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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

PP here.  I agree.  The best choice is adjusting the admissions now so they can't just continue kicking the can down the road, but also be mindful of the resources needed to lift the lower performing schools.

I usually assume that the administration will take the laziest, easiest approach that will obfuscate the issue and not make meaningful changes.  In this case, I'm worried that they with think that changing the admissions standards is enough in and of itself, and thus not address any of the underlying issues.  Fixing the pipeline costs money, and I doubt that FCPS has the will to allocate the money that would be needed.  It's much easier for them tweak the admissions process and then declare the equity issues fixed.

If they had embraced the pipeline choice as the main option, then my worry is that they would make a few superficial changes, but mostly just kick the can down the road.  
[/quote]

The fact that you believe in this notion of lower-performing schools tells me all I need to know. These metrics are simply a reflection of a school's SES and have little to do with the number of talented students. Further, these schools all have the same teachers and curriculum. The same kid will do exactly the same at any of them.[/quote]

Huh?  The lower income schools have a lot fewer opportunities for STEM extracurriculars and enrichment than the wealthier schools.  I didn't think that was in dispute.  It's not that they have fewer talented kids.  The issue is that they lack the nurturing and opportunities to help those kids shine.  Some of the wealthy TJ feeder schools have special math classes or middle school Algebra II classes that aren't available in the less wealthy schools.  They have numerous math and STEM after school activities and electives.  It's also not the case that the curriculum is the same.  In FCPS, there isn't a curriculum, and the schools adjust based on the needs, real or perceived, of their students.  People on here talk about the extra math differentiation within AAP for their kids in McLean.  Or they talk about other neat things that their kids were doing in AAP in their centers.  My kids had none of the same opportunities for differentiation or enrichment in their lower income AAP center.

My DD did attend a school with a very robust Young Scholars program.  The Young Scholars did field trips to the Science Fair and Math conventions held in the DC convention center.  They did field trips to the TJ STEM fair.  They got enrichment pull outs.  They got a free STEM summer camp.  This type of thing should be happening at every school to support disadvantaged kids.  [/quote]

+1[/quote]

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