Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taylor's fourth graders got a shit ton of SOL prep this year, and it's of the whitest schools in APS.

My son has never had any SOL prep besides what they review in class. ATS, Kenmore, W-L.

I'm not sure what your point is. My kid's SOL prep at Taylor was during classtime; I'm bothered by it because there are so many better uses of class time.

Anonymous wrote:Taylor's fourth graders got a shit ton of SOL prep this year, and it's of the whitest schools in APS.

My son has never had any SOL prep besides what they review in class. ATS, Kenmore, W-L.

Anonymous wrote:So how do you explain the difference between Taylor and Jamestown, which have a similar demographic?

Even among high achieving schools, there can be a big difference and the extent to which school administrators care to focus on the SOLs. Some principals and administrators are very intent on driving up the scores in order to boost the schools' Greatschools ratings. Administrators at other schools are much more relaxed when it comes to the SOLs because they know the SOLs are mind-numbing and that their schools are in no danger of losing their accreditation.

We are in ACPS but most of our schools face the same struggles as S. Arl schools:

-- MCVS in Alexandria did become an immersion school this past year with the sole intent of teaching Spanish speaking kids. The English speaking kids are just along for the ride. ACPS presented their case to the Board by citing research that shows that teaching in core subjects in the native language assists ESL learns quicker and better. The school was previously dual language but the effects were minimal for ESL students. The PP who says that efforts for dual language/immersion were community driven is not correct. The documents supporting the changes are all on line under the School Board meetings.

-- 60% is a tipping point for a school. Education research shows that a population of FARMS students higher than that, and all students are effected and learn less.

--High FARMS/ESL schools focus first and foremost on closing the achievement gap. Heavy emphasis on rote learning, memorization, assessment testing all of the time, and the curriculum is usually slanted to be just below average to ensure that the majority of kids do ok. Kids who are average suffer the most. Advanced kids get into gifted programs and that helps.

--Behavior problems in the classroom in my child's school where there was about 40% FARMs was the single biggest issue.

--Not all Hispanic children enter school capable of speaking and understanding English. There were several kids in my child's 2 grade class who had marginal English skills at best.

--H-B Woodlawn will never be a diverse school and it's not anything that Arl Co. can fix. Research shows that minority parents across all SES levels have a strong preference for traditional education settings; thus, it is unrealistic to expect a large minority population at the school.

--If you live in S. Arl, be very, very concerned about any plan to drop affordable housing into a concentrated section. If you need to understand why, take a short drive over to Alexandria City land of public housing and "affordable housing" and see what your future holds. It's not pretty.

So how do you explain the difference between Taylor and Jamestown, which have a similar demographic?

Taylor's fourth graders got a shit ton of SOL prep this year, and it's of the whitest schools in APS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
SOL's shouldn't be ignored. They aren't the only piece of the puzzle, but at these high esol/farms schools - SOL prep is the focus. What do you want your child's day to look like?

Until we have a different superintendent, all kids' days are going to be heavy on the SOL prep. In high-EOL and FARMS schools, the prep happens before and after school, too.

Jamestown/Williamsburg parent. This has not been our experience. There's not much SOL prep. Maybe a week before the tests, but that's about it.

Exactly! The higher ups want to pretend that every child is getting the same experience. It's simply not true. Yes, the high needs children need all of this prep to keep these lower performing schools accredited. You are mistaken if you think this doesn't affect your middle class, English speaking child's class time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
SOL's shouldn't be ignored. They aren't the only piece of the puzzle, but at these high esol/farms schools - SOL prep is the focus. What do you want your child's day to look like?

Until we have a different superintendent, all kids' days are going to be heavy on the SOL prep. In high-EOL and FARMS schools, the prep happens before and after school, too.

Jamestown/Williamsburg parent. This has not been our experience. There's not much SOL prep. Maybe a week before the tests, but that's about it.