I'm not denying generational poverty in Alexandria City Public Schools, a school district with all of 14,500 kids in it. I'm calling out adults for blaming the kids, and labeling them by the color of their skin.

Our City is not that big that the failure of Jefferson Houston should not have been dealt with in a more effective manner.

-Why did the School Board wait so long from 1999 to embrace redistricting when it would help a school like JH and PH?
-Why did the highly paid school administrators not do better, truly earn those $250K salaries plus third again plus in benefits?
-Why has it taken our City Council so long to work on integrating affordable housing around the City?
-And why turn down VDOE help with Jefferson Houston? Will ACPS turn VDOE down again if JH is not accredited in 2015 (which will be known by Fall, 2015)?

It's not the black kids from nearby projects who have failed. I have lived here 30 years. It's us, me and you and our elected leaders who have failed. ACPS is small by most standards: 14,500 students. Not 70K something of Fairfax County nor 122K or more in Maryland. Let's get real.

Lady, school officials cannot undo used and years of generational poverty. That is what it is. believe it or not every city in this country has a JH. There's only so much "city adults" can do about that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, so why is this school so shitty?

Black kids from nearby projects.

That's so racist! Shame on you. Put the onus where it is deserved. Not on the kids themselves but on the City adults! I live here btw.

Instead of kids from who cares where, hold responsible the ACPS School Board, ACPS Administration and even the City for not a) hiring a true turn around expert for JH b) fixing the school building a decade ago given the open classrooms and special needs (neighbors were against the new building but not against a remodel, afaik, and c) not embracing Virginia Department of Education help as offered but instead sticking only to local school board educational fix technique. That's all fine and good, keeping it local but 3 years without accreditation is enough!

Lastly, holding this school to the more intensive IB Curriculum (pre K-8th) is over the top. Educate these fine children using a regular American educational format. There is still time to reverse course on this.

It's not racist. It just is. Pretending like cycles of poverty in housing projects don't contribute to school failures is racist. Shame on YOU.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, so why is this school so shitty?

Black kids from nearby projects.

That's so racist! Shame on you. Put the onus where it is deserved. Not on the kids themselves but on the City adults! I live here btw.

Instead of kids from who cares where, hold responsible the ACPS School Board, ACPS Administration and even the City for not a) hiring a true turn around expert for JH b) fixing the school building a decade ago given the open classrooms and special needs (neighbors were against the new building but not against a remodel, afaik, and c) not embracing Virginia Department of Education help as offered but instead sticking only to local school board educational fix technique. That's all fine and good, keeping it local but 3 years without accreditation is enough!

Lastly, holding this school to the more intensive IB Curriculum (pre K-8th) is over the top. Educate these fine children using a regular American educational format. There is still time to reverse course on this.

All of what the previous poster said, coupled with the fact that because J-H has been failing for a number of years, and for a time was billing itself as an arts focus school, parents were for a long time allowed to opt out. That changed recently, but I imagine that once kids had opted out, they were allowed to stay opted out so for a period of 4 or 5 years any kid whose parents cared at all about their education went elsewhere.

One additional factor is that until the school was rebuilt, they had a horrendous "open classroom" design that seems like it could only have hurt attempts to teach. I don't think you can blame the problems on the facility, and I don't think a shiny, new facility will magically fix things, but I do think it had an impact on learning.

I have met several white, middle class families of late who are planning to take a chance on J-H over the next few years assuming the redistricting happens. I may be one of them (depending on where the new lines are) and I will definitely be meeting the principal and participating in some of the PTA meetups for rising Kindergartners.

This neighborhood has for the most part three categories of residents:

1. People with the high income needed to afford to purchase homes in Old Town, and with that high income also have the ability to go private without too much of a strain on the budget. Other parts of Alexandria have neighborhood schools with a higher number of upper middle class families that prefer to save their money and go with public, so they've become really engaged and active in making the schools succeed. It's just too easy for the higher income families in J-H zone to write a check and go private.

2. Section 8 voucher families. These are slightly different from the lower income families elsewhere in Alexandria. Whereas in other parts you often have recent immigrants (a large Ethiopian community on the West End, for example) that are eager to realize the American dream and place a high value on their child's education. In contrast, there is a high concentration of Section 8 housing in the neighborhood zoned for J-H. Here you have children from families that have experience multiple generations of poverty, and all of the problems that go with it.

3. Childless young singles/couples that are moving into the new condos. They have more $ and education, but they aren't sending any kids to the schools, because they don't have any (yet)!

So, while there are challenging demographics at many of Alexandria schools, J-H has some of the most challenging. Two things will fix this, and both of them are happening.

1. Gradually closing down the concentrated Section 8 housing in the part of Old Town zoned for J-H and dispersing it more widely throughout the city. Alexandria has pledged to maintain the % of designated affordable housing, but the new plan has small clusters set aside in new condo/townhouse developments, so you won't have whole building/blocks set aside.

2. Redistricting. If the proposed timeline holds, the new zones will be established in time for the start of school in the fall of 2016. Population explosion on the west end of town is the primary driver of this redistricting, and all of the schools will see some shifts, but J-H will definitely get some schools from nearby neighborhood, most likely some currently zoned for Maury and other nearby schools. That should lead to a different demographic mix.

To be clear, I have zero problem sending my children to a school where they are the racial minority and there is a FARMS rate above 50%. My kids have been going to such a school in ACPS for years, and have been doing just fine. There are just some unique circumstances related to the neighborhood of J-H, coupled with massive principal turnover, that have led to the current state.

I have heard good things about both the new principal and the experience of people who have opted for the smaller middle school experience.

I think with the combination of new school + new principal + rezoning, I'd be willing to try J-H. I have to admit, however, that while I'm sure I would be accused of being a crazed ACPS "booster" by some on this board, even I would not have sent my children to J-H in recent years. I'm hopeful it's turned a corner, but yeah, it has had problems.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, so why is this school so shitty?

Black kids from nearby projects.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, so why is this school so shitty?

Idk. Ask ACPS Administration. That's why they get the big bucks!

Yes, so why is this school so shitty?

Anonymous wrote:Why is this particular school such a disaster? There are FCPS schools with much higher FARMs rates that do much better on the standardized tests.

There are several other ACPS schools with higher FARMS rates. And it's not 19% white. I think it's listed as 10% white. Keep in mind that FARMS rate and racial makeup probably includes the preschool and the students with multiple disabilities (both are city-wide programs that happen to be located at Jefferson-Houston.)

Why is this particular school such a disaster? There are FCPS schools with much higher FARMs rates that do much better on the standardized tests.

I'm surprised that its 19% white-there aren't any poor white people in that part of Alexandria. Are they all in K and 1st grade until their parents figure out an exit strategy or is is 19% even per grade?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What percentage of the J-H population is well-educated, middle-class + families?

If that's all that mattered, why even bother considering public rather than home schooling? There isn't a single MCPS or FCPS school (let alone DCPS, ACPS, APS, or PGCS) with a large percentage of students with parents from selective colleges and DCUM standard middle-class incomes ($200k+). In the real DC metro area, most children are not white, have incomes well below $100k, and live with just one parent at some point in their childhood.

Oh, and make sure you tell the private school admissions staff that you're applying to stay away from that population and see how you fare in the application process.

I would considered a middle-class family with an income of 80k on up and well-educated as parents with college degrees, personally. There are many elementary schools where the *vast* majority of students are middle class or upper-middle class. Especially in the very suburban areas of Fairfax (not as familiar with MCPS). No need to homeschool, just move.

I think it was actually ranked second-worst of all the elementary schools in VA. Pitiful.

Anonymous wrote:Isn't it ranked the absolute worst elementary school in Virginia?

Ten schools in six divisions are denied state accreditation for 2014-2015 because of persistently low student achievement:

Alexandria – Jefferson-Houston Elementary for a third consecutive year
Henrico County – L. Douglas Wilder Middle, which had been Accredited with Warning for three consecutive years
Norfolk – Campostella Elementary, which had been Accredited with Warning for three consecutive years; William H. Ruffner Middle for a third consecutive year; Lake Taylor Middle, which had been Accredited with Warning for three consecutive years; and Lindenwood Elementary for a second consecutive year
Northampton County – Kiptopeke Elementary, which had Conditional Accreditation for the last three years
Petersburg – Peabody Middle for a ninth consecutive year and A.P. Hill Elementary for a second consecutive year
Richmond – Fred D. Thompson Middle, which had been Accredited with Warning for three consecutive years

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/news/news_releases/2014/09_sept16.shtml