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Anonymous wrote:We recently moved from the area but our experience at an FCPS secondary school was very positive. My son liked school, took challenging classes, was happy to go every day and I always got the impression that the teachers were supportive of their students. The competition for spots in some of the extracurricular activities could be fierce. But when you have lots of people vying for limited spots - some competition can be expected.

I am really surprised to hear about this pressure cooker environment that some of you are talking about. In my experience, the kids who are taking the challenging course loads are doing so because they want to take them, not because the teachers and administrators are pressuring them to do so. I can only say that we never felt or experienced that.

Exactly. Our kids go to one of the most competitive schools in FCPS, and the people putting pressure on the kids are either the kids themselves or their parents - or both. The administration and teachers don't get involved in who chooses to take which class - that's a personal decision. No one at the school is pressuring the kids to take higher level classes - they simply teach the classes. In other words, if kids are overloading on AP's, it's their decision or their parents are telling them to do so. It's ludicrous to blame this on the schools.

Who lets kids make those important decisions? Aren't we paying people's salaries to help guide them?

Anti-Bullis mom posters almost as bad as Bullis mom in some cases.

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Anonymous wrote:We recently moved from the area but our experience at an FCPS secondary school was very positive. My son liked school, took challenging classes, was happy to go every day and I always got the impression that the teachers were supportive of their students. The competition for spots in some of the extracurricular activities could be fierce. But when you have lots of people vying for limited spots - some competition can be expected.

I am really surprised to hear about this pressure cooker environment that some of you are talking about. In my experience, the kids who are taking the challenging course loads are doing so because they want to take them, not because the teachers and administrators are pressuring them to do so. I can only say that we never felt or experienced that.

Exactly. Our kids go to one of the most competitive schools in FCPS, and the people putting pressure on the kids are either the kids themselves or their parents - or both. The administration and teachers don't get involved in who chooses to take which class - that's a personal decision. No one at the school is pressuring the kids to take higher level classes - they simply teach the classes. In other words, if kids are overloading on AP's, it's their decision or their parents are telling them to do so. It's ludicrous to blame this on the schools.

Why do you think kids are making those decisions? Do you think college admissions policies have anything to do with it? How about government policies?

Asians, for instance, are the new Jews - they are being discriminated against re: college admissions and the schools openly admit it. Berkeley specifically said 'we would be all Asian otherwise'.

If the adults in the room stopped worrying about their own prestige and simply focused on their jobs, i.e. educating kids, all this nonsense would stop.

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Anonymous wrote:I have some friends whose kids go to Woodson. They've told me that the environment there is like a pressure cooker. Because the school is known for its high test scores, it's ingrained in the culture that it is very important that it be maintained. Test scores are everything.

That doesn't stand up to the logic test. If that were true, then schools like Langley, McLean, Madison, Oakton and others in the DMV area would also have a lot of suicides... but as far as I know, they don't. Something is going on. I suspect that when it happens once, there is a sense that it's a possibility for other kids. But, something needs to be done.

It's not just because they have a good test record. According to the students I've spoken with, it's the over the top culture of perfectionism and lofty standards, specific to Woodson's administration.

I do not doubt this. My daughter was brought to near emotional collapse at another FFX Cty school due to what she called, her inability to please staff and impossibly high standards. No matter what she did, no matter how high her grades were (and she was a straight A student), she felt as if they wanted her to do more and more and more. The administration of these high schools care only about their numbers it seems.

Agree.

No tragedy fails to bring out Bullis Mom and her gripes against Langley, based on her daughter's one year there (which was five or six years ago). Sigh.

I'm still watching kids collapse. And kids are STILL reaching out to me. There is a problem at a lot of the area schools, and people like you are class A reasons why. If you think the problem stops with my kids, it doesn't. And if you think I'm going to let other kids feel suicide is their only option, I won't. If I can help, I will. If you choose to drive these kids over the cliff, it's on your conscience.

Rarely have I seen someone as narcissistic as the infamous Bullis Mom. Wow.

Well, aside from Donald J. Trump, right?

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Anonymous wrote:I have some friends whose kids go to Woodson. They've told me that the environment there is like a pressure cooker. Because the school is known for its high test scores, it's ingrained in the culture that it is very important that it be maintained. Test scores are everything.

That doesn't stand up to the logic test. If that were true, then schools like Langley, McLean, Madison, Oakton and others in the DMV area would also have a lot of suicides... but as far as I know, they don't. Something is going on. I suspect that when it happens once, there is a sense that it's a possibility for other kids. But, something needs to be done.

It's not just because they have a good test record. According to the students I've spoken with, it's the over the top culture of perfectionism and lofty standards, specific to Woodson's administration.

I do not doubt this. My daughter was brought to near emotional collapse at another FFX Cty school due to what she called, her inability to please staff and impossibly high standards. No matter what she did, no matter how high her grades were (and she was a straight A student), she felt as if they wanted her to do more and more and more. The administration of these high schools care only about their numbers it seems.

Agree.

No tragedy fails to bring out Bullis Mom and her gripes against Langley, based on her daughter's one year there (which was five or six years ago). Sigh.

Stop. Just stop.

No. It's Bullis Mom who needs to stop trying to make everything about her. That act - which centers around spreading a narrative about Langley that no one else with kids there recognized - got tired years ago and has not aged well.

It's not about me, you moron. When I see yet another area child has taken his life, it breaks my heart in a million pieces. And if I can do something to help, I damn well will. SO STFU.

Oh, Linda. It is always, always, always about you. Do you really think that isn't clear to everyone by now?

Go back to your mansion and count your blessings. Do you think you are being clever and that I'm afraid of being outed? Bring it.

DP. Of course you're not afraid of being outed. You relish it! Anyhow, you've been outed on DCUM already - you're old news. I have to ask: if you hate this area so very much, why are you still here?

My husband won't leave, and it's not worth divorcing over. Simple as that.

I am not afraid of being outed, because I don't give a crap what people think of me. Frankly, I haven't for a long, long time.

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Anonymous wrote:I have some friends whose kids go to Woodson. They've told me that the environment there is like a pressure cooker. Because the school is known for its high test scores, it's ingrained in the culture that it is very important that it be maintained. Test scores are everything.

That doesn't stand up to the logic test. If that were true, then schools like Langley, McLean, Madison, Oakton and others in the DMV area would also have a lot of suicides... but as far as I know, they don't. Something is going on. I suspect that when it happens once, there is a sense that it's a possibility for other kids. But, something needs to be done.

It's not just because they have a good test record. According to the students I've spoken with, it's the over the top culture of perfectionism and lofty standards, specific to Woodson's administration.

I do not doubt this. My daughter was brought to near emotional collapse at another FFX Cty school due to what she called, her inability to please staff and impossibly high standards. No matter what she did, no matter how high her grades were (and she was a straight A student), she felt as if they wanted her to do more and more and more. The administration of these high schools care only about their numbers it seems.

Agree.

No tragedy fails to bring out Bullis Mom and her gripes against Langley, based on her daughter's one year there (which was five or six years ago). Sigh.

Stop. Just stop.

No. It's Bullis Mom who needs to stop trying to make everything about her. That act - which centers around spreading a narrative about Langley that no one else with kids there recognized - got tired years ago and has not aged well.

It's not about me, you moron. When I see yet another area child has taken his life, it breaks my heart in a million pieces. And if I can do something to help, I damn well will. SO STFU.

Oh, Linda. It is always, always, always about you. Do you really think that isn't clear to everyone by now?

Naming her was unnecessary. Also, the original post she wrote said nothing about Langley, she only said she had a bad experience with another FCPS school. No bad mouthing of Langley directly. Multiple Langley parents then pointed out she was referring to Langley. Her experience is her experience. If you guys had just ignored the post, I doubt many people would have a clue the school was Langley. Maybe her posts are frustrating given the time that has elapsed, but you guys really are helping to fuel this by pointing out the school she's referring to, and now posting her name. I get your frustration, but I would say step back a little and don't engage in this back and forth. Maybe if she had named the school herself, I could see posting a different perspective.

Agree. I don't have any experience with Langley, so I don't know if any of this is true with regard to that school. It is true for other FCPS schools though, so it's worth discussing. And again, she didn't say anything about Langley. I don't even know how you recognized it was her, to be honest.

We recognized her because she has been around for a very long time, always with the same bizarre story about her daughter and claims that scores of teens confide in her about their school "trauma." She will seize any opportunity to badmouth Langley, and the fact that she didn't name the school only shows that she has been warned by Jeff in the past, and in fact, banned from this site at times because of her over the top obsession with the school. If it was your school she was constantly badmouthing, you would feel the same frustration and disgust.

I'm badmouthing the horrible culture we've created in a lot of the DC area, how weak most of the school board is and how they simply want to push an agenda, how our tax dollars are used, and how students feel like they aren't heard. There have been many people on the verge of suicide who say that one smile, on sympathetic ear, one 'how can I help' made them think twice about killing themselves. Isn't that what we all should be doing - being kind every day? Maybe letting someone in front of you in line who is struggling with a screaming child? Letting someone with their blinker on into your lane? Approaching someone visibly upset and asking how you can help?

I think you have an unhealthy obsession with trying to protect Langley. I didn't name the school because it wasn't pertinent to the conversation in this case. Langley itself isn't the problem, it was simply our problemm and we fixed that problem based on what worked for our family. What I did discover, what IS pertinent is we clearly have an issue in our school system. The boy's friend said specifically why he feels the suicide happened, and I am going to listen to that voice. We need to listen to these kids, not make up our own reason as a means of rationalizing our own fears, or trying to place blame on parents who lost their child.

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Anonymous wrote:^^^ that's not the teachers fault. How often do you hear parents on this thread spouting off about merit pay for teachers. Teachers who produce get better pay. Well how the hell is that measured? Oh that's right! Test scores.
Check out the thread on Hayfield. Bunch of a$$holes talking about how terrible Lee, Annandale, Stuart etc... are. They would never send their kids to a GS 5! Well, pick your poison. You want your property values, I guess some eggs get cracked in that omelette. God forbid you don't have a big enough "peer" group.
Quit blaming the administration and teachers. Or move ffs. You don't like the culture of that GS 10 school? Well honey, there are a bunch of 5's right down the road.

Much easier to spout off about how great her $40,000 private was.

Sweetheart- my kid is slated to go to a very undesirable high school, as per these threads. The only people who have my sympathy in these scenarios are the kids. You parents are the worst.

Exactly. Do you think it was my first choice to pay big money to send my three kids to private high schools? I was quite happy with the elementary and middle school so I'm not the private school 'snob' these folk want to make me out to be. It ended up being a necessity because it is my KIDS that mattered. Your child will probably do fine in the 'undesirable' school because you get it.

Who put a gun to your head and made you live in Great Falls and send your kids to Langley? If it was so horrible, you could have pupil placed them to South Lakes or Marshall. Easier to spend hundreds of thousands on privates, I guess, and then come on here railing against people trying to do their best at the public schools or the "illegal children" who attend them.

THIS. We live in Great Falls and our kids attend Langley. They are happy and enjoy school. But if they didn't? We would do exactly as the PP suggested and pupil place for South Lakes or Marshall. What's the point of spending so much money on privates that cultivate the same - or WORSE - culture of competitiveness? Why wouldn't you place your child in a less competitive school if they were feeling pressure?

All privates are not alike. If you tried to pupil place in South Lakes because your kid was not happy or thriving at Langley, you would be put in the Non-IB program and if your kid was smart, the principal would tell you it was not a good idea. You have to start IB Freshman year.

I hear this a lot from fellow Great Falls people. They have the big house, expensive cars, large diamonds, take multiple expensive vacations, but when it comes to their kids, they think private school as an alternative is a waste. That's your choice. There are a lot more unhappy kids than you think at Langley, and other competitive publics, but they are loathe to talk about it with what they feel are unsympathetic adults.

Coming from a Jewish family, education is very important to us. Jews studied even in concentration camps, and have always equated education and survival. Perhaps that makes me particularly attuned to whether or not my kids enjoy learning, rather than just going through the motions. My boys attended a private many here either have never heard of, or if they have, make fun of. Too bad, because they are missing out.

The fact is, Fairfax county schools have been going downhill and a lot of that is due to the school board and the way our tax dollars are spent.

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Anonymous wrote:My solution is for parents to calm down. Don't be afraid of immigrant kids. Send them to a lower rated FFX school. Stop posting the SAT averages of every high school, and stop caring about it.
Stop comparing how many AP's your kid is taking.
Find out what your kid is doing online. All of it. Do you know what the kids are using now? Here's a hint- it's not Facebook. Learn that stuff and keep up.
Get them the f*ck off snap chat.
You worried about your kid's "peer group" and their achievements? How about being concerned that they are hanging out with kind kids. Kids that are nerds. Kind nerds.
Don't make them drop music, so they can shove in another STEM class. Let them have some joy.
Let them know that they could persue a trade if they don't seem to be the college type. That's ok! That's really ok.
If you do get a teacher who needs an ego check- take it to admin and pull your kid. That shouldn't be happening every year. If it is, it's probably you, not the teacher.
Because this isn't about teachers.
It's about parents.
It starts at home.
It always starts at home.
We are to blame.

Lower rated FFX schools have bullying issues too. For example, some immigrant communities are homophobic, so boys viewed as gay are bullied. There also tends to be a higher incidence of physical altercations. I don't think that's a healthy choice either. A lot of people don't care about the test scores or "lack of academic peers" at lower rated FFX schools, but are concerned about the negative social aspects.

A 14 year old in Herndon was shot to death by MS-13 while he waited for the school bus, because he turned down their gang invitation. That was decidedly not the parents.

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Anonymous wrote:^^^ that's not the teachers fault. How often do you hear parents on this thread spouting off about merit pay for teachers. Teachers who produce get better pay. Well how the hell is that measured? Oh that's right! Test scores.
Check out the thread on Hayfield. Bunch of a$$holes talking about how terrible Lee, Annandale, Stuart etc... are. They would never send their kids to a GS 5! Well, pick your poison. You want your property values, I guess some eggs get cracked in that omelette. God forbid you don't have a big enough "peer" group.
Quit blaming the administration and teachers. Or move ffs. You don't like the culture of that GS 10 school? Well honey, there are a bunch of 5's right down the road.

Much easier to spout off about how great her $40,000 private was.

Sweetheart- my kid is slated to go to a very undesirable high school, as per these threads. The only people who have my sympathy in these scenarios are the kids. You parents are the worst.

Exactly. Do you think it was my first choice to pay big money to send my three kids to private high schools? I was quite happy with the elementary and middle school so I'm not the private school 'snob' these folk want to make me out to be. It ended up being a necessity because it is my KIDS that mattered. Your child will probably do fine in the 'undesirable' school because you get it.

Who put a gun to your head and made you live in Great Falls and send your kids to Langley? If it was so horrible, you could have pupil placed them to South Lakes or Marshall. Easier to spend hundreds of thousands on privates, I guess, and then come on here railing against people trying to do their best at the public schools or the "illegal children" who attend them.

THIS. We live in Great Falls and our kids attend Langley. They are happy and enjoy school. But if they didn't? We would do exactly as the PP suggested and pupil place for South Lakes or Marshall. What's the point of spending so much money on privates that cultivate the same - or WORSE - culture of competitiveness? Why wouldn't you place your child in a less competitive school if they were feeling pressure?

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Anonymous wrote:^^^ that's not the teachers fault. How often do you hear parents on this thread spouting off about merit pay for teachers. Teachers who produce get better pay. Well how the hell is that measured? Oh that's right! Test scores.
Check out the thread on Hayfield. Bunch of a$$holes talking about how terrible Lee, Annandale, Stuart etc... are. They would never send their kids to a GS 5! Well, pick your poison. You want your property values, I guess some eggs get cracked in that omelette. God forbid you don't have a big enough "peer" group.
Quit blaming the administration and teachers. Or move ffs. You don't like the culture of that GS 10 school? Well honey, there are a bunch of 5's right down the road.

Much easier to spout off about how great her $40,000 private was.

+100
And it's not as if privates aren't 99.9% wealthy kids and families with exactly the same (if not more) pressures as kids who attend the best public high schools.

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Anonymous wrote:I have some friends whose kids go to Woodson. They've told me that the environment there is like a pressure cooker. Because the school is known for its high test scores, it's ingrained in the culture that it is very important that it be maintained. Test scores are everything.

That doesn't stand up to the logic test. If that were true, then schools like Langley, McLean, Madison, Oakton and others in the DMV area would also have a lot of suicides... but as far as I know, they don't. Something is going on. I suspect that when it happens once, there is a sense that it's a possibility for other kids. But, something needs to be done.

It's not just because they have a good test record. According to the students I've spoken with, it's the over the top culture of perfectionism and lofty standards, specific to Woodson's administration.

I do not doubt this. My daughter was brought to near emotional collapse at another FFX Cty school due to what she called, her inability to please staff and impossibly high standards. No matter what she did, no matter how high her grades were (and she was a straight A student), she felt as if they wanted her to do more and more and more. The administration of these high schools care only about their numbers it seems.

Agree.

No tragedy fails to bring out Bullis Mom and her gripes against Langley, based on her daughter's one year there (which was five or six years ago). Sigh.

Stop. Just stop.

No. It's Bullis Mom who needs to stop trying to make everything about her. That act - which centers around spreading a narrative about Langley that no one else with kids there recognized - got tired years ago and has not aged well.

It's not about me, you moron. When I see yet another area child has taken his life, it breaks my heart in a million pieces. And if I can do something to help, I damn well will. SO STFU.

Oh, Linda. It is always, always, always about you. Do you really think that isn't clear to everyone by now?

Naming her was unnecessary. Also, the original post she wrote said nothing about Langley, she only said she had a bad experience with another FCPS school. No bad mouthing of Langley directly. Multiple Langley parents then pointed out she was referring to Langley. Her experience is her experience. If you guys had just ignored the post, I doubt many people would have a clue the school was Langley. Maybe her posts are frustrating given the time that has elapsed, but you guys really are helping to fuel this by pointing out the school she's referring to, and now posting her name. I get your frustration, but I would say step back a little and don't engage in this back and forth. Maybe if she had named the school herself, I could see posting a different perspective.

Agree. I don't have any experience with Langley, so I don't know if any of this is true with regard to that school. It is true for other FCPS schools though, so it's worth discussing. And again, she didn't say anything about Langley. I don't even know how you recognized it was her, to be honest.

Probably because her posts are virtually the same, word for word, and invariably speak to how her "straight A" daughter supposedly was pressured to take AP courses.

It is so narcissistic that it's hard to ignore, even when that probably would be the wiser course of action.

She took three her jr and sr year when it is appropriate and did really well. Thanks for playing. AP classes as a Freshman are just stupid

I'm not aware of any FCPS high schools in which freshman are even allowed to take AP classes.

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Anonymous wrote:I have some friends whose kids go to Woodson. They've told me that the environment there is like a pressure cooker. Because the school is known for its high test scores, it's ingrained in the culture that it is very important that it be maintained. Test scores are everything.

That doesn't stand up to the logic test. If that were true, then schools like Langley, McLean, Madison, Oakton and others in the DMV area would also have a lot of suicides... but as far as I know, they don't. Something is going on. I suspect that when it happens once, there is a sense that it's a possibility for other kids. But, something needs to be done.

It's not just because they have a good test record. According to the students I've spoken with, it's the over the top culture of perfectionism and lofty standards, specific to Woodson's administration.

I do not doubt this. My daughter was brought to near emotional collapse at another FFX Cty school due to what she called, her inability to please staff and impossibly high standards. No matter what she did, no matter how high her grades were (and she was a straight A student), she felt as if they wanted her to do more and more and more. The administration of these high schools care only about their numbers it seems.

Agree.

No tragedy fails to bring out Bullis Mom and her gripes against Langley, based on her daughter's one year there (which was five or six years ago). Sigh.

Stop. Just stop.

No. It's Bullis Mom who needs to stop trying to make everything about her. That act - which centers around spreading a narrative about Langley that no one else with kids there recognized - got tired years ago and has not aged well.

It's not about me, you moron. When I see yet another area child has taken his life, it breaks my heart in a million pieces. And if I can do something to help, I damn well will. SO STFU.

Oh, Linda. It is always, always, always about you. Do you really think that isn't clear to everyone by now?

Naming her was unnecessary. Also, the original post she wrote said nothing about Langley, she only said she had a bad experience with another FCPS school. No bad mouthing of Langley directly. Multiple Langley parents then pointed out she was referring to Langley. Her experience is her experience. If you guys had just ignored the post, I doubt many people would have a clue the school was Langley. Maybe her posts are frustrating given the time that has elapsed, but you guys really are helping to fuel this by pointing out the school she's referring to, and now posting her name. I get your frustration, but I would say step back a little and don't engage in this back and forth. Maybe if she had named the school herself, I could see posting a different perspective.

Agree. I don't have any experience with Langley, so I don't know if any of this is true with regard to that school. It is true for other FCPS schools though, so it's worth discussing. And again, she didn't say anything about Langley. I don't even know how you recognized it was her, to be honest.

We recognized her because she has been around for a very long time, always with the same bizarre story about her daughter and claims that scores of teens confide in her about their school "trauma." She will seize any opportunity to badmouth Langley, and the fact that she didn't name the school only shows that she has been warned by Jeff in the past, and in fact, banned from this site at times because of her over the top obsession with the school. If it was your school she was constantly badmouthing, you would feel the same frustration and disgust.

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Anonymous wrote:I have some friends whose kids go to Woodson. They've told me that the environment there is like a pressure cooker. Because the school is known for its high test scores, it's ingrained in the culture that it is very important that it be maintained. Test scores are everything.

That doesn't stand up to the logic test. If that were true, then schools like Langley, McLean, Madison, Oakton and others in the DMV area would also have a lot of suicides... but as far as I know, they don't. Something is going on. I suspect that when it happens once, there is a sense that it's a possibility for other kids. But, something needs to be done.

It's not just because they have a good test record. According to the students I've spoken with, it's the over the top culture of perfectionism and lofty standards, specific to Woodson's administration.

I do not doubt this. My daughter was brought to near emotional collapse at another FFX Cty school due to what she called, her inability to please staff and impossibly high standards. No matter what she did, no matter how high her grades were (and she was a straight A student), she felt as if they wanted her to do more and more and more. The administration of these high schools care only about their numbers it seems.

Agree.

No tragedy fails to bring out Bullis Mom and her gripes against Langley, based on her daughter's one year there (which was five or six years ago). Sigh.

Stop. Just stop.

No. It's Bullis Mom who needs to stop trying to make everything about her. That act - which centers around spreading a narrative about Langley that no one else with kids there recognized - got tired years ago and has not aged well.

It's not about me, you moron. When I see yet another area child has taken his life, it breaks my heart in a million pieces. And if I can do something to help, I damn well will. SO STFU.

Oh, Linda. It is always, always, always about you. Do you really think that isn't clear to everyone by now?

Go back to your mansion and count your blessings. Do you think you are being clever and that I'm afraid of being outed? Bring it.

DP. Of course you're not afraid of being outed. You relish it! Anyhow, you've been outed on DCUM already - you're old news. I have to ask: if you hate this area so very much, why are you still here?

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Anonymous wrote:I have some friends whose kids go to Woodson. They've told me that the environment there is like a pressure cooker. Because the school is known for its high test scores, it's ingrained in the culture that it is very important that it be maintained. Test scores are everything.

That doesn't stand up to the logic test. If that were true, then schools like Langley, McLean, Madison, Oakton and others in the DMV area would also have a lot of suicides... but as far as I know, they don't. Something is going on. I suspect that when it happens once, there is a sense that it's a possibility for other kids. But, something needs to be done.

It's not just because they have a good test record. According to the students I've spoken with, it's the over the top culture of perfectionism and lofty standards, specific to Woodson's administration.

I do not doubt this. My daughter was brought to near emotional collapse at another FFX Cty school due to what she called, her inability to please staff and impossibly high standards. No matter what she did, no matter how high her grades were (and she was a straight A student), she felt as if they wanted her to do more and more and more. The administration of these high schools care only about their numbers it seems.

Agree.

No tragedy fails to bring out Bullis Mom and her gripes against Langley, based on her daughter's one year there (which was five or six years ago). Sigh.

Stop. Just stop.

No. It's Bullis Mom who needs to stop trying to make everything about her. That act - which centers around spreading a narrative about Langley that no one else with kids there recognized - got tired years ago and has not aged well.

It's not about me, you moron. When I see yet another area child has taken his life, it breaks my heart in a million pieces. And if I can do something to help, I damn well will. SO STFU.

Not the PP, but it is most certainly "about you," or at least, you'd like it to be. You're like an ambulance chaser. As soon as you sniff out the word "suicide," you're off and running on DCUM, telling whomever will bother to listen to you that these kids took their lives because of "school pressure." You clearly don't have the slightest inkling of what causes clinical depression and the myriad reasons someone might choose to take their life. Newsflash: IT ISN'T ALL ABOUT SCHOOL. Those with mental illnesses find it difficult and often impossible to climb out of their blackness, and school pressure certainly adds to that. But you do realize teenaged suicides occur everywhere, right? Not just in our little DC area bubble. Mental illness is the cause - you can't possibly simplify it down to "school pressure." There's so much more to it than that, and to act like you and you alone are on some sort of perverted crusade to "save" these kids from depression is the height of hubris. Your kid had a bad experience (though it sounds completely exaggerated and made up, FYI). Stop extrapolating her experience onto the lives of thousands of other kids - most of whom handle stress in vastly different ways than the few who decide to take their lives.

Do some reading on mental health. And stop posting about your one-off experience as if teenage angst somehow equals depression. You're incredibly tiresome.

Anonymous wrote:We recently moved from the area but our experience at an FCPS secondary school was very positive. My son liked school, took challenging classes, was happy to go every day and I always got the impression that the teachers were supportive of their students. The competition for spots in some of the extracurricular activities could be fierce. But when you have lots of people vying for limited spots - some competition can be expected.

I am really surprised to hear about this pressure cooker environment that some of you are talking about. In my experience, the kids who are taking the challenging course loads are doing so because they want to take them, not because the teachers and administrators are pressuring them to do so. I can only say that we never felt or experienced that.

Exactly. Our kids go to one of the most competitive schools in FCPS, and the people putting pressure on the kids are either the kids themselves or their parents - or both. The administration and teachers don't get involved in who chooses to take which class - that's a personal decision. No one at the school is pressuring the kids to take higher level classes - they simply teach the classes. In other words, if kids are overloading on AP's, it's their decision or their parents are telling them to do so. It's ludicrous to blame this on the schools.