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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think more and more people are waking up to the fact that all the schools around here are being overrun by underperformers which takes away time and resources from everyone else

The above average performers are either clustering in the remaining "decent school pyramids" aka the wealthier ones supplementing and desperately holding on or going private

The average performers are really hurting and I think people are waking up and saying enough is enough you need to focus on my children[/quote]

As harsh as this is, I second it in MoCo. Special needs / problem kids are taking all of the attention. I hear more and more parents telling stories of teachers lauding their children for "not causing problems." I heard one say "I hardly even notice she's there" as a positive comment. As far as parents clustering in the remaining decent pyramids, I've seen this too, which is why there's all this uproar about busing. Parents have spent $1M+ for a pyramid, and now some County Council do-gooder is going to "close the achievement gap" using kids as pawns... that's the perception. Many parents long for the days of great teachers dominating schools--today it seems like schools are mostly admin + paraeducators + big curriculum companies. It's definitely a long slide to mediocrity.[/quote]

Parents are willing to pay $1+ mil for the house in a W, but are not willing to pay teachers more. Compensation is what is needed to attract and retain top teachers who can meet the demands of special populations (ELLs, GT, FARMS, and SN). Until that happens, no progress. [/quote]

They are paying the 1 million plus to get away from the more challenging populations it has nothing to do with the teachers

Teachers don't make or break the school system.  It's all about the students.  The average caliber of a student is going down across the region which is why the school systems are going down.

Special needs and ESL populations are exploding

[/quote]

MCPS BOE voted to favor diversity when reworking school boundaries so I expect they'll to start bussing this population into the W schools to end the segregation. [/quote]

correct if we are talking 5% I don't think anything will happen if we are talking 10% plus you can expect to see an uptick in private school[/quote]
Why does adding 5% more FARMs student cause the school to tank?   Sure, the overall school test scores could go down, but your DC's outcome wouldn't change.  Despite what you may think, being poor or not being able to speak English well is not contagious.[/quote]

Fairfax County did a study several years ago that showed detriment to a school starting at around 15% FARMS rate.  After 40% the school became a failure.  Students with higher needs require more time money and energy which is detrimental to the kids who are ignored.

I'm treating this like an economist.  I'm just stating facts.[/quote]
OK, but going from 5 to 10% is not 15%, which is what the ^PP stated would cause people to move to private schools.

I don't disagree with the fact that a school with a too high FARMS rate requires more resources and energy, thus taking away from other students. But, I am not sure about your 15% figure, though I am not sure what that rate is either.[/quote]

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