FCPS High School Poverty and Enrollment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I also think there are more problems than just the demographics at Lewis.

I have been wondering this. I live nowhere near that area, but I do know that something is wrong when all other races are leaving the school. Black, White, and Asian are leaving in numbers, while Hispanic population is going up.

Herndon has 51% Hispanic, but it still manages well. It also has about 50% free lunch.

Get rid of IB at Lewis ASAP.

Annandale, Falls Church, and Herndon are examples of other schools where over the past five years the Asian, Black, and White enrollments have all declined while the Hispanic enrollments have increased. It's not unique to Lewis, nor should it be cited as if there's some unique flaw with Lewis that must be fixed before others could ever be reassigned to the school.

It appears that it Herndon, the only race that has dropped dramatically over the last two years is Asian.

There is no question that the Hispanic population has dramatically increased in numbers as well as percentage at all three schools.

Could others be leaving because Spanish is the preferred language among kids? If you don't know what others are speaking about, it leads to social isolation.

I suspect that it will not work if others think redistricting will fix this problem.

Is there any place to see the truancy stats at those schools?

At Lewis, chronic absenteeism is an issue for 25% of the school. Not sure if it's truancy, but it's the dominant issue. Other academic factors look pretty good for the demographic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I also think there are more problems than just the demographics at Lewis.

I have been wondering this. I live nowhere near that area, but I do know that something is wrong when all other races are leaving the school. Black, White, and Asian are leaving in numbers, while Hispanic population is going up.

Herndon has 51% Hispanic, but it still manages well. It also has about 50% free lunch.

Get rid of IB at Lewis ASAP.

I taught at Lewis for a while when I was living in eastern Fairfax County. Lewis suffered greatly from defamation after a Newcomer program was established there briefly for 2 years back in 2015. The program was a "school inside a school" for new adult immigrants up to age 22 and rumors got out that 22 year old men were harassing freshman girls.

These adults were there voluntarily to acquire a diploma and learn English so they could work in the US. I never heard of any harassment cases from them and they would have been risking their chance to get ahead.

I can understand parents being concerned about adults being in the same building as their young daughters, but those rumors were unwarranted and likely spread by certain groups angry about border control.

+1. That newcomer program was placed at Stuart too. Led to similar backlash there. Now it's been moved to evening class off-site in Herndon and Plum Center.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I also think there are more problems than just the demographics at Lewis.

I have been wondering this. I live nowhere near that area, but I do know that something is wrong when all other races are leaving the school. Black, White, and Asian are leaving in numbers, while Hispanic population is going up.

Herndon has 51% Hispanic, but it still manages well. It also has about 50% free lunch.

Get rid of IB at Lewis ASAP.

It doesn't help that Key Middle school is a disaster by all accounts. The behavior issues there and disruptions to learning mean that any family that can flees before high school. They seem to really need new leadership. I have many friends who have tried Key and been so dismayed that they've found other alternatives for high school - moving, private school, getting into the STEM program at Edison, etc.

I just looked at the demographic history of Key. (I don't live near there) It is very interesting that numbers are dropping with all races. Percentages remain pretty stable, but it does appear people are leaving.

That is a big red flag.

Why doesn't Gatehouse do something? SB? crickets

Because they can’t do anything about this, gaps, or any other educational issue without parents supporting their children.

If parents don’t discipline… guess what, kids don’t behave. If parents don’t encourage studies and check report cards, status, etc… guess what, kids might not get good grades.

And If parents don’t care about any of those items, then probably, the kid may not actually attend school during the day.

That’s why, ITT, there are posters literally asking other parents to fix these problems.

They can suspend and expel far more than they choose to.

That may move the issue from school, but then it adds to the problems in the community/society.

Do you think the kids constantly getting in fights are destined to end up as productive members of society?

But keeping them in school isn’t solving it because teachers aren’t equipped to deal with it. The kids and by extension the parents that want to get an education are shortchanged.

These are reasons that teachers are done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I also think there are more problems than just the demographics at Lewis.

I have been wondering this. I live nowhere near that area, but I do know that something is wrong when all other races are leaving the school. Black, White, and Asian are leaving in numbers, while Hispanic population is going up.

Herndon has 51% Hispanic, but it still manages well. It also has about 50% free lunch.

Get rid of IB at Lewis ASAP.

It doesn't help that Key Middle school is a disaster by all accounts. The behavior issues there and disruptions to learning mean that any family that can flees before high school. They seem to really need new leadership. I have many friends who have tried Key and been so dismayed that they've found other alternatives for high school - moving, private school, getting into the STEM program at Edison, etc.

I just looked at the demographic history of Key. (I don't live near there) It is very interesting that numbers are dropping with all races. Percentages remain pretty stable, but it does appear people are leaving.

That is a big red flag.

Why doesn't Gatehouse do something? SB? crickets

Because they can’t do anything about this, gaps, or any other educational issue without parents supporting their children.

If parents don’t discipline… guess what, kids don’t behave. If parents don’t encourage studies and check report cards, status, etc… guess what, kids might not get good grades.

And If parents don’t care about any of those items, then probably, the kid may not actually attend school during the day.

That’s why, ITT, there are posters literally asking other parents to fix these problems.

They can suspend and expel far more than they choose to.

That may move the issue from school, but then it adds to the problems in the community/society.

Do you think the kids constantly getting in fights are destined to end up as productive members of society?

But keeping them in school isn’t solving it because teachers aren’t equipped to deal with it. The kids and by extension the parents that want to get an education are shortchanged.

These are reasons that teachers are done.

I think in-school suspension is the way to go--suspending kids from school is kind of a reward for many and adds to chronic absenteeism. Expulsion almost always means they will do more harm to society than they would otherwise--the data are pretty clear on this. The problem with in-school suspension is that it means an extra adult needs to be on hand--and it can be hard to force a kid to come to school. But having to be in school in social isolation is actually a good disciplinary measure if the school has the people to monitor it. This is where tech can be useful--kids can do their work remotely through in-school suspension.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I also think there are more problems than just the demographics at Lewis.

I have been wondering this. I live nowhere near that area, but I do know that something is wrong when all other races are leaving the school. Black, White, and Asian are leaving in numbers, while Hispanic population is going up.

Herndon has 51% Hispanic, but it still manages well. It also has about 50% free lunch.

Get rid of IB at Lewis ASAP.

It doesn't help that Key Middle school is a disaster by all accounts. The behavior issues there and disruptions to learning mean that any family that can flees before high school. They seem to really need new leadership. I have many friends who have tried Key and been so dismayed that they've found other alternatives for high school - moving, private school, getting into the STEM program at Edison, etc.

I just looked at the demographic history of Key. (I don't live near there) It is very interesting that numbers are dropping with all races. Percentages remain pretty stable, but it does appear people are leaving.

That is a big red flag.

Why doesn't Gatehouse do something? SB? crickets

Because they can’t do anything about this, gaps, or any other educational issue without parents supporting their children.

If parents don’t discipline… guess what, kids don’t behave. If parents don’t encourage studies and check report cards, status, etc… guess what, kids might not get good grades.

And If parents don’t care about any of those items, then probably, the kid may not actually attend school during the day.

That’s why, ITT, there are posters literally asking other parents to fix these problems.

They can suspend and expel far more than they choose to.

That may move the issue from school, but then it adds to the problems in the community/society.

Do you think the kids constantly getting in fights are destined to end up as productive members of society?

But keeping them in school isn’t solving it because teachers aren’t equipped to deal with it. The kids and by extension the parents that want to get an education are shortchanged.

These are reasons that teachers are done.

I think in-school suspension is the way to go--suspending kids from school is kind of a reward for many and adds to chronic absenteeism. Expulsion almost always means they will do more harm to society than they would otherwise--the data are pretty clear on this. The problem with in-school suspension is that it means an extra adult needs to be on hand--and it can be hard to force a kid to come to school. But having to be in school in social isolation is actually a good disciplinary measure if the school has the people to monitor it. This is where tech can be useful--kids can do their work remotely through in-school suspension.

I agree with this, but the current trajectory of educational discipline is literally the complete opposite direction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I also think there are more problems than just the demographics at Lewis.

I have been wondering this. I live nowhere near that area, but I do know that something is wrong when all other races are leaving the school. Black, White, and Asian are leaving in numbers, while Hispanic population is going up.

Herndon has 51% Hispanic, but it still manages well. It also has about 50% free lunch.

Get rid of IB at Lewis ASAP.

It doesn't help that Key Middle school is a disaster by all accounts. The behavior issues there and disruptions to learning mean that any family that can flees before high school. They seem to really need new leadership. I have many friends who have tried Key and been so dismayed that they've found other alternatives for high school - moving, private school, getting into the STEM program at Edison, etc.

I just looked at the demographic history of Key. (I don't live near there) It is very interesting that numbers are dropping with all races. Percentages remain pretty stable, but it does appear people are leaving.

That is a big red flag.

Why doesn't Gatehouse do something? SB? crickets

Because they can’t do anything about this, gaps, or any other educational issue without parents supporting their children.

If parents don’t discipline… guess what, kids don’t behave. If parents don’t encourage studies and check report cards, status, etc… guess what, kids might not get good grades.

And If parents don’t care about any of those items, then probably, the kid may not actually attend school during the day.

That’s why, ITT, there are posters literally asking other parents to fix these problems.

They can suspend and expel far more than they choose to.

That may move the issue from school, but then it adds to the problems in the community/society.

Do you think the kids constantly getting in fights are destined to end up as productive members of society?

But keeping them in school isn’t solving it because teachers aren’t equipped to deal with it. The kids and by extension the parents that want to get an education are shortchanged.

These are reasons that teachers are done.

I think in-school suspension is the way to go--suspending kids from school is kind of a reward for many and adds to chronic absenteeism. Expulsion almost always means they will do more harm to society than they would otherwise--the data are pretty clear on this. The problem with in-school suspension is that it means an extra adult needs to be on hand--and it can be hard to force a kid to come to school. But having to be in school in social isolation is actually a good disciplinary measure if the school has the people to monitor it. This is where tech can be useful--kids can do their work remotely through in-school suspension.

I think expulsion is the way to go. Bryant is equipped to deal with these kids, they shouldn't be allowed to derail classes with kids who want to learn

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I also think there are more problems than just the demographics at Lewis.

I have been wondering this. I live nowhere near that area, but I do know that something is wrong when all other races are leaving the school. Black, White, and Asian are leaving in numbers, while Hispanic population is going up.

Herndon has 51% Hispanic, but it still manages well. It also has about 50% free lunch.

Get rid of IB at Lewis ASAP.

It doesn't help that Key Middle school is a disaster by all accounts. The behavior issues there and disruptions to learning mean that any family that can flees before high school. They seem to really need new leadership. I have many friends who have tried Key and been so dismayed that they've found other alternatives for high school - moving, private school, getting into the STEM program at Edison, etc.

This seems so odd to me! My kids had a wonderful experience at Key Middle less than 5 years ago. Neighbors whose kids didn’t even go there “warned” me about bad behavior and poor academics at Key, but we thought it was great. My oldest is heading to college and my youngest is doing well in HS. If I were you, I wouldn’t trust the rumors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I also think there are more problems than just the demographics at Lewis.

I have been wondering this. I live nowhere near that area, but I do know that something is wrong when all other races are leaving the school. Black, White, and Asian are leaving in numbers, while Hispanic population is going up.

Herndon has 51% Hispanic, but it still manages well. It also has about 50% free lunch.

Get rid of IB at Lewis ASAP.

It doesn't help that Key Middle school is a disaster by all accounts. The behavior issues there and disruptions to learning mean that any family that can flees before high school. They seem to really need new leadership. I have many friends who have tried Key and been so dismayed that they've found other alternatives for high school - moving, private school, getting into the STEM program at Edison, etc.

This seems so odd to me! My kids had a wonderful experience at Key Middle less than 5 years ago. Neighbors whose kids didn’t even go there “warned” me about bad behavior and poor academics at Key, but we thought it was great. My oldest is heading to college and my youngest is doing well in HS. If I were you, I wouldn’t trust the rumors.

+1 People often speak based on biases without direct knowledge. Others have an anti-public school agenda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are are also white, Asian and Black kids at Lewis, and Hispanic kids at West Springfield. Balancing the enrollments at the two schools is overdue, despite the suggestion of the WS poster that Lewis’s unique function is to serve Hispanic ESOL kids.

If getting rid of IB makes Lewis more palatable get rid of IB there.

Balancing the enrollment will not help the struggling students.

Not every student at Lewis is struggling and they deserve equal opportunities to their peers at other schools. And concentrating poverty in certain schools hurts the struggling students as well, as FCPS already knows.

The poverty concentrates itself. It is not up to other neighborhoods to bail it out.

It kind of is. Maybe not on the microscale you're thinking of because your concerns are about your kid interacting with poor kids. But the larger picture is that we should strive and want to build a better Fairfax County for everyone. I don't think we should, in general, allow the free-falling decay of certain areas a mile away. How does that bode well for our future?

1. You are assuming something that is very wrong. FWIW, I don't live in West Springfield district and my kids interact with plenty of poor kids. However, I would be very upset if my children were cherry picked to go "save" other kids. That is your suggestion.

2. You are suggesting that we move people around on a chess board to suit your view of the world.

I can only assume that you are a Lewis parent who is upset with Lewis. So, you have a choice. Move or act to make things better at Lewis. Are you the one who is upset because there was no baseball team at Lewis? Not a very good reason to go and grab other people's kids.

DP. Your rhetoric is way over the top.

Basically, you suggest that FCPS can’t do what it did for many years - change boundaries between nearby schools when one school was under-enrolled and another had a huge enrollment - because in this case it can be negatively portrayed as an effort to “save” or “bail out” Lewis.

So, apparently, because someone might claim it’s “social engineering” rather than business as usual, the only acceptable response is to do nothing and see if Lewis’s enrollment drops further. It doesn’t matter to you if Lewis kids are denied opportunities available to kids at other schools, because Lewis should just thank its lucky stars it’s part of a larger system and not totally dependent on tax revenues generated from within its current boundaries,
right?

It’s just kind of gross, honestly, that you advance specious arguments all because you hate the idea of anything that might even temporarily require adjustments on the part of UMC families to balance enrollments with a school with a larger low-income population.

You don't tear communities apart because a nearby school is struggling. It's not struggling because it is underenrolled.

I’m not PP but reading comprehension is not your strong suit, is it? She’s saying shifting boundaries would be due to numbers not to make sure one school isn’t struggling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are are also white, Asian and Black kids at Lewis, and Hispanic kids at West Springfield. Balancing the enrollments at the two schools is overdue, despite the suggestion of the WS poster that Lewis’s unique function is to serve Hispanic ESOL kids.

If getting rid of IB makes Lewis more palatable get rid of IB there.

Balancing the enrollment will not help the struggling students.

Not every student at Lewis is struggling and they deserve equal opportunities to their peers at other schools. And concentrating poverty in certain schools hurts the struggling students as well, as FCPS already knows.

The poverty concentrates itself. It is not up to other neighborhoods to bail it out.

It kind of is. Maybe not on the microscale you're thinking of because your concerns are about your kid interacting with poor kids. But the larger picture is that we should strive and want to build a better Fairfax County for everyone. I don't think we should, in general, allow the free-falling decay of certain areas a mile away. How does that bode well for our future?

1. You are assuming something that is very wrong. FWIW, I don't live in West Springfield district and my kids interact with plenty of poor kids. However, I would be very upset if my children were cherry picked to go "save" other kids. That is your suggestion.

2. You are suggesting that we move people around on a chess board to suit your view of the world.

I can only assume that you are a Lewis parent who is upset with Lewis. So, you have a choice. Move or act to make things better at Lewis. Are you the one who is upset because there was no baseball team at Lewis? Not a very good reason to go and grab other people's kids.

DP. Your rhetoric is way over the top.

Basically, you suggest that FCPS can’t do what it did for many years - change boundaries between nearby schools when one school was under-enrolled and another had a huge enrollment - because in this case it can be negatively portrayed as an effort to “save” or “bail out” Lewis.

So, apparently, because someone might claim it’s “social engineering” rather than business as usual, the only acceptable response is to do nothing and see if Lewis’s enrollment drops further. It doesn’t matter to you if Lewis kids are denied opportunities available to kids at other schools, because Lewis should just thank its lucky stars it’s part of a larger system and not totally dependent on tax revenues generated from within its current boundaries,
right?

It’s just kind of gross, honestly, that you advance specious arguments all because you hate the idea of anything that might even temporarily require adjustments on the part of UMC families to balance enrollments with a school with a larger low-income population.

You don't tear communities apart because a nearby school is struggling. It's not struggling because it is underenrolled.

I’m not PP but reading comprehension is not your strong suit, is it? She’s saying shifting boundaries would be due to numbers not to make sure one school isn’t struggling.

And, you must not have read much of this thread.

[Anonymous]

Maybe electing more men to the School Board this fall will make a difference. The last time the School Board had any guts was when Stuart Gibson pushed through the boundary change in 2008 that moved kids to South Lakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe electing more men to the School Board this fall will make a difference. The last time the School Board had any guts was when Stuart Gibson pushed through the boundary change in 2008 that moved kids to South Lakes.

Wow, are you always so sexist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe electing more men to the School Board this fall will make a difference. The last time the School Board had any guts was when Stuart Gibson pushed through the boundary change in 2008 that moved kids to South Lakes.

Stu Gibson has so much guts he let the SL PTSA run the show and make the decisions. And, it was composed of IB moms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe electing more men to the School Board this fall will make a difference. The last time the School Board had any guts was when Stuart Gibson pushed through the boundary change in 2008 that moved kids to South Lakes.

Stu Gibson has so much guts he let the SL PTSA run the show and make the decisions. And, it was composed of IB moms.

At least the SL Moms had the guts and strength in numbers to advocate for their school. South Lakes ended up the winner with the subsequent boundaries. Sadly many FCPS schools in this day and age would have trouble mustering up the critical mass of moms necessary to convince the board of a boundary change to improve the demographics at their school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe electing more men to the School Board this fall will make a difference. The last time the School Board had any guts was when Stuart Gibson pushed through the boundary change in 2008 that moved kids to South Lakes.

Stu Gibson has so much guts he let the SL PTSA run the show and make the decisions. And, it was composed of IB moms.

They didn’t take the heat from the people insisting they had a God-given right to stay at their then-current schools. He did.

In comparison, current SB members are spineless ninnies.