I am frankly sickened by the attitude of some of the posters toward South Lakes. We have been in Reston for 30 years and both of my children have been in the South Lakes pyramid. My son graduated in 2001. At that point the school was in a decline with a number of gang-related incidents, yet he managed to get through school unscathed and graduate with his friends. The most positive part of his experience was his Assistant Principal, Bruce Butler, who was unfailing interested in the kids' well-being and insisted on open communications between teachers, administration and parents. As an assistant principal he was limited in his ability to make some of these things happen. As an example, I had one teacher who told me she refused to talk to parents after school hours, although she wasn't really available during school hours either. (As the wife of a teacher, I know that sometimes evening calls are necessary). The principal's office didn't seem to think that was a problem.
My daughter is a Junior at South Lakes now and couldn't be happier with the situation. Bruce has made huge strides in communications between staff and parents and the teachers currently at the school seem to be making a real effort to work with the students and their parents. There's also a real willingness to listen to parent and student input regarding teachers who aren't pulling their weight, exhibit a lack of teaching skills, or show a lack of concern for their students. We've seen some leave in the past two years as a result of this. Discipline for students has also improved hugely. Infractions that were tolerated or ignored during the previous administration were addressed. The improvements are obvious to all of us and enthusiasm for the school is on a decided upswing (as are our SAT scores).
I'm truly insulted by the attitude of some posters, as they imply that my sending my child to South Lakes means that I don't care for her safety or the quality of her education. What arrogance is displayed in questioning the judgment of all South Lakes parents in that way.
My daughter excels as a student (straight A's), is in the National Honor Society, and is in the IB diploma program (which, let no one kid you, is a demanding program). She participates (heavily) in sports year-round and takes part in artistic programs as well. Her standardized test scores are in the top percentiles and she has been courted by top colleges (in spite of opting not to go to TJ). She is, in short a student who would excel at any school.
She steadfastly has avoided being a part of a clique. She prefers having friends from all socioeconomic, ethnic and religious backgrounds, and enjoys spending time with them. She is, in fact, considering taking a "break year" after graduation so that she can travel and learn more about the rest of the world. (I suspect that she's figured out that we're not the center of the universe). (grin)
She has *never* felt threatened or unsafe in her school.
I envy her the experiences that she's had. She'll move into the world much more comfortably than I (with my Midwestern white-bread background) was initially able to.
Chris Cox, a graduating Senior in 2006, eloquently stated his reasons for being grateful that he attended South Lakes. After addressing the "fears" that others have regarding the school, he said:
"You cannot graduate from our high school with the same ignorance that is encouraged in other parts of the world. Our high school represents more cultures and religions than any other in our area, and is the reason I am most proud to have been a student at South Lakes."
His entire speech is attached, in PDF format.
*That* is the kind of student we have at South Lakes these days. And that's why, regardless of the fears of others, we're proud to "subject" our children to the South Lakes experience.
Attachments: