Any other Alexandrians heartbroken about ACPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS is on a downward trajectory as well. Don’t go there. It’s fine for elementary but they are slowly devolving into low expectations and reduced rigor. The only differentiation is on iPads while teachers work with kids who need catching up. So many families our N Arlington neighborhood are making plans to go private for middle school.

Due to parent feedback, APS is strengthening the middle school curriculum for gifted students. If parents stay involved, I'm sure it will improve further. Arlington's high schools are fine and plenty challenging. Some families have even complained there's too much homework in the high schools.

That's great to hear about APS. ACPS is moving to get rid of its gifted program (TAG) because it isn't equitable. Started under the last superintendent, Hutchings, and will be completed by the new one who was Hutchings' pick.

The head of ACPS TAG doesn't even send her kids to ACPS. Sends them to private. Parent's at the ACPS school she used to send her kids to don't even question it when she speaks at PTA meetings.

[Anonymous]

We left Alexandria 15 years ago because of this. It’s always been like this.

We know a couple people who stayed. Their kids are tracked extensively and isolated pretty well from the bigger school population. Kind of a school within a school. This is white kids coming from Spanish immersion at Mt Vernon and then kids try to get into the tech academy option at the high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP this has been literally going on for YEARS. Why did you move somewhere with bad schools?

OP here. We lived here before kids and hoped it might improve. We learned that was lip service.

Yep I grew up here and ACPS had a bad reputation among people who didn’t actually go there or send their kids there, but for those actually experiencing the schools, it was a decent overall experience that I would have been happy to have my kids have. We moved back, and I assumed it would be the same. Sorry to see it has really gone downhill. We have our oldest in private bc we don’t want to give up the old town lifestyle, but our toddler is going to need special ed and I’m at a loss for options. There aren’t appropriate private options for here, and I have heard only bad things about ACPS special ed. I’m at a loss.

Take a look at linder academy in old town. I know a few families of SWDs who are there and love it

PP above this is exactly our experience. When we toured Linder it seemed promising. After talking to parents, feedback was unanimous that the school is really disorganized. Specifically it lacks an "administration" because it's essentially a few person team. This has left the parents we talked to feeling frustrated by the high tuition for lack of administrative organization and events to build community in the school.

I feel for you PP because we hoped to make it work. Unfortunately the rising crime is a major problem that, like the schools, won't get better. I wish it were different but I'm starting to be more honest with myself that it will never be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what Alexandrians voted for. This is what the city wants.

I don't understand the problem.

Exactly, and no elections have even been close. Everything is great except for a few people on these forums.

Yup. This is what your all voted for over years and years. Why are you complaining now?

I hear you PPs but this is an oversimplification. Did "we" (Democrats) of Alexandria technically vote for "this?" I guess so yes, in that we voted D. But what was the alternative? Vote R and end up with a government that cares even less about public schools? Many liberals are mad as hell at our city government and school board. We want safety and accountability, too, you know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what Alexandrians voted for. This is what the city wants.

I don't understand the problem.

Exactly, and no elections have even been close. Everything is great except for a few people on these forums.

Yup. This is what your all voted for over years and years. Why are you complaining now?

I hear you PPs but this is an oversimplification. Did "we" (Democrats) of Alexandria technically vote for "this?" I guess so yes, in that we voted D. But what was the alternative? Vote R and end up with a government that cares even less about public schools? Many liberals are mad as hell at our city government and school board. We want safety and accountability, too, you know.

School board elections are non-partisan. There is no primary. The school board has changed over many times since I moved here and nothing really changes. I just don't think an independent school board made up of volunteers (it is an unpaid position that requires enormous time commitment) is a successful model. There are never enough candidates, so really the voters don't have any choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP this has been literally going on for YEARS. Why did you move somewhere with bad schools?

OP here. We lived here before kids and hoped it might improve. We learned that was lip service.

Yep I grew up here and ACPS had a bad reputation among people who didn’t actually go there or send their kids there, but for those actually experiencing the schools, it was a decent overall experience that I would have been happy to have my kids have. We moved back, and I assumed it would be the same. Sorry to see it has really gone downhill. We have our oldest in private bc we don’t want to give up the old town lifestyle, but our toddler is going to need special ed and I’m at a loss for options. There aren’t appropriate private options for here, and I have heard only bad things about ACPS special ed. I’m at a loss.

Take a look at linder academy in old town. I know a few families of SWDs who are there and love it

Thank you! Apparently Linder is amazing for executive functioning and ADHD but is not open to autism. If someone would open a private in Alexandria for ASD they would have a line out the door! If anyone has other suggestions I am desperate. TIA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what Alexandrians voted for. This is what the city wants.

I don't understand the problem.

Exactly, and no elections have even been close. Everything is great except for a few people on these forums.

Yup. This is what your all voted for over years and years. Why are you complaining now?

I hear you PPs but this is an oversimplification. Did "we" (Democrats) of Alexandria technically vote for "this?" I guess so yes, in that we voted D. But what was the alternative? Vote R and end up with a government that cares even less about public schools? Many liberals are mad as hell at our city government and school board. We want safety and accountability, too, you know.

School board elections are non-partisan. There is no primary. The school board has changed over many times since I moved here and nothing really changes. I just don't think an independent school board made up of volunteers (it is an unpaid position that requires enormous time commitment) is a successful model. There are never enough candidates, so really the voters don't have any choice.

For background, I have a 6th grader at GWMS. She has enjoyed her year there, but almost every day there is a fight in the cafeteria. She and a couple of her friends are afraid to go into the bathrooms because older kids will frequently skip class to hang out there. There has been a student she knows beaten up at least three times over the course of the year.

Previously, she had been at JH, where there were class disruptions every single day. Her teachers spent a majority of time trying to rein in the students; very little learning was going on. When there was an outcry regarding these disruptions one year, Hutchings did nothing. There was a lot of lip service from the school board, but essentially, nothing happened. Parents I knew either moved out of the neighborhood or requested transfers out.

Any alternative is better than continuing to vote 'D' and seeing nothing change and the complaints growing louder. And hearing your excuse that voting 'R' would be worse is infuriating. Nothing is worse than what we have now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what Alexandrians voted for. This is what the city wants.

I don't understand the problem.

Exactly, and no elections have even been close. Everything is great except for a few people on these forums.

Yup. This is what your all voted for over years and years. Why are you complaining now?

I hear you PPs but this is an oversimplification. Did "we" (Democrats) of Alexandria technically vote for "this?" I guess so yes, in that we voted D. But what was the alternative? Vote R and end up with a government that cares even less about public schools? Many liberals are mad as hell at our city government and school board. We want safety and accountability, too, you know.

the mayor, city council and school board have all been crystal clear that they want "this". You voted for it. And you'll vote for it next time too.

If you pay attention to politics at all in Alexandria, you know that there is no voting R so this is just a sorry excuse.

You can vote for better Ds. But you don't. And quietly talking about being "mad as hell" so that your adored mayor doesn't hear you is laughable. You do nothing to make things better here so enjoy what you voted for and what you will keep voting for over and over again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what Alexandrians voted for. This is what the city wants.

I don't understand the problem.

Exactly, and no elections have even been close. Everything is great except for a few people on these forums.

Yup. This is what your all voted for over years and years. Why are you complaining now?

I hear you PPs but this is an oversimplification. Did "we" (Democrats) of Alexandria technically vote for "this?" I guess so yes, in that we voted D. But what was the alternative? Vote R and end up with a government that cares even less about public schools? Many liberals are mad as hell at our city government and school board. We want safety and accountability, too, you know.

School board elections are non-partisan. There is no primary. The school board has changed over many times since I moved here and nothing really changes. I just don't think an independent school board made up of volunteers (it is an unpaid position that requires enormous time commitment) is a successful model. There are never enough candidates, so really the voters don't have any choice.

For background, I have a 6th grader at GWMS. She has enjoyed her year there, but almost every day there is a fight in the cafeteria. She and a couple of her friends are afraid to go into the bathrooms because older kids will frequently skip class to hang out there. There has been a student she knows beaten up at least three times over the course of the year.

Previously, she had been at JH, where there were class disruptions every single day. Her teachers spent a majority of time trying to rein in the students; very little learning was going on. When there was an outcry regarding these disruptions one year, Hutchings did nothing. There was a lot of lip service from the school board, but essentially, nothing happened. Parents I knew either moved out of the neighborhood or requested transfers out.

Any alternative is better than continuing to vote 'D' and seeing nothing change and the complaints growing louder. And hearing your excuse that voting 'R' would be worse is infuriating. Nothing is worse than what we have now.

So you know the public schools are failing your kid miserably (fights, can't go to the bathroom safely, no learning) and you still send her there?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what Alexandrians voted for. This is what the city wants.

I don't understand the problem.

Exactly, and no elections have even been close. Everything is great except for a few people on these forums.

Yup. This is what your all voted for over years and years. Why are you complaining now?

I hear you PPs but this is an oversimplification. Did "we" (Democrats) of Alexandria technically vote for "this?" I guess so yes, in that we voted D. But what was the alternative? Vote R and end up with a government that cares even less about public schools? Many liberals are mad as hell at our city government and school board. We want safety and accountability, too, you know.

School board elections are non-partisan. There is no primary. The school board has changed over many times since I moved here and nothing really changes. I just don't think an independent school board made up of volunteers (it is an unpaid position that requires enormous time commitment) is a successful model. There are never enough candidates, so really the voters don't have any choice.

For background, I have a 6th grader at GWMS. She has enjoyed her year there, but almost every day there is a fight in the cafeteria. She and a couple of her friends are afraid to go into the bathrooms because older kids will frequently skip class to hang out there. There has been a student she knows beaten up at least three times over the course of the year.

Previously, she had been at JH, where there were class disruptions every single day. Her teachers spent a majority of time trying to rein in the students; very little learning was going on. When there was an outcry regarding these disruptions one year, Hutchings did nothing. There was a lot of lip service from the school board, but essentially, nothing happened. Parents I knew either moved out of the neighborhood or requested transfers out.

Any alternative is better than continuing to vote 'D' and seeing nothing change and the complaints growing louder. And hearing your excuse that voting 'R' would be worse is infuriating. Nothing is worse than what we have now.

So you know the public schools are failing your kid miserably (fights, can't go to the bathroom safely, no learning) and you still send her there?!

PP here.

DD does well in school, and I've been supplementing her learning every single day since kindergarten. Thankfully there has only been one incident with her where she had been hit (2nd grade), but she mostly keeps under the radar of potential bullies. To say the public schools are failing MY kid miserably is an overstatement. Is it too much to ask to ask for consequences for bullies and to keep all kids feeling safe and able to learn with little disruptions, not just MY kid?

Our family is low income, so we don't have the resources like most families in Old Town to just up and move. I vote every single election for different people for the school board and city council, but people like the above poster who only vote Democrats in (because God forbid we get any real change by voting R) are who I have issues with.

[Anonymous]

For someone who said the SB is volunteer, they are not. They do get paid, albeit a low amount. But it's not a full-time job.

I'm an ACPS parent of three kids in elementary. I am just so tired of having to pay so close attention to what everyone else is echoing: school safety, curriculum, quality instruction, resources. My wife and I both have DC, in-person based jobs. We also cannot afford to live outside of an inner suburb. We lived in Takoma Park, Silver Spring, and even Chevy Chase before and it was a lot of the same things. We left Chevy Chase because of the cost of living, not walkable, and very much a lack of diversity.

I honestly am so disheartened about how ACPS treats their staff. So many principals and teachers are leaving. But I don't see anywhere around here "better". There are just different problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what Alexandrians voted for. This is what the city wants.

I don't understand the problem.

Exactly, and no elections have even been close. Everything is great except for a few people on these forums.

Yup. This is what your all voted for over years and years. Why are you complaining now?

I hear you PPs but this is an oversimplification. Did "we" (Democrats) of Alexandria technically vote for "this?" I guess so yes, in that we voted D. But what was the alternative? Vote R and end up with a government that cares even less about public schools? Many liberals are mad as hell at our city government and school board. We want safety and accountability, too, you know.

Having some Republicans would slow down the rubber stamping of so many things in the City. It would require more discussion, more critical thinking, and more thoughtful approaches simply because there would be someone willing to raise objections. So yes, the alternative is to vote in some Republicans if you want to have any actual change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what Alexandrians voted for. This is what the city wants.

I don't understand the problem.

Exactly, and no elections have even been close. Everything is great except for a few people on these forums.

Yup. This is what your all voted for over years and years. Why are you complaining now?

I hear you PPs but this is an oversimplification. Did "we" (Democrats) of Alexandria technically vote for "this?" I guess so yes, in that we voted D. But what was the alternative? Vote R and end up with a government that cares even less about public schools? Many liberals are mad as hell at our city government and school board. We want safety and accountability, too, you know.

the mayor, city council and school board have all been crystal clear that they want "this". You voted for it. And you'll vote for it next time too.

If you pay attention to politics at all in Alexandria, you know that there is no voting R so this is just a sorry excuse.

You can vote for better Ds. But you don't. And quietly talking about being "mad as hell" so that your adored mayor doesn't hear you is laughable. You do nothing to make things better here so enjoy what you voted for and what you will keep voting for over and over again.

I'm the PP you're responding to and he sure as hell isn't my beloved mayor. He's a joke. Find better Ds that have any chance of winning and we will vote for them. You seem to have made up your mind that we've never tried though, so...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For someone who said the SB is volunteer, they are not. They do get paid, albeit a low amount. But it's not a full-time job.

I'm an ACPS parent of three kids in elementary. I am just so tired of having to pay so close attention to what everyone else is echoing: school safety, curriculum, quality instruction, resources. My wife and I both have DC, in-person based jobs. We also cannot afford to live outside of an inner suburb. We lived in Takoma Park, Silver Spring, and even Chevy Chase before and it was a lot of the same things. We left Chevy Chase because of the cost of living, not walkable, and very much a lack of diversity.

I honestly am so disheartened about how ACPS treats their staff. So many principals and teachers are leaving. But I don't see anywhere around here "better". There are just different problems.

APS is way better. No it's not perfect but it's way better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what Alexandrians voted for. This is what the city wants.

I don't understand the problem.

Exactly, and no elections have even been close. Everything is great except for a few people on these forums.

Yup. This is what your all voted for over years and years. Why are you complaining now?

I hear you PPs but this is an oversimplification. Did "we" (Democrats) of Alexandria technically vote for "this?" I guess so yes, in that we voted D. But what was the alternative? Vote R and end up with a government that cares even less about public schools? Many liberals are mad as hell at our city government and school board. We want safety and accountability, too, you know.

the mayor, city council and school board have all been crystal clear that they want "this". You voted for it. And you'll vote for it next time too.

If you pay attention to politics at all in Alexandria, you know that there is no voting R so this is just a sorry excuse.

You can vote for better Ds. But you don't. And quietly talking about being "mad as hell" so that your adored mayor doesn't hear you is laughable. You do nothing to make things better here so enjoy what you voted for and what you will keep voting for over and over again.

I'm the PP you're responding to and he sure as hell isn't my beloved mayor. He's a joke. Find better Ds that have any chance of winning and we will vote for them. You seem to have made up your mind that we've never tried though, so...

How have D's tried to unseat Wilson? Is there a single reasonable D on city council that you can point to? Who on the school board isn't a mouthpiece for ACPS. I only count Elnoubi. Are you and other Ds being vocal about going back to wards for city council and keeping wards for the school board? Are you working on getting that done? because that is the one thing that will result in a reasonable normal D getting on city council.