Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, could you please articulate why this is important to you/your kid?

(To be clear, I ask this question as the parent of kids who do very well academically, and their graduation accessories are not something that matters to me, so I'm trying to understand where you're coming from.)

The reasoning the kids were given is to protect the feelings of those who don't have honor cords -- who (whether voluntarily or involuntarily) decided not to join the honor societies or organizations that the honor cords denote. So, some kids are not being allowed to celebrate their hard won success to protect the fragility of others.

This is the same thing as the "participation trophy" in kindergarten soccer - -except now we are talking about adults about to enter the real world.

That fits with the “equity” portion of FCPS’ overarching mission statement, known as the One Fairfax policy.

Essentially One Fairfax = DEI comes first in FCPS.

Anonymous wrote:OP, could you please articulate why this is important to you/your kid?

(To be clear, I ask this question as the parent of kids who do very well academically, and their graduation accessories are not something that matters to me, so I'm trying to understand where you're coming from.)

The reasoning the kids were given is to protect the feelings of those who don't have honor cords -- who (whether voluntarily or involuntarily) decided not to join the honor societies or organizations that the honor cords denote. So, some kids are not being allowed to celebrate their hard won success to protect the fragility of others.

This is the same thing as the "participation trophy" in kindergarten soccer - -except now we are talking about adults about to enter the real world.

The cords and the like are money grabs by the cap and gown company which is why the grew from a cord for grades to a cord for X number of APs, service hours, honor club, sport, Girl Scout Gold Award, Scouting America Eagle, and whatever other cords that they have invented.

You can list honors in the program. Heck, you can even ignore that and just celebrate the kids completing HS. Do we really need to visually demonstrate how amazing some of the kids are?

Anonymous wrote:This wouldn’t bother me at all. Things have gotten to the point where no one knows what many of the cords mean anyway.

Have at it, ridiculous OP.

Same.

This wouldn’t bother me at all. Things have gotten to the point where no one knows what many of the cords mean anyway.

Have at it, ridiculous OP.

OP, could you please articulate why this is important to you/your kid?

(To be clear, I ask this question as the parent of kids who do very well academically, and their graduation accessories are not something that matters to me, so I'm trying to understand where you're coming from.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Troll.

I assure you I'm not. I have a rising HS Senior who came home last week and told me this news. I'm trying to corroborate this information here before I send my feedback directly to Michelle Reid!

I will ask DD, who graduates tomorrow

I am so thankful to be DONE with FCPS and the continuing decline, through mismanagement, of what was once a great school system. Reid and the SB are 100% at fault here.

This would start at next year's graduations -- 2027. This year, stoles and cords still allowed.

Kids are ordering them from Amazon now. It's a joke.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Troll.

I assure you I'm not. I have a rising HS Senior who came home last week and told me this news. I'm trying to corroborate this information here before I send my feedback directly to Michelle Reid!

I will ask DD, who graduates tomorrow

I am so thankful to be DONE with FCPS and the continuing decline, through mismanagement, of what was once a great school system. Reid and the SB are 100% at fault here.

The cords and stoles are completely out of control. It is ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:Troll.

I assure you I'm not. I have a rising HS Senior who came home last week and told me this news. I'm trying to corroborate this information here before I send my feedback directly to Michelle Reid!

Did we have all that stuff 30 years ago? Looking at college graduations now I see them wearing all these stoles and cords, and it seems like they have one for every little thing now. For high school is it only an honors cord or do they too now have a bunch of different ones? I think just a cap and gown is fine. Celebrate the achievement of graduation at the graduation ceremony, and let the other stuff be celebrated at separate award ceremonies or whatever.

Troll.

If the sensitive kids care that much, they can buy there own cords.

Has anyone else's child come home and reported this update for all FCPS graduations next year?

I'm told that since we don't want to make some kids feel bad - no graduates will be allowed to wear honor cords showing their achievements starting with next year's graduations.

Is this what we've come to? Protecting the fragile feelings of some kids who has chosen to concentrate their achievements elsewhere (ie, could be community, sports) or just decided academic achievement wasn't a focus for them. And now no graduates are allowed to celebrate academic achievements.

So disappointed, FCPS.
Want to know if others have heard this as well.