Reply to Is FCPS overhyped? even top rated schools seem meh?

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Reply to "Is FCPS overhyped? even top rated schools seem meh?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We came from city public elementary/middle which I thought would be bar set low.  But we would get teachers calls and emails if kids would do poorly on assessments and would be invited to talk to teachers to set a plan to improve and know exactly where children need help or more advanced material.  I am surprised with the level of indifference and "cattle-like" experience from what was touted as top suburban publics in one of the top educated metro areas.  Classes are overcrowded and teachers seem overwhelmed and overloaded.  Grading is incredibly slow and it's hard to see if your kid is truly thriving or failing based on this info posted online, it's this unclear.  Not to mention try to get access to the information where exactly they need help.

I do see tons of test prep places of all kinds.  Is this what essentially becomes the necessary extension of school here? There is a lot of focus on sport, but we aren't a sports family, so it's like an alternative universe.  I don't see the academic culture, am I completely off base?[/quote]

The post-1990s FCPS is basically a big scam, and the hype surrounding it as a top district is riding on fumes. If you pay your (high) property taxes and expect quality commensurate with what you pay, then you will usually be disappointed. At least the families who choose to send their kids to private accept that it is a scam, swallow the essentially unused tax burden, and carry on. Those who pay tuition can't be bitter about leaving money on the table because they are making a choice. I don't recall any families who have regretted this choice.

Obviously, not everyone has the financial flexibility to go private, but many of the loud voices do. They fantasize about what FCPS once was, but it will not get better. Apparently, it is actually getting worse.

Gatehouse is a juicy target and certainly culpable. However, the school board is not effective and hasn't been for many years. Everyone from everywhere is educated in FCPS. It sounds good on paper, but too many of your and your teachers' resources have been directed to educating everyone. It’s a giant rug pull, and even Langley, TJ, McLean, etc. are in the same boat.

This is not 1985. If your kids are in the middle 60-75% of the students in FCPS, they are getting the shaft. You should either lower your expectations for what you're going to get from FCPS, or you should leave.[/quote]

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