Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mort Sherman, former ACPS superintendent, famously said, “private school is a good option for some” when challenged to do more for high-achieving students in the system.

Was he the one who sent his kid to private school in-person during Covid?

What do you mean "according to their SOL testing?" That they didn't pass the minimum number required to get a standard diploma (which is not that high. For example, you need to take 3 years of math but only pass a single SOL)?


SOLs have more to do with accreditation. Students must pass the minimum number of classes to graduate with the Standard Diploma.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an Old Town resident and lover of our vibrant city of Alexandria, I am so heartbroken by our public school system. We love and support our schools but wow it's like our school board refuses to make anything better and we all suffer as a result. Staying isn't safe and kids are segregated in our upper schools. Only the blind dispute this. It's just frustrating to know we need to move from this otherwise amazing place.

I'm sure there will be plenty of posters chiming in, finding ways to make fun of this and pick me apart. But, I think many others actually living and witnessing this know it's very much real.

What do you mean by segregated?

Anonymous wrote:As an Old Town resident and lover of our vibrant city of Alexandria, I am so heartbroken by our public school system. We love and support our schools but wow it's like our school board refuses to make anything better and we all suffer as a result. Staying isn't safe and kids are segregated in our upper schools. Only the blind dispute this. It's just frustrating to know we need to move from this otherwise amazing place.

I'm sure there will be plenty of posters chiming in, finding ways to make fun of this and pick me apart. But, I think many others actually living and witnessing this know it's very much real.

Anonymous wrote:Mort Sherman, former ACPS superintendent, famously said, “private school is a good option for some” when challenged to do more for high-achieving students in the system.

Anonymous wrote:

OP There is another thread about ACPS and how 900 senior graduated and according to their SOL testing only 1/3 should have.

What do you mean "according to their SOL testing?" That they didn't pass the minimum number required to get a standard diploma (which is not that high. For example, you need to take 3 years of math but only pass a single SOL)?

OP There is another thread about ACPS and how 900 senior graduated and according to their SOL testing only 1/3 should have.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Time to grow up and move out of Old Town and Del Ray. You won’t miss it nearly as much as you think you will.

"Grow up?" What a spiteful recommendation. You may not share the values of people who live here including walkability and sense of community. It's a rare thing in this area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what Alexandrians voted for. This is what the city wants.

I don't understand the problem.

Exactly, and no elections have even been close. Everything is great except for a few people on these forums.

Yup. This is what your all voted for over years and years. Why are you complaining now?

I hear you PPs but this is an oversimplification. Did "we" (Democrats) of Alexandria technically vote for "this?" I guess so yes, in that we voted D. But what was the alternative? Vote R and end up with a government that cares even less about public schools? Many liberals are mad as hell at our city government and school board. We want safety and accountability, too, you know.

School board elections are non-partisan. There is no primary. The school board has changed over many times since I moved here and nothing really changes. I just don't think an independent school board made up of volunteers (it is an unpaid position that requires enormous time commitment) is a successful model. There are never enough candidates, so really the voters don't have any choice.

For background, I have a 6th grader at GWMS. She has enjoyed her year there, but almost every day there is a fight in the cafeteria. She and a couple of her friends are afraid to go into the bathrooms because older kids will frequently skip class to hang out there. There has been a student she knows beaten up at least three times over the course of the year.

Previously, she had been at JH, where there were class disruptions every single day. Her teachers spent a majority of time trying to rein in the students; very little learning was going on. When there was an outcry regarding these disruptions one year, Hutchings did nothing. There was a lot of lip service from the school board, but essentially, nothing happened. Parents I knew either moved out of the neighborhood or requested transfers out.

Any alternative is better than continuing to vote 'D' and seeing nothing change and the complaints growing louder. And hearing your excuse that voting 'R' would be worse is infuriating. Nothing is worse than what we have now.

There are no R candidates in our area generally, right? Only independents. But the party does not matter to me anyways as a parent in these local elections - I am putting safety and accountability first with my votes.

I'm the PP you quoted.

Same -- the party does not matter to me; I want everyone and anyone in office who will promote school safety/accountability. I only mentioned it because of the previous poster who said this: "Vote R and end up with a government that cares even less about public schools?"

That kind of thinking, that one should only vote 'D' because voting 'R' is automatically worse, is what pisses me off. That previous poster wants school safety, however, VOTES IN THE SAME PEOPLE to the school board only because they're 'D' affiliated. And these same people on the school board essentially do nothing, or next to nothing, to promote school safety.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what Alexandrians voted for. This is what the city wants.

I don't understand the problem.

Exactly, and no elections have even been close. Everything is great except for a few people on these forums.

Yup. This is what your all voted for over years and years. Why are you complaining now?

I hear you PPs but this is an oversimplification. Did "we" (Democrats) of Alexandria technically vote for "this?" I guess so yes, in that we voted D. But what was the alternative? Vote R and end up with a government that cares even less about public schools? Many liberals are mad as hell at our city government and school board. We want safety and accountability, too, you know.

School board elections are non-partisan. There is no primary. The school board has changed over many times since I moved here and nothing really changes. I just don't think an independent school board made up of volunteers (it is an unpaid position that requires enormous time commitment) is a successful model. There are never enough candidates, so really the voters don't have any choice.

For background, I have a 6th grader at GWMS. She has enjoyed her year there, but almost every day there is a fight in the cafeteria. She and a couple of her friends are afraid to go into the bathrooms because older kids will frequently skip class to hang out there. There has been a student she knows beaten up at least three times over the course of the year.

Previously, she had been at JH, where there were class disruptions every single day. Her teachers spent a majority of time trying to rein in the students; very little learning was going on. When there was an outcry regarding these disruptions one year, Hutchings did nothing. There was a lot of lip service from the school board, but essentially, nothing happened. Parents I knew either moved out of the neighborhood or requested transfers out.

Any alternative is better than continuing to vote 'D' and seeing nothing change and the complaints growing louder. And hearing your excuse that voting 'R' would be worse is infuriating. Nothing is worse than what we have now.

There are no R candidates in our area generally, right? Only independents. But the party does not matter to me anyways as a parent in these local elections - I am putting safety and accountability first with my votes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what Alexandrians voted for. This is what the city wants.

I don't understand the problem.

Exactly, and no elections have even been close. Everything is great except for a few people on these forums.

Yup. This is what your all voted for over years and years. Why are you complaining now?

I hear you PPs but this is an oversimplification. Did "we" (Democrats) of Alexandria technically vote for "this?" I guess so yes, in that we voted D. But what was the alternative? Vote R and end up with a government that cares even less about public schools? Many liberals are mad as hell at our city government and school board. We want safety and accountability, too, you know.

School board elections are non-partisan. There is no primary. The school board has changed over many times since I moved here and nothing really changes. I just don't think an independent school board made up of volunteers (it is an unpaid position that requires enormous time commitment) is a successful model. There are never enough candidates, so really the voters don't have any choice.

For background, I have a 6th grader at GWMS. She has enjoyed her year there, but almost every day there is a fight in the cafeteria. She and a couple of her friends are afraid to go into the bathrooms because older kids will frequently skip class to hang out there. There has been a student she knows beaten up at least three times over the course of the year.

Previously, she had been at JH, where there were class disruptions every single day. Her teachers spent a majority of time trying to rein in the students; very little learning was going on. When there was an outcry regarding these disruptions one year, Hutchings did nothing. There was a lot of lip service from the school board, but essentially, nothing happened. Parents I knew either moved out of the neighborhood or requested transfers out.

Any alternative is better than continuing to vote 'D' and seeing nothing change and the complaints growing louder. And hearing your excuse that voting 'R' would be worse is infuriating. Nothing is worse than what we have now.

There are no R candidates in our area generally, right? Only independents. But the party does not matter to me anyways as a parent in these local elections - I am putting safety and accountability first with my votes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what Alexandrians voted for. This is what the city wants.

I don't understand the problem.

Exactly, and no elections have even been close. Everything is great except for a few people on these forums.

Yup. This is what your all voted for over years and years. Why are you complaining now?

I hear you PPs but this is an oversimplification. Did "we" (Democrats) of Alexandria technically vote for "this?" I guess so yes, in that we voted D. But what was the alternative? Vote R and end up with a government that cares even less about public schools? Many liberals are mad as hell at our city government and school board. We want safety and accountability, too, you know.

School board elections are non-partisan. There is no primary. The school board has changed over many times since I moved here and nothing really changes. I just don't think an independent school board made up of volunteers (it is an unpaid position that requires enormous time commitment) is a successful model. There are never enough candidates, so really the voters don't have any choice.

For background, I have a 6th grader at GWMS. She has enjoyed her year there, but almost every day there is a fight in the cafeteria. She and a couple of her friends are afraid to go into the bathrooms because older kids will frequently skip class to hang out there. There has been a student she knows beaten up at least three times over the course of the year.

Previously, she had been at JH, where there were class disruptions every single day. Her teachers spent a majority of time trying to rein in the students; very little learning was going on. When there was an outcry regarding these disruptions one year, Hutchings did nothing. There was a lot of lip service from the school board, but essentially, nothing happened. Parents I knew either moved out of the neighborhood or requested transfers out.

Any alternative is better than continuing to vote 'D' and seeing nothing change and the complaints growing louder. And hearing your excuse that voting 'R' would be worse is infuriating. Nothing is worse than what we have now.

Anonymous wrote:As an Old Town resident and lover of our vibrant city of Alexandria, I am so heartbroken by our public school system. We love and support our schools but wow it's like our school board refuses to make anything better and we all suffer as a result. Staying isn't safe and kids are segregated in our upper schools. Only the blind dispute this. It's just frustrating to know we need to move from this otherwise amazing place.

I'm sure there will be plenty of posters chiming in, finding ways to make fun of this and pick me apart. But, I think many others actually living and witnessing this know it's very much real.