The sky is falling in the DMV

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in FCPS and the sky isn’t falling here.

I do think it’s falling in arlington, though. They seem to be a mess without a plan. And most of my friends there have hated the iPad policy.

I have no experience with Arlington but I do have a coworker whose son is in Arlington and he constantly complains that there's not enough opportunities for bright students there. Not sure if there's a gifted program there, or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in APS and I think there is reason for significant concern about the big picture.

Yes this is why we left APS two years ago for Loudoun County.

The sentiment and anxiety of people I talk to who are still in APS (and not on this forum) reminds me of the chatter when our kids were in 1st grade in ACPS, which heralded an exodus from there, too.

The problems with crowding in APS are real. It's still an excellent education, and the cohort is by and large high-acheiving. But the luster is gone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't see the sky falling PP because of where you live.

How so?

Because you are in Clarksburg. Duh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't see the sky falling PP because of where you live.

How so?

Because you are in Clarksburg. Duh.

Nope, not getting it. We're still part of MoCo. Expand your response please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system. It's all about the students. The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

MCPS BOE voted to favor diversity when reworking school boundaries so I expect they'll to start bussing this population into the W schools to end the segregation.

You expect them to do this, or is this a real proposal? I don't follow MCPS close enough, so I'm not trying to be snarky.

Wrong. Please stop spreading lies. There are 4 factors that are evaluated when looking at boundary assignments. There is not one preference over the others.

Not true - they voted to make diversity the #1 criteria.

Sorry, but you are incorrect. What they voted on was to reword part of the demographic characteristics factor to say "Options should especially strive to create a diverse student body."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system. It's all about the students. The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

MCPS BOE voted to favor diversity when reworking school boundaries so I expect they'll to start bussing this population into the W schools to end the segregation.

You expect them to do this, or is this a real proposal? I don't follow MCPS close enough, so I'm not trying to be snarky.

Wrong. Please stop spreading lies. There are 4 factors that are evaluated when looking at boundary assignments. There is not one preference over the others.

Not true - they voted to make diversity the #1 criteria.

Sorry, but you are incorrect. What they voted on was to reword part of the demographic characteristics factor to say "Options should especially strive to create a diverse student body."

it is NOT the #1 criteria. There is no #1 criteria. There are 4 factors, one of them being demographics and not one of the factors take priority over the others. Do your research.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system. It's all about the students. The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

MCPS BOE voted to favor diversity when reworking school boundaries so I expect they'll to start bussing this population into the W schools to end the segregation.

You expect them to do this, or is this a real proposal? I don't follow MCPS close enough, so I'm not trying to be snarky.

Wrong. Please stop spreading lies. There are 4 factors that are evaluated when looking at boundary assignments. There is not one preference over the others.

Not true - they voted to make diversity the #1 criteria.

Sorry, but you are incorrect. What they voted on was to reword part of the demographic characteristics factor to say "Options should especially strive to create a diverse student body."

it is NOT the #1 criteria. There is no #1 criteria. There are 4 factors, one of them being demographics and not one of the factors take priority over the others. Do your research.

No the vote resulted in diversity taking precedence over the other factors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system. It's all about the students. The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

MCPS BOE voted to favor diversity when reworking school boundaries so I expect they'll to start bussing this population into the W schools to end the segregation.

You expect them to do this, or is this a real proposal? I don't follow MCPS close enough, so I'm not trying to be snarky.

Wrong. Please stop spreading lies. There are 4 factors that are evaluated when looking at boundary assignments. There is not one preference over the others.

Not true - they voted to make diversity the #1 criteria.

Sorry, but you are incorrect. What they voted on was to reword part of the demographic characteristics factor to say "Options should especially strive to create a diverse student body."

it is NOT the #1 criteria. There is no #1 criteria. There are 4 factors, one of them being demographics and not one of the factors take priority over the others. Do your research.

No the vote resulted in diversity taking precedence over the other factors.

Please send a link. You. are. wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system. It's all about the students. The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

MCPS BOE voted to favor diversity when reworking school boundaries so I expect they'll to start bussing this population into the W schools to end the segregation.

You expect them to do this, or is this a real proposal? I don't follow MCPS close enough, so I'm not trying to be snarky.

Wrong. Please stop spreading lies. There are 4 factors that are evaluated when looking at boundary assignments. There is not one preference over the others.

Not true - they voted to make diversity the #1 criteria.

Sorry, but you are incorrect. What they voted on was to reword part of the demographic characteristics factor to say "Options should especially strive to create a diverse student body."

it is NOT the #1 criteria. There is no #1 criteria. There are 4 factors, one of them being demographics and not one of the factors take priority over the others. Do your research.

No the vote resulted in diversity taking precedence over the other factors.

Please send a link. You. are. wrong.

Agree that this is wrong. I have attended multiple boundary study meetings with MCPS staff this year, and they have consistently said that none of the four factors is prioritized over the others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system. It's all about the students. The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

MCPS BOE voted to favor diversity when reworking school boundaries so I expect they'll to start bussing this population into the W schools to end the segregation.

You expect them to do this, or is this a real proposal? I don't follow MCPS close enough, so I'm not trying to be snarky.

Wrong. Please stop spreading lies. There are 4 factors that are evaluated when looking at boundary assignments. There is not one preference over the others.

Not true - they voted to make diversity the #1 criteria.

Sorry, but you are incorrect. What they voted on was to reword part of the demographic characteristics factor to say "Options should especially strive to create a diverse student body."

it is NOT the #1 criteria. There is no #1 criteria. There are 4 factors, one of them being demographics and not one of the factors take priority over the others. Do your research.

No the vote resulted in diversity taking precedence over the other factors.

Please send a link. You. are. wrong.

Agree that this is wrong. I have attended multiple boundary study meetings with MCPS staff this year, and they have consistently said that none of the four factors is prioritized over the others.

DP.. I can't find the link now, but there was a board meeting where they past a resolution where they would look at adjacent boundaries for diversity balancing, when looking drawing new boundaries. That does seem to indicate that they are putting a bit more importance on diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system. It's all about the students. The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

MCPS BOE voted to favor diversity when reworking school boundaries so I expect they'll to start bussing this population into the W schools to end the segregation.

You expect them to do this, or is this a real proposal? I don't follow MCPS close enough, so I'm not trying to be snarky.

Wrong. Please stop spreading lies. There are 4 factors that are evaluated when looking at boundary assignments. There is not one preference over the others.

Not true - they voted to make diversity the #1 criteria.

Sorry, but you are incorrect. What they voted on was to reword part of the demographic characteristics factor to say "Options should especially strive to create a diverse student body."

it is NOT the #1 criteria. There is no #1 criteria. There are 4 factors, one of them being demographics and not one of the factors take priority over the others. Do your research.

No the vote resulted in diversity taking precedence over the other factors.

Please send a link. You. are. wrong.

Agree that this is wrong. I have attended multiple boundary study meetings with MCPS staff this year, and they have consistently said that none of the four factors is prioritized over the others.

DP.. I can't find the link now, but there was a board meeting where they past a reso20%lution where they would look at adjacent boundaries for diversity balancing, when looking drawing new boundaries. That does seem to indicate that they are putting a bit more importance on diversity.

There's too much misinformation going around. Yes, there is a boundary STUDY that is happening right now county-wide to review current boundaries and if it makes sense to shift some of them to help balance demographics. This is just a STUDY. And i agree it is much needed. There is no reason that one school is 65% white with 5% farms and a neighboring one is 45% FARMS with 15% white kids. Any outcome of this study may or may not result in boundary changes for some areas.

As for the 4 factors that we are talking about. These are the 4 factors that MCPS considers when making CURRENT boundary assignment decisions for new schools, etc: facility utilization, demographics, geography, stability over time. NONE of these weigh more than the others and in most cases, not every factor will be met.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress.

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system. It's all about the students. The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

MCPS BOE voted to favor diversity when reworking school boundaries so I expect they'll to start bussing this population into the W schools to end the segregation.

You expect them to do this, or is this a real proposal? I don't follow MCPS close enough, so I'm not trying to be snarky.

Wrong. Please stop spreading lies. There are 4 factors that are evaluated when looking at boundary assignments. There is not one preference over the others.

Not true - they voted to make diversity the #1 criteria.

Sorry, but you are incorrect. What they voted on was to reword part of the demographic characteristics factor to say "Options should especially strive to create a diverse student body."

it is NOT the #1 criteria. There is no #1 criteria. There are 4 factors, one of them being demographics and not one of the factors take priority over the others. Do your research.

No the vote resulted in diversity taking precedence over the other factors.

Please send a link. You. are. wrong.

Agree that this is wrong. I have attended multiple boundary study meetings with MCPS staff this year, and they have consistently said that none of the four factors is prioritized over the others.

DP.. I can't find the link now, but there was a board meeting where they past a resolution where they would look at adjacent boundaries for diversity balancing, when looking drawing new boundaries. That does seem to indicate that they are putting a bit more importance on diversity.

That was an edit to the wording in the Geography factor, allowing the options to include areas from adjacent clusters. It is a separate factor from demographic characteristics. And all factors carry the same weight.

[Anonymous]

The meeting was either January 8th, or 16th, where the board voted on the boundary assessment. Anyone there, or anyone who watched online (live or at a later date), saw the Board members discussing that it is not about bussing, nor will it be about busing, nor will they require long bus rides.

But some people like to stir the pot, just to see others get mad. And others hear a rumor, and believe it's true. Go watch the meeting. And stop the hate, the fear, and the rumors.

[Anonymous]

In FCPS class sizes for K-3 are huge. Big problem!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are in APS and I think there is reason for significant concern about the big picture.

Yes this is why we left APS two years ago for Loudoun County.

The sentiment and anxiety of people I talk to who are still in APS (and not on this forum) reminds me of the chatter when our kids were in 1st grade in ACPS, which heralded an exodus from there, too.

The problems with crowding in APS are real. It's still an excellent education, and the cohort is by and large high-acheiving. But the luster is gone.

This. And concerning that Arlington seems to have no long term plan to manage the explosion in growth of school aged kids. Then add in Amazon. Ten years ago, APS were the UMC creme de le creme kids. But they now have too much of a good thing and no plan to manage it. Plus a sharp divide between the rich kids and poor kids, and strong parent mobilization to keep it segregated by income. That’s a huge concern. You can’t create a high school out of thin air. They seem to be banking on enough parents being concerned that they send their kids to private or move. I’m watching from FCPS, so maybe I’m missing something. But, from a distance it looks like APS is a slow motion train wreck no one is bothering to stop.