Tell me about Alexandria and South Arlington Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Barrett (in North Arlington) also tanked. Was a 7 last year and is a 4 this year. What is going on there?

What's going on there is Great Schools isn't a reliable arbiter of school quality. Full stop. Please don't think Internet school ratings systems are valid or contain any insight. That is truly stupidity.

You must be a member of our county board! Nothing to see here folks! Move along...

^Agree PP. Most likely is or some PTA President.

It's worth reading the (often pumped up and obviously admin/teacher pushed to be written) student comments on Great Schools for any school being considered. Once in a while a gem of truth comes through that cuts right through the chaff so you can see daylight in your decision making. Also good way to keep your finger on the pulse of an individual school.

No, the comments aren't worth squat. You go to TC Williams, which is a 2 on Great Schools, and the comment reviewers give it a 5 star rating. It's the very definition of overcompensating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a comparison of the ratings for elementaries in North Arlington

Jamestown - 10
Tuckahoe - 10
McKinley - 10
Nottingham - 10
Science Focus - 10
Ashlawn - 9
Taylor - 9
Glebe - 9
Long Branch - 8
Barret - 4


Swanson middle school - 9
Williamsburg middle - 9

Washington- Lee high school - 6
Yorktown high school - 7

Really all this proves to me is that Arlington has been successful at quietly doing what Loudoun is now being publicly criticized for, which is concentrating all the poor and ESL students at a few elementary schools in south Arlington (and one in north Arlington). We are on the wrong side of history, and I hope that anyone reading this post understands how when they choose to buy a home in north Arlington "for the schools" they are passively reinforcing segregation. Please understand, I'm not saying everyone who lives in north Arlington is a racist. I'm sure many (most) didn't even think about this issue when making their purchase. But that is the unintended consequence. Poor people can't afford to live in any of the "good school" zones in Arlington, so they aren't the ones making this choice.

Wrong school district. This is what ACPS has done with Jefferson-Houston. Take a look at the boundary for J-H. It makes no sense. It was a clear move to isolate the poorest students at one school so other failing schools (at the time) could succeed. And it worked. J-H bottomed out and several other schools improved.

Arlington's boundaries have always made sense geographically. North Arlington has gotten significantly more wealthy and whiter over the last 20 years. That evolution has been driven by a lot of variables and has more to do with the economic development policies of the County than some grand conspiracy to keep poor kids out of N Arlington schools. Go back in time 30-40 years and put the metro above ground and make different planning decisions in the rosslyn-ballston corridor and the County would likely look a lot different and there would be more naturally occurring diversity.

So what is your suggestion? Should we bus low-income kids into non-neighborhood schools in N. Arlington? Or vice versa? I'm interested to hear your practical solutions.

There has been like 1 million posts on this. The problem isn't how the school board draws the lines. It's how the county board pushes for affordable housing. Put a moratorium on it around Columbia Pike. Any additionally new low income housing should be located along Lee highway and zoned to north Arlington schools. It will take decades to fix at this point, but they need to start now if there is any hope to correct the issue.
In the mean time- have more choice options for south Arlington students.

Housing policy is school policy.

My first suggestion is that people of means who are considering where to live should think long and hard about what makes a school a "good school" and they should consider what exactly it is they're buying into with their purchasing power. And yes, I would love it if more people who live in areas with "bad schools" sent their kids to public schools, but they aren't going to be the change alone. I suggest people who consider themselves progressive/liberal should live their ideals instead of just writing checks.

Good idea and noble aspiration, but limousine liberals have been around for a long time and aren't going anywhere. Unless their snowflake's school in North Arlington gets too "diverse," that is.

Look at you, Miss Ironic, prattling on about diversity and then using the racist term "snowflake" to attack white children. Shame on you.

[Anonymous]

A good rule of thumb is just to walk away from a thread once one or more of the following terms start to appear: "lily white," "snowflake," "ghetto" and/or "Yale or Jail."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've got a pretty good idea how difficult it is to negotiate terms, space etc for AH. I however think it's naive not to acknowledge how much the county board has done to disrupt the free market in that part of town. Terrible social engineering.

So you would instead like them to disrupt the market in a different area to social engineer to your preferred outcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a comparison of the ratings for elementaries in North Arlington

Jamestown - 10
Tuckahoe - 10
McKinley - 10
Nottingham - 10
Science Focus - 10
Ashlawn - 9
Taylor - 9
Glebe - 9
Long Branch - 8
Barret - 4


Swanson middle school - 9
Williamsburg middle - 9

Washington- Lee high school - 6
Yorktown high school - 7

Really all this proves to me is that Arlington has been successful at quietly doing what Loudoun is now being publicly criticized for, which is concentrating all the poor and ESL students at a few elementary schools in south Arlington (and one in north Arlington). We are on the wrong side of history, and I hope that anyone reading this post understands how when they choose to buy a home in north Arlington "for the schools" they are passively reinforcing segregation. Please understand, I'm not saying everyone who lives in north Arlington is a racist. I'm sure many (most) didn't even think about this issue when making their purchase. But that is the unintended consequence. Poor people can't afford to live in any of the "good school" zones in Arlington, so they aren't the ones making this choice.

Wrong school district. This is what ACPS has done with Jefferson-Houston. Take a look at the boundary for J-H. It makes no sense. It was a clear move to isolate the poorest students at one school so other failing schools (at the time) could succeed. And it worked. J-H bottomed out and several other schools improved.

Arlington's boundaries have always made sense geographically. North Arlington has gotten significantly more wealthy and whiter over the last 20 years. That evolution has been driven by a lot of variables and has more to do with the economic development policies of the County than some grand conspiracy to keep poor kids out of N Arlington schools. Go back in time 30-40 years and put the metro above ground and make different planning decisions in the rosslyn-ballston corridor and the County would likely look a lot different and there would be more naturally occurring diversity.

So what is your suggestion? Should we bus low-income kids into non-neighborhood schools in N. Arlington? Or vice versa? I'm interested to hear your practical solutions.

There has been like 1 million posts on this. The problem isn't how the school board draws the lines. It's how the county board pushes for affordable housing. Put a moratorium on it around Columbia Pike. Any additionally new low income housing should be located along Lee highway and zoned to north Arlington schools. It will take decades to fix at this point, but they need to start now if there is any hope to correct the issue.
In the mean time- have more choice options for south Arlington students.

Housing policy is school policy.

My first suggestion is that people of means who are considering where to live should think long and hard about what makes a school a "good school" and they should consider what exactly it is they're buying into with their purchasing power. And yes, I would love it if more people who live in areas with "bad schools" sent their kids to public schools, but they aren't going to be the change alone. I suggest people who consider themselves progressive/liberal should live their ideals instead of just writing checks.

Please get over yourself. You sound so unbelievably self-righteous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a comparison of the ratings for elementaries in North Arlington

Jamestown - 10
Tuckahoe - 10
McKinley - 10
Nottingham - 10
Science Focus - 10
Ashlawn - 9
Taylor - 9
Glebe - 9
Long Branch - 8
Barret - 4


Swanson middle school - 9
Williamsburg middle - 9

Washington- Lee high school - 6
Yorktown high school - 7

Really all this proves to me is that Arlington has been successful at quietly doing what Loudoun is now being publicly criticized for, which is concentrating all the poor and ESL students at a few elementary schools in south Arlington (and one in north Arlington). We are on the wrong side of history, and I hope that anyone reading this post understands how when they choose to buy a home in north Arlington "for the schools" they are passively reinforcing segregation. Please understand, I'm not saying everyone who lives in north Arlington is a racist. I'm sure many (most) didn't even think about this issue when making their purchase. But that is the unintended consequence. Poor people can't afford to live in any of the "good school" zones in Arlington, so they aren't the ones making this choice.

Wrong school district. This is what ACPS has done with Jefferson-Houston. Take a look at the boundary for J-H. It makes no sense. It was a clear move to isolate the poorest students at one school so other failing schools (at the time) could succeed. And it worked. J-H bottomed out and several other schools improved.

Arlington's boundaries have always made sense geographically. North Arlington has gotten significantly more wealthy and whiter over the last 20 years. That evolution has been driven by a lot of variables and has more to do with the economic development policies of the County than some grand conspiracy to keep poor kids out of N Arlington schools. Go back in time 30-40 years and put the metro above ground and make different planning decisions in the rosslyn-ballston corridor and the County would likely look a lot different and there would be more naturally occurring diversity.

So what is your suggestion? Should we bus low-income kids into non-neighborhood schools in N. Arlington? Or vice versa? I'm interested to hear your practical solutions.

There has been like 1 million posts on this. The problem isn't how the school board draws the lines. It's how the county board pushes for affordable housing. Put a moratorium on it around Columbia Pike. Any additionally new low income housing should be located along Lee highway and zoned to north Arlington schools. It will take decades to fix at this point, but they need to start now if there is any hope to correct the issue.
In the mean time- have more choice options for south Arlington students.

Housing policy is school policy.

My first suggestion is that people of means who are considering where to live should think long and hard about what makes a school a "good school" and they should consider what exactly it is they're buying into with their purchasing power. And yes, I would love it if more people who live in areas with "bad schools" sent their kids to public schools, but they aren't going to be the change alone. I suggest people who consider themselves progressive/liberal should live their ideals instead of just writing checks.

Please get over yourself. You sound so unbelievably self-righteous.

Not the PP, but it seems his/her post struck a nerve with you.

[Anonymous]

I'm white and i use the term snowflake all the time as in the fact that your child isn't that unique or special

There are tons of smart, creative, athletic, whatever, children all over this area

All of them will be successful not because they are in AAP, or Noth Arlington, or taking 5 APs or test prepping

Simply because there are so many highly educated rich families around

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a comparison of the ratings for elementaries in North Arlington

Jamestown - 10
Tuckahoe - 10
McKinley - 10
Nottingham - 10
Science Focus - 10
Ashlawn - 9
Taylor - 9
Glebe - 9
Long Branch - 8
Barret - 4


Swanson middle school - 9
Williamsburg middle - 9

Washington- Lee high school - 6
Yorktown high school - 7

Really all this proves to me is that Arlington has been successful at quietly doing what Loudoun is now being publicly criticized for, which is concentrating all the poor and ESL students at a few elementary schools in south Arlington (and one in north Arlington). We are on the wrong side of history, and I hope that anyone reading this post understands how when they choose to buy a home in north Arlington "for the schools" they are passively reinforcing segregation. Please understand, I'm not saying everyone who lives in north Arlington is a racist. I'm sure many (most) didn't even think about this issue when making their purchase. But that is the unintended consequence. Poor people can't afford to live in any of the "good school" zones in Arlington, so they aren't the ones making this choice.

Wrong school district. This is what ACPS has done with Jefferson-Houston. Take a look at the boundary for J-H. It makes no sense. It was a clear move to isolate the poorest students at one school so other failing schools (at the time) could succeed. And it worked. J-H bottomed out and several other schools improved.

Arlington's boundaries have always made sense geographically. North Arlington has gotten significantly more wealthy and whiter over the last 20 years. That evolution has been driven by a lot of variables and has more to do with the economic development policies of the County than some grand conspiracy to keep poor kids out of N Arlington schools. Go back in time 30-40 years and put the metro above ground and make different planning decisions in the rosslyn-ballston corridor and the County would likely look a lot different and there would be more naturally occurring diversity.

So what is your suggestion? Should we bus low-income kids into non-neighborhood schools in N. Arlington? Or vice versa? I'm interested to hear your practical solutions.

There has been like 1 million posts on this. The problem isn't how the school board draws the lines. It's how the county board pushes for affordable housing. Put a moratorium on it around Columbia Pike. Any additionally new low income housing should be located along Lee highway and zoned to north Arlington schools. It will take decades to fix at this point, but they need to start now if there is any hope to correct the issue.
In the mean time- have more choice options for south Arlington students.

Housing policy is school policy.

My first suggestion is that people of means who are considering where to live should think long and hard about what makes a school a "good school" and they should consider what exactly it is they're buying into with their purchasing power. And yes, I would love it if more people who live in areas with "bad schools" sent their kids to public schools, but they aren't going to be the change alone. I suggest people who consider themselves progressive/liberal should live their ideals instead of just writing checks.

Please get over yourself. You sound so unbelievably self-righteous.

Not the PP, but it seems his/her post struck a nerve with you.

It did. The douche-baggery could not be ignored. Self-righteous people get on my nerves.

[Anonymous]

Snowflake isn't a racist term. At least I've ( a white person) never taken it that way. I assume it refers to being unique, fragile, and oh so very special. Not in a good way.
They can be any ethnicity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've got a pretty good idea how difficult it is to negotiate terms, space etc for AH. I however think it's naive not to acknowledge how much the county board has done to disrupt the free market in that part of town. Terrible social engineering.

So you would instead like them to disrupt the market in a different area to social engineer to your preferred outcome.

Not really, but we ( as a county) voted on the AHMP last summer. There was plenty of time for citizens to give their input about how much housing and where. As a county we've all agreed that 17.7 % is the magic number. We've also targeted Lee Highway as one of the areas for this housing to be placed. If that's what we've said we are going to do, let's give the western end of Columbia Pike a break and look elsewhere in the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a comparison of the ratings for elementaries in North Arlington

Jamestown - 10
Tuckahoe - 10
McKinley - 10
Nottingham - 10
Science Focus - 10
Ashlawn - 9
Taylor - 9
Glebe - 9
Long Branch - 8
Barret - 4


Swanson middle school - 9
Williamsburg middle - 9

Washington- Lee high school - 6
Yorktown high school - 7

Really all this proves to me is that Arlington has been successful at quietly doing what Loudoun is now being publicly criticized for, which is concentrating all the poor and ESL students at a few elementary schools in south Arlington (and one in north Arlington). We are on the wrong side of history, and I hope that anyone reading this post understands how when they choose to buy a home in north Arlington "for the schools" they are passively reinforcing segregation. Please understand, I'm not saying everyone who lives in north Arlington is a racist. I'm sure many (most) didn't even think about this issue when making their purchase. But that is the unintended consequence. Poor people can't afford to live in any of the "good school" zones in Arlington, so they aren't the ones making this choice.

Wrong school district. This is what ACPS has done with Jefferson-Houston. Take a look at the boundary for J-H. It makes no sense. It was a clear move to isolate the poorest students at one school so other failing schools (at the time) could succeed. And it worked. J-H bottomed out and several other schools improved.

Arlington's boundaries have always made sense geographically. North Arlington has gotten significantly more wealthy and whiter over the last 20 years. That evolution has been driven by a lot of variables and has more to do with the economic development policies of the County than some grand conspiracy to keep poor kids out of N Arlington schools. Go back in time 30-40 years and put the metro above ground and make different planning decisions in the rosslyn-ballston corridor and the County would likely look a lot different and there would be more naturally occurring diversity.

So what is your suggestion? Should we bus low-income kids into non-neighborhood schools in N. Arlington? Or vice versa? I'm interested to hear your practical solutions.

There has been like 1 million posts on this. The problem isn't how the school board draws the lines. It's how the county board pushes for affordable housing. Put a moratorium on it around Columbia Pike. Any additionally new low income housing should be located along Lee highway and zoned to north Arlington schools. It will take decades to fix at this point, but they need to start now if there is any hope to correct the issue.
In the mean time- have more choice options for south Arlington students.

Housing policy is school policy.

My first suggestion is that people of means who are considering where to live should think long and hard about what makes a school a "good school" and they should consider what exactly it is they're buying into with their purchasing power. And yes, I would love it if more people who live in areas with "bad schools" sent their kids to public schools, but they aren't going to be the change alone. I suggest people who consider themselves progressive/liberal should live their ideals instead of just writing checks.

Please get over yourself. You sound so unbelievably self-righteous.

I know. I'm such a buzzkill at parties. Doesn't make me wrong.

[Anonymous]

^^^ you are very right. This needs to be talked about. Arlington has plenty to be ashamed about.

[Anonymous]

Please, the school boundaries for several elemenatary schools in n. Arlington are drawn long and narrow to avoid dipping down to route 50. All the Buckingham affordable housing is placed on Barrett. all done for a reason. Just wait until the boundary committee gets going for the new south arlington school. I heard Talento at one of her campaign events answer a question basically saying that diversity should not dictate boundaries. So she is just fine with concentrating the poorer kids in a few schools.

So solutions? Decades ago some on the school board saw the path towards segregation this county was sliding into. It was suggested that the county should study the Cambridge model and perhaps implement it here. That would make all schools outside of a walk zone choice schools. A huge coalition of n. Arlington parents made it their life mission to kill the idea. So here we are, totally segregated.

Busing, oh the horror. It can work if done rightT, and maybe this board can do something right. But, the same group that showed up to fight to ensure as much affordable housing as possible, and free reign to continue building almost all of it along the pike, would kill any busing proposal. Nope, there are lots of people here who want to keep the pike poor and let the immigrants stay put in their immigrant communities. The westen pike is no more diverse than most of n. Arlington, just the majority is poor, not rich. They refuse to recognize the disservice being done to kids by concentrating them in Barcroft, randolph and carlin springs.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately the poor immigrant communities aren't interested in integration either. They don't even know what they don't know.
The people fighting for more affordable housing are older arlingtonians without children in the schools. Many of them live in south Arlington.
I say fuck it.
The poor immigrants want to stay together fine. The rich whites of north Arlington don't want to be diverse fine.
Just give my kid an out to choice into another school with better demographics. I'm over it.

[Anonymous]

A previous poster asked if APS should bus low income kids. APS already does that for middle and high schools. It will be interesting to see if the practice survives in future boundary changes when the new middle school opens.