I get it, I truly do, that some kids are gonna need more from FCPS than others. But DH and I are essential workers, killing ourselves here to make it all work out and have kids who reach their potential.

My FCPS first grader lost all reading groups for the final 3 months of K last year. This year, because he's a bit ahead, he gets an average of one reading group meeting a week. He was eligible for enrichment -- Level II or whatever the pullout gifted programs are called in K and 1st -- his school has cancelled those offerings since the pandemic began.

Meanwhile I see some of his friends with SAHPs who arent on grade level and live in homes twice as $ as ours get daily reading groups and meetings with specialists. DS is doing...ok I guess? But in every sense his learning has stalled and given the nature of our jobs we are unable to be the fill-in on-demand teacher that FCPS expects of parents right now. And it pi**ses me off.

Anonymous wrote:Well, one thing for sure, distance learning is not working for most kids. Is that a racist statement? Don't think so. And, our School Board does not seem especially keen on getting kids back in school.
Big deal last week of having teachers get vaccinated--bumped the senior citizens. I'm fine with that if it means the kids back in school. But it doesn't seem to be part of the plan.

Of course it’s the plan! What are you talking about? Don’t believe those trolls saying they won’t go back until EVERYONE is vaccinated. That’s BS. If they won’t go back, they won’t get paid.

What I am worried about right now is that I won’t be able to make concurrent work.

Well, one thing for sure, distance learning is not working for most kids. Is that a racist statement? Don't think so. And, our School Board does not seem especially keen on getting kids back in school.
Big deal last week of having teachers get vaccinated--bumped the senior citizens. I'm fine with that if it means the kids back in school. But it doesn't seem to be part of the plan.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m disappointed in aspects of FCPS but I can’t help but think that there is a small vocal minority posting in DCUM that is trying to completely undermine public education. They aren’t looking for solutions. They just reply that public education is hopeless, private is the only way to go, pro-vouchers. People eat this crap up, pull their kids, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Exactly. The underlying racism is so blatant and their is definitely an agenda.

I mean, you don’t have to be a racist to make the objective observation that a disproportionate amount of resources are spent on ELL and Farms students. That is literally the definition of equity. Everyone getting what they need vs everyone getting the same. Which is a fancy way of saying kids who are not behind get less attention and resources.

And therefore don’t reach their max potential.

Which is the goal of equity.

The goal of equity is to enable every kid to thrive and reach their max potential, while recognizing that the resources required for that will vary both in volume and in kind depending on that child's circumstances. Some kids might need a larger $ outlay of support via programs like FARMS, ESOL, Special Ed, etc.... for some kids the standard offering / Gen Ed program encompasses all the right resources that they need to thrive... for some kids they need specialized/advanced academic opportunities such as AAP provides... and the combination of these varies as well (e.g. a kid might be in both FARMS and AAP, etc.). It also recognizes that parents aren't always able to supplement or meet all of those needs, despite their best efforts, and that the school system can in good faith try to support them and meet their child's needs (without that simultaneously meaning that parents are completely abdicating their own responsibilities).

Can the school system precisely meet EVERY single kids' unique needs? No. Some kids have needs that are too unique or specialized for a public school system to really tailor that individually, but the programs we DO have go a loooooooong way towards equity compared to a universal one-size-fits-all approach. What we have clearly isn't perfect, but it's an 80% solution that can be realistically implemented within the confines of a public school system's budget.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m disappointed in aspects of FCPS but I can’t help but think that there is a small vocal minority posting in DCUM that is trying to completely undermine public education. They aren’t looking for solutions. They just reply that public education is hopeless, private is the only way to go, pro-vouchers. People eat this crap up, pull their kids, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Exactly. The underlying racism is so blatant and their is definitely an agenda.

I mean, you don’t have to be a racist to make the objective observation that a disproportionate amount of resources are spent on ELL and Farms students. That is literally the definition of equity. Everyone getting what they need vs everyone getting the same. Which is a fancy way of saying kids who are not behind get less attention and resources.

And therefore don’t reach their max potential.

I'm going to need concrete examples of kids with lots of resources at home not reaching their best potential because attention was not given to them as much as humanly possible during school.

Do you honestly suggest a teacher should split their minutes exactly equally? Are real world resources split that way?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m disappointed in aspects of FCPS but I can’t help but think that there is a small vocal minority posting in DCUM that is trying to completely undermine public education. They aren’t looking for solutions. They just reply that public education is hopeless, private is the only way to go, pro-vouchers. People eat this crap up, pull their kids, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Exactly. The underlying racism is so blatant and their is definitely an agenda.

I mean, you don’t have to be a racist to make the objective observation that a disproportionate amount of resources are spent on ELL and Farms students. That is literally the definition of equity. Everyone getting what they need vs everyone getting the same. Which is a fancy way of saying kids who are not behind get less attention and resources.

And therefore don’t reach their max potential.

And that is why they have access to parents, a free library, and the internet. Parents have and always will be their children's first and main advocates. If your child is not meeting their full potential, do something about it - don't blame their loss on ELL and SPED kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m disappointed in aspects of FCPS but I can’t help but think that there is a small vocal minority posting in DCUM that is trying to completely undermine public education. They aren’t looking for solutions. They just reply that public education is hopeless, private is the only way to go, pro-vouchers. People eat this crap up, pull their kids, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Exactly. The underlying racism is so blatant and their is definitely an agenda.

I mean, you don’t have to be a racist to make the objective observation that a disproportionate amount of resources are spent on ELL and Farms students. That is literally the definition of equity. Everyone getting what they need vs everyone getting the same. Which is a fancy way of saying kids who are not behind get less attention and resources.

And therefore don’t reach their max potential.

Which is the goal of equity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m disappointed in aspects of FCPS but I can’t help but think that there is a small vocal minority posting in DCUM that is trying to completely undermine public education. They aren’t looking for solutions. They just reply that public education is hopeless, private is the only way to go, pro-vouchers. People eat this crap up, pull their kids, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Exactly. The underlying racism is so blatant and their is definitely an agenda.

I mean, you don’t have to be a racist to make the objective observation that a disproportionate amount of resources are spent on ELL and Farms students. That is literally the definition of equity. Everyone getting what they need vs everyone getting the same. Which is a fancy way of saying kids who are not behind get less attention and resources.

And therefore don’t reach their max potential.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m disappointed in aspects of FCPS but I can’t help but think that there is a small vocal minority posting in DCUM that is trying to completely undermine public education. They aren’t looking for solutions. They just reply that public education is hopeless, private is the only way to go, pro-vouchers. People eat this crap up, pull their kids, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Exactly. The underlying racism is so blatant and their is definitely an agenda.

I mean, you don’t have to be a racist to make the objective observation that a disproportionate amount of resources are spent on ELL and Farms students. That is literally the definition of equity. Everyone getting what they need vs everyone getting the same. Which is a fancy way of saying kids who are not behind get less attention and resources.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m disappointed in aspects of FCPS but I can’t help but think that there is a small vocal minority posting in DCUM that is trying to completely undermine public education. They aren’t looking for solutions. They just reply that public education is hopeless, private is the only way to go, pro-vouchers. People eat this crap up, pull their kids, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Exactly. The underlying racism is so blatant and their is definitely an agenda.

Np. I’m not racist. I think how the mostly Hispanic esol kids are being taught is setting them up to fail. I don’t think it’s benefiting anyone. I’m all here to diversity. I’m not sure who is benefiting from this failing structure. They need to rethink how they’re teaching English and integrating non English speaking kids in. Other districts are doing much better at ensuring English language gets taught.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m disappointed in aspects of FCPS but I can’t help but think that there is a small vocal minority posting in DCUM that is trying to completely undermine public education. They aren’t looking for solutions. They just reply that public education is hopeless, private is the only way to go, pro-vouchers. People eat this crap up, pull their kids, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

so....you're happy with FCPS?

Compared to what we saw in IN or MN, yes.

We moved from Indiana 2 years ago. Our school system (Hamilton County) was SO much better than FCPS.

Anonymous wrote:I’m disappointed in aspects of FCPS but I can’t help but think that there is a small vocal minority posting in DCUM that is trying to completely undermine public education. They aren’t looking for solutions. They just reply that public education is hopeless, private is the only way to go, pro-vouchers. People eat this crap up, pull their kids, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Exactly. The underlying racism is so blatant and their is definitely an agenda.