Fairfax County General :
Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Charter schools and vouchers - don't want em, don't need em
We have a successful county system - the last thing we need to do is divert money into some private scheme
If people think they can run the schools better - man up, get the qualifications and apply to be a principal. If you want to help, no school will turn you away
This is not DC or Louisiana where you could reasonably claim that the school system is not delivering. Here its just a wedge for the crazies who don't believe in education or governments and the creationists who want religion back in schools
We have a very successful county system---but it is not so successful for the kinds of students that this charter school is aiming to educate. I think you can reasonably claim that the system is not delivering to these kinds of students. A person teaching at JEB Stuart would see that. He has a pretty good vision and seems to have a pretty good idea of what these kinds of students need. I say he should get a chance at it. A smaller school might be exactly what these kids need. I don't think this guy is a creationist or a "crazy".
Fairfax schools are awash with opportunity - anyone who doesn't take advantage of them is failing themselves.
I don't see why taking some of the kids who can't be bothered to learn and sticking them in a hothouse full of other kids who can't be bothered to learn is a good investment of my tax dollars.
If he has a good vision - then push it within the county system - we have pretty much one of everything and some pretty progressive principals.
Getting something tried within the fairfax system is not a high hurdle - just organise the parents and argue the case for a center of some form. Expecting to suck money out of the system into some private escapade in order to be treated differently is not the way to go
If there's an educational experiment to run - run it within the system where it can be scaled up if it works
The case for charters in fairfax just doesn't hold water
The charter school option will never happen in the FCPS. Jack Dale and the SB would not want a school to have success without input or control from them.
FCPS is a closed minded political school system.
PS Pray you do not have a child with special needs or a little outside the box and FCPS will work for you.
What is FCPs so afraid of? That a charter school might actually work for some kids. If you look at Jack Dale's vision of mega schools of course these will fail some kids. Why not try a charter school? Because it would prove that FCPS is more interested in promoting huge schools that don't serve the middle of the road students. FCPS is all about raising the grades for ESL students and catering to the "My kid is so brillant" group. Hundreds of kids in the middle are getting screw. I hope this application and the one for Clifton ES makes it through. But I don't have hopes since Virginia allows the School Board to decide what application is approved. Seems like there should be an independant review of charter school applications.
FCPS fails Wrote:
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> What is FCPs so afraid of? That a charter school
> might actually work for some kids. If you look at
> Jack Dale's vision of mega schools of course these
> will fail some kids. Why not try a charter
> school? Because it would prove that FCPS is more
> interested in promoting huge schools that don't
> serve the middle of the road students. FCPS is
> all about raising the grades for ESL students and
> catering to the "My kid is so brillant" group.
> Hundreds of kids in the middle are getting screw.
> I hope this application and the one for Clifton ES
> makes it through. But I don't have hopes since
> Virginia allows the School Board to decide what
> application is approved. Seems like there should
> be an independant review of charter school
> applications.
Your logic makes no sense
FCPS is awash with opportunities if you actually get on and study - there's no evidence that the middle suffers - in fact the performance figures suggest that they do better here than pretty much anywhere in the US
However, if you look at the performance figures of the schools you can see a very clear correlation with ethnicity,language ability and the likelihood of legal status. That's the elephant in the room and that's why you see such aggressive social engineering in FCPS such as the placement of AA centers
Fairfax schools would be better if we did not let the illegals in. We are wasting so much time and taxpayer money on a whole group of anchor babies who should not even be here.
Until the US wakes up it will be hard to move forward when teachers need to spend so time teaching kids English and manners.
Nobody will say this in public since it would ruin someone's career but we all know it is true.
The only great FCPS are the ones in mostly white areas and without free lunch.