South Arlington Wakefield High US News Ranking is so poor they didn't assign them a number

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:As someone who went to a high school consistently ranked in the top 5 nationally, I will be sending my children to Wakefield without hesitation. You can make statistics say anything you want; get to know the teachers and administrators, talk to parents and students who actually attend the school, and you would come to the same conclusion (if you ever muster up the courage to rough it and travel south of Route 50).

My private high school was ranked #11 last year. My children will also be attending Wakefield in about 5 years. We are currently very happy at our S. Arl elementary school.

I would never send them to Yorktown.

I'm a teacher.

What kind of teacher defiantly declares where she will not send a child? Not a very good one.

But I'll bite: Why on Earth would you NEVER send them to Yorktown? I can't wait to hear this explanation. I mean, I know the teachers and administrators there and know parents and students there, and it seems like a fantastic school. In all of your one-on-one interaction with these same people, what, specifically, has put you off? Two or three concrete anecdotes would be nice.

Affordability?

Yorktown is free. If s/he meant affordability s/he probably would've said "I would never buy a home in the Yorktown pyramid." I seems obvious that she was referencing the actual school (people) not location.

Yes. I'm the pp seeking to pin down this teacher. I assume she's not hypocrite and did all of the due diligence on Yorktown that she recommends doing for Wakefield before concluding so emphatically that she would "NEVER" send her child to Yorktown. I'm dying to know what, specifically, caused her to come to that conclusion. Or, you know, she could just be a hypocrite. That's possible, too.

Too many rich, entitled kids at that school. Drugs are rampant. There's much higher drug use at Yorktown than at Wakefield. I want my kids a more diverse environment, as well.

I also am very impressed by most Wakefield students I meet in my community. They are hard working and polite.

It has nothing to do with not bring able to afford a home in the Yorktown district. We actually moved out of N Arlington to S Arlington on purpose. We prefer it by far.

Different strokes for different folks.

Again, which teachers, administrators and the like did you meet. Please point to statistics that show that drug use at Yorktown is higher than at Wakefield. That sounds like a stereotype to me. Show me examples of something that's "rich, entitled." Show me something concrete. Specific. I think you're making things up, didn't actually do a bit of due diligence, and are ashamed to have been called out as a hypocrite. Prove me wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh and 15:06 you sound like a real peach.

Hey, I didn't make the dumb, indefensible statement. You did. You just called on it, and your response is to call me a name? What kind of teacher are you? You must not teach in Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For such a liberal county there are lots of racist attitudes. And I suspect a lot of people with too much time on their hands.

What racist attitude? Are you talking about the person who wants "more diversity?" Yeah, that's pretty racist, I'll give you that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As someone who went to a high school consistently ranked in the top 5 nationally, I will be sending my children to Wakefield without hesitation. You can make statistics say anything you want; get to know the teachers and administrators, talk to parents and students who actually attend the school, and you would come to the same conclusion (if you ever muster up the courage to rough it and travel south of Route 50).

My private high school was ranked #11 last year. My children will also be attending Wakefield in about 5 years. We are currently very happy at our S. Arl elementary school.

I would never send them to Yorktown.

I'm a teacher.

What kind of teacher defiantly declares where she will not send a child? Not a very good one.

But I'll bite: Why on Earth would you NEVER send them to Yorktown? I can't wait to hear this explanation. I mean, I know the teachers and administrators there and know parents and students there, and it seems like a fantastic school. In all of your one-on-one interaction with these same people, what, specifically, has put you off? Two or three concrete anecdotes would be nice.

Affordability?

Yorktown is free. If s/he meant affordability s/he probably would've said "I would never buy a home in the Yorktown pyramid." I seems obvious that she was referencing the actual school (people) not location.

Yes. I'm the pp seeking to pin down this teacher. I assume she's not hypocrite and did all of the due diligence on Yorktown that she recommends doing for Wakefield before concluding so emphatically that she would "NEVER" send her child to Yorktown. I'm dying to know what, specifically, caused her to come to that conclusion. Or, you know, she could just be a hypocrite. That's possible, too.

Too many rich, entitled kids at that school. Drugs are rampant. There's much higher drug use at Yorktown than at Wakefield. I want my kids a more diverse environment, as well.

I also am very impressed by most Wakefield students I meet in my community. They are hard working and polite.

It has nothing to do with not bring able to afford a home in the Yorktown district. We actually moved out of N Arlington to S Arlington on purpose. We prefer it by far.

Different strokes for different folks.

Again, which teachers, administrators and the like did you meet. Please point to statistics that show that drug use at Yorktown is higher than at Wakefield. That sounds like a stereotype to me. Show me examples of something that's "rich, entitled." Show me something concrete. Specific. I think you're making things up, didn't actually do a bit of due diligence, and are ashamed to have been called out as a hypocrite. Prove me wrong.

Maybe someone in law enforcement at ACPD will verify for you but this has been discussed in other threads on this forum - more gang/ms13 problems at Wakefield and more drug problems at Yorktown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh I get it! You can dump on Wakefield, but don't diss Yorktown. Duly noted.

I'm the one nailing this teacher's ass to the wall and calling her out. I haven't dumped on Wakefield. I found her comments to be quite smart about Wakefield -- talk to the teachers, meet the principals, get to know the students, etc. etc. I agree.

I'd like to know what steps, specifically, she took when she fully evaluated Yorktown before deciding that there are too many "rich, entitled" kids and "more drugs." The first bias sounds like a racist stereotype to me. The second one sounds like bullshit. But, she must obviously know what she's talking about since I'm quite certain she practices what she preaches and did some comprehensive research. I'd just like a full report. Did she interview the principal? Name a couple of the science or math teachers -- what did they say when she interviewed them? Can she give me an example of "rich, entitled" behavior by a student? No names needed there. I'd just like to know what she is basing her informed opinion on. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh I get it! You can dump on Wakefield, but don't diss Yorktown. Duly noted.

I'm the one nailing this teacher's ass to the wall and calling her out. I haven't dumped on Wakefield. I found her comments to be quite smart about Wakefield -- talk to the teachers, meet the principals, get to know the students, etc. etc. I agree.

I'd like to know what steps, specifically, she took when she fully evaluated Yorktown before deciding that there are too many "rich, entitled" kids and "more drugs." The first bias sounds like a racist stereotype to me. The second one sounds like bullshit. But, she must obviously know what she's talking about since I'm quite certain she practices what she preaches and did some comprehensive research. I'd just like a full report. Did she interview the principal? Name a couple of the science or math teachers -- what did they say when she interviewed them? Can she give me an example of "rich, entitled" behavior by a student? No names needed there. I'd just like to know what she is basing her informed opinion on. Thanks.

Um, you could start just by looking at how many kids drive to school, and what they drive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12:09 PP - I'm with you. We're in Nottingham/ Williamsburg/Yorktown and I just don't get the vitriol for any school that isn't Yorktown. I've posted a couple of times about my surprise at reading the college admissions details for the various Arlington schools, and how Yorktown grads seemed to fare poorly vs. Wakefield, W-L and Woodlawn.

Believe me, most of the folks I know want good schools for their kids, but don't gain anything from tearing down other schools. (sure, it's good for property values, but the dirty secret is that rising property values aren't entirely beneficial unless you're selling. For those not selling, it just means our taxes are going up.)

Yorktown grads don't fare poorly in college admisions vs. Wakefield. Where did you get that idea?

A "dirty secret" is that some people will say nice things about Wakefield as long as they don't have to send their own kids there. "It's just great the way it is....I wouldn't change a thing about it, particularly the boundaries."

[Anonymous]

Oh god forbid we change boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Again, which teachers, administrators and the like did you meet. Please point to statistics that show that drug use at Yorktown is higher than at Wakefield. That sounds like a stereotype to me. Show me examples of something that's "rich, entitled." Show me something concrete. Specific. I think you're making things up, didn't actually do a bit of due diligence, and are ashamed to have been called out as a hypocrite. Prove me wrong.

While I am sure you will proclaim that Yorktown bucks this trend or the student body does not fall into the category of "rich kids", this article is enlightening.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201310/the-problem-rich-kids

(Not PP you asked the question to)

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure why we have to go around making broad generalizations about either Yorktown or Wakefield. Yeesh, you can find any number of news items/research to support whatever argument you want to make. There's no need to tear down Wakefield because of academic or socio-ecomonic deficits, perceived or real. The same holds true for Yorktown--which is not an elite New England prep school after all, but a neighborhood public.

We tend to get a little myopic around here, don't you think?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Again, which teachers, administrators and the like did you meet. Please point to statistics that show that drug use at Yorktown is higher than at Wakefield. That sounds like a stereotype to me. Show me examples of something that's "rich, entitled." Show me something concrete. Specific. I think you're making things up, didn't actually do a bit of due diligence, and are ashamed to have been called out as a hypocrite. Prove me wrong.

While I am sure you will proclaim that Yorktown bucks this trend or the student body does not fall into the category of "rich kids", this article is enlightening.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201310/the-problem-rich-kids

(Not PP you asked the question to)

You just linked to psychology today. You lose the Internet.

[Anonymous]

If they would change the boundaries over time wakefield would be totally different. Instead they keep bringing in more low income housing to south arlington and the tax base and schools continue to deteriorate. Never lived in a county that deliberately maintained such stark differences with a clear boundary line.

[Anonymous]

X1,000,000

[Anonymous]

The county thinks some how it can be a haven for this less fortunate, but they do them no favors by keeping all the immigrant kids in low performing schools. Imagine how more expensive south arlington homes would be if the schools were better. The county would be flush in tax revenues. I need to attend some of these board or county meetings, what ever they are, and speak my mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:but aren't those who think their kids will do fine at wakefield also live in a bubble - a bubble that segregates the low performing kids from their special snowflakes? yes, some kids do fine there and a couple even go on to ivies, but the school as a whole perform very poorly which is undeniable and has not improved for decades. it is a problem, don't deny or sugarcoat it.

My kids are at a south Arlington school and while they may be segregated in classes, everything else at the school is a mix--sports, clubs, after-school activities…attractive members of the opposite sex . At the very least, the level of affluence they see around them and consider "normal" is very different than it would be at a less-diverse or wealthier school, which helps us manage their expectations about what they are entitled to.

You just end up with different expectations to "manage." It could be a rude awakening to attend a school like Wakefield and then go on to a school where other students were used to being challenged more.

Oh please. All the Ivies take kids from all sorts of background and school experiences -- and lots of kids go to college and find it a rude awakening. Having gone to top schools and been out in the real world for a long time, I work with fellow attorneys from all sorts of backgrounds and different types of colleges and law schools and it's funny how, in the real world, this crazy BS doesn't matter much. DC area parents, including in Arlington, are such crazy control freaks.