When are Herndon Middle and Herndon High going to get a break?!??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is wrong with Herndon now?

Doesn't it offer plenty of AP classes? Is this an issue?

Please. What is the issue?

Someone posted elsewhere that the band went to Normandy last year, so apparently they have good arts programs as well.

The issue seems to be that Langley is too rich and, despite a 36% or so minority population, too white. This is considered unfair to many of the middle class (white?) parents at Herndon who think they are owed some rich white kids at their school. They need them so that they can be proud.

So far I haven't heard of black or hispanic parents complaining of a lack of white students. Apparently 32% is enough for them to be able to hold their heads up.

[Anonymous]

You need to look at some of the boundary changes that have occurred in the past 15 years. West Springfield - Lee. Annandale - Lake Braddock - Woodson. Thoreau - Jackson. They have definitely done their part to concentrate poverty. And that can also include not making changes and instead adding capacity. Mt. Vernon - West Potomac is one. Basically, they have favored moving wealthier students to wealthier schools because parents don't fight that, but if a move is needed the other way they have decided to add capacity.

I live in Western Fairfax, so I did not realize all those issues. I have read about the West Potomac, Mt. Vernon situation. Seems to me that eliminating IB might help that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

As for why you don't concentrate poor students - see the FCPS study from about 6 years ago that says school results (thus student results) take a turn for the worse around 20% F/R lunch and drop hard at 40%. Plus there is the positive influence of having high achievers around kids who might otherwise not have that modeled. So no, you shouldn't concentrate poverty, but that is exactly what FCPS has done.

FCPS is at 30% FARMS as a whole.

It is impossible to bring every school below the 20% tipping point.

I haven't yet read the study and will try to find it to read later today. But, the point is that FCPS needs to accept the fact that we are not the school system of the past and educate the kids where they are.
You mention "there is the positive influence of having high achievers around kids who might otherwise not have that modeled." That applies to onesies and twosies.

If FCPS tries to even out every school, they will be making boundary adjustments every year as neighborhoods change.

Stop making sense.

The prospect of bringing down stats at all schools is too appealing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is wrong with Herndon now?

Doesn't it offer plenty of AP classes? Is this an issue?

Please. What is the issue?

Someone posted elsewhere that the band went to Normandy last year, so apparently they have good arts programs as well.

The issue seems to be that Langley is too rich and, despite a 36% or so minority population, too white. This is considered unfair to many of the middle class (white?) parents at Herndon who think they are owed some rich white kids at their school. They need them so that they can be proud.

So far I haven't heard of black or hispanic parents complaining of a lack of white students. Apparently 32% is enough for them to be able to hold their heads up.

So, it is just a wish for "fairness" brought on by jealousy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is wrong with Herndon now?

Doesn't it offer plenty of AP classes? Is this an issue?

Please. What is the issue?

Someone posted elsewhere that the band went to Normandy last year, so apparently they have good arts programs as well.

The issue seems to be that Langley is too rich and, despite a 36% or so minority population, too white. This is considered unfair to many of the middle class (white?) parents at Herndon who think they are owed some rich white kids at their school. They need them so that they can be proud.

So far I haven't heard of black or hispanic parents complaining of a lack of white students. Apparently 32% is enough for them to be able to hold their heads up.

So, it is just a wish for "fairness" brought on by jealousy?

It starts to look that way after research reveals that Herndon is actually given more than the school everyone complains about.

[Anonymous]

Dear Herndon peers, let’s stop with this board. They will always have the last word - that’s who they are. Let’s have respect for our awesome school and stop engaging in this nonsense.

[Anonymous]

FCPS School Board needs to agree on its priorities for boundary changes at the 7/22 work session and then they need to designate someone internal or external as the boundary tsar to make changes effective ASAP, with the understanding that there will be no more changes, at least at the high school level, until the new western high school gets built.

The people on the current School Board are both scared and indecisive, and could literally take years to make some simple decisions. FCPS is too big for that nonsense to continue.

[Anonymous]

FCPS School Board needs to agree on its priorities for boundary changes at the 7/22 work session and then they need to designate someone internal or external as the boundary tsar to make changes effective ASAP, with the understanding that there will be no more changes, at least at the high school level, until the new western high school gets built.

Do you mean changes now? I can't quite follow. Changes now that can't be changed until western high school is built. Or, wait until western high school for changes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dear Herndon peers, let’s stop with this board. They will always have the last word - that’s who they are. Let’s have respect for our awesome school and stop engaging in this nonsense.

Thank you!

Herndon is awesome so please stop trying to convince people from Great Falls that they should send their children there.

Please stop insulting the FARMs parents by insisting that most of their children should get out of your school.

Your band represented at the 75th commemoration in Normandy.

You have Model U.N., Latin Honor Society, and a golf club, for Christ's sake.

I am glad that some Herndon parents see the value in it.

Respect your school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Herndon peers, let’s stop with this board. They will always have the last word - that’s who they are. Let’s have respect for our awesome school and stop engaging in this nonsense.

Thank you!

Herndon is awesome so please stop trying to convince people from Great Falls that they should send their children there.

Please stop insulting the FARMs parents by insisting that most of their children should get out of your school.

Your band represented at the 75th commemoration in Normandy.

You have Model U.N., Latin Honor Society, and a golf club, for Christ's sake.

I am glad that some Herndon parents see the value in it.

Respect your school.

You can always count on someone from Langley to curdle the milk with their phony support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear Herndon peers, let’s stop with this board. They will always have the last word - that’s who they are. Let’s have respect for our awesome school and stop engaging in this nonsense.

Thank you!

Herndon is awesome so please stop trying to convince people from Great Falls that they should send their children there.

Please stop insulting the FARMs parents by insisting that most of their children should get out of your school.

Your band represented at the 75th commemoration in Normandy.

You have Model U.N., Latin Honor Society, and a golf club, for Christ's sake.

I am glad that some Herndon parents see the value in it.

Respect your school.

You can always count on someone from Langley to curdle the milk with their phony support.

If you disagree that Herndon parents should be proud of their school, just say so.

If you have children there you have every right to tell us all how much Herndon sucks.

It won't make us want to send our children there, but please tell the truth anyway. People whined so much that I thought Herndon suffered from falling ceiling tiles, broken steps, incompetent teachers, worse student/teacher ratios than other schools and daily visits from the local P.D.

I do a little digging and find a respectable arts program, certified teachers, better ratios and a renovation underway. I was surprised.

So please tell us why despite all this there are those clamoring to swap students with Langley. What. Is. The. Problem.

[Anonymous]

READ THE WHOLE THREAD or move to Herndon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:READ THE WHOLE THREAD or move to Herndon.

I have read the whole thread. Still waiting on an answer to why anyone thinks the parents of great falls/Langley are to blame for high FARMs at Herndon, falling test scores, the accused pedophile at Herndon, or "no help from FCPS" despite fcps investing in a lower student/ teacher ratio, extra specialists and higher paid teachers.

Apparently Herndon is over a tipping point at which the number of poorer children wreck the school for everyone. However, it seems that fcps is at or over the tipping already, so reshuffling children to evenly distribute FARMs kids would merely result in worse outcomes for all schools. I have yet to read up on this tipping point theory, but I will.

Nevertheless, some insist that rich white kids are needed to not make their school look so bad by comparison, and that rich parents are selfishly keeping their children out of a school that many of its current parents complain about.

Herndon parents apparently have not turned out in force at any governmental body to protest the policies, laws, and implementation that have resulted in the current situation.

Instead, some of them accuse Great falls parents of not being interested in sharing what *some* Herndon parents insist is a problem.

So far we have seen no evidence that the FARMs parents (largely minority) wish to have their children rezoned to dilute their numbers---but those other parents have been very vocal that a good percentage of them need to get gone. (For their own good, of course) Yet Langley parents were accused of racism.

Herndon seems to have good teachers and quality extracurriculars, and no one has so far said that their high schooler is unable to take AP classes or get into s well-regarded college.

As for moving to Herndon-- Herndon has several very pretty neighborhoods with mature trees, beautifully kept houses and community facilities. There's a bike trail, historic buildings and the organic market.

However, I like my house and my neighborhood. I like the schools my children are zoned for. I have zero motivation to move to a much-complained about school district just to find out what is so bad about it.

If middle class Herndon parents feel disoriented by the rapid changes in the past 5-10 years, I think that is understandable.
Blaming the parents the next district over for your problems, real or perceived, is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people don’t care how poor or rich are the kids sitting next to their kid, nor what race they are, but people do care very much about the quality of education their kids are receiving. If you try to put my kid in a bad school, I’ll switch him to private school and will vote “no” on every school bond vote to come, since you literally forced my hand. How would that help a school with poor performance? If you are so interested in improving a school by rezoning other people’s kids, put your own kid in a bad school and then discuss how the quality of his education is unchanged.

I love these threats! Please go! You’re kid is not some gift to the world.

I invite all the angry great falls parents to leave for private school. I DARE YOU. Hahaha. You’ll never do it. Most of you are waaaaaay too cheap.

GF kids are not gifts to the world, yet desperately needed in the Herndon pyramid. Lol.

Too cheap? That's why we live in GF. All the low-cost housing. Many GF parents find the public schools a fit, so private is an unnecessary expense. I met one mom who switched her son from private to Langley. Some people like Cooper for middle school and choose Madeira for high school. Everyone is different. If public stops working, then private becomes an investment that we are willing to make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This comes up periodically but realistically there is a difference between busing kids whose families suppprt their attending an AAP center or TJ and busing Hispanic kids further away from schools closer to their residences because whites in Herndon think there are too many poor Hispanics in their pyramid.

It's not ideal, sure. But there are not many other solutions. It is a solution and it will help alleviate the burden on Herndon middle and Herndon high.

Anecdotally -- my white neighbors have remained, but the South Americans (Argentinians, Peruvians, Uruguayans, Venezuelan) have moved ... to Reston and Oakton (Madison).

good riddance!! great news! made my day.

??? This is terrible news. The Latinos who have money and education, and could help the Latino community are leaving. It's a great loss.

I guess they are racist