Anonymous wrote:There can be good opportunities to excel at title 1 schools, for the right kid. You have to have a kid that will seek out opportunities for advancement , make their own, take on leadership, and be able to tone out blatant terrible behavior from peers. If daily fights, vaping in halls, locked bathrooms, and hearing the N word 100x per day would bother them, don’t send to a title 1 school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There can be good opportunities to excel at title 1 schools, for the right kid. You have to have a kid that will seek out opportunities for advancement , make their own, take on leadership, and be able to tone out blatant terrible behavior from peers. If daily fights, vaping in halls, locked bathrooms, and hearing the N word 100x per day would bother them, don’t send to a title 1 school.

This. And it's also okay to accept that your kid is not going to do well in that environment. It's not a merit test. My kid is on the sensitive side and needs encouragement. In a calm environment with supportive teachers and admin, she can really excel. In a chaotic environment where there is a lot of rule/boundary breaking and other deregulated behavior, she becomes anxious, distracted, and afraid to assert herself. We made the choice that would bring out the best in her.

Some might argue being a student in a high stress academic environment can also be detrimental to mental health, especially if your kid is not in the top 10% of the school.

Anonymous wrote:Big difference between Title 1 elementary school vs Title 1 high school. Strong students can find strong cohorts in AP and honors classes. My kids attend a school that is not quite Title 1, but close enough. It rarely sends kids to Ivys, but sends a few to UVA every year, and many more to VT. This is an fcps school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are one or two title 1 high schools in FCPS. Justice in Falls Church and maybe Bryant in Alexandria.

I could see sending my kid to these schools because what makes them title 1 is a high population of immigrants that are poor english language learners. Not violent, not criminal. But I wouldn't do it just for college admissions. It would have to be because it was the best option avasilable to me.

We are a Justice family. We fell in love with our neighborhood and moved here despite people "warning" us that the schools were "bad." Our kids have done really well. They and their friends ended up at all kinds of schools—from Ivies to NOVA—but most are at UVA, W&M, VT, and JMU. I honestly don’t think they would have received a better education at another FCPS school. They also had opportunities they might not have had elsewhere: making just about any sports team they tried out for, leading clubs, building strong relationships with teachers, and growing up with a truly diverse (ethnically and socioeconomically) group of friends.

I’m not saying all Title I schools are the same, but I wouldn't rule one out just because it’s Title I. Research consistently shows that parental involvement is one of the strongest predictors of student success, often more than school demographics or funding levels. Visit the school. Follow their Instagram accounts. Talk to parents and students who are at the school.

Living in NOVA, where people often say they value diversity, I wish more families felt comfortable actually embracing it in their school choices. When families from different backgrounds share the same schools, it can be a great experience for kids. Schools really shouldn’t be as segregated as they sometimes are.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There can be good opportunities to excel at title 1 schools, for the right kid. You have to have a kid that will seek out opportunities for advancement , make their own, take on leadership, and be able to tone out blatant terrible behavior from peers. If daily fights, vaping in halls, locked bathrooms, and hearing the N word 100x per day would bother them, don’t send to a title 1 school.

This. And it's also okay to accept that your kid is not going to do well in that environment. It's not a merit test. My kid is on the sensitive side and needs encouragement. In a calm environment with supportive teachers and admin, she can really excel. In a chaotic environment where there is a lot of rule/boundary breaking and other deregulated behavior, she becomes anxious, distracted, and afraid to assert herself. We made the choice that would bring out the best in her.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There can be good opportunities to excel at title 1 schools, for the right kid. You have to have a kid that will seek out opportunities for advancement , make their own, take on leadership, and be able to tone out blatant terrible behavior from peers. If daily fights, vaping in halls, locked bathrooms, and hearing the N word 100x per day would bother them, don’t send to a title 1 school.

This. And it's also okay to accept that your kid is not going to do well in that environment. It's not a merit test. My kid is on the sensitive side and needs encouragement. In a calm environment with supportive teachers and admin, she can really excel. In a chaotic environment where there is a lot of rule/boundary breaking and other deregulated behavior, she becomes anxious, distracted, and afraid to assert herself. We made the choice that would bring out the best in her.

Anonymous wrote:There can be good opportunities to excel at title 1 schools, for the right kid. You have to have a kid that will seek out opportunities for advancement , make their own, take on leadership, and be able to tone out blatant terrible behavior from peers. If daily fights, vaping in halls, locked bathrooms, and hearing the N word 100x per day would bother them, don’t send to a title 1 school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are one or two title 1 high schools in FCPS. Justice in Falls Church and maybe Bryant in Alexandria.

I could see sending my kid to these schools because what makes them title 1 is a high population of immigrants that are poor english language learners. Not violent, not criminal. But I wouldn't do it just for college admissions. It would have to be because it was the best option avasilable to me.

We are a Justice family. We fell in love with our neighborhood and moved here despite people "warning" us that the schools were "bad." Our kids have done really well. They and their friends ended up at all kinds of schools—from Ivies to NOVA—but most are at UVA, W&M, VT, and JMU. I honestly don’t think they would have received a better education at another FCPS school. They also had opportunities they might not have had elsewhere: making just about any sports team they tried out for, leading clubs, building strong relationships with teachers, and growing up with a truly diverse (ethnically and socioeconomically) group of friends.

I’m not saying all Title I schools are the same, but I wouldn't rule one out just because it’s Title I. Research consistently shows that parental involvement is one of the strongest predictors of student success, often more than school demographics or funding levels. Visit the school. Follow their Instagram accounts. Talk to parents and students who are at the school.

Living in NOVA, where people often say they value diversity, I wish more families felt comfortable actually embracing it in their school choices. When families from different backgrounds share the same schools, it can be a great experience for kids. Schools really shouldn’t be as segregated as they sometimes are.

How did your kids have an athletic advantage?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Title 1 schools are sad. So many students below and far below grade level that your kid will be an outlier and I don’t want my kid being too of the class just for showing up and handing in work.

Funny that you think your kid wouldn’t have to work as hard. They still have AP.

And they let students in those classes who aren’t qualified to be in them. The teachers have to spend time teaching to those students who are below grade level and it’s an impossible task. My DH is one of those teachers. He’s exhausted by it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Title 1 schools are sad. So many students below and far below grade level that your kid will be an outlier and I don’t want my kid being too of the class just for showing up and handing in work.

Funny that you think your kid wouldn’t have to work as hard. They still have AP.

And they let students in those classes who aren’t qualified to be in them. The teachers have to spend time teaching to those students who are below grade level and it’s an impossible task. My DH is one of those teachers. He’s exhausted by it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are one or two title 1 high schools in FCPS. Justice in Falls Church and maybe Bryant in Alexandria.

I could see sending my kid to these schools because what makes them title 1 is a high population of immigrants that are poor english language learners. Not violent, not criminal. But I wouldn't do it just for college admissions. It would have to be because it was the best option avasilable to me.

We are a Justice family. We fell in love with our neighborhood and moved here despite people "warning" us that the schools were "bad." Our kids have done really well. They and their friends ended up at all kinds of schools—from Ivies to NOVA—but most are at UVA, W&M, VT, and JMU. I honestly don’t think they would have received a better education at another FCPS school. They also had opportunities they might not have had elsewhere: making just about any sports team they tried out for, leading clubs, building strong relationships with teachers, and growing up with a truly diverse (ethnically and socioeconomically) group of friends.

I’m not saying all Title I schools are the same, but I wouldn't rule one out just because it’s Title I. Research consistently shows that parental involvement is one of the strongest predictors of student success, often more than school demographics or funding levels. Visit the school. Follow their Instagram accounts. Talk to parents and students who are at the school.

Living in NOVA, where people often say they value diversity, I wish more families felt comfortable actually embracing it in their school choices. When families from different backgrounds share the same schools, it can be a great experience for kids. Schools really shouldn’t be as segregated as they sometimes are.

Anonymous wrote:Nope. Title 1 schools are sad. So many students below and far below grade level that your kid will be an outlier and I don’t want my kid being too of the class just for showing up and handing in work.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are one or two title 1 high schools in FCPS. Justice in Falls Church and maybe Bryant in Alexandria.

I could see sending my kid to these schools because what makes them title 1 is a high population of immigrants that are poor english language learners. Not violent, not criminal. But I wouldn't do it just for college admissions. It would have to be because it was the best option avasilable to me.

We are a Justice family. We fell in love with our neighborhood and moved here despite people "warning" us that the schools were "bad." Our kids have done really well. They and their friends ended up at all kinds of schools—from Ivies to NOVA—but most are at UVA, W&M, VT, and JMU. I honestly don’t think they would have received a better education at another FCPS school. They also had opportunities they might not have had elsewhere: making just about any sports team they tried out for, leading clubs, building strong relationships with teachers, and growing up with a truly diverse (ethnically and socioeconomically) group of friends.

I’m not saying all Title I schools are the same, but I wouldn't rule one out just because it’s Title I. Research consistently shows that parental involvement is one of the strongest predictors of student success, often more than school demographics or funding levels. Visit the school. Follow their Instagram accounts. Talk to parents and students who are at the school.

Living in NOVA, where people often say they value diversity, I wish more families felt comfortable actually embracing it in their school choices. When families from different backgrounds share the same schools, it can be a great experience for kids. Schools really shouldn’t be as segregated as they sometimes are.