FCPS High School prestige ranking
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Anonymous
DD is a senior there now. McLean is safe. Teachers are very good and the student body in the AP and DE classes are serious and academically-driven. The school board and superintendent hate McLean. They have long viewed McLean as “benefitting from unearned Asian privilege and white privilege.” So FCPS neglects McLean and refuses to renovate it, even though it desperately needs it. McLean isn’t even on the renovation list. Ironically, McLean is now majority-minority, and the SB still hates it. Elaine Tholen ran for SB (and won) on a promise to finally renovate McLean, then she broke her promise and had Langley renovated instead (her kids went to Langley). Just before DD entered HS, McLean had 21 temporary trailers for the severe overcrowding. They even closed the school tennis court and put temporary trailers on it. Then they spent a few $$ for a temporary “pod,” which replaced all but 4 of the temporary trailers. DD said she doesn’t mind the pod because “at least the AC and heating work reliably, unlike the main building.” Again: the education at McLean is very good; the new principal is new (too new for me to have any impression of her), but don’t expect the SB and Reid to treat McLean fairly any year soon. They clearly disfavor McLean at every opportunity. BTW, I don’t usually comment on McL, but I know another parent (a mom) often does. - McLean dad |
Anonymous
At the work session last week, Robyn Lady mentioned the need to renovate McLean. The way that she said it, it was clear that she thought even the mention of it was verboten for several other school board members - like uttering the name Voldemort. That tracks with what you are saying about the school board’s disdain for the school. Such a shame that school board members have such a visceral hatred for a community that has done nothing to deserve it. So much for caring about the well-being of all students. |
Anonymous
Langley’s need for a renovation was identified in the 2008 renovation queue and completed before Elaine Tholen was elected. She had nothing to do with it. In addition, FCPS authorized a Langley/McLean boundary study shortly before the 2019 School Board election. Janie Strauss had tried to get a boundary study started earlier and her colleagues rebuffed her because they were already thinking about a county-wide boundary review instead. That idea stalled, and they decided amending the CIP and authorizing a boundary review in September 2019 to address the overcrowding would help get Tholen (a fellow Democrat) elected. Tholen ran in 2019 pledging that she’d make an addition to McLean a top priority. So did Karl Frisch, whose district also includes some McLean kids. Once elected, neither secured any funds for a McLean addition, even though two less crowded high schools were getting additions outside the renovation queue. Instead, Tholen pushed through a boundary change that only moved single-family neighborhoods to Langley. That was different from a staff recommendation that would have moved some apartments in Tysons. Thru Consulting is now proposing to move those apartments to Langley as well. It can sound paranoid to say the School Board “hates” McLean but both Tholen and Robyn Lady have told people that the other School Board members have little sympathy for the school’s poor physical condition. Overall, their goal seems to be to invest as little as possible in the school, redistrict as often as possible, and let the school deteriorate. There are several other older high schools that also got cheap renovations in the early 00s, but they have not been as crowded as McLean so the wear-and-tear probably has not been as great. They end up having to make a lot of one-off fixes to keep the school running. |
Anonymous
I hear you. The SB’s actions express their true disdain for McLean students and their parents. The SB will never publicly say they dislike McLean students/parents, of course. And the SB learned (the hard way) never to write what they believe in their private emails, after they were caught expressing racial hatred toward Asian students/parents during their reform of the admissions policy for tj. But the SB’s actions toward McLean clearly demonstrate their true beliefs, sadly. It makes me wonder what McLean HS is headed for with the new principal, since Reid/Gatehouse (and likely the SB), chose her for McLean. |
Anonymous
| Woodson and Madison are not second tier, but Marshall might be. But you knew that. |
Anonymous
NP. Just wanted to address the bolded. Langley waited its turn in the renovation queue - it wasn't moved up or ahead of anyone else. The narrative you're trying to spin is false. McLean was not somehow pushed out of the queue to make room for Langley. McLean had already had a renovation completed in 2005. Next time, tell the truth. |
Anonymous
An earlier post already made this point. Your piling on is obnoxious. |
Anonymous
| And those renovations (McLean and Langley) were only similar in that we use the same word to describe them. It's like saying ice and steam are basically the same because they are both forms of water. |
Anonymous
I didn't see that post until after I had already made my own post. But your constant lying about Langley is what's actually obnoxious. Do better and get your facts straight. |
Anonymous
What lies? I pointed out that PP had already been corrected before you started piling on. Not a good look that you don’t even bother to read the later posts before posting. |
Anonymous
Sure there are a lot of minorities but it's mostly the wrong minority. We are doing them a favor, that which doesn't kill them makes them stronger. |
Anonymous
You sound very silly and defensive. Not a good look when you’ve been called out twice now for posting misinformation. |
Anonymous
You’re the one conflating posters and looking very foolish here. |
Anonymous
McLean is actually in good shape. Some people feel entitled and expect special treatment. |
Anonymous
Is this supposed to be some kind of joke? “Good shape”’is the opposite of the truth when it comes to the physical state of the building and facilities at McLean. The power failed on the very first day of school. AC and heating system is so old and worn-out that to make the upper floor minimally-tolerable, they have to turn up the cooling to the max on the lower floors; DD has to wear pull-overs even on the hottest days it’s so cold (when it’s working at all). Heating in the Band room never worked last winter and ironically, the band is one of the most successful varsity programs at the school. The School Board did finally approve replacing that equipment over the summer, don't know the timeline for execution. Plumbing problems galore; year after year. They did a few patchwork bathroom improvements in the past year or so (took a couple tries though, there were still clogs and backups). Leaks from aging plumbing cause ceiling tiles to change color (and who knows what mold/mildew accumulating behind) and in some cases tiles have dropped (no injuries I'm aware of. Yet). The systemic problems are so bad that students started an Instagram documenting it all called something like McLeanRot. The so-called “renovation” about 20 years ago consisted of merely adding a library and a coat of paint in a few places. It was done on the cheap and not at all comparable to renovations that other Fairfax County HS have received since. The SB and Reid have allowed McL to get so overcrowded (while Langley was under-prescribed) that McL required 21 temporary trailers just to scrape by. Most of those were replaced by a temporary pre-fab “pod” but the 4 remaining temporary trailers are a decade past their lifespan and likely full of black mold. “Good shape” could not be further from the truth. |