Thousands skip last days of school in Fairfax

Thousands of students skip last days of school in Fairfax as school board considers changes
http://www.wtop.com/149/3651490/Thousands-skip-last-days-of-school-in-Fairfax

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) -- Summer has finally arrived for students in Fairfax County, but it turns out many students skipped out before the end of the school year.

This year's school calendar was extended to make up snow days from the harsh winter. The schools were required to stay open until Wednesday to meet state instructional requirements.

But school officials tell The Washington Post (http://wapo.st/1pRqtgm ) attendance was 64 percent Monday in county high schools, and it dropped to 62 percent Tuesday. At Chantilly High, there were just 200 of the school's remaining 2,000 students present Monday.

On Thursday, the Fairfax County school board is scheduled to vote on proposed changes to the academic calendar. It would build an extra 13 snow days into the schedule to prevent the need to extend the school year.

Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com

Well, this is how the students in FCPS ensure that there aren't too many perfect attendance awards being handed out...

This was complete mismanagement on FCPS's part. State mandates a post-Labor Day start and mandatory number of school days. But FCPS sets the schedule. It is obviously ridiculous to create a realistic possibility that students would be schools June 23-25. After all, back-to-school ads are starting to appear.

Telling students not to come, running empty buses, having two-hour school "days" to meet bureaucratic standards, doing no work, all sends a message to the students that the school system is not there to teach them but to check the necessary boxes. If FCPS is not taking students' education seriously, it makes it more difficult for the students to take it seriously.

Data-Anaylrapist Wrote:
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> Well, this is how the students in FCPS ensure that
> there aren't too many perfect attendance awards
> being handed out...

I wonder if this girl skipped?

Fairfax student finishes school with perfect attendance
http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/forum/read/2/1575381/1577773.html#msg-1577773

You can work around the system. The Asians in particular have figured out that if you drop the kid off, let them start their day and then pull them out for "illness" an hour later...the kid still gets credit for going to school that day.

Whiney ass FFX parents...complain about everything.

Just keep living in your overpriced track house McMansion.

Patty Cake Wrote:
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> Whiney ass FFX parents...complain about
> everything.
>
> Just keep living in your overpriced track house
> McMansion.


WHat about the poor people living in trailers. Ha! fucking got you!

I believe Hillary lives in a trailer. I understand that she is not truly well off.

Amen! Extend the school year so this type of shit doesn't happen again. Parents need to be assured of scheduling.

Ridiculous kids not attending school and parents allowing it.

The school board should be ashamed!

McLean high school offered all kinds of alternative types of instruction these past few days.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/for-a-hearty-few-students-and-extended-school-year-finally-ends/2014/06/25/b6e2b3c0-fc6a-11e3-932c-0a55b81f48ce_story.html

I wish my kid's school had been as creative with this (state mandated!) time.

Fairfax Taxpayer Wrote:
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> This was complete mismanagement on FCPS's part.
> State mandates a post-Labor Day start and
> mandatory number of school days. But FCPS sets the
> schedule. It is obviously ridiculous to create a
> realistic possibility that students would be
> schools June 23-25. After all, back-to-school ads
> are starting to appear.
>
> Telling students not to come, running empty buses,
> having two-hour school "days" to meet bureaucratic
> standards, doing no work, all sends a message to
> the students that the school system is not there
> to teach them but to check the necessary boxes. If
> FCPS is not taking students' education seriously,
> it makes it more difficult for the students to
> take it seriously.


I totally agree... Figure something out FCPS!

School implies education, teaching and learning.

None of this happened during the make-up days so no "School" was skipped.

My question-if they build all these snow days into the calendar, and then don't need them, how come they hardly ever close the schools early? I know they did one year to save money. Why keep them in school longer than needed? You would probably still have to pay some of your staff, but you could skip the bus gas for sure. You wouldn't have to pay subs for teachers who weren't there.

I was in school yesterday and it was a bit creepy with so many people missing. I don't know exactly how many, but there couldn't have been more than half the kids in my class.

No Wonder? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Summer Time! Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Thousands skip last days of school in Fairfax
> >
> > Thousands of students skip last days of school
> in
> > Fairfax as school board considers changes
> >
> http://www.wtop.com/149/3651490/Thousands-skip-las
>
> > t-days-of-school-in-Fairfax
> >
> > FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) -- Summer has finally arrived
> > for students in Fairfax County, but it turns
> out
> > many students skipped out before the end of the
> > school year.
> >
> > This year's school calendar was extended to
> make
> > up snow days from the harsh winter. The schools
> > were required to stay open until Wednesday to
> meet
> > state instructional requirements.
> >
> > But school officials tell The Washington Post
> > (http://wapo.st/1pRqtgm ) attendance was 64
> > percent Monday in county high schools, and it
> > dropped to 62 percent Tuesday. At Chantilly
> High,
> > there were just 200 of the school's remaining
> > 2,000 students present Monday.
> >
> > On Thursday, the Fairfax County school board is
> > scheduled to vote on proposed changes to the
> > academic calendar. It would build an extra 13
> snow
> > days into the schedule to prevent the need to
> > extend the school year.
> >
> > Information from: The Washington Post,
> > http://www.washingtonpost.com
>
>
> No wonder! With the internet web these says! The
> children should be realizing at a younger age that
> the teaching industry of today is grotesquely
> obsolete!
> And that they edit/filter way too much some pretty
> serious shit from what should be taught above
> money/wealth in conjunction with what is real/what
> should be taught from first grade forward. It is
> literally criminal what they do!
> REMEMBER :


Uhh no...the problem is that more and more people are turning to the Interwebz for news and other sources of information that aren't fact checked. These people trust what they see on YouTube and sites like InfoWars more than what they read in a fucking book that's been fact checked.

Fucking idiots like you are apart of the problem.

I don't understand why they didn't have exams on Monday and Tuesday?
I blame fcps school board for this. I will be filing a foia report and check this out

I guess getting an education is all but forgotten nowadays

Truth...there is little to no learning occurring after the SOL tests are over, about two weeks before school ends. Here's a sample of how my elementary school kids spent their last days;

Field Day
Class Party
patrol picnic
All class parties/picnic (all sixth graders, for example)
Pack the classroom while a movie is played in the background
Popsicle party and extra long recess
Awards assembly
student government party

And lucky students who happen to be graduating patrols/student government reps/won an award? Well, let's just saw it's been an action packed ten days of fun, fun, fun!

...most all of these events were for half the school day. If a special event didn't last the school day, they we watching cartoons, movies, etc.

I normally have 40+ kids on my high school run.

Monday I had 9 and Tuesday I had 8. Surprisingly I had 25 on Wednesday, the last day. I guess they wanted to bullshit around with their friends for a couple of hours on the last day. Or maybe they wanted to intercept their report cards before they were mailed?

Middle and elementary runs were close to normal numbers for all three days.

i'm just about to butt dial the truancy officer ok ?

This is bureaucratic stupidity at its finest. State regulations have not caught up to the SOL's that Virginia has invested in.

Ask any SOL-taking school kid what they do at the end of the year after SOL's are taken, and they will tell you "a week of nothing".

All these required "instructional" days are filled with no work and early dismissal just to satisfy an outdated state requirement.

After finals, there is really no point in showing up to class at all. All the material has been taught, so people don't evened show up.The most people I saw in my classes was 6. Hell, if you show up on those last days ask why you are even in school in the first place and to add to that all the teachers don't even take attendance, so I can stroll around to any class I like. FCPS really wasted those last 3 days..

The school board has fixed this by extending hours for next year.

Students and teachers did themselves in by not going to school the last. Their own fault.

FYI - The number of absences shows up on transcripts so enjoy.

If there are two spots left at a college or university the algorithm will favor a person with less absences.

Absences Not Good Wrote:
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> FYI - The number of absences shows up on
> transcripts so enjoy.
>
> If there are two spots left at a college or
> university the algorithm will favor a person with
> less absences.

Hmm... this true? Never knew that. If it indeed correct, good. I hope some shithead HS student that half asses attendance loses out to someone that actually tries.

Individual attendance records were not kept for June 23-25.

Attendance Officer Wrote:
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> Individual attendance records were not kept for
> June 23-25.

Not true. Attendence was kept.