Reply to Hearing Testimony on FCPS Proposed CIP

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]^^^ Rezoning and distributing those low performing schools into neighboring schools does not work.  It just creates a domino effect where where high performing families move out, creating two or three low performing schools where there was once only one. It is a domino effect.

They need to thing in a different way with Lee instead of rezoning. That has been proven over and over to not work and just creates more low schools.

Most of those kids are not on the VA tech track. A large percentage of Lee's student body will probably go into trades type careers (something we need as a society).  They should do away with the failed IB program at Lee and switch to only AP, so higher achieving and tansitional students can pick classes a la carte.

Then they need to bring more academy classes into that school, perhaps soliciting corporate involvement, to give those kids real life skills in technology and trades that can translate well into job and life skills after graduation. This will meet the needs of the students at Lee.

IB obviously is not meeting their needs, even remotely. The traditional fcps model is not either as evidenced by their test scores.  AP will provide a place for academically minded kids, and quality tech and trades classes will give the other kids, a large portion of their population, pride in their school along with real life skills. If it is done well, with corporate partnerships, I bet we will see a change in the achievement at Lee.[/quote]

It would be one thing if they made Lee the only IB school in FCPS.  Then it would be a big draw.  But schools like Marshall whose scores are propped up by transfers from AP schools would object.

So just dump IB at Lee and do as PP suggests.  AP would save money and better serve students at Lee.  It would also cut down dramatically on the ability of students to pupil place to AP schools.

If that doesn't work, go to Plan B.  But they at least ought to try something that has a chance to work and saves less money before closing the school because school closings usually come back to bite FCPS in the ass. [/quote]

Honestly, bringing traditional AP classes at Lee then devoting resspurces into turning that school into a showcase for quality trades and technology type classes could be an amazing thing for fcps and Lee in particular.

Fcps is clearly not meeting the needs of those kids. The district serves the TJ crowd and upper middle class college bound kids quite well.  But they keep trying to pound square pegs into round holes by pushing this whole IB and fcps upper middle class model onto kids who are not ready to or interested in following this path. Fcps is failing these kids by just using the formula that worked when the district was almost exclusively middle and upper middle class, educated, natural born citizens, federal workers,etc.

That model does not work for the community at Lee. If it did, all of those resources and money poured into their elementary feeders would be yielding different results. IB would be yielding different results.  But they aren't. Results keep getting lower in spite of extra money, extra resources, and quality teachers.

Why not try something entirely different that actually meets the kids where they are at?  Give them tech ology classes that teach them how to use the latest machinery. Give them expansive hands on tech labs. Give them basic classes in things like autoshop, woodworking and electricity, along with business classes. Give science classes focused on things they will need to become medical and health workers. Teach programming.  All of this can be done while also working on a standard diploma.

In short, parent the child you have vs the child you have over at Langley.

If there is overflow space, those programs can be a magnet application style program.

With all the technology we have up near Dulles surely fcps could build some really successful corporate partnerships to make a program like this very successful and positive for these kids.[/quote]

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