FCPS comprehensive boundary review

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW we moved from a shitty school pyramid to a "good" one and really regret it. The community was a lot better and the children's education was better - more of a focus on the average child whereas in our "good" pyramid, the focus is solely on the "advanced" children.

You may have just inadvertently stumbled on a big reason many of us don’t want to move out kids from our “good” pyramid. We want that focus on the “advanced” children that we won’t get at the redistricted school.

I love our community at the “good” school. It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for in a community.

I don't know what that previous poster was referring to. In the poor pyramid we experienced, AAP classes are great but the average kids get the shaft. In general education classes the ELL kids get most of the teachers attention which isn't fair to the English speaking kids. Basically only the top and bottom students get attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW we moved from a shitty school pyramid to a "good" one and really regret it. The community was a lot better and the children's education was better - more of a focus on the average child whereas in our "good" pyramid, the focus is solely on the "advanced" children.

You may have just inadvertently stumbled on a big reason many of us don’t want to move out kids from our “good” pyramid. We want that focus on the “advanced” children that we won’t get at the redistricted school.

I love our community at the “good” school. It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for in a community.

I don't know what that previous poster was referring to. In the poor pyramid we experienced, AAP classes are great but the average kids get the shaft. In general education classes the ELL kids get most of the teachers attention which isn't fair to the English speaking kids. Basically only the top and bottom students get attention.

Yet another reason why parents fight tooth and nail not to have their kids redistricted to the “poor pyramid”s. It’s going to get a lot rougher for the school board going forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lewis doesn’t have a full slate of AP courses, the language offerings are paltry, advanced classes have fewer sessions (so greater likelihood of a scheduling conflict), fewer parents get involved, some sports don’t have teams below varsity, extra-curricular programs fiction on a shoestring compared to wealthier schools.

Aren’t they offering AP at Lewis these days? I thought they were getting away from IB because of all the transfers out. And if a student maxes out the offered AP/IB classes, there is always dual enrollment. Honestly the rest of the stuff ultimately sounds petty to me. The purpose of high school is to get an education. You’ll never have high parental involvement at a high ESOL, high poverty school, no matter if it’s elementary, middle, or high school. Undoing a boundary change from 20(!) years ago to create another split feeder won’t bring in an onslaught of parental involvement.

Fortunately, with a 2800-student school nearby, they can adjust the boundaries, create two schools closer to 2200 students each, and mitigate these “petty” problems.

Exactly. These issues are “petty” until they impact the experience of their children. But it’s totally fine for ”others” to have subpar facilities, instruction and access to extracurricular activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW we moved from a shitty school pyramid to a "good" one and really regret it. The community was a lot better and the children's education was better - more of a focus on the average child whereas in our "good" pyramid, the focus is solely on the "advanced" children.

You may have just inadvertently stumbled on a big reason many of us don’t want to move out kids from our “good” pyramid. We want that focus on the “advanced” children that we won’t get at the redistricted school.

I love our community at the “good” school. It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for in a community.

I don't know what that previous poster was referring to. In the poor pyramid we experienced, AAP classes are great but the average kids get the shaft. In general education classes the ELL kids get most of the teachers attention which isn't fair to the English speaking kids. Basically only the top and bottom students get attention.

Yet another reason why parents fight tooth and nail not to have their kids redistricted to the “poor pyramid”s. It’s going to get a lot rougher for the school board going forward.

My kid is average and zoned for a “poor” pyramid. My concern with Lewis is about him getting the shaft because he is not honors and not ESL. People seem to be forgetting that there are MC and UMC families in this pyramid too, and we will also continue to pupil place or move to avoid these schools if FCPS doesn’t do something to keep us here. The board has to consider these families too, not just those who will be inconvenienced by adjustments that are clearly overdue and desperately needed in some cases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW we moved from a shitty school pyramid to a "good" one and really regret it. The community was a lot better and the children's education was better - more of a focus on the average child whereas in our "good" pyramid, the focus is solely on the "advanced" children.

You may have just inadvertently stumbled on a big reason many of us don’t want to move out kids from our “good” pyramid. We want that focus on the “advanced” children that we won’t get at the redistricted school.

I love our community at the “good” school. It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for in a community.

I don't know what that previous poster was referring to. In the poor pyramid we experienced, AAP classes are great but the average kids get the shaft. In general education classes the ELL kids get most of the teachers attention which isn't fair to the English speaking kids. Basically only the top and bottom students get attention.

Yet another reason why parents fight tooth and nail not to have their kids redistricted to the “poor pyramid”s. It’s going to get a lot rougher for the school board going forward.

My kid is average and zoned for a “poor” pyramid. My concern with Lewis is about him getting the shaft because he is not honors and not ESL. People seem to be forgetting that there are MC and UMC families in this pyramid too, and we will also continue to pupil place or move to avoid these schools if FCPS doesn’t do something to keep us here. The board has to consider these families too, not just those who will be inconvenienced by adjustments that are clearly overdue and desperately needed in some cases.

Well, I hate to tell you, but they’ll likely tighten up pupil placements as part of the boundary changes, otherwise they’re stuck with the same problems.

You’re throwing out your babies with the bath water when you advocate for the boundary changes.

Also, did you know what pyramid your house was in when you bought it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW we moved from a shitty school pyramid to a "good" one and really regret it. The community was a lot better and the children's education was better - more of a focus on the average child whereas in our "good" pyramid, the focus is solely on the "advanced" children.

You may have just inadvertently stumbled on a big reason many of us don’t want to move out kids from our “good” pyramid. We want that focus on the “advanced” children that we won’t get at the redistricted school.

I love our community at the “good” school. It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for in a community.

I don't know what that previous poster was referring to. In the poor pyramid we experienced, AAP classes are great but the average kids get the shaft. In general education classes the ELL kids get most of the teachers attention which isn't fair to the English speaking kids. Basically only the top and bottom students get attention.

Yet another reason why parents fight tooth and nail not to have their kids redistricted to the “poor pyramid”s. It’s going to get a lot rougher for the school board going forward.

My kid is average and zoned for a “poor” pyramid. My concern with Lewis is about him getting the shaft because he is not honors and not ESL. People seem to be forgetting that there are MC and UMC families in this pyramid too, and we will also continue to pupil place or move to avoid these schools if FCPS doesn’t do something to keep us here. The board has to consider these families too, not just those who will be inconvenienced by adjustments that are clearly overdue and desperately needed in some cases.

Well, I hate to tell you, but they’ll likely tighten up pupil placements as part of the boundary changes, otherwise they’re stuck with the same problems.

You’re throwing out your babies with the bath water when you advocate for the boundary changes.

Also, did you know what pyramid your house was in when you bought it?

Yes, I did. But I also knew that boundaries could change. Maybe you didn’t realize that when you bought your home?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW we moved from a shitty school pyramid to a "good" one and really regret it. The community was a lot better and the children's education was better - more of a focus on the average child whereas in our "good" pyramid, the focus is solely on the "advanced" children.

You may have just inadvertently stumbled on a big reason many of us don’t want to move out kids from our “good” pyramid. We want that focus on the “advanced” children that we won’t get at the redistricted school.

I love our community at the “good” school. It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for in a community.

I don't know what that previous poster was referring to. In the poor pyramid we experienced, AAP classes are great but the average kids get the shaft. In general education classes the ELL kids get most of the teachers attention which isn't fair to the English speaking kids. Basically only the top and bottom students get attention.

Yet another reason why parents fight tooth and nail not to have their kids redistricted to the “poor pyramid”s. It’s going to get a lot rougher for the school board going forward.

My kid is average and zoned for a “poor” pyramid. My concern with Lewis is about him getting the shaft because he is not honors and not ESL. People seem to be forgetting that there are MC and UMC families in this pyramid too, and we will also continue to pupil place or move to avoid these schools if FCPS doesn’t do something to keep us here. The board has to consider these families too, not just those who will be inconvenienced by adjustments that are clearly overdue and desperately needed in some cases.

You bought your house knowing the HS it was zoned to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW we moved from a shitty school pyramid to a "good" one and really regret it. The community was a lot better and the children's education was better - more of a focus on the average child whereas in our "good" pyramid, the focus is solely on the "advanced" children.

You may have just inadvertently stumbled on a big reason many of us don’t want to move out kids from our “good” pyramid. We want that focus on the “advanced” children that we won’t get at the redistricted school.

I love our community at the “good” school. It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for in a community.

I don't know what that previous poster was referring to. In the poor pyramid we experienced, AAP classes are great but the average kids get the shaft. In general education classes the ELL kids get most of the teachers attention which isn't fair to the English speaking kids. Basically only the top and bottom students get attention.

Yet another reason why parents fight tooth and nail not to have their kids redistricted to the “poor pyramid”s. It’s going to get a lot rougher for the school board going forward.

My kid is average and zoned for a “poor” pyramid. My concern with Lewis is about him getting the shaft because he is not honors and not ESL. People seem to be forgetting that there are MC and UMC families in this pyramid too, and we will also continue to pupil place or move to avoid these schools if FCPS doesn’t do something to keep us here. The board has to consider these families too, not just those who will be inconvenienced by adjustments that are clearly overdue and desperately needed in some cases.

You bought your house knowing the HS it was zoned to.

Correct. And you purchased yours knowing (or perhaps not) that zones change.

So where does that leave us?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW we moved from a shitty school pyramid to a "good" one and really regret it. The community was a lot better and the children's education was better - more of a focus on the average child whereas in our "good" pyramid, the focus is solely on the "advanced" children.

You may have just inadvertently stumbled on a big reason many of us don’t want to move out kids from our “good” pyramid. We want that focus on the “advanced” children that we won’t get at the redistricted school.

I love our community at the “good” school. It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for in a community.

I don't know what that previous poster was referring to. In the poor pyramid we experienced, AAP classes are great but the average kids get the shaft. In general education classes the ELL kids get most of the teachers attention which isn't fair to the English speaking kids. Basically only the top and bottom students get attention.

Yet another reason why parents fight tooth and nail not to have their kids redistricted to the “poor pyramid”s. It’s going to get a lot rougher for the school board going forward.

My kid is average and zoned for a “poor” pyramid. My concern with Lewis is about him getting the shaft because he is not honors and not ESL. People seem to be forgetting that there are MC and UMC families in this pyramid too, and we will also continue to pupil place or move to avoid these schools if FCPS doesn’t do something to keep us here. The board has to consider these families too, not just those who will be inconvenienced by adjustments that are clearly overdue and desperately needed in some cases.

You bought your house knowing the HS it was zoned to.

Correct. And you purchased yours knowing (or perhaps not) that zones change.

So where does that leave us?

+1

Pupil placing out is the only thing thing that saves the UMC in that pyramid from moving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW we moved from a shitty school pyramid to a "good" one and really regret it. The community was a lot better and the children's education was better - more of a focus on the average child whereas in our "good" pyramid, the focus is solely on the "advanced" children.

You may have just inadvertently stumbled on a big reason many of us don’t want to move out kids from our “good” pyramid. We want that focus on the “advanced” children that we won’t get at the redistricted school.

I love our community at the “good” school. It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for in a community.

I don't know what that previous poster was referring to. In the poor pyramid we experienced, AAP classes are great but the average kids get the shaft. In general education classes the ELL kids get most of the teachers attention which isn't fair to the English speaking kids. Basically only the top and bottom students get attention.

Yet another reason why parents fight tooth and nail not to have their kids redistricted to the “poor pyramid”s. It’s going to get a lot rougher for the school board going forward.

My kid is average and zoned for a “poor” pyramid. My concern with Lewis is about him getting the shaft because he is not honors and not ESL. People seem to be forgetting that there are MC and UMC families in this pyramid too, and we will also continue to pupil place or move to avoid these schools if FCPS doesn’t do something to keep us here. The board has to consider these families too, not just those who will be inconvenienced by adjustments that are clearly overdue and desperately needed in some cases.

You bought your house knowing the HS it was zoned to.

Exactly. She betrays herself - my school is bad and the only reason why we don’t move is because we can go elsewhere. We have to move other people like me into our pyramid to share the pain, even though I chose to live here, and those families did not.

Also, my house was cheaper being in this school pyramid, and I think I will benefit by dragging other UMC into it, even though I pupil place my kids elsewhere.

Epitome of selfishness. The good news is that pupil Place will end for her kids, so she is cutting off her nose to spite her face.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW we moved from a shitty school pyramid to a "good" one and really regret it. The community was a lot better and the children's education was better - more of a focus on the average child whereas in our "good" pyramid, the focus is solely on the "advanced" children.

You may have just inadvertently stumbled on a big reason many of us don’t want to move out kids from our “good” pyramid. We want that focus on the “advanced” children that we won’t get at the redistricted school.

I love our community at the “good” school. It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for in a community.

I don't know what that previous poster was referring to. In the poor pyramid we experienced, AAP classes are great but the average kids get the shaft. In general education classes the ELL kids get most of the teachers attention which isn't fair to the English speaking kids. Basically only the top and bottom students get attention.

This is pretty much all of Lewis pyramid except Springfield estates which is an AAP school. I have zero white kids in my class this year. Our school just seems to be getting rougher and rougher with kids arriving to this country every week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lewis doesn’t have a full slate of AP courses, the language offerings are paltry, advanced classes have fewer sessions (so greater likelihood of a scheduling conflict), fewer parents get involved, some sports don’t have teams below varsity, extra-curricular programs fiction on a shoestring compared to wealthier schools.

Aren’t they offering AP at Lewis these days? I thought they were getting away from IB because of all the transfers out. And if a student maxes out the offered AP/IB classes, there is always dual enrollment. Honestly the rest of the stuff ultimately sounds petty to me. The purpose of high school is to get an education. You’ll never have high parental involvement at a high ESOL, high poverty school, no matter if it’s elementary, middle, or high school. Undoing a boundary change from 20(!) years ago to create another split feeder won’t bring in an onslaught of parental involvement.

Fortunately, with a 2800-student school nearby, they can adjust the boundaries, create two schools closer to 2200 students each, and mitigate these “petty” problems.

Exactly. These issues are “petty” until they impact the experience of their children. But it’s totally fine for ”others” to have subpar facilities, instruction and access to extracurricular activities.

Why do you want MORE kids to have subpar facilities, instruction, and access to extracurricular activities? Why not focus on improving the school rather than just throwing more kids into it?

[Anonymous]

Close Lewis and split the kids between WSHS, Edison, and Hayfield. Move some kids out of WSHS to Robinson and Lake Braddock to accommodate. Done!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lewis doesn’t have a full slate of AP courses, the language offerings are paltry, advanced classes have fewer sessions (so greater likelihood of a scheduling conflict), fewer parents get involved, some sports don’t have teams below varsity, extra-curricular programs fiction on a shoestring compared to wealthier schools.

Aren’t they offering AP at Lewis these days? I thought they were getting away from IB because of all the transfers out. And if a student maxes out the offered AP/IB classes, there is always dual enrollment. Honestly the rest of the stuff ultimately sounds petty to me. The purpose of high school is to get an education. You’ll never have high parental involvement at a high ESOL, high poverty school, no matter if it’s elementary, middle, or high school. Undoing a boundary change from 20(!) years ago to create another split feeder won’t bring in an onslaught of parental involvement.

Fortunately, with a 2800-student school nearby, they can adjust the boundaries, create two schools closer to 2200 students each, and mitigate these “petty” problems.

Exactly. These issues are “petty” until they impact the experience of their children. But it’s totally fine for ”others” to have subpar facilities, instruction and access to extracurricular activities.

Why do you want MORE kids to have subpar facilities, instruction, and access to extracurricular activities? Why not focus on improving the school rather than just throwing more kids into it?

The whole point of this exercise is to balance the scales a bit. By adjusting the boundaries, the quality of education at your current school doesn’t change at all. But for the kids at Lewis, it will make a world of difference (maybe not immediately but eventually).

You’re really fighting this because YOUR CHILDREN might be impacted. You care nothing about families who’ve been waiting years for improvements to Lewis. We bought more than a decade ago, before we had children. I guess we should have anticipated that the county would flood its school system with poor immigrants and refugees, dragging our already neglected and struggling high school down even further.

But I’m the selfish one?

Stop taking this so personally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Close Lewis and split the kids between WSHS, Edison, and Hayfield. Move some kids out of WSHS to Robinson and Lake Braddock to accommodate. Done!

West Springfield doesn’t want Lewis to come to West Springfield any more than West Springfield wants to go to Lewis. They want kids from Annandale or Edison sent to Lewis instead. The issue is that West Springfield is the school near Lewis sitting with almost 2800 kids, not Annandale or Lewis.

I don’t doubt there are things that need to happen to make Lewis more attractive, in particular getting rid of IB, offering a full menu of AP courses, and de-emphasizing the social justice program, which is of marginal benefit. But the school literally is an FCPS asset, and closing it would create more problems that it would solve.