City of Alexandria - Mt. Vernon Elem School - likely to return to traditional calendar

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To anyone who is interested in this discussion, the Alexandria City School Board is meeting tomorrow night (Thursday December 5) to discuss the future of MVCS, calendar and curriculum issues. I urge everyone to attend.

They are proposing a summer learning program at the cost of $266K that will only serve ELL students.

http://eboard.acps.k12.va.us/attachments/000983a2-73b1-4302-a5ca-36ea124c156f.pdf

That's not what I read from that document.

"Total Projected Expenditures –
For three weeks of a full-day ELL and SLL summer program as well as half-day for K-Prep, the total costs are approximately $260,330 including staffing, transportation, and supplies."

Right. Just as many funds are devoted to sll kids as to ell kids. And a small portion to all incoming kindergartners. Am I reading it wrong?

It's the same 300 students. It's not 300 + 300

And the 150 incoming K students - well be realistic, more about half don't need a Kindergarten readiness program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see how such a bifurcated system cannot hurt the children who are excelling, e.g., the non-FARMS non-ESL kids. What has the school done to keep the top from being dragged down, or is the administration doing anything? Del Ray is a pretty yuppy upper-class neighborhood, so I cannot imagine parents of the non-FARMS kids and non-ESL kids being happy with settling. What do families do?

When will there be a decision about the traditional calendar and all-immersion change? Or will there be?

It could change now that he's gone, but for years the previous superintendent made it quite clear that this wasn't a concern of his.

So true, PP. In fact, for those in ACPS who complained at any level (K-12), the prior Super said he had a "bus ready to take you to Fairfax" (paraphrasing but close to public words).

His other comment was "private school is a good option for some people."

[Anonymous]

ACPS School Board passes by 8-1 return to traditional calender at Mt. Vernon Elementary School at last night's Board meeting.

[Anonymous]

Is it the same 300 students? Its not Spanish speakers for ell and English speakers for sll?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ACPS School Board passes by 8-1 return to traditional calender at Mt. Vernon Elementary School at last night's Board meeting.

Does this mean that all the children who opted out because of the year round calendar now go back?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To anyone who is interested in this discussion, the Alexandria City School Board is meeting tomorrow night (Thursday December 5) to discuss the future of MVCS, calendar and curriculum issues. I urge everyone to attend.

They are proposing a summer learning program at the cost of $266K that will only serve ELL students.

http://eboard.acps.k12.va.us/attachments/000983a2-73b1-4302-a5ca-36ea124c156f.pdf

That's not what I read from that document.

"Total Projected Expenditures –
For three weeks of a full-day ELL and SLL summer program as well as half-day for K-Prep, the total costs are approximately $260,330 including staffing, transportation, and supplies."

Right. Just as many funds are devoted to sll kids as to ell kids. And a small portion to all incoming kindergartners. Am I reading it wrong?

It's the same 300 students. It's not 300 + 300

And the 150 incoming K students - well be realistic, more about half don't need a Kindergarten readiness program.

No - that is incorrect. It is 300 + 300. The English Language Learners (ELL) and the Spanish Language Learners (SLL) are not the same students.

[Anonymous]

What a bummer. The year-round calendar was a big reason we were planning to send DS there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACPS School Board passes by 8-1 return to traditional calender at Mt. Vernon Elementary School at last night's Board meeting.

Does this mean that all the children who opted out because of the year round calendar now go back?

Question: Does this mean that the School Board members who self-transferred to Lyles-Crouch now have to live within the same rules as the rest of the parents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ACPS School Board passes by 8-1 return to traditional calender at Mt. Vernon Elementary School at last night's Board meeting.

Does this mean that all the children who opted out because of the year round calendar now go back?

Question: Does this mean that the School Board members who self-transferred to Lyles-Crouch now have to live within the same rules as the rest of the parents?

Let it go, dude.

[Anonymous]

So the school board approved the proposal to shift MVCS back to a traditional calendar year last night.

This without polling parents.

This without a committment to fully fund the alternative summer learning program.

The meeting was a fiasco, IMO, and demonstrated exactly why we will not be sending our rising Kindergartener to MVCS. Every discussion was about helping ESL students and pumping more and more finding into programs for ESL students at the expense of the non-ESL kids. We would have been excited for the intercession program for our child, and the opportunity to learn and expand his horizons in different areas during school vacation breaks.

Now, that taxpayer money which would have benefitted our non-ESL son is going to be pumped into more and more ESL programs during the summer, which will not benefit him at all.

School Board: You are alienating and offending the higher taxpayers in the city!

[Anonymous]

And the 150 incoming K students - well be realistic, more about half don't need a Kindergarten readiness program.

K Prep is a very short (about a week) program designed to familiarize the kindergarteners with their new school. It has nothing to do with readiness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So the school board approved the proposal to shift MVCS back to a traditional calendar year last night.

This without polling parents.

This without a committment to fully fund the alternative summer learning program.

The meeting was a fiasco, IMO, and demonstrated exactly why we will not be sending our rising Kindergartener to MVCS. Every discussion was about helping ESL students and pumping more and more finding into programs for ESL students at the expense of the non-ESL kids. We would have been excited for the intercession program for our child, and the opportunity to learn and expand his horizons in different areas during school vacation breaks.

Now, that taxpayer money which would have benefitted our non-ESL son is going to be pumped into more and more ESL programs during the summer, which will not benefit him at all.

School Board: You are alienating and offending the higher taxpayers in the city!

The PP may be having a bit of an extreme reaction, but I also am the rising parent of a non-ESL kindergartener zoned for MVCS and am very concerned about the meeting last night. I agree that the new proposal takes away certain benefits and funding from the non-ESL kids. The school board made it very clear last night that the goal of MVCS is to bring up ESL, promote ESL, and cater to ESL students. I understand that due to the fact that the school population is something like 70% ESL. But.....in doing so, they are going to even increase those numbers and the school will soon be 80%, 90% ESL.

What would be interesting, is to do a local survey to see exactly how many elementary-aged children live in the MVCS zone, and then see how many of those children are actually enrolled at MVCS vs local privates and parochials. Almost everyone we know who is non-ESL who is zoned for MVCS either transfers out or goes to private/parochial. now I understand why. English speaking children appear to be the last concern at the school.

If the School Board is so intent on turning MVCS into a dual-language-only school that solely caters to the district's Latino / ESL populations, then why not turn it into a charter school or magnet school to serve that particular population?

The meeting last night made it obviously clear that the intent of the dual-language program is not to teach english speaking children Spanish. It is solely there to teach Spanish-speaking kids SOMETHING.

And it's NOT working!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

And the 150 incoming K students - well be realistic, more about half don't need a Kindergarten readiness program.

K Prep is a very short (about a week) program designed to familiarize the kindergarteners with their new school. It has nothing to do with readiness.

According to the document "This would aim to serve 150 students with the goal of preparing students for kindergarten,"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the school board approved the proposal to shift MVCS back to a traditional calendar year last night.

This without polling parents.

This without a committment to fully fund the alternative summer learning program.

The meeting was a fiasco, IMO, and demonstrated exactly why we will not be sending our rising Kindergartener to MVCS. Every discussion was about helping ESL students and pumping more and more finding into programs for ESL students at the expense of the non-ESL kids. We would have been excited for the intercession program for our child, and the opportunity to learn and expand his horizons in different areas during school vacation breaks.

Now, that taxpayer money which would have benefitted our non-ESL son is going to be pumped into more and more ESL programs during the summer, which will not benefit him at all.

School Board: You are alienating and offending the higher taxpayers in the city!

The PP may be having a bit of an extreme reaction, but I also am the rising parent of a non-ESL kindergartener zoned for MVCS and am very concerned about the meeting last night. I agree that the new proposal takes away certain benefits and funding from the non-ESL kids. The school board made it very clear last night that the goal of MVCS is to bring up ESL, promote ESL, and cater to ESL students. I understand that due to the fact that the school population is something like 70% ESL. But.....in doing so, they are going to even increase those numbers and the school will soon be 80%, 90% ESL.

What would be interesting, is to do a local survey to see exactly how many elementary-aged children live in the MVCS zone, and then see how many of those children are actually enrolled at MVCS vs local privates and parochials. Almost everyone we know who is non-ESL who is zoned for MVCS either transfers out or goes to private/parochial. now I understand why. English speaking children appear to be the last concern at the school.

If the School Board is so intent on turning MVCS into a dual-language-only school that solely caters to the district's Latino / ESL populations, then why not turn it into a charter school or magnet school to serve that particular population?

The meeting last night made it obviously clear that the intent of the dual-language program is not to teach english speaking children Spanish. It is solely there to teach Spanish-speaking kids SOMETHING.

And it's NOT working!

We are at another City elementary school and the situation is still the same. Every school is catering to the ESL crowd. Your white, upper class kid isn't their concern because they know those kids will pass the SOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the school board approved the proposal to shift MVCS back to a traditional calendar year last night.

This without polling parents.

This without a committment to fully fund the alternative summer learning program.

The meeting was a fiasco, IMO, and demonstrated exactly why we will not be sending our rising Kindergartener to MVCS. Every discussion was about helping ESL students and pumping more and more finding into programs for ESL students at the expense of the non-ESL kids. We would have been excited for the intercession program for our child, and the opportunity to learn and expand his horizons in different areas during school vacation breaks.

Now, that taxpayer money which would have benefitted our non-ESL son is going to be pumped into more and more ESL programs during the summer, which will not benefit him at all.

School Board: You are alienating and offending the higher taxpayers in the city!

The PP may be having a bit of an extreme reaction, but I also am the rising parent of a non-ESL kindergartener zoned for MVCS and am very concerned about the meeting last night. I agree that the new proposal takes away certain benefits and funding from the non-ESL kids. The school board made it very clear last night that the goal of MVCS is to bring up ESL, promote ESL, and cater to ESL students. I understand that due to the fact that the school population is something like 70% ESL. But.....in doing so, they are going to even increase those numbers and the school will soon be 80%, 90% ESL.

What would be interesting, is to do a local survey to see exactly how many elementary-aged children live in the MVCS zone, and then see how many of those children are actually enrolled at MVCS vs local privates and parochials. Almost everyone we know who is non-ESL who is zoned for MVCS either transfers out or goes to private/parochial. now I understand why. English speaking children appear to be the last concern at the school.

If the School Board is so intent on turning MVCS into a dual-language-only school that solely caters to the district's Latino / ESL populations, then why not turn it into a charter school or magnet school to serve that particular population?

The meeting last night made it obviously clear that the intent of the dual-language program is not to teach english speaking children Spanish. It is solely there to teach Spanish-speaking kids SOMETHING.

And it's NOT working!

Agree. And it would be interesting to find out how many students would prefer public if there were more programs serving TAG kids, special needs kids and general enrichment classes (science related or cultural programs).