Reply to ACPS and TJ

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]"Under the proposal, ACPS would pay the Fairfax County district about $213,000 for the initial 14-student enrollment, a portion of which would go toward school renovation costs. By 2018, ACPS would pay upward of $943,000 for 53 students. School officials say transportation of students — an expense not included in the payment estimates — may add $22,000 to $46,000 a year to the final cost."[/quote]

First, what is the source? Second, know that ACPS will highball the TJ numbers surely as they low ball other numbers as suits them.

The Alexandria City School Board recently (November 2014) voted to transfer over half a million dollars from newly found unused or finished facility budget to CIP dedicated for the installation of TCW HS foot ball field lights: "Installing lights alone at the football stadium would cost between $700,000 and $800,000, but in conjunction with other upgrades to the facility, the total price tag could reach $3.5 million, officials have said (total cost estimated 2.43 million with field upgrade)." [url]http://alextimes.com/2014/10/school-board-moves-forward-on-t-c-lights/[/url]

Struggle, struggle, boil and trouble. Serve the mass, ignore select students at your own peril, ACPS. [b]The backlash momentum is building[/b] as City residents see their tax dollars misspent not on academic focus. City revenue is tight, incomes are flat and year to date prices of residential real estate is down from last year. Bad time to not be focusing on basic necessities: improving ACPS rigor, accreditation and reputation will go a long way to bringing in new families and urban employers (whose employees demand an excellent academic public school system). [/quote]

No, it's not. There's no backlash because what happens is families just throw up their hands and leave. You have to understand that the demographics you want to see come in is not the same one that the government there wants to serve. Ask anyone involved in ACPS and government about the schools and the first thing you hear is the high relative level of poverty. They really are committed to teaching to the masses there -- drop-out rate is a huge problem at TC. So is teenage pregnancy, drugs, and gangs. THIS is where their priorities are. They're not at all interest in spending a million bucks to send a few high-achievers to a neighboring school system.
[b]
What you have here, is a misalignment of your interest with the majority interest of the city. This is not a new phenomenon -- it's been this way for about 20 years. And, your vision doesn't align with their vision, either[/b].

So, no, there's no backlash, except in small circles of frustrated parents who want more for their kids. And most of them just end up leaving. A few rationalize staying by believing surviving TC will somehow boost college applications (being the best in a disadvantaged school, etc). But in general, folks just leave. Spend some time in Arlington or Falls Church schools, e.g. and you will be stunned at the number of people you encounter who left Alexandria because of the schools. I'm sure it's similar in Fairfax, but that school system is so much bigger that it's not quite as noticeable.

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We will just have to disagree then. I live in Alexandria City and talk with many about our school system, Council and staff (the later with unusually high turnover). City revenue is increasingly tight, urban density growth is everywhere but without the anticipated tax return from commercial real estate for years to come, partially put off by "tax incentives" to come to Alexandria.

This reality currently leaves residential homeowners again on the hook for taxes in spite of all this "urbanization". Many Alexandrian's remain frustrated with the state of our public schools: we sense some improvement but insufficient to hook large corporations who may help by Gaussian the student population (took some grammatical liberty here, but Gaussian makes it visual). This does not even include all the private school families who are conflicted by their taxes going to support a mediocre school system and their income to privates to get around it.

This is the reality I hear here in Alexandria Virginia. We do agree on one point: high future residential tax increases will be met with family and others egress from the City, some for the reasons above, others for real estate valuation. We just won't know how many until people vote with their pocket book.[/quote]

I also live in the City and the PP is correct - there is no "backlash momentum" and it's not likely to happen.  The City is small under  150K residents and the portion of those residents who are school age is really small.  Families with school age children are in the minority in the City.  The ACPS school population now has a 60% FARMS rate.   It will likely go higher and once it does no amount of programming or changes will help the schools improve.  I have posted before that what needs to happen is a major change in City Council and mayor AND a major shift in demographics. I remember a few years ago the City started charging for summer rec camp for kids and parents were outraged that they suddenly needed to pay for care from 9am - 6pm all summer.  The price they were being charged? $25 for the entire summer.  But that's the mentality of the FARMS rate population in that dominates the schools.

Back to the original question - the new Superintendent passed on sending kids to TJ because he felt that the new STEM program at TC Williams was a good replacement.  The program at TC accepts any kid, had very poor ratings from kids themselves, no child can be kicked out and there is not test of even basic math and science needed to get in.  I am sure the program will absolutely be comparable to TJ. 
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