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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’m new to APS and just kind of joined every education group I could to get up to speed on WTF is going on with the district. (Best district in the area? Failing district going downhill? It’s so hard to tell based on who you talk to!)

If you are part of APE, in particular— do you align with some of the more strident conservative voices?  I’m in favor of keeping kids in schools.  I think a meaningful equity strategy can’t be predicated on changing grading practices.  I want textbooks.  I agree, in principle, with many of the things they have pushed for publicly— but their online presence makes me VERY uncomfortable.  I can’t tell if a couple people post ridiculous things and no one else engages with them bc it’s not worth it, or because everyone agrees.

I don’t really feel at home on AEM, though, either. It feels like there’s a lot of history or other tensions percolating that I don’t have historical context on — and where, for example, questioning the approach to the APS equity proposal wouldn’t be welcomed. But maybe I’m wrong on that.

Is there a middle ground somewhere?  Is that the Smart Restart group?  Or just like… the school PTA?  I need like the remedial education breakdown of the social dynamics of these groups. I’m clearly terrible at parsing it myself.

[/quote]

OP, sounds like you are parsing pretty well.
AEM used to be a more useful forum for asking questions and getting answers about anything school related.  Over the past few years, it has entrenched itself as an echo chamber of self-righteous,most politically-correct voices who are very quick -- very, very quick -- to accuse, chastise, belittle, and mock anyone who offers a different point of view or is interpreted as taking a different view even when they aren't.  They are not keen on nuance and like to make every opposing viewpoint a matter of racism, classism, white privilege.  It is highly unfortunate because it used to be a good place for getting answers to questions (now it seems just a place to post articles and statements on "issues"), to discuss, and to learn.  There are still the occasional "hey does anybody know how I..." questions that are useful.  But you have to be extremely careful how you word anything and hope to avoid unwarranted accusations and belligerent responses.  You are absolutely right about questioning APS' equity policies - or anything about any teacher - on that forum.  Do so at risk of your own peril (being pegged as a racist or Trumper or anti-teacher or privileged if your name makes you white).

We've been in APS for 12 years.  We have experienced a notable decline in the quality of education overall. There are still some outstanding teachers; but overall APS' leadership has decided to adopt an incorrect view and approach toward "equity" which instead lowers expectations of students and favors the least common denominator, rather than maintaining highest standards and expectations and motivating all students to the top.  Leadership's allowance of school-by-school decision-making and resulting inconsistencies across schools; new initiative after new initiative poorly implemented with utter lack of guidance and without proper training of teachers and staff; haphazard implementation of 1:1 digital device program that lacked any forethought whatsoever about how the devices would actually be used in instruction - even after 7 years since implementation; and a school board that lacks any substance or willingness to actually lead; failure to properly plan and prepare for growth and unwillingness to push the County Board to effectively provide sufficient facilities....all these things (and more) have contributed to the rapid decline we've seen.  We have been very unimpressed, rather disappointed, with certain subject area curricula - notably English (general and intensified levels with very limited quantity of reading and writing) and some elective classes in which the substance seems weak and/or irrelevant to the topic or very much not what one would have expected such a class to consist of.  This is mainly at the high school level.  Even though middle school could have done more in the writing department, I think what my kids had to do there was more substantial than what they've been doing in high school so far.

I don't follow or belong to either APE or Smart Restart.  My impression is that the animosity from AEM toward APE in particular is probably improperly over-generalized.  I've seen some of their newsletters and reports on school board meetings and see them (as a group) following a wide range of issues and concerns closely and reporting fairly thoroughly on them.  You can take what you want from what they say.  Unlike others here and on AEM, I've never picked up on the individual names and determined their affiliations with respective groups.  I just know there are a-holes on both ends of the spectrum who spew rudeness toward the other side and it has inhibited a lot of reasonable, moderate folks from participating and many have stopped contributing or even following.

My personal advice would be:  be active in your own kids' activities and talk with their teachers, participate in the PTA, follow issues only to the level it doesn't stress you out unnecessarily because ultimately it won't matter.  Ignorance is bliss.  If you're not satisfied with what you're seeing, work with your individual teachers and school admin.  If your kids just aren't getting what they need, private or move or supplement at home.  That's the Arlington Way.[/quote]

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