Why is Lewis such an undesirable high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the anti-Lewis crowd on this thread and others on this site would have Lewis set aside as a permanent high-poverty school for THOSE people...

No. If you have been following the issue for years, Lewis has been an issue for a long time. There have been various more-or-less-serious proposed solutions including turning it into an IB magnet or closing it entirely. The new school board seems to be going with the rezoning solution, which is probably the worst solution that will be chaotic and ineffective.

You are proving my point. Anything to keep the wealthier kids out of Lewis. They could still avoid if it is a magnet (and likely would). And closing it is not feasible - still too big to send all of the students elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the anti-Lewis crowd on this thread and others on this site would have Lewis set aside as a permanent high-poverty school for THOSE people...

No. If you have been following the issue for years, Lewis has been an issue for a long time. There have been various more-or-less-serious proposed solutions including turning it into an IB magnet or closing it entirely. The new school board seems to be going with the rezoning solution, which is probably the worst solution that will be chaotic and ineffective.

You are proving my point. Anything to keep the wealthier kids out of Lewis. They could still avoid if it is a magnet (and likely would). And closing it is not feasible - still too big to send all of the students elsewhere.

DP. No one is avoiding Lewis. We just don’t think you should be meddling with our kids.

I’m sure you don’t want me inserting myself into your parenting decisions either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Academically kids will likely perform the same wherever they are no matter the school rating. The families we know that opted out of Lewis did so because they had a child that may fall in with the wrong crowd. Studious kids who are driven and have high grades aren't going to be influenced by bad behavior from other students.

People like to tell themselves this but it isn't true. Students rise to the level of their peers - and when their peers are not good, then academic kids will not rise.

It's true for the kids we personally know who have graduated from Lewis and a few who are currently there.

I understand not wanting your kid to go, but just move if you don't like the boundary changes. All this melting down on DCUM is getting silly.

DP. What a condescending and ignorant comment.

I hope you get redistricted. They are going a lot bigger than people think.

What's condescending about what is written?

If our house gets redistricted and we don't like the schools, we will move. It's really not that big of a deal.

I’m just going to hazard a guess that you and your kids don’t have any close friends in your community. 🙄

Wow, how on earth did I get that right?

You are wrong. We have this thing called a car. Also, get this... Your children can make new friends. Mind shattering stuff.

So no, you don’t have close friends or any sense of community. Makes total sense that you would be fine with moving.

Also, you weren’t addressing me with your last comment, but we’d also want to keep our sub 2% mortgage in the community we love. We’ll save hundreds of thousands of dollars that way. Our savings is well into the seven figures, so your math just ain’t mathing.

Probably best to tuck your tail and go hang out with all of your “close friends.”

You honestly sound dumber than a box of rocks with this rambling. Tuck tail and go hang out with your close friends? Seriously
If your savings were truly in the seven figures you'd be in a much better school pyramid and not worried about a sub 2% mortgage on a split level home built in the 70s.

[Anonymous]

They're good kids at Lewis. People here keep talking about closing the school, how bad it is, etc., but please remember these are kids who love their friends and community just like all other kids across FCPS.

We've found the teachers to be dedicated and caring. Our child is doing well academically, and I've found the school works hard to ensure students succeed -- and I mean hard. The teachers are super engaged with the parents and the students.

Our child has goals for school leadership positions that, statistically, are more attainable at Lewis -- for there are benefits to smaller schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They're good kids at Lewis. People here keep talking about closing the school, how bad it is, etc., but please remember these are kids who love their friends and community just like all other kids across FCPS.

We've found the teachers to be dedicated and caring. Our child is doing well academically, and I've found the school works hard to ensure students succeed -- and I mean hard. The teachers are super engaged with the parents and the students.

Our child has goals for school leadership positions that, statistically, are more attainable at Lewis -- for there are benefits to smaller schools.

How sweet for you . Sounds like we have similar values. Except my kid will be the one moving in the middle of her high school career. So that community feeling, and those leadership positions will not be available to her.

It will be hard to engage me because I will be mad at the school and FCPS. I will also be exhausted from my commute down 395 everyday and the last thing I will want to do is cross the 12 lanes of traffic in the mixing bowl again when I could be going 25 down neighborhood roads to get to my kids school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Academically kids will likely perform the same wherever they are no matter the school rating. The families we know that opted out of Lewis did so because they had a child that may fall in with the wrong crowd. Studious kids who are driven and have high grades aren't going to be influenced by bad behavior from other students.

People like to tell themselves this but it isn't true. Students rise to the level of their peers - and when their peers are not good, then academic kids will not rise.

It's true for the kids we personally know who have graduated from Lewis and a few who are currently there.

I understand not wanting your kid to go, but just move if you don't like the boundary changes. All this melting down on DCUM is getting silly.

DP. What a condescending and ignorant comment.

I hope you get redistricted. They are going a lot bigger than people think.

What's condescending about what is written?

If our house gets redistricted and we don't like the schools, we will move. It's really not that big of a deal.

I’m just going to hazard a guess that you and your kids don’t have any close friends in your community. 🙄

Wow, how on earth did I get that right?

You are wrong. We have this thing called a car. Also, get this... Your children can make new friends. Mind shattering stuff.

So no, you don’t have close friends or any sense of community. Makes total sense that you would be fine with moving.

Also, you weren’t addressing me with your last comment, but we’d also want to keep our sub 2% mortgage in the community we love. We’ll save hundreds of thousands of dollars that way. Our savings is well into the seven figures, so your math just ain’t mathing.

Probably best to tuck your tail and go hang out with all of your “close friends.”

You honestly sound dumber than a box of rocks with this rambling. Tuck tail and go hang out with your close friends? Seriously
If your savings were truly in the seven figures you'd be in a much better school pyramid and not worried about a sub 2% mortgage on a split level home built in the 70s.

🤭 my thoughts exactly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Academically kids will likely perform the same wherever they are no matter the school rating. The families we know that opted out of Lewis did so because they had a child that may fall in with the wrong crowd. Studious kids who are driven and have high grades aren't going to be influenced by bad behavior from other students.

People like to tell themselves this but it isn't true. Students rise to the level of their peers - and when their peers are not good, then academic kids will not rise.

It's true for the kids we personally know who have graduated from Lewis and a few who are currently there.

I understand not wanting your kid to go, but just move if you don't like the boundary changes. All this melting down on DCUM is getting silly.

DP. What a condescending and ignorant comment.

I hope you get redistricted. They are going a lot bigger than people think.

What's condescending about what is written?

If our house gets redistricted and we don't like the schools, we will move. It's really not that big of a deal.

I’m just going to hazard a guess that you and your kids don’t have any close friends in your community. 🙄

Wow, how on earth did I get that right?

You are wrong. We have this thing called a car. Also, get this... Your children can make new friends. Mind shattering stuff.

So no, you don’t have close friends or any sense of community. Makes total sense that you would be fine with moving.

Also, you weren’t addressing me with your last comment, but we’d also want to keep our sub 2% mortgage in the community we love. We’ll save hundreds of thousands of dollars that way. Our savings is well into the seven figures, so your math just ain’t mathing.

Probably best to tuck your tail and go hang out with all of your “close friends.”

You honestly sound dumber than a box of rocks with this rambling. Tuck tail and go hang out with your close friends? Seriously
If your savings were truly in the seven figures you'd be in a much better school pyramid and not worried about a sub 2% mortgage on a split level home built in the 70s.

Cute that you think I live anywhere close to that pyramid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the anti-Lewis crowd on this thread and others on this site would have Lewis set aside as a permanent high-poverty school for THOSE people...

No. If you have been following the issue for years, Lewis has been an issue for a long time. There have been various more-or-less-serious proposed solutions including turning it into an IB magnet or closing it entirely. The new school board seems to be going with the rezoning solution, which is probably the worst solution that will be chaotic and ineffective.

The best first step would be replacing school leadership with someone who’s not clearly biding their time until they get a region or central job, someone more interested with substance over surface-level image. Maybe even start with someone who lives in Fairfax County and not another county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They're good kids at Lewis. People here keep talking about closing the school, how bad it is, etc., but please remember these are kids who love their friends and community just like all other kids across FCPS.

We've found the teachers to be dedicated and caring. Our child is doing well academically, and I've found the school works hard to ensure students succeed -- and I mean hard. The teachers are super engaged with the parents and the students.

Our child has goals for school leadership positions that, statistically, are more attainable at Lewis -- for there are benefits to smaller schools.

How sweet for you . Sounds like we have similar values. Except my kid will be the one moving in the middle of her high school career. So that community feeling, and those leadership positions will not be available to her.

It will be hard to engage me because I will be mad at the school and FCPS. I will also be exhausted from my commute down 395 everyday and the last thing I will want to do is cross the 12 lanes of traffic in the mixing bowl again when I could be going 25 down neighborhood roads to get to my kids school.

Lewis mom here, and sending you hugs. At the heart of everything, we want to see our kids happy and in school communities they love. I totally get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They're good kids at Lewis. People here keep talking about closing the school, how bad it is, etc., but please remember these are kids who love their friends and community just like all other kids across FCPS.

We've found the teachers to be dedicated and caring. Our child is doing well academically, and I've found the school works hard to ensure students succeed -- and I mean hard. The teachers are super engaged with the parents and the students.

Our child has goals for school leadership positions that, statistically, are more attainable at Lewis -- for there are benefits to smaller schools.

How sweet for you . Sounds like we have similar values. Except my kid will be the one moving in the middle of her high school career. So that community feeling, and those leadership positions will not be available to her.

It will be hard to engage me because I will be mad at the school and FCPS. I will also be exhausted from my commute down 395 everyday and the last thing I will want to do is cross the 12 lanes of traffic in the mixing bowl again when I could be going 25 down neighborhood roads to get to my kids school.

Lewis mom here, and sending you hugs. At the heart of everything, we want to see our kids happy and in school communities they love. I totally get it.

+1

White UMC parent who lives in an undesirable pyramid where my high performing kids thrived.

I agree that we have a completely different viewpoint here - we already put our money where our mouths are by keeping our kids in undesirable pyramid when we could have moved/paid more for a better district. We are lucky that it paid off and there is no chance our kids will get redistricted out of an under enrolled school. So, easy for us to tell you about how great our experience has been and the benefits of attending these schools.

Parents in neighborhoods that seem ripe for redistricting are rightly concerned - it is possible to both want what is best for our own kids and also acknowledge that there are inequities in our public schools. Uncertainty is awful.

[Anonymous]

There are a lot of people on here who reduce “inequity” to some schools having more FARMS kids than others.

There are certainly other glaring inequities in FCPS. The poor physical condition of Lewis (and Annandale and McLean) compared to schools like West Springfield is also an inequity, but they pay scant attention to it and have no plans to address it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They're good kids at Lewis. People here keep talking about closing the school, how bad it is, etc., but please remember these are kids who love their friends and community just like all other kids across FCPS.

We've found the teachers to be dedicated and caring. Our child is doing well academically, and I've found the school works hard to ensure students succeed -- and I mean hard. The teachers are super engaged with the parents and the students.

Our child has goals for school leadership positions that, statistically, are more attainable at Lewis -- for there are benefits to smaller schools.

How sweet for you . Sounds like we have similar values. Except my kid will be the one moving in the middle of her high school career. So that community feeling, and those leadership positions will not be available to her.

It will be hard to engage me because I will be mad at the school and FCPS. I will also be exhausted from my commute down 395 everyday and the last thing I will want to do is cross the 12 lanes of traffic in the mixing bowl again when I could be going 25 down neighborhood roads to get to my kids school.

Lewis mom here, and sending you hugs. At the heart of everything, we want to see our kids happy and in school communities they love. I totally get it.

+1

White UMC parent who lives in an undesirable pyramid where my high performing kids thrived.

I agree that we have a completely different viewpoint here - we already put our money where our mouths are by keeping our kids in undesirable pyramid when we could have moved/paid more for a better district. We are lucky that it paid off and there is no chance our kids will get redistricted out of an under enrolled school. So, easy for us to tell you about how great our experience has been and the benefits of attending these schools.

Parents in neighborhoods that seem ripe for redistricting are rightly concerned - it is possible to both want what is best for our own kids and also acknowledge that there are inequities in our public schools. Uncertainty is awful.

We didn’t get the houses (yes multiple) we contracts in for in 2007 in the Lewis (then Lee) neighborhood. We went up the street to a house in the WSHS district. I know the school is OK for my kid. I also know stability is more important.

EVERYONE should be pro-grandfathering. Even the board and Reid herself acknowledges the importance of this, yet the board still refused to guarantee it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They're good kids at Lewis. People here keep talking about closing the school, how bad it is, etc., but please remember these are kids who love their friends and community just like all other kids across FCPS.

We've found the teachers to be dedicated and caring. Our child is doing well academically, and I've found the school works hard to ensure students succeed -- and I mean hard. The teachers are super engaged with the parents and the students.

Our child has goals for school leadership positions that, statistically, are more attainable at Lewis -- for there are benefits to smaller schools.

How sweet for you . Sounds like we have similar values. Except my kid will be the one moving in the middle of her high school career. So that community feeling, and those leadership positions will not be available to her.

It will be hard to engage me because I will be mad at the school and FCPS. I will also be exhausted from my commute down 395 everyday and the last thing I will want to do is cross the 12 lanes of traffic in the mixing bowl again when I could be going 25 down neighborhood roads to get to my kids school.

Lewis mom here, and sending you hugs. At the heart of everything, we want to see our kids happy and in school communities they love. I totally get it.

+1

White UMC parent who lives in an undesirable pyramid where my high performing kids thrived.

I agree that we have a completely different viewpoint here - we already put our money where our mouths are by keeping our kids in undesirable pyramid when we could have moved/paid more for a better district. We are lucky that it paid off and there is no chance our kids will get redistricted out of an under enrolled school. So, easy for us to tell you about how great our experience has been and the benefits of attending these schools.

Parents in neighborhoods that seem ripe for redistricting are rightly concerned - it is possible to both want what is best for our own kids and also acknowledge that there are inequities in our public schools. Uncertainty is awful.

We didn’t get the houses (yes multiple) we contracts in for in 2007 in the Lewis (then Lee) neighborhood. We went up the street to a house in the WSHS district. I know the school is OK for my kid. I also know stability is more important.

EVERYONE should be pro-grandfathering. Even the board and Reid herself acknowledges the importance of this, yet the board still refused to guarantee it.

THIS is the best comment. You can agree that changes need to be made, but also be concerned for your kids mental health/social adjustment etc - make the changes, grandfather current students (maybe to a point? Like maybe not early elementary??...)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the anti-Lewis crowd on this thread and others on this site would have Lewis set aside as a permanent high-poverty school for THOSE people...

No. If you have been following the issue for years, Lewis has been an issue for a long time. There have been various more-or-less-serious proposed solutions including turning it into an IB magnet or closing it entirely. The new school board seems to be going with the rezoning solution, which is probably the worst solution that will be chaotic and ineffective.

The best first step would be replacing school leadership with someone who’s not clearly biding their time until they get a region or central job, someone more interested with substance over surface-level image. Maybe even start with someone who lives in Fairfax County and not another county.

+1 to all of above. Principal has high office staff turnover. Mediocre principal at best, promoted beyond his skills.

[Anonymous]

Renovations are done in a queue.

Lewis will get their turn when they move up in the queue.

If it makes you feel any better, those of us with kids at WSHS before, during and after construction can vouch that Lewis was a veritable palace compared to WSHS before WSHS was renovated. WSHS was a slum. Holes in walls, faulty wiring, structural issues like walls separating from floors, dated dirty facilities.

Resenting WSHS families for finally having a nice school, especially for those families who sent kids there during the 4 years of active construction, just sounds awfully petty. Eventually Lewis will make its way up the queue, and will have a nice school too. The only difference might be that WSHS had the good fortune to get its renovation during the 2016- 2020 era of almost no inflation, inexpensive materials, and low interest. Renovating post 2020 is very expensive, with far less bang for your buck.