the Key/ASFS building switch...
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
Speaking of wasting taxpayer dollars - pretty low ROI for this $223K
https://www.arlnow.com/2017/06/15/school-board-to-consider-new-aps-superintendent-contract/ 8 years is plenty long enough |
Anonymous
I used to, but the ASFS/Key garbage has made the APS threads unreadable so now I check in once or twice a week to see if I missed a substantive development, and otherwise I leave this nonsense alone. |
Anonymous
It's going to be nothing but a headache for the next three years-- the whole "this keeps most of the ASFS together" line that APS is feeding everyone is such a misnomer. There are already more students currently attending ASFS than the Key building can hold after you take out the two classrooms needed to try and recreate the science lab. That doesn't include all the current Key folks who will stay at the current building (b/c they can walk/familiarity, etc.) regardless of which program is there. More importantly, the 200 Lyon Village kids who currently go to Taylor are within 1/2 mile with no major streets to cross-- APS cannot justify bussing those kids to Taylor when they can easily walk to the Key building. So what does this mean? It means that the "new" ASFS at the Key building will be nothing more than Lyon Village's neighborhood school -- and many of the fringe folks (who believe this swap was their savoir) will still be bussed to Taylor and Long Branch. And why move the "whole program" before the boundary change-- all that is going to do is royally piss off the over 1/3 ASFS population that has to move to the Key building in 2020 and then move to their new "neighborhood" school in 2021. So again, great for Lyon Village but sucky for everyone else. |
Anonymous
Some people will be zoned out, but it's not going to be over 1/3 of the ASFS population. The Lyon Village units you are talking about actually are more like 125 kids (units 23180, 23200, 23210). Also, I suspect this will end up being done in 2021, not 2020, and the end game is to move immersion somewhere else entirely once the data from the next two years shows they need two neighborhood schools . |
Anonymous
Every elementary school is going to deal with some people being zoned out and others being zoned in over the next few years. You are not so special that you should be exempt. The swap reduces the number of students who will be rezoned out or in. |
Anonymous
|
no not really - all the swap does is move about half of the school together
the other half (who probably are unaware) will be going elsewhere once they actually do a swap and many of the current families who APS thinks they are pleasing will be gone on to middle school. what a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars. to gain 50 seats (40 of which not really gained bc current walkers of Key will take those spots because we already know people like to walk to school) because we know loosing at least 50 create anything close in comparison to that current science lab; so net gain 10 seats for all this hassle. and an incredibly white school to show for it. that's what we need, another white rich NA school. great idea APS! |
Anonymous
Actually, no. There are several elementary schools who will not have new boundaries drawn and several others who are being boundaried out to attend a brand new school. This is a very different situation that what you describe. But hey, who cares, Lyon Village is taken care of and that's all that matters. We all know that. |
Anonymous
Can you provide some numbers to support your claims that only half would move? Specific planning units zoned in and out would be good. Also, need support for the claim that it would create an incredibly white school, because that's not consistent with any demographic data I've seen. Everything you need should be on the APS website here https://www.apsva.us/asf-key-school-building-swap/, here https://www.apsva.us/statistics/ and here https://www.apsva.us/boundary-locator/. Thanks! |
Anonymous
| Drink the Kool-Aid |
Anonymous
So I’m 90% sure this person is a troll. The lab can be made smaller. Or they can just get rid of it— I’d rather see more worthwhile science enrichment time be spent in their regular classrooms than having an hour in a lab where they do meaningless activities like draw pictures about the weather. Pp is right that there are over 100 Taylor kids moving to asfs because they are in keys existing walk zone. The key building has 100 more seats though, and zoning out 100 kids is in no way as bad as it would have been if the school stayed where it was. There were 250 kids that needed to move to keep asfs where it is. As other people have pointed out, a few units will have to leave but it’s not the 80% of the school that would have had to leave otherwise. Also I’m not sure why people think that the existing key students wouldn’t stay with the program if it moves to the asfs building. The key and asfs buildings are a little less than a mile away from each other. You’re saying that immersion isn’t worth an extra two minute bus ride (since most kids at key are bus riders anyways), or an extra ten minute walk. If people are saying they only picked the location because it was convenient, as a tax payer, I’m not sure why we are spending money on it. |
Anonymous
You are spending money as a taxpayer on a per pupil basis. This is the same regardless of what type of seat. Option seats are same cost as neighborhood seats. Comments like this clearly show ignorance. People don't even understand our program yet are quick to pass judgement on what should happen to it. Our program at Key disproportionately benefits ELL children as they achieve higher academic success as a result of Immersion and our program requires 50/50 split and moving it to ASFS does not help this. But no one cares about our community, that is very clear from APS's post after post about how great this is for ASFS kids. What a sham! |
Anonymous
| The biggest problem for immersion is that the swap, as currently envisioned/planned, means that the immersion program will have to shrink. There are going to be a lot of kids who are interested in immersion who won't be able to get a spot. That may not be as important to some, but its a real cost to the school system as a whole. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
Absolutely agree that no one is that special that they should be exempt from the boundary process/having to move schools. However, I haven't seen any thorough analysis or support that the swap will actually reduce the number of kids that will be rezoned out or in. Yes, on paper it looks like the swap will put the school closer to 80% of the current ASFS population. But after adjustments are made to account for (i) losing class space for the science lab; (ii) adding in the Taylor Lyon Village students; (iii) adding in the current Key students who leave Immersion to stay with the building; (iv) adding in new folks who move/live in the attendance area, then (iv) subtracting out the current 20% of ASFS who are not in the Key zone, it is likely that the ASFS in 2021 will have only half, at best, of its current population or families. And the swap does nothing to address that all of Key has to move-- yes, on paper you can argue that the whole program will move together but there will be losses for those who can and do opt to stay at the Key building-- did APS even attempt to realistically figure those numbers out? And while on paper the swap may reduce the number of schools involved (i.e., the Ashlawn and Taylor units near ASFS can continue with their current boundaries when the swap occurs), that entire area is going to be subject to rezoning in 2021--- so the swap doesn't do much but give many at ASFS a false sense of security that they are keeping their school community together and getting a bigger school to grow (although wait until they figure out that the Key cafeteria is smaller so they'll have extended lunchtimes and a quarter of their classrooms will now be open!). It seems as if APS is throwing anything out there that it thinks will appease the most and, again, on paper, the swap does this. But in reality, it will be a logistical nightmare, an expensive (taxpayer) burden, and, at the end of the day, most of the kids living in that area are all going to be rezoned anyway-- Lyon Village Taylor will go to new ASFS, Cherrydale Taylor/Ashlawn will end up at Glebe, Rosslyn/Courthouse will end up at Taylor or Long Branch, and many of the current and local Key may end up at new ASFS. So the swap doesn't really help keep "current" communities together as Dr. Murphy touted. Maybe for one year, but then come 2021, all bets are off. So, is wasting all the time and taxpayer money on the swap worth the return? You might think this is just an ASFS/Key issue so who cares, no one should be exempt from moving but everyone in Arlington should care because we are going to PAY for this swap. And we're doing it under the guise that its the least disruptive for all those who attend or live around ASFS/Key-- which, I do not think is necessarily true and, for those who don't live in the area, seems like a slap in the face that APS is going to extraordinary lengths and spending money it doesn't have to keep the "current" ASFS community happy. As you say, none of us are that special that we should be exempt from the changes that are coming. I just don't understand why we are going to spend so many resources on moving schools just to lessen the pain of the boundary changes on a small subset of taxpayers. |
Anonymous
Which neighborhood elementary schools are exempt from both the 2018 and 2020 boundary redrawings? |