Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS attends one of the 4th tier, low prestige schools. The school sent lots of kids to UVA, VT, W&M this year, as they do every year, plus a number get into Ivies, MIT, CMU, UCLA, Berkeley, Michigan, Duke, Hopkins, etc.

So your “prestige” rankings are meaningless. Or maybe they even work against you, if you believe colleges have “quotas” from each high school.

Nobody cares what high school you went to. And a few years after you graduate from college, nobody will care what college you went to.

Capable students from below average HS’s CAN do well. The college acceptances at ACHS for example are often really strong.

The problems are as follows: 1, this is not as much an issue in FCPS as our schools are larger. But some smaller, low income HS will not be able to offer many, if any, AP classes (or IB or whatever). This leaves students at a huge disadvantage when it comes to college readiness. They simply aren’t ready for a demanding college class having had only general education math/English up to what you might be tested on in a standardized state test. 2, people worry about what their kids might be exposed to in terms of fights and behavior at a lower SES school. 3, adults at low SES schools perpetuate a more restrictive, punitive environment on the kids. There is little to no trust from adults to students. There are more punishments and the school environment feels very negative. 4, a kid who is borderline - intelligent and capable but vulnerable to a “bad crowd,” and there are lots of teens like this - will be lifted up by a higher income, higher education, rule following peer group, but potentially brought down by low achievers and peers/parents who don’t emphasize attendance and achievement. Not as much an issue if your kid is more self-motivated, but not all kids are, some need more help to be kept on the straight and narrow as impressionable teens.

Obviously a really smart kid can stand out a lot at a lower SES HS. But students who are just average or even “above average” good students will fall through the cracks in a big way because the admin’s emphasis will be on the larger population of at risk kids.

This statement is more speculative of what life is like at a smaller, low-income school, rather than what actually happens.

1. All FCPS schools must offer advanced courses. Perhaps one school offers more niche advanced courses, like AP Music Theory, but that does not negate the fact that one can take advanced courses and be prepared for college regardless of what high school. (And as many have pointed out on this forum, those at the "tier 4" schools can go on to successfully attend "tier 1" colleges.)

2. This is working off the assumption that lower-income students are fighting, doing drugs, members of MS-13, etc. On the contrary, many of the kids at the "tier 4" school my child attends are actually working part time in their spare time while also juggling school. They take their future seriously, they have to work harder to pay for things like college, and no, they're not MS-13.

3. This is working off the assumption that the teachers at the lower-income schools are of poor quality and lacking in empathy, while the "richer" schools draw the best teachers out there. That's a cruel statement to make regarding the teachers at those schools. I can say from first-hand experience that my child at a "tier 4" school has encountered wonderful, supportive teachers.

4. See point 2. Again, you're working off the assumption that poor equals MS-13 or the like. You're also assuming that rich equals well-behaved, and that's not always the case.

I do tire of how some parents on this forum continually tear down schools in this county with wild hyperbole. Maybe it helps those parents feel better about pouring so much money into real estate? They don't want to believe that someone paying less in property taxes could also have a child receive a strong, well-rounded high school education and go on to a competitive college?

Let me just say it's okay for you to buy the super expensive house. If that's what you feel your kid needs, you do you. You don't need to reassure yourself by putting down the successful kids in other schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s important to avoid URMs in ES and MS (AAP works well here), but in most FCPS HS, you can find high achieving groups of kids. I wouldn’t want my kid to go to small number of FCPS HS but for the most part it’s not that big of a deal

There's an interesting thread on Next Door from a Marshall parent considering a pupil placement to Falls Church for AP. The thread is full of Falls Church parents talking about how good the school is, and there is only one post from a Falls Church student, which I've noted below, slightly edited for spelling:

Hello my name is R***, I am currently a student at FCHS. To be quite honest, if you have the choice to not go to Falls Church I would take it. I would highly recommend not transferring your kid. The school has been under renovation for quite some time, and will continue to be under renovation for the next couple years, we have no ceiling in the hallways and the pipes often leak causing floods. The people at FC are not a good influence, 70% of the students are immigrants and don't speak English, and there is rampant drug use all throughout the school. We are also extremely poor, our prom this year was in our cafeteria, and we rarely have money to do school things such as field trips, etc. Not to mention a good number of the staff and admin are extremely unfriendly and seem like they hate their life. I'm graduating in a year and I am glad I am almost out of this place. I would highly recommend sending your kid somewhere else.

Sure, there will always be disaffected teens, but it was a reminder that the accounts from parents, who tend to look out for their property values, are often different from the accounts of kids actually attending some of these schools.

I saw that thread too. There are actually 2 posts now from FCHS students. In the interests of balance, here’s the second one:

I'm a current FCHS student who's taken nearly every AP class offered (headed to Stanford in the fall), and I can confidently say the quality of education is strong. Our teachers truly care about preparing us to succeed on AP exams and compete nationally.
FCHS is deeply committed to academic resilience and growth, and the diverse community we're part of creates a learning environment that colleges and universities genuinely value. Many of my classmates are going on to top-tier universities and the state schools.

Regarding safety concerns, particularly the MS-13 rumors: that gang doesn't operate here. Mr. Gray, our school security is
already highly effective, and additional safety measures, like built-in metal detectors, are being added across the county (I believe FCHS will get them next year).
These won't disrupt student life, but will quietly strengthen safety.

I'm very involved in leadership and service at FCHS, and my best friends are at some of the
"higher-ranked" schools in the county (Madison, Woodson, Marshall, South County). From what they share, they deal with real drug problems. There's a difference between vaping (countywide issue) and the small but dangerous drug issues. Of course, no one can say for sure who's consuming what, but it's safe to assume everything happens everywhere.

Lastly, the renovation is literally done (as an architecture student, rehabilitation and rejuvenating a space takes time; nothing we can do about it). The school has never flooded and our multilingual immigrant students speak sufficient English and increase school diversity.

"Rumors" tell a different story than a student, parent, or staff's.
Nonetheless, as someone who nearly chose Marshall for IB (ask my parents); I agree with [other posters] high school is what you make of it.


And the first student's response:

"I’ve had one experience during my freshman year, where the whole cafeteria hallway was flooded and after to this day there are still leaks although not as big. As to my anecdote of “rampant drug use” someone in the period of my Spanish class started bleeding out of his eyes, two kids were arrested for drug trafficking, and every single time I walk in the bathroom there are kids either smoking or vaping. As for me not talking in English with another peer, for a fact if you look at our school demographic chart, you can clearly see it’s mostly Hispanic immigrants. I have tried to talk to a good number of them, and they have no clue what I am saying at all, even just basic conversations. I have asked why our prom was in the cafeteria to people in SGA and they said it’s because we don’t have money, maybe that’s not true that’s what I was told.

I did not post my review to start an argument, that is my personal opinion about Falls Church High School, I understand many people will disagree with me, but I did not post this so that people can argue. People should form their own opinion, based on their own research and I was just stating what I believe."

So, TLDR: Two different FCHS students have different opinions about their high school. Got it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS attends one of the 4th tier, low prestige schools. The school sent lots of kids to UVA, VT, W&M this year, as they do every year, plus a number get into Ivies, MIT, CMU, UCLA, Berkeley, Michigan, Duke, Hopkins, etc.

So your “prestige” rankings are meaningless. Or maybe they even work against you, if you believe colleges have “quotas” from each high school.

Nobody cares what high school you went to. And a few years after you graduate from college, nobody will care what college you went to.

Capable students from below average HS’s CAN do well. The college acceptances at ACHS for example are often really strong.

The problems are as follows: 1, this is not as much an issue in FCPS as our schools are larger. But some smaller, low income HS will not be able to offer many, if any, AP classes (or IB or whatever). This leaves students at a huge disadvantage when it comes to college readiness. They simply aren’t ready for a demanding college class having had only general education math/English up to what you might be tested on in a standardized state test. 2, people worry about what their kids might be exposed to in terms of fights and behavior at a lower SES school. 3, adults at low SES schools perpetuate a more restrictive, punitive environment on the kids. There is little to no trust from adults to students. There are more punishments and the school environment feels very negative. 4, a kid who is borderline - intelligent and capable but vulnerable to a “bad crowd,” and there are lots of teens like this - will be lifted up by a higher income, higher education, rule following peer group, but potentially brought down by low achievers and peers/parents who don’t emphasize attendance and achievement. Not as much an issue if your kid is more self-motivated, but not all kids are, some need more help to be kept on the straight and narrow as impressionable teens.

Obviously a really smart kid can stand out a lot at a lower SES HS. But students who are just average or even “above average” good students will fall through the cracks in a big way because the admin’s emphasis will be on the larger population of at risk kids.

A review of the numbers transferring out of some of some of the lower performing schools would indicate that a much fuller schedule of classes could be offered if FCPS eliminated IB.
A simple step that could lead to a solution. It could also solve problems of low enrollment in some schools.

The only conclusion I can come to is that the county keeps two different programs (IB and AP) so parents can freely move their kids to what they perceive to be better schools. It can be from AP to IB or IB to AP. That has to be the only reason FCPS keeps both.

I'm beginning to think you are correct. It seems so obvious that the right thing to do would be to eliminate IB. Save money and keep kids in boundary.

And, because it screams common sense, our SB will never do it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS attends one of the 4th tier, low prestige schools. The school sent lots of kids to UVA, VT, W&M this year, as they do every year, plus a number get into Ivies, MIT, CMU, UCLA, Berkeley, Michigan, Duke, Hopkins, etc.

So your “prestige” rankings are meaningless. Or maybe they even work against you, if you believe colleges have “quotas” from each high school.

Nobody cares what high school you went to. And a few years after you graduate from college, nobody will care what college you went to.

Capable students from below average HS’s CAN do well. The college acceptances at ACHS for example are often really strong.

The problems are as follows: 1, this is not as much an issue in FCPS as our schools are larger. But some smaller, low income HS will not be able to offer many, if any, AP classes (or IB or whatever). This leaves students at a huge disadvantage when it comes to college readiness. They simply aren’t ready for a demanding college class having had only general education math/English up to what you might be tested on in a standardized state test. 2, people worry about what their kids might be exposed to in terms of fights and behavior at a lower SES school. 3, adults at low SES schools perpetuate a more restrictive, punitive environment on the kids. There is little to no trust from adults to students. There are more punishments and the school environment feels very negative. 4, a kid who is borderline - intelligent and capable but vulnerable to a “bad crowd,” and there are lots of teens like this - will be lifted up by a higher income, higher education, rule following peer group, but potentially brought down by low achievers and peers/parents who don’t emphasize attendance and achievement. Not as much an issue if your kid is more self-motivated, but not all kids are, some need more help to be kept on the straight and narrow as impressionable teens.

Obviously a really smart kid can stand out a lot at a lower SES HS. But students who are just average or even “above average” good students will fall through the cracks in a big way because the admin’s emphasis will be on the larger population of at risk kids.

A review of the numbers transferring out of some of some of the lower performing schools would indicate that a much fuller schedule of classes could be offered if FCPS eliminated IB.
A simple step that could lead to a solution. It could also solve problems of low enrollment in some schools.

The only conclusion I can come to is that the county keeps two different programs (IB and AP) so parents can freely move their kids to what they perceive to be better schools. It can be from AP to IB or IB to AP. That has to be the only reason FCPS keeps both.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s important to avoid URMs in ES and MS (AAP works well here), but in most FCPS HS, you can find high achieving groups of kids. I wouldn’t want my kid to go to small number of FCPS HS but for the most part it’s not that big of a deal

There's an interesting thread on Next Door from a Marshall parent considering a pupil placement to Falls Church for AP. The thread is full of Falls Church parents talking about how good the school is, and there is only one post from a Falls Church student, which I've noted below, slightly edited for spelling:

Hello my name is R***, I am currently a student at FCHS. To be quite honest, if you have the choice to not go to Falls Church I would take it. I would highly recommend not transferring your kid. The school has been under renovation for quite some time, and will continue to be under renovation for the next couple years, we have no ceiling in the hallways and the pipes often leak causing floods. The people at FC are not a good influence, 70% of the students are immigrants and don't speak English, and there is rampant drug use all throughout the school. We are also extremely poor, our prom this year was in our cafeteria, and we rarely have money to do school things such as field trips, etc. Not to mention a good number of the staff and admin are extremely unfriendly and seem like they hate their life. I'm graduating in a year and I am glad I am almost out of this place. I would highly recommend sending your kid somewhere else.

Sure, there will always be disaffected teens, but it was a reminder that the accounts from parents, who tend to look out for their property values, are often different from the accounts of kids actually attending some of these schools.

I saw that thread too. There are actually 2 posts now from FCHS students. In the interests of balance, here’s the second one:

I'm a current FCHS student who's taken nearly every AP class offered (headed to Stanford in the fall), and I can confidently say the quality of education is strong. Our teachers truly care about preparing us to succeed on AP exams and compete nationally.
FCHS is deeply committed to academic resilience and growth, and the diverse community we're part of creates a learning environment that colleges and universities genuinely value. Many of my classmates are going on to top-tier universities and the state schools.

Regarding safety concerns, particularly the MS-13 rumors: that gang doesn't operate here. Mr. Gray, our school security is
already highly effective, and additional safety measures, like built-in metal detectors, are being added across the county (I believe FCHS will get them next year).
These won't disrupt student life, but will quietly strengthen safety.

I'm very involved in leadership and service at FCHS, and my best friends are at some of the
"higher-ranked" schools in the county (Madison, Woodson, Marshall, South County). From what they share, they deal with real drug problems. There's a difference between vaping (countywide issue) and the small but dangerous drug issues. Of course, no one can say for sure who's consuming what, but it's safe to assume everything happens everywhere.

Lastly, the renovation is literally done (as an architecture student, rehabilitation and rejuvenating a space takes time; nothing we can do about it). The school has never flooded and our multilingual immigrant students speak sufficient English and increase school diversity.

"Rumors" tell a different story than a student, parent, or staff's.
Nonetheless, as someone who nearly chose Marshall for IB (ask my parents); I agree with [other posters] high school is what you make of it.

And the first student's response:

"I’ve had one experience during my freshman year, where the whole cafeteria hallway was flooded and after to this day there are still leaks although not as big. As to my anecdote of “rampant drug use” someone in the period of my Spanish class started bleeding out of his eyes, two kids were arrested for drug trafficking, and every single time I walk in the bathroom there are kids either smoking or vaping. As for me not talking in English with another peer, for a fact if you look at our school demographic chart, you can clearly see it’s mostly Hispanic immigrants. I have tried to talk to a good number of them, and they have no clue what I am saying at all, even just basic conversations. I have asked why our prom was in the cafeteria to people in SGA and they said it’s because we don’t have money, maybe that’s not true that’s what I was told.

I did not post my review to start an argument, that is my personal opinion about Falls Church High School, I understand many people will disagree with me, but I did not post this so that people can argue. People should form their own opinion, based on their own research and I was just stating what I believe."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Marshall is tier 2 the rest is correct

Madison and Woodson tier 1. Just need to look at real estate in these pyramids. Forget your subjective list.

Yes cheaper than McLean and Langley so tier 2

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tier 1:
1. TJ
2. Langley
3. McLean
4. Oakton
5. Marshall

Tier 2:
6. Madison
7. Woodson
8. Chantilly
9. West Springfield
10. Robinson

Tier 3:
11. Lake Braddock
12. Centreville
13. Fairfax
14. Westfield
15. South County

Other/tier 4:
16. South Lakes
17. Hayfield
18. Annandale
19. Falls Church
20. Justice
21. Herndon
22. West Potomac
23. Lewis
24. Mount Vernon

FCPS is FCPS....some are whiter but they are all FCPS

There are only 3 FCPS high schools that are majority white. Madison, Robinson and Langley. Langley is hoovering around 50%, so in a few years only Madison and Robinson will be majority white. The rest are majority minority. Focusing on race like that is so strange given how diverse this area is and how intertwined the schools and neighborhoods are.

Langley became majority minority in October 2024 and remains so now.

Not possible. All we hear in these forums is that Langley families are “Lily White racists”. Now you’re telling us it’s a majority minority school?

Seems like the social justice warriors are full of $hit.

Well, East Asians and South Asians can be quite racist. So...

Dear racist bigot:

As a factual matter, BIPOCs are incapable of being racist by definition. Only whites are capable of racism.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s important to avoid URMs in ES and MS (AAP works well here), but in most FCPS HS, you can find high achieving groups of kids. I wouldn’t want my kid to go to small number of FCPS HS but for the most part it’s not that big of a deal

There's an interesting thread on Next Door from a Marshall parent considering a pupil placement to Falls Church for AP. The thread is full of Falls Church parents talking about how good the school is, and there is only one post from a Falls Church student, which I've noted below, slightly edited for spelling:

Hello my name is R***, I am currently a student at FCHS. To be quite honest, if you have the choice to not go to Falls Church I would take it. I would highly recommend not transferring your kid. The school has been under renovation for quite some time, and will continue to be under renovation for the next couple years, we have no ceiling in the hallways and the pipes often leak causing floods. The people at FC are not a good influence, 70% of the students are immigrants and don't speak English, and there is rampant drug use all throughout the school. We are also extremely poor, our prom this year was in our cafeteria, and we rarely have money to do school things such as field trips, etc. Not to mention a good number of the staff and admin are extremely unfriendly and seem like they hate their life. I'm graduating in a year and I am glad I am almost out of this place. I would highly recommend sending your kid somewhere else.

Sure, there will always be disaffected teens, but it was a reminder that the accounts from parents, who tend to look out for their property values, are often different from the accounts of kids actually attending some of these schools.

I saw that thread too. There are actually 2 posts now from FCHS students. In the interests of balance, here’s the second one:

I'm a current FCHS student who's taken nearly every AP class offered (headed to Stanford in the fall), and I can confidently say the quality of education is strong. Our teachers truly care about preparing us to succeed on AP exams and compete nationally.
FCHS is deeply committed to academic resilience and growth, and the diverse community we're part of creates a learning environment that colleges and universities genuinely value. Many of my classmates are going on to top-tier universities and the state schools.

Regarding safety concerns, particularly the MS-13 rumors: that gang doesn't operate here. Mr. Gray, our school security is
already highly effective, and additional safety measures, like built-in metal detectors, are being added across the county (I believe FCHS will get them next year).
These won't disrupt student life, but will quietly strengthen safety.

I'm very involved in leadership and service at FCHS, and my best friends are at some of the
"higher-ranked" schools in the county (Madison, Woodson, Marshall, South County). From what they share, they deal with real drug problems. There's a difference between vaping (countywide issue) and the small but dangerous drug issues. Of course, no one can say for sure who's consuming what, but it's safe to assume everything happens everywhere.

Lastly, the renovation is literally done (as an architecture student, rehabilitation and rejuvenating a space takes time; nothing we can do about it). The school has never flooded and our multilingual immigrant students speak sufficient English and increase school diversity.

"Rumors" tell a different story than a student, parent, or staff's.
Nonetheless, as someone who nearly chose Marshall for IB (ask my parents); I agree with [other posters] high school is what you make of it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tier 1:
1. TJ
2. Langley
3. McLean
4. Oakton
5. Marshall

Tier 2:
6. Madison
7. Woodson
8. Chantilly
9. West Springfield
10. Robinson

Tier 3:
11. Lake Braddock
12. Centreville
13. Fairfax
14. Westfield
15. South County

Other/tier 4:
16. South Lakes
17. Hayfield
18. Annandale
19. Falls Church
20. Justice
21. Herndon
22. West Potomac
23. Lewis
24. Mount Vernon

FCPS is FCPS....some are whiter but they are all FCPS

There are only 3 FCPS high schools that are majority white. Madison, Robinson and Langley. Langley is hoovering around 50%, so in a few years only Madison and Robinson will be majority white. The rest are majority minority. Focusing on race like that is so strange given how diverse this area is and how intertwined the schools and neighborhoods are.

Langley became majority minority in October 2024 and remains so now.

Not possible. All we hear in these forums is that Langley families are “Lily White racists”. Now you’re telling us it’s a majority minority school?

Seems like the social justice warriors are full of $hit.

Well, East Asians and South Asians can be quite racist. So...

#truestory

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS attends one of the 4th tier, low prestige schools. The school sent lots of kids to UVA, VT, W&M this year, as they do every year, plus a number get into Ivies, MIT, CMU, UCLA, Berkeley, Michigan, Duke, Hopkins, etc.

So your “prestige” rankings are meaningless. Or maybe they even work against you, if you believe colleges have “quotas” from each high school.

Nobody cares what high school you went to. And a few years after you graduate from college, nobody will care what college you went to.

Capable students from below average HS’s CAN do well. The college acceptances at ACHS for example are often really strong.

The problems are as follows: 1, this is not as much an issue in FCPS as our schools are larger. But some smaller, low income HS will not be able to offer many, if any, AP classes (or IB or whatever). This leaves students at a huge disadvantage when it comes to college readiness. They simply aren’t ready for a demanding college class having had only general education math/English up to what you might be tested on in a standardized state test. 2, people worry about what their kids might be exposed to in terms of fights and behavior at a lower SES school. 3, adults at low SES schools perpetuate a more restrictive, punitive environment on the kids. There is little to no trust from adults to students. There are more punishments and the school environment feels very negative. 4, a kid who is borderline - intelligent and capable but vulnerable to a “bad crowd,” and there are lots of teens like this - will be lifted up by a higher income, higher education, rule following peer group, but potentially brought down by low achievers and peers/parents who don’t emphasize attendance and achievement. Not as much an issue if your kid is more self-motivated, but not all kids are, some need more help to be kept on the straight and narrow as impressionable teens.

Obviously a really smart kid can stand out a lot at a lower SES HS. But students who are just average or even “above average” good students will fall through the cracks in a big way because the admin’s emphasis will be on the larger population of at risk kids.

A review of the numbers transferring out of some of some of the lower performing schools would indicate that a much fuller schedule of classes could be offered if FCPS eliminated IB.
A simple step that could lead to a solution. It could also solve problems of low enrollment in some schools.

If there is demand for the IB diploma, maybe FCPS should consider how other districts around the country do it. For example, MCPS and APS offer IB diploma magnet programs where transfers or other accepted students are expected to work towards the diploma. The high schools with the magnet programs also offer the typical AP program of study for the in-bounds students.

So, if FCPS graduates roughly 500 diploma candidates a year on average, then maybe two high schools could offer an IB magnet with the IB diploma as the expected goal. (If the students decide midway not to pursue the diploma, they would have to transfer back to their neighborhood hs.) The two high schools with the IB magnets would also offer a complete AP programs.

The VDOE data for 2023-24 indicates there were 487 IB diploma candidates and 330 IB diplomas, so a 67.8% success rate across the current 8 IB schools.

Anonymous wrote:Marshall is tier 2 the rest is correct

Madison and Woodson tier 1. Just need to look at real estate in these pyramids. Forget your subjective list.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS attends one of the 4th tier, low prestige schools. The school sent lots of kids to UVA, VT, W&M this year, as they do every year, plus a number get into Ivies, MIT, CMU, UCLA, Berkeley, Michigan, Duke, Hopkins, etc.

So your “prestige” rankings are meaningless. Or maybe they even work against you, if you believe colleges have “quotas” from each high school.

Nobody cares what high school you went to. And a few years after you graduate from college, nobody will care what college you went to.

Capable students from below average HS’s CAN do well. The college acceptances at ACHS for example are often really strong.

The problems are as follows: 1, this is not as much an issue in FCPS as our schools are larger. But some smaller, low income HS will not be able to offer many, if any, AP classes (or IB or whatever). This leaves students at a huge disadvantage when it comes to college readiness. They simply aren’t ready for a demanding college class having had only general education math/English up to what you might be tested on in a standardized state test. 2, people worry about what their kids might be exposed to in terms of fights and behavior at a lower SES school. 3, adults at low SES schools perpetuate a more restrictive, punitive environment on the kids. There is little to no trust from adults to students. There are more punishments and the school environment feels very negative. 4, a kid who is borderline - intelligent and capable but vulnerable to a “bad crowd,” and there are lots of teens like this - will be lifted up by a higher income, higher education, rule following peer group, but potentially brought down by low achievers and peers/parents who don’t emphasize attendance and achievement. Not as much an issue if your kid is more self-motivated, but not all kids are, some need more help to be kept on the straight and narrow as impressionable teens.

Obviously a really smart kid can stand out a lot at a lower SES HS. But students who are just average or even “above average” good students will fall through the cracks in a big way because the admin’s emphasis will be on the larger population of at risk kids.

A review of the numbers transferring out of some of some of the lower performing schools would indicate that a much fuller schedule of classes could be offered if FCPS eliminated IB.
A simple step that could lead to a solution. It could also solve problems of low enrollment in some schools.

If there is demand for the IB diploma, maybe FCPS should consider how other districts around the country do it. For example, MCPS and APS offer IB diploma magnet programs where transfers or other accepted students are expected to work towards the diploma. The high schools with the magnet programs also offer the typical AP program of study for the in-bounds students.

So, if FCPS graduates roughly 500 diploma candidates a year on average, then maybe two high schools could offer an IB magnet with the IB diploma as the expected goal. (If the students decide midway not to pursue the diploma, they would have to transfer back to their neighborhood hs.) The two high schools with the IB magnets would also offer a complete AP programs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS attends one of the 4th tier, low prestige schools. The school sent lots of kids to UVA, VT, W&M this year, as they do every year, plus a number get into Ivies, MIT, CMU, UCLA, Berkeley, Michigan, Duke, Hopkins, etc.

So your “prestige” rankings are meaningless. Or maybe they even work against you, if you believe colleges have “quotas” from each high school.

Nobody cares what high school you went to. And a few years after you graduate from college, nobody will care what college you went to.

Capable students from below average HS’s CAN do well. The college acceptances at ACHS for example are often really strong.

The problems are as follows: 1, this is not as much an issue in FCPS as our schools are larger. But some smaller, low income HS will not be able to offer many, if any, AP classes (or IB or whatever). This leaves students at a huge disadvantage when it comes to college readiness. They simply aren’t ready for a demanding college class having had only general education math/English up to what you might be tested on in a standardized state test. 2, people worry about what their kids might be exposed to in terms of fights and behavior at a lower SES school. 3, adults at low SES schools perpetuate a more restrictive, punitive environment on the kids. There is little to no trust from adults to students. There are more punishments and the school environment feels very negative. 4, a kid who is borderline - intelligent and capable but vulnerable to a “bad crowd,” and there are lots of teens like this - will be lifted up by a higher income, higher education, rule following peer group, but potentially brought down by low achievers and peers/parents who don’t emphasize attendance and achievement. Not as much an issue if your kid is more self-motivated, but not all kids are, some need more help to be kept on the straight and narrow as impressionable teens.

Obviously a really smart kid can stand out a lot at a lower SES HS. But students who are just average or even “above average” good students will fall through the cracks in a big way because the admin’s emphasis will be on the larger population of at risk kids.

A review of the numbers transferring out of some of some of the lower performing schools would indicate that a much fuller schedule of classes could be offered if FCPS eliminated IB.
A simple step that could lead to a solution. It could also solve problems of low enrollment in some schools.

Anonymous wrote:DS attends one of the 4th tier, low prestige schools. The school sent lots of kids to UVA, VT, W&M this year, as they do every year, plus a number get into Ivies, MIT, CMU, UCLA, Berkeley, Michigan, Duke, Hopkins, etc.

So your “prestige” rankings are meaningless. Or maybe they even work against you, if you believe colleges have “quotas” from each high school.

Nobody cares what high school you went to. And a few years after you graduate from college, nobody will care what college you went to.

Capable students from below average HS’s CAN do well. The college acceptances at ACHS for example are often really strong.

The problems are as follows: 1, this is not as much an issue in FCPS as our schools are larger. But some smaller, low income HS will not be able to offer many, if any, AP classes (or IB or whatever). This leaves students at a huge disadvantage when it comes to college readiness. They simply aren’t ready for a demanding college class having had only general education math/English up to what you might be tested on in a standardized state test. 2, people worry about what their kids might be exposed to in terms of fights and behavior at a lower SES school. 3, adults at low SES schools perpetuate a more restrictive, punitive environment on the kids. There is little to no trust from adults to students. There are more punishments and the school environment feels very negative. 4, a kid who is borderline - intelligent and capable but vulnerable to a “bad crowd,” and there are lots of teens like this - will be lifted up by a higher income, higher education, rule following peer group, but potentially brought down by low achievers and peers/parents who don’t emphasize attendance and achievement. Not as much an issue if your kid is more self-motivated, but not all kids are, some need more help to be kept on the straight and narrow as impressionable teens.

Obviously a really smart kid can stand out a lot at a lower SES HS. But students who are just average or even “above average” good students will fall through the cracks in a big way because the admin’s emphasis will be on the larger population of at risk kids.

Anonymous wrote:I think has to do a lot more some people trying to avoid schools with high FARMS and URM rates. This, of course, happens all over the US, and not surprisingly, in many countries in the Americas and Europe.

Right. South Lakes is mostly affluent and white, but it has more low income students than Lake Braddock for example, so it is perceived to be inferior.