Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone seen the video of the facilities at Carmel HS that is making the rounds?

https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/hamilton-county/carmel/2023/02/13/carmel-high-school-students-tiktok-videos-natatorium-stadium-auditorium-studios-auto-shop/69899563007/

I know that what happens inside a building is more important than the building itself but the disparities between the facilities at that school and some of the run-down facilities in FCPS really make me feel guilty for living in a school district like FCPS that spends so much time on abstract discussions about “equity” yet pays so little attention to the condition of its facilities that trailers and cheap modulars are now just taken for granted.

Shame on Fairfax County and shame on FCPS! For a supposedly wealthy county, we don’t even come close to a random suburb of a mid-sized city in the Midwest when it comes to providing for our kids.

Can you not comprehend that land is more expensive and more scared in VA than in Indiana? Maybe you should go back to school. Also, I'd bet dollars to donuts, facilities aside, FCPS kids score higher than those kids in Indiana. But sure, let's focus on the building.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS does not have the luxury that this school district has. We have over 37,000 ESOL students and this number are roughly DOUBLED since 2010.

31% of FCPS students are FARMs. That means they are living in poverty.

FARMS eligibility is based on poverty levels but is not equivalent to “living in poverty.” In part the idea is to keep the families from becoming impoverished by paying for their kids’ meals.

Be that as it may, this is still a wealthy county, and the condition of many of our schools is lamentable compared to those in many other areas of the country with better managed schools. Personally, I’ve stopped pretending this is still a desirable place to live, even though we’re not free to move at present, and it’s somewhat liberating to admit the emperor has no clothes.

Personally I think it's a very desirable place to live and am happy with the schools. I am free to move and I choose not to.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are angry about high schools with 2 or 3 thousand students in FCPS and now you want to double it to get a second ceramics room?

Hah. A school like Carmel has multiple ceramics rooms and FCPS has “art on a cart.”

We lost our art teacher, so Art on a Cart is not even happening.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS does not have the luxury that this school district has. We have over 37,000 ESOL students and this number are roughly DOUBLED since 2010.

31% of FCPS students are FARMs. That means they are living in poverty.

FARMS eligibility is based on poverty levels but is not equivalent to “living in poverty.” In part the idea is to keep the families from becoming impoverished by paying for their kids’ meals.

Be that as it may, this is still a wealthy county, and the condition of many of our schools is lamentable compared to those in many other areas of the country with better managed schools. Personally, I’ve stopped pretending this is still a desirable place to live, even though we’re not free to move at present, and it’s somewhat liberating to admit the emperor has no clothes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are angry about high schools with 2 or 3 thousand students in FCPS and now you want to double it to get a second ceramics room?

Hah. A school like Carmel has multiple ceramics rooms and FCPS has “art on a cart.”

We lost our art teacher, so Art on a Cart is not even happening.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS does not have the luxury that this school district has. We have over 37,000 ESOL students and this number are roughly DOUBLED since 2010.

31% of FCPS students are FARMs. That means they are living in poverty.

FARMS eligibility is based on poverty levels but is not equivalent to “living in poverty.” In part the idea is to keep the families from becoming impoverished by paying for their kids’ meals.

Be that as it may, this is still a wealthy county, and the condition of many of our schools is lamentable compared to those in many other areas of the country with better managed schools. Personally, I’ve stopped pretending this is still a desirable place to live, even though we’re not free to move at present, and it’s somewhat liberating to admit the emperor has no clothes.

What school systems with similar farms rates have spectacular facilities?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS does not have the luxury that this school district has. We have over 37,000 ESOL students and this number are roughly DOUBLED since 2010.

31% of FCPS students are FARMs. That means they are living in poverty.

FARMS eligibility is based on poverty levels but is not equivalent to “living in poverty.” In part the idea is to keep the families from becoming impoverished by paying for their kids’ meals.

Be that as it may, this is still a wealthy county, and the condition of many of our schools is lamentable compared to those in many other areas of the country with better managed schools. Personally, I’ve stopped pretending this is still a desirable place to live, even though we’re not free to move at present, and it’s somewhat liberating to admit the emperor has no clothes.

Anonymous wrote:FCPS does not have the luxury that this school district has. We have over 37,000 ESOL students and this number are roughly DOUBLED since 2010.

31% of FCPS students are FARMs. That means they are living in poverty.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are angry about high schools with 2 or 3 thousand students in FCPS and now you want to double it to get a second ceramics room?

Hah. A school like Carmel has multiple ceramics rooms and FCPS has “art on a cart.”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carmel is similar to Falls Church City in wealth and diversity - go look at the new FCC high school. They have a coffee bar.

The new Meridian HS building is very nice.

I wonder whether this will play out over time with Republicans trying to make it easier for areas to split off and self-incorporate and Democrats doubling down on moratoriums on new towns and cities and the idea of “One Fairfax.” Used to like the idea that a larger tax base would lead to greater efficiencies and allow for more consistent services throughout the entire county. Now it feels like one giant sinking ship, led by people who want to hold others hostage until the entire ship is submerged.

If only FCPS could cut Rt 1 loose, just think how much better things would be (as long as you aren't zoned for a school cut loose, then you're screwed)

That’s an interesting point because I’d imagine if the current Mount Vernon District were a separate jurisdiction it would still be relatively wealthy (the school demographics skew poorer than the population at large), yet with more local control you might actually have people engaging in a serious debate about both the total levels of school funding and the allocation of funding among the area schools. The Mount Vernon HS and South County HS communities might have more of a voice, whereas what we’ve seen in recent years is that a West Potomac resident basically called the shots and her colleagues elsewhere in the big county who don’t give a crap about the Route 1 corridor or nearby areas just nodded their heads and acquiesced in whatever she wanted to do.

South County's 18% farms rate would stick out a bit. I wonder how they would feel about both being heard and simultaneously being expected to either take more poor students or subsidize those schools that are

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carmel is similar to Falls Church City in wealth and diversity - go look at the new FCC high school. They have a coffee bar.

The new Meridian HS building is very nice.

I wonder whether this will play out over time with Republicans trying to make it easier for areas to split off and self-incorporate and Democrats doubling down on moratoriums on new towns and cities and the idea of “One Fairfax.” Used to like the idea that a larger tax base would lead to greater efficiencies and allow for more consistent services throughout the entire county. Now it feels like one giant sinking ship, led by people who want to hold others hostage until the entire ship is submerged.

If only FCPS could cut Rt 1 loose, just think how much better things would be (as long as you aren't zoned for a school cut loose, then you're screwed)

That’s an interesting point because I’d imagine if the current Mount Vernon District were a separate jurisdiction it would still be relatively wealthy (the school demographics skew poorer than the population at large), yet with more local control you might actually have people engaging in a serious debate about both the total levels of school funding and the allocation of funding among the area schools. The Mount Vernon HS and South County HS communities might have more of a voice, whereas what we’ve seen in recent years is that a West Potomac resident basically called the shots and her colleagues elsewhere in the big county who don’t give a crap about the Route 1 corridor or nearby areas just nodded their heads and acquiesced in whatever she wanted to do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carmel is similar to Falls Church City in wealth and diversity - go look at the new FCC high school. They have a coffee bar.

The new Meridian HS building is very nice.

I wonder whether this will play out over time with Republicans trying to make it easier for areas to split off and self-incorporate and Democrats doubling down on moratoriums on new towns and cities and the idea of “One Fairfax.” Used to like the idea that a larger tax base would lead to greater efficiencies and allow for more consistent services throughout the entire county. Now it feels like one giant sinking ship, led by people who want to hold others hostage until the entire ship is submerged.

If only FCPS could cut Rt 1 loose, just think how much better things would be (as long as you aren't zoned for a school cut loose, then you're screwed)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carmel is similar to Falls Church City in wealth and diversity - go look at the new FCC high school. They have a coffee bar.

The new Meridian HS building is very nice.

I wonder whether this will play out over time with Republicans trying to make it easier for areas to split off and self-incorporate and Democrats doubling down on moratoriums on new towns and cities and the idea of “One Fairfax.” Used to like the idea that a larger tax base would lead to greater efficiencies and allow for more consistent services throughout the entire county. Now it feels like one giant sinking ship, led by people who want to hold others hostage until the entire ship is submerged.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's been said before, but the student population dwarfs FCPS schools. The more students = the more money.

That makes no sense. FCPS has almost 180,000 kids. The district to which Carmel HS belongs has fewer than 20,000.

Someone did point out this school has over 5000 kids, so it’s bigger than even Lake Braddock SS at its peak. And Lake Braddock also has a comparatively nice facility for FCPS, but nothing like Carmel HS.