APS: Cardinal Elementary (considering transfer) - how is it going?

[Anonymous]

APS is inviting families who live in the walk zones of one elementary school (Cardinal, Innovation) but are assigned as bus riders to another to apply to transfer to the closer school next year. I am considering this as it would be my early elementary kids preference (all their neighborhood/park friends go there) and would be more convenient for us as well. I also wonder if this is a sign of a likely boundary change the future (although I've learned not to count on APS to do anything predictable). It would be great to hear from others how it is going? Anything we should know about the culture or school administration? Any idea when the storm water project on the fields is supposed to finish (the county website doesn't say)? Finally, when are kids allowed to walk by themselves? It would be a very easy/safe walk for my kids (through Parkhurst, across 19th, not the busier crossings on the other sides of the school), but I don't know if there is some rule about this since we've been bus riders until now. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

The "no parking" signs on Lexington where the field construction is happening has a date through Sept 2023. Yes, I said 2023!!!!!!! I don't know if that's accurate b/c the county website is insufficient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The "no parking" signs on Lexington where the field construction is happening has a date through Sept 2023. Yes, I said 2023!!!!!!! I don't know if that's accurate b/c the county website is insufficient.

OP here - yes, I've noted the signs, I'm hoping those dates were selected in an abundance of caution, but maybe I'm in denial! I listened to a project presentation maybe a year ago and it didn't seem like it was supposed to be that long a process once it started/they remove all the dirt.

[Anonymous]

My kids walk from that side of the school grounds and it is fine. They typically walk to school by themselves (well, more accurately they walk with friends, but no adults). Many people cross at the crosswalk at Parkhurst. Others also park near there to drop their kids instead of doing the kiss and ride line.

I'm pretty sure they have said the storm water project will go through next school year, so the school field would not be usable until SY 2023-24.

[Anonymous]

That’s insane! They have created a dangerous situation on Lexington because the construction barrier blocks traffic coming to the intersection and people can’t see the stop sign.

[Anonymous]

It's a big school. And they know clearly intend to make sure it is filled to max capacity. As a family who moved from one of the "mega" elementary schools (700+ kids) to a smaller one, it's a huge difference. So I would consider that at least. My first child went all the way through at a mega school and my second is now at a smaller one.

What does a mega school mean? 5 to 6 classes per grade and your kid will not know all the kids in their grade. Some years when they move up a grade, they will only know a couple of kids in their new class. Huge recess, huge lunch time, less attention from the one gifted instructor/counselor, the school concerts are giant and your kid gets a small part or no part, the school play if they do one- same thing, etc. You will go through 6 years and possibly never speak to the principal and they won't really know your kid (unless they know them in a negative way, to be honest). Just a much different community/neighborhood feel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a big school. And they now clearly intend to make sure it is filled to max capacity. As a family who moved from one of the "mega" elementary schools (700+ kids) to a smaller one, it's a huge difference. So I would consider that at least. My first child went all the way through at a mega school and my second is now at a smaller one.

What does a mega school mean? 5 to 6 classes per grade and your kid will not know all the kids in their grade. Some years when they move up a grade, they will only know a couple of kids in their new class. Huge recess, huge lunch time, less attention from the one gifted instructor/counselor, the school concerts are giant and your kid gets a small part or no part, the school play if they do one- same thing, etc. You will go through 6 years and possibly never speak to the principal and they won't really know your kid (unless they know them in a negative way, to be honest). Just a much different community/neighborhood feel.

[Anonymous]

I had my child at a "mega" school that is now a small school (ASFS) and I completely agree with the above poster. The area around Innovation/ASFS has a lot of apartments/state department folks, so it was very transient, and most of my kids knew very few kids in their class year to year. They made it a point to move kids around a lot so that it would be better socially for them -- that way there aren't any pre-existing cliques for the kids that are new or don't know many kids. Either way, it ended up with my eldest going through elementary with 1-2 close friends (from our neighborhood) and 30+ acquaintances. She is fine and really thrived in that situation, but I can see it not being a good fit for some kids. Now ASFS is so much smaller, I didn't realize how much nicer a small school is. Even with COVID, I feel like there's more one on one attention.

[Anonymous]

Also a parent whose kid moved from a big, overcrowded APS elementary to one below capacity. It's been a great change. It may just be that the principal is better, but outreach has been great. It seems like we're getting more attention overall (and even gifted service attention) and my kids have a much better handle on who is at the school. We've really liked the change.

[Anonymous]

We moved from Tuckahoe to Cardinal this year, if that's the move you're contemplating. I can't speak to other large schools, but I have not found the differences between the schools to be that great, particularly with respect to principal outreach or gifted services. There are things I thought were better at Tuckahoe, and other things I think are better at Cardinal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had my child at a "mega" school that is now a small school (ASFS) and I completely agree with the above poster. The area around Innovation/ASFS has a lot of apartments/state department folks, so it was very transient, and most of my kids knew very few kids in their class year to year. They made it a point to move kids around a lot so that it would be better socially for them -- that way there aren't any pre-existing cliques for the kids that are new or don't know many kids. Either way, it ended up with my eldest going through elementary with 1-2 close friends (from our neighborhood) and 30+ acquaintances. She is fine and really thrived in that situation, but I can see it not being a good fit for some kids. Now ASFS is so much smaller, I didn't realize how much nicer a small school is. Even with COVID, I feel like there's more one on one attention.

Yes, this is very true at these big schools and I've heard the same from other parents who think the same. A couple of good friends if they're lucky and those are often neighborhood or parent based and then a lot of kids they just know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had my child at a "mega" school that is now a small school (ASFS) and I completely agree with the above poster. The area around Innovation/ASFS has a lot of apartments/state department folks, so it was very transient, and most of my kids knew very few kids in their class year to year. They made it a point to move kids around a lot so that it would be better socially for them -- that way there aren't any pre-existing cliques for the kids that are new or don't know many kids. Either way, it ended up with my eldest going through elementary with 1-2 close friends (from our neighborhood) and 30+ acquaintances. She is fine and really thrived in that situation, but I can see it not being a good fit for some kids. Now ASFS is so much smaller, I didn't realize how much nicer a small school is. Even with COVID, I feel like there's more one on one attention.

Yes, this is very true at these big schools and I've heard the same from other parents who think the same. A couple of good friends if they're lucky and those are often neighborhood or parent based and then a lot of kids they just know.

Is that a problem? I think it's great to have one or two really good friends v. maybe not so close/quality relationships with a bunch of kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had my child at a "mega" school that is now a small school (ASFS) and I completely agree with the above poster. The area around Innovation/ASFS has a lot of apartments/state department folks, so it was very transient, and most of my kids knew very few kids in their class year to year. They made it a point to move kids around a lot so that it would be better socially for them -- that way there aren't any pre-existing cliques for the kids that are new or don't know many kids. Either way, it ended up with my eldest going through elementary with 1-2 close friends (from our neighborhood) and 30+ acquaintances. She is fine and really thrived in that situation, but I can see it not being a good fit for some kids. Now ASFS is so much smaller, I didn't realize how much nicer a small school is. Even with COVID, I feel like there's more one on one attention.

Yes, this is very true at these big schools and I've heard the same from other parents who think the same. A couple of good friends if they're lucky and those are often neighborhood or parent based and then a lot of kids they just know.

Is that a problem? I think it's great to have one or two really good friends v. maybe not so close/quality relationships with a bunch of kids.

I am the poster who replied. I think you missed the "if they're lucky". My kid wasn't really. I would say he went into middle school without a solid close friend. He just knew a bunch of people. The one really good friend he made moved away at some point. He's actually done really well in middle school socially, so it's not the end of the world. But he did not have the "childhood best friend" experience that I had and I worried about it at the time and sometimes felt worried for him.

But no, ultimately I guess it wasn't a problem.

[Anonymous]

The culture/school administration is of course driven by the principal and AP. Who could leave at any time. We are a family that moved from McKinley with the administration.

My take on the administration:

-Not special needs friendly. They will try to drive you out and have succeeded in many cases.
-Things can go really smoothly if you have a well behaved kid. Lots of great teachers.
-Admin can be tough on boys. Some of them deserve it honestly. So that's a pro or a con depending on who you are. But some of the things said to these kids is eyebrow raising. Again, depends on your perspective what you think of this.
-Admin can be pretty strong worded. They don't have a lot of time because they serve a lot of families and if your kid is causing a problem, it's not a lot of hand holding. You get told. Bluntly.
-Admin backs the teachers. The end. The pro of this is they retain a lot of staff and have some great teachers as a result. If your kid has a crap teacher, it isn't so great. Admin won't do anything about some of the notorious awful teachers at that school.
-Admin does a good job of shutting down the really crazy and annoying parents. I have always appreciated that. See above. It's a very no-BS style for both the kids and parents alike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had my child at a "mega" school that is now a small school (ASFS) and I completely agree with the above poster. The area around Innovation/ASFS has a lot of apartments/state department folks, so it was very transient, and most of my kids knew very few kids in their class year to year. They made it a point to move kids around a lot so that it would be better socially for them -- that way there aren't any pre-existing cliques for the kids that are new or don't know many kids. Either way, it ended up with my eldest going through elementary with 1-2 close friends (from our neighborhood) and 30+ acquaintances. She is fine and really thrived in that situation, but I can see it not being a good fit for some kids. Now ASFS is so much smaller, I didn't realize how much nicer a small school is. Even with COVID, I feel like there's more one on one attention.

Yes, this is very true at these big schools and I've heard the same from other parents who think the same. A couple of good friends if they're lucky and those are often neighborhood or parent based and then a lot of kids they just know.

Is that a problem? I think it's great to have one or two really good friends v. maybe not so close/quality relationships with a bunch of kids.

I am the poster who replied. I think you missed the "if they're lucky". My kid wasn't really. I would say he went into middle school without a solid close friend. He just knew a bunch of people. The one really good friend he made moved away at some point. He's actually done really well in middle school socially, so it's not the end of the world. But he did not have the "childhood best friend" experience that I had and I worried about it at the time and sometimes felt worried for him.

But no, ultimately I guess it wasn't a problem.

As a contrast, my kid is at a smaller APS elementary with 3 classes in his grade. Because they cluster advance/gifted, ELL, and kids who need extra help/Sped, my son has ended up with nearly the same group of kids in his class every year. His cluster has largely stuck together so he knows at least 60-70% of the classroom really, really well. He's tight with all of the kids in his "cluster" as they end up grouped together fairly frequently (e.g., pull outs, reading groups, centers).

He's fortunately with a great group, so we love this. I'd be less happy if there were social or behavior issues with peers that we couldn't escape.