Are the City of Alexandria public schools really that bad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HEre's a story about the 2013 graduating class.

http://www.localkicks.com/article_print.jsp?ID=6940

Two to Yale (one on Scholarship). No other Ivies mentioned.

53% go to 4-year colleges.

There's a Dartmouth.

Not an Ivy, but I think the Stanford stat is also pretty impressive.

[Anonymous]

I have been so impressed with ACPS for my daughter. Wonderful parents teachers and programs. She could go anywhere for HS and she wants to attend TC. There is no doubt in my mind that she will have many choices for college. The kids in our neighborhood all went to top notch schools and quite a few with other choices transferred to TC from private. Know your kid and you will know if this is the right place for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been so impressed with ACPS for my daughter. Wonderful parents teachers and programs. She could go anywhere for HS and she wants to attend TC. There is no doubt in my mind that she will have many choices for college. The kids in our neighborhood all went to top notch schools and quite a few with other choices transferred to TC from private. Know your kid and you will know if this is the right place for you.

You laid it on too thick, ACPS employee. Are you the one sock-puppetting GS, too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been so impressed with ACPS for my daughter. Wonderful parents teachers and programs. She could go anywhere for HS and she wants to attend TC. There is no doubt in my mind that she will have many choices for college. The kids in our neighborhood all went to top notch schools and quite a few with other choices transferred to TC from private. Know your kid and you will know if this is the right place for you.

You laid it on too thick, ACPS employee. Are you the one sock-puppetting GS, too?

And are you the same person who screams "booster" every time some deigns to say something positive? Here's a life lesson: someone making a different decision and having a different experience than you does not invalidate your decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been so impressed with ACPS for my daughter. Wonderful parents teachers and programs. She could go anywhere for HS and she wants to attend TC. There is no doubt in my mind that she will have many choices for college. The kids in our neighborhood all went to top notch schools and quite a few with other choices transferred to TC from private. Know your kid and you will know if this is the right place for you.

You laid it on too thick, ACPS employee. Are you the one sock-puppetting GS, too?

And are you the same person who screams "booster" every time some deigns to say something positive? Here's a life lesson: someone making a different decision and having a different experience than you does not invalidate your decision.

I noticed you didn't answer the question. The tone of your post is identical to the ones posted recently to GS.

How's about you identify three or four challenges in ACPS and TC in particular?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HEre's a story about the 2013 graduating class.

http://www.localkicks.com/article_print.jsp?ID=6940

Two to Yale (one on Scholarship). No other Ivies mentioned.

53% go to 4-year colleges.

There's a Dartmouth.

Not an Ivy, but I think the Stanford stat is also pretty impressive.

At least two Stanfords. Two Cornells (neither receiving SFA support, so may not be publicly disclosable by TC). Two Yales, but a third was admitted and there are private reasons for non-enrollment. A Dartmouth. A Penn admit, not sure about enrollment. A Chicago. At least two Duke admits, but not sure about enrollment. Yes, I asked around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been so impressed with ACPS for my daughter. Wonderful parents teachers and programs. She could go anywhere for HS and she wants to attend TC. There is no doubt in my mind that she will have many choices for college. The kids in our neighborhood all went to top notch schools and quite a few with other choices transferred to TC from private. Know your kid and you will know if this is the right place for you.

What happens is that parents are cash strapped by paying for years of elementary and middle private so they go to TC for high school so they can spend those years saving up for college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been so impressed with ACPS for my daughter. Wonderful parents teachers and programs. She could go anywhere for HS and she wants to attend TC. There is no doubt in my mind that she will have many choices for college. The kids in our neighborhood all went to top notch schools and quite a few with other choices transferred to TC from private. Know your kid and you will know if this is the right place for you.

You laid it on too thick, ACPS employee. Are you the one sock-puppetting GS, too?

And are you the same person who screams "booster" every time some deigns to say something positive? Here's a life lesson: someone making a different decision and having a different experience than you does not invalidate your decision.

I noticed you didn't answer the question. The tone of your post is identical to the ones posted recently to GS.

How's about you identify three or four challenges in ACPS and TC in particular?

I didn't answer the question, because I'm not the person who said I'm impressed with ACPS. I don't have a kid in the system. I am, however, interested in hearing people's opinions, positive and negative. And here's what I'd like to hear: I had an unfavorable experience, and here's why. I had a favorable experience, and here's why. But hardly anyone does this. It's just, "We moved to Arlington because ACPS sucks [no reason given]." Clearly, a lot of people move before trying the schools because they're afraid and would rather be safe than sorry, and I'm not saying I blame them. But at least be honest. We left because we were afraid our child wouldn't get a quality education based on test scores, "Yale or Jail" rhymes, etc. Fine. That's fair. But to just say TC is terrible, sucks, etc. is useless to those of us who are trying to understand the school's problems better. That's why it irritates me when "boosters" are immediately shot down and mocked--because a lot of times those are the only people who have actual experience with the curriculum, teachers, etc.

[Anonymous]

NP here. I think many parents choose TC for non-monetary reasons. One advantage of it being a larger school is that they can offer a huge array of courses, not only many AP classes, but also just really interesting electives, the kinds of courses I didn't see until I was in college.

I couldn't afford private, but I could easily sell my Alexandria home, even come out with a tidy profit, and purchase a home in Fairfax County. I'm not because my experience in the schools has demonstrated to me that my children are getting and will continue to get a quality education.

I understand that others don't hold this view, but having a positive opinion does not automatically make me a naive "booster".

I accept that others might conclude that for their family, they need/want a different school experience. I guess I just find it frustrating that many posters on these threads aren't content to say "I like Arlington/Fairfax/private school for my kid, and here's why." Their post must also include a long litany of the "horrors" of ACPS, implying that any of us foolish enough to send our kids to ACPS are essentially committing some form of child abuse.

When we respond, saying that we are currently enrolled, and can report positive things, we are dismissed.
When we say most of the kids in our neighborhood are attending the local public, people refuse to believe that.
When people say TC has good college acceptance rates to high quality schools, people blow it off, and linking to articles that verify the poster's claim are swept aside and there is a tangent over what makes an Ivy or acceptance vs. enrollment.

I'm not sure why some people have so much invested in denigrating the ACPS system, when they don't even have children enrolled, but I hope people who are on the fence about moving into or staying in Alexandria will at least consider doing their own research by touring schools and speaking to families of currently enrolled students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been so impressed with ACPS for my daughter. Wonderful parents teachers and programs. She could go anywhere for HS and she wants to attend TC. There is no doubt in my mind that she will have many choices for college. The kids in our neighborhood all went to top notch schools and quite a few with other choices transferred to TC from private. Know your kid and you will know if this is the right place for you.

You laid it on too thick, ACPS employee. Are you the one sock-puppetting GS, too?

And are you the same person who screams "booster" every time some deigns to say something positive? Here's a life lesson: someone making a different decision and having a different experience than you does not invalidate your decision.

I noticed you didn't answer the question. The tone of your post is identical to the ones posted recently to GS.

How's about you identify three or four challenges in ACPS and TC in particular?

I didn't answer the question, because I'm not the person who said I'm impressed with ACPS. I don't have a kid in the system. I am, however, interested in hearing people's opinions, positive and negative. And here's what I'd like to hear: I had an unfavorable experience, and here's why. I had a favorable experience, and here's why. But hardly anyone does this. It's just, "We moved to Arlington because ACPS sucks [no reason given]." Clearly, a lot of people move before trying the schools because they're afraid and would rather be safe than sorry, and I'm not saying I blame them. But at least be honest. We left because we were afraid our child wouldn't get a quality education based on test scores, "Yale or Jail" rhymes, etc. Fine. That's fair. But to just say TC is terrible, sucks, etc. is useless to those of us who are trying to understand the school's problems better. That's why it irritates me when "boosters" are immediately shot down and mocked--because a lot of times those are the only people who have actual experience with the curriculum, teachers, etc.

I once described my child's ACPS classroom experience and was called a racist. So, you can probably understand why some people are reluctant to provide actual details.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. I think many parents choose TC for non-monetary reasons. One advantage of it being a larger school is that they can offer a huge array of courses, not only many AP classes, but also just really interesting electives, the kinds of courses I didn't see until I was in college.

I couldn't afford private, but I could easily sell my Alexandria home, even come out with a tidy profit, and purchase a home in Fairfax County. I'm not because my experience in the schools has demonstrated to me that my children are getting and will continue to get a quality education.

I understand that others don't hold this view, but having a positive opinion does not automatically make me a naive "booster".

I accept that others might conclude that for their family, they need/want a different school experience. I guess I just find it frustrating that many posters on these threads aren't content to say "I like Arlington/Fairfax/private school for my kid, and here's why." Their post must also include a long litany of the "horrors" of ACPS, implying that any of us foolish enough to send our kids to ACPS are essentially committing some form of child abuse.

When we respond, saying that we are currently enrolled, and can report positive things, we are dismissed.
When we say most of the kids in our neighborhood are attending the local public, people refuse to believe that.
When people say TC has good college acceptance rates to high quality schools, people blow it off, and linking to articles that verify the poster's claim are swept aside and there is a tangent over what makes an Ivy or acceptance vs. enrollment.

I'm not sure why some people have so much invested in denigrating the ACPS system, when they don't even have children enrolled, but I hope people who are on the fence about moving into or staying in Alexandria will at least consider doing their own research by touring schools and speaking to families of currently enrolled students.

Nobody is "invested in denigrating." We're merely responding to queries from the OP. Plenty of specifics have been provided about ACPS shortcomings in multiple threads. The responses tend to be whitewash by ACPS boosters, which was an actual and deliberate strategy employed by the (recently fired) superintendent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been so impressed with ACPS for my daughter. Wonderful parents teachers and programs. She could go anywhere for HS and she wants to attend TC. There is no doubt in my mind that she will have many choices for college. The kids in our neighborhood all went to top notch schools and quite a few with other choices transferred to TC from private. Know your kid and you will know if this is the right place for you.

You laid it on too thick, ACPS employee. Are you the one sock-puppetting GS, too?

And are you the same person who screams "booster" every time some deigns to say something positive? Here's a life lesson: someone making a different decision and having a different experience than you does not invalidate your decision.

I noticed you didn't answer the question. The tone of your post is identical to the ones posted recently to GS.

How's about you identify three or four challenges in ACPS and TC in particular?

I didn't answer the question, because I'm not the person who said I'm impressed with ACPS. I don't have a kid in the system. I am, however, interested in hearing people's opinions, positive and negative. And here's what I'd like to hear: I had an unfavorable experience, and here's why. I had a favorable experience, and here's why. But hardly anyone does this. It's just, "We moved to Arlington because ACPS sucks [no reason given]." Clearly, a lot of people move before trying the schools because they're afraid and would rather be safe than sorry, and I'm not saying I blame them. But at least be honest. We left because we were afraid our child wouldn't get a quality education based on test scores, "Yale or Jail" rhymes, etc. Fine. That's fair. But to just say TC is terrible, sucks, etc. is useless to those of us who are trying to understand the school's problems better. That's why it irritates me when "boosters" are immediately shot down and mocked--because a lot of times those are the only people who have actual experience with the curriculum, teachers, etc.

I'm 10:39 and I think you've made an excellent point, and one I was also trying to make in my post.

I will try to offer you some specifics.
So far we have direct experience with elementary and a little bit of middle school in ACPS.

Our elementary was a Title I school (meaning high population of low-income students) and also had a high English Language Learners population.
One of the ways ACPS deals with some many kids having different backgrounds is to have small class sizes, and to use the Title I money to pay for additional teacher supports. In my kids' classes, there might be many kids who were not native English speakers, or might have been academically behind due to lack of preschool or other factors, but those kids got extra help through a second teacher coming into the classroom and/or small groups of kids getting pulled out on a daily basis. Because of this extra teacher support the classroom teacher could move along with the curriculum, and not have to "slow down" to give the struggling kids extra help. DS one year was the most advanced reader in his class. Teacher basically created a separate reading group for him, and let him go at his own pace. In other years, he and other students were grouped together for their own "book club." It's not "tracking" but it is creating clusters of students. The clusters change throughout the year as the needs of the kids change.

Other threads (not ACPS specific) have mentioned the challenge of having a disruptive kid in a classroom. In K year, there was one such boy in my DD's class. Seemed like the biggest problem times for the kid was transitions. School quietly set up a system where every time there was a transition (i.e. lining up to go from classroom to gym or to lunch) and aide would be in the classroom, and the aide's sole task was to be responsible for that kid. Not only did it eliminate disruptions and prevent kids and teacher from losing learning time, by the end of the year, those of us who had observed the kid (through field trips or classroom volunteering) saw a noticeable improvement in this kids' behavior. The focused intervention really paid off. As the other thread pointed out, disruptive kids can exist in any school, including expensive privates. I was impressed with the way my kids' school dealt with this issue.

Now we are in middle school. Students can sign up for high school credit foreign language as early as 6th grade. (They go at a slower pace, so student taking French in 6 and 7th grade will have completed the equivalent of one year of high school credit. In eighth grade its at "normal speed".) There are many students that are struggling with math, as the test scores show, but for kids that didn't enter middle school with a deficit, there is plenty of opportunity for rigor. Kids can take Algebra I in eighth grade, and sometimes 7th grade. While my kids are in honors classes, I don't feel like there is a protective bubble, or some version of "Yale vs. Jail" that get cited on this thread so much. Everyone take gym and electives together. Everyone signs up for intramural sports and after school clubs together. All of the schools, from elementary through TC work very hard to establish a sense of community. That doesn't mean everyone sits around holding hands and signing Kum By Ya, but heck, they didn't in my WASPy upper-income middle school either!

We had one behavior incident on our kids' school bus, but the school responded to the situation immediately (as in, the very next school bus run) and there have been no further problems. Again, I don't think any school system can be completely free of behavior issues, so what I'm interested in is how they handle an issue when it arises.

So there you go. My attempt at specific examples of our experiences thus far at ACPS. At this point, I think the only school I would actively caution a family from enrolling in is Jefferson-Houston. While I think there are staff and parents that are working very hard, I believe there are stubborn, systemic issues that will require more radical change before the school is on the right track.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, 10:39. I really appreciate the details. I'm certainly interested in hearing the negative from other people too, but if it's "I drove by Mount Vernon Community School and the kids I saw are not the same kids I saw playing there on the weekend" or something like that, then yes, I'll think you're a racist.

I read these boards all the time. So far, the specific negatives I've heard on here have been; problems with the administration; for ES, they don't tell you about transfers soon enough; good kids have been seated between the troublemakers; kids don't have iPads like Arlington; and there was something about "boob day" on a middle school tour (this one was awhile ago, but it really sticks in a person's brain).

I've also seen the comment that parents don't know how shitty the schools are until they leave. But what is it, specifically, that is happening once you leave? Kid is learning more quickly, kid is happier, school is more responsive?

I think there's so much attacking on here sometimes that the important facts are getting buried in the vitriol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been so impressed with ACPS for my daughter. Wonderful parents teachers and programs. She could go anywhere for HS and she wants to attend TC. There is no doubt in my mind that she will have many choices for college. The kids in our neighborhood all went to top notch schools and quite a few with other choices transferred to TC from private. Know your kid and you will know if this is the right place for you.

You laid it on too thick, ACPS employee. Are you the one sock-puppetting GS, too?

And are you the same person who screams "booster" every time some deigns to say something positive? Here's a life lesson: someone making a different decision and having a different experience than you does not invalidate your decision.

I noticed you didn't answer the question. The tone of your post is identical to the ones posted recently to GS.

How's about you identify three or four challenges in ACPS and TC in particular?

I didn't answer the question, because I'm not the person who said I'm impressed with ACPS. I don't have a kid in the system. I am, however, interested in hearing people's opinions, positive and negative. And here's what I'd like to hear: I had an unfavorable experience, and here's why. I had a favorable experience, and here's why. But hardly anyone does this. It's just, "We moved to Arlington because ACPS sucks [no reason given]." Clearly, a lot of people move before trying the schools because they're afraid and would rather be safe than sorry, and I'm not saying I blame them. But at least be honest. We left because we were afraid our child wouldn't get a quality education based on test scores, "Yale or Jail" rhymes, etc. Fine. That's fair. But to just say TC is terrible, sucks, etc. is useless to those of us who are trying to understand the school's problems better. That's why it irritates me when "boosters" are immediately shot down and mocked--because a lot of times those are the only people who have actual experience with the curriculum, teachers, etc.

I'm 10:39 and I think you've made an excellent point, and one I was also trying to make in my post.

I will try to offer you some specifics.
So far we have direct experience with elementary and a little bit of middle school in ACPS.

Our elementary was a Title I school (meaning high population of low-income students) and also had a high English Language Learners population.
One of the ways ACPS deals with some many kids having different backgrounds is to have small class sizes, and to use the Title I money to pay for additional teacher supports. In my kids' classes, there might be many kids who were not native English speakers, or might have been academically behind due to lack of preschool or other factors, but those kids got extra help through a second teacher coming into the classroom and/or small groups of kids getting pulled out on a daily basis. Because of this extra teacher support the classroom teacher could move along with the curriculum, and not have to "slow down" to give the struggling kids extra help. DS one year was the most advanced reader in his class. Teacher basically created a separate reading group for him, and let him go at his own pace. In other years, he and other students were grouped together for their own "book club." It's not "tracking" but it is creating clusters of students. The clusters change throughout the year as the needs of the kids change.

Other threads (not ACPS specific) have mentioned the challenge of having a disruptive kid in a classroom. In K year, there was one such boy in my DD's class. Seemed like the biggest problem times for the kid was transitions. School quietly set up a system where every time there was a transition (i.e. lining up to go from classroom to gym or to lunch) and aide would be in the classroom, and the aide's sole task was to be responsible for that kid. Not only did it eliminate disruptions and prevent kids and teacher from losing learning time, by the end of the year, those of us who had observed the kid (through field trips or classroom volunteering) saw a noticeable improvement in this kids' behavior. The focused intervention really paid off. As the other thread pointed out, disruptive kids can exist in any school, including expensive privates. I was impressed with the way my kids' school dealt with this issue.

Now we are in middle school. Students can sign up for high school credit foreign language as early as 6th grade. (They go at a slower pace, so student taking French in 6 and 7th grade will have completed the equivalent of one year of high school credit. In eighth grade its at "normal speed".) There are many students that are struggling with math, as the test scores show, but for kids that didn't enter middle school with a deficit, there is plenty of opportunity for rigor. Kids can take Algebra I in eighth grade, and sometimes 7th grade. While my kids are in honors classes, I don't feel like there is a protective bubble, or some version of "Yale vs. Jail" that get cited on this thread so much. Everyone take gym and electives together. Everyone signs up for intramural sports and after school clubs together. All of the schools, from elementary through TC work very hard to establish a sense of community. That doesn't mean everyone sits around holding hands and signing Kum By Ya, but heck, they didn't in my WASPy upper-income middle school either!

We had one behavior incident on our kids' school bus, but the school responded to the situation immediately (as in, the very next school bus run) and there have been no further problems. Again, I don't think any school system can be completely free of behavior issues, so what I'm interested in is how they handle an issue when it arises.

So there you go. My attempt at specific examples of our experiences thus far at ACPS. At this point, I think the only school I would actively caution a family from enrolling in is Jefferson-Houston. While I think there are staff and parents that are working very hard, I believe there are stubborn, systemic issues that will require more radical change before the school is on the right track.

This was a thoughtful and informative post. But why do you caution families away from Jefferson-Houston? What do you think makes Jefferson-Houston different? The differentiated learning, small class sizes, use of aides and coaches in classroom, it's all very similar to your school? Are you cautioning because none of the upper-middle class families in the neighborhood support the school. Kind of a self-perpetuating problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been so impressed with ACPS for my daughter. Wonderful parents teachers and programs. She could go anywhere for HS and she wants to attend TC. There is no doubt in my mind that she will have many choices for college. The kids in our neighborhood all went to top notch schools and quite a few with other choices transferred to TC from private. Know your kid and you will know if this is the right place for you.

You laid it on too thick, ACPS employee. Are you the one sock-puppetting GS, too?

And are you the same person who screams "booster" every time some deigns to say something positive? Here's a life lesson: someone making a different decision and having a different experience than you does not invalidate your decision.

I noticed you didn't answer the question. The tone of your post is identical to the ones posted recently to GS.

How's about you identify three or four challenges in ACPS and TC in particular?

I didn't answer the question, because I'm not the person who said I'm impressed with ACPS. I don't have a kid in the system. I am, however, interested in hearing people's opinions, positive and negative. And here's what I'd like to hear: I had an unfavorable experience, and here's why. I had a favorable experience, and here's why. But hardly anyone does this. It's just, "We moved to Arlington because ACPS sucks [no reason given]." Clearly, a lot of people move before trying the schools because they're afraid and would rather be safe than sorry, and I'm not saying I blame them. But at least be honest. We left because we were afraid our child wouldn't get a quality education based on test scores, "Yale or Jail" rhymes, etc. Fine. That's fair. But to just say TC is terrible, sucks, etc. is useless to those of us who are trying to understand the school's problems better. That's why it irritates me when "boosters" are immediately shot down and mocked--because a lot of times those are the only people who have actual experience with the curriculum, teachers, etc.

I'm 10:39 and I think you've made an excellent point, and one I was also trying to make in my post.

I will try to offer you some specifics.
So far we have direct experience with elementary and a little bit of middle school in ACPS.

Our elementary was a Title I school (meaning high population of low-income students) and also had a high English Language Learners population.
One of the ways ACPS deals with some many kids having different backgrounds is to have small class sizes, and to use the Title I money to pay for additional teacher supports. In my kids' classes, there might be many kids who were not native English speakers, or might have been academically behind due to lack of preschool or other factors, but those kids got extra help through a second teacher coming into the classroom and/or small groups of kids getting pulled out on a daily basis. Because of this extra teacher support the classroom teacher could move along with the curriculum, and not have to "slow down" to give the struggling kids extra help. DS one year was the most advanced reader in his class. Teacher basically created a separate reading group for him, and let him go at his own pace. In other years, he and other students were grouped together for their own "book club." It's not "tracking" but it is creating clusters of students. The clusters change throughout the year as the needs of the kids change.

Other threads (not ACPS specific) have mentioned the challenge of having a disruptive kid in a classroom. In K year, there was one such boy in my DD's class. Seemed like the biggest problem times for the kid was transitions. School quietly set up a system where every time there was a transition (i.e. lining up to go from classroom to gym or to lunch) and aide would be in the classroom, and the aide's sole task was to be responsible for that kid. Not only did it eliminate disruptions and prevent kids and teacher from losing learning time, by the end of the year, those of us who had observed the kid (through field trips or classroom volunteering) saw a noticeable improvement in this kids' behavior. The focused intervention really paid off. As the other thread pointed out, disruptive kids can exist in any school, including expensive privates. I was impressed with the way my kids' school dealt with this issue.

Now we are in middle school. Students can sign up for high school credit foreign language as early as 6th grade. (They go at a slower pace, so student taking French in 6 and 7th grade will have completed the equivalent of one year of high school credit. In eighth grade its at "normal speed".) There are many students that are struggling with math, as the test scores show, but for kids that didn't enter middle school with a deficit, there is plenty of opportunity for rigor. Kids can take Algebra I in eighth grade, and sometimes 7th grade. While my kids are in honors classes, I don't feel like there is a protective bubble, or some version of "Yale vs. Jail" that get cited on this thread so much. Everyone take gym and electives together. Everyone signs up for intramural sports and after school clubs together. All of the schools, from elementary through TC work very hard to establish a sense of community. That doesn't mean everyone sits around holding hands and signing Kum By Ya, but heck, they didn't in my WASPy upper-income middle school either!

We had one behavior incident on our kids' school bus, but the school responded to the situation immediately (as in, the very next school bus run) and there have been no further problems. Again, I don't think any school system can be completely free of behavior issues, so what I'm interested in is how they handle an issue when it arises.

So there you go. My attempt at specific examples of our experiences thus far at ACPS. At this point, I think the only school I would actively caution a family from enrolling in is Jefferson-Houston. While I think there are staff and parents that are working very hard, I believe there are stubborn, systemic issues that will require more radical change before the school is on the right track.

10:39, many thanks for this excellent, helpful post.