larger and more diverse community than her prior district, and that the degree of suspicion with respect to FCPS's leadership and School Board is currently at an all-time high.

I think the current equity push is the logical end point of focusing on the achievement gap. It's not politically palatable to admit that it will never be closed unless economic disparities cease to exist, but politicians need to find way to make it appear like the gap is closing. At some point they realized that you can close a gap by raising the low to meet the high, but you can also close it by pushing down the high to meet the low. It turns out the latter is easier than the former.

Yes, this is what we are seeing. It's a happy marriage of political rhetoric and practical expediency, but it's not necessarily good for a school system (when there are alternatives), much less a broader society. Immigrants came to the US because it was viewed as a land of opportunity, not Ground Zero for "equity."

In places with far smaller school districts, you don't see this because there are no poor kids to start with. If you look at the really great New England or Texas or NJ school districts, they are very small and don't have to worry about educating FARMs or ELL students. If you somehow divided FCPS, you'd be left with one of the best districts in the country in the northwest part of the county and one of the wort in the east part of the county. For a kid who lives in the right pyramid, FCPS is still a great system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since I don’t know Dr. Reid at present I have a much more favorable opinion about her than I do of the current School Board. What happened last night was an embarrassing spectacle, with most of the School Board members making it very clear that they care less about our kids’ education than making sure they constantly check off the boxes needed to keep them in good standing with the special interest groups, whether it’s the Fairfax NAACP, Pride Liberation, or the “equity”-obsessed types who dominate the FCDC and control the endorsements for School Board races.

I challenge anyone to watch Abrar Omeish’s rambling speech last night and not come away saying to themselves “WTF is this silly narcissist talking about and what does it have to do with FCPS?” The only saving grace was Pekarsky muttering “oh boy” on a hot mic as Omeish launched into her lengthy spiel.

Politics and spiels aside though, equity is one of the biggest problems any superintendent is going to have to face. FCPS is a big county with schools where wealth is concentrated and schools where it is not and that impacts a lot of the educational process. The equity push actually came from George W. Bush in 2001 with No Child Left Behind where equity was the primary focus. So an equity-focus isn't some new democratic school board thing--it's that there's been 2 decades of pressure to improve equity nationally starting with a Republican president who put it into strong policy. And with 2 decades of trying, FCPS is better than many places--and Virginia has been in the top 5 states in terms of educational achievement for a long time with FCPS near the top in the state-- but it's still been a persistent problem nationally.

Ok, what are your ideas to bring MVHS up to par with Langley?

For one thing, FCPS should push for equity in quantity in regards to student population. MVHS is far under-enrolled. It is designed for 2451 students but floats around 1900 and has 1923 at the moment. Meanwhile most high-performing schools tend to sit at 2500-3000. It is no question that having more students in a school pulls up the potential for expanded advanced course opportunities and greater diversity in clubs and activities. Some of the under-enrolled schools can't field a Freshman or JV team for various sports because there aren't enough students to participate. Under-enrollment affects multiple facets of school performance which add up to create a rift.

It's under enrolled because most parents with the means to not send their kids to a failing school will choose to not send their kids to a failing school.

MVHS wouldn't be viewed as a "failing school" if FCPS didn't treat it like a pariah, which is what they do when they leave the unsuccessful IB program there unexamined and expand nearby West Potomac to a monstrous 3,000 seats so no one from West Potomac has to be redistricted there. That's all on Karen Corbett Sanders and her cronies on the School Board.

But it's not like MVHS has been denied accreditation by VDOE in recent years. At most it's had an "accredited with warning" status due to the dropout rate, which is mostly an issue with the Hispanic population there.

Corbett Sanders did that because no West Potomac parents want to send their kids to MVHS and she didn't want to sink her career

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Loved her video, I think she's going to be great. She seems really caring and down to earth. Also, unlike Brabrand, she can speak coherently and eloquently and seemed to really connect with the kids. Brabrand really lacks that ability to connect with people. Looking forward to seeing what she can do for us!

No idea what you're talking about. Brabrand was hired in large part because he was viewed as empathetic and good at schmoozing. He was very popular with FCPS staff in his early years.

Eventually, he got flummoxed after being kicked around by the School Board for years, and this may well happen to Reid over time although they'll treat her with more respect at first because she's new and a woman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since I don’t know Dr. Reid at present I have a much more favorable opinion about her than I do of the current School Board. What happened last night was an embarrassing spectacle, with most of the School Board members making it very clear that they care less about our kids’ education than making sure they constantly check off the boxes needed to keep them in good standing with the special interest groups, whether it’s the Fairfax NAACP, Pride Liberation, or the “equity”-obsessed types who dominate the FCDC and control the endorsements for School Board races.

I challenge anyone to watch Abrar Omeish’s rambling speech last night and not come away saying to themselves “WTF is this silly narcissist talking about and what does it have to do with FCPS?” The only saving grace was Pekarsky muttering “oh boy” on a hot mic as Omeish launched into her lengthy spiel.

Politics and spiels aside though, equity is one of the biggest problems any superintendent is going to have to face. FCPS is a big county with schools where wealth is concentrated and schools where it is not and that impacts a lot of the educational process. The equity push actually came from George W. Bush in 2001 with No Child Left Behind where equity was the primary focus. So an equity-focus isn't some new democratic school board thing--it's that there's been 2 decades of pressure to improve equity nationally starting with a Republican president who put it into strong policy. And with 2 decades of trying, FCPS is better than many places--and Virginia has been in the top 5 states in terms of educational achievement for a long time with FCPS near the top in the state-- but it's still been a persistent problem nationally.

Ok, what are your ideas to bring MVHS up to par with Langley?

For one thing, FCPS should push for equity in quantity in regards to student population. MVHS is far under-enrolled. It is designed for 2451 students but floats around 1900 and has 1923 at the moment. Meanwhile most high-performing schools tend to sit at 2500-3000. It is no question that having more students in a school pulls up the potential for expanded advanced course opportunities and greater diversity in clubs and activities. Some of the under-enrolled schools can't field a Freshman or JV team for various sports because there aren't enough students to participate. Under-enrollment affects multiple facets of school performance which add up to create a rift.

It's under enrolled because most parents with the means to not send their kids to a failing school will choose to not send their kids to a failing school.

MVHS wouldn't be viewed as a "failing school" if FCPS didn't treat it like a pariah, which is what they do when they leave the unsuccessful IB program there unexamined and expand nearby West Potomac to a monstrous 3,000 seats so no one from West Potomac has to be redistricted there. That's all on Karen Corbett Sanders and her cronies on the School Board.

But it's not like MVHS has been denied accreditation by VDOE in recent years. At most it's had an "accredited with warning" status due to the dropout rate, which is mostly an issue with the Hispanic population there.

Corbett Sanders did that because no West Potomac parents want to send their kids to MVHS and she didn't want to sink her career

What "career"? Is she planning to run for Storck's seat on the BOS eventually? Doesn't look like he's leaving any time soon.

She's like the mean librarian in elementary school who yelled at all the second graders to hush when they entered the library. SB is about as far as she'll go unless some other office falls in her lap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since I don’t know Dr. Reid at present I have a much more favorable opinion about her than I do of the current School Board. What happened last night was an embarrassing spectacle, with most of the School Board members making it very clear that they care less about our kids’ education than making sure they constantly check off the boxes needed to keep them in good standing with the special interest groups, whether it’s the Fairfax NAACP, Pride Liberation, or the “equity”-obsessed types who dominate the FCDC and control the endorsements for School Board races.

I challenge anyone to watch Abrar Omeish’s rambling speech last night and not come away saying to themselves “WTF is this silly narcissist talking about and what does it have to do with FCPS?” The only saving grace was Pekarsky muttering “oh boy” on a hot mic as Omeish launched into her lengthy spiel.

Politics and spiels aside though, equity is one of the biggest problems any superintendent is going to have to face. FCPS is a big county with schools where wealth is concentrated and schools where it is not and that impacts a lot of the educational process. The equity push actually came from George W. Bush in 2001 with No Child Left Behind where equity was the primary focus. So an equity-focus isn't some new democratic school board thing--it's that there's been 2 decades of pressure to improve equity nationally starting with a Republican president who put it into strong policy. And with 2 decades of trying, FCPS is better than many places--and Virginia has been in the top 5 states in terms of educational achievement for a long time with FCPS near the top in the state-- but it's still been a persistent problem nationally.

Ok, what are your ideas to bring MVHS up to par with Langley?

For one thing, FCPS should push for equity in quantity in regards to student population. MVHS is far under-enrolled. It is designed for 2451 students but floats around 1900 and has 1923 at the moment. Meanwhile most high-performing schools tend to sit at 2500-3000. It is no question that having more students in a school pulls up the potential for expanded advanced course opportunities and greater diversity in clubs and activities. Some of the under-enrolled schools can't field a Freshman or JV team for various sports because there aren't enough students to participate. Under-enrollment affects multiple facets of school performance which add up to create a rift.

It's under enrolled because most parents with the means to not send their kids to a failing school will choose to not send their kids to a failing school.

MVHS wouldn't be viewed as a "failing school" if FCPS didn't treat it like a pariah, which is what they do when they leave the unsuccessful IB program there unexamined and expand nearby West Potomac to a monstrous 3,000 seats so no one from West Potomac has to be redistricted there. That's all on Karen Corbett Sanders and her cronies on the School Board.

But it's not like MVHS has been denied accreditation by VDOE in recent years. At most it's had an "accredited with warning" status due to the dropout rate, which is mostly an issue with the Hispanic population there.

Corbett Sanders did that because no West Potomac parents want to send their kids to MVHS and she didn't want to sink her career

What "career"? Is she planning to run for Storck's seat on the BOS eventually? Doesn't look like he's leaving any time soon.

She's like the mean librarian in elementary school who yelled at all the second graders to hush when they entered the library. SB is about as far as she'll go unless some other office falls in her lap.

It’s an extra 40k whether she does her due diligence or merely pontificates and messes up.
Not a bad deal.

[Anonymous]

I think this is the video to which PP was referring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ITPyu6dlPY

I'm happy to give her a honeymoon period for a while. She seems engaging. For some reason, I feel like she probably was a good lacrosse player at some point in her youth.

We'll find out over time whether she has good ideas or just allows herself, like Brabrand, to be a caretaker of a once-proud school system slipping further into decline through its obsession with woke politics and neglect of the basics.

[Anonymous]

^ I read a bio that she was a collegiate basketball player.

Also I loved that she wasn’t wearing a mask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nothing more pathetic than watching two rich, prominent Langley women like Sujatha Hampton and Jennifer Adeli pitch total hissy fits because FCPS didn’t pick a Black woman as Superintendent when they were more than happy to send their own kids to a high school with few Black kids and no economic diversity.

This is some HBO-miniseries level hypocrisy on display.

You missed the zoom where Hampton cried about how traumatic it was for her child to attend Langley for all those years lol. That family suffered with no recourse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing more pathetic than watching two rich, prominent Langley women like Sujatha Hampton and Jennifer Adeli pitch total hissy fits because FCPS didn’t pick a Black woman as Superintendent when they were more than happy to send their own kids to a high school with few Black kids and no economic diversity.

This is some HBO-miniseries level hypocrisy on display.

You missed the zoom where Hampton cried about how traumatic it was for her child to attend Langley for all those years lol. That family suffered with no recourse.

Sounds like a case of weaponized wealthy Indian-American Woman's tears. Oh, the hardships.

[Anonymous]

Karen Keys Gamarra is such a crude person telling Dr. Reid to her face that she thought another candidate for Superintendent was better. Really? And then they wonder why they have a hard time recruiting people to work in their viper's nest? All because KKG has to suck up to the Fairfax NAACP to keep the campaign money flowing.

Guess what, KKG? I think you've been a total failure as an at-large member and am quite sure there will be a number of School Board candidates in 2023 far better than you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Karen Keys Gamarra is such a crude person telling Dr. Reid to her face that she thought another candidate for Superintendent was better. Really? And then they wonder why they have a hard time recruiting people to work in their viper's nest? All because KKG has to suck up to the Fairfax NAACP to keep the campaign money flowing.

Guess what, KKG? I think you've been a total failure as an at-large member and am quite sure there will be a number of School Board candidates in 2023 far better than you!

It was so painful to watch. If she thought the process was flawed and lacking inclusion, WHY DIDN’T SHE DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT BEFORE LAST NIGHT? The process was laid out last fall. Where was she? Why didn’t she ask for more students or people of color or representatives from different groups to be part of the panels?