How did Herndon/Westfield HS go from top to bottom?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Herndon and Sterling are both trash cities. The local government allowed those areas to become “little Mexico” areas. Once that happened, the areas went from okay to total trashy areas. Multiple families living in single family homes, 8 cars parked in the yard and driveway, terrible crime and schools.

I've never been to either place. But doesn't zoning and/or code prevent multiple families or unrelated individuals from living in a single family home together? That's what duplexes or triplexes are for.

Meh. FCC and Arlington was like this not so long ago. People rented houses with roommates and those roommates had girlfriends who spent lots of time there. Eight cars easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Herndon and Sterling are both trash cities. The local government allowed those areas to become “little Mexico” areas. Once that happened, the areas went from okay to total trashy areas. Multiple families living in single family homes, 8 cars parked in the yard and driveway, terrible crime and schools.

Wow. You don’t even know what’s going on here. I’m stepped at where to begin with you.

For one thing, neither are cities.

Herndon is a town. Anyone who goes there knows they aren’t “trash.” Herndon has more of a sense of place with its bit of traditional architecture and a well-defined center. Sterling is more generic suburb.


Neither area is some broke down hell hole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So you may have a scheduling conflict at Langley, but Langley is offering courses like Chinese, Japanese and Russian that no one can take at Herndon, and Herndon does not offer any foreign languages not available at Langley.

Gee. I wonder why those might be taught at Langley? Any ideas? Could it possibly be its proximity to something else called Langley? Population has high interest in those languages?

And, are you sure they are all taught there? Could it possibly be that everything in Langley's course catalog is not available? That happens in most schools. If enough kids don't sign up it doesn't get offered.

+1. For proof, Latin will not be available at Westfield this year even though it’s listed in the course selection sheet.

[Anonymous]

Yes, my child was signed up to take Latin at Rocky Run and we were told it was a bad idea because he couldn't continue it at Westfield.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Based on your question, it's clear you've arrived to your ranking of schools by judging the success of ESOL students. Frankly, the majority of posters here don't care about the success of ESOL students, so I don't understand why that metric is used so often to compare schools.

We need a better way to know how the actual teachers and administration are performing in order to rank the actual schools, not the ESOL kids.

You are so right. We really do need a better metric than ratings based on test scores. I would be much more interested in something like satisfaction surveys, where the parents, students, and teachers are widely polled. I'd also be interested to hear what students who have graduated say a year later about how well prepared they were. People's real experiences would be much more useful than statistical data that doesn't really have any qualitative information.

This x1000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Herndon and Sterling are both trash cities. The local government allowed those areas to become “little Mexico” areas. Once that happened, the areas went from okay to total trashy areas. Multiple families living in single family homes, 8 cars parked in the yard and driveway, terrible crime and schools.

Wow. You don’t even know what’s going on here. I’m stepped at where to begin with you.

For one thing, neither are cities.

Herndon is a town. Anyone who goes there knows they aren’t “trash.” Herndon has more of a sense of place with its bit of traditional architecture and a well-defined center. Sterling is more generic suburb.


Neither area is some broke down hell hole.

Herndon is a wonderful place. I live in a nice area of west Oakton, but Herndon is my downtown - cleaners, bagel store, auto repair, great if overpriced car wash, and so on. I am from the north shore of Chicago in Lake County where small towns have a nice commercial feel and Herndon is the closest thing near me to that environment. I don’t require fancy, only friendly. My nephews and niece went to Herndon High and did well - went on to the Ivy League, Carnegie Mellon and UVA. I thought Herndon was an advantage as to UVA and Tech admission.There was a lot fewer applying to UVA than at Oakton and TJ (where my kids went) and it was a safe environment, albeit with limited interaction with some groups. I don’t get the thug PE comment either. I was an All
American athlete who went to the top rated school in the ACC on athletic scholarship and I loved PE. I was from a poor single mother home (rare for the school district and did not think I benefited from the nice, but cream puff kids at my school. You want diversity and toughness in PE. I used to prevail upon my mother to drive 80 miles south to Chicago Heights in the summer to compete against the do-called thug kids. Why any parent would not embrace diversity in PE is beyond me. PE teaches you to fend for yourself and gain confidence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Herndon / Westfield seemed to be highly regarded high schools. Back when I was in high school @ Westfield 15 years ago, Everyone fought like hell to not get redistricting to the poor performing ghetto known as South Lakes. Now South Lakes has higher test scores than both Herndon/South Lakes? What happened?

Unfortunately FCPS has started to wear and tear, due to many reasons including the 12 liberal member school board playing nothing but politics and leaving their schools in the dust. Such a large school district can start to fall behind within a matter of a few years, and thus has become increasingly prevalent. Realistically, South Lakes, Westfield, and Herndon are all schools comparable to TC Williams in ACPS, or some of the schools in PG County. Even a larger number of parents from better regarded school districts are sending their kids to private, with ones like Mclean and Langley becoming overcrowded by the year and not being able to keep up to their educational standards. Even TJ is starting to lose its prestige due to its radical admission policy changes. All I can say is vote in 2023!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So you may have a scheduling conflict at Langley, but Langley is offering courses like Chinese, Japanese and Russian that no one can take at Herndon, and Herndon does not offer any foreign languages not available at Langley.

Gee. I wonder why those might be taught at Langley? Any ideas? Could it possibly be its proximity to something else called Langley? Population has high interest in those languages?

And, are you sure they are all taught there? Could it possibly be that everything in Langley's course catalog is not available? That happens in most schools. If enough kids don't sign up it doesn't get offered.

+1. For proof, Latin will not be available at Westfield this year even though it’s listed in the course selection sheet.

That's a shame since I thought all the high schools still offered Latin through AP Virgil. The brand new 5th Edition Cambridge Latin textbooks are out this year too. The new course reflects the actual cultural diversity of the Roman world unlike all the previous editions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Herndon / Westfield seemed to be highly regarded high schools. Back when I was in high school @ Westfield 15 years ago, Everyone fought like hell to not get redistricting to the poor performing ghetto known as South Lakes. Now South Lakes has higher test scores than both Herndon/South Lakes? What happened?

Unfortunately FCPS has started to wear and tear, due to many reasons including the 12 liberal member school board playing nothing but politics and leaving their schools in the dust. Such a large school district can start to fall behind within a matter of a few years, and thus has become increasingly prevalent. Realistically, South Lakes, Westfield, and Herndon are all schools comparable to TC Williams in ACPS, or some of the schools in PG County. Even a larger number of parents from better regarded school districts are sending their kids to private, with ones like Mclean and Langley becoming overcrowded by the year and not being able to keep up to their educational standards. Even TJ is starting to lose its prestige due to its radical admission policy changes. All I can say is vote in 2023!

People doing that are being ridiculous. What more do they possibly want from FCPS given that they are already attending one of the top public schools in the entire country? My child will be going to one of the "less-regarded" FCPS schools which is performing below VA state average, and no I can't afford to move right now. I'm the one who actually has something to complain about towards FCPS's inability to maintain high outcomes at my school. Things have taken a nosedive in the past 5 years. Meanwhile Langley and McLean seemingly get better every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing says “white supremacy” more loudly than “every school needs a certain percentage of white children to be good.”

Not necessarily. If you have a school system runs by whites primarily for the benefit of white children, then having white kids in your school may be necessary to ensure it gets appropriate resources and attention.

There was a reason why “separate but equal” was invalidated. The NAACP didn’t challenge it because they thought White children were superior. They challenged it because they knew Black schools were inferior.

So you need the racist white government which is against poc to make racist white peoples go to school with poc so the racist white peoples will be forced to give poc the same quality. Makes sense, especially these days.

It should be easy enough in Fairfax county with our internet and smart phones to find out where the school board and gatehouse are failing to spend as much per pupil and to provide the “not white enough” schools with the same maintenance, infrastructure etc. as the “white enough to care about” schools.

I'm saying context matters. You made a very broad statement.

If you want to talk about current FCPS spending, most of us know FCPS spends considerably more per student on schools with more low-income students (which in FCPS usually means schools with fewer, not more, White kids). And they spend the least on the schools with the most White and Asian kids.

Case in point:

McLean HS is severely overcrowded, yet it’s been bumped to last in line for renovation because FFX replaced 17 of the 21 trailers with a prefab “pod” (glorified trailer).

The hyper-progressive school board hates McLean because of all the Asian and white students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Herndon / Westfield seemed to be highly regarded high schools. Back when I was in high school @ Westfield 15 years ago, Everyone fought like hell to not get redistricting to the poor performing ghetto known as South Lakes. Now South Lakes has higher test scores than both Herndon/South Lakes? What happened?

Unfortunately FCPS has started to wear and tear, due to many reasons including the 12 liberal member school board playing nothing but politics and leaving their schools in the dust. Such a large school district can start to fall behind within a matter of a few years, and thus has become increasingly prevalent. Realistically, South Lakes, Westfield, and Herndon are all schools comparable to TC Williams in ACPS, or some of the schools in PG County. Even a larger number of parents from better regarded school districts are sending their kids to private, with ones like Mclean and Langley becoming overcrowded by the year and not being able to keep up to their educational standards. Even TJ is starting to lose its prestige due to its radical admission policy changes. All I can say is vote in 2023!

People doing that are being ridiculous. What more do they possibly want from FCPS given that they are already attending one of the top public schools in the entire country? My child will be going to one of the "less-regarded" FCPS schools which is performing below VA state average, and no I can't afford to move right now. I'm the one who actually has something to complain about towards FCPS's inability to maintain high outcomes at my school. Things have taken a nosedive in the past 5 years. Meanwhile Langley and McLean seemingly get better every year.

Government school is still government school.

People have their own reasons for opting out and it’s nice to have the choice. Some parents do private all the way through, or just for high school. Lots of others keep their children out of government school until high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing says “white supremacy” more loudly than “every school needs a certain percentage of white children to be good.”

Not necessarily. If you have a school system runs by whites primarily for the benefit of white children, then having white kids in your school may be necessary to ensure it gets appropriate resources and attention.

There was a reason why “separate but equal” was invalidated. The NAACP didn’t challenge it because they thought White children were superior. They challenged it because they knew Black schools were inferior.

So you need the racist white government which is against poc to make racist white peoples go to school with poc so the racist white peoples will be forced to give poc the same quality. Makes sense, especially these days.

It should be easy enough in Fairfax county with our internet and smart phones to find out where the school board and gatehouse are failing to spend as much per pupil and to provide the “not white enough” schools with the same maintenance, infrastructure etc. as the “white enough to care about” schools.

I'm saying context matters. You made a very broad statement.

If you want to talk about current FCPS spending, most of us know FCPS spends considerably more per student on schools with more low-income students (which in FCPS usually means schools with fewer, not more, White kids). And they spend the least on the schools with the most White and Asian kids.

Case in point:

McLean HS is severely overcrowded, yet it’s been bumped to last in line for renovation because FFX replaced 17 of the 21 trailers with a prefab “pod” (glorified trailer).

The hyper-progressive school board hates McLean because of all the Asian and white students.

Take it to another thread, Can't there be one thread that's not about Langley, McLean, or TJ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Herndon and Sterling are both trash cities. The local government allowed those areas to become “little Mexico” areas. Once that happened, the areas went from okay to total trashy areas. Multiple families living in single family homes, 8 cars parked in the yard and driveway, terrible crime and schools.

I've never been to either place. But doesn't zoning and/or code prevent multiple families or unrelated individuals from living in a single family home together? That's what duplexes or triplexes are for.

Meh. FCC and Arlington was like this not so long ago. People rented houses with roommates and those roommates had girlfriends who spent lots of time there. Eight cars easy.

That is true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing says “white supremacy” more loudly than “every school needs a certain percentage of white children to be good.”

Not necessarily. If you have a school system runs by whites primarily for the benefit of white children, then having white kids in your school may be necessary to ensure it gets appropriate resources and attention.

There was a reason why “separate but equal” was invalidated. The NAACP didn’t challenge it because they thought White children were superior. They challenged it because they knew Black schools were inferior.

So you need the racist white government which is against poc to make racist white peoples go to school with poc so the racist white peoples will be forced to give poc the same quality. Makes sense, especially these days.

It should be easy enough in Fairfax county with our internet and smart phones to find out where the school board and gatehouse are failing to spend as much per pupil and to provide the “not white enough” schools with the same maintenance, infrastructure etc. as the “white enough to care about” schools.

I'm saying context matters. You made a very broad statement.

If you want to talk about current FCPS spending, most of us know FCPS spends considerably more per student on schools with more low-income students (which in FCPS usually means schools with fewer, not more, White kids). And they spend the least on the schools with the most White and Asian kids.

Case in point:

McLean HS is severely overcrowded, yet it’s been bumped to last in line for renovation because FFX replaced 17 of the 21 trailers with a prefab “pod” (glorified trailer).

The hyper-progressive school board hates McLean because of all the Asian and white students.

really? so they hate McLean but not the nearby richer Langley? I am not happy with the SB but please stop pulling stuff out of your butt.

[Anonymous]

can someone point out how conservative SBs make better decisions and lead to better educational outcomes? Like a concrete example from somewhere in the US. Please and thank you.