Alexandria Redistricting Process Starting

[Anonymous]

Why don't they just push more kids into JH?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The City should look beyond redistricting and also take this process as an opportunity to see what is and isn't working in the City. JH isn't working as is. Mount Vernon is a joke and isn't working - the dual language paradigm is failing all ESL and non-esl kids. Make MVCS a charter or focus dual language school that families can opt into. Make JH a lower FARMS school and take kids from behind the Masonic temple, parts of Rosemont, and new potomac hard to beef up the SES. Then JH will become a top performer like LCTA and Maury.

No school is perfect. But we go to MV and they hit it out of the park last year in growth and math. In fact, they are scoring better than some of the "good" schools in many categories. They are doing more with dual language than in the past (I have kids there in the past too), like explicit Spanish instruction, spelling words, etc. Not mad, just trying to change the tide of people thinking schools are doing bad when they are making accreditation and serving the challenged population. Sometimes the real challenge is beating the reputation from the past.

Also, redistricting will not immediately produce high performing schools. With 60% FRM in the whole city, the real change comes from having teachers in the class prepared to teach many different kids and services there to provide the basics (food and clothes).

Hit it out of the park? Really? The school is ranked abysmally in the 800s somewhere and has a 2-3 ranking out of 10 on greatschools. Hardly hitting it out of the park when compared to maury or LCTA, which are also serving a large percentage of FARMS kids but have rankings in the 100-200s range and 7-9 greatschools scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The City should look beyond redistricting and also take this process as an opportunity to see what is and isn't working in the City. JH isn't working as is. Mount Vernon is a joke and isn't working - the dual language paradigm is failing all ESL and non-esl kids. Make MVCS a charter or focus dual language school that families can opt into. Make JH a lower FARMS school and take kids from behind the Masonic temple, parts of Rosemont, and new potomac hard to beef up the SES. Then JH will become a top performer like LCTA and Maury.

No school is perfect. But we go to MV and they hit it out of the park last year in growth and math. In fact, they are scoring better than some of the "good" schools in many categories. They are doing more with dual language than in the past (I have kids there in the past too), like explicit Spanish instruction, spelling words, etc. Not mad, just trying to change the tide of people thinking schools are doing bad when they are making accreditation and serving the challenged population. Sometimes the real challenge is beating the reputation from the past.

Also, redistricting will not immediately produce high performing schools. With 60% FRM in the whole city, the real change comes from having teachers in the class prepared to teach many different kids and services there to provide the basics (food and clothes).

They did better in Math last year but they did terrible in English. That's the problem. This year they will probably have an increased English score and decreased Math schore.

They switched to immersion strictly for the ESL students. It's not to benefit your white, middle class child and the school isn't concerned about your kid learning Spanish, they are worried about the Spanish kids learning English.

You are right - redistricting will not help. What will help is a Republican mayor and the end of public housing. That alone would reduce the 60% FARMS rate in the City to probably 6%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Hit it out of the park? Really? The school is ranked abysmally in the 800s somewhere and has a 2-3 ranking out of 10 on greatschools. Hardly hitting it out of the park when compared to maury or LCTA, which are also serving a large percentage of FARMS kids but have rankings in the 100-200s range and 7-9 greatschools scores.

FARMS %:

MVCS - 58%
Maury - 36%
LTCA - 26%

Big difference between solid majority of kids being eligible for FARM and 1/4 of kids being eligible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
You are right - redistricting will not help. What will help is a Republican mayor and the end of public housing. That alone would reduce the 60% FARMS rate in the City to probably 6%

The income distribution situation in Alexandria is significantly more complex and nuanced than 'public housing'. It's also well beyond the scope of just the schools, but it seems like many folks are unaware of the economic diversity of Alexandria before their kid goes to K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You are right - redistricting will not help. What will help is a Republican mayor and the end of public housing. That alone would reduce the 60% FARMS rate in the City to probably 6%

The income distribution situation in Alexandria is significantly more complex and nuanced than 'public housing'. It's also well beyond the scope of just the schools, but it seems like many folks are unaware of the economic diversity of Alexandria before their kid goes to K.

Just why is that though? Why does Alexandria City think a Farms rate of 60% in their public school is sustainable in the first place? Taxes for the public school are largely paid on the back of it's residents via real estate and personal income taxes.

Whose going to want to move to Alexandria City anymore, when so many other jurisdictions have better public schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You are right - redistricting will not help. What will help is a Republican mayor and the end of public housing. That alone would reduce the 60% FARMS rate in the City to probably 6%

The income distribution situation in Alexandria is significantly more complex and nuanced than 'public housing'. It's also well beyond the scope of just the schools, but it seems like many folks are unaware of the economic diversity of Alexandria before their kid goes to K.

And it's not just the poverty that's a driver of failure in ACPS -- it's also the organizational culture of the school administration.

[Anonymous]

Watching the School Board meetings, as a resident here I am always floored when the Board Chair gets that smile on her face and says "ACPS is growing".

First you truly improve ACPS academics, then you take glee in it's growth. The truth is, this growth they all are excited about will cause emigration by home owners due to taxation. Who wants to be played the patsy? We have to live too.

[Anonymous]

Has there been mention about how redistricting will address the achievement gap? Or is it solely about capacity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has there been mention about how redistricting will address the achievement gap? Or is it solely about capacity?

I think capacity will be the top driver. There are a couple of ways this could also address achievement gap.

If a school isn't overcrowded, and lessons aren't being done in creative spaces like closets or hallways, you can improve outcomes including closing the achievement gap.

It's 99% guaranteed that the boundaries around J-H will change. There will be more kids attending J-H, and it will be a different group of kids. When that happens, it's likely that J-H will regain its accreditation. I'm all for that, but people should be careful to look at accreditation as a symbol of closing the achievement gap. It *might* mean more kids are achieving at higher levels. With some of the kids in more balanced schools, the kids might perform better. On the other hand, it could be that the same stubborn fail rate of the students who currently attend J-H will persist, but will be masked.

Example....
"John" attends J-H. There's only 30 kids total in his cohort, so when John and 7 other kids just miss the SOL pass rate in Math, they make the whole J-H "fail" on the accreditation benchmark of having a 75% pass rate for 3rd grade Language Arts. (This is an example, I don't remember the exact required pass rate! )

Let's say as part of the redistricting, they now double the number of kid's in John's cohort at J-H. Next year these 60 students all take the SOL. John and the other 7 kids who failed last year fail again this year. In addition, several of John's new classmates, who failed last year at their old schools, fail the SOL again this year at J-H. We now have 11 students in a cohort of 60 who failed the Language Arts SOL.
However, because there is a larger group of total students in that grade, the total grade meets the threshold of over 75% pass rate.

So, yes, that would make J-H an accredited school, and that is obviously a great thing for the school and the majority of kids who are by and large surrounded by other kids who are working with them at grade level.

But, it does not demonstrate any success in closing the achievement gap, because John and those other 10 kids failed the test last year, and they have failed the test again.

None of what I've described above is intended to argue against redistricting. I'm just pointing out that when tackling the issue of closing the achievement gap, the mere act of redistricting won't demonstrate that.

I should say that I don't believe that ACPS would try to "hide" achievement gap issues behind boundary changes. They have very clear metrics they are establishing, and the expectation is to close the achievement gap, period. They want John and his classmate to succeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has there been mention about how redistricting will address the achievement gap? Or is it solely about capacity?

I think capacity will be the top driver. There are a couple of ways this could also address achievement gap.

If a school isn't overcrowded, and lessons aren't being done in creative spaces like closets or hallways, you can improve outcomes including closing the achievement gap.

It's 99% guaranteed that the boundaries around J-H will change. There will be more kids attending J-H, and it will be a different group of kids. When that happens, it's likely that J-H will regain its accreditation. I'm all for that, but people should be careful to look at accreditation as a symbol of closing the achievement gap. It *might* mean more kids are achieving at higher levels. With some of the kids in more balanced schools, the kids might perform better. On the other hand, it could be that the same stubborn fail rate of the students who currently attend J-H will persist, but will be masked.

Example....
"John" attends J-H. There's only 30 kids total in his cohort, so when John and 7 other kids just miss the SOL pass rate in Math, they make the whole J-H "fail" on the accreditation benchmark of having a 75% pass rate for 3rd grade Language Arts. (This is an example, I don't remember the exact required pass rate! )

Let's say as part of the redistricting, they now double the number of kid's in John's cohort at J-H. Next year these 60 students all take the SOL. John and the other 7 kids who failed last year fail again this year. In addition, several of John's new classmates, who failed last year at their old schools, fail the SOL again this year at J-H. We now have 11 students in a cohort of 60 who failed the Language Arts SOL.
However, because there is a larger group of total students in that grade, the total grade meets the threshold of over 75% pass rate.

So, yes, that would make J-H an accredited school, and that is obviously a great thing for the school and the majority of kids who are by and large surrounded by other kids who are working with them at grade level.

But, it does not demonstrate any success in closing the achievement gap, because John and those other 10 kids failed the test last year, and they have failed the test again.

None of what I've described above is intended to argue against redistricting. I'm just pointing out that when tackling the issue of closing the achievement gap, the mere act of redistricting won't demonstrate that.

I should say that I don't believe that ACPS would try to "hide" achievement gap issues behind boundary changes. They have very clear metrics they are establishing, and the expectation is to close the achievement gap, period. They want John and his classmate to succeed.

Thank you for this. I see your point. Even though "fewer" people percentage-wise may appear to be failing, if a kid is a failing, then a kid is failing and that is a problem.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know why there is a little patch of "George Mason" in what seems to be firm MVCS/Barrett? Seems like some serious gerrymandering: http://www.acps.k12.va.us/enroll/zone_map.pdf

[Anonymous]

Alexandria: IB to the Rescue? Jefferson-Houston to expand International Baccalaureate program.

"Phillips said the IB classes will have a capacity limit, and in the first few years of Jefferson-Houston’s recovery he said the priority should be on ensuring that the school doesn’t go over its capacity. Phillips said in a few years, he’s expecting there to be a wait list for the program.

Having a waiting list also isn’t one of Jefferson-Houston’s immediate problems. The school has a maximum capacity of 800 students and currently has a student population of 444. By 2024, that number is expected to rise slightly to 572 students."

http://www.alexandriagazette.com/news/2015/mar/19/alexandria-ib-rescue/

Now that this has been announced, it's pertinent to the re-districting discussion.

-How many of the current 444 JH students are pre-K? I understand ~100? Are pre-K students officially part of ACPS?

-Why so low a goal of 572 students enrolled by 2024, given our elementary schools are busting at the seems and schools in disrepair?

If re-districting is being undertaken, why not plan to be at full capacity at brand new, $45 million dollar, Jefferson Houston Elementary by 2024?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know why there is a little patch of "George Mason" in what seems to be firm MVCS/Barrett? Seems like some serious gerrymandering: http://www.acps.k12.va.us/enroll/zone_map.pdf

Yes! I noticed that, too! It would be fascinating to find a "veteran" and ask them these kinds of questions. Unfortunately, they probably won't reveal all the gory details of the past process. They'll probably just adopt and attitude of "what's done was done, now let's move forward...."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Alexandria: IB to the Rescue? Jefferson-Houston to expand International Baccalaureate program.

"Phillips said the IB classes will have a capacity limit, and in the first few years of Jefferson-Houston’s recovery he said the priority should be on ensuring that the school doesn’t go over its capacity. Phillips said in a few years, he’s expecting there to be a wait list for the program.

Having a waiting list also isn’t one of Jefferson-Houston’s immediate problems. The school has a maximum capacity of 800 students and currently has a student population of 444. By 2024, that number is expected to rise slightly to 572 students."

http://www.alexandriagazette.com/news/2015/mar/19/alexandria-ib-rescue/

Now that this has been announced, it's pertinent to the re-districting discussion.

-How many of the current 444 JH students are pre-K? I understand ~100? Are pre-K students officially part of ACPS?

-Why so low a goal of 572 students enrolled by 2024, given our elementary schools are busting at the seems and schools in disrepair?

If re-districting is being undertaken, why not plan to be at full capacity at brand new, $45 million dollar, Jefferson Houston Elementary by 2024?

I'm not sure, but I think that these numbers are the projected numbers right now, as in, WITHOUT boundary changes.
Certainly a top goal of redistricting should be having schools be near, but not above capacity, so once the changes are made these projected numbers will be out of date.