I was against charter schools. Then, I moved from FCPS to a state with public charter schools, and the charters have been fantastic. The education has been incredibly strong, and finally my kids have a school that actually challenges high achievers.

I don't see how public charter schools could be sucking the system dry. They generally receive quite a bit less money per student than the public schools, and they're still required to meet all of the public school standards.

The net result of public charters isn't significantly different from the immersion or magnet programs in FCPS. In both cases, kids are picked via a lottery, busing may not be provided, the kids are generally at or above average, and the families are involved in their kids' educations. The main difference is that the charter is getting less money per student from the state.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps she'll insist that FCPS teach the difference between effect and affect.

Thank you! I did not grow up speaking English, and still cannot understand why this is such a common mistake!

OP is a dumb Trumpkin so lower your expectations.

Probably dumb, though not a Trumpkin, and definitely an FCPS grad.
-OP

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ll just end up with more assessments. Sounds great when you are a parent and not a teacher. But all of that data collection and testing ends up on the teacher and takes away from classroom instruction. And we’ll have charter schools. Which doesn’t actually improve anything. They kick out the behavior problems and kick them back to the neighborhood school. Just more taxpayer money in corporate pockets.

+ 1
No one cares that we are teaching your kid because we assess them constantly, but that is what is happening.
Charter schools sound good to parents who need control over the uncontrollable and need to “protect” their child from the real world, but in reality they will suck the whole system dry.

Youngkin got elected displaying some remarkably savvy political instincts for a political newcomer.

That suggests to me that he's not really going to impose charter schools on communities against their will, so much as try and facilitate their formation where there is community support for such schools but roadblocks created by local school boards.

FCPS is just one school system among many in the state. There may be other areas where the desire for charter schools is stronger. Perhaps people in FCPS will look at some of the crowded, but low performing high schools like Justice and West Potomac and consider whether a charter could be particularly helpful for some students. As far as I know, the furthest anyone ever got to opening a charter in Fairfax was an initiative by a social studies teacher at then-Stuart HS who thought a more intense program would be beneficial for some of the low-income kids at that school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think anyone can be an expert on education without ever teaching in a classroom.

Then how do you explain our current SB? I believe only one or two have actually taught in classrooms before.

Exactly. And they are a sh!tshow, because they have no clue.

You can keep coming up with litmus tests, and they'll fail most of the time. McLaughlin is one of the few decent SB members, and she hasn't been a classroom teacher.

I guess you could point to Frisch, who is painfully bad and (1) lacks a college degree, (2) has never taught, and (3) has never been an FCPS parent. On the other hand, there are unimpressive SB members who have college degrees (for example, Cohen, Omeish, Meren), have taught in a classroom (Tholen), or have been an FCPS parent (for example, Corbett Sanders, Derenak Kaufax, Keys Gamarra).

How about we wait and see what the new VDOE Secretary actually proposes?

Anonymous wrote:We’ll just end up with more assessments. Sounds great when you are a parent and not a teacher. But all of that data collection and testing ends up on the teacher and takes away from classroom instruction. And we’ll have charter schools. Which doesn’t actually improve anything. They kick out the behavior problems and kick them back to the neighborhood school. Just more taxpayer money in corporate pockets.

+ 1
No one cares that we are teaching your kid because we assess them constantly, but that is what is happening.
Charter schools sound good to parents who need control over the uncontrollable and need to “protect” their child from the real world, but in reality they will suck the whole system dry.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not happy with the direction of FCPS on several fronts but this pick, the rhetoric I read on DCUM, etc...just gives me pause. Where have all the sane people gone?
FYI-this article reminded me of lots of threads on DCUM

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/far-right-extremist-moms_n_61ba330de4b0456499dcc9bf

Dcum and fcps are just so far peft that anythimg moderate or even center left sends them into a panic. It is just so hard left on this site.

Pray tell where are these moderates and center left ideas?

This thread and many other are centrist posts.

The far left of dcum are so far extreme that they view anything moderate or near the middle as "trumpian"

It would do them well to expand their leftist bubbles and get to know some middle of the road folks.

Give me a break. It’s a thread that features pro Youngkin propaganda. Go back and look at the first page.

Anonymous wrote:The pick is Aimee Rogstad Guidera per the transition team:



This is her: https://cepr.harvard.edu/people/aimee-rogstad-guidera

Except for the charter schools, she sounds great, but for two factors:

1. Political rhetoric is political rhetoric. No matter the party affiliation, It’s rarely more than PR spin and dog whistling.
2. I’m not sure I can except the pro charter schools stance from her write-up when considering her potential value. As crappy and as corrupt as I think Gatehouse is, I am pretty sure charter schools would be much worse for education in this county.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am not happy with the direction of FCPS on several fronts but this pick, the rhetoric I read on DCUM, etc...just gives me pause. Where have all the sane people gone?
FYI-this article reminded me of lots of threads on DCUM

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/far-right-extremist-moms_n_61ba330de4b0456499dcc9bf

Dcum and fcps are just so far peft that anythimg moderate or even center left sends them into a panic. It is just so hard left on this site.

Pray tell where are these moderates and center left ideas?

This thread and many other are centrist posts.

The far left of dcum are so far extreme that they view anything moderate or near the middle as "trumpian"

It would do them well to expand their leftist bubbles and get to know some middle of the road folks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think anyone can be an expert on education without ever teaching in a classroom.

Then how do you explain our current SB? I believe only one or two have actually taught in classrooms before.

Some of them don’t even have children.

It’s just a stepping stone to their next political position.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think anyone can be an expert on education without ever teaching in a classroom.

Then how do you explain our current SB? I believe only one or two have actually taught in classrooms before.

Exactly. And they are a sh!tshow, because they have no clue.

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps she'll insist that FCPS teach the difference between effect and affect.

Thank you! I did not grow up speaking English, and still cannot understand why this is such a common mistake!

Anonymous wrote:I don't think anyone can be an expert on education without ever teaching in a classroom.

Then how do you explain our current SB? I believe only one or two have actually taught in classrooms before.

I don't think anyone can be an expert on education without ever teaching in a classroom.

Anonymous wrote:I am not happy with the direction of FCPS on several fronts but this pick, the rhetoric I read on DCUM, etc...just gives me pause. Where have all the sane people gone?
FYI-this article reminded me of lots of threads on DCUM

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/far-right-extremist-moms_n_61ba330de4b0456499dcc9bf

First, HuffPost? And secondly, the author is a far-left extremist whose website is actually called, "Merry Misandrist." But you probably think you (and she) should be taken seriously, amirite?

Anonymous wrote:It’s odd that FCPS spends tons of money on consultants every year, but that when the Governor-elect appoints someone with a background in educational consulting to oversee VDOE the same people who defend FCPS’s current expenditures on consultants then turn around and claim it’s somehow a big problem. Hypocritical much?

Bingo. Anyone recall "The Leadership Academy" and their expensive contract with FCPS? Here's a refresher:

https://www.fcps.edu/node/43411
https://www.leadershipacademy.org/

"We support leaders within the context of their communities and take a systemic approach to addressing local leadership needs.
To consistently provide each student access to the learning opportunities they need to excel, schools need strong culturally responsive leaders. We define culturally responsive leadership as being able to recognize how institutionalized racism affects your own life and the lives of the students and families you work with, and embracing your role in mitigating, disrupting and dismantling systemic oppression. Culturally responsive leaders focus on academic success, cultural competence, and developing students’ and educators’ abilities to think critically about the world around them. They create learning experiences intentionally built to meet the needs of every child. Being culturally responsive is the work at the heart of making school systems more equitable. We support school and school system leaders in using an equity lens to implement a vision, build strong school and district culture, set clear and high expectations, and develop and lead principals and teachers who ensure rigorous and culturally responsive instruction and the opportunity for all students to be successful."