Reply to School Boundaries and "One Fairfax"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]As a taxpayer, I would rather have tax money "bussed" to schools that need additional resources and have them spend it in ways that will help the populations that need it, including parenting classes, ESOL for parents, night school, whatever. Break the cycle in the communities that suffer from the cycle.
[/quote]

This.
It's a lot easier to get parents involved if they are comfortable in the environment.[/quote]

+1. [/quote]

Now you guys are finally getting it!
Take a page out of the North Arlington Democrat playbook
Here are your key phrases
“Respect immigrant communities”
“allow 40% FRL schools to continue to be vibrant”
“Don’t tear communities apart”
“ keep communities together to honor them”
“ it’s a micro-aggression to point out the achievement gap”
“ it’s better to keep higher needs populations together, so they more effectively receive wrap around services”
Also:
You can also go down the environmental aspects of busing, and how it’s terrible for our carbon footprint.

You don’t have to make a conservative argument. North Arlington has practically written a bible of “progressive” ones.

[/quote]

It's better than busing.  Busing does not work.[/quote]

Clearly it does if you live in a boundary island or in Langley or go to TJ in Fairfax. I also just saw a special on magnet schools that are being created in inner city schools to encourage bussing of suburban kids to cities as  the best hope for these inner city schools to improve.[/quote]

I have no idea about the research but I could see that there might be a difference if the people being bused are choosing to be bused as opposed to people being bused just to balance a district.

The difference, to me, is that parents who are interested in a magnet program/language immersion program/STEM program are invested in their child's education and intend to follow their child's progress and development. The level of parental involvement and interest will likely lead to a child who is completing homework and assignments and engaged in learning because it is expected of the child.

A child who is bused to balance a district racially or SES wise might very well be a child whose parents are not invested or involved in the child's education. That could be because the parents are not educated and don't know how to help their child. It could be that the parents are struggling and working a great deal and cannot be invested because they have jobs that don't allow them to miss work. It could be that the parents are battling mental illness or addiction and cannot be invested in their child because they are too ill. Whatever the reason, the lack of parental involvement and investment is likely to be problematic even at a higher performing school. It could be that some kids are able to grasp the opportunities offered without their parents help, there are kids like that, but those kids are the minority.

The larger issue is not how to disperse the kids but how to help parents invest in their kids education. And that is a problem that has existed for a long time that we are still struggling to find an answer for. We see it in the families that have a family cycle of dropping out of school. We know that immigrant kids have a higher drop out rate, there is an article on this problem in Montgomery County on WTOP today, due to language issues and the lack of earlier education.

They are not easy problems but I doubt that busing is the solution.

Correct me if I am wrong, but FCPS only buses kids to TJ but they do not bus kids to magnet schools or language immersion schools. I know the kids who attend the language immersion program at my kids ES who are out of boundary are responsible for their child's transportation. They are not bused to the school by FCPS. [/quote]

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