Reply to Middle School Momentum in Alexandria

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

It's a chicken-and-egg thing. PP suggests my suggestions are at odds with each other -- why siphon off the best math students to TJ, e.g. The answer is you start doing some of these things you make school system overall a more attractive option to families who currently send their high achieving students elsewhere or move out of the district because of the school. Mort Sherman has made it plain that he has no interest in marketing the school system to the upper middle class white families in the system who choose to go elsewhere -- he doesn't want to try to compete with privates, he's said. I think that's a mistake. If you attract a better balance of abilities, you go a long way to fixing the problem. Making TJ not even an option is a turnoff to some families -- but if it's there, you might attract 10 families who hold out hope their kid might be admitted, even if only 1 or 2 actually make it. So, it's a leadership problem too.

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On the first point, I think it's a question of tone.   For too long, TC emphasized that it offered a private school education in a public school environment to the upper middle class whites - at the expense of the rest of the school and to the amusement of those in privates and other school systems.  Far better to let go those who really want either a private-school education or a public school education in a school like Yorktown that is not as diverse.  I think it's entirely appropriate to send the message that TC knows it has challenges; it is seeking to meet the needs of all its students; top students can get a great education there; and TC is best for families who are willing to be part of a school community as complex at TC and don't need to pretend they are really at St. Stephen's.

On the second point, I agree with you. Closing off TJ as an option sends the wrong message.  Opening up TJ to APS students would attract more families who are at least thinking about TJ as a possibility and it would raise the bar for the APS middle schools, since people would look to see how many kids from Hammond and GW were getting admitted.   [/quote]

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