Did Lewis Cancel Its Softball Season?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Lewis not being able to field a softball team is just one minor example of how students are victims of failed School Board policies. The ACLU should examine how policies like redistricting and expansion of “better” schools (WSHS, West Po) have negatively impacted education for many students at schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon. Students at those schools don’t have the same access to courses or extracurricular activities.

I agree with those expansions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix (rezone) it; build upon, literally, what already works.

A-holes like you (and Jeff Platenberg, the slimeball who used to head Facilities and made sure West Springfield got a huge expansion while seats at Lewis went unfilled and the school cratered) are responsible for the gaping disparities within FCPS.

You can’t force parents to send their kid to a particular school, particularly a failing one. I think rezoning schools should be extremely rare and an absolute last resort. It’s better to have high-performing “mega schools” (3k+ kids in one building) than to try to shuffle kids around.

Jeff Platenburg specifically rezoned schools to favor where he lived in West Springfield and he refused to build an additional school out west, he decimated Annandale. He was also part of the West Potomac expansion that also rezoned properties and pulled people away from the surrounding IB schools. I remember when he bragged about how he was able to create the least s.f. per student as if that was a benefit to students. All he cared about was budgets and his own district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Lewis not being able to field a softball team is just one minor example of how students are victims of failed School Board policies. The ACLU should examine how policies like redistricting and expansion of “better” schools (WSHS, West Po) have negatively impacted education for many students at schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon. Students at those schools don’t have the same access to courses or extracurricular activities.

I agree with those expansions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix (rezone) it; build upon, literally, what already works.

LOL! What is funny is that Chantilly is frequently given as an example of a school that is too large. That is probably true, However, the people complaining about it are likely not in the Chantilly zone. Why? No one wants to be redistricted. The boundary is pretty compact and only a few neighborhoods would be exempt from consideration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Lewis not being able to field a softball team is just one minor example of how students are victims of failed School Board policies. The ACLU should examine how policies like redistricting and expansion of “better” schools (WSHS, West Po) have negatively impacted education for many students at schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon. Students at those schools don’t have the same access to courses or extracurricular activities.

I agree with those expansions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix (rezone) it; build upon, literally, what already works.

A-holes like you (and Jeff Platenberg, the slimeball who used to head Facilities and made sure West Springfield got a huge expansion while seats at Lewis went unfilled and the school cratered) are responsible for the gaping disparities within FCPS.

You can’t force parents to send their kid to a particular school, particularly a failing one. I think rezoning schools should be extremely rare and an absolute last resort. It’s better to have high-performing “mega schools” (3k+ kids in one building) than to try to shuffle kids around.

It’s a great way to magnify disparities among schools - perhaps the only thing at which this incompetent, preening, hypocritical SB excels. No one can say with a straight face that the kids who have no choice but to attend Annandale, Lewis, or Mount Vernon have equal opportunities as the kids at West Springfield and West Potomac.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Lewis not being able to field a softball team is just one minor example of how students are victims of failed School Board policies. The ACLU should examine how policies like redistricting and expansion of “better” schools (WSHS, West Po) have negatively impacted education for many students at schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon. Students at those schools don’t have the same access to courses or extracurricular activities.

I agree with those expansions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix (rezone) it; build upon, literally, what already works.

A-holes like you (and Jeff Platenberg, the slimeball who used to head Facilities and made sure West Springfield got a huge expansion while seats at Lewis went unfilled and the school cratered) are responsible for the gaping disparities within FCPS.

You can’t force parents to send their kid to a particular school, particularly a failing one. I think rezoning schools should be extremely rare and an absolute last resort. It’s better to have high-performing “mega schools” (3k+ kids in one building) than to try to shuffle kids around.

Jeff Platenburg specifically rezoned schools to favor where he lived in West Springfield and he refused to build an additional school out west, he decimated Annandale. He was also part of the West Potomac expansion that also rezoned properties and pulled people away from the surrounding IB schools. I remember when he bragged about how he was able to create the least s.f. per student as if that was a benefit to students. All he cared about was budgets and his own district.

West Potomac has had the same pyramid for a very long time. It's a combination of the old Ft Hunt High and the old Groveton High and the feeder pattern hasn't really changed since

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Lewis not being able to field a softball team is just one minor example of how students are victims of failed School Board policies. The ACLU should examine how policies like redistricting and expansion of “better” schools (WSHS, West Po) have negatively impacted education for many students at schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon. Students at those schools don’t have the same access to courses or extracurricular activities.

I agree with those expansions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix (rezone) it; build upon, literally, what already works.

A-holes like you (and Jeff Platenberg, the slimeball who used to head Facilities and made sure West Springfield got a huge expansion while seats at Lewis went unfilled and the school cratered) are responsible for the gaping disparities within FCPS.

You can’t force parents to send their kid to a particular school, particularly a failing one. I think rezoning schools should be extremely rare and an absolute last resort. It’s better to have high-performing “mega schools” (3k+ kids in one building) than to try to shuffle kids around.

It’s a great way to magnify disparities among schools - perhaps the only thing at which this incompetent, preening, hypocritical SB excels. No one can say with a straight face that the kids who have no choice but to attend Annandale, Lewis, or Mount Vernon have equal opportunities as the kids at West Springfield and West Potomac.

Just like no one can say with a straight face that kids at West Potomac have the same opportunities as kids at Chantilly or McLean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are 199 'white' students at Lewis this year. Cut that in half to get 100 'white' girls. If your pony-tailed European descent white girl is what you are looking for to fill out a softball team, then you have to reduce this number even further because 'white' includes people of Middle Eastern descent. There may not be 70 European white girls in all of Lewis. How many of them enjoy softball?

Why aren't the feeders to Lewis introducing the non-White girls to sports like softball at Key, Springfield Estates, etc. There is a recruited Hispanic softball player at Madison headed to the Ivy League next year.

Ivy League isn’t exactly a softball powerhouse conference

Did you just miss the point, or did you do so on purpose? The recruited player was one the top players on a team that won the state championship for Madison last year.

Yes, whatever is your point? Why would you be talking about a player from Madison when the conversation is about Lewis?

Is it because she's an exception to the rule that Hispanic/Latino girls typically don't play sports, especially softball? Was that your "point?" Because, yeah, I missed it. Do you normally interject irrelevant comments into discussions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Lewis not being able to field a softball team is just one minor example of how students are victims of failed School Board policies. The ACLU should examine how policies like redistricting and expansion of “better” schools (WSHS, West Po) have negatively impacted education for many students at schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon. Students at those schools don’t have the same access to courses or extracurricular activities.

I agree with those expansions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix (rezone) it; build upon, literally, what already works.

LOL! What is funny is that Chantilly is frequently given as an example of a school that is too large. That is probably true, However, the people complaining about it are likely not in the Chantilly zone. Why? No one wants to be redistricted. The boundary is pretty compact and only a few neighborhoods would be exempt from consideration.

Chantilly is a different situation. People don’t want to get moved to the IB school (South Lakes), the AP schools nearby are also very big (Centreville, Westfield), and Oakton is a hike.

It doesn’t really bear on the absolute mess that Platenberg and his cronies on the SB created at other schools like Lewis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Lewis not being able to field a softball team is just one minor example of how students are victims of failed School Board policies. The ACLU should examine how policies like redistricting and expansion of “better” schools (WSHS, West Po) have negatively impacted education for many students at schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon. Students at those schools don’t have the same access to courses or extracurricular activities.

I agree with those expansions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix (rezone) it; build upon, literally, what already works.

A-holes like you (and Jeff Platenberg, the slimeball who used to head Facilities and made sure West Springfield got a huge expansion while seats at Lewis went unfilled and the school cratered) are responsible for the gaping disparities within FCPS.

You can’t force parents to send their kid to a particular school, particularly a failing one. I think rezoning schools should be extremely rare and an absolute last resort. It’s better to have high-performing “mega schools” (3k+ kids in one building) than to try to shuffle kids around.

It’s a great way to magnify disparities among schools - perhaps the only thing at which this incompetent, preening, hypocritical SB excels. No one can say with a straight face that the kids who have no choice but to attend Annandale, Lewis, or Mount Vernon have equal opportunities as the kids at West Springfield and West Potomac.

Just like no one can say with a straight face that kids at West Potomac have the same opportunities as kids at Chantilly or McLean.

The only advantages that kids at Chantilly or McLean have over kids at West Potomac relate to family resources, not FCPS resources. We are talking here about how people like Platenberg and his cronies on the SB systematically favored schools like West Springfield and West Potomac over schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon when it came to FCPS decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Lewis not being able to field a softball team is just one minor example of how students are victims of failed School Board policies. The ACLU should examine how policies like redistricting and expansion of “better” schools (WSHS, West Po) have negatively impacted education for many students at schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon. Students at those schools don’t have the same access to courses or extracurricular activities.

I agree with those expansions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix (rezone) it; build upon, literally, what already works.

A-holes like you (and Jeff Platenberg, the slimeball who used to head Facilities and made sure West Springfield got a huge expansion while seats at Lewis went unfilled and the school cratered) are responsible for the gaping disparities within FCPS.

You can’t force parents to send their kid to a particular school, particularly a failing one. I think rezoning schools should be extremely rare and an absolute last resort. It’s better to have high-performing “mega schools” (3k+ kids in one building) than to try to shuffle kids around.

Jeff Platenburg specifically rezoned schools to favor where he lived in West Springfield and he refused to build an additional school out west, he decimated Annandale. He was also part of the West Potomac expansion that also rezoned properties and pulled people away from the surrounding IB schools. I remember when he bragged about how he was able to create the least s.f. per student as if that was a benefit to students. All he cared about was budgets and his own district.

West Potomac has had the same pyramid for a very long time. It's a combination of the old Ft Hunt High and the old Groveton High and the feeder pattern hasn't really changed since

Same with WSHS.

South County and the accompanying rezoning happened what, 20 years ago?

It was far enough in the past that not a single student attending any of those schools now was in school or even born when the rezoning took place.

Lewis' issues have very little to do with those neighborhood along Gambril getting rezoned to South County and West Springfield. That was 2 decades ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Lewis not being able to field a softball team is just one minor example of how students are victims of failed School Board policies. The ACLU should examine how policies like redistricting and expansion of “better” schools (WSHS, West Po) have negatively impacted education for many students at schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon. Students at those schools don’t have the same access to courses or extracurricular activities.

I agree with those expansions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix (rezone) it; build upon, literally, what already works.

A-holes like you (and Jeff Platenberg, the slimeball who used to head Facilities and made sure West Springfield got a huge expansion while seats at Lewis went unfilled and the school cratered) are responsible for the gaping disparities within FCPS.

You can’t force parents to send their kid to a particular school, particularly a failing one. I think rezoning schools should be extremely rare and an absolute last resort. It’s better to have high-performing “mega schools” (3k+ kids in one building) than to try to shuffle kids around.

It’s a great way to magnify disparities among schools - perhaps the only thing at which this incompetent, preening, hypocritical SB excels. No one can say with a straight face that the kids who have no choice but to attend Annandale, Lewis, or Mount Vernon have equal opportunities as the kids at West Springfield and West Potomac.

Just like no one can say with a straight face that kids at West Potomac have the same opportunities as kids at Chantilly or McLean.

The only advantages that kids at Chantilly or McLean have over kids at West Potomac relate to family resources, not FCPS resources. We are talking here about how people like Platenberg and his cronies on the SB systematically favored schools like West Springfield and West Potomac over schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon when it came to FCPS decisions.

You do know that Chantilly is quite different from McLean? signed, Chantilly parent who is not complaining about overcrowding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Lewis not being able to field a softball team is just one minor example of how students are victims of failed School Board policies. The ACLU should examine how policies like redistricting and expansion of “better” schools (WSHS, West Po) have negatively impacted education for many students at schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon. Students at those schools don’t have the same access to courses or extracurricular activities.

I agree with those expansions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix (rezone) it; build upon, literally, what already works.

A-holes like you (and Jeff Platenberg, the slimeball who used to head Facilities and made sure West Springfield got a huge expansion while seats at Lewis went unfilled and the school cratered) are responsible for the gaping disparities within FCPS.

You can’t force parents to send their kid to a particular school, particularly a failing one. I think rezoning schools should be extremely rare and an absolute last resort. It’s better to have high-performing “mega schools” (3k+ kids in one building) than to try to shuffle kids around.

Jeff Platenburg specifically rezoned schools to favor where he lived in West Springfield and he refused to build an additional school out west, he decimated Annandale. He was also part of the West Potomac expansion that also rezoned properties and pulled people away from the surrounding IB schools. I remember when he bragged about how he was able to create the least s.f. per student as if that was a benefit to students. All he cared about was budgets and his own district.

West Potomac has had the same pyramid for a very long time. It's a combination of the old Ft Hunt High and the old Groveton High and the feeder pattern hasn't really changed since

That is true. Kind of like how Annandale at one point was a combination of the old Jefferson with Annandale, except in Annandale’s case they eventually rezoned AHS neighborhoods to other schools like Lake Braddock and Woodson and whereas at West Potomac they built a huge expansion so no one would have to move to Mount Vernon.

And they did change Lewis’s boundaries as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Lewis not being able to field a softball team is just one minor example of how students are victims of failed School Board policies. The ACLU should examine how policies like redistricting and expansion of “better” schools (WSHS, West Po) have negatively impacted education for many students at schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon. Students at those schools don’t have the same access to courses or extracurricular activities.

I agree with those expansions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix (rezone) it; build upon, literally, what already works.

A-holes like you (and Jeff Platenberg, the slimeball who used to head Facilities and made sure West Springfield got a huge expansion while seats at Lewis went unfilled and the school cratered) are responsible for the gaping disparities within FCPS.

You can’t force parents to send their kid to a particular school, particularly a failing one. I think rezoning schools should be extremely rare and an absolute last resort. It’s better to have high-performing “mega schools” (3k+ kids in one building) than to try to shuffle kids around.

It’s a great way to magnify disparities among schools - perhaps the only thing at which this incompetent, preening, hypocritical SB excels. No one can say with a straight face that the kids who have no choice but to attend Annandale, Lewis, or Mount Vernon have equal opportunities as the kids at West Springfield and West Potomac.

Just like no one can say with a straight face that kids at West Potomac have the same opportunities as kids at Chantilly or McLean.

The only advantages that kids at Chantilly or McLean have over kids at West Potomac relate to family resources, not FCPS resources. We are talking here about how people like Platenberg and his cronies on the SB systematically favored schools like West Springfield and West Potomac over schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon when it came to FCPS decisions.

lol, compare the course catalogs and academic extra curricular offerings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Lewis not being able to field a softball team is just one minor example of how students are victims of failed School Board policies. The ACLU should examine how policies like redistricting and expansion of “better” schools (WSHS, West Po) have negatively impacted education for many students at schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon. Students at those schools don’t have the same access to courses or extracurricular activities.

I agree with those expansions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix (rezone) it; build upon, literally, what already works.

A-holes like you (and Jeff Platenberg, the slimeball who used to head Facilities and made sure West Springfield got a huge expansion while seats at Lewis went unfilled and the school cratered) are responsible for the gaping disparities within FCPS.

You can’t force parents to send their kid to a particular school, particularly a failing one. I think rezoning schools should be extremely rare and an absolute last resort. It’s better to have high-performing “mega schools” (3k+ kids in one building) than to try to shuffle kids around.

Jeff Platenburg specifically rezoned schools to favor where he lived in West Springfield and he refused to build an additional school out west, he decimated Annandale. He was also part of the West Potomac expansion that also rezoned properties and pulled people away from the surrounding IB schools. I remember when he bragged about how he was able to create the least s.f. per student as if that was a benefit to students. All he cared about was budgets and his own district.

West Potomac has had the same pyramid for a very long time. It's a combination of the old Ft Hunt High and the old Groveton High and the feeder pattern hasn't really changed since

That is true. Kind of like how Annandale at one point was a combination of the old Jefferson with Annandale, except in Annandale’s case they eventually rezoned AHS neighborhoods to other schools like Lake Braddock and Woodson and whereas at West Potomac they built a huge expansion so no one would have to move to Mount Vernon.

And they did change Lewis’s boundaries as well.

This is what I meant. They had an opportunity to do something about Lewis before it started failing and decided to facilitate its demise faster. It was irresponsible just like the way they handled Annandale.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Lewis not being able to field a softball team is just one minor example of how students are victims of failed School Board policies. The ACLU should examine how policies like redistricting and expansion of “better” schools (WSHS, West Po) have negatively impacted education for many students at schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon. Students at those schools don’t have the same access to courses or extracurricular activities.

I agree with those expansions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix (rezone) it; build upon, literally, what already works.

A-holes like you (and Jeff Platenberg, the slimeball who used to head Facilities and made sure West Springfield got a huge expansion while seats at Lewis went unfilled and the school cratered) are responsible for the gaping disparities within FCPS.

You can’t force parents to send their kid to a particular school, particularly a failing one. I think rezoning schools should be extremely rare and an absolute last resort. It’s better to have high-performing “mega schools” (3k+ kids in one building) than to try to shuffle kids around.

Jeff Platenburg specifically rezoned schools to favor where he lived in West Springfield and he refused to build an additional school out west, he decimated Annandale. He was also part of the West Potomac expansion that also rezoned properties and pulled people away from the surrounding IB schools. I remember when he bragged about how he was able to create the least s.f. per student as if that was a benefit to students. All he cared about was budgets and his own district.

West Potomac has had the same pyramid for a very long time. It's a combination of the old Ft Hunt High and the old Groveton High and the feeder pattern hasn't really changed since

That is true. Kind of like how Annandale at one point was a combination of the old Jefferson with Annandale, except in Annandale’s case they eventually rezoned AHS neighborhoods to other schools like Lake Braddock and Woodson and whereas at West Potomac they built a huge expansion so no one would have to move to Mount Vernon.

And they did change Lewis’s boundaries as well.

This is what I meant. They had an opportunity to do something about Lewis before it started failing and decided to facilitate its demise faster. It was irresponsible just like the way they handled Annandale.

Interesting that both Annandale and Lewis have IB instead of AP.

Eliminating IB would be an easy start.
1. It would be better for the current population because AP is much more flexible than IB. There is a wider range of classes available.
2. It would save money--and, if the SB had any common sense at all, they would eliminate IB at most schools that have it.
3. It would close one of those "escape valves" that another PP mentioned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with Lewis not being able to field a softball team is just one minor example of how students are victims of failed School Board policies. The ACLU should examine how policies like redistricting and expansion of “better” schools (WSHS, West Po) have negatively impacted education for many students at schools like Lewis and Mount Vernon. Students at those schools don’t have the same access to courses or extracurricular activities.

I agree with those expansions. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix (rezone) it; build upon, literally, what already works.

A-holes like you (and Jeff Platenberg, the slimeball who used to head Facilities and made sure West Springfield got a huge expansion while seats at Lewis went unfilled and the school cratered) are responsible for the gaping disparities within FCPS.

You can’t force parents to send their kid to a particular school, particularly a failing one. I think rezoning schools should be extremely rare and an absolute last resort. It’s better to have high-performing “mega schools” (3k+ kids in one building) than to try to shuffle kids around.

Jeff Platenburg specifically rezoned schools to favor where he lived in West Springfield and he refused to build an additional school out west, he decimated Annandale. He was also part of the West Potomac expansion that also rezoned properties and pulled people away from the surrounding IB schools. I remember when he bragged about how he was able to create the least s.f. per student as if that was a benefit to students. All he cared about was budgets and his own district.

West Potomac has had the same pyramid for a very long time. It's a combination of the old Ft Hunt High and the old Groveton High and the feeder pattern hasn't really changed since

That is true. Kind of like how Annandale at one point was a combination of the old Jefferson with Annandale, except in Annandale’s case they eventually rezoned AHS neighborhoods to other schools like Lake Braddock and Woodson and whereas at West Potomac they built a huge expansion so no one would have to move to Mount Vernon.

And they did change Lewis’s boundaries as well.

This is what I meant. They had an opportunity to do something about Lewis before it started failing and decided to facilitate its demise faster. It was irresponsible just like the way they handled Annandale.

Interesting that both Annandale and Lewis have IB instead of AP.

Eliminating IB would be an easy start.
1. It would be better for the current population because AP is much more flexible than IB. There is a wider range of classes available.
2. It would save money--and, if the SB had any common sense at all, they would eliminate IB at most schools that have it.
3. It would close one of those "escape valves" that another PP mentioned.

The problem with number 3 is those parents are going to be the most vocal about problems. Neither the administration nor the school board wants to deal with that