Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, Tholen couldn't get the support of her colleagues to get a motion approved to direct Facilities to have a new renovation queue ready by the next CIP.

And she certainly can't get money for an addition at McLean even though (1) it got the cheapest renovation of any FCPS high school in the early 00s, (2) it has the least amount of permanent learning space of any high school in FCPS, and (3) its enrollment is at an all-time high and higher than other schools already getting additions (Madison, Justice). But she'll get a few hundred thousand to renovate a couple of bathrooms by 2030 and pretend she's a warrior.

School needed a pit-bull on the School Board and got a lazy, ineffective wallflower.

Off the top of my head two other schools renovated in the early 00s are getting overhauled and expanded: West Potomac and Madison. (Does the town of Vienna pay for the Madison renovations?) McLean really did get screwed with the first renovation, and it's getting shafted again. Meanwhile, directly adjacent to McLean, the high schools have all the latest bells and whistles: the brand new Meridian HS, the overhauled Langley HS, Yorktown and W-L in Arlington, Marshall, Falls Church, Oakton, etc.

It's not all bleak. Some highlights at McLean HS over past year or so:

Girls soccer - district and region champions in 2021
Boys tennis - district champion in 2021
Boys crew - state champion in 2021
Girls cross country - district and region champions in 2021 (state runner-up)
Girls volleyball - district champion in 2021
Boys Swim and Dive - district champion in 2022
Scholastic Bowl - district and region champion in 2022
Highest SAT scores in Class of 2021 for any neighborhood HS in FCPS
Most National Merit Semifinalists in Class of 2022 for any neighborhood HS in FCPS
Most U.S. Presidential Scholar candidates in Class of 2022 for any neighborhood HS in FCPS
Virginia High School Student Journalist of the Year in 2021
Highest number of students in All-District Band in 2022
Kids continue to be admitted to fine colleges and universities

But, yes, when it comes to investing in the building, FCPS has screwed McLean HS for years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, Tholen couldn't get the support of her colleagues to get a motion approved to direct Facilities to have a new renovation queue ready by the next CIP.

And she certainly can't get money for an addition at McLean even though (1) it got the cheapest renovation of any FCPS high school in the early 00s, (2) it has the least amount of permanent learning space of any high school in FCPS, and (3) its enrollment is at an all-time high and higher than other schools already getting additions (Madison, Justice). But she'll get a few hundred thousand to renovate a couple of bathrooms by 2030 and pretend she's a warrior.

School needed a pit-bull on the School Board and got a lazy, ineffective wallflower.

Off the top of my head two other schools renovated in the early 00s are getting overhauled and expanded: West Potomac and Madison. (Does the town of Vienna pay for the Madison renovations?) McLean really did get screwed with the first renovation, and it's getting shafted again. Meanwhile, directly adjacent to McLean, the high schools have all the latest bells and whistles: the brand new Meridian HS, the overhauled Langley HS, Yorktown and W-L in Arlington, Marshall, Falls Church, Oakton, etc.

Anonymous wrote:Elaine Tholen to McSpaces in 2019: "Immediate scoping for a permanent addition to McLean HS to increase capacity is necessary. The land area is small so efficient use of the space is essential. Size of the addition needs to take into consideration future population growth in McLean due to McLean and Tysons developments."

Elaine Tholen to McLean PTSA in 2022: "I am monitoring development in Tysons....I am only one of 12 Board members."

Elaine Tholen to MCA in 2022: "Realistically, we can't get McLean an addition now because we are on a 37-year renovation cycle and there is only so much money available."

The guy who set up McSpaces must feel like such a dupe. They should have joined forces with One Great Falls and made sure lying Elaine never got elected.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, Tholen couldn't get the support of her colleagues to get a motion approved to direct Facilities to have a new renovation queue ready by the next CIP.

And she certainly can't get money for an addition at McLean even though (1) it got the cheapest renovation of any FCPS high school in the early 00s, (2) it has the least amount of permanent learning space of any high school in FCPS, and (3) its enrollment is at an all-time high and higher than other schools already getting additions (Madison, Justice). But she'll get a few hundred thousand to renovate a couple of bathrooms by 2030 and pretend she's a warrior.

School needed a pit-bull on the School Board and got a lazy, ineffective wallflower.

Off the top of my head two other schools renovated in the early 00s are getting overhauled and expanded: West Potomac and Madison. (Does the town of Vienna pay for the Madison renovations?) McLean really did get screwed with the first renovation, and it's getting shafted again. Meanwhile, directly adjacent to McLean, the high schools have all the latest bells and whistles: the brand new Meridian HS, the overhauled Langley HS, Yorktown and W-L in Arlington, Marshall, Falls Church, Oakton, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, Tholen couldn't get the support of her colleagues to get a motion approved to direct Facilities to have a new renovation queue ready by the next CIP.

And she certainly can't get money for an addition at McLean even though (1) it got the cheapest renovation of any FCPS high school in the early 00s, (2) it has the least amount of permanent learning space of any high school in FCPS, and (3) its enrollment is at an all-time high and higher than other schools already getting additions (Madison, Justice). But she'll get a few hundred thousand to renovate a couple of bathrooms by 2030 and pretend she's a warrior.

School needed a pit-bull on the School Board and got a lazy, ineffective wallflower.

Off the top of my head two other schools renovated in the early 00s are getting overhauled and expanded: West Potomac and Madison. (Does the town of Vienna pay for the Madison renovations?) McLean really did get screwed with the first renovation, and it's getting shafted again. Meanwhile, directly adjacent to McLean, the high schools have all the latest bells and whistles: the brand new Meridian HS, the overhauled Langley HS, Yorktown and W-L in Arlington, Marshall, Falls Church, Oakton, etc.

Anonymous wrote:Well, Tholen couldn't get the support of her colleagues to get a motion approved to direct Facilities to have a new renovation queue ready by the next CIP.

And she certainly can't get money for an addition at McLean even though (1) it got the cheapest renovation of any FCPS high school in the early 00s, (2) it has the least amount of permanent learning space of any high school in FCPS, and (3) its enrollment is at an all-time high and higher than other schools already getting additions (Madison, Justice). But she'll get a few hundred thousand to renovate a couple of bathrooms by 2030 and pretend she's a warrior.

School needed a pit-bull on the School Board and got a lazy, ineffective wallflower.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Younkin's tip line is about accountability - we the parents are holding the teachers, school board, and superintendent accountable. No wonder this scares the left.

Accountable for what?

It's a defense mechanism by those with hurt egos who now feel the need to project their feelings of powerlessness onto teachers. The tip line is a consolation prize.

To the contrary, it's about accountability and good governance, both of which are anathema to those teachers who want total autonomy and zero accountability. The lack of accountability had been their consolation prize for mediocre pay, and now they're sulking because it's being taken away.

So here's my genuine question--What happens after you send in your tip? Let's say that you, a parent of a high school student, email the tip line to report that your child was told in history class something that you interpret to be CRT. What is the next step? Who reads that email? What do they do with that information? Who do they report it to? What is the outcome? I feel like without those answers, the whole thing is just theater designed to make parents feel empowered but not much more.

How do you think existing whistleblower programs work?

You have to have someone to screen the complaints. The majority are petty grievances (in this context, it might be complaints about teachers who don't let kids retake tests, or seem to have "teacher's pets," or wear clothing that a parent thinks is inappropriate, or the like) and are not investigated.

Then you have other complaints that appear to raise legitimate concerns, or may be evidenced through multiple complaints (say, what appear to be 5-10 different parents complaining that a particular teacher is telling kids that all White Americans should be ashamed of their ancestors, or that Asian Americans have never faced "real" discrimination, or that a school administration is organizing events that only students of certain races or ethnicities are allowed to attend). Those types of complaints are more likely to be investigated or brought to the attention of school officials, with the expectation that there will be an investigation, along with a determination as to whether the alleged misconduct was substantiated and, if so, what remedial actions have been taken. Potentially, in an egregious case, the VDOE might investigate directly and take action to terminate a teacher's state license.

To some degree, these complaints already occasionally get lodged at the local level. Youngkin's program just provides another way to raise such concerns with state government instead. The only reason why someone really would be upset is if they thought state government would take them more seriously than local school systems that have a tendency to always circle the wagons (resulting, unfortunately, in greater liability for the local systems in some instances).

Anonymous wrote:If there is no CRT then nothing to report.

Why are democrats even crying about this?

Anonymous wrote:If there is no CRT then nothing to report.

Why are democrats even crying about this?[/quote
Because people who think CRT is an issue might interpret something as being CRT?
I’m was not born in the US. I come from a country with a history of having a dictatorship. Stuff like this just raises all types of alarms. This isn’t a grievance line (like one of the PPs makes it seem like). It was set up to report teachers for any perceived offense. It feels like a huge overreach (which is also ironic coming from the GOP). At the end of the day, I hope it’s just the governor trying to get brownie points with his base and I’m glad there was a backlash.