What are the best public high schools in Alexandria? (Fairfax: public school, colleges)

[brooklynborndad]

TC is THE high school for the city of alexandria (NOT the areas with Alex mailing addresses in Fairfax County). As such it has a relationship to the community that is somewhat unusual in greater Washington. City of Alex has a considerable disadvantaged population - but it also has some very affluent and/or academically serious folks, who value public education and local pride. As a result the stereotype of TC Williams is "Yale or jail" - somewhat exagerated, but indicating the broad range of students there.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

As a result the stereotype of TC Williams is "Yale or jail" - somewhat exagerated, but indicating the broad range of students there.

That's an oft-repeated one-liner that purported TC supporters would do well to retire if they want more people to consider their school more closely. Publicizing the percentage of students who go on to some type of post-graduate education, and the range of schools attended, would better serve their interests.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by JEB77

That's an oft-repeated one-liner that purported TC supporters would do well to retire if they want more people to consider their school more closely. Publicizing the percentage of students who go on to some type of post-graduate education, and the range of schools attended, would better serve their interests.

I don't know that I'm a "TC supporter". I'm just reporting on a common characterization - that TC has students of exceptional academic achievement (whether in terms of admissions to the Ivies, to other selective colleges, or going on to post graduate study) is a fact, AFAICT. That it also has a significant population with the kinds of problems typical of inner city schools is also a fact, AFAICT.

Of course there are lots of kids there who fall in between. How many, and how many relative to, say, FFX high schools, I don't know.

Do people really take "yale or jail" literally?

[brooklynborndad]

from the article someone linked to

"T.C. Williams boasts a $100-million state-of-the-art facility with a rooftop garden and green technology. Participation in Advanced Placement courses ranks among the highest in the country. And more than 80 percent of graduates last year went on to college.
Yet this month it became one of 17 in Virginia -- and the only one in Northern Virginia -- to be dubbed a "persistently lowest achieving school," as determined by standardized test results.
"We are almost a bimodal school division. Three-quarters of our kids do extraordinarily well, but we have traditionally underserved huge portions of our population," said Alexandria Superintendent Morton Sherman.
The 2,900-student school, which is divided into two campuses, has never met all federal testing benchmarks required by the No Child Left Behind law. In 2009, 78 percent of students graduated from T.C. Williams in four years, compared with 83 percent across the state. Just 65 percent of Hispanic students graduated in the same time.


The school qualifies for the federal grant because standardized test scores in 2008 and 2009 fell in the lowest 5 percent of 128 Virginia high schools that have similar poverty demographics but do not receive funding under Title I, a federal program that provides extra resources to schools with large numbers of poor and at-risk students.
About half the students at T.C. Williams receive free or reduced-price meals, an indicator of poverty.
In 2008, 82 percent of T.C. Williams students passed the state's standardized reading test and 79 percent passed the math exam. In 2009, the pass rate was 84 percent in reading and 77 percent in math. The average pass rate for the state in 2008 was 87 percent in reading and 84 percent in math; in 2009, it was 89 percent in reading and 86 percent in math.
The school's performance makes it eligible for a piece of a $3.5 billion program that is a cornerstone of the Obama administration's efforts to spur change in the nation's weakest schools.
T.C. Williams has challenges familiar to many urban schools, including high mobility rates and large numbers of students who don't speak English or who live in poverty, said Mel Riddile, former principal at T.C. Williams and associate director of high school services at the National Association of Secondary School Principals. But many things set it apart, he said, including highly engaged parent groups, a cadre of very talented teachers and an impressive array of college-level classes.
"Is this school the worst of the worst? No. Is it a dropout factory? No," Riddile said. "This may not be typical of the kinds of schools the president is trying to target . . . but it definitely needs to improve."


IOW TC has a major poverty population that has poor numbers on graduation rates, test scores, etc. And TC has not done as good a job as hoped (and needed under NCLB) in improving test scores for those population segments. However all evidence I see is that the other segment of the "bimodal division" gets a great education, and does as well in results as similar students in FFX, Loudoun, etc.

Perhaps "yale or jail" is not the best succinct way to capture that. Its better, I think, than the casual dismissals of the school upthread.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

IOW TC has a major poverty population that has poor numbers on graduation rates, test scores, etc. And TC has not done as good a job as hoped (and needed under NCLB) in improving test scores for those population segments. However all evidence I see is that the other segment of the "bimodal division" gets a great .

Would those kids have done any better even had they gone to TJ? Doubtful.

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Would those kids have done any better even had they gone to TJ? Doubtful.

They wouldn't have suddenly gone to Harvard instead of dropping out, but studies have shown that impoverished kids who attend "rich kid schools" score better than staying in their low income schools and being thrown extra money and resources.

Study of Montgomery County schools shows benefits of economic integration

I tend to attribute it to the peer pressure of being successful that's found at top schools.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Would those kids have done any better even had they gone to TJ? Doubtful.

I agree. Most Harvard bound or jailbound kids are on their track long before they get to HS. Some can change tracks but often you know where they are going long before HS.

[Teebyrd86]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

I agree. Most Harvard bound or jailbound kids are on their track long before they get to HS. Some can change tracks but often you know where they are going long before HS.

I agree and its intresting to note that both of these types of kids can come from rich or poor backgrounds. I know plenty of kids whose parents were well off that ended up down the wrong path and I also know some that come from less afluent backgrounds some wth dead beat parents that have gotten degrees from very highly respected colleges and unviersities.

[patriot201]

Originally Posted by itinérant

Ok, it is starting to sound like public high schools may not be so hot in that area. Interesting because they are pretty strong in Montgomery County.

You are not comparing two like areas at all. Not all schools in Montgomery County are "strong" either. Wheaton, Kennedy, Einstein, and Seneca Valley are not as good as Whitman, Churchill, BCC, etc.

Bethesda-Chevy Chase, as mentioned, is more like McLean HS in terms of demographics and such.

[EdwardA]

Originally Posted by JEB77

That's an oft-repeated one-liner that purported TC supporters would do well to retire if they want more people to consider their school more closely. Publicizing the percentage of students who go on to some type of post-graduate education, and the range of schools attended, would better serve their interests.

I went to TC and I was a black student from a low income immigrant background. It was like the tale of two cities within the school. One group was upper middle class to wealthy mostly white and the other was poorer and mostly Black and was getting Browner. Although when I went most of the Hispanics seemed to be in ESL. So I had little interaction with them.

Even though we all shared the same building there was little interaction beyond athletics and marijuana. We were "tracked" in different classes with the AP classes overwhelmingly white and everyone else spread out among three other tracks. I went in the 90s so maybe this changed.

Still these aren't absolutes. I know several Black classmates including myself who went on to college and have decent careers. I also know of some wealthier white types who have struggled with drug addiction.

Frankly if I lived in Alexandria I wouldn't have a problem sending my kids to the public schools. I think they provide a unique cultural experience and a quality education.