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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why should some schools school have Math Counts and Science Olympiad when others don't. If everyone doesn't get it, then no one should. Say good bye to MS clubs, ES homework (why should some teachers spend time grading when others don't?), science fairs, etc. How's that for equity?

.

Parent of former Carson kids here. Most of the state winning teams are started by parents and run by parents and funded by parents. My kids debated. Over 100 kids trying out for 20 spots. Parents started debate. Parents ran debate. It ran in the evening in parents homes. Parents volunteered to coach and judge and monitor. Parents paid.

Carson isn’t getting any after school funding that other schools aren’t. They are getting thousands of hours of parent volunteers and parents paying for the school based activities.

The bolded is the sentiment behind all of this.

+1

This won't fix anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What other schools with 40% low-income share a boundary with a 1.5% low-income school?

Better to have two 20% FARMS schools, but the Langley parents are having an aneurysm about even raising the idea.

Blame all the middle class white people that abandoned Herndon. They exercised their free will to move or enroll their children in private school. They apparently didn't care what the rest of you thought about it.

They are the ones that contributed to the higher FARMs percentages by removing their middle-class children. Look to your own neighbors instead of blaming Langley parents for being content with theirs.

I don't think it's as much that as the huge influx of undocumented, poor immigrants. 818 unaccompanied minors in Fairfax County from October to May of this year. This is not sustainable for any school system.

If they had stayed Herndon would be bursting at the seams. By going elsewhere, they kept it from being more crowded. Unless the data in the graph is wrong, it is what it is. Some ethnicity fluctuation is to be expected anywhere, i.e. the couples with grown children retire to Florida or move to a senior living community. Due to immigration from many countries there are buyers from more countries than there may have been 50 years ago. So the odds of a new homeowner having roots in India or Peru or China,etc. is higher and the school demographics reflect that. It looks like Herndon's shift is not due only to that but to white parents actively looking to enroll elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the large chunk of us Herndon homeowners who bought our homes ten years ago with the intention of sending our kids to a strong pyramid (back when FARM Rates were 1/3 what it is now!) Life is a bitch - make the best of it.

EXACTLY! These Langley folks had no issue suggesting we move and now look who suddenly care?

Did Langley parents oppose Herndon parents who took political action against unwanted changes to their school? DID Herndon parents take any action? Or just complain on a message board?

Reading this thread and others it seems that no unified action was taken. Some people did make the decision for their own children to move or go private.

Fair enough. People who complain publicly will be branded as racist. They should either put up and shut up or move.

Sooo.... according to schooldigger from 2010 to 2017 test scores fell, FARMs has gone up dramatically as has the percentage of Hispanic students. The percentage of white students has gone down but overall enrollment is about the same. White enrollment has been going down since the late 1990s, with the first real drop in 1998 and dropping steadily since. White enrollment was 1149 in 2010 and 775 students in 2017.

Looks like most white Herndon parents opted out for whatever reason. Of course it is unknown how many moved and how many went private. Interestingly enough, the numbers for black and Asian children have held steady for 20 years. Hispanic students increased their numbers and white students left in greater numbers every year.

Many white people left. I don't know if it was due to issues with administration or teaching or the condition of the facilities, but they left. Maybe there was redistricting somewhere in there but the numbers dropped EVERY year.

Most people chose the path of simply leaving.

Left on its current trajectory, Herndon would be 80% Hispanic in 5-7 years, as the pace of white departure seems to be increasing.

fcps site says

755 white students in 2016-17
742 in 2017-18
727 in 2018-19

Still going down every year but the pace has slowed down. For awhile there the white population was decreasing by 30-70ish every year.

[Anonymous]

Still going down every year but the pace has slowed down. For awhile there the white population was decreasing by 30-70ish every year.

That's not unnatural for neighborhoods that age out. Why do you think Langley's population is decreasing?

[Anonymous]

^^ No, I think that's happening. Kids grow up but there is no replenishment. At least, that's what I've seen. New people moving in, white or not, either don't have kids or are sending their kids to private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yes, I agree that families drive the desire for TJ, but these extras should not be paid for by county tax payers if they are not offered uniformly. I'm talking about the middle school level where after school activities are paid for by the county. Why should some schools school have Math Counts and Science Olympiad when others don't. If everyone doesn't get it, then no one should. Say good bye to MS clubs, ES homework (why should some teachers spend time grading when others don't?), science fairs, etc. How's that for equity?

Many afterschool activities require fees. I don't think you will find afterschool activities paid for by the county at one school and not at another. I'm willing to be that Science Olympiad requires entrance fees, etc. Maybe someone on this forum could correct me.

Parent of former Carson kids here. Most of the state winning teams are started by parents and run by parents and funded by parents. My kids debated. Over 100 kids trying out for 20 spots. Parents started debate. Parents ran debate. It ran in the evening in parents homes. Parents volunteered to coach and judge and monitor. Parents paid.

Carson isn’t getting any after school funding that other schools aren’t. They are getting thousands of hours of parent volunteers and parents paying for the school based activities.

Well, it's apparently unfair that you all can spare time and money to give your kids extra. I suppose all extra curricular should be banned.

DP with experience from another F/R lunch challenged high school in FCPS. The problem with the extracurriculars is that the poorer schools have trouble getting volunteers AND money. We hear regularly that all of the high schools have trouble getting parent volunteers or that even at the big schools or wealthier schools the same parents do most of the volunteering. The difference at those schools is that the parents can come up with money to substitue for volunteering. That does not happen at the poorer schools. I would not claim, however, that the wealthier schools should not have the extracurricular activities. Though it is a reason to not concentrate poverty.

I ran Science Olympiad and other STEM enrichment activities as a parent at one of the better off FCPS schools for years. and I agree with the Carson poster. The school's position was basically that we (parents) were welcome to do this if it didn't interfere with the rest of the school's business.

I never had a single kid on my teams whose family income was likely in the bottom half of the school's. This is despite letting kids know and advertising in the school newsletter that anyone needing financial assistance should not let this prevent them from participating and should contact the PTA to request help. Never had a single Hispanic kid even try out for anything. Had one African American kid for a short while who ended up dropping out of the activity. My most eager and dedicated students were mostly Asian. For the activities that were competitive, Asian students were usually in the majority to make it on the team.

There's a lot more to it than saying let's not concentrate poverty and the achievement gap will suddenly decrease.

What could have happened, though, is that if you took away some of my high-achieving kids to send them to another school to spread poverty around, I might still be able to field a team, but the team might not qualify for much or ever place in anything. And the kids you sent to the other school might not have a team at that school to welcome them.

[Anonymous]

^^ I thought a teacher or somebody from the school must sign up the team(s). Is that true?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

MS13

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ I thought a teacher or somebody from the school must sign up the team(s). Is that true?

And, does the teacher/someone from the school need to be present after school and at meets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

MS13

Well gang activity is excellent grounds for dissatisfaction.

Herndon parents should consider online school if moving or going private isn't an option. There is a free public school online option in Virginia: https://www.k12.com/virginia-online-schools.html It's my understanding that they have local groups for field trips and other activities.

There are more activities for homeschoolers than ever. Enrichment classes in the arts, supplemental history classes, all kinds of clubs.

This place has classes twice a week for middle and high school and your child can go all day both days for a full load. I know a couple of people whose children did some middle school and high school here, they later transferred to "regular" schools with no problems: https://www.compassclasses.com/

some smaller, newer private schools
https://www.ideaventionsacademy.org/ Not cheap but much less $$ than the larger schools.

Co-ops:
https://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/homeschooling-in-virginia/homeschool-co-ops-academic-enrichment-classes/


Take action. Don't resign yourself to sending your child to a school that you feel is unsafe.


This isn't 1989 or even 2009. There are alot of options.

[Anonymous]

From what I hear, there is a strong cohort of good students at Herndon. I'm guessing that Herndon is essentially two schools in one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I ran Science Olympiad and other STEM enrichment activities as a parent at one of the better off FCPS schools for years. and I agree with the Carson poster. The school's position was basically that we (parents) were welcome to do this if it didn't interfere with the rest of the school's business.

I never had a single kid on my teams whose family income was likely in the bottom half of the school's. This is despite letting kids know and advertising in the school newsletter that anyone needing financial assistance should not let this prevent them from participating and should contact the PTA to request help. Never had a single Hispanic kid even try out for anything. Had one African American kid for a short while who ended up dropping out of the activity. My most eager and dedicated students were mostly Asian. For the activities that were competitive, Asian students were usually in the majority to make it on the team.

There's a lot more to it than saying let's not concentrate poverty and the achievement gap will suddenly decrease.

What could have happened, though, is that if you took away some of my high-achieving kids to send them to another school to spread poverty around, I might still be able to field a team, but the team might not qualify for much or ever place in anything. And the kids you sent to the other school might not have a team at that school to welcome them.

Right, and those of us who have kids in whatever activities that cost aren't interested in the prospect of our children having to give them up in the name of "equity"

In my own school there were always a few black american children in the arts and science-oriented clubs and student government, so my experience is similar. They were not represented proportionate to their numbers at the school but anyone who was interested, joined.

I will say that sometimes children are embarrassed to ask for help. One of my children had a friend who did not participate in her club's yearly trip because her parents couldn't afford it. It was made clear to the kids AND to the parents at meetings (but her parents may not have attended) that we had enough funds to cover a few children who couldn't pay. Despite all her friends urging her to accept the opportunity, she made some excuse to the advisor. There is nothing we can do about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yes, I agree that families drive the desire for TJ, but these extras should not be paid for by county tax payers if they are not offered uniformly. I'm talking about the middle school level where after school activities are paid for by the county. Why should some schools school have Math Counts and Science Olympiad when others don't. If everyone doesn't get it, then no one should. Say good bye to MS clubs, ES homework (why should some teachers spend time grading when others don't?), science fairs, etc. How's that for equity?

Many afterschool activities require fees. I don't think you will find afterschool activities paid for by the county at one school and not at another. I'm willing to be that Science Olympiad requires entrance fees, etc. Maybe someone on this forum could correct me.

Parent of former Carson kids here. Most of the state winning teams are started by parents and run by parents and funded by parents. My kids debated. Over 100 kids trying out for 20 spots. Parents started debate. Parents ran debate. It ran in the evening in parents homes. Parents volunteered to coach and judge and monitor. Parents paid.

Carson isn’t getting any after school funding that other schools aren’t. They are getting thousands of hours of parent volunteers and parents paying for the school based activities.

Well, it's apparently unfair that you all can spare time and money to give your kids extra. I suppose all extra curricular should be banned.

DP with experience from another F/R lunch challenged high school in FCPS. The problem with the extracurriculars is that the poorer schools have trouble getting volunteers AND money. We hear regularly that all of the high schools have trouble getting parent volunteers or that even at the big schools or wealthier schools the same parents do most of the volunteering. The difference at those schools is that the parents can come up with money to substitue for volunteering. That does not happen at the poorer schools. I would not claim, however, that the wealthier schools should not have the extracurricular activities. Though it is a reason to not concentrate poverty.

It seems that if the FARMs kids are equally distributed they would have trouble getting home from activities.

Almost 30% are FARMS.
Evening out could mean that activities across the county take a major hit if there aren't quite enough parents in schools with money and time to give.

There is a limit to how much some people can subsidize others without taking from their own children.

Yeah our charity has increased over the years with our income but so has what we can provide for our children.

Once covering other people's children hurts our ability to fund education, savings and productive hobbies for our own something has to give and it won't be the needs of the children that we brought into the world.

I'm glad you can live with your white privilge and racist views.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From what I hear, there is a strong cohort of good students at Herndon. I'm guessing that Herndon is essentially two schools in one.

What evidence I have seen shows that to be true.

My kid would cohort elsewhere if there were gang activity though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Yes, I agree that families drive the desire for TJ, but these extras should not be paid for by county tax payers if they are not offered uniformly. I'm talking about the middle school level where after school activities are paid for by the county. Why should some schools school have Math Counts and Science Olympiad when others don't. If everyone doesn't get it, then no one should. Say good bye to MS clubs, ES homework (why should some teachers spend time grading when others don't?), science fairs, etc. How's that for equity?

Many afterschool activities require fees. I don't think you will find afterschool activities paid for by the county at one school and not at another. I'm willing to be that Science Olympiad requires entrance fees, etc. Maybe someone on this forum could correct me.

Parent of former Carson kids here. Most of the state winning teams are started by parents and run by parents and funded by parents. My kids debated. Over 100 kids trying out for 20 spots. Parents started debate. Parents ran debate. It ran in the evening in parents homes. Parents volunteered to coach and judge and monitor. Parents paid.

Carson isn’t getting any after school funding that other schools aren’t. They are getting thousands of hours of parent volunteers and parents paying for the school based activities.

Well, it's apparently unfair that you all can spare time and money to give your kids extra. I suppose all extra curricular should be banned.

DP with experience from another F/R lunch challenged high school in FCPS. The problem with the extracurriculars is that the poorer schools have trouble getting volunteers AND money. We hear regularly that all of the high schools have trouble getting parent volunteers or that even at the big schools or wealthier schools the same parents do most of the volunteering. The difference at those schools is that the parents can come up with money to substitue for volunteering. That does not happen at the poorer schools. I would not claim, however, that the wealthier schools should not have the extracurricular activities. Though it is a reason to not concentrate poverty.

It seems that if the FARMs kids are equally distributed they would have trouble getting home from activities.

Almost 30% are FARMS.
Evening out could mean that activities across the county take a major hit if there aren't quite enough parents in schools with money and time to give.

There is a limit to how much some people can subsidize others without taking from their own children.

Yeah our charity has increased over the years with our income but so has what we can provide for our children.

Once covering other people's children hurts our ability to fund education, savings and productive hobbies for our own something has to give and it won't be the needs of the children that we brought into the world.

I'm glad you can live with your white privilge and racist views.

I'm glad you can live with being boring and anti-intellectual.