Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting free program

The Immigrant Family Reunification Program (IFRP) is an effort by Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) to identify immigrant students going through family reunification, and to invite their parents to participate in parenting education classes and take advantage of free resources such as Families Reunite (also in Spanish), a 6-hour curriculum for parents reunifying with their children. IFRP also offers a professional development workshop Immigrant Family Reunification: Promoting Student Academic Engagement and resources for schools.

One-fifth of the nation's children are growing up in immigrant homes. The 2010 Census data reveals that 13% of the U.S. population is foreign born, a 20% increase since 2000. At the end of 2014, the Department of Homeland Security estimated that more than 90,000 unaccompanied minors could enter the US. As of June 2014, nearly 6,000 of those children arrived in Fairfax County.

http://www.fcps.edu/cco/fam/reunification.shtml

THIS should be cut from the budget.

These are human beings, people! This are children who are in pain. Children who have emotional difficulties don't learn (making life harder for teachers), then they end up doing crimes. Paying to help these children NOW is so much cheaper than waiting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting free program

The Immigrant Family Reunification Program (IFRP) is an effort by Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) to identify immigrant students going through family reunification, and to invite their parents to participate in parenting education classes and take advantage of free resources such as Families Reunite (also in Spanish), a 6-hour curriculum for parents reunifying with their children. IFRP also offers a professional development workshop Immigrant Family Reunification: Promoting Student Academic Engagement and resources for schools.

One-fifth of the nation's children are growing up in immigrant homes. The 2010 Census data reveals that 13% of the U.S. population is foreign born, a 20% increase since 2000. At the end of 2014, the Department of Homeland Security estimated that more than 90,000 unaccompanied minors could enter the US. As of June 2014, nearly 6,000 of those children arrived in Fairfax County.

http://www.fcps.edu/cco/fam/reunification.shtml

THIS should be cut from the budget.

Right, because after being separated from their parents for years, living in abject poverty in their home country, crossing the border with "coyotes" who have done who-knows-what to take advantage, the child is in a great state to be available for learning at school. There are no emotional issues whatsoever that impact the child at school. Everything is just perfect at school because it's just perfect at home, and no support is needed.


Cutting a program like this doesn't stop anyone from moving here. All it does is make a really hard situation even worse for both the child and the teachers who have to deal with the fallout. As a teacher, I'm not equipped to handle the social-emotional issues these kids have gone through. Yet these are issues that are impacting the classroom. A program like this is designed to take that burden off the school. When kids are happy and secure at home, they're happy and secure at school AND available for learning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If their parents live here and pay rent (which includes property taxes) then they are entitled to be in the schools and get the services they need.

If they are “unaccompanied minors” how can their parents live here?

Yes, the unaccompanied minor issue is a separate and important issue. In my school we have children from ESOL families. Not unaccompanied minors.

However even UMs must live somewhere, and every residence pays property taxes, does it not?

The problem is that rental units don't pay their appropriate share of taxes. Fairfax County uses a formula that assumes that very few kids live in apartment buildings and so underchanges. The formula is based on an assumption that is definitely not the case in apartment buildings in, for example, Bailey's Crossroads where multiple families with many kids live in one unit. The formula needs to be adjusted. The formula should be adjusted to account for reality, and the owners of these properties should have to pay more.

Anonymous wrote:Interesting free program

The Immigrant Family Reunification Program (IFRP) is an effort by Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) to identify immigrant students going through family reunification, and to invite their parents to participate in parenting education classes and take advantage of free resources such as Families Reunite (also in Spanish), a 6-hour curriculum for parents reunifying with their children. IFRP also offers a professional development workshop Immigrant Family Reunification: Promoting Student Academic Engagement and resources for schools.

One-fifth of the nation's children are growing up in immigrant homes. The 2010 Census data reveals that 13% of the U.S. population is foreign born, a 20% increase since 2000. At the end of 2014, the Department of Homeland Security estimated that more than 90,000 unaccompanied minors could enter the US. As of June 2014, nearly 6,000 of those children arrived in Fairfax County.

http://www.fcps.edu/cco/fam/reunification.shtml

THIS should be cut from the budget.

Interesting free program

The Immigrant Family Reunification Program (IFRP) is an effort by Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) to identify immigrant students going through family reunification, and to invite their parents to participate in parenting education classes and take advantage of free resources such as Families Reunite (also in Spanish), a 6-hour curriculum for parents reunifying with their children. IFRP also offers a professional development workshop Immigrant Family Reunification: Promoting Student Academic Engagement and resources for schools.

One-fifth of the nation's children are growing up in immigrant homes. The 2010 Census data reveals that 13% of the U.S. population is foreign born, a 20% increase since 2000. At the end of 2014, the Department of Homeland Security estimated that more than 90,000 unaccompanied minors could enter the US. As of June 2014, nearly 6,000 of those children arrived in Fairfax County.

http://www.fcps.edu/cco/fam/reunification.shtml

Anonymous wrote:PP said that areas outside of FC and Arlington have few businesses to tax. Woodbridge is booming, as is Fredericksburg. Tons of new businesses, large shopping plazas and big houses. Woodbridge has a new shopping development across tue highway from Potomac Mills that is very nice. Although improvement to the schools won't happen overnight, they sure are attacting a lot of business revenue to that area.

I still would not want to live there because of the schools and commute, but to say there is no business out that way is just wrong.

To say it is lilly white outside of those areas is wrong too.

Woodbridge has a large African American population. From my observation, much higher than fairfax county.

PP said that areas outside of FC and Arlington have few businesses to tax. Woodbridge is booming, as is Fredericksburg. Tons of new businesses, large shopping plazas and big houses. Woodbridge has a new shopping development across tue highway from Potomac Mills that is very nice. Although improvement to the schools won't happen overnight, they sure are attacting a lot of business revenue to that area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
People in the immigrant/FARMS groups tend to have children younger and have more of them. The people in the non-immigrant groups tend to have fewer children and tend to move out as soon as their children finish school and/or they retire so that they can save for retirement.

The immigrant/FARMS groups double or triple up in housing so you have more people per real estate tax dollar.

So the situation is getting worse as more taxes have to be generated from the existing housing stock.

It's a downward spiral as those who are middle class leave due to higher and higher taxes. You are left with only the rich and the poor, which is a very urban scenario. The county will eventually confront city like problems in financing its schools. The old style "suburbs" are becoming the areas further out.

It's actually the areas further out that have more difficulty financing their schools as they have few businesses to tax. The residential rates are higher and they still build schools without playgrounds and with only a fraction of the programs that the closer-in districts like Fairfax and Arlington offer. But as long as the schools are new and the kids are white, you probably think it's heaven.

Um, have you been to Woodbridge lately?

Not PP but what is Woodbridge like? No- have not been there..

There are also people (illegals mostly) working "under the table" who are not paying state income taxes (or federal taxes for that matter). You can see them working as day laborers.

Of course people pay rent and therefore property taxes. But, you have more people per rental unit when you have rooms rented out within the rental unit (which is going on). The rental unit has more school aged children in it while the taxes are the same. This is a big problem.

Yes, the families may pay rent--but the amount going to property tax must surely be minimal. Multi family dwellings. I read somewhere that Fairfax received the second largest group of unaccompanied minors--and the growth in the ESOL population this year would indicate that is true. Doubtful that much property tax is coming with those 1000.

And, you can say Virginia is not friendly, but the BOS welcomed the undocumented with open arms when Prince William County cracked down.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
People in the immigrant/FARMS groups tend to have children younger and have more of them. The people in the non-immigrant groups tend to have fewer children and tend to move out as soon as their children finish school and/or they retire so that they can save for retirement.

The immigrant/FARMS groups double or triple up in housing so you have more people per real estate tax dollar.

So the situation is getting worse as more taxes have to be generated from the existing housing stock.

It's a downward spiral as those who are middle class leave due to higher and higher taxes. You are left with only the rich and the poor, which is a very urban scenario. The county will eventually confront city like problems in financing its schools. The old style "suburbs" are becoming the areas further out.

It's actually the areas further out that have more difficulty financing their schools as they have few businesses to tax. The residential rates are higher and they still build schools without playgrounds and with only a fraction of the programs that the closer-in districts like Fairfax and Arlington offer. But as long as the schools are new and the kids are white, you probably think it's heaven.

Um, have you been to Woodbridge lately?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't be so quick to assume these folks are undocumented, not least because Virginia's not the most friendly place for undocumented immigrants.

Lots of English Language Learners came to the US legally, but didn't happen to speak English before they got here. FCPS has a reputation for being the best in the region, so people (including immigrants) are flocking there. These populations being unique needs, but also contribute to a diverse school population, and one in which parents are willing to make financial sacrifices to get a good education for their kids.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/10/northern-virginia-diversity-race/18079525/

I have genuinely no idea what we're supposed to take from this article. It talks about how Fairfax is more diverse (which we know) and how Prince William County had a legal showdown that pushed undocumented immigrants out of the county. That actually backs up my assertion that undocumented immigrants are probably not the bulk of the demographic shift in Fairfax.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If their parents live here and pay rent (which includes property taxes) then they are entitled to be in the schools and get the services they need.

If they are “unaccompanied minors” how can their parents live here?

Yes, the unaccompanied minor issue is a separate and important issue. In my school we have children from ESOL families. Not unaccompanied minors.

However even UMs must live somewhere, and every residence pays property taxes, does it not?

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't be so quick to assume these folks are undocumented, not least because Virginia's not the most friendly place for undocumented immigrants.

Lots of English Language Learners came to the US legally, but didn't happen to speak English before they got here. FCPS has a reputation for being the best in the region, so people (including immigrants) are flocking there. These populations being unique needs, but also contribute to a diverse school population, and one in which parents are willing to make financial sacrifices to get a good education for their kids.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/10/northern-virginia-diversity-race/18079525/