Reply to Ashlawn/Kenmore vs. Long Branch/Jefferson

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Reply to "Ashlawn/Kenmore vs. Long Branch/Jefferson"

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[quote=Anonymous]Arlington elementary schools have come a long way. They have a much stronger ELA program that focuses on phonics, phonemic awareness and knowledge building. Some schools still have issues with the leadership and some of the teachers, but as far as I know Ashlawn and Long Branch are fine. Arlington high schools are good as well. The weak link is middle school. They do not do enough writing and the academics are not challenging enough, even in the advanced classes they introduced. There has been a change in the Virginia ELA and social studies standards that have made expectations higher, but that will take a while to implement. The ELA office is excellent but they have to push the schools and the super intendent along to do better and its been tough. There are also a lot of behavioral issues, bullying, drugs etc. This is in all middle schools throughout the area not only Arlington and seems more pronounced post covid. Based on what I know from teachers and the central office, I am considering pulling out my kids for middle school and taking them to private, and them bringing them back for high school.  Regarding the fights PP mentioned in Kenmore, they definitely exist in Jefferson as well. My friend pulled out her daughter after 6th grade in Jefferson because of the fighting and the drug use. Her daughter wasn't being bullied and wasn't involved in any fighting but it was still affecting her in that it was an overall bad atmosphere. There were good teachers and your kid can mostly avoid that drama but why does it exist in the first place? Also another complaint I heard (and this is from a friend with a son in Dorothy Hamm) is that kids are on their phones all the time. They passed some rule now where you can't have phones in the class room but it is difficult to enforce since you still can use your phones in the hallway and during lunch. The cell phones contribute to online bullying, increase in porn usage and then an over all atmosphere where kids aren't really socializing with each other. As far as I understand Dorthothy Hamm implemented this rule the last academic year, so maybe this year things have improved? [/quote]

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