Alexandria Middle Schools (ACPS)

[Anonymous]

Against the explicit advice of the School Board's own working group, the School Board ordered the temp-Supt to come up with a study supporting the merger of the two GW middle schools and will adopt it Thursday. The PTA is completely opposed and the School Board's previous direction was only to merge Hammond. The School Board seems to want the parents to hate them, and they're getting their wish.

External link to Alex Schools: http://esbpublic.acps.k12.va.us/public_agendaview.aspx?mtgId=438

[Anonymous]

I can understand your frustration. "Personalization" in teaching/other seemed to be supported by the separation into two schools at ACPS GW and that's a great loss to students and parents.

Here's the ACPS Board's timeline-you should go to speak tonight at the Board meeting and gather others. No vote yet!

http://eboard.acps.k12.va.us/attachments/9dab9775-477f-4d2f-82cb-63db5c2b2d76.pdf

"Timeline
February 6th 2014- Board reviews recommendations and feedback from stakeholders
February 20th 2014- Board votes on middle school recommendations"

From the above document, a vital reason the ACPS School Board may vote for one GW and Hammond MS is the following:

"Currently, four out of five middle schools are “Accredited with Warning” in the area of mathematics; three of these schools are in their second consecutive year of warned status. This is of particular importance as current state legislation allows the Opportunity Educational Institution (OEI) the authority, upon a majority vote of its governing board, to supervise and operate schools that have been in warned status for three consecutive years. After consulting with VDOE officials, should the Francis Hammond Campus be combined into one school it would enter spring 2014 testing with a “Accredited with Warning – Year 1” status. The George Washington Campus, should it be combined, would enter spring 2014 testing with a status of “Fully Accredited.” Accreditation statuses for SY 14-15 would be determined by campus wide results on SOL tests administered during spring 2014. Table 2 provides a breakdown of each middle school’s accreditation status."

Table 2: Accreditation Status School Name Current Accreditation Status Accreditation Status if Schools Combined
Francis C. Hammond 1
Accredited with Warning Math – Year 1
Accredited with Warning Math – Year 1

Francis C. Hammond 2
Accredited with Warning Math – Year 2
Francis C. Hammond 3
Accredited with Warning Math – Year 2

George Washington 1
Fully Accredited
Fully Accredited

George Washington 2
Accredited with Warning Math – Year 2

[Anonymous]

So, I'm confused -- combining the middle schools buys them another year before the state steps in?

See, this is the sort of bullshit ACPS does.

[Anonymous]

PP here. Yes, that appears to be the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP here. Yes, that appears to be the case.

I'm the poster who showed table, sorry for confusion.

[Anonymous]

Hammond parent here, and I honestly don't get why GW parents think going back to one is so horrible.
The new organization chart still has plenty of administration support, and will eliminate the current situation where there is not consistency across the campus on curriculum, discipline, etc.
The guidance counselors will follow the student throughout the three years they are enrolled, and the caseload will actually be reduced under the new system, so each counselor will have fewer students.
All electives already go across all of the schools, so the idea that these kids are completely separated into separate schools is inaccurate anyway.
Also, I find it interesting that
Hammond parents
Hammond teachers
GW teachers
and central office staff
ALL support the return to one school model, while the only ones that don't seem to want it are the GW parents. It's the teachers that are in the classroom every day, that have to work with the students and the administration. Why do GW parents (or at least the ones that are speaking out against this) have so little regard for their children's teachers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, I'm confused -- combining the middle schools buys them another year before the state steps in?

See, this is the sort of bullshit ACPS does.

The bullshit was the artificial creation of the smaller schools in the first place. That WAS done with almost no input outside of central office, and did absolutely nothing to improve the test scores. In my opinion, this is fixing an ill-conceived policy that was pushed through like a dozen others under the former superintendent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I'm confused -- combining the middle schools buys them another year before the state steps in?

See, this is the sort of bullshit ACPS does.

The bullshit was the artificial creation of the smaller schools in the first place. That WAS done with almost no input outside of central office, and did absolutely nothing to improve the test scores. In my opinion, this is fixing an ill-conceived policy that was pushed through like a dozen others under the former superintendent.

Actually it did improve them slightly and it brought in some much needed upper middle class white kids to GW.

Esentially ACPS would eventually have several failing schools and the state would have a field day in their takeover.

At this point, I am supporting the state take over - off all the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I'm confused -- combining the middle schools buys them another year before the state steps in?

See, this is the sort of bullshit ACPS does.

The bullshit was the artificial creation of the smaller schools in the first place. That WAS done with almost no input outside of central office, and did absolutely nothing to improve the test scores. In my opinion, this is fixing an ill-conceived policy that was pushed through like a dozen others under the former superintendent.

pp here. fair enough. my larger point is that people always ask about ACPS all the time and we say there are systemic issues there and people respond, "you're just racist." But things like what they did with these middle schools -- Mort Sherman's "throw something at the wall and let's see if it sticks" approach -- is sort of par for the course for ACPS. Yeah, Sherman is gone now, but it sounds like Same Shit, Different Year. It seriously never ends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I'm confused -- combining the middle schools buys them another year before the state steps in?

See, this is the sort of bullshit ACPS does.

The bullshit was the artificial creation of the smaller schools in the first place. That WAS done with almost no input outside of central office, and did absolutely nothing to improve the test scores. In my opinion, this is fixing an ill-conceived policy that was pushed through like a dozen others under the former superintendent.

Actually it did improve them slightly and it brought in some much needed upper middle class white kids to GW.

Esentially ACPS would eventually have several failing schools and the state would have a field day in their takeover.

At this point, I am supporting the state take over - off all the schools.

It isn't clear to me why anyone's fighting that at this point. I'd really like to know what the downside is to this, other than pride? Genuine question. What am I missing?

[Anonymous]

I don't believe anyone is "fighting" here, pp.

If I were ACPS and the ACPS School Board, I'd be studying up on what GWMS 1 is doing right, regardless of any merger. Congratulations to the students, teachers and staff.

"George Washington 1
Fully Accredited
Fully Accredited"


http://eboard.acps.k12.va.us/attachments/9dab9775-...77f-4d2f-82cb-63db5c2b2d76.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I'm confused -- combining the middle schools buys them another year before the state steps in?

See, this is the sort of bullshit ACPS does.

The bullshit was the artificial creation of the smaller schools in the first place. That WAS done with almost no input outside of central office, and did absolutely nothing to improve the test scores. In my opinion, this is fixing an ill-conceived policy that was pushed through like a dozen others under the former superintendent.

pp here. fair enough. my larger point is that people always ask about ACPS all the time and we say there are systemic issues there and people respond, "you're just racist." But things like what they did with these middle schools -- Mort Sherman's "throw something at the wall and let's see if it sticks" approach -- is sort of par for the course for ACPS. Yeah, Sherman is gone now, but it sounds like Same Shit, Different Year. It seriously never ends.

The new school board is making Sherman look terrific. This merging-back idea stinks -- NOBODY wants it (and I asked DS's teachers there). The ACPS revised-revised report is a phony. There are two school board members who have been harping on this and the school board members cover each other so they can all get what they want out of the system, like privately transferring their own kids to schools that are usually closed to transfers.

[Anonymous]

I am sorry, I used to teach at GW2 and you all have go it all wrong. First, the schools did not "improve" from the separation - it is an illusion contrived by Sherman and bought by those parents at GW1 that want to believe so badly. Here's the thing. If you were to combine their scores you will see that they are about where they were before they were separated. The only difference is citizens of Alexandria have been suckered into paying for more administration instead of more teachers.
One of the reasons that there is such a difference is that when they were originally split, it was decided that one would take the ID program, the other the ED program. Gerald Mann being an expert in Special Ed., smartly took the ID. Why would this make a difference? Well, ID (Intellectually Disabled tend to mostly be in self-contained classes and will are more likely to use alternate methods of assessment by the state if needed - a portfolio). On the other hand, GW2 has the ED program. Emotionally Disabled. There are very few self-contained classes at GW2, which means that these kids are can (and have) caused massive disruptions during other kids' instruction. Now, this year GW2 has an amazing Principal (Hall) who has alleviated many of the problems with discipline and staff morale - no easy feat! Unfortunately, she was also gifted with not only all of the ED kids destined for GW, but this year all the ones destined for the three Hammond schools. A decision, not by the board, but by Sherman's prior administration. There are some amazing teachers at all the schools, but comparing them based on test scores and stacking the deck against one is simply not fair.

There is not one GW2 teacher I know that would not support the merged schools. Why? 1.Easier to collaborate with their colleagues in GW1 2. Better allocation of resources (imagine that we could share materials). 3. MORE personalized instruction - yep, your read it here. Prior to splitting the schools teachers worked in teams. Each kid would be part of a group of teachers that shared that student in common. They plan together so that they could make interdisciplinary plans that would span at least all the core classes, they KNEW your kid and problem solved together (because they all had your kid) on how to best serve them. Isn't that what the parents really want?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry, I used to teach at GW2 and you all have go it all wrong. First, the schools did not "improve" from the separation - it is an illusion contrived by Sherman and bought by those parents at GW1 that want to believe so badly. Here's the thing. If you were to combine their scores you will see that they are about where they were before they were separated. The only difference is citizens of Alexandria have been suckered into paying for more administration instead of more teachers.
One of the reasons that there is such a difference is that when they were originally split, it was decided that one would take the ID program, the other the ED program. Gerald Mann being an expert in Special Ed., smartly took the ID. Why would this make a difference? Well, ID (Intellectually Disabled tend to mostly be in self-contained classes and will are more likely to use alternate methods of assessment by the state if needed - a portfolio). On the other hand, GW2 has the ED program. Emotionally Disabled. There are very few self-contained classes at GW2, which means that these kids are can (and have) caused massive disruptions during other kids' instruction. Now, this year GW2 has an amazing Principal (Hall) who has alleviated many of the problems with discipline and staff morale - no easy feat! Unfortunately, she was also gifted with not only all of the ED kids destined for GW, but this year all the ones destined for the three Hammond schools. A decision, not by the board, but by Sherman's prior administration. There are some amazing teachers at all the schools, but comparing them based on test scores and stacking the deck against one is simply not fair.

There is not one GW2 teacher I know that would not support the merged schools. Why? 1.Easier to collaborate with their colleagues in GW1 2. Better allocation of resources (imagine that we could share materials). 3. MORE personalized instruction - yep, your read it here. Prior to splitting the schools teachers worked in teams. Each kid would be part of a group of teachers that shared that student in common. They plan together so that they could make interdisciplinary plans that would span at least all the core classes, they KNEW your kid and problem solved together (because they all had your kid) on how to best serve them. Isn't that what the parents really want?

But that illusion was enough to lure white, middle class parents to the school. If you lose those parents, the schools will never get better. Closing the achievement gap is a really stupid goal for any of the schools to have because it's unattainable. They need to focus on making small gains where they can and accept that the achievement gap exists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry, I used to teach at GW2 and you all have go it all wrong. First, the schools did not "improve" from the separation - it is an illusion contrived by Sherman and bought by those parents at GW1 that want to believe so badly. Here's the thing. If you were to combine their scores you will see that they are about where they were before they were separated. The only difference is citizens of Alexandria have been suckered into paying for more administration instead of more teachers.
One of the reasons that there is such a difference is that when they were originally split, it was decided that one would take the ID program, the other the ED program. Gerald Mann being an expert in Special Ed., smartly took the ID. Why would this make a difference? Well, ID (Intellectually Disabled tend to mostly be in self-contained classes and will are more likely to use alternate methods of assessment by the state if needed - a portfolio). On the other hand, GW2 has the ED program. Emotionally Disabled. There are very few self-contained classes at GW2, which means that these kids are can (and have) caused massive disruptions during other kids' instruction. Now, this year GW2 has an amazing Principal (Hall) who has alleviated many of the problems with discipline and staff morale - no easy feat! Unfortunately, she was also gifted with not only all of the ED kids destined for GW, but this year all the ones destined for the three Hammond schools. A decision, not by the board, but by Sherman's prior administration. There are some amazing teachers at all the schools, but comparing them based on test scores and stacking the deck against one is simply not fair.

There is not one GW2 teacher I know that would not support the merged schools. Why? 1.Easier to collaborate with their colleagues in GW1 2. Better allocation of resources (imagine that we could share materials). 3. MORE personalized instruction - yep, your read it here. Prior to splitting the schools teachers worked in teams. Each kid would be part of a group of teachers that shared that student in common. They plan together so that they could make interdisciplinary plans that would span at least all the core classes, they KNEW your kid and problem solved together (because they all had your kid) on how to best serve them. Isn't that what the parents really want?

But that illusion was enough to lure white, middle class parents to the school. If you lose those parents, the schools will never get better. Closing the achievement gap is a really stupid goal for any of the schools to have because it's unattainable. They need to focus on making small gains where they can and accept that the achievement gap exists.

So, you saying brown people are stupid?

Last I checked, we still have universal education in this country. Trying to close the achievement gap is hardly a "stupid goal."