Monday, November 23, 2009

Long-term solutions for DN High Schools: Do-over!

Author:
From two of today's commenters on the previous post regarding this subject:
I believe that this blog is supposed to be about "long-term solutions" We need to get back to that focus and come up with some suggestions so that Mr. Stevens has ideas to move forward with.
and
Can we PPPLLLLLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEE get back to some sort of useful discussion. This is getting old.........
I join these readers in hoping for a more constructive discussion, so let me offer this new post for folks who do want to talk about the future and not the past. Before you comment though, please:


1. CLICK HERE AND VOTE

and


2. Read my post about Anonymous Comments

Thank you.

Feel free to continue rehashing old wounds in the comments on the previous post.
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6 comments:

  1. The idea of building HS6 does NOTHING to relieve the overcrowding in the Ashburn area. THAT area is Dulles North! Stone Bridge and Broad Run are now "Ashburn" per the new CIP. Besides if a southern shift were to happen today in 9 years we would be having a northern shift and we would still be looking at the same problem. What needs to happen is all parties involved need to look for land opportunities north of the greenway and build a new school there for the communities along rt 7. Newton Lee sight can be used for the middle school for which it was intended- make the school fit the land not the land fit the school. Use the land at the conference center that they want to build homes on as a elementary site, better yet, aquire the conference center to build a high school! As far as getting money, there is alot of waste in the school system, start eliminating that and see what happens. oh yea, sell ISA.
    ReplyDelete
  2. My thoughts are aimed at the entire school system, not just DN high schools. In my opinion, we need to "get out of the box" on our thinking.

    - Move the district to an open enrollment plan. That will allow families to voluntarily move to any school that has space. This won't completely solve the overall problem, but it could take the edge off. I had my children in public school in a district of this size that operated in just such a manner. Each school had a home area in which they were required to take anyone from within their boundary. If there were openings, they could take students from anywhere in the district. It required some planning and management effort on each school's part, but it worked with few problems. Some schools had waiting lists, others had openings, but none where significantly overcrowded. Parents tended to adjust to a school with a better situation, maintaining balance. Parents were responsible for their own transportation.

    - Shift the district to a year around schedule on a multi-track system. This immediately increases every school's carrying capacity by 25-30%. The overall benefit is it allows the district to slow the build out of schools and focus resources more accurately by allowing time to observe growth patterns more fully. I grew up in just such a system and have had my children in a single track year round system. The educational benefits are immediate. I never got bored with school or vacation. My current schools teachers and asst principal have noted to me that the long summer break results in nearly 6 weeks of review at the beginning of each year. What a waste of valuable learning time. A multi-track system can be complicated to manage, especially at the high school level. But we should not be afraid of something just because it's difficult. The social and extra-curricular activities work themselves out. In my home town local businesses often hired 4 kids for each job, rotating among them as vacations rotated. There are increased operating expenses, but they are worth paying for the improvements that come with the system. The biggest obstacle is that it is just so different, and people tend to avoid major change.

    Both ideas have many details that would require discussion and definition. Policies would have to be vetted and established. But to get the equivalent of an immediate 25% increase in classroom space should be significant enough to warrant serious study.

    I know that Loudoun tried year round school back in the 70's and turned away from it. I'm sure many have a bad taste from that failure. But we need to take another look. A serious look.
    ReplyDelete
  3. How about a serious consideration of magnet programs (and at all levels K-12)? For parents and students, a magnet program can allow for a better match between a child's learning pace, interests, etc. As a parent of an elementary student who is several grade levels ahead of his age, I would jump at the chance to have him in a program where he's not just marking time for several years. I telecommute (as lots of parents in my neighborhood do) so I have the flexibility to drive him to a school outside the neighborhood.

    Magnet schools would also allow us to use the temporary extra capacity we always seem to have when a new school opens. For example, put a magnet school in Tuscarora for a few years. When Leesburg needs those seats back, move the magnet to another school. If magnet students are coming from all over the county, it matters less where the school is. Obviously, parents (or the kids, in the case of high schoolers) would have to be responsible for transportation but I think you'd find enough Loudoun parents willing to do that.

    You could also put magnet schools in smaller locations -- lease some of the empty commercial space that's all over the place.

    If we can't afford large tracts of land and big buildings, then we need to look at other solutions. After all, it's not the land or the buildings that provide the education. It's the teachers, students and parents. And our resources in that area are the best. Also, if we have to "use available seats," then lets use those seats in a way that parents and students are competing to get into them -- not competing to stay out.

    Despite its faults, Loudoun has managed to put together an excellent school system. We ought to be able to come up with some creative solutions to our current problems.
    ReplyDelete
  4. Magnet schools are having more advantages then DN schools.Magnet schools are the public schools with specialized courses.
    A magnet school can be started with a very small space instead of DN schools that requires a large amount of space.

    So i am agree that Long-term solutions for DN High Schools is over!

    What do you think??

    keep posting.
    ReplyDelete
  5. Magnet programs are appealing, but I don't see how the rest of the county is going to allow a magnet school for just Ashburn. You look at the CIP and it proves that we have a real problem and there is no available room in schools south of the Greenway. We need the seats in Ashburn-- that is fact.

    Mr. Stevens, would you support a magnet school that would only be filled by the students currently in the Stone Bridge and Broad Run attendance zones?

    If yes, then let's start a serious discussion.
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  6. We are coming down to the meeting on boundaries tomorrow. Do you have valuable information to add about the options that are available to be voted on.
    ReplyDelete

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