Concerned about lower spending on Regular Kids in FCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found the Fairfax County Appraisal site that shows property assessments (values) dropping in McLean -0.475 and Great Falls -2.83%, up 0.29% in Vienna (I think this is different from the Town of Vienna) and up 0.68% for the whole County. Just to help see it all in perspective. http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news2/2017-real-estate-assessments/ If you go down the page there's a map that shows the different districts and the change in assessments. Not good news for my retirement plans.

The SAT numbers are interesting. My son is taking ACTs this morning and I hear that more and more kids are taking ACTs rather than SATs. I don't know what effect this has. Also many kdis who don't plan to go to college or want to go to the local Virginia schools don't have to take SATs or ACTs. How much difference could that be having? It was expensive and a lot of work to prepare for these tests (my daughter took the SATs two years ago).

I'm not aware of any VA colleges that don't require either the SAT or ACT.

I know GMU is score optional for majors other than computer science and engineering. There may be other Virginia colleges that are score optional.

Yes, but the applicant also has to have a 3.5+ GPA to qualify for score optional admissions, as well as a whole host of other requirements. Probably easier just to take the tests.
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/news/score-optional-admissions-policy-implemented-at-mason/article_17c9bc92-c3db-5fce-877c-584d47bc5704.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don't you mosey on over to the special needs board and tell all those moms and dads that you resent spending on their kids?

Problem is--that we also spend extra money on the AAP programs. The only ones that don't get extra are the "gen ed"......

This. I have no problem spending extra on special needs kids. AAP kids are *not* special needs.

For the love of God. AAP kids get LESS than general ed kids. LESS. Less than all other kids. Find something else to be upset about.

How can you even say this, and with a (presumably) straight face? AAP kids do not get *less* than Gen Ed kids. How absurd.

They get less money once they are in the LLIV program because they receive less services from specialists and have larger classes.

This is just not uniformly true. At our center, AAP classes are *always* bigger than Gen Ed classes.

[Anonymous]

^^^ Sorry, I meant AAP classes at our center are always SMALLER than the Gen Ed classes.

[Anonymous]

22:04. Yes. It depends on the school, however studies over many years have shown that overall, AAP classes are LARGER across all of FCPS. May be different at your school, but not on any typical year for FCPS. In addition, often IEP's are not recognized at the AAP level. Various Specialists and Assistants help out General Ed classes but not AAP classes. If FCPS was to do away with AAP it would generally cost them more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's been a problem for a long time. FCPS not only has to meet the needs of all the spec ed and esol kids, but it also decides to spend money on all the *gifted* kids and the language immersion kids. That leaves nothing for the regular kid.

+100
Really tired of paying all these taxes, only to have my "regular" kid pretty much ignored.

You people are morons. A very tiny percentage of 'your taxes' goes to educate your kid or any other kid for that matter.
Every single one of us is paying taxes, from teens to the eldetly - most of whom don't have kids in the public school system.
It's not 'your money' to be spent on 'your kid'.
Hell, we've been paying for 30 years to get 'your kids' a free public education even while our kids are at a 35k private school and we are not whining like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's been a problem for a long time. FCPS not only has to meet the needs of all the spec ed and esol kids, but it also decides to spend money on all the *gifted* kids and the language immersion kids. That leaves nothing for the regular kid.

+100
Really tired of paying all these taxes, only to have my "regular" kid pretty much ignored.

You people are morons. A very tiny percentage of 'your taxes' goes to educate your kid or any other kid for that matter.
Every single one of us is paying taxes, from teens to the eldetly - most of whom don't have kids in the public school system.
It's not 'your money' to be spent on 'your kid'.
Hell, we've been paying for 30 years to get 'your kids' a free public education even while our kids are at a 35k private school and we are not whining like you.

Not the taxes poster, but if your kids don't even attend FCPS, how is your opinion on whether others have a concern about the level of spending on nonspecial ED/ESOL kids even relevant. Of course you're not concerned because your kids aren't in the schools, and so you have no clue about the level of education those kids who are in the schools are getting. Your taxes don't cover the President's or Congress' salaries either, but I'm pretty sure if they were acting in a manner contrary to your or your kid's interest you'd have an opinion. The number of ESOL kids in our schools affects spending on nonESOL kids. As inflation adjusted spending per "regular" child decreases, at some point there will be a decrease in the quality of education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Inclusion is much less expensive than other alternatives.

Many when counting dollars and cents. Not when GenEd kids keep coming home with bruises from the kids with IEPs, and the administration looks the other way. The GenEd kids and their families "pay" for inclusion differently. I say this as a parent and as a teacher.

I thought this thread was about spending $$$$, not how gross you are.

Then, why do they "team teach" with the IEP kids in high school only in gened classes? You don't find them in the honors classes. My Gened DS switched to honors classes after one of those team taught classes. And, believe me DS was no goody twoshoes. He said it was awful.

I have no idea what you are talking about. What do you think would be a better approach?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ Sorry, I meant AAP classes at our center are always SMALLER than the Gen Ed classes.

My 5th grade in AAP has 31 kids in his class.... in a trailer (modular, actually).

My other child, not AAP, also had 31 in 5th grade and 30 or 31 in 6th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's been a problem for a long time. FCPS not only has to meet the needs of all the spec ed and esol kids, but it also decides to spend money on all the *gifted* kids and the language immersion kids. That leaves nothing for the regular kid.

+100
Really tired of paying all these taxes, only to have my "regular" kid pretty much ignored.

You people are morons. A very tiny percentage of 'your taxes' goes to educate your kid or any other kid for that matter.
Every single one of us is paying taxes, from teens to the eldetly - most of whom don't have kids in the public school system.
It's not 'your money' to be spent on 'your kid'.
Hell, we've been paying for 30 years to get 'your kids' a free public education even while our kids are at a 35k private school and we are not whining like you.

Not the taxes poster, but if your kids don't even attend FCPS, how is your opinion on whether others have a concern about the level of spending on nonspecial ED/ESOL kids even relevant. Of course you're not concerned because your kids aren't in the schools, and so you have no clue about the level of education those kids who are in the schools are getting. Your taxes don't cover the President's or Congress' salaries either, but I'm pretty sure if they were acting in a manner contrary to your or your kid's interest you'd have an opinion. The number of ESOL kids in our schools affects spending on nonESOL kids. As inflation adjusted spending per "regular" child decreases, at some point there will be a decrease in the quality of education.

And unlike private or charter schools, parents are limited by law on how much they can supplement the schools with additional income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, sorry, should say "AAP doesn't cost much extra money."

No, it just siphons off the best teachers and students into programs that leave non AAP students in education "ghettos" with burnt out teachers. How did we ever survive to become professionals in schools where the dumb, average and smart kids were all in the same classrooms?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, sorry, should say "AAP doesn't cost much extra money."

No, it just siphons off the best teachers and students into programs that leave non AAP students in education "ghettos" with burnt out teachers. How did we ever survive to become professionals in schools where the dumb, average and smart kids were all in the same classrooms?

Principals are responsible for the overall performance of their schools. If anything, they have an incentive to assign the best teachers to the Gen En classes, since the AAP students don't need as much assistance and tend to have parents who supplement what they learn in the classroom. I don't think you're doing anything here other than reviving the periodic rant against AAP, which in general attracts smarter kids to FCPS than to any other school system in the region.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, sorry, should say "AAP doesn't cost much extra money."

No, it just siphons off the best teachers and students into programs that leave non AAP students in education "ghettos" with burnt out teachers. How did we ever survive to become professionals in schools where the dumb, average and smart kids were all in the same classrooms?

I'm 40 and my elementary and middle schools were all tracked. The same "smart" kids were in the "smart' class every year, the "dumb" kids were always together in the "dumb" class, etc. This system wasn't great either. My preference would be no aap centers and the aap curriculum taught at every school.

[Anonymous]

My issue with ESOL is around who gets the attention. Yes, smaller classes.. however, the kids who come from homes where Spanish is the main language get almost all of the attention because no one at home can/will help with their homework. My children didn't get nearly the attention that the other kids received at these ESOL heavy schools. So we moved to a place with no ESOL and things are much better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: My issue with ESOL is around who gets the attention. Yes, smaller classes.. however, the kids who come from homes where Spanish is the main language get almost all of the attention because no one at home can/will help with their homework. My children didn't get nearly the attention that the other kids received at these ESOL heavy schools. So we moved to a place with no ESOL and things are much better.

Gosh, are you really resentful of kids whose parents are probably working for minimum wage because they get more attention from the teachers? Kids who had no say in what kind of homes they were born into? Kids whose parents are likely doing the best they can under very difficult circumstances?

How about being grateful for the circumstances that have allowed you to be in the position you're in, where you have the time, energy, and educational background to help your children with their homework?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: My issue with ESOL is around who gets the attention. Yes, smaller classes.. however, the kids who come from homes where Spanish is the main language get almost all of the attention because no one at home can/will help with their homework. My children didn't get nearly the attention that the other kids received at these ESOL heavy schools. So we moved to a place with no ESOL and things are much better.

Gosh, are you really resentful of kids whose parents are probably working for minimum wage because they get more attention from the teachers? Kids who had no say in what kind of homes they were born into? Kids whose parents are likely doing the best they can under very difficult circumstances?

How about being grateful for the circumstances that have allowed you to be in the position you're in, where you have the time, energy, and educational background to help your children with their homework?

Not the pp, but I don't think it's about being resentful. It's about wanting the best for your kids. My DC was in a high ESOL class and was getting homework for counting by ones in 2nd grade. My DC was fine, but the bright kid who could do more than that whose parents weren't able to supplement got the short end of the stick.