Class sizes in FCPS- what is the real deal? (ES)

[Anonymous]

Oh. Maybe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does Arlington have a Taj Mahal like Gatehouse with tons of administration?

You're a funny one. Comparing a system with a $415million budget to one with a $2.5Billion budget is quite silly.

[Anonymous]

Fairfax does tend to overdo itself with it's headquarters. Prince George's County has been in an old school for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax does tend to overdo itself with it's headquarters. Prince George's County has been in an old school for years.

Huh? You write as if FCPS has had several headquarter and overdoes it each time. Have you actually set foot inside Gatehouse? I have and I have also been to the headquarters in PGPS. I've taught in both counties. Believe me, Gatehouse is no Taj Majal as a PP described it. It's a nice professional building. I didn't see any gold-plated faucets in the bathrooms. The difference between the two systems on me as a teacher is that I have felt like I was treated more as a professional in FCPS.

[Anonymous]

The taj mahal in Fairfax typically refers to Fairfax County's headquarters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does Arlington have a Taj Mahal like Gatehouse with tons of administration?

You're a funny one. Comparing a system with a $415million budget to one with a $2.5Billion budget is quite silly.

And I believe the first poster is erroneously referring to the Fairfax county GOVERNMENT Center. Yes, that looks like the Taj Mahal. The FCPS administration building is an office building that looks like any office building in the area.

[Anonymous]

Have you ever been inside? It is a luxury building. Parking lot has lights indicating spaces. This is outrageous when we have kids in trailers. And, remember Dale wanted a second building at same site.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you ever been inside? It is a luxury building. Parking lot has lights indicating spaces. This is outrageous when we have kids in trailers. And, remember Dale wanted a second building at same site.

What's outrageous is that clearly you don't get out much.

--FCPS teacher who has taught in a trailer and is fine with Gatehouse, just an office building

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, we have a new multifamily development going up near our SFH neighborhood. Our community has been assured that this will not affect our already overcrowded school.

No one tells people in SFH neighborhoods that new multifamily developments will have no effect on local schools. FCPS does an analysis as to how many students are expected to come from the new developments, and the county then seeks a proffer/contribution from the developers to cover the anticipated expense. The challenge is that the "yields" may be higher than the historical data might suggest, as more people with children live in multi-family housing.

Another challenge is when predictions about future school enrollments are based on the number of live births in various areas, when some neighborhoods get a lot of families who move in with older kids.

This is hitting the nail on the head. When the county passes info on the expected number of children in particular new construction/renovations on to FCPS, the ratio is the same across the county (they obviously have different ratios for different types of housing). We have seen in certain parts of the county that these ratios are way off. For instance, in one apartment building, 300 units, everyone in the county is told that there will be 35 ES aged children (just an example - no idea what the actual number would be). For most of the county this holds true. But inside the beltway, out in Herndon area, and down the Rte 1 corridor, the number of children in this newly built/renovated apartment building is closer to 100. Since the county only does county wide averages, not magisterial district or anything small than county-wide predictions, FCPS does not receive accurate info, and no effort is made on their part to adjust this ratio because they are reliant on the data that Fairfax County provides to them (at least that's what I've been told). This leads to gross underestimates of children in areas where the schools themselves KNOW there will be more kids coming in. Understandably it's difficult to add this additional layer in of analysis, but if the information provided to FCPS IS more accurate, then their planning processes will be better able to keep up.

[Anonymous]

You can get a feel for areas where more housing is planned by looking at the impact statements.

http://www.fcps.edu/fts/impacts/elementary.shtml

Obviously schools near Tysons and Dunn Loring like Westbriar and Shrevewood are looking at more students. But new housing isn't always the prime factor. Obviously the enrollment at Bailey's EShas been skyrocketing, but it's not because of new developments. Instead, it's just more kids in old garden apartments built a long time ago.

[Anonymous]

Baileys though has to do with the magnet program and probably the proximity to TJ as well. Some of those things can be tracked too.

[Anonymous]

You can get a feel for areas where more housing is planned by looking at the impact statements.

http://www.fcps.edu/fts/impacts/elementary.shtml

way outdated. New const going up near my school. No impact statement to include my school or other neighboring schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Have you ever been inside? It is a luxury building. Parking lot has lights indicating spaces. This is outrageous when we have kids in trailers. And, remember Dale wanted a second building at same site.


What's outrageous is that clearly you don't get out much.

--FCPS teacher who has taught in a trailer and is fine with Gatehouse, just an office building

Strange statement. You must have moved out of the trailer and into Gatehouse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Have you ever been inside? It is a luxury building. Parking lot has lights indicating spaces. This is outrageous when we have kids in trailers. And, remember Dale wanted a second building at same site.


What's outrageous is that clearly you don't get out much.

--FCPS teacher who has taught in a trailer and is fine with Gatehouse, just an office building

Strange statement. You must have moved out of the trailer and into Gatehouse.

Actually, no. Still teaching in a school and loving it. Just try not to sweat things like whether there are lighted parking spaces in an office building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Have you ever been inside? It is a luxury building. Parking lot has lights indicating spaces. This is outrageous when we have kids in trailers. And, remember Dale wanted a second building at same site.


What's outrageous is that clearly you don't get out much.

--FCPS teacher who has taught in a trailer and is fine with Gatehouse, just an office building

Strange statement. You must have moved out of the trailer and into Gatehouse.

Actually, no. Still teaching in a school and loving it. Just try not to sweat things like whether there are lighted parking spaces in an office building.

NP here- the point that is as parents we don't want to see OUR money spent on frivolous luxury items like this (be real- how many garages have lighted parking spaces)- I'd rather reduce class sizes for my kids education. Your opinion as a teacher has little to do with how taxpayers fund OUR children's education- yet in this case, "luxury" items for administration.