Did ACPS remove entire classrooms at your school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our PTA is fundraising now. I asked them when they were going to speak up for our school in front of the board? I have not heard back. I commend the Samuel Tucker and Patrick Henry PTA presidents for speaking up before the board. That type of advocacy is what we need in ACPS. We really need to organize as parents. Do you know if PTAC, the PTA council for the city is addressing this at all?

Considering who the head of PTAC is this year, that's a no. She's a huge ACPS suck up. She won't take a stand, at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh and at Brooks we have empty classrooms sitting vacant while kids in other schools sit on the floor without a desk. That is not what I want to here. Who ever did the redistricting a few years ago did a terrible job. Mount Vernon Community School is overcrowded. Some of those kids could go to Brooks, Cora Kelley or George Mason. Some MacArthur kids could go to Brooks, Jefferson Houston or George Mason. The way the districting is is weird.

The goal of redistricting was to lift the scores at the black schools. It had nothig to do with what made sense to the taxpaying citizens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our PTA is fundraising now. I asked them when they were going to speak up for our school in front of the board? I have not heard back. I commend the Samuel Tucker and Patrick Henry PTA presidents for speaking up before the board. That type of advocacy is what we need in ACPS. We really need to organize as parents. Do you know if PTAC, the PTA council for the city is addressing this at all?

You should do a search for PTAC on this forum. They are the last people who care about parent concerns. They refused to criticize anything about ACPS during the pandemic including ACPS' inability to bring back special needs kids. In fact, they signed an op-ed (it was clearly authored by an ACPS junior communications staffer) only praising ACPS. The then head of the group (I think he's still on the board) was seen on private school open house zooms during the same time period. I don't fault anyone looking for open schools for their kids but not when you enabled ACPS' inaction.

The group exists only to give cover to ACPS. They are all yes people.

But do a search. Eye opening stuff about people who lead PTAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our PTA is fundraising now. I asked them when they were going to speak up for our school in front of the board? I have not heard back. I commend the Samuel Tucker and Patrick Henry PTA presidents for speaking up before the board. That type of advocacy is what we need in ACPS. We really need to organize as parents. Do you know if PTAC, the PTA council for the city is addressing this at all?

Considering who the head of PTAC is this year, that's a no. She's a huge ACPS suck up. She won't take a stand, at all.

That's putting it mildly.

[Anonymous]

PP Where are kids sitting on the floor without a desk?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our PTA is fundraising now. I asked them when they were going to speak up for our school in front of the board? I have not heard back. I commend the Samuel Tucker and Patrick Henry PTA presidents for speaking up before the board. That type of advocacy is what we need in ACPS. We really need to organize as parents. Do you know if PTAC, the PTA council for the city is addressing this at all?

Considering who the head of PTAC is this year, that's a no. She's a huge ACPS suck up. She won't take a stand, at all.

That's putting it mildly.

No kidding. She’s the one who got banned from her kid’s elementary school. I live near her. She’s literally nuts and not in a fun way. I cannot understand how ethically she’s allowed to run PTAC. She’s been discussed on DCUM before.

[Anonymous]

Everyone always talks about the PTAC president getting banned. How is she allowed to volunteer if she did these things?

I heard Patrick Henry and some other WestvEnd schools kids didn't have enough desks.

[Anonymous]

New parent. Can someone explain PTAC to me? It's a council of ACPS PTAs?

[Anonymous]

West End School - we have enough desks - maybe took a few days to get them over but ACPS has enough desks.

[Anonymous]

At times, Alexandria is like looking through the looking glass into an alternate world.

Yes, the parent group in town (PTAC) rarely, if ever, advocates for parents. There was a rape of a 14 year old in a school bathroom and the child was rushed to the emergency room, parents weren't told but only one parent showed up at the next School Board meeting. PTAC, naturally, was no where to be found and I doubt they cover it in their upcoming "safety forum". Kids and teachers from elementary school on are encouraged and pressured into walk out on all sorts of issues but not on the rape of a child in a school bathroom.

The school board chair doesn't send her kids to the schools and is never criticized for it. Establishment parents bully other parents who want a decent school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone always talks about the PTAC president getting banned. How is she allowed to volunteer if she did these things?

I heard Patrick Henry and some other WestvEnd schools kids didn't have enough desks.

She posted on Facebook years ago about how proud she was of her son for punching another kid when that other kid had made a remark about his mother being overweight. I remember reading it because we were “Facebook friends” and thinking that’s probably not the thing to write on fb. I think her son was in 4th or 5th grade at the time.

She’s a complete suck up to ACPS, the school board, city council and the mayor. She’s wound up pretty tight. There is zero chance she will advocate, ask, push for or support ANYTHING that is remotely in conflict of the ACPS M.O.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone always talks about the PTAC president getting banned. How is she allowed to volunteer if she did these things?

I heard Patrick Henry and some other WestvEnd schools kids didn't have enough desks.

She posted on Facebook years ago about how proud she was of her son for punching another kid when that other kid had made a remark about his mother being overweight. I remember reading it because we were “Facebook friends” and thinking that’s probably not the thing to write on fb. I think her son was in 4th or 5th grade at the time.

She’s a complete suck up to ACPS, the school board, city council and the mayor. She’s wound up pretty tight. There is zero chance she will advocate, ask, push for or support ANYTHING that is remotely in conflict of the ACPS M.O.

This woman being allowed to be the head of PTAC (or really having any connection to schools) illustrates perfectly the complete disregard there is for schools, parents and ultimately kids in Alexandria. The arrogance of this person promoting a safety event disgusts me.

The fact that ACPS holds this person out as an example of parents is insulting. They must be so fragile if they are completely unwilling to face real parents and keep using their PTAC flunkies as cover.

[Anonymous]

How does one end up serving on the board of PTAC? Is there a nomination or election process?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does one end up serving on the board of PTAC? Is there a nomination or election process?

You can look at the bylaws on their website for the process. But the reality is that its a clique that is part of Alexandria's political establishment. For example (and I don't know how this isn't a conflict) last years PTAC treasurer also served as campaign treasurer for Ignacio's school board campaign. There is no way that anyone who expresses even the slightest criticism of ACPS would be allowed on the board.

[Anonymous]

I just read that two schools got new classrooms to help with over crowding. 1 in first grade and 1 in kindergarten does anyone know which schools?