Anonymous
Post 03/22/2023 19:35     Subject: Re:Is Meridian HS (FCC) a pressure cooker?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have one child there, so my perspective is limited. They are involved in a few clubs and sports and take advanced classes. So far they're enjoying the hs experience, finding classes challenging and maintaining balance between school family and friend time. They've got access to teachers when extra help is needed. Does that mean it's not a pressure-cooker? No. But I don't think any one family's experience can really give you the detail you're seeking. Talk to your neighbors (in person) to see what their kids have experienced. And a request for subsequent posters, if you definitively believe that your child's NoVa public high school is not a pressure cooker environment, please share details on why. That's great and I'm sure many on this thread would try to replicate whatever is working in your kid's school.


I would flip this and ask why people use the term "pressure cooker" and why they think that's an appropriate term to bandy about when it's often a buzzword used to denigrate kids for the perceived sin of working hard, especially if they are Asian.


Exactly. So out of date, what you want is an “instant pot of Ivy League acceptance”. Now that is updated to today’s kitchen.
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2023 18:39     Subject: Re:Is Meridian HS (FCC) a pressure cooker?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think Meridian, Yorktown, W&L, McLean, Langley - as well as the private schools around here - are all somewhat intense and competitive.

That said, I think there's something about the smaller student body and small-town feel that is more supportive of kids in FCCPS.


If by “small town” you mean “ everyone’s up in your business while neglecting their own, and they really don’t like people they deem to be outsiders” then yeah.


Eh, see, I like it that other parents know my kid and would tell me if he's walking down the street vaping or something.

I like knowing my kids' friends and their parents.
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2023 10:55     Subject: Re:Is Meridian HS (FCC) a pressure cooker?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think Meridian, Yorktown, W&L, McLean, Langley - as well as the private schools around here - are all somewhat intense and competitive.

That said, I think there's something about the smaller student body and small-town feel that is more supportive of kids in FCCPS.


Just as competitive but then you can end up around the same small group of parents keeping tabs for 13 years. Yuck.


And half the administrators (both the school and district) went to, live in and/or never worked anywhere besides FCCPS, so it’s a really closed circle. It’s the worst aspects of a private school jammed into a public school.
Anonymous
Post 03/21/2023 07:52     Subject: Re:Is Meridian HS (FCC) a pressure cooker?
Anonymous wrote:I think Meridian, Yorktown, W&L, McLean, Langley - as well as the private schools around here - are all somewhat intense and competitive.

That said, I think there's something about the smaller student body and small-town feel that is more supportive of kids in FCCPS.


Just as competitive but then you can end up around the same small group of parents keeping tabs for 13 years. Yuck.
Anonymous
Post 03/21/2023 07:52     Subject: Re:Is Meridian HS (FCC) a pressure cooker?
Anonymous wrote:I think Meridian, Yorktown, W&L, McLean, Langley - as well as the private schools around here - are all somewhat intense and competitive.

That said, I think there's something about the smaller student body and small-town feel that is more supportive of kids in FCCPS.


If by “small town” you mean “ everyone’s up in your business while neglecting their own, and they really don’t like people they deem to be outsiders” then yeah.
Anonymous
Post 03/21/2023 07:44     Subject: Re:Is Meridian HS (FCC) a pressure cooker?
I think Meridian, Yorktown, W&L, McLean, Langley - as well as the private schools around here - are all somewhat intense and competitive.

That said, I think there's something about the smaller student body and small-town feel that is more supportive of kids in FCCPS.
Anonymous
Post 03/21/2023 03:45     Subject: Re:Is Meridian HS (FCC) a pressure cooker?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's not a pressure cooker, but there is a lot of competition. My child has gotten 99th percentile on all state exams for math and isn't in their top math class. He had a friend "failing" out - I think his Mom was being a bit dramatic but he was underperformed regardless. Unrelated, they moved during that time and he was suddenly a gifted student in FCPS.


What an idiotic statement. FCPS students are comparable if not better than city students based on academic competitions. FCPS also doesn’t classify kids as gifted or have a gifted program.

Do your research. FCPS does classify students as gifted. This is separate from AAP, but they do identify students as gifted. If you want to feel you are better because you are in FCPS, more power to you. Chill out!
Anonymous
Post 03/20/2023 22:49     Subject: Is Meridian HS (FCC) a pressure cooker?
I wouldn’t say it’s a pressure cooker, although every good school around here is to some extent because kids are stressed about college admissions. Some classes are quite challenging (foreign language, English, some math) and others seem subpar and quite easy (science).
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2023 21:47     Subject: Re:Is Meridian HS (FCC) a pressure cooker?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's not a pressure cooker, but there is a lot of competition. My child has gotten 99th percentile on all state exams for math and isn't in their top math class. He had a friend "failing" out - I think his Mom was being a bit dramatic but he was underperformed regardless. Unrelated, they moved during that time and he was suddenly a gifted student in FCPS.


What an idiotic statement. FCPS students are comparable if not better than city students based on academic competitions. FCPS also doesn’t classify kids as gifted or have a gifted program.


I'm not saying that individuals are lesser, I'm saying the AAP programing isn't a gifted program. So it sounds like we agree.


Then why did you say “he was suddenly a gifted student in FCPS”?
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2023 21:34     Subject: Re:Is Meridian HS (FCC) a pressure cooker?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's not a pressure cooker, but there is a lot of competition. My child has gotten 99th percentile on all state exams for math and isn't in their top math class. He had a friend "failing" out - I think his Mom was being a bit dramatic but he was underperformed regardless. Unrelated, they moved during that time and he was suddenly a gifted student in FCPS.


What an idiotic statement. FCPS students are comparable if not better than city students based on academic competitions. FCPS also doesn’t classify kids as gifted or have a gifted program.


I'm not saying that individuals are lesser, I'm saying the AAP programing isn't a gifted program. So it sounds like we agree.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2023 21:02     Subject: Re:Is Meridian HS (FCC) a pressure cooker?
Anonymous wrote:It's not a pressure cooker, but there is a lot of competition. My child has gotten 99th percentile on all state exams for math and isn't in their top math class. He had a friend "failing" out - I think his Mom was being a bit dramatic but he was underperformed regardless. Unrelated, they moved during that time and he was suddenly a gifted student in FCPS.


What an idiotic statement. FCPS students are comparable if not better than city students based on academic competitions. FCPS also doesn’t classify kids as gifted or have a gifted program.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2023 20:52     Subject: Re:Is Meridian HS (FCC) a pressure cooker?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's not a pressure cooker, but there is a lot of competition. My child has gotten 99th percentile on all state exams for math and isn't in their top math class. He had a friend "failing" out - I think his Mom was being a bit dramatic but he was underperformed regardless. Unrelated, they moved during that time and he was suddenly a gifted student in FCPS.


When was this? They started standards based MYP grading in recent years and the rigor is not the same. It is really hard to fail anything at the secondary level. No, it is not a pressure cooker.


to get str8 As in honors classes at the HS level isnt necessarily a cake walk...
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2023 18:44     Subject: Re:Is Meridian HS (FCC) a pressure cooker?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's not a pressure cooker, but there is a lot of competition. My child has gotten 99th percentile on all state exams for math and isn't in their top math class. He had a friend "failing" out - I think his Mom was being a bit dramatic but he was underperformed regardless. Unrelated, they moved during that time and he was suddenly a gifted student in FCPS.


When was this? They started standards based MYP grading in recent years and the rigor is not the same. It is really hard to fail anything at the secondary level. No, it is not a pressure cooker.


This was maybe 3 or 4 years ago. Like I said, I think she was being dramatic bu saying he was failing, but they were beginning to have discussions about how to get him to meet standards.

I did have a friend have her son fail out. He was held back a grade. It did ultimately benefit him. So it isn't true that kids don't fail in FCCPS. Maybe they don't use that terminology officially but that's what it is.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2023 18:42     Subject: Re:Is Meridian HS (FCC) a pressure cooker?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's not a pressure cooker, but there is a lot of competition. My child has gotten 99th percentile on all state exams for math and isn't in their top math class. He had a friend "failing" out - I think his Mom was being a bit dramatic but he was underperformed regardless. Unrelated, they moved during that time and he was suddenly a gifted student in FCPS.


A lot of factors contribute to student success. The "failing" student may have been a better fit in FCPS and hence thrived there. Prob nothing to do with the actual educational quality which, between districts like Ffx and FCC, are negligible when compared to the broader US. Let's not insinuate that FCPS is so subpar to FCC that the kid was suddenly a genius there.


This was within a few months of switching that he was offered a spot in one of the advanced centers. Academically nothing had changed. I don't think it's out of line with what many FCPS parents suspect which is that the AAP centers are more regular education centers than advanced.
Anonymous
Post 03/19/2023 11:58     Subject: Re:Is Meridian HS (FCC) a pressure cooker?
Anonymous wrote:It's not a pressure cooker, but there is a lot of competition. My child has gotten 99th percentile on all state exams for math and isn't in their top math class. He had a friend "failing" out - I think his Mom was being a bit dramatic but he was underperformed regardless. Unrelated, they moved during that time and he was suddenly a gifted student in FCPS.


When was this? They started standards based MYP grading in recent years and the rigor is not the same. It is really hard to fail anything at the secondary level. No, it is not a pressure cooker.