Elementary Schools Questions

[hhilson]

We are new to the area (near Wilson & Veitch), and our kids are not school age at the moment, but I'm curious how things work here and had two questions. Do children in Arlington go to their neighborhood schools, or are some kids in every area bused to elementary schools in other neighborhoods? The Arlington School Finder website says our kids would attend Innovation Elementary, which is walking distance to us. Do the schools require that all students take the bus? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Some schools are option schools that you apply to. Innovation is a neighborhood school. You do not need to ride the bus

[Anonymous]

You can look up the bus zones for your school. Typically if you’re within 1 mile of the school you are a walker. There is no bus option at all unless of course there is a disability or condition that does not allow your child to walk that far.

Everyone does go to the neighborhood school unless they apply for the lottery schools in the county. All of this information is also on the APS website. There will be a rising K meeting for all parents to go to that helps you understand all of the different options. Given your location, your child would be bus to the option school if they got in. (ATS, Spanish immersion, etc).

[Anonymous]

Option schools:
https://www.apsva.us/school-options/elementary-school-choices/

[Anonymous]

Call the school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Call the school!

OMG- don't call the school to ask if your non-enrolled child will have to ride a bus in the future!!

If the school finder said Innovation then that's your zoned school that you children will attend. It sounds like you are within a mile so you will likely be a walker- APS doesn't provide bussing for students within the 1 mile radius for elementary schools (with some exceptions like if children would need to cross a major roadway.) If Spanish immersion, Montessori, Expeditionary Learning or "traditional" learning sound appealing to you, you can enter the lottery for those option schools and your child would be provided bus service if they get into one of them. You are not required to use bus transportation even if eligible. APS will have kindergarten information night in January before the option schools lottery application opens so if you have a rising K, that presentation will answer most of your questions.

[Anonymous]

Most kids in Arlington go to their zoned neighborhood elementary school. If you live at Wilson and Veitch and attend Innovation, there will not be a bus. The school is right next door, so that makes sense. Here's the bus eligibility map for Innovation https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ES_Innovation_SY21_22.pdf

If you choose to enroll your children in an option school instead, bus service will be provided. I think they have moved to a hub model for those, so the bus stop might be a bit further away than you would prefer. You can drop them off instead, you aren't required to use the bus if it is available. If you want to go for an option school pay attention to the lottery dates. Some are more competitive than others.

[hhilson]

Thank you for all your answers. This has been very informative.

[Anonymous]

OP a few things:

- innovation is your neighborhood school. Since you live so close there will be no bus. Go to the school website to learn more about the school.
- You can apply through a lottery to send your child to an option school. The deadline to apply is around March I believe. There are currently 5 option schools: Claremont and Key are Spanish immersion. You can only apply to one of them based on your neighborhood. Then there is Arlington Traditional School, Campbell, and the Montessori School. There are also preschool options: Either Montessori via lottery or through the VPI if you qualify income wise.
- definitely attend the kindergarten information night which takes place in January I believe. You can also attend the open house for Innovation and for the Option Schools which I think is before March.