FCPS Ready to Screw Poorer/GenEd Kids Again

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't use "ain't" in speaking to poor people. I used it to speak to people too dumb to understand or admit that Poe has never been in the official proposals and will not suddenly be inserted into the decision process. The board isn't going to drop all the proposals and the recommendation that is set for final approval in 10 days. This ship has sailed and Poe isn't and never was on the ship.

There hasn't been a vote, so the ship hasn't sailed yet, although you're obviously paddling away from Jackson as fast as you can.

If they aren't total hypocrites, they need to hit the reset button.

I don't need to "paddle away from Jackson" b/c my kids can go to Thoreau. So, really, it's just a benefit to my family if you get your way... the whole rezoning process gets scrapped next week. Jackson kids live with 19+ trailers for another year. Thoreau kids continue to enjoy their nice, big, roomy, new facility for at least another year -- maybe several years. Works for me! You can spend the next year bickering about which group of Jackson's poorer kids to off-load onto Poe. Ultimately, the kids already zoned for Poe will be in a school that is even more "needy" (higher than the current 75% FARMS rate). yep...We'll be fine over here at Thoreau where the FARMS rate is ... oh let's see.... 10%!

Enjoy the pushing and shoving again next year at Jackson!

If you have so many great ideas, OP, and you feel so strongly about what should happen, why didn't you speak up last week when the school board was taking community input? I know you didn't speak up b/c I watched all TWO people comment from the community. One was supporting the move (from Oakton ES) and the other was asking to keep Mosby in LJMS (a Mosby Parent). No -- you didn't show up to speak. You didn't submit a video comment. You just like to moan and complain on DCUM. Well, just keep at it. School board will be voting next week. There is only one recommended plan on the table. It does not involve Poe.

Moving some or all of Camelot and/or Woodburn from Jackson to Poe would reduce the FARMS rate at Poe, and quite possibly at Jackson as well.

While relieving the overcrowding at Jackson, it would also show that the School Board actually cares about equity, and taking steps to balance, where possible, student demographics, rather than catering to loudmouths like you and isolating the poor kids in certain middle schools like Poe, Key, and Whitman.

You really don't know enough here to be commenting sensibly, so I suggest you shut up.

Someone is getting testy about his/her property values in LJMS's zone!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't use "ain't" in speaking to poor people. I used it to speak to people too dumb to understand or admit that Poe has never been in the official proposals and will not suddenly be inserted into the decision process. The board isn't going to drop all the proposals and the recommendation that is set for final approval in 10 days. This ship has sailed and Poe isn't and never was on the ship.

There hasn't been a vote, so the ship hasn't sailed yet, although you're obviously paddling away from Jackson as fast as you can.

If they aren't total hypocrites, they need to hit the reset button.

I don't need to "paddle away from Jackson" b/c my kids can go to Thoreau. So, really, it's just a benefit to my family if you get your way... the whole rezoning process gets scrapped next week. Jackson kids live with 19+ trailers for another year. Thoreau kids continue to enjoy their nice, big, roomy, new facility for at least another year -- maybe several years. Works for me! You can spend the next year bickering about which group of Jackson's poorer kids to off-load onto Poe. Ultimately, the kids already zoned for Poe will be in a school that is even more "needy" (higher than the current 75% FARMS rate). yep...We'll be fine over here at Thoreau where the FARMS rate is ... oh let's see.... 10%!

Enjoy the pushing and shoving again next year at Jackson!

If you have so many great ideas, OP, and you feel so strongly about what should happen, why didn't you speak up last week when the school board was taking community input? I know you didn't speak up b/c I watched all TWO people comment from the community. One was supporting the move (from Oakton ES) and the other was asking to keep Mosby in LJMS (a Mosby Parent). No -- you didn't show up to speak. You didn't submit a video comment. You just like to moan and complain on DCUM. Well, just keep at it. School board will be voting next week. There is only one recommended plan on the table. It does not involve Poe.

I feel the same way as OP, however I don't live in boundary and so didn't speak up at a hearing. I have spoken up to a couple of people offline though. I can just see how their decision will be very similar to what happened with Annandale. I will just have to hope the school board will make good decisions and I will vote for or against them in the future based on how they vote. IMO though, the Jackson parents should have been the ones to speak up. However they probably don't want to go to Poe, so they have reason also to not speak up. It's a double edge sword whether they do or don't speak up and so FCPS knows they won't get much opposition and yet everyone watching from the sidelines can see what is happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't use "ain't" in speaking to poor people. I used it to speak to people too dumb to understand or admit that Poe has never been in the official proposals and will not suddenly be inserted into the decision process. The board isn't going to drop all the proposals and the recommendation that is set for final approval in 10 days. This ship has sailed and Poe isn't and never was on the ship.

There hasn't been a vote, so the ship hasn't sailed yet, although you're obviously paddling away from Jackson as fast as you can.

If they aren't total hypocrites, they need to hit the reset button.

I don't need to "paddle away from Jackson" b/c my kids can go to Thoreau. So, really, it's just a benefit to my family if you get your way... the whole rezoning process gets scrapped next week. Jackson kids live with 19+ trailers for another year. Thoreau kids continue to enjoy their nice, big, roomy, new facility for at least another year -- maybe several years. Works for me! You can spend the next year bickering about which group of Jackson's poorer kids to off-load onto Poe. Ultimately, the kids already zoned for Poe will be in a school that is even more "needy" (higher than the current 75% FARMS rate). yep...We'll be fine over here at Thoreau where the FARMS rate is ... oh let's see.... 10%!

Enjoy the pushing and shoving again next year at Jackson!

If you have so many great ideas, OP, and you feel so strongly about what should happen, why didn't you speak up last week when the school board was taking community input? I know you didn't speak up b/c I watched all TWO people comment from the community. One was supporting the move (from Oakton ES) and the other was asking to keep Mosby in LJMS (a Mosby Parent). No -- you didn't show up to speak. You didn't submit a video comment. You just like to moan and complain on DCUM. Well, just keep at it. School board will be voting next week. There is only one recommended plan on the table. It does not involve Poe.

I feel the same way as OP, however I don't live in boundary and so didn't speak up at a hearing. I have spoken up to a couple of people offline though. I can just see how their decision will be very similar to what happened with Annandale. I will just have to hope the school board will make good decisions and I will vote for or against them in the future based on how they vote. IMO though, the Jackson parents should have been the ones to speak up. However they probably don't want to go to Poe, so they have reason also to not speak up. It's a double edge sword whether they do or don't speak up and so FCPS knows they won't get much opposition and yet everyone watching from the sidelines can see what is happening.

What are you even talking about? There is no proposal to shift Jackson kids to Poe so why would any parent speak about it? You can't go to a seminar on space travel and want to discuss burgers. Just sayin..

[Anonymous]

Assuming the school board votes to send OES kids to Thoreau AND you have a AAP kid and can choose Jackson or Thoreau
- are you at all concerned that this sudden influx of 350+ extra kids to Thoreau will impact their teaching quality?

- Would Jackson now be a better place to go to because it now has 350+ less kids overall and the teachers will be less harried and be able to focus on your kids better?

- Does not matter at all since AAP is a bubble at both Thoreau and Jackson?

[Anonymous]

Does not matter

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't use "ain't" in speaking to poor people. I used it to speak to people too dumb to understand or admit that Poe has never been in the official proposals and will not suddenly be inserted into the decision process. The board isn't going to drop all the proposals and the recommendation that is set for final approval in 10 days. This ship has sailed and Poe isn't and never was on the ship.

There hasn't been a vote, so the ship hasn't sailed yet, although you're obviously paddling away from Jackson as fast as you can.

If they aren't total hypocrites, they need to hit the reset button.

I don't need to "paddle away from Jackson" b/c my kids can go to Thoreau. So, really, it's just a benefit to my family if you get your way... the whole rezoning process gets scrapped next week. Jackson kids live with 19+ trailers for another year. Thoreau kids continue to enjoy their nice, big, roomy, new facility for at least another year -- maybe several years. Works for me! You can spend the next year bickering about which group of Jackson's poorer kids to off-load onto Poe. Ultimately, the kids already zoned for Poe will be in a school that is even more "needy" (higher than the current 75% FARMS rate). yep...We'll be fine over here at Thoreau where the FARMS rate is ... oh let's see.... 10%!

Enjoy the pushing and shoving again next year at Jackson!

If you have so many great ideas, OP, and you feel so strongly about what should happen, why didn't you speak up last week when the school board was taking community input? I know you didn't speak up b/c I watched all TWO people comment from the community. One was supporting the move (from Oakton ES) and the other was asking to keep Mosby in LJMS (a Mosby Parent). No -- you didn't show up to speak. You didn't submit a video comment. You just like to moan and complain on DCUM. Well, just keep at it. School board will be voting next week. There is only one recommended plan on the table. It does not involve Poe.

Moving some or all of Camelot and/or Woodburn from Jackson to Poe would reduce the FARMS rate at Poe, and quite possibly at Jackson as well.

While relieving the overcrowding at Jackson, it would also show that the School Board actually cares about equity, and taking steps to balance, where possible, student demographics, rather than catering to loudmouths like you and isolating the poor kids in certain middle schools like Poe, Key, and Whitman.

You really don't know enough here to be commenting sensibly, so I suggest you shut up.

Someone is getting testy about his/her property values in LJMS's zone!

The SB has shown time and again that they could care less about property values. So, yeah, good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't use "ain't" in speaking to poor people. I used it to speak to people too dumb to understand or admit that Poe has never been in the official proposals and will not suddenly be inserted into the decision process. The board isn't going to drop all the proposals and the recommendation that is set for final approval in 10 days. This ship has sailed and Poe isn't and never was on the ship.

There hasn't been a vote, so the ship hasn't sailed yet, although you're obviously paddling away from Jackson as fast as you can.

If they aren't total hypocrites, they need to hit the reset button.

I don't need to "paddle away from Jackson" b/c my kids can go to Thoreau. So, really, it's just a benefit to my family if you get your way... the whole rezoning process gets scrapped next week. Jackson kids live with 19+ trailers for another year. Thoreau kids continue to enjoy their nice, big, roomy, new facility for at least another year -- maybe several years. Works for me! You can spend the next year bickering about which group of Jackson's poorer kids to off-load onto Poe. Ultimately, the kids already zoned for Poe will be in a school that is even more "needy" (higher than the current 75% FARMS rate). yep...We'll be fine over here at Thoreau where the FARMS rate is ... oh let's see.... 10%!

Enjoy the pushing and shoving again next year at Jackson!

If you have so many great ideas, OP, and you feel so strongly about what should happen, why didn't you speak up last week when the school board was taking community input? I know you didn't speak up b/c I watched all TWO people comment from the community. One was supporting the move (from Oakton ES) and the other was asking to keep Mosby in LJMS (a Mosby Parent). No -- you didn't show up to speak. You didn't submit a video comment. You just like to moan and complain on DCUM. Well, just keep at it. School board will be voting next week. There is only one recommended plan on the table. It does not involve Poe.

Moving some or all of Camelot and/or Woodburn from Jackson to Poe would reduce the FARMS rate at Poe, and quite possibly at Jackson as well.

While relieving the overcrowding at Jackson, it would also show that the School Board actually cares about equity, and taking steps to balance, where possible, student demographics, rather than catering to loudmouths like you and isolating the poor kids in certain middle schools like Poe, Key, and Whitman.

You really don't know enough here to be commenting sensibly, so I suggest you shut up.

Someone is getting testy about his/her property values in LJMS's zone!

That’s quite flippant, and it’s not the real issue.

When FCPS creates these high-poverty schools, the kids left behind aren’t exposed to kids from more privileged backgrounds, people with greater means start to flee the pyramids, and there are fewer financial resources available to the system as a whole. Pushing Jackson beyond a tipping point isn’t a good thing for FCPS, but you probably won’t make the connection when your own kids end up in classes at Thoreau, Madison or Oakton in a few years with over 30 kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't use "ain't" in speaking to poor people. I used it to speak to people too dumb to understand or admit that Poe has never been in the official proposals and will not suddenly be inserted into the decision process. The board isn't going to drop all the proposals and the recommendation that is set for final approval in 10 days. This ship has sailed and Poe isn't and never was on the ship.

There hasn't been a vote, so the ship hasn't sailed yet, although you're obviously paddling away from Jackson as fast as you can.

If they aren't total hypocrites, they need to hit the reset button.

I don't need to "paddle away from Jackson" b/c my kids can go to Thoreau. So, really, it's just a benefit to my family if you get your way... the whole rezoning process gets scrapped next week. Jackson kids live with 19+ trailers for another year. Thoreau kids continue to enjoy their nice, big, roomy, new facility for at least another year -- maybe several years. Works for me! You can spend the next year bickering about which group of Jackson's poorer kids to off-load onto Poe. Ultimately, the kids already zoned for Poe will be in a school that is even more "needy" (higher than the current 75% FARMS rate). yep...We'll be fine over here at Thoreau where the FARMS rate is ... oh let's see.... 10%!

Enjoy the pushing and shoving again next year at Jackson!

If you have so many great ideas, OP, and you feel so strongly about what should happen, why didn't you speak up last week when the school board was taking community input? I know you didn't speak up b/c I watched all TWO people comment from the community. One was supporting the move (from Oakton ES) and the other was asking to keep Mosby in LJMS (a Mosby Parent). No -- you didn't show up to speak. You didn't submit a video comment. You just like to moan and complain on DCUM. Well, just keep at it. School board will be voting next week. There is only one recommended plan on the table. It does not involve Poe.

Moving some or all of Camelot and/or Woodburn from Jackson to Poe would reduce the FARMS rate at Poe, and quite possibly at Jackson as well.

While relieving the overcrowding at Jackson, it would also show that the School Board actually cares about equity, and taking steps to balance, where possible, student demographics, rather than catering to loudmouths like you and isolating the poor kids in certain middle schools like Poe, Key, and Whitman.

You really don't know enough here to be commenting sensibly, so I suggest you shut up.

Someone is getting testy about his/her property values in LJMS's zone!

That’s quite flippant, and it’s not the real issue.

When FCPS creates these high-poverty schools, the kids left behind aren’t exposed to kids from more privileged backgrounds, people with greater means start to flee the pyramids, and there are fewer financial resources available to the system as a whole. Pushing Jackson beyond a tipping point isn’t a good thing for FCPS, but you probably won’t make the connection when your own kids end up in classes at Thoreau, Madison or Oakton in a few years with over 30 kids.

And it really isn’t good for your property value. Look— people understand concerns with class size and high FARM rates and property value. Anyone who owns a house and has kids in FCPS has them. People will take you a lot more seriously if you stop trying to hide the ball. If you are concerned that it will cause Jackson to go down the drain, just say that. And quit trying to dress it up as looking out for the poor at Poe, or wanting to make sure Thoreau’s class sizes don’t get too big. Because if you do, people are going to call you on your BS. And it is pretty clear you don’t care about Poe or Thoreau. So at least own it.

[Anonymous]

Yes people are concerned that Falls Church and Jackson will go down the drain. Particularly since the high school still has many years before it gets renovated. I didn't think OP was hiding this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't use "ain't" in speaking to poor people. I used it to speak to people too dumb to understand or admit that Poe has never been in the official proposals and will not suddenly be inserted into the decision process. The board isn't going to drop all the proposals and the recommendation that is set for final approval in 10 days. This ship has sailed and Poe isn't and never was on the ship.

There hasn't been a vote, so the ship hasn't sailed yet, although you're obviously paddling away from Jackson as fast as you can.

If they aren't total hypocrites, they need to hit the reset button.

I don't need to "paddle away from Jackson" b/c my kids can go to Thoreau. So, really, it's just a benefit to my family if you get your way... the whole rezoning process gets scrapped next week. Jackson kids live with 19+ trailers for another year. Thoreau kids continue to enjoy their nice, big, roomy, new facility for at least another year -- maybe several years. Works for me! You can spend the next year bickering about which group of Jackson's poorer kids to off-load onto Poe. Ultimately, the kids already zoned for Poe will be in a school that is even more "needy" (higher than the current 75% FARMS rate). yep...We'll be fine over here at Thoreau where the FARMS rate is ... oh let's see.... 10%!

Enjoy the pushing and shoving again next year at Jackson!

If you have so many great ideas, OP, and you feel so strongly about what should happen, why didn't you speak up last week when the school board was taking community input? I know you didn't speak up b/c I watched all TWO people comment from the community. One was supporting the move (from Oakton ES) and the other was asking to keep Mosby in LJMS (a Mosby Parent). No -- you didn't show up to speak. You didn't submit a video comment. You just like to moan and complain on DCUM. Well, just keep at it. School board will be voting next week. There is only one recommended plan on the table. It does not involve Poe.

I feel the same way as OP, however I don't live in boundary and so didn't speak up at a hearing. I have spoken up to a couple of people offline though. I can just see how their decision will be very similar to what happened with Annandale. I will just have to hope the school board will make good decisions and I will vote for or against them in the future based on how they vote. IMO though, the Jackson parents should have been the ones to speak up. However they probably don't want to go to Poe, so they have reason also to not speak up. It's a double edge sword whether they do or don't speak up and so FCPS knows they won't get much opposition and yet everyone watching from the sidelines can see what is happening.

What are you even talking about? There is no proposal to shift Jackson kids to Poe so why would any parent speak about it? You can't go to a seminar on space travel and want to discuss burgers. Just sayin..

They should have spoken up. Who cares what FCPS originally proposed if it wasn't a good idea? They only asked the parents coming into Thoreau their opinion and stopped short of asking the families who would be staying at Jackson and Falls Church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't use "ain't" in speaking to poor people. I used it to speak to people too dumb to understand or admit that Poe has never been in the official proposals and will not suddenly be inserted into the decision process. The board isn't going to drop all the proposals and the recommendation that is set for final approval in 10 days. This ship has sailed and Poe isn't and never was on the ship.

There hasn't been a vote, so the ship hasn't sailed yet, although you're obviously paddling away from Jackson as fast as you can.

If they aren't total hypocrites, they need to hit the reset button.

I don't need to "paddle away from Jackson" b/c my kids can go to Thoreau. So, really, it's just a benefit to my family if you get your way... the whole rezoning process gets scrapped next week. Jackson kids live with 19+ trailers for another year. Thoreau kids continue to enjoy their nice, big, roomy, new facility for at least another year -- maybe several years. Works for me! You can spend the next year bickering about which group of Jackson's poorer kids to off-load onto Poe. Ultimately, the kids already zoned for Poe will be in a school that is even more "needy" (higher than the current 75% FARMS rate). yep...We'll be fine over here at Thoreau where the FARMS rate is ... oh let's see.... 10%!

Enjoy the pushing and shoving again next year at Jackson!

If you have so many great ideas, OP, and you feel so strongly about what should happen, why didn't you speak up last week when the school board was taking community input? I know you didn't speak up b/c I watched all TWO people comment from the community. One was supporting the move (from Oakton ES) and the other was asking to keep Mosby in LJMS (a Mosby Parent). No -- you didn't show up to speak. You didn't submit a video comment. You just like to moan and complain on DCUM. Well, just keep at it. School board will be voting next week. There is only one recommended plan on the table. It does not involve Poe.

I feel the same way as OP, however I don't live in boundary and so didn't speak up at a hearing. I have spoken up to a couple of people offline though. I can just see how their decision will be very similar to what happened with Annandale. I will just have to hope the school board will make good decisions and I will vote for or against them in the future based on how they vote. IMO though, the Jackson parents should have been the ones to speak up. However they probably don't want to go to Poe, so they have reason also to not speak up. It's a double edge sword whether they do or don't speak up and so FCPS knows they won't get much opposition and yet everyone watching from the sidelines can see what is happening.

What are you even talking about? There is no proposal to shift Jackson kids to Poe so why would any parent speak about it? You can't go to a seminar on space travel and want to discuss burgers. Just sayin..

They should have spoken up. Who cares what FCPS originally proposed if it wasn't a good idea? They only asked the parents coming into Thoreau their opinion and stopped short of asking the families who would be staying at Jackson and Falls Church.

There were four community input meetings (two in June, two in Nov/Dec 2017). If OP wanted to make a case, s/he had at least a year to do it. It has been known for a long time that Jackson was over-crowded and that Thoreau was undergoing renovation (which finished in Aug. 2016). Such a significant plan (involving at least three, and possibly 4, middle schools) needed to be suggested when Jackson got the first 15 trailers... not a couple of weeks (or even months) before out very slow school board is ready to make a decision.

To be fair though, imo, FCPS always had this rezoning plan set.... the community meetings seemed like theater to me. They were just going through the procedures for the plan that they had already decided was the best plan. (Look at the map. The current rezoning plan makes 100% sense if you aren't considering the things OP wants the school board to consider. If you are just looking at keeping communities together and logistics, it makes sense to lop off the western wing of the Jackson boundary.)

Do we want our government (school board) to make decisions without regard to race and economic status? Or do we want our school board to make zoning decisions based on race and economic status with a goal of equalizing the populations of public schools (social engineering)? That seems to be the crux of OP's issue. If the school board did rezone the eastern LJMS feeders instead of the western feeder schools, it would look like a gerrymandered school boundary on the map.... because, in fact, it would be a gerrymandered school zone.

[Anonymous]

In adopting One Fairfax, the School Board pledged to consider equity in its decisions. The bottom line is that this redistricting proposal flies in the face of that resolution and will increase segregation within FCPS and the concentration of poverty at Jackson, Poe, and Falls Church. Any School Board member who supports it without asking FCPS staff to come back with others options is lazy, a hypocrite, or both.

[Anonymous]

The school board needs to be appointed by the BOS not elected. It used to be that way.

With elected members, the school board is only interested in meeting the needs of voters in their districts rather than what’s best for FCPS as a whole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In adopting One Fairfax, the School Board pledged to consider equity in its decisions. The bottom line is that this redistricting proposal flies in the face of that resolution and will increase segregation within FCPS and the concentration of poverty at Jackson, Poe, and Falls Church. Any School Board member who supports it without asking FCPS staff to come back with others options is lazy, a hypocrite, or both.

Or practical, logical, efficiently using resources and race-blind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In adopting One Fairfax, the School Board pledged to consider equity in its decisions. The bottom line is that this redistricting proposal flies in the face of that resolution and will increase segregation within FCPS and the concentration of poverty at Jackson, Poe, and Falls Church. Any School Board member who supports it without asking FCPS staff to come back with others options is lazy, a hypocrite, or both.

Or practical, logical, efficiently using resources and race-blind.

There is nothing efficient about moving students from one school (Jackson) to another (Thoreau) with extra capacity, when the former also shares a boundary with a school with even more capacity (Poe).

And it's impressive that you don't see color or economic status, but that's not the world in which prior, ill-considered boundary changes by FCPS led Poe MS to lose 267 students over the past decade, many white and Asian, and see its FARMS rate increase from 46% to 72%.

And now they plan to work the same magic for Jackson MS.