APS: Think the "no move" campaign is going to work?

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01/23/2020 10:55

Subject: APS: Think the "no move" campaign is going to work?

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Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lose a little respect for people each time I see a fellow McK parent post the petition. You look manipulative and uneducated. It’s such a selfish viewpoint. You don’t want an option school in your hood. That’s it, clear and simple.

But no option school is wanting to move to McKinley either. I am fairly new to APS, but it makes me wonder why Reed was built, if these studies are determining that the seats are less needed in this area. Part of the no move campaign is pro "delay the move" and do boundaries at the same time to make sure we're making the correct decisions. Yes, I get that new principals need to be selected, but it's not like the number of schools is changing.

Basically, APS of today is trying to correct some mistakes previously made and also respond to changing demographics and population densities. When the NW was experiencing the worst of the growth crisis, they decided to build Discovery at the Williamsburg site rather than at Reed, 2012 or 2013 I think, since the Westover library project had just been done in 2007. Frankly, we’re still paying debt service on that, so I understand why it wasn’t selected earlier as a school site. It’s kind of fiscally irresponsible to tear down a $$ multimillion project just 5 years after its completion.

What I see APS doing is trying to move option programs to locations that have overlapping walk zones with another school or are in very close proximity. For instance, moving Montessori to the old Henry building once Fleet was completed. Now Reed and McKinley. ATS site and Ashlawn. And Campbell and Carlin Springs. Basically, it’s sound policy, even if right now the option school is more walkable than the neighborhood school due to history and not giving the older, smaller buildings to the neighborhood kids while the option programs get the nicer facilities. There probably aren’t enough kids in any one of those boundaries to fill two neighborhood schools, so you have one as an option school and pull many kids from the surrounding area (because people like things that are convenient), and then you backfill many of the seats, that would otherwise be empty, with people who are looking for a specialized program and willing/able to travel). In an ideal world, all the option schools would be located most closely to various disadvantaged populations, so that it’s those with privilege who have to travel. But, we aren’t there yet. We don’t have the money or land to make that happen right now for each and every program, especially if we’re also trying to make neighborhood schools more accessible to families who face transportation barriers. If one program has proven that disadvantaged families will travel, it’s ATS. They have the longest VPI waitlist. As long as APS makes VPI classrooms at a new location a priority, I think people will continue to put in for that lottery. In the most ideal world, one day they will be able to live closer to the neighborhood around McKinley, because the county will have made good on their promises of a truly inclusive community. EFC Metro corridor is a prime location for that opportunity.