Key Middle School -Springfield - High Shool Plans?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure it would be legal for them to do away with the chorus program from an equity point of view. And just one language? They are going the wrong direction.

Their website shows 3 music teachers, one is listed as an itinerant instructor. Wouldn't that mean he is part time/shared by schools.?

Yes, this year there was a part time chorus teacher, a part time orchestra teacher, and the band teacher taught at some feeder elementaries as well as Key.

The principal said that enrollment numbers for next year don't justify this many elective teachers.

There will be one section of French II next year for kids to continue. No new students will start French.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure it would be legal for them to do away with the chorus program from an equity point of view. And just one language? They are going the wrong direction.

Their website shows 3 music teachers, one is listed as an itinerant instructor. Wouldn't that mean he is part time/shared by schools.?

Yes, this year there was a part time chorus teacher, a part time orchestra teacher, and the band teacher taught at some feeder elementaries as well as Key.

The principal said that enrollment numbers for next year don't justify this many elective teachers.

There will be one section of French II next year for kids to continue. No new students will start French.

So you are saying there is no section of chorus next year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure it would be legal for them to do away with the chorus program from an equity point of view. And just one language? They are going the wrong direction.

Their website shows 3 music teachers, one is listed as an itinerant instructor. Wouldn't that mean he is part time/shared by schools.?

Yes, this year there was a part time chorus teacher, a part time orchestra teacher, and the band teacher taught at some feeder elementaries as well as Key.

The principal said that enrollment numbers for next year don't justify this many elective teachers.

There will be one section of French II next year for kids to continue. No new students will start French.

Do you work at Lee?

[Anonymous]

This is at Key. I work at Key.

Lee should still have chorus (I hope), though I imagine enrollment may drop if kids aren't participating in middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is at Key. I work at Key.

Lee should still have chorus (I hope), though I imagine enrollment may drop if kids aren't participating in middle school.

Is this being done because not enough kids are enrolling in chorus (or French) at Key? Is the school enrollment dropping a bunch this year? Certainly this isn't just some random thing the principal is doing or a cost cutting measure.

Are the counselors not doing enough to make students aware of the various course options available or are they not pushing the kids to try new things. Middle school is a perfect time for trying new things. I would actually find chorus to be a class that an English Learner could thrive in (as long as they have some ability to sing).

More and more it seems they just need to shut down Key and Lee and distribute the students elsewhere so that the students can attend schools with more complete course offerings.

I mean, at what point is it not even separate but equal? This looks real ugly for the county.

[Anonymous]

My friend taught at a performing arts high school ( out of state). They had to cancel many of her classes ( drama, dance) because the kids couldn’t read. She spent her year ( as a music educator) teaching remedial reading.
When kids are hopelessly far behind, they don’t get to take the fun classes.

[Anonymous]

The principal decided that anyone who failed an SOL (or was borderline, I forget) has to be enrolled in a support class for English/math. She hired extra math/reading teachers, raised class sizes for everyone, and cut languages/electives.

It really stinks because something like FACS or chorus is fantastic for a struggling/disengaged student to find value in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The principal decided that anyone who failed an SOL (or was borderline, I forget) has to be enrolled in a support class for English/math. She hired extra math/reading teachers, raised class sizes for everyone, and cut languages/electives.

It really stinks because something like FACS or chorus is fantastic for a struggling/disengaged student to find value in school.

But there are only so many hours in the day.

[Anonymous]

I teach at Lee. Because it’s a smaller school, there are more opportunities for leadership and actually making sports teams. We have thriving theater, chorus, and music programs. You can take Spanish, French, and Arabic. We do offer honors, AP, and IB courses. Nationally recognized library program, 1 to 1 computers, all IB candidates received the diploma last year (only school in FCPS to achieve this), the seniors this year received millions of dollars in scholarships and had 65+ students who graduated with 4.0+ GPAs. Test scores are on the rise, not spiraling downward. The ESOL population is shrinking, but ESOL students take ESOL classes until they are proficient enough to take standard or advanced level classes. Lee students are the same as Key students, so it is kind of funny that someone would be okay at Key but think Lee is somehow different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach at Lee. Because it’s a smaller school, there are more opportunities for leadership and actually making sports teams. We have thriving theater, chorus, and music programs. You can take Spanish, French, and Arabic. We do offer honors, AP, and IB courses. Nationally recognized library program, 1 to 1 computers, all IB candidates received the diploma last year (only school in FCPS to achieve this), the seniors this year received millions of dollars in scholarships and had 65+ students who graduated with 4.0+ GPAs. Test scores are on the rise, not spiraling downward. The ESOL population is shrinking, but ESOL students take ESOL classes until they are proficient enough to take standard or advanced level classes. Lee students are the same as Key students, so it is kind of funny that someone would be okay at Key but think Lee is somehow different.

Lee teacher, if you follow dcum you will notice there is one (or a few) posters who really want Lee to be shut down so that A) their neighborhood can be rezoned to South County or West Springfield OR B) 5 elementaries can be rezoned to West Springfield, and the West Springfield feeders rezoned to LB and South County, with the gleeful hope that WS scores will tank. They think this closure is supposed to happen very soon, based off a "gatehouse insider" who posts regularly that Lee is losing accreditation very soon.

None of this is necessarily backed by test scores, facts or the rezoning process that must be followed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach at Lee. Because it’s a smaller school, there are more opportunities for leadership and actually making sports teams. We have thriving theater, chorus, and music programs. You can take Spanish, French, and Arabic. We do offer honors, AP, and IB courses. Nationally recognized library program, 1 to 1 computers, all IB candidates received the diploma last year (only school in FCPS to achieve this), the seniors this year received millions of dollars in scholarships and had 65+ students who graduated with 4.0+ GPAs. Test scores are on the rise, not spiraling downward. The ESOL population is shrinking, but ESOL students take ESOL classes until they are proficient enough to take standard or advanced level classes. Lee students are the same as Key students, so it is kind of funny that someone would be okay at Key but think Lee is somehow different.

Lee teacher, if you follow dcum you will notice there is one (or a few) posters who really want Lee to be shut down so that A) their neighborhood can be rezoned to South County or West Springfield OR B) 5 elementaries can be rezoned to West Springfield, and the West Springfield feeders rezoned to LB and South County, with the gleeful hope that WS scores will tank. They think this closure is supposed to happen very soon, based off a "gatehouse insider" who posts regularly that Lee is losing accreditation very soon.

None of this is necessarily backed by test scores, facts or the rezoning process that must be followed.

how would Lee lose accreditation based on what Lee Teacher has stated above?

[Anonymous]

Lee is definitely not losing accreditation. Sad that this news will make some sad. We were close 3 years ago because of math scores. Happy to report that math scores are up. The bigger issue is on time graduation and drop outs. These are generally issues among ESOL students and not the majority of students at Lee. Student services has been focusing on finding appropriate programs for students at risk to drop out (adult ed, Academy, etc) to stem that tide. Very good work to support all learners at Lee - ID, ESOL, Standard, honors, AP, and IB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach at Lee. Because it’s a smaller school, there are more opportunities for leadership and actually making sports teams. We have thriving theater, chorus, and music programs. You can take Spanish, French, and Arabic. We do offer honors, AP, and IB courses. Nationally recognized library program, 1 to 1 computers, all IB candidates received the diploma last year (only school in FCPS to achieve this), the seniors this year received millions of dollars in scholarships and had 65+ students who graduated with 4.0+ GPAs. Test scores are on the rise, not spiraling downward. The ESOL population is shrinking, but ESOL students take ESOL classes until they are proficient enough to take standard or advanced level classes. Lee students are the same as Key students, so it is kind of funny that someone would be okay at Key but think Lee is somehow different.

Lee has students from a lot more neighborhoods than Key...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach at Lee. Because it’s a smaller school, there are more opportunities for leadership and actually making sports teams. We have thriving theater, chorus, and music programs. You can take Spanish, French, and Arabic. We do offer honors, AP, and IB courses. Nationally recognized library program, 1 to 1 computers, all IB candidates received the diploma last year (only school in FCPS to achieve this), the seniors this year received millions of dollars in scholarships and had 65+ students who graduated with 4.0+ GPAs. Test scores are on the rise, not spiraling downward. The ESOL population is shrinking, but ESOL students take ESOL classes until they are proficient enough to take standard or advanced level classes. Lee students are the same as Key students, so it is kind of funny that someone would be okay at Key but think Lee is somehow different.

Lee teacher, if you follow dcum you will notice there is one (or a few) posters who really want Lee to be shut down so that A) their neighborhood can be rezoned to South County or West Springfield OR B) 5 elementaries can be rezoned to West Springfield, and the West Springfield feeders rezoned to LB and South County, with the gleeful hope that WS scores will tank. They think this closure is supposed to happen very soon, based off a "gatehouse insider" who posts regularly that Lee is losing accreditation very soon.

None of this is necessarily backed by test scores, facts or the rezoning process that must be followed.

how would Lee lose accreditation based on what Lee Teacher has stated above?

That was my point.

But if the Lee teacher is new here, she would not know what the dcum rumor mill has been churning about Lee.

The person(s) who wants Lee to close and the "Gatehouse Insider" are two different people.

The "Gatehouse Insider" says that plans are in the works to close Lee and change it to the IB "TJ" of fcps. According to the self proclaimed insider, Lee's test scores are down and this is the solution being tossed around (Even though Lee's test scores are actually up a bit and also not the lowest in fcps).

The person(s) who really want Lee to close has a pipe dream where Garfield, Crestwood, Lynbrook, Forestdale & Rolling Valley get rezoned to West Springfield, Hunt Valley gets rezoned to South County, Orange Hunt, Sangster & Cardinal Forest get rezoned to LB. In her plan Saratoga gets rezoned to South County and Springfield Estates to Edison or Hayfield. Sometimes she includes Annandale High School in her mix. She always follows it up with a gleeful "And that will make West Springfield property values tank!"

B9th of these posters think it will happen overnight, as in it will be announced as a done deal in June and August all those schools are rezoned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach at Lee. Because it’s a smaller school, there are more opportunities for leadership and actually making sports teams. We have thriving theater, chorus, and music programs. You can take Spanish, French, and Arabic. We do offer honors, AP, and IB courses. Nationally recognized library program, 1 to 1 computers, all IB candidates received the diploma last year (only school in FCPS to achieve this), the seniors this year received millions of dollars in scholarships and had 65+ students who graduated with 4.0+ GPAs. Test scores are on the rise, not spiraling downward. The ESOL population is shrinking, but ESOL students take ESOL classes until they are proficient enough to take standard or advanced level classes. Lee students are the same as Key students, so it is kind of funny that someone would be okay at Key but think Lee is somehow different.

Lee teacher, if you follow dcum you will notice there is one (or a few) posters who really want Lee to be shut down so that A) their neighborhood can be rezoned to South County or West Springfield OR B) 5 elementaries can be rezoned to West Springfield, and the West Springfield feeders rezoned to LB and South County, with the gleeful hope that WS scores will tank. They think this closure is supposed to happen very soon, based off a "gatehouse insider" who posts regularly that Lee is losing accreditation very soon.

None of this is necessarily backed by test scores, facts or the rezoning process that must be followed.

how would Lee lose accreditation based on what Lee Teacher has stated above?

According to rumor, Lee is in serious danger of losing accreditation solely because the adult ESOL population has been consolidated at Lee. It's not because of the regular Lee high school students. And I have no idea how accurate the rumor is.