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SCAN'S 10th Annual Toast to Hope
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Bea Porter May 22, 2013 at 02:38 pm
Very well said. A new building will not bring up the test scores, and its not the fault of the…Read More parents. Dr. Sherman changes staff so frequently it makes sense that the scores are not improving. Jefferson-Houston needs to have consistency in staff, and not the turnovers that it has had in the last several years. These students can achieve, they can do well, but they need to have consistent structure, and teachers that are willing to teach them in the manner they can learn best. Take these 350 students and reintegrate them into other schools that are achieving, then see them rise as the stars they are. Stop keeping them segregated, stop the under achievement. Stop this new building.
Lee Hernly May 22, 2013 at 03:21 pm
While I agree with the commenters and the writer on their comments, I do suggest that, if you have…Read More not done so already, do take a tour of the school to see the changes taking place. It's hard to see how the kids can learn anything there at the school given the current open classroom environment.
Having lived here all my life, I seem to recall as well that at one point in time, Lyles Crouch was in a similar situation like Jefferson Houston currently is. Lyles Crouch has turned itself around so who's to say that Jefferson Houston won't?
Dr. Sherman though, needs to go.
Foo Bar May 25, 2013 at 04:33 pm
As I remember, Lyles-Crouch did not bootstrap itself but got help from Herb Berg, the superintendent…Read More before Rebecca Parry. In the '99 redistricting he rezoned Lyles-Crouch's attendance area so that a number of disadvantaged kids who formerly went there now go to Jefferson-Houston.
Jon Rosenbaum May 23, 2013 at 03:10 pm
I find myself agreeing with the writer for once. This is a quality of life and security issue.…Read More Actually 60 lights were out a few months ago from the river to the Metro station.
TE&S does a survey only once a year. Otherwise its Director says it is up to citizens to report lights that are out. I report light outages on my block, but it is unreasonable to expect citizens to report each light number out on a commercial street.
Then there is the issue of repair time. Last fall it took three months to repair a damaged light in the 100 block of N. Saint Asaph Street.
Defy Libtards May 23, 2013 at 03:49 pm
The city is sooooooooooooo boring. Why can't we just continue with the Hippie v. Conservative…Read More bashing; it's been too long since somebody has called me a (racist) because I like small government.
Sherry Henderson April 30, 2013 at 02:43 pm
Gail, I would say that past elected officials have been very much to blame for the problems with the…Read More Alexandria City Public School system, especially the old regime who mismanaged the administration of those schools for the past few years. One can say that they most certainly weren't 'the brightest bulbs in the box'. But the honeymoon is over for the current Alexandria School Board and the Alexandria City Council to grab the bull by the horns and work to solidly fix Alexandria City Public Schools. I understand that a very small percentage of families in Alexandria have children, as the city is geared to newlyweds or people who either don't want or can't afford to have children. Many people move out of Alexandria by the time their children reach the age to go to school because of the low scores that Alexandria City Public Schools have in comparison to great schools in both neighboring Fairfax and Arlington Counties. Getting back to your comment that there are 'entrenched administrators', they need to be publicly outed for their incompetence and sent packing. It amazes me how many elected officials boast how great it is to live in the City of Alexandria, yet they have a glaring problem with Alexandria City Public Schools and are seemingly incompetent to fix them. This isn't a political issue, but as a Democrat, I'm very embarrassed by, as I've noted, the 'good ole boy' and 'good ole girl', wink-wink, back-scratching politics that go on in Alexandria City Hall. Disgusting.
Gail April 30, 2013 at 03:31 pm
We have an almost entirely brand new school board. They were stuck with a big mess. They were only…Read More installed four months ago. Give them some time. This won't be easy. They are hampered by budget issues right now, existing contracts, etc. These new comers are NOT part of the "ole boy/girl" network. Karen Graaf, Patricia Hennig and Bill Campbell are NOT the "old network" at all. Kelly Carmichael Booz and Chris Lewis were politically active in the city but they are also most definitely NOT part of the "old" network. Marc Williams is the leftover from those days and for reasons I don't understand, he is very popular with parents in the George Mason district where he lives. Sherman has been a disaster, but the fact is that his hiring was actually spearheaded by former school board chair Yvonne Folkerts, who is a Republican. The Dems did not create that particular monster but we were somewhat responsible for allowing the monster to eat the city. I've been screaming for his firing since 2008 and there is a nice bottle of champagne chilling in my fridge for the day he gets his walking papers.
Sherry Henderson April 30, 2013 at 04:25 pm
The Alexandria City Council, except for our great Vice Mayor, Allison Silberberg, is definitely all…Read More run by the very entrenched 'good ole boy' and 'good old girl' network that has completely strangled Alexandria politics for years. Many Democrats that I know are completely turned off by our local elected officials, who, despite their good intentions, continuously embarrass us by their votes and misconstrued thoughts that they're doing something right for the future of our city. Alexandria is the true 'banana republic' of D.C. area politics, because those who, uhm, 'govern' us have a "see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil" mantra to themselves, especially Justin Wilson, who loves to overly pontificate as he drones on until he foams at the mouth during his lengthy dissertations that are as mindless as he is. And Justin, and the rest of the politburo that we have seated at Alexandria City Hall are hell bent to run the city any way they like. As a Democrat, I know that we can sure do better than what we've got in office now, and there are a ton of great forward-thinking progressives who would be much better than the stooges who are in Alexandria City Hall now, but the 'political elite' throws up obstacles to keep themselves in power. That in itself is very shameful, but since the City of Alexandria is so 'provincial' in its 'my way or the highway' governance, we're always doomed to inefficiency in comparison to Fairfax and Arlington Counties. We definitely deserve better.
Dan Sehnal April 24, 2013 at 06:34 pm
46 pounds per household sounds like a lot per household. It would be interesting to know where the…Read More number came from and how it was computed. Although anecdotal, a quick inspection of the 26 homes on our street in old town, I would guess we are talking about 10-15 pounds per household. That's a big differential. Is business and/or industrial waste included in that number? If so, I can better understand.
Thanks,
D. Sehnal
Quay St.
Michael Clem April 25, 2013 at 02:30 pm
The 46 pounds per household is somewhat inflated because it includes weight from Alexandria's…Read More schools and City government buildings. But the number is not that far off. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that an average household generates 1.2 tons of trash a year. That's about 46 lbs. a week. People who recycle all that they can and do not have much yard waste will generate much less. You must be one of those households. Great job!
Nate McKenzie April 30, 2013 at 05:45 pm
Michael,
What is your opinion of municipal composting programs? Would a municipal composting…Read More program make sense in Alexandria (not sure of benefits when we are already incinerating)? Can municipal composting be cost effective for us?
Thanks,
Nate
Concerned Virginian April 23, 2013 at 02:17 am
OldTowner,
The city may be compare its pay/benefits with other jurisdictions, but that doesn't mean…Read More they do anything to make them more fair and equitable.
I provided a detailed comparison of Alexandria Police and a neighboring county, one full of facts and actual logic. I notice you didn't respond. You probably finally realized that your statements are incorrect and, to date, have not been based on research and facts. Where is your response?
Then there is your "intangibles" and the city tends to be "Safer" than others. Tell that to the officer who was maliciously wounded by an ex-convict on Christmas day. Tell that to the officers who were fired at near police headquarters and had to return fire, mortally wounding someone. Tell that to the officer who got shot in the head.
Here's an idea--Don't post anymore unless you have something factual and correct to say. Let's try that.
oldtowner April 24, 2013 at 10:14 pm
to Concerned: So get a job somewhere else if you don't like working in Alexandria. I certainly…Read More value the services of our police and fire employees....I also value the services of many other city employees. Regarding the incident on Duke Street, no report on the incident has been released, so we really don't know who fired first....Most assume the deceased did, but we really don't know. Our police dept is not well-known for releasing details about incidents. And all hope for the best recovery for Ofc Laboy. His unfortunate injury has nothing to do with the pay Alexandria officers receive. You really haven't added anything of value to the conversation. Everybody always wants to be paid more and have better benefits (that they don't have to pay for); that's a fact of life everywhere.
Concerned Virginian April 29, 2013 at 02:15 am
Oldtowner,
I love working in and for Alexandria, but I will also fight for fairness and equity. And…Read More I will continue to counter people like you who intentionally make incorrect statements.
You say I haven't added anything of value to the conversation? I have provided hard statistics as well as anecdotal evidence to back up my claims. All you have said is "Go check your facts. I haven't had time to do research myself, but will". It is you that haven't added anything valuable. I'm still waiting for a fact-based (I know, a shocker for you) response to the salary information I provided regarding us and Arlington.
What have YOU added to this conversation? (Hint--your false statements and incorrect opinions aren't valuable)
OT insider April 4, 2013 at 01:22 am
This is simple...
1. The city should withdrawl from the BZA apppeal.
2. Any further litigation…Read More against the city based on a super-majority WFP vote should be dismissed - the re-vote took care of that.
It's time to stop the BS, end the delay tactics and start making real progress on finally improving our embarasing, ghetto waterfront.
Haunches April 7, 2013 at 01:56 pm
The decision was made in a closed executive session to pursue these policies. That is an…Read More inescapable fact. Winning an election does not mean you are now unaccountable. The news in the last few days of a jury verdict substantiating the city retaliated against an employee to protect a developer underscores the author's point.
oldtowner April 11, 2013 at 07:01 pm
to Haunches....I think VA law requires legal issues to be considered in executive session...check…Read More your facts....this has always been the case...there are a few issues that they have to consider in executive session......this fact is totally unrelated to the recent case involving a terminated City employee....can't compare apples and oranges....