IB means we’ll off families can easily transfer out. They aren’t going to vote for an SB member that wants to do away with IB. The people voting need to keep IB.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are totally doubling down on IB. Last I heard, they were looking to spread the MYP downward to the PYP level in feeder elementaries.

Ughhh...

That is too bad.

Why don't the academically minded families zoned for Lee try to find a better advocate to run in the next school board election?

It has been easier in the past for families to transfer or move. Some of the families left behind really like IB. Many others just tolerate it without understanding what is going on. It is hard at a school like Lee to build a coalition. Sad really.

The FCPS Board, however, should know better and should start to correct things. Switch back to AP, put an AAP center at Key, and make the Lee/Key language program more equivalent to other schools. Unfortunately, Tamara is a big proponent of IB. If we can replace her with someone who is not so smitten with the program we might have a chance to be done with IB.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I worked at Lee years ago. I always felt safe and had hard working, motivated students in my classes as well as unmotivated students. The biggest issue was attendance. Many students would not come to school and it was the norm to miss significant amounts with both ESOL and non ESOL students.

I would not send my own children there. I have experienced general ed and honors classes at Lee and at other schools. The standards and rigor are not the same.

This sounds like an argument to close Lee. How can FCPS allow this to continue to spiral downward unless the whole reason is to soak up the poor kids so they don't affect the other schools?

I think that’s exactly the reason why FCPS allows the downward spiral to continue. I wonder what percentage of Lee HS parents are eligible to vote (i.e. US citizens) vs parents at West Springfield? If parents don’t (or can’t) vote, elected officials will ignore them.

West Springfield has nothing to do with Lee.

You miss my point entirely! To put it in simple terms that a child can understand - if parents vote, their school will get attention and resources. If parents don’t vote, elected officials will assume that the parents don’t care or lack political power. So, their schools will get less.
R
West Springfield parents vote. Lee parents don’t. So, which school do you think the School Board is keeping as the “better” school?

Lee parents vote. But if overall Fairfax county votes democratic, the ESL folks will flood in to lower cost areas, including Lee area.

Anonymous wrote:They are totally doubling down on IB. Last I heard, they were looking to spread the MYP downward to the PYP level in feeder elementaries.

Ughhh...

That is too bad.

Why don't the academically minded families zoned for Lee try to find a better advocate to run in the next school board election?

They are totally doubling down on IB. Last I heard, they were looking to spread the MYP downward to the PYP level in feeder elementaries.

Ughhh...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The boundaries of schools are based on politics as much as geography - especially with so many high schools in close proximity, like Lake Braddock, West Springfield, Lee, Edison, and Hayfield. Lower SES students used to be spread among the schools, but are now concentrated at Lee. It’s not by coincidence.

With the exception of Daventry, the coincidence is real estate patterns. Not school board zoning.

Daventry parents are mainly citizens who VOTE, so they got what they wanted - inclusion in West Springfield. Other areas (Saratoga ES?) have more parents who are not citizens and can’t vote, therefore they remain at Lee HS although they are geographically closer to South County. It’s ALL politics! Who holds the power gets the attention.

You are wrong.

Parents who value education have been moving out of the zone for a while, which brings down real estate prices, which gives poorer and recent immigrant families the opportunity to afford single family homes within the beltway, with relatively better commutes and in a more or less safe area.

They need to work on getting at least a LLIV program at Key and more AP classes so more kids will choose to stay.

And if you travel along the fc pkwy, there are more larger and nicer single family homes being built that are zoned for Lee. Those are not being bought by poor illegal immigrant families. Fcps needs to be proactive and start adding classes and programs to Key and Lee to entice those families to stay with the pyramid through high school.

The area is building up. If fcps plans correctly, Lee will start to improve. If they double down on the failed IB model, it will continue to drop.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The boundaries of schools are based on politics as much as geography - especially with so many high schools in close proximity, like Lake Braddock, West Springfield, Lee, Edison, and Hayfield. Lower SES students used to be spread among the schools, but are now concentrated at Lee. It’s not by coincidence.

With the exception of Daventry, the coincidence is real estate patterns. Not school board zoning.

Daventry parents are mainly citizens who VOTE, so they got what they wanted - inclusion in West Springfield. Other areas (Saratoga ES?) have more parents who are not citizens and can’t vote, therefore they remain at Lee HS although they are geographically closer to South County. It’s ALL politics! Who holds the power gets the attention.

You are wrong.

Parents who value education have been moving out of the zone for a while, which brings down real estate prices, which gives poorer and recent immigrant families the opportunity to afford single family homes within the beltway, with relatively better commutes and in a more or less safe area.

They need to work on getting at least a LLIV program at Key and more AP classes so more kids will choose to stay.

But it would be in West Springfield's interest to keep Lee open. If it were to close they would have to absorb several hundred students, including many poor students. Not too many of the WS families want that to happen, right? So Lee is kept open and it absorbs the poor students.

Anonymous wrote:The boundaries of schools are based on politics as much as geography - especially with so many high schools in close proximity, like Lake Braddock, West Springfield, Lee, Edison, and Hayfield. Lower SES students used to be spread among the schools, but are now concentrated at Lee. It’s not by coincidence.

But the voting patterns of Lee are liberal and the school board is very liberal. The issue of ESOL and recent immigrant kids is also one that is very near and dear to liberals. The school board should be doing everything they can to focus on raising the achievement of Lee. If not, they are just paying lip service to their pet causes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The boundaries of schools are based on politics as much as geography - especially with so many high schools in close proximity, like Lake Braddock, West Springfield, Lee, Edison, and Hayfield. Lower SES students used to be spread among the schools, but are now concentrated at Lee. It’s not by coincidence.

With the exception of Daventry, the coincidence is real estate patterns. Not school board zoning.

Daventry parents are mainly citizens who VOTE, so they got what they wanted - inclusion in West Springfield. Other areas (Saratoga ES?) have more parents who are not citizens and can’t vote, therefore they remain at Lee HS although they are geographically closer to South County. It’s ALL politics! Who holds the power gets the attention.

Anonymous wrote:Who is the west Springfield Sb rep?

Schultz.

No one on that very liberal school board is tipping the scales toward WS due to voting patterns.

Anonymous wrote:The boundaries of schools are based on politics as much as geography - especially with so many high schools in close proximity, like Lake Braddock, West Springfield, Lee, Edison, and Hayfield. Lower SES students used to be spread among the schools, but are now concentrated at Lee. It’s not by coincidence.

With the exception of Daventry, the coincidence is real estate patterns. Not school board zoning.

The boundaries of schools are based on politics as much as geography - especially with so many high schools in close proximity, like Lake Braddock, West Springfield, Lee, Edison, and Hayfield. Lower SES students used to be spread among the schools, but are now concentrated at Lee. It’s not by coincidence.

Who is the west Springfield Sb rep?

And seeing that the WS school board rep is one that the school board does not like, it is very improbable that the school board is supporting WS more than Lee because of the voting patterns of each district. Lee's school board rep is liberal and more in line with all the other school board members. Voting patterns really does not have anything to do with the school board's priorities.