How did Herndon/Westfield HS go from top to bottom?
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Anonymous
Moving poor kids away to a school that is not accessible is counterproductive. This is not about the teachers, it is about instruction for the students. It is key that the school be as accessible to them as possible--and to the families. How do I know? I was a teacher of kids in extreme poverty. It takes hard work. Support from the administration is helpful, as well. But,Franklyou don't shift kids around in order to help the teachers. I began my teaching career with extremely poor kids. I learned a lot that helped me in later years when I taught in more economically diverse situations--though never in an affluent school. But, I likely would have been a more effective teacher in that impoverished school if I had had some experience under my belt. There was a huge learning curve for a beginning teacher who had only experienced training in middle class schools. I suspect most people on DCUM have no idea what is needed. But, I know that what is not needed is shifting hundreds of kids around. |
Anonymous
| Some (many?) problems are outside the scope of the school district such as housing and housing development. |
Anonymous
This is the big problem. |
Anonymous
And, don't forget the open border. |
Anonymous
You can’t mean the one around Langley? |
Anonymous
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Schools with high FARMs/high ESOL populations need special programs to address those issues. It is not as simple as smaller class sizes. I know that people have said that there are suppose to be programs but if there are, they are not working.
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Anonymous
+1 1. Routine and consistency are key. Kids must be in school to progress under these circumstances. Go read the thread on the FCPS calendar. How do you think families with limited English, limited free time, and limited education are going to figure this all out. Kids need to be in school. Truancy is a serious problem with FARMS and ESOL--this calendar makes it worse. But, our SB members care about EQUITY. They don't even know what it means. 2. There should be intensive English instruction for new arrivals and realistic benchmarks should also be set. A student who has hardly any education in any language is going to need something different from ESOL kids who have been in FCPS schools since K. (Herndon has added 31 students since September. I'm guessing most are new to US.) 3. The best way out of poverty is a job. That is no just a saying, it is a fact. We need trade schools. |
Anonymous
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^^ "The best way out of poverty is a job. That is no just a saying, it is a fact. We need trade schools."
Now that's considered privilege. |
Anonymous
| My kid goes to Herndon. She is taking a lot of AP classes. Her classmates are focused. None have time to mess around during lessons. She says there are enough AP classes offered at her school. One main benefit is that she can walk to school and her friends all live close by. Also, before she could drive, pick-up after sports practices was super convenient. The new additions are great as well. In the end, kids with similar grades will probably be admitted to similar colleges. |
Anonymous
+1 Not a Herndon parent, but this is true of any school with great diversity of academic ability. You end up with two schools--or, in some cases, three. Sure, there may not be all the other elective options that a school like Langley offers, but the bottom line is that if your child is on a college prep track, he really only has one elective. If the student is headed to college, foreign language is really a requirement. |
Anonymous
Local government forced to deal with federal issues. |
Anonymous
| The Great Falls kids left Herndon too for Langley |
Anonymous
Glad my high achieving Herndon kid will be exposed to students of different backgrounds and economic levels. The world is not a sanitized bubble some fcps parents want for their kids. |
Anonymous
No kidding. |
Anonymous
My kid is a Langley grad and friends at college with a Herndon grad. |