Reply to ACPS and TJ

Forum Index » Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)

Reply to "ACPS and TJ"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The general shift to living in the region's center was not happening in 1995, and certainly not the scale of development.   2005 it may have been  but then change got tangled up with the economic crisis.    I really do see the city on an upswing in ways I have not seen before (I have been in the region for the entire period you mention)   You can see it in total population and other indicators.

As for people not moving to Alexandria for a MacArthur or LCTA or Mason, as I said above, Alexandria does not need to be Arlington.   I don't know that having people move to Alexandria specifically for the schools is a worthwhile goal - certainly not in the short to medium term.

And I find your use of the term masses quite confusing (as well as offputting)  The middle class non-gifted folks in Fairfax County are the masses, really.   [b]You seem more troubled that Alexandria wants to educate the poor[/b].   You also seem to imply an undifferentiated elite - I think the differences between high SES families non gifted kids, ordinary gifted kids, and the profoundly gifted are all quite different.  Appealing to the high SES is mostly a real estate and economics problem.  Alexandria does well enough with the childless (and those who prefer private schools) that I do not see it as a huge issue.   Ordinary gifted kids may not be served as well as they should be in ACPS, or as they are in FCPS, but that has little to do with TJHSST.   And they may well manage among the AP course at TCW.  For the profoundly gifted, the failure to provide adequate challenge, and an appropriate social environment, is in my opinion a serious issue  - like failing to provide accommodations to the learning disabled.   However I do not think any local county shines on that.  And I do not think turning the focus from the poor to the middle class, or the generic upper middle class, will really address that.

[/quote]

Not the PP you are responding to, but yes, this is troubling and [b]once your kids are in school [/b]you will understand why this is such a problem.  The focus is almost solely on this population with little else left for average/above average kids and nothing for advanced kids.  This isn't even about AAP level kids, it's about kids who do grade level or just above grade level. It's people like you in the City who have no kids in school who have all these lofty ideals about how we can raise children out of poverty instantly with school but it doesn't work like that. And guess who suffers?  Your average and above average kids.  Even the "best" elementary schools can do very little for these kids. They pass the test easily so they don't need much is pretty much the thinking.

The curriculum and standards in ACPS are just low.  They are low to ensure that schools like John Adams and William Ramsay with 80%+ FARMS rates can get their kids to at least pass the state minimum SOL tests.  They aren't concerned with much else.[/quote]

My kid is in college. I am not new to this area. I have lived here for over 20 years, and have been familiar with the City of Alexandria for that entire time.   Cameron Station is lovely but its small. Caryle as far as I can tell did contribute to the City's resources - it is continuiing to grow, and more new development is on its way.  That is not so much about changing demographics as about more tax revenues.   I do not think anything can be done instantly, but I don't think that means we should not attempt to do what we can for poor kids.   As far as I am concerned Fairfax generally feels the same away.  The difference is both the numbers  - Alexandria has more FARMS kids - and resources - Fairfax has more money to do both.   I do believe Alexandria's resources will grow.

As for demographics I cannot tell what changes will occur in the future (btw PWC still has lots of FARMs kids IIUC, the much ballyhooed expulsion of illegals did not change that) but I do know that in the area covered by the Beauregard Small Area plan many units now inhabited by low income families will be replaced by new units, more than 90% of which will be market rate.  Whether that is a good idea or not, it will be happening.

And I do not expect ACPS to transform anytime in the near future. I do expect however that the issues ACPS has will not hold back the City's upward path, and I do expect that here and there some ACPS schools will improve.  I also am not sure why people keep taking about this Mort Sherman, whom IIUC was fired.  [/quote]

You keep talking about tax revenues and resources.  In 2014, Alexandria spent $16,880 per student, and Fairfax spent $13,472.  Money is not the problem.   [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics