Reply to Are Fairfax County Alexandria schools better than Alexandria City schools?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Based on a comment from the PP, I read the Coalition of the Silence complaint about FCPS and the TJ admissions process.  It didn't so much lead me to think that there's a huge disparity among schools as much as there's economic/racial discrimination.  What's particularly concerning is the parent group that argues so strongly and influentially for the "right" kind of student at TJ - all the while increasing numbers of students there need math remediation.  What I take away from it isn't so much that the poor/diverse schools are bad but that there are still racial/economic barriers to academic achievement.  If you haven't read the complaint, you should http://coalitionofthesilence.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/fairfax-complaint-7-23.pdf [/quote]

Which parent group are you referring to?  FCAG argues that more emphasis should be placed on the TJ admissions test and math GPAs than is currently the case, and that doing so will reduce the number of students who require math remediation at TJ.  COS/NAACP is worried that, if this ever happens, the number of black and Hispanic students at TJ will decline further, so it's contending that FCPS needs to spend more time (and more time usually means more money) beefing up advanced academic programs at the elementary and middle school levels and enrolling more black and Hispanic students in those programs.

Either way, you can't read the COS/NAACP complaint without seeing that they are now on the record as asserting that there are "enormous disparities in the quality of Fairfax County schools and the programs offered in those schools."  The crux of their argument appears to be that the impact of attending inferior schools is borne primarily by black and Hispanic students, as a result of which such students are underrepresented at TJ.  You may disagree with that argument, but they specifically asserted that FCPS is now operating a "network of separate and unequal schools," not just that black and Hispanic students are discriminated against at schools where other students excel.   I understand that white parents with kids at those schools may not like to see the COS and NAACP portray them negatively, but that's what they've done.  Whether they are shooting themselves in the foot in the process is a different issue.   [/quote]

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