Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh you die hard limousine liberals are so holier than thou!

I am not for a tax break or saying the neediest schools should go without-simply that Cluster 1 deserves their fair share of lower class sizes and resources too! I am all for a meals tax to raise revenues, but I do pay my fair share of property taxes and my kids schools shouldn't always get the short end of the stick just because my school board representative thinks I am "wealthy" and can afford to supplement everything the schools lack. So there!

There's nothing holier than thou in pointing out what it really means when some of the richest people in the county clamor for their "fair share," while steadfastly refusing to pay for it.

And, of course, to stay on topic, it's the same sense of entitlement that leads some Langley pyramid parents to imply their AAP kids shouldn't have to attend Cooper, their under-enrolled base school, until it has been fully renovated. It doesn't seem to matter to them that Kilmer has been overcrowded for years or that Longfellow students attend school in trailers. They want to pay less in taxes, but still have a local public with state-of-the-art facilities.

Anonymous wrote:Oh you die hard limousine liberals are so holier than thou!

I am not for a tax break or saying the neediest schools should go without-simply that Cluster 1 deserves their fair share of lower class sizes and resources too! I am all for a meals tax to raise revenues, but I do pay my fair share of property taxes and my kids schools shouldn't always get the short end of the stick just because my school board representative thinks I am "wealthy" and can afford to supplement everything the schools lack. So there!

There's nothing holier than thou in pointing out what it really means when some of the richest people in the county clamor for their "fair share," while steadfastly refusing to pay for it.

Anonymous wrote:Oh you die hard limousine liberals are so holier than thou!

I am not for a tax break or saying the neediest schools should go without-simply that Cluster 1 deserves their fair share of lower class sizes and resources too! I am all for a meals tax to raise revenues, but I do pay my fair share of property taxes and my kids schools shouldn't always get the short end of the stick just because my school board representative thinks I am "wealthy" and can afford to supplement everything the schools lack. So there!

Hard to be a limousine liberal when your primary breadwinner spouse is currently unemployed, as mine is. But this ideas that kids in affluent areas are somehow getting the short end of the stick is no more than a republican canard designed to get people riled up. We don't supplement AT ALL and our kids are getting one of the best educations in the country. The problem is panicked people who have overinflated expectations about what a public school education, or for that matter, any school education can do to make their particular child competitive.

It's a tougher world, no doubt, but our local schools aren't the problem. We have one of the highest concentrations of educated people anywhere, which is an incredible peer group to have your kid be part of. The problem is too many parents can't accept that their kids aren't standout superstars, so they think, somehow if only the public schools were doing more to support these unrealistic expectations, it would all be different. It won't. Demographics are changing and public schools are in demand and have a public trust -- they've got to teach everybody. And while properly funding our schools, via a meal tax or higher property taxes or whatever is important, it's not going to change the reality. The sooner kids can learn to work hard and succeed in this world as we find it today, but better for them and all of us in the long-run.

Oh you die hard limousine liberals are so holier than thou!

I am not for a tax break or saying the neediest schools should go without-simply that Cluster 1 deserves their fair share of lower class sizes and resources too! I am all for a meals tax to raise revenues, but I do pay my fair share of property taxes and my kids schools shouldn't always get the short end of the stick just because my school board representative thinks I am "wealthy" and can afford to supplement everything the schools lack. So there!

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax schools are underfunded compared to Arlington, Montgomery and FCC. If we take funds away from schools in Herndon and Falls Church with high concentrations of low-income students like Hutchison and Timber Lane, we set them up for failure, which means they'll require even more money and attention later, just in more dire circumstances.

Republicans are trying to sell people in Fairfax on the notion that we can starve the neediest, cut back spending in FCPS, and still have a competitive public school system with significantly smaller class sizes in rich schools. It is not going to happen, and they'll be the first to bail to Loudoun when it doesn't work out like they claim.

This is the most succinct and truest assessment I've seen of what's going on. It's pathetic! And people with means should be ashamed for pushing for it.

Fairfax schools are underfunded compared to Arlington, Montgomery and FCC. If we take funds away from schools in Herndon and Falls Church with high concentrations of low-income students like Hutchison and Timber Lane, we set them up for failure, which means they'll require even more money and attention later, just in more dire circumstances.

Republicans are trying to sell people in Fairfax on the notion that we can starve the neediest, cut back spending in FCPS, and still have a competitive public school system with significantly smaller class sizes in rich schools. It is not going to happen, and they'll be the first to bail to Loudoun when it doesn't work out like they claim.

Wake up Herndon-your class sizes are large too !

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The renovation of Cooper is definitely on the horizon, with design to begin in 2017 and the bulk of the construction slated for 2020 and 2021. Yes, it's possible students will be in trailers but, with over 300 extra seats right now, they might not need too many. Do you realize that Kilmer has been overcrowded for years with all the kids from Cooper (more of the AAP kids at Kilmer go to Langley than to Marshall)?

5-6 years from now is hardly "on the horizon" and FCPS budget cuts looming may have a significant impact on that timeline.

There has been very little talk about the whole Cooper va Longfellow/Kilmer for 2016 and whether or not the choice will be preserved-is that because it is a school board election year?? Personally I hope Janie Strauss goes down today...

It is in the CiP, and has been for several years now. Part of the 2015 bond is for the renovation design at Cooper.

I'm sure Janie Strauss knows by now that the base of her support resides in the Herndon, McLean and Marshall precincts in Dranesville, and that the mostly Republican precincts in the Langley district will go for her opponent.

Anonymous wrote:The renovation of Cooper is definitely on the horizon, with design to begin in 2017 and the bulk of the construction slated for 2020 and 2021. Yes, it's possible students will be in trailers but, with over 300 extra seats right now, they might not need too many. Do you realize that Kilmer has been overcrowded for years with all the kids from Cooper (more of the AAP kids at Kilmer go to Langley than to Marshall)?

5-6 years from now is hardly "on the horizon" and FCPS budget cuts looming may have a significant impact on that timeline.

There has been very little talk about the whole Cooper va Longfellow/Kilmer for 2016 and whether or not the choice will be preserved-is that because it is a school board election year?? Personally I hope Janie Strauss goes down today...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The principal at Cooper has tried to get official Level IV AAP standing for a few years now. Apparently she is setting the rules at her school to substantiate she has enough Center eligible students there to designate it as a Center.

I used to see posts claiming the principal at Cooper did not want a LLIV center at the school - which is it? I think it's inevitable that Cooper will become the only LLIV option for students in the Langley pyramid, and it's nice that some parents have seen the writing on the wall and taken advantage of the LLIV courses now available. Both Kilmer and Longfellow are less crowded now - which is great!

Cooper has been dramatically under-enrolled due to the increased number of students found eligible for AAP over the past several years. The principal is now very supportive of opening a center at Cooper in order to bring back the students and bring the school up to its capacity. The school has done a lot over the past few years to prepare for this.

And if AAP eligibility hadn't expanded so drastically in the first place, this incredible imbalance would never have occurred. Amazing how that works.

The renovation of Cooper is definitely on the horizon, with design to begin in 2017 and the bulk of the construction slated for 2020 and 2021. Yes, it's possible students will be in trailers but, with over 300 extra seats right now, they might not need too many. Do you realize that Kilmer has been overcrowded for years with all the kids from Cooper (more of the AAP kids at Kilmer go to Langley than to Marshall)?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The principal at Cooper has tried to get official Level IV AAP standing for a few years now. Apparently she is setting the rules at her school to substantiate she has enough Center eligible students there to designate it as a Center.

I used to see posts claiming the principal at Cooper did not want a LLIV center at the school - which is it? I think it's inevitable that Cooper will become the only LLIV option for students in the Langley pyramid, and it's nice that some parents have seen the writing on the wall and taken advantage of the LLIV courses now available. Both Kilmer and Longfellow are less crowded now - which is great!

Cooper has been dramatically under-enrolled due to the increased number of students found eligible for AAP over the past several years. The principal is now very supportive of opening a center at Cooper in order to bring back the students and bring the school up to its capacity. The school has done a lot over the past few years to prepare for this.

Cooper may be underenrolled now, but what is going to happen after 200 or so AAP kids get diverted from Longfellow and Kilmer to attend their program? It is a woefully dilapidated building and a renovation isn't even planned at the moment. Trailers will almost certainly be necessary.

Oh No trailers! Wait, you mean like the ones Longfellow had has to have for decades to accommodate the Cooper AAP students? Quelle horreur!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The principal at Cooper has tried to get official Level IV AAP standing for a few years now. Apparently she is setting the rules at her school to substantiate she has enough Center eligible students there to designate it as a Center.

I used to see posts claiming the principal at Cooper did not want a LLIV center at the school - which is it? I think it's inevitable that Cooper will become the only LLIV option for students in the Langley pyramid, and it's nice that some parents have seen the writing on the wall and taken advantage of the LLIV courses now available. Both Kilmer and Longfellow are less crowded now - which is great!

Cooper has been dramatically under-enrolled due to the increased number of students found eligible for AAP over the past several years. The principal is now very supportive of opening a center at Cooper in order to bring back the students and bring the school up to its capacity. The school has done a lot over the past few years to prepare for this.

Cooper may be underenrolled now, but what is going to happen after 200 or so AAP kids get diverted from Longfellow and Kilmer to attend their program? It is a woefully dilapidated building and a renovation isn't even planned at the moment. Trailers will almost certainly be necessary.

Something like 200+ AAP Carson kids/ year have Franklin as the base school (400 total). As Franklin transitions to a Center, are they looking at rezoning the Franklin/ Carson/?RR districts to make up for the big influx into Franklin (and out of Carson)?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The principal at Cooper has tried to get official Level IV AAP standing for a few years now. Apparently she is setting the rules at her school to substantiate she has enough Center eligible students there to designate it as a Center.

I used to see posts claiming the principal at Cooper did not want a LLIV center at the school - which is it? I think it's inevitable that Cooper will become the only LLIV option for students in the Langley pyramid, and it's nice that some parents have seen the writing on the wall and taken advantage of the LLIV courses now available. Both Kilmer and Longfellow are less crowded now - which is great!

Cooper has been dramatically under-enrolled due to the increased number of students found eligible for AAP over the past several years. The principal is now very supportive of opening a center at Cooper in order to bring back the students and bring the school up to its capacity. The school has done a lot over the past few years to prepare for this.

Excellent! And with FCPS expanding Thoreau as part of its renovation, that means more of the AAP kids at Kilmer and Jackson can go there, too.

Yes, it is amazing how planning works.