Anonymous wrote:What’s with ChatGPT posts?

Let's talk about what really matters: "equity" has become a convenient excuse for denying challenging education to ALL our students. My child sits bored in class while others struggle to keep up - how is that equitable for anyone?
Instead of policing how parents express their frustrations, maybe we should focus on why we're paying six-figure salaries to administrators who haven't taught a class in years while our teachers are overwhelmed and our kids are underserved. Our students need proper support and appropriate challenges to be ready for their futures - not bureaucratic buzzwords and administrative bloat.

What’s with ChatGPT posts?

The "equity" narrative being pushed by highly-paid administrators at Syphax is a perfect example of how disconnected they've become from classroom reality. While they collect six-figure salaries and preach about equity from their offices, they're actually creating more inequity by depleting classroom resources and refusing to provide appropriate challenge levels for all students.
Let's be clear: true equity means every student gets what they need to succeed. Instead, APS leadership is:

Paying themselves handsomely while holding back high-achieving students
Using "equity" as a cover for their failure to properly differentiate instruction
Hoarding resources in administrative offices instead of classrooms
Drawing massive salaries while our students struggle

Real equity would mean returning these highly-paid administrators to classrooms and using their salaries to fund actual differentiated instruction that supports both struggling and advanced learners. We need to stop letting them hide behind "equity" while they drain our resources and fail our students at every level.

I think APS should cut down on the administrators as suggested above, but that doesn’t do anything about APS’s current philosophy for gifted learners. The reason they aren’t providing real enrichment opportunities is because they don’t want kids to get further ahead than they already are because “equity.”

Your frustration resonates deeply with the systemic issues we've been discussing about APS's priorities and resource allocation. Let me connect some critical dots:
The Current Crisis:

Your child's experience isn't isolated - it's a direct result of misallocated resources and administrative priorities
While your child struggles with unchallenging content, we have dozens of certified teachers sitting in Syphax offices instead of classrooms
The money spent on maintaining our bloated administrative structure could fund:

Dedicated gifted resource teachers in every elementary school
Smaller class sizes allowing for true differentiation
Advanced learning materials and curriculum development
Professional development for classroom teachers in gifted education



Before Considering a Move:

The immediate solution isn't necessarily leaving APS - it's demanding better use of our existing resources
We're paying for the expertise your child needs - it's just trapped in administrative positions
Consider that your tax dollars are funding:

Multiple layers of program coordinators who rarely interact with students
Unused office space while classrooms are overcrowded
Administrative positions that could be consolidated or eliminated



Action Steps for Parents:

Join the growing movement demanding administrative accountability
Ask your school board representative why certified teachers are doing paperwork instead of teaching
Request specific data on how many current administrators hold teaching certificates
Push for implementation of a "teachers first" policy that prioritizes classroom staffing over administrative positions

The Real Numbers:

Each administrative position eliminated could fund 1.5 classroom teaching positions
Returning just 20% of current administrators to teaching roles could provide dedicated gifted support in every elementary school
The cost of maintaining the Syphax administrative center could fund multiple school-based gifted programs

Before making a decision about moving or private school, consider joining the effort to reform APS from within. We need engaged parents like you to help push for:

Immediate review of all administrative positions
Return of qualified administrators to classroom roles
Reallocation of resources to direct student support
Implementation of proper differentiation strategies

The solution isn't running from APS - it's fixing it. Your child deserves better, and we have the resources to provide it. We just need to put those resources back where they belong: in our classrooms, serving our students.

Nysmith or Basis is your solution.

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Anonymous wrote:Compare APS to excellent school districts in high COL areas.

Also:
https://www.apsva.us/post/superintendent-presents-proposed-fy-2025-budget-to-maintain-core-services/
“ According to an independent review by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than the 50-state average, the regional average, and three of Virginia’s five bordering states. School divisions in other states receive 14% more per student than school divisions in Virginia, on average. This equates to about $1,900 less per student for Virginia. The JLARC estimates that annually, APS is underfunded by approximately $51 million.”

Huh? I just compared APS to our neighboring districts. Some are even better performing. Some even higher COL.

Delulu

DC area school districts are mid.

Including APS. Still, compared to our neighboring districts, APS isn’t skimping on spending. So try again.

If you look outside of the swampy hellhole of the DC area, you’ll find areas of the country with excellent schools. They are well funded because their community values education.

Where? Specific examples please.

I bet they’re all affluent areas with little to no diversity — racial or socioeconomic.

Super easy to have excellent schools with a privileged, homogenous population. (Hint: it’s not about the money spent per student.)

Ok. Thanks for proving my point.

Schools that have many kids with higher needs (EL, economically disadvantaged, SN) require even more funding.

Or better parenting. No amount of money can help an IDGAF attitude.

If you think parents in APS DGAF, you really don't know what other school districts are like. We are in a bubble.

Umm… you’re kidding, right? Plenty of kids in APS with parents who have a downright hostile attitude toward school.

Yes, but (and I’m not the PP) it’s all relative.

Tell me you’re a NA parent without telling me…

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Anonymous wrote:Compare APS to excellent school districts in high COL areas.

Also:
https://www.apsva.us/post/superintendent-presents-proposed-fy-2025-budget-to-maintain-core-services/
“ According to an independent review by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than the 50-state average, the regional average, and three of Virginia’s five bordering states. School divisions in other states receive 14% more per student than school divisions in Virginia, on average. This equates to about $1,900 less per student for Virginia. The JLARC estimates that annually, APS is underfunded by approximately $51 million.”

Huh? I just compared APS to our neighboring districts. Some are even better performing. Some even higher COL.

Delulu

DC area school districts are mid.

Including APS. Still, compared to our neighboring districts, APS isn’t skimping on spending. So try again.

If you look outside of the swampy hellhole of the DC area, you’ll find areas of the country with excellent schools. They are well funded because their community values education.

Where? Specific examples please.

I bet they’re all affluent areas with little to no diversity — racial or socioeconomic.

Super easy to have excellent schools with a privileged, homogenous population. (Hint: it’s not about the money spent per student.)

Ok. Thanks for proving my point.

Schools that have many kids with higher needs (EL, economically disadvantaged, SN) require even more funding.

Or better parenting. No amount of money can help an IDGAF attitude.

If you think parents in APS DGAF, you really don't know what other school districts are like. We are in a bubble.

Umm… you’re kidding, right? Plenty of kids in APS with parents who have a downright hostile attitude toward school.

Yes, but (and I’m not the PP) it’s all relative.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Compare APS to excellent school districts in high COL areas.

Also:
https://www.apsva.us/post/superintendent-presents-proposed-fy-2025-budget-to-maintain-core-services/
“ According to an independent review by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than the 50-state average, the regional average, and three of Virginia’s five bordering states. School divisions in other states receive 14% more per student than school divisions in Virginia, on average. This equates to about $1,900 less per student for Virginia. The JLARC estimates that annually, APS is underfunded by approximately $51 million.”

Huh? I just compared APS to our neighboring districts. Some are even better performing. Some even higher COL.

Delulu

DC area school districts are mid.

Including APS. Still, compared to our neighboring districts, APS isn’t skimping on spending. So try again.

If you look outside of the swampy hellhole of the DC area, you’ll find areas of the country with excellent schools. They are well funded because their community values education.

Where? Specific examples please.

I bet they’re all affluent areas with little to no diversity — racial or socioeconomic.

Super easy to have excellent schools with a privileged, homogenous population. (Hint: it’s not about the money spent per student.)

Ok. Thanks for proving my point.

Schools that have many kids with higher needs (EL, economically disadvantaged, SN) require even more funding.

Or better parenting. No amount of money can help an IDGAF attitude.

If you think parents in APS DGAF, you really don't know what other school districts are like. We are in a bubble.

Umm… you’re kidding, right? Plenty of kids in APS with parents who have a downright hostile attitude toward school.

+1

The pandemic really brought out the teacher/public school haters. It’s truly disturbing.

I’m the person who made the original parenting comment (that you called gRoSs), but even I think this chick’s comment is, well, gross. There are kids with actual disabilities. That’s not the same as bad parenting — you know, never bothering to read them a book, not caring about their attendance, allowing (encouraging even!) terrible behavior…

Yeah, not the same thing.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Compare APS to excellent school districts in high COL areas.

Also:
https://www.apsva.us/post/superintendent-presents-proposed-fy-2025-budget-to-maintain-core-services/
“ According to an independent review by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than the 50-state average, the regional average, and three of Virginia’s five bordering states. School divisions in other states receive 14% more per student than school divisions in Virginia, on average. This equates to about $1,900 less per student for Virginia. The JLARC estimates that annually, APS is underfunded by approximately $51 million.”

Huh? I just compared APS to our neighboring districts. Some are even better performing. Some even higher COL.

Delulu

DC area school districts are mid.

Including APS. Still, compared to our neighboring districts, APS isn’t skimping on spending. So try again.

If you look outside of the swampy hellhole of the DC area, you’ll find areas of the country with excellent schools. They are well funded because their community values education.

Where? Specific examples please.

I bet they’re all affluent areas with little to no diversity — racial or socioeconomic.

Super easy to have excellent schools with a privileged, homogenous population. (Hint: it’s not about the money spent per student.)

Ok. Thanks for proving my point.

Schools that have many kids with higher needs (EL, economically disadvantaged, SN) require even more funding.

Or better parenting. No amount of money can help an IDGAF attitude.

If you think parents in APS DGAF, you really don't know what other school districts are like. We are in a bubble.

Umm… you’re kidding, right? Plenty of kids in APS with parents who have a downright hostile attitude toward school.

+1

The pandemic really brought out the teacher/public school haters. It’s truly disturbing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And no one was blaming higher needs on poor parenting. I AM saying that in the absence of good parenting, academic achievement won’t improve — even with more and more and more funding.

A not insignificant portion of special needs is definitely a direct result of poor parenting. Babies don't get to choose if their gestational years are inside an obese or addicted parent. Kids aren't buying their own food to stuff their mouths with 3000 calories of soda and chips. Infants aren't buying their own ipads and phones to watch cartoons with. Kids don't learn on their own that life without rules and consequences is the only rule. I see this every single day and these families are not specific to any one demographic except the "poor parenting" one.

You see this every single day huh? Pray tell where?

Let's all hope you're not a teacher.

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Anonymous wrote:Sorry, but when you compare APS to other areas of the country, it doesn’t stand out as being super low. Like — of course — NYC is going to spend more per student, but the COL is astronomically higher than Arlington.

I do think some rural counties of Virginia need more funding. But Arlington isn’t some outlier like you’re claiming it to be. (And JLARC didn’t claim that either.)

I just said it’s underfunded. As are other districts in VA.

And you’re wrong. So take a seat.

I mean I'll go with JLARC over an anti public school rando who won't even put their name to their opinion.

+1

JLARC is an independent, bipartisan commission which is looking for cost savings. And they said it’s underfunded.

They did not say *APS* is underfunded. There are many counties in Virginia with significantly less funding that they are talking about (even when adjusted for COL).

JLARC, the independent, bipartisan commission which is looking for cost savings, found that APS was underfunded by both the state and the county.

Short-term recommendations were an additional $7M from the state and $29M from the county. Accounting for ALL of their recommendations, VA underfunded APS by $51M and the county underfunded by $206M.

https://jlarc.virginia.gov/pdfs/other/JLARC%20SOQ%20model%20division%20level%20cost%20estimates-3.pdf
page 25 (short-term), 27 (all)

so many apologists for Youngkin not funding the schools!

Wah

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Compare APS to excellent school districts in high COL areas.

Also:
https://www.apsva.us/post/superintendent-presents-proposed-fy-2025-budget-to-maintain-core-services/
“ According to an independent review by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), Virginia school divisions receive less K-12 funding per student than the 50-state average, the regional average, and three of Virginia’s five bordering states. School divisions in other states receive 14% more per student than school divisions in Virginia, on average. This equates to about $1,900 less per student for Virginia. The JLARC estimates that annually, APS is underfunded by approximately $51 million.”

Huh? I just compared APS to our neighboring districts. Some are even better performing. Some even higher COL.

Delulu

DC area school districts are mid.

Including APS. Still, compared to our neighboring districts, APS isn’t skimping on spending. So try again.

If you look outside of the swampy hellhole of the DC area, you’ll find areas of the country with excellent schools. They are well funded because their community values education.

Where? Specific examples please.

I bet they’re all affluent areas with little to no diversity — racial or socioeconomic.

Super easy to have excellent schools with a privileged, homogenous population. (Hint: it’s not about the money spent per student.)

Ok. Thanks for proving my point.

Schools that have many kids with higher needs (EL, economically disadvantaged, SN) require even more funding.

Or better parenting. No amount of money can help an IDGAF attitude.

If you think parents in APS DGAF, you really don't know what other school districts are like. We are in a bubble.

Umm… you’re kidding, right? Plenty of kids in APS with parents who have a downright hostile attitude toward school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, but when you compare APS to other areas of the country, it doesn’t stand out as being super low. Like — of course — NYC is going to spend more per student, but the COL is astronomically higher than Arlington.

I do think some rural counties of Virginia need more funding. But Arlington isn’t some outlier like you’re claiming it to be. (And JLARC didn’t claim that either.)

I just said it’s underfunded. As are other districts in VA.

And you’re wrong. So take a seat.

I mean I'll go with JLARC over an anti public school rando who won't even put their name to their opinion.

+1

JLARC is an independent, bipartisan commission which is looking for cost savings. And they said it’s underfunded.

They did not say *APS* is underfunded. There are many counties in Virginia with significantly less funding that they are talking about (even when adjusted for COL).

JLARC, the independent, bipartisan commission which is looking for cost savings, found that APS was underfunded by both the state and the county.

Short-term recommendations were an additional $7M from the state and $29M from the county. Accounting for ALL of their recommendations, VA underfunded APS by $51M and the county underfunded by $206M.

https://jlarc.virginia.gov/pdfs/other/JLARC%20SOQ%20model%20division%20level%20cost%20estimates-3.pdf
page 25 (short-term), 27 (all)

so many apologists for Youngkin not funding the schools!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And no one was blaming higher needs on poor parenting. I AM saying that in the absence of good parenting, academic achievement won’t improve — even with more and more and more funding.

A not insignificant portion of special needs is definitely a direct result of poor parenting. Babies don't get to choose if their gestational years are inside an obese or addicted parent. Kids aren't buying their own food to stuff their mouths with 3000 calories of soda and chips. Infants aren't buying their own ipads and phones to watch cartoons with. Kids don't learn on their own that life without rules and consequences is the only rule. I see this every single day and these families are not specific to any one demographic except the "poor parenting" one.

Dude. Many kids are born with actual disabilities that have nothing to do with unhealthy lifestyle choices and/or bad parenting.

But I guess if you’re including kids with behavioral issues not linked to a disability, then yeah that’s probably just poor parenting.

With good parenting, kids with special needs can make progress toward their educational goals.

But without good parenting, no amount of money is going to solve that problem.