Reply to FCPS Boundary Review Updates

Forum Index » Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)

Reply to "FCPS Boundary Review Updates"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]https://patch.com/virginia/across-va/public-school-enrollment-continues-fall-including-virginia

Pretty soon, FCPS is going to have to decide whether it wants UMC families in the school system.

The school board can have its every five-year boundary change instability or they can retain these families. The trade-off is clear.[/quote]

You keep saying this, I know you've said it multiple times but the vast majority of what you call UMC families still can't afford the local private schools. I sure as heck can't afford $40K/year for two childrennad we make $300K/year.[/quote]

You could afford it if you spent wisely. Most in your demographic care about their kids’ education.[/quote]

Believe it or not, kids can get an excellent education in FCPS schools. There is no need, in my opinion, to pay $50,000 or more a year for an excellent education when my child can get one for free. We do supplement in areas of interest, for my kid that is math. He loves math competitions and does well in them. We pay for him to take a math competition class because he loves it. We pay attention to what he is learning in school and have been impressed with what is taught in History. His 7th grade class read Taming of the Shrew, so English is presenting challenging material. The less expensive privates are no better than FCPS, most are actually not as strong in math or science, so why pay for them?

We could make a more expensive school work, but there is no point because he is getting a strong education in public school. The myth that FCPS provides a sub-par education is just that, a myth. Public education, like private education, comes down to involved parents working with their kids and schools. The Parents who are involved tend to have kids that do well. They have higher test scores, take more advanced classes, and go on to better ranked colleges.

Kids whose parents are not involved tend to have mixed results in public education and don't make it into private schools. Some kids with uninvolved parents do well in school because they are smart and individually motivated. Some kids with uninvolved parents do fine because they are able to do the work but maybe they don't push themselves or get some of the help they need to do well. Some kids with uninvolved parents do poorly because they take the lead from their parents and they just don't care. But those kids with uninvolved parents are highly unlikely to ever make it into a private school because their parents are, well, not involved and are not likely to pay for private school or provide transportation or the uniforms or everything else that comes with private school/

There is not that much of a difference if you compare the AP/IB kids in Public school to the kids at Sidwell and NCS and the other top privates.
[/quote]

I’m an engaged parent enraged at the school system imposing unnecessary boundary changes.

You talk about parent involvement, and many of the higher performing schools have more involved parents. Boundary changes deprive moved families of the pyramid choice that they made.

Now, the school board shill will clamor that we all signed up for a county system and that no pyramid is ever guaranteed. To which I respond, fine, but don’t expect those with means to stick around a school system that doesn’t value them and looks at their kids as pawns on a chessboard. This isn’t just theoretical - it is happening at the mere threat of boundary changes. [/quote]

I am not a school board schill but when you buy into a massive County there is a chance that boundaries will be shifted. I think that FCPS has handled this awfully, they should have started with the overcrowded schools and shifted boundaries to deal with that particular issue and left everything else alone. I also think they need to stop the boundary changes until they figure out what they are doing with KAA and make the adjustments they need to address the new school. The only adjustments that should be made right now are the ones for the overcrowded schools, Coates and Parklawn are the two ES I know of. The Centerville and Chantilly overcrowding should be addressed with the KAA purchase, so nothing should be adjusted for those boundaries. If there are other overcrowded schools, adjust those boundaries.

My kid is in MS, he would be fine at any of the HS he could be moved to. The Sb sounds like they are planning on grandfathering most HS at this point. If people are moving because they are afraid of changes, then that is on them. I wouldn't move right now; I am not giving up my low interest rate and I am not that invested in any school in the area. Most of the people in my neighborhood are all in on the ES and MS and HS and school spirit and community. That is fine, but I am focused on the education. I am happy with the experience my kid has had, and yes, we provided items for parties and helped chaperone things, but he really will be fine at the schools in our area. I would guess the number of people moving because they are afraid is really pretty small. 
[/quote]

Your frame is that you’d be fine with your kid moving to any of the high schools to which he might be moved but you just ignore that the vast majority of families would not be okay with changes.

[u]Even if the number of families moving at the mere prospect is low, you must consider the families that are going to look at this continual boundary review shitstorm and say: no thanks.[/u]

Families focused on education are very intentional with where they move.

Unnecessary boundary changes hurt us all.[/quote]

Yes because it’s not usually the specific school that they are being moved to, it’s the disruption and change. This group of students (rising 5-12) in particular have had a school experience full of disruption and change. As an educator myself, we keep calling kids “resilient” from COVID times, but there are definitely lingering deficits in each of these groups- whether it’s social, academic, behavioral, or all 3. This is just not the time to go all in on this. [/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