Anonymous wrote:We are zoned for a Greatschools 10/10 elementary school in the Langley pyramid. We have not talked to anyone about the schools yet as our kids are young. A neighbor of mine who has a DD in first grade was saying most of the teaching is on screens and the homework is on screens as well. She said it kind of matter-of-factly, not happily. That is not what I want for my child. Do we need to shell out a ton of money we don’t have for private?! Does it vary in other elementary schools.

Your neighbor is full of sh*t.

Private has less screens and more homework, yes. Does it matter all that much? Not sure.

My daughter was in an FCPS first grade class last year and we did not have this experience. They were on their laptops 30 minutes a day at most and it was for Lexia or myOn primarily. No homework at that age.

We have been in 2 different elementary schools and I would say that there is far too much screen time these days. Reading/phonics is done on Lexia - must do Lexia every day. Math is frequently on Math playground or whatever that is called - where they consider math to be dressing your penguin or prodigy, which also lets kids spend an oddly weird amount of time dressing characters. Reading is often done on MyOn - not with real books. Indoor recess? Screentime! Lunch? Movie time! Having said that, I'm not sure privates are any better.

There is a growing movement away from tech in schools now that there is more research about how it reduces learning. Unfortunately, it probably won't happen fast enough for my kids or yours.

Anonymous wrote:We are at Forestville and 1st grade is 20 kid classrooms and lovely. Yes screens but not too much. Lots on paper. You cannot judge an entire county on ONE class in ONE school.

Or ONE parent who probably thinks being on screens 20 minutes a day is ALL day.

We are at Forestville and 1st grade is 20 kid classrooms and lovely. Yes screens but not too much. Lots on paper. You cannot judge an entire county on ONE class in ONE school.

We are at Spring Hill and 1st grade is a mess. Huge classes and some severe behavior issues in several classes.

If you can afford private, do it.

OP is a caricature of a shallow Langley parent freaking out over an anecdote. Maybe not real. And by the way while GS is crap now there are no 10-rated ES in the Langley pyramid.

10/10? Yes. Definitely go private.

Anonymous wrote:So you have determined all of the first grade classes in FCPS are all bad based on what one neighbor said about one class ?

She talked to her neighbor. So she's hearing about the sane school her kid will attend. Maybe be less defensive.

OP, I am in a different fcps zone and my kid was in first grade before covid, but yes there were some screens. The smart board is used in class, as are video breaks for movement. Testing was on ipads. We later moved to private, which also has some screens although fewer than our friends in-zone. I don't think you will find a school with zero screens.

When your kids are a bit older, do you think you can ask to go in to observe?

Anonymous wrote:So you have determined all of the first grade classes in FCPS are all bad based on what one neighbor said about one class ?

This.

The lack of critical thinking skills here sometimes is quite frightening.

So you have determined all of the first grade classes in FCPS are all bad based on what one neighbor said about one class ?

Thanks for this!

We are zoned for a Greatschools 10/10 elementary school in the Langley pyramid. We have not talked to anyone about the schools yet as our kids are young. A neighbor of mine who has a DD in first grade was saying most of the teaching is on screens and the homework is on screens as well. She said it kind of matter-of-factly, not happily. That is not what I want for my child. Do we need to shell out a ton of money we don’t have for private?! Does it vary in other elementary schools.