Anonymous wrote:https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/12/16/finding-classroom-rigor-in-a-global-curriculum/advanced-placement-is-a-better-option-for-us-schools

Advanced Placement Is a Better Option for U.S. Schools
by Patrick Welsh, a retired teacher, taught English at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va. DECEMBER 16, 2013

...First off all, the I.B. program is expensive. Jay Mathews, a Washington Post education writer, estimates that it costs high schools about $56,000 a year to run an I.B.

And for all puffery about the prestige of an I.B. diploma, in many schools the majority of I.B. students end up with only meaningless I.B. certificates awarded to anyone who pays for and takes an I.B. exam regardless of whether he or she passes.

The International Baccalaureate is also more prescriptive than Advance Placement, boxing in teachers and forcing them to teach courses such as epistemology, the last thing most high school students need.

Perhaps most important, with college tuitions rising, high scores on A.P. exams are awarded more college credit than scores on I.B. tests. I have known students who have saved parents thousands in tuition by gaining a full year of college credit after acing A.P. exams.

Lot's of differing opinions on IB curriculum. Surely fully worthy of more debate for Jefferson Houston Elementary K-8 given IB cost to ACPS and we taxpayers, as well as traditional AP credits earned in high school keeping down future college going JH students college cost. H/T to Ms. Floyd for responding!

...First off all, the I.B. program is expensive. Jay Mathews, a Washington Post education writer, estimates that it costs high schools about $56,000 a year to run an I.B.

And for all puffery about the prestige of an I.B. diploma, in many schools the majority of I.B. students end up with only meaningless I.B. certificates awarded to anyone who pays for and takes an I.B. exam regardless of whether he or she passes.

The International Baccalaureate is also more prescriptive than Advance Placement, boxing in teachers and forcing them to teach courses such as epistemology, the last thing most high school students need.

Perhaps most important, with college tuitions rising, high scores on A.P. exams are awarded more college credit than scores on I.B. tests. I have known students who have saved parents thousands in tuition by gaining a full year of college credit after acing A.P. exams.

ACPScommunications wrote:Hello parents,

Just want to respond to this thread on behalf of ACPS.

ACPS is looking forward to welcoming MScott Berkowitz as the new principal of Jefferson-Houston School on July 1. MScott is excited to start at Jefferson-Houston and is looking forward to continuing the school’s positive trajectory.

Berkowitz has a solid foundation in classroom instruction and a range of educational leadership experience in diverse educational environments. His accomplishments include double-digit percentage improvements in science, math and writing SOLs for the fifth-grade team at Hybla Valley and significant improvements in targeted areas of academic achievement. His focus on team and leadership development, through the coaching and empowerment of teaching staff, has resulted in academic gains in each of his roles.

Over the last four years, Jefferson-Houston has made marked progress toward achieving full accreditation, particularly under new accreditation standards that measure growth as well as overall achievement. Reading levels at the school have increased by one and a half years or more each year, and student success on state reading tests has increased by 19 points. Math scores on state assessments have increased by 20 points, science scores by 31 points and history scores by 22 points. The student population has increased by 64 percent and the school has been transformed into a community school with passionate advocates and partners.

Jefferson-Houston School is Alexandria’s first Pre-K to 8th-grade school. Jefferson-Houston is an International Baccalaureate® (IB) school. It is authorized for both the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP). The IB focuses on developing the whole child so that s/he gains the intellectual, personal, emotional, and social skills needed to live, learn, and work in a rapidly globalizing world.

Helen Lloyd
Director of Communications
Alexandria City Public Schools

Anonymous wrote:What kind of name is MScott? Pronounced like it should have a period - M. Scott? Or Muh-Scott? Or is the M silent? Why no space? Why no period?

Anonymous wrote:

ACPScommunications wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While we have your attention Ms Lloyd, will you confirm that some admin transfers are still be granted out of JH?

While some administrative transfers are permitted under ACPS policies, these are for exceptional student situations based on health, safety, or a temporary or mid-year housing change. These requests may be granted if there is capacity at the requested grade level, and are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Transportation is not provided for parent/guardian-requested administrative transfers.

Students may opt into JH on the grounds that as a K-8 school it is a programmatic school if there is capacity at the requested grade level. Students may not opt out of a K-8 school during grades K-5, but may opt out beginning in grade 6. Transportation is provided for programmatic transfers.

The two bolded sentences seem contradictory ("are permitted . . . exceptional student situations" vs. "may not").

ACPScommunications wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While we have your attention Ms Lloyd, will you confirm that some admin transfers are still be granted out of JH?

While some administrative transfers are permitted under ACPS policies, these are for exceptional student situations based on health, safety, or a temporary or mid-year housing change. These requests may be granted if there is capacity at the requested grade level, and are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Transportation is not provided for parent/guardian-requested administrative transfers.

Students may opt into JH on the grounds that as a K-8 school it is a programmatic school if there is capacity at the requested grade level. Students may not opt out of a K-8 school during grades K-5, but may opt out beginning in grade 6. Transportation is provided for programmatic transfers.