Reply to McLean High School Leadership updates

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]At McLean High School, many excellent teachers have left recently. As I know two well-respected Math teachers and one AP English teacher. A lot of complains from students and parents. And Principal has decided to remove the Chinese Language program completely in Mclean High. [/quote]

Are these retirements or quitting to go elsewhere?  There is an excellent math teacher leaving Longfellow but that's not because of an administration issue; she's done her 30+ years of teaching and genuinely wants to retire.  I think it's important to note whether this is due to something Ms. Jones has done or is doing, or if it's just regular attrition.

[b]The one issue I have with Ms. Jones is the downplay on the academic stress. I understand why she keeps harping on the issue as being unsustainable and a mental health issue for teenagers, but on multiple occasions my DD has pointed out that preaching about a bad system doesn't help the students manage their stress levels. That McLean should be putting in scaffolding to help the students. Real, serious scaffolding. You want to minimize impact, don't sit there and tell kids to jump off the train moving 100mph because that is the design.  Give them the tools to ride it safely. Acknowledgment without action is not leadership, it's just a speech that doesn't really sit well with discerning kids.[/b]

The Chinese Language program elimination is also worth addressing separately. Removing a language program entirely is a significant academic and cultural loss, and it deserves a real explanation. Which students does this affect? Were families consulted? Were alternatives offered? These are the questions a principal should be answering proactively, not leaving parents to piece together from hallway conversations.
[/quote] Chesterbrook has Chinese for the FLES program and Longfellow offers it.  I would expect those students who continued with Chinese in HS would be the most affected.  I don’t know how many students that is.  [/quote]

What kind of scaffolding are you looking for? Maybe I'm not understanding your point, but the school isn't responsible for students taking AP classes they aren't ready for or for students taking too many APs (which is the main issue). Parents and students select their classes. [/quote]

The school absolutely has a role here. Enrollment controls are used in other districts in the US where an A in pre-calc is required before AP Calc, capping simultaneous APs, mandatory counselor sign-off, dedicated AP study halls or peer tutoring built into the schedule (not just offered as an afterthought), mandatory study skills course for any student enrolled in 3+ APs, teacher-flagging system: if two AP teachers flag the same student as struggling, a counselor intervenes proactively rather than waiting for the student to self-report.  Ms. Jones could put real policy behind her words instead of leaving it entirely to 15-year-olds and their ambitious parents to self-regulate.  She may not be liked for some of these decisions, but it would set her up for making real positive changes to the lives of the students at Mclean.  It would cause a shift and could actually move the student population in the direction that she is preaching.[/quote]

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