Sad Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> To South Lakes Alum,
> Why do SL people feel the need to label people who
> think or act differently than their view of the
> world? What makes you think there's only your way
> of raising someone else's children?


Have YOU ever stopped to think that maybe there IS another way than the one you are so stubborn to protect? This fight is a double edged sword. Dont play the victim.

Barack Told Me - you are missing the point. Litigation only makes sense if you have a viable cause of action or actions. I don't see that here. The legal bar is very, very high here. Mere allegations of unfairness or injustice won't cut it. And while litigating may make a bitter party "feel" better in the short run by showing how tough or committed they are, litigating a non-viable claim will not intimidate a well heeled school system in the least and more significantly, bringing such a claim will work, once inevitably dismissed, to the detriment of the cause behind the party bringing the claim, because it will permit the school board to trumpet loudly that they at all times acted lawfully. Concomitantly with that message the school system will also subtly leak out the message that the claimants were merely angry, vituperative racists who don't understand the "progressive" mission of the schools. I don't see where that gains the aggrieved party here anything.

This makes me chuckle - the hardest message when discussing legal topics is always the ones that recipients don't want to hear.

quantum Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Barack Told Me - you are missing the point.
> Litigation only makes sense if you have a viable
> cause of action or actions. I don't see that
> here. The legal bar is very, very high here. Mere
> allegations of unfairness or injustice won't cut
> it. And while litigating may make a bitter party
> "feel" better in the short run by showing how
> tough or committed they are, litigating a
> non-viable claim will not intimidate a well heeled
> school system in the least and more significantly,
> bringing such a claim will work, once inevitably
> dismissed, to the detriment of the cause behind
> the party bringing the claim, because it will
> permit the school board to trumpet loudly that
> they at all times acted lawfully. Concomitantly
> with that message the school system will also
> subtly leak out the message that the claimants
> were merely angry, vituperative racists who don't
> understand the "progressive" mission of the
> schools. I don't see where that gains the
> aggrieved party here anything.
>
> This makes me chuckle - the hardest message when
> discussing legal topics is always the ones that
> recipients don't want to hear.

I would suggest that you are missing the point, or at least emphasizing an entirely different one, but since you casually tossed out a phrase such as "sturm and drang" in a prior post, I am afraid of the verbal onslaught that would surely follow if I were to do so. I suggest that CAPS withdraw its lawsuit immediately before Magistrate Judge Quantum rules from the bench.

Are you lining up a literary agent? Sheesh.

This is not as bad as what some of the other parts of the world. for example look at the fighting in Iraq. Millions of people forced from their homes to migrate to other countries. In Africa millions are refugees .
Here most of the FM families can still sell their houses for a handsome profit ( most have bought their houses several years ago ) and then can move a couple of miles to get back into Oakton HS. Not as good as no RD, but one move wont be the end of the world. It will also teach the kids how to cope with setbacks.

Perspective, it is easy for you to offer advice. What do you mean one move won't be the end of the world? It will teach the kids how to cope with setbacks.

I have seen some ugly posts on the Underground, but I find this posting bordering on being "just plain meanspirited."

It is a fact. I am in the same boat. I moved in the area after researching all schools only about five years ago, but will have to move now. Stuff happens. Take your losses and move on. The SB has a 10-2 majority and there is not a damn thing we can do. I was upset too about the financial hit, disruption, unfairness of Langley being shielded, etc etc. I am just resigned now to move again. Now I am just angry at my own stupidness of not looking at the map and seeing how close SL boundaries were.

Edna Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Perspective, it is easy for you to offer advice.
> What do you mean one move won't be the end of the
> world? It will teach the kids how to cope with
> setbacks.
>
> I have seen some ugly posts on the Underground,
> but I find this posting bordering on being "just
> plain meanspirited."

There is merit for court. IB can be seen as racist as all of the schools which are low performing and high minority have it. Obviously I know IB is not racist, but clearly something is wrong when you look at the statistics. If IB were the best for most Langley would have it and it would not have been removed from Woodson. Regardless of what you think about AP or IB there are some facts on paper, and the school board needs to address them before moving more students in to low performing schools. Moving is an option, but if a family has just moved here in the past few years chances are they have paid more for their house than they will get back in this market, so there is a huge financial loss to consider and selling the house period will be a problem. why should a district like fairfax only serve the wealthy? given the cost of fuel western langley areas should be movedinstead of Langley having an addition. The fact that people in western langley areas endure that long drive to their school should say alot to the school board.

The RD was not fair to most of people of Western Fairfax county. Why did the school board RD some schools and left others untouched?

Money, Favoritism or trolling for future votes?

hi Wrote:
> ... IB can be seen as racist
> as all of the schools which are low performing and
> high minority have it. ...

Not true. The FCPS high school with the lowest SATs last year was Hayfield, an AP school that is less than 40% White. [Newly-renovated Hayfield changed significantly when the school board redistricted too many students to South County.]

hi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There is merit for court. IB can be seen as racist
> as all of the schools which are low performing and
> high minority have it. Obviously I know IB is not
> racist, but clearly something is wrong when you
> look at the statistics. If IB were the best for
> most Langley would have it and it would not have
> been removed from Woodson. Regardless of what you
> think about AP or IB there are some facts on
> paper, and the school board needs to address them
> before moving more students in to low performing
> schools. Moving is an option, but if a family has
> just moved here in the past few years chances are
> they have paid more for their house than they will
> get back in this market, so there is a huge
> financial loss to consider and selling the house
> period will be a problem. why should a district
> like fairfax only serve the wealthy? given the
> cost of fuel western langley areas should be
> movedinstead of Langley having an addition. The
> fact that people in western langley areas endure
> that long drive to their school should say alot to
> the school board.

Your facts are largely wrong, as Forum Reader pointed out, but don't let that stand in your way. You do yourself and your community no favor when you repeat such nonsense.

barack told me - ahh...you make only elliptical points in response, including frivolous and personal ones re a literary agent. This is the surest sign of being bested in debate. Accordingly thanks for the self-authenticating response.

Nobody told the members of CAPS that you can't seek a legal remedy against a school "government entity?" You would think their lawyer would of told them.

Just go to fcps.edu school profiles. IB schools have large non white population. Schools with large white population get AP. So the facts do prove that introduction of IB is driven solely by racial factors. Leaving North Reston areas still attending Langley proves that SB only serves the interest of rich communities.

Buh-Buh Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> hi Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > There is merit for court. IB can be seen as
> racist
> > as all of the schools which are low performing
> and
> > high minority have it. Obviously I know IB is
> not
> > racist, but clearly something is wrong when you
> > look at the statistics. If IB were the best for
> > most Langley would have it and it would not
> have
> > been removed from Woodson. Regardless of what
> you
> > think about AP or IB there are some facts on
> > paper, and the school board needs to address
> them
> > before moving more students in to low
> performing
> > schools. Moving is an option, but if a family
> has
> > just moved here in the past few years chances
> are
> > they have paid more for their house than they
> will
> > get back in this market, so there is a huge
> > financial loss to consider and selling the
> house
> > period will be a problem. why should a district
> > like fairfax only serve the wealthy? given the
> > cost of fuel western langley areas should be
> > movedinstead of Langley having an addition. The
> > fact that people in western langley areas
> endure
> > that long drive to their school should say alot
> to
> > the school board.
>
> Your facts are largely wrong, as Forum Reader
> pointed out, but don't let that stand in your way.
> You do yourself and your community no favor when
> you repeat such nonsense.

I see the same facts Wrote:
> ... IB schools
> have large non white population. Schools with
> large white population get AP. So the facts do
> prove that introduction of IB is driven solely by
> racial factors. ...

Check your facts.

Do you mean NUMBER of White students? Of the five FCPS high schools with the highest number of White students, two (Annandale and Robinson) are IB.

Or do you mean percentages? If so, you are still incorrect. West Potomac (43% White), Hayfield (40% White) and Falls Church (31% White) are all AP schools. In contrast, Robinson (61% White) and Marshall (55% White) are IB. IB was "introduced" (to use your word) to Woodson (64% White) but the community organized to have it ejected and Woodson's AP courses were restored.

I recommend we go back to our informal agreement to try to avoid turning this into a racial issue. Yes, six of the nine FCPS high schools with the smallest percentages of White students Do have IB, but race is NOT the deciding factor.

Poverty seems to be a better predictor of being an IB school: Of the eight IB FCPS schools, seven are among the ten high schools with the highest percentages of FRM students. Of the other fifteen FCPS high schools, only one (Robinson) is IB, and it is big enough also to offer six AP courses.

I see the same facts Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just go to fcps.edu school profiles. IB schools
> have large non white population. Schools with
> large white population get AP. So the facts do
> prove that introduction of IB is driven solely by
> racial factors. Leaving North Reston areas still
> attending Langley proves that SB only serves the
> interest of rich communities.
>
> Buh-Buh Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > hi Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > There is merit for court. IB can be seen as
> > racist
> > > as all of the schools which are low
> performing
> > and
> > > high minority have it. Obviously I know IB is
> > not
> > > racist, but clearly something is wrong when
> you
> > > look at the statistics. If IB were the best
> for
> > > most Langley would have it and it would not
> > have
> > > been removed from Woodson. Regardless of what
> > you
> > > think about AP or IB there are some facts on
> > > paper, and the school board needs to address
> > them
> > > before moving more students in to low
> > performing
> > > schools. Moving is an option, but if a family
> > has
> > > just moved here in the past few years chances
> > are
> > > they have paid more for their house than they
> > will
> > > get back in this market, so there is a huge
> > > financial loss to consider and selling the
> > house
> > > period will be a problem. why should a
> district
> > > like fairfax only serve the wealthy? given
> the
> > > cost of fuel western langley areas should be
> > > movedinstead of Langley having an addition.
> The
> > > fact that people in western langley areas
> > endure
> > > that long drive to their school should say
> alot
> > to
> > > the school board.
> >
> > Your facts are largely wrong, as Forum Reader
> > pointed out, but don't let that stand in your
> way.
> > You do yourself and your community no favor
> when
> > you repeat such nonsense.

You are correct that most FFX schools with IB programs have significant minority populations. Both you and the prior poster are overgeneralizing when you suggest that all schools with IB are low performing (Robinson and Marshall are not in this category) or that all lower performing schools with large minority populations (Falls Church and Hayfield are both AP) have IB programs.

I agree that SB should have reconsidered Langley boundaries.

THE FCPS SYSTEM IS OUT OF CONTROL. I believe JACK DALE AND THE SB HAVE NO IDEA ON HOW TO MANAGE WITH A decrease in the school system’s capital budget.

Money for a new (CASTLE) building? How about reducing classroom size? How about renovations to schools that are 40 years old? How about more teachers?



Schools System Pursues Second Headquarters

Fairfax County Public Schools is still pursuing a deal to purchase a second central administration building in Merrifield despite a downturn in the county budget and a possible decrease in the school system’s capital budget.

School officials have pursued a "twin" to the school system’s first central administration building, called Gatehouse I, since 2005.

Fairfax County Public Schools owns a plot of land near the first building where it intended to build its second headquarters.

But the schools chief operating officer Dean Tistadt said it could be more fiscally prudent in the long run to buy an existing building occupied by the American Red Cross than to construct a new a headquarters. The Red Cross building faces and already shares a parking lot with Gatehouse I.

Tistadt admits he could be facing an uphill battle with the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, who is already squeezed tight for funding. He could not say how much the purchase could cost the county because of contract negotiations with the building’s owners.

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors chairman Gerry Connolly said he had not seen a proposal to purchase a second headquarters for the school system but that it might be tough for the county to make that type of purchase at this time.

"Given how difficult the budget situation is, there is going to be heavy burden on those advocating for that at this time. … It is going to be hard to justify an additional headquarters for the school system," said Connolly.

— Julia O’Donoghue

The only fair solution was to close down SL and send those students of Langley, Madison and Oakton. A magnet at SL could have been opened for IB. Every student would have won going into solid performing schools. The IB problem would have been solved once for all. Instead of win for all, now we have this crappy situation where everyone loses.

Why stop there? Let's close down Stuart and send the kids to Marshall. Then we can close down Falls Church and send the kids to McLean. Lee and Edison can go to West Springfield. Hayfield can go to South County. Not sure about Mount Vernon. Maybe we can work a deal out with the Arlington Public Schools to let Falls Church/Stuart kids go to Yorktown and W-L.

But we gotta leave Langley alone.

joke Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It is not illegals it is FCPS's inability to
> count. Of course there are 1500 kids they didnt
> expect that is what the anti RDers have been
> trying to tell you all. They cant accurately
> project your enrollments, so why when they have
> such gaps in their ability to project do they base
> a boundary change on projected enrollments? They
> will have far more than 1500 that they didnt
> predict, wait and see. The census they sent out
> should have been tallied by now have they
> published the results? No probably not and likely
> will not.
>
> No transparency yet a go ahead and our hike taxes
> cause Lizzy and Abe Lincoln need their new middle
> school. Its for the children afterall, anything
> for the children as long as they are their
> children and not yours.



I heard that only 38% of families with children in school have even sent the census in. This is ignorant. Urge everyone you know to send the census. They will be mailing copies to the families that have not responded yet.

Today Wrote:
> I heard that only 38% of families with children in
> school have even sent the census in. This is
> ignorant. Urge everyone you know to send the
> census. They will be mailing copies to the
> families that have not responded yet.

Why? Aren't they smart enough to count today's first graders and get a pretty good estimate of next year's second graders?

Isn't refusing to send it in a way to express our unhappiness with the system?

solution Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The only fair solution was to close down SL and
> send those students of Langley, Madison and
> Oakton. A magnet at SL could have been opened for
> IB. Every student would have won going into solid
> performing schools. The IB problem would have been
> solved once for all. Instead of win for all, now
> we have this crappy situation where everyone
> loses.

Why would you close a school at the South Lakes site? Langley is the school in the out of the way location for many that go there. It also is a bad site for road access. 2 lane road between the American Legion Bridge and the area where Georgetown Pike [2 lanes] goes into 123 by the CIA. Would I close that site? No- but putting an addition there with the mall size parking lot to house kids from out by Loudoun County is -was stupid.

Who is paying for the illegal dumping removal? Was the real problem Gibson or Strauss or both with political boundaries?

We should let market forces work. If no one wants to go that school it will eventually close down. The students will go towards the high performing schools and gradually all schools that remain in business will be high performing. Forcing students into problem schools is not the answer to solving the problem.

The RD penalized high performing schools like Oakton, Westfield and Chantilly and rewarded low performing school of SL. Westfield made it to the Governor's list this year and yet was cut in its student population and resources. This creates an envirnonment where failures are encouraged and success is discouraged.

solution Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We should let market forces work. If no one wants
> to go that school it will eventually close down.
> The students will go towards the high performing
> schools and gradually all schools that remain in
> business will be high performing. Forcing students
> into problem schools is not the answer to solving
> the problem.

Has anyone seriously considered splitting up the FCPS into 27 different districts, each with their own HS, MS, and elementary schools? This is done in Missouri all the time; heck even a county with 10k people over 450 square miles will have 2-4 high schools.

Just wish it were that simple. Parents wanting to pupil place their kids into a high performing school or a school with a different curriculum (such as AP vs IB) must provide own transporation. On the other hand, students who go to TJ for the curriculum offered, have transportation provided. Go Figure.

Anything that provides stability is good. There RDs which literally forces people out of their homes and destroys communities has to stop.

formerhick76 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Has anyone seriously considered splitting up the
> FCPS into 27 different districts, each with their
> own HS, MS, and elementary schools? This is done
> in Missouri all the time; heck even a county with
> 10k people over 450 square miles will have 2-4
> high schools.

edna Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just wish it were that simple. Parents wanting to
> pupil place their kids into a high performing
> school or a school with a different curriculum
> (such as AP vs IB) must provide own transporation.
> On the other hand, students who go to TJ for the
> curriculum offered, have transportation provided.
> Go Figure.

At the elementary level students going to language immersion schools or schools that are arts magnet also provide their own transportation and GT centers provide transportation. The difference in both ES and the situation you cite, is the students qualify via testing and other criteria for both GT Centers and TJ. Thus, the county provides transportation. Choice is simply a choice..if you choose a program (which sometimes has a lottery system of enrollment, at the ES level) you provide the transportation.

Improving SL performance objectives would definately be met. RD is so scammy! There is some conflict of interest here.. The funniest part is the way the boundaries zigzag picking up the rich kids for rich kid schools. Middleton farm (most exp. houses in herndon) is the only community still left in Westfields while everything around it is going to SL.

Floris is definately much further away from reston then its original HS.

You are right, there is a conflict of interest by the SB. What payoff did the SB receive? Money, favors or political perks?





ConflictOfInterest Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Improving SL performance objectives would
> definately be met. RD is so scammy! There is some
> conflict of interest here.. The funniest part is
> the way the boundaries zigzag picking up the rich
> kids for rich kid schools. Middleton farm (most
> exp. houses in herndon) is the only community
> still left in Westfields while everything around
> it is going to SL.
>
> Floris is definately much further away from reston
> then its original HS.

AP vs IB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> edna Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Just wish it were that simple. Parents wanting
> to
> > pupil place their kids into a high performing
> > school or a school with a different curriculum
> > (such as AP vs IB) must provide own
> transporation.
> > On the other hand, students who go to TJ for
> the
> > curriculum offered, have transportation
> provided.
> > Go Figure.
>
> At the elementary level students going to language
> immersion schools or schools that are arts magnet
> also provide their own transportation and GT
> centers provide transportation. The difference in
> both ES and the situation you cite, is the
> students qualify via testing and other criteria
> for both GT Centers and TJ. Thus, the county
> provides transportation. Choice is simply a
> choice..if you choose a program (which sometimes
> has a lottery system of enrollment, at the ES
> level) you provide the transportation.


Isn't it a choice also for students applying to TJ and then getting accepted. As a result, FCPS would provide transportation for the TJ bound students?

Baffled Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> >
> Isn't it a choice also for students applying to TJ
> and then getting accepted. As a result, FCPS
> would provide transportation for the TJ bound
> students?

A choice yes, but with a qualifier too. You don't have to qualify, once you make the choice, for pupil placement for AP or IB.

Transportation costs for the schools are quite expensive, so they set up some guidelines and these are what the are currently. They did propose cutting the transportation for GT centers and TJ (utilizing drop offs at local schools) and had the expected uproar.

These RD area people chose to buy their houses in AP school districts. They are now being forced into IB. If they pupil place they lose transportation. That is the difference. The people of SL are the ones with an elite sense of entitlement. They are sitting pretty where they are and are using their Gibson connection to disrupt the lives of surrounding communities, to gain a few courses at their school. Worse these courses will benefit only a dozen or so IB diploma students. These will not have no benefit for rank and file SLHS students. Power grab by a bunch of elitists headed by Gibson

AP vs IB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Baffled Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > >
> > Isn't it a choice also for students applying to
> TJ
> > and then getting accepted. As a result, FCPS
> > would provide transportation for the TJ bound
> > students?
>
> A choice yes, but with a qualifier too. You don't
> have to qualify, once you make the choice, for
> pupil placement for AP or IB.
>
> Transportation costs for the schools are quite
> expensive, so they set up some guidelines and
> these are what the are currently. They did
> propose cutting the transportation for GT centers
> and TJ (utilizing drop offs at local schools) and
> had the expected uproar.

>>These will not have no benefit for rank and file SLHS students. <<

Isn't it a good thing for the rank and file SLHS students to "not have no benefit"?

Every resident who bought their house in a current IB school when it was still AP was forced into an IB situation. Only one school (Woodson) was able to successfully fight their IB designation and have it revert back to AP.

"Re: high school redistricting
Posted by: forcing IB (IP Logged)
Date: April 27, 2008 11:11AM


These RD area people chose to buy their houses in AP school districts. They are now being forced into IB. If they pupil place they lose transportation. That is the difference. The people of SL are the ones with an elite sense of entitlement. They are sitting pretty where they are and are using their Gibson connection to disrupt the lives of surrounding communities, to gain a few courses at their school. Worse these courses will benefit only a dozen or so IB diploma students. These will not have no benefit for rank and file SLHS students. Power grab by a bunch of elitists headed by Gibson "

Most folks seeking pupil placement out of South Lakes have so far described the requested interview with Brucy to be an inoffensive sales job.

A quick tip for those who tire of the exercise, all FCPS staff members can pupil place their children into the school where they teach.

A good question would be how many staff members with high school aged kids have their kids at SL? Many SL staff members have their high school aged kids at other schools.

Another fair question is: If SL is so great, why is Mr. Butler, who lives in the SL attendance area, sending his son to Paul VI?

There are as many explanations (excuses?) as there are such situations and some may be legitimate, but it should end the sales job quite quickly if many of the staff isn't buying it themselves.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2008 02:00PM by Thomas More.

Tom More, once again you are wrong with regards to Butler. He lives in Sterling and his kids attend Park View. True to form, you never let the facts get in the way of a good slam against Butler. In the words of Bugs Bunny, "What a maroon."

Get it Right, Fool Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > Tom More, once again you are wrong with regards to Butler. He lives in Sterling and his kids attend Park View. True to form, you never let the facts get in the way of a good slam against Butler. In the words of Bugs Bunny, "What a maroon."< <

Thanks. The correction of the specific example is appreciated. It was based on an old face-book entry which still begs the question, why would any child of a public school principal ever go to a private/parochial school?

It also begs the question, if that family ever lived in the SL attendance area, why did they, and so many others, leave?

The general point is still valid. How many high school children of SL staff go to SL?

How many don't?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2008 06:30PM by Thomas More.

Thomas More Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> The general point is still valid. How many high
> school children of SL staff go to SL?
>
> How many don't?

The answer won't provide much clarity. Some staff do pupil place for a variety of reasons, but many, many more don't because their kids don't want them in their school (either base or forced into their parent's workplace). Thus, many teachers even those at Woodson, Langley etc., don't pupil place their children there, if their kids prefer their own base school due to wanting to play sports, be in band, in classes with neighborhood friends.

Throughout the system, and in every school, there are teachers that have their own children in private schools, which in my mind is even more telling than whether or not they do or don't pupil place into a public school.

Bruce does not even send his own son to SL. But he expects other people to sacrifice their teenagers 4 years so that SL can get a couple of new IB courses?

hah wrote:
"Bruce does not even send his own son to SL."

No kidding. LMAO!

FYI -
Most wise teachers in ANY school system choose to have their kids attend a different high school because of social issues of being "a teachers pet." Kids of a teacher in the same school are often picked on and mocked for being the son or daughter of a teacher. Go figure.

Swiftus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> hah wrote:
> "Bruce does not even send his own son to SL."
>
> No kidding. LMAO!
>
> FYI -
> Most wise teachers in ANY school system choose to
> have their kids attend a different high school
> because of social issues of being "a teachers
> pet." Kids of a teacher in the same school are
> often picked on and mocked for being the son or
> daughter of a teacher. Go figure.


Hey that is the argument of the anti-RDers...the word "choose". So why would teachers and fcps staff have special priviledges to choose any school they wish to send their own kids to and we parents are forced to be redistricted againist our will (choice)?

Baffled Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> >
> Hey that is the argument of the anti-RDers...the
> word "choose". So why would teachers and fcps
> staff have special priviledges to choose any
> school they wish to send their own kids to and we
> parents are forced to be redistricted againist our
> will (choice)?
First off, they don't get to choose to send their child to any school, only the school they themselves work in. Second, many don't do that even though they could.
However if you want that choice, go ahead and become a teacher . Who knows what school you will teach in, once you complete the required course work and training.

. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Every resident who bought their house in a current
> IB school when it was still AP was forced into an
> IB situation. Only one school (Woodson) was able
> to successfully fight their IB designation and
> have it revert back to AP.
>
> "Re: high school redistricting
> Posted by: forcing IB (IP Logged)
> Date: April 27, 2008 11:11AM
>
>
> These RD area people chose to buy their houses in
> AP school districts. They are now being forced
> into IB. If they pupil place they lose
> transportation. That is the difference. The people
> of SL are the ones with an elite sense of
> entitlement. They are sitting pretty where they
> are and are using their Gibson connection to
> disrupt the lives of surrounding communities, to
> gain a few courses at their school. Worse these
> courses will benefit only a dozen or so IB diploma
> students. These will not have no benefit for rank
> and file SLHS students. Power grab by a bunch of
> elitists headed by Gibson "


How many people actually looked if a H.S. was AP or Ib before they moved in. I bet it was about 2%

solution Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The RD penalized high performing schools like
> Oakton, Westfield and Chantilly and rewarded low
> performing school of SL. Westfield made it to the
> Governor's list this year and yet was cut in its
> student population and resources. This creates an
> envirnonment where failures are encouraged and
> success is discouraged.

South Lakes has the 12th highest SAT score out of the 24 high schools in the county. Where are you drawing the "low preforming" line. So over 50% of the high schools in one of the most well regarded school systems in the country are low preforming?

Park View is a Loudoun County public high school. You can not pupil place from a Loudoun County public school, such as Park View, to a Fairfax County Public School such as South Lakes.

Thomas More Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Most folks seeking pupil placement out of South
> Lakes have so far described the requested
> interview with Brucy to be an inoffensive sales
> job.
>
> A quick tip for those who tire of the exercise,
> all FCPS staff members can pupil place their
> children into the school where they teach.
>
> A good question would be how many staff members
> with high school aged kids have their kids at SL?
> Many SL staff members have their high school aged
> kids at other schools.
>
> Another fair question is: If SL is so great, why
> is Mr. Butler, who lives in the SL attendance
> area, sending his son to Paul VI?
>
> There are as many explanations (excuses?) as there
> are such situations and some may be legitimate,
> but it should end the sales job quite quickly if
> many of the staff isn't buying it themselves.

Are you sure about Butler's son? He's at PVI? Wow. I hear that Butler thinks 50 or 60% of new RD kids are coming to South Lakes because he's only seen 40% to 50% request for transfers. PTA is gleeful thinking that they may get half the new kids, or 60 to 75 students. In reality, Brucy hasn't seen all the applications to private schools, and PVI. Nor has he seen the number of houses that have sold. Vienna has a had a big upswing in sold homes in the last 2 months, largely from folks in the Island. I hear the same thing is happening in Fox Mill. So.........they may THINK they are getting 50% of the new kids, they won't come close to that. It will only 40 or 50 students who have no choice, who have parents who don't care where they go to school, or don't have the money to get them out of SL. In other words, SL shouldn't expect those students to be the ones demanding AP Calculus. But, in 4 years, South Lakes may gain 150 to 200 students and be able to offer a few more classes of Guitar 3 and Drama 6. Gee, that made it all worthwhile, didn't it? Oh well, it gives Stu a chance to do it all again in a few years and try to snatch more kids from surrounding schools. He'll enjoy that.

Get it Right, Fool Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Tom More, once again you are wrong with regards to
> Butler. He lives in Sterling and his kids attend
> Park View. True to form, you never let the facts
> get in the way of a good slam against Butler. In
> the words of Bugs Bunny, "What a maroon."


Mr. Butler would like his children to attend SL, but since he lives out of county, he would have to pay, even though he is a FCPS employee.

Today Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Get it Right, Fool Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Tom More, once again you are wrong with regards
> to
> > Butler. He lives in Sterling and his kids
> attend
> > Park View. True to form, you never let the
> facts
> > get in the way of a good slam against Butler.
> In
> > the words of Bugs Bunny, "What a maroon."
>
>
> Mr. Butler would like his children to attend SL,
> but since he lives out of county, he would have to
> pay, even though he is a FCPS employee.


So why has someone who doesn't even live in fairfax been so instrumental in ramming RD down the throats of families who do?

Chantilly has several students that have parents working there. Heck, there's even mother and son teachers (Downes). I have not heard any student mention that these kids are taunted or are pariahs because their parents work at the same school. Of course, that's Chantilly and it does have a very positive atmosphere :) that MAY not be present at all other high schools.

The Flint Hill School in Oakton has numerous children of teachers and staff. Parent employees will do anything to get their kids into the school because they believe it is a superior education for their kids. In fact, many take admin jobs just so their kids are assured a spot, with a tuition break, of course. The principals (at least I know in the past) had children at the school. How bad does it look if they didn't go there??

>South Lakes has the 12th highest SAT score out of the 24 high schools in the county.

For a true measure of the school check out the SOL scores, all students take those.

Because SL has to snatch students from a wider area because 1) families with high school students avoid buying houses in their attendance area relative to Oakton/Madison/Langley and 2) families with high school students send them to private schools or pupil-place.

Oh, yes, and then other areas are forced to switch high schools too so it will look like there was some sort of logical agenda by the SB. Thanks a lot.

word Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> >South Lakes has the 12th highest SAT score out of
> the 24 high schools in the county.
>
> For a true measure of the school check out the SOL
> scores, all students take those.


That's because only 66% of students even take the SAT at SL compared to 88% at Madison

If you're looking at SOLs look at the advanced pass and failure rates not just the minimum acceptable pass rate - its very enlightening, but we've been over this all before

SL's performance is dire - but not as bad as the feeder Hughes MS into which Madison North students have also been RD'd by force

The SLHS PTA and this SB won the battle but they lost the war. By forcefully populating a school that nobody wants to go to they just mad e parents resentful and hurt South Lakes' reputation even more.

The elephant in the living room is why noone wants to go there. They should have paid attention to that school instead of letting it freefall in the frst place.

Band Aid Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The SLHS PTA and this SB won the battle but they
> lost the war. By forcefully populating a school
> that nobody wants to go to they just mad e parents
> resentful and hurt South Lakes' reputation even
> more.
>
> The elephant in the living room is why noone wants
> to go there. They should have paid attention to
> that school instead of letting it freefall in the
> frst place.


The whole exercise was a disgrace and the SB should be ashamed of themselves

Neen, again Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Are you sure about Butler's son? He's at PVI?
> Wow. I hear that Butler thinks 50 or 60% of new
> RD kids are coming to South Lakes because he's
> only seen 40% to 50% request for transfers. PTA
> is gleeful thinking that they may get half the new
> kids, or 60 to 75 students. In reality, Brucy
> hasn't seen all the applications to private
> schools, and PVI. Nor has he seen the number of
> houses that have sold. Vienna has a had a big
> upswing in sold homes in the last 2 months,
> largely from folks in the Island. I hear the same
> thing is happening in Fox Mill. So.........they
> may THINK they are getting 50% of the new kids,
> they won't come close to that. It will only 40 or
> 50 students who have no choice, who have parents
> who don't care where they go to school, or don't
> have the money to get them out of SL. In other
> words, SL shouldn't expect those students to be
> the ones demanding AP Calculus. But, in 4 years,
> South Lakes may gain 150 to 200 students and be
> able to offer a few more classes of Guitar 3 and
> Drama 6. Gee, that made it all worthwhile, didn't
> it? Oh well, it gives Stu a chance to do it all
> again in a few years and try to snatch more kids
> from surrounding schools. He'll enjoy that.

Another Maroon!

From where I sit it could be that the elephant is named Hughes Middle School. I'm still trying to figure out how the failure rate for math SOLs are so much higher to comparable ones at neighboring middle schools. As a parent with one there and one entering next year, I'm concerned that so-called average or struggling students are not getting what they need to master basic math skills at a critical time in their intellectual development. Anyone else have any ideas as to why the big difference in math achievement between Hughes and Carson/Thoreau?? I am wondering if this issue is contributing to the shrinkage in attendance at SLHS.

dotdotdot Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> From where I sit it could be that the elephant is
> named Hughes Middle School. I'm still trying to
> figure out how the failure rate for math SOLs are
> so much higher to comparable ones at neighboring
> middle schools. As a parent with one there and
> one entering next year, I'm concerned that
> so-called average or struggling students are not
> getting what they need to master basic math skills
> at a critical time in their intellectual
> development. Anyone else have any ideas as to why
> the big difference in math achievement between
> Hughes and Carson/Thoreau?? I am wondering if
> this issue is contributing to the shrinkage in
> attendance at SLHS.

You might want to check how many students are enrolled in Math 7 and Math 8 compared to Algebra 1 and even Geometry. Some MS's are trying to beef up their numbers in advanced math courses, by allowing students who normally would be in regular math courses in (i.e. not worrying about results on the IOWA test or previous SOL's) thus, the students left in regular math 7 and regular math 8 are truly only the struggling students, decreasing the average scores.

Dont forget the additional cooking classes that they are going to offer. Along with guitar that will raise the Math and Science scores for SL. This school board is plain stupid. In this age they are taking students our of schools that offer advanced Math and Science and are putting them in liberal arts schools.

Neen, again Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thomas More Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Most folks seeking pupil placement out of South
> > Lakes have so far described the requested
> > interview with Brucy to be an inoffensive sales
> > job.
> >
> > A quick tip for those who tire of the exercise,
> > all FCPS staff members can pupil place their
> > children into the school where they teach.
> >
> > A good question would be how many staff members
> > with high school aged kids have their kids at
> SL?
> > Many SL staff members have their high school
> aged
> > kids at other schools.
> >
> > Another fair question is: If SL is so great,
> why
> > is Mr. Butler, who lives in the SL attendance
> > area, sending his son to Paul VI?
> >
> > There are as many explanations (excuses?) as
> there
> > are such situations and some may be legitimate,
> > but it should end the sales job quite quickly
> if
> > many of the staff isn't buying it themselves.
>
> Are you sure about Butler's son? He's at PVI?
> Wow. I hear that Butler thinks 50 or 60% of new
> RD kids are coming to South Lakes because he's
> only seen 40% to 50% request for transfers. PTA
> is gleeful thinking that they may get half the new
> kids, or 60 to 75 students. In reality, Brucy
> hasn't seen all the applications to private
> schools, and PVI. Nor has he seen the number of
> houses that have sold. Vienna has a had a big
> upswing in sold homes in the last 2 months,
> largely from folks in the Island. I hear the same
> thing is happening in Fox Mill. So.........they
> may THINK they are getting 50% of the new kids,
> they won't come close to that. It will only 40 or
> 50 students who have no choice, who have parents
> who don't care where they go to school, or don't
> have the money to get them out of SL. In other
> words, SL shouldn't expect those students to be
> the ones demanding AP Calculus. But, in 4 years,
> South Lakes may gain 150 to 200 students and be
> able to offer a few more classes of Guitar 3 and
> Drama 6. Gee, that made it all worthwhile, didn't
> it? Oh well, it gives Stu a chance to do it all
> again in a few years and try to snatch more kids
> from surrounding schools. He'll enjoy that.

Neen, again Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nor has he seen the number of
> houses that have sold. Vienna has a had a big
> upswing in sold homes in the last 2 months,
> largely from folks in the Island. I hear the same
> thing is happening in Fox Mill. So.........they
> may THINK they are getting 50% of the new kids,
> they won't come close to that.

I've noticed that on Realtor.com, some of the listings for Madison Island homes up for sale won't disclose the school districts, but instead say "Ask School Board." Not what you see in other listings for Vienna/McLean/Oakton.

Is this what you call a "protest listing"? As a sales strategy, it seems totally counter-productive, since it ends up calling MORE attention to the fact that the houses are now in South Lakes district.

Anyway, if the houses are selling, who is buying? A lot of these houses are 4-6 bedroom, 5000 SF-plus McMansions - wouldn't families with kids be the most likely buyers? And won't a good chunk of those kids end up at SV/LH/SL - the only difference being that their parents knew in advance these were the assigned schools.

No Madison Is An Island Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Neen, again Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Nor has he seen the number of
> > houses that have sold. Vienna has a had a big
> > upswing in sold homes in the last 2 months,
> > largely from folks in the Island. I hear the
> same
> > thing is happening in Fox Mill.
> So.........they
> > may THINK they are getting 50% of the new kids,
> > they won't come close to that.
>
> I've noticed that on Realtor.com, some of the
> listings for Madison Island homes up for sale
> won't disclose the school districts, but instead
> say "Ask School Board." Not what you see in other
> listings for Vienna/McLean/Oakton.
>
> Is this what you call a "protest listing"? As a
> sales strategy, it seems totally
> counter-productive, since it ends up calling MORE
> attention to the fact that the houses are now in
> South Lakes district.
>
> Anyway, if the houses are selling, who is buying?
> A lot of these houses are 4-6 bedroom, 5000
> SF-plus McMansions - wouldn't families with kids
> be the most likely buyers? And won't a good chunk
> of those kids end up at SV/LH/SL - the only
> difference being that their parents knew in
> advance these were the assigned schools.


Yep

I saw this in Floris and Fox Mill area listings too. Call the school board !!!

It is sad, but I bet Stu Gibson will have to come back in a couple of years and grab some more neighbourhoods. Until they look at the elephant in room (like someone said before) this thing will continue, unless somehow we can get rid of Stu.

Apparently we only need 200 more signatures to recall Stu Gibson!!!! If you haven't signed the recall petition, please do. This is Floris/Fox Mill's only hope to get some (new) representation on the School Board. Gibson continues to turn his back on our communities by not reponding to any communication. I know I have sent him 10 e-mails and have not yet gotten back one reply. You have to be a registered voter in the Hunter Mill district to sign. If you would be willing to canvass your neighborhood let us know on this forum. We are so close!!!!!!

Does anyone know what grade Bruce Butler's son is in at Paul VI?

Does anyone know how to pupil place out of Hughes Middle School? A North Madison parent.

The Culinary Arts Academy is votech and helps train for future careers. Lots of chefs out there? If enrollment goes up from intra-count migration South Lakes will fill up fast at the ESOL Transitional High school Program there. Are kids bussed in from the balanced successful community AKA Herndon HS? I guess they are tandem programs.

Floris Mom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Apparently we only need 200 more signatures to
> recall Stu Gibson!!!!

LOL, I always get a good laugh out of these "petitions." Can't we just get a lawyer and do a lawsuit. LMAO!

edna Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does anyone know how to pupil place out of Hughes
> Middle School? A North Madison parent.

my understanding is that because Hughes has been failing NCLB for so long, you have the right to place out


for full comparisons of Hughes and Thoreau use https://p1pe.doe.virginia.gov/reportcard/

CAPS should be able to help as should FCPS staff and the at-large members of the SB

if you have problems consult with your state and national elected officials as to why FFX has dumped your children into a school failing AYP to hide the numbers and ask for their help


redistricting kids into Hughes when it continues to fail AYP was a disgrace and a deliberate act of vindictiveness by the SB

Re: the pupil placement interview with Butler
Posted by: Edna (IP Logged)
Date: April 28, 2008 06:06PM


Does anyone know what grade Bruce Butler's son is in at Paul VI?

Edna,

Read the posts and stop the rumors. Tom knew exactly what he was doing when posting false information. He knew that he could offer a half hearted apology for his rumor mill and that some of you would take the bait.

well the SB treats that not as exodus from SL, but as aging of the community. Families with Kids move out of SL area, families without kids move in - now there are less kids to send to south lakes because the community has "aged". Time to do another RD to grab the next set of adjioining communities and force them out of their houses.

running_away_from_sl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No Madison Is An Island Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Neen, again Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Nor has he seen the number of
> > > houses that have sold. Vienna has a had a
> big
> > > upswing in sold homes in the last 2 months,
> > > largely from folks in the Island. I hear the
> > same
> > > thing is happening in Fox Mill.
> > So.........they
> > > may THINK they are getting 50% of the new
> kids,
> > > they won't come close to that.
> >
> > I've noticed that on Realtor.com, some of the
> > listings for Madison Island homes up for sale
> > won't disclose the school districts, but
> instead
> > say "Ask School Board." Not what you see in
> other
> > listings for Vienna/McLean/Oakton.
> >
> > Is this what you call a "protest listing"? As
> a
> > sales strategy, it seems totally
> > counter-productive, since it ends up calling
> MORE
> > attention to the fact that the houses are now
> in
> > South Lakes district.
> >
> > Anyway, if the houses are selling, who is
> buying?
> > A lot of these houses are 4-6 bedroom, 5000
> > SF-plus McMansions - wouldn't families with
> kids
> > be the most likely buyers? And won't a good
> chunk
> > of those kids end up at SV/LH/SL - the only
> > difference being that their parents knew in
> > advance these were the assigned schools.
>
>
> Yep
>
> I saw this in Floris and Fox Mill area listings
> too. Call the school board !!!
>
> It is sad, but I bet Stu Gibson will have to come
> back in a couple of years and grab some more
> neighbourhoods. Until they look at the elephant
> in room (like someone said before) this thing will
> continue, unless somehow we can get rid of Stu.

How will Culinary Arts Academy help prepare students to compete in this knowledge based global economy ?

taxpayer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Culinary Arts Academy is votech and helps
> train for future careers. Lots of chefs out
> there? If enrollment goes up from intra-count
> migration South Lakes will fill up fast at the
> ESOL Transitional High school Program there. Are
> kids bussed in from the balanced successful
> community AKA Herndon HS? I guess they are tandem
> programs.

Gibson only responds to reston residents. I also got no response from him, but then I dont have a reston address

Floris Mom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Apparently we only need 200 more signatures to
> recall Stu Gibson!!!! If you haven't signed the
> recall petition, please do. This is Floris/Fox
> Mill's only hope to get some (new) representation
> on the School Board. Gibson continues to turn his
> back on our communities by not reponding to any
> communication. I know I have sent him 10 e-mails
> and have not yet gotten back one reply. You have
> to be a registered voter in the Hunter Mill
> district to sign. If you would be willing to
> canvass your neighborhood let us know on this
> forum. We are so close!!!!!!

sl_exodus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> well the SB treats that not as exodus from SL, but
> as aging of the community. Families with Kids move
> out of SL area, families without kids move in -
> now there are less kids to send to south lakes
> because the community has "aged". Time to do
> another RD to grab the next set of adjioining
> communities and force them out of their houses.
>

the law suits would be launched before the ink was dry

this was a one-shot deal and they screwed it up at the same time that they screwed the public

Culinary ? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How will Culinary Arts Academy help prepare
> students to compete in this knowledge based global
> economy ?
>
> taxpayer Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The Culinary Arts Academy is votech and helps
> > train for future careers. ..

People eat out and restaurants -fast food have employees. Oracle's in Reston and Clyde's needs prep cooks.

taxpayer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > How will Culinary Arts Academy help prepare
> > students to compete in this knowledge based
> global
> > economy ?

> People eat out and restaurants -fast food have
> employees. Oracle's in Reston and Clyde's needs
> prep cooks.

World beater that one

Whoopde-*ing-do - guess the economy is safe then

I'm sure clyde's could train their own vege-choppers and I don't see why my tax dollars are training burger flippers. I bet that's a growth area in korean, chinese and indian high schools. Not.

Waste of money - turn it into bio-labs

Culinary ? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How will Culinary Arts Academy help prepare
> students to compete in this knowledge based global
> economy ?

Whoa, you mean every single worker in the future will be knowledge-based?

Knowledge workers - Those are and will be the high paying jobs. Within its limited budget resources, It is a shame that FCPS is giving culinary arts precedence over Calculus and Science.


formerhick76 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Culinary ? Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > How will Culinary Arts Academy help prepare
> > students to compete in this knowledge based
> global
> > economy ?
>
> Whoa, you mean every single worker in the future
> will be knowledge-based?

Culinary ? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Knowledge workers - Those are and will be the high
> paying jobs. Within its limited budget resources,
> It is a shame that FCPS is giving culinary arts
> precedence over Calculus and Science.

Yes and not everyone will get to have those high-paying jobs. Someone has to dig the ditches, clean the toilets, etc. I did the latter for a few months while in college. Not fun.

Presumably the culinary school is set up to train people to work in food service jobs that pay >35-40k a year. Like it or not, not everyone wants to work in high tech, and not everyone can be an investment banker.

The question was related to Bruce Butler, principal at SL, whose son is supposed to go to Paul VI? Why isn't his son going to SL?

edna Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The question was related to Bruce Butler,
> principal at SL, whose son is supposed to go to
> Paul VI? Why isn't his son going to SL?


He doesn't go to Paul VI. They live in Loudon County; he attends school there.

Culinary ? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Knowledge workers - Those are and will be the high
> paying jobs. Within its limited budget resources,
> It is a shame that FCPS is giving culinary arts
> precedence over Calculus and Science.
>
>
The Culinary acadamies (also at Chantilly, Edison and Marshall) have been around since the 70's. They aren't taking precedence over Calculus and Science. Students still take Science and math courses at their base school (English and History too). You clearly don't have a clue when you write your comments about these acadamies; understand what you are talking about before you write. It does take knowledge by the way, to prepare a meal for people going in and out of restaurants and not causing an ecoli break out. And sure, restaurants can train their workers, but students at the academy earn certificates that place them above general prep/entry level restaurant workers, and many go on to college including winning scholarships to C.I.A (not the spy place).

The SB wants the people of Western Fairfax County not to have the choice to pupil place out of South Lakes. How many FCPS employees, staff and SB members have their children attending schools away from where they live?

Why do they have this choice?


Can you read? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> edna Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The question was related to Bruce Butler,
> > principal at SL, whose son is supposed to go to
> > Paul VI? Why isn't his son going to SL?
>
>
> He doesn't go to Paul VI. They live in Loudon
> County; he attends school there.

RD parent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The SB wants the people of Western Fairfax County
> not to have the choice to pupil place out of South
> Lakes. How many FCPS employees, staff and SB
> members have their children attending schools away
> from where they live?
>
> Why do they have this choice?
>
You do have a choice, you CAN pupil place out. Your choice is no different than a staff member though the staff member is restricted to the school they work in, you have the choice of utilizing a neighboring school based on curriculum.

You do have a choice Wrote:
> You do have a choice, you CAN pupil place out.
> Your choice is no different than a staff member
> though the staff member is restricted to the
> school they work in, you have the choice of
> utilizing a neighboring school based on
> curriculum.

-----------------
You have it backwards. For most residents, only high school students may pupil place for curriculum, and then only to the high school with that curriculum nearest your home or the base schools. Children of staff members ALSO have this option.

In ADDITION, any FCPS employee who works more than 20 hours per week and lives in Fairfax County may request their children transfer to the school in which the parent is employed OR to the school of ANY level nearest the employee’s work location.

Many of us would like to have the option for our children to attend school near our work sites.
We could commute as a family.
It would reduce the numbers of hours our children are in childcare.
We could get to them faster when they get sick.
It would make it easier to take them to after school activities.
Having our children near our jobs would make it much easier for us to participate in school activities during the day.

Let's face it, South Lakes desperately needs help from the SB. Redistricting isn't enough. I applaud all the parents pointing out weakness and helping South Lakes.

We have been trying to figure out ways to increase funding and add better programs for South Lakes for years. This thread is helping South Lakes to get the attention and funding it deserves. Soon South Lakes will once again be the top school in Fairfax County.

But, we can't stop at just funding and internet attention, we need more action from the SB. The only way South Lakes is going to succeed is to move some top teachers to South Lakes.

I also like the plan to redistrict many students at South Lakes to Oakton. This will help to even out Oakton.

Working Parent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > -----------------
> You have it backwards. For most residents, only
> high school students may pupil place for
> curriculum, and then only to the high school with
> that curriculum nearest your home or the base
> schools. Children of staff members ALSO have this
> option.
>
> In ADDITION, any FCPS employee who works more than
> 20 hours per week and lives in Fairfax County may
> request their children transfer to the school in
> which the parent is employed OR to the school of
> ANY level nearest the employee’s work location.
>
> Many of us would like to have the option for our
> children to attend school near our work sites.
> We could commute as a family.
> It would reduce the numbers of hours our children
> are in childcare.
> We could get to them faster when they get sick.
> It would make it easier to take them to after
> school activities.
> Having our children near our jobs would make it
> much easier for us to participate in school
> activities during the day.

Granted I didn't add all the specifics, but it isn't "backward". At the ES and MS level for daycare reasons you too can utilize your work location, provided it is in Fairfax. At the HS level you can choose the neighboring school, as I said for curriculum reasons...either the school with the curriculum you want closest to your house or closes to your base school. So, again, at the ES and MS level you can do all you said here, if you pupil place for child care/day care reasons:

"Many of us would like to have the option for our
> children to attend school near our work sites.
> We could commute as a family.
> It would reduce the numbers of hours our children
> are in childcare.
> We could get to them faster when they get sick.
> It would make it easier to take them to after
> school activities.
> Having our children near our jobs would make it
> much easier for us to participate in school
> activities during the day"

So, please chill out. You come across as whining and act as if teachers have it so much better than you. If you do feel they have an advantage, switch careers and teach.

SpecialParent,

What you're seeing is the effects of liberal Reston planned community model. We'll all live side by side, rich and poor, and go the same schools, etc. Sounds good but it's not realistic. Importing dollars, students and teachers to prop up the failing schools won't work. People who value their kids education will find a way to leave and it's not the money.

As to shipping your low achieving students somewhere else to water down their numbers, I think you're on to something. But I am sure the Dogwood community does not want to be bussed away from their school to go to Oakton or Langley or elsewhere.

Next time you see Reston Interfaith and other well meaning Reston activists trumpeting how wonderful it is they were able to add even more low income housing to Reston, think about the strain they are putting on the already overloaded school systems.

Working Parent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You do have a choice Wrote:
> > You do have a choice, you CAN pupil place out.
> > Your choice is no different than a staff member
> > though the staff member is restricted to the
> > school they work in, you have the choice of
> > utilizing a neighboring school based on
> > curriculum.
>
> -----------------
> You have it backwards. For most residents, only
> high school students may pupil place for
> curriculum, and then only to the high school with
> that curriculum nearest your home or the base
> schools. Children of staff members ALSO have this
> option.
>
> In ADDITION, any FCPS employee who works more than
> 20 hours per week and lives in Fairfax County may
> request their children transfer to the school in
> which the parent is employed OR to the school of
> ANY level nearest the employee’s work location.
>
> Many of us would like to have the option for our
> children to attend school near our work sites.
> We could commute as a family.
> It would reduce the numbers of hours our children
> are in childcare.
> We could get to them faster when they get sick.
> It would make it easier to take them to after
> school activities.
> Having our children near our jobs would make it
> much easier for us to participate in school
> activities during the day.


Not true. There are a good number of school employees (who don't work at Oakton) who are pupil placing their children out of SL to Oakton. I don't blame them, but I do question the fairness. Why should they get priority. (I can understand PPing your elem school child to your elementary school if you are an elementary school teacher, but the perk should end there.) If anything, the SB should want their employees to set an example: ALL FCPS are excellent, right?? As employees these folks shouldn't be getting "front of the line" privileges.

Fair Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > Not true. There are a good number of school
> employees (who don't work at Oakton) who are pupil
> placing their children out of SL to Oakton. I
> don't blame them, but I do question the fairness.
> Why should they get priority. (I can understand
> PPing your elem school child to your elementary
> school if you are an elementary school teacher,
> but the perk should end there.) If anything, the
> SB should want their employees to set an example:
> ALL FCPS are excellent, right?? As employees
> these folks shouldn't be getting "front of the
> line" privileges.

How are they doing this? Do they work in a feeder school to Oakton? Possibly in that case they conceivably could, but even there I kind of doubt it. They definetely can't place their kid in Oakton if they are not working at all in that district. (for the most part I think they have to work at Oakton, but will give you the benefit of the doubt). They also would have to provide transporation for that child to Oakton, which would make getting to work on time possibly difficult.

I do know at Woodson, teachers who worked there and wanted to pupil place almost weren't allowed to this past year due to overcrowding, so I also know that even if they worked at Frost or a feeder ES they were definetely NOT allowed to pupil place.

How do you know a "good number who don't work at Oakton" are doing this? How do you even know they are school employees, and not simply pupil placing as the "general public" does?

And again, if you really believe, they are jumping ahead in line, get your teacher certification and jump ahead...I bet you find you have no special status.

In fact I, as a then FCPS employee, when trying to get my kids into SACC at their BASE ES (as I registered the oldest for kindergarten), was put on the waitlist until they were in the upper grades in ES...no special status there, so I truly, truly, doubt there is any special status in pupil placement.

There are many teachers/administrators at SL that send their children to school AT SL. There are also a couple of related teachers, just like at Oakton (mother/son, husband/wife, etc) People who work at SL realize how great a school it is and have no problem sending their kids there.

There are also quite a few graduates of SL who have come back to teach or coach.

Good God !!!

Let's add that as one more requirement for what SL wants.

Now they want to redistrict some of the top teachers from surrounding areas to SL too !!!

When will this end?

Typical Reston politics, paint a picture of a bad project in need so the "Reston Riches" can get anything they want from the county.

Special Parent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Let's face it, South Lakes desperately needs help
> from the SB. Redistricting isn't enough. I
> applaud all the parents pointing out weakness and
> helping South Lakes.
>
> We have been trying to figure out ways to increase
> funding and add better programs for South Lakes
> for years. This thread is helping South Lakes to
> get the attention and funding it deserves. Soon
> South Lakes will once again be the top school in
> Fairfax County.
>
> But, we can't stop at just funding and internet
> attention, we need more action from the SB. The
> only way South Lakes is going to succeed is to
> move some top teachers to South Lakes.
>
> I also like the plan to redistrict many students
> at South Lakes to Oakton. This will help to even
> out Oakton.

Good God man - you already get 40% higher staff:student and 40% higher computer:student ratios

Now you've been given a load of new kids - against the will of parents

Now you want more teachers

What next? Poland?

Its like watching one of those flesh-eating viruses devour its victim

The issue is not teachers or funding. Issue is programs. IB program is college prep, other schools have AP which is like first year college level course. South Lakes can never become as good as the other schools teaching IB. Anyway other posts here indicate SL is more interested is teaching cooking and guitar rather than acadamics. So more funding or teachers will add another type of cusine as part of the existing cooking courses.

Special Parent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Let's face it, South Lakes desperately needs help
> from the SB. Redistricting isn't enough. I
> applaud all the parents pointing out weakness and
> helping South Lakes.
>
> We have been trying to figure out ways to increase
> funding and add better programs for South Lakes
> for years. This thread is helping South Lakes to
> get the attention and funding it deserves. Soon
> South Lakes will once again be the top school in
> Fairfax County.
>
> But, we can't stop at just funding and internet
> attention, we need more action from the SB. The
> only way South Lakes is going to succeed is to
> move some top teachers to South Lakes.
>
> I also like the plan to redistrict many students
> at South Lakes to Oakton. This will help to even
> out Oakton.

ibsucks Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The issue is not teachers or funding. Issue is
> programs. IB program is college prep, other
> schools have AP which is like first year college
> level course. South Lakes can never become as good
> as the other schools teaching IB.

Tardo,

Were you absent the three days we discussed IB vs AP and the benifits of each?

For anyone who says SL teachers won't send their kids there. Or that SL doesn't have quality teachers or students:

South Lakes has some of the best and most dedicated teachers in all of Fairfax County. I know. I graduated from SL. When I was attending SL I can think of at least four teachers who had children who were also students there.

Stop trying to put these people down. The SL kids are just as smart and gifted as your kids. The SL teachers are as excellent as you'll find at any other top school in the county.

And for those of you who picture SL kids taking cooking courses in preparation for thier careers as burger flippers:

Please, grow up. You are just pathetic.

Everyone needs to stop attacking these kids at SL. Take your frustrations out on the school board but leave these children alone. They didn't ask for any of this. In fact I know most of them could care less if your kid goes to SL next year. I would venture to guess that one of the main reasons why any SL kids or parents support RD is purely a backlash reaction from all the criticism some of you people have directed at their school/teachers/children.

you do have a choice Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Fair Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > > Not true. There are a good number of school
> > employees (who don't work at Oakton) who are
> pupil
> > placing their children out of SL to Oakton. I
> > don't blame them, but I do question the
> fairness.
> > Why should they get priority. (I can
> understand
> > PPing your elem school child to your elementary
> > school if you are an elementary school teacher,
> > but the perk should end there.) If anything,
> the
> > SB should want their employees to set an
> example:
> > ALL FCPS are excellent, right?? As employees
> > these folks shouldn't be getting "front of the
> > line" privileges.
>
> How are they doing this? Do they work in a feeder
> school to Oakton? Possibly in that case they
> conceivably could, but even there I kind of doubt
> it. They definetely can't place their kid in
> Oakton if they are not working at all in that
> district. (for the most part I think they have to
> work at Oakton, but will give you the benefit of
> the doubt). They also would have to provide
> transporation for that child to Oakton, which
> would make getting to work on time possibly
> difficult.
>
> I do know at Woodson, teachers who worked there
> and wanted to pupil place almost weren't allowed
> to this past year due to overcrowding, so I also
> know that even if they worked at Frost or a feeder
> ES they were definetely NOT allowed to pupil
> place.
>
> How do you know a "good number who don't work at
> Oakton" are doing this? How do you even know they
> are school employees, and not simply pupil placing
> as the "general public" does?
>
> And again, if you really believe, they are jumping
> ahead in line, get your teacher certification and
> jump ahead...I bet you find you have no special
> status.
>
> In fact I, as a then FCPS employee, when trying to
> get my kids into SACC at their BASE ES (as I
> registered the oldest for kindergarten), was put
> on the waitlist until they were in the upper
> grades in ES...no special status there, so I
> truly, truly, doubt there is any special status in
> pupil placement.


Sorry, I am right and you are wrong. I personally know 3 children who have parents who work for FCPS (not Oakton) who have successfully PP'd their child to Oakton (from SL). I won't reveal names as I don't want to mess with their lives, but I do think there is an unfairness issue here. These are families who tried to PP out of SL due to IB/AP and were then routed to Herndon. They then tried again and got in due to their employment with FCPS. Also, why should I get a teaching certificate? Oh, that's right, to get front of the line priviges for my children? Weird suggestion! If it's not fair for them, it wouldn't be fair for me either.

Fair Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > Sorry, I am right and you are wrong. I personally
> know 3 children who have parents who work for FCPS
> (not Oakton) who have successfully PP'd their
> child to Oakton (from SL). I won't reveal names
> as I don't want to mess with their lives, but I do
> think there is an unfairness issue here. These
> are families who tried to PP out of SL due to
> IB/AP and were then routed to Herndon. They then
> tried again and got in due to their employment
> with FCPS. Also, why should I get a teaching
> certificate? Oh, that's right, to get front of
> the line priviges for my children? Weird
> suggestion! If it's not fair for them, it
> wouldn't be fair for me either.

And they told you they got what they wanted because they are FCPS employees? Perhaps they appealed the Herndon decision. I maintain (having been a FCPS employee and as stated not getting any kind of preferential treatment) that I am right and you are wrong. They must have appealed..you too have a right to appeal if your pupil placement request doesn't go through.

It isn't a weird suggestion by the way. You feel they have rights above yours; I say they don't. The only way for you to actually find out would be to be in the system.

You do realize that retail employees get discounts and perks..how unfair that I can't get a discount on my purchases..

Truly, you need to get a grip. Were you denied pupil placement? It's like you don't have enough to complain about. I agree the redistricting wasn't thought out well due to not including Langley, but you seem to be grasping at straws to find things to complain about now.

recall stu gibson and this will end.

all_about_sl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Good God !!!
>
> Let's add that as one more requirement for what SL
> wants.
>
> Now they want to redistrict some of the top
> teachers from surrounding areas to SL too !!!
>
> When will this end?