APS Fall boundary questionnaire

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^this is what happens when you have a powerful action group like Montessori. The MPSA building isn’t good enough for them.

Yep. There plan (hope) was for the new building that became Fleet to be their new home instead. They didn't win that one; so we're paying to appease them multiple times until they get what they want. Like their program isn't expensive enough already -- countywide transportation, small classes, teacher assistants for all classrooms, special equipment and curriculum, specially qualified Montessori teachers and ongoing Montessori training.

And before that it was what became Carlin Springs and after that it was the Ed Center. They won’t stop until they get the facilities they deem good enough for their program, aka, like the private Montessori schools. Enough already. The other option schools make lemonade out of lemons.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I'm in favor of making Claremont a neighborhood school. Now you'll ask me, "Where does the immersion program go?" The answer to that is, "I don't know." I rather agree with above posters who are critical of the need for option schools @ the ES level.

+1. Claremont is right where we need seats.

That's why the immersion program should have been relocated when they built Fleet.

+1 Fleet isn't a bad location for an immersion school, they should have put it there.

[Anonymous]

We don’t need to eliminate option schools, we need more of them. Look, all of the option schools end up with crazy long wait lists, and it isn’t because of where the school is located. Sure some parents just want oit if a neighborhood school, but many, many, many are actually there because they think the option school is providing a great curriculum. That is why we chose our option schools even though it had/has a lower ranking than our neighborhood school. So offer more Ats models, more expeditionary leaning, more Montessori, more Spanish immersion. Clearly people are clamoring for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don’t need to eliminate option schools, we need more of them. Look, all of the option schools end up with crazy long wait lists, and it isn’t because of where the school is located. Sure some parents just want oit if a neighborhood school, but many, many, many are actually there because they think the option school is providing a great curriculum. That is why we chose our option schools even though it had/has a lower ranking than our neighborhood school. So offer more Ats models, more expeditionary leaning, more Montessori, more Spanish immersion. Clearly people are clamoring for that.

Then why was there all that wailing about moving option schools? We don't need more option schools. This is the first year that immersion might not clear their entire waitlists and it's because they cut back the K Classes from 6 to 4. ATS is the only one that consistently has a crazy long wait list and it's expanding significantly with the move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don’t need to eliminate option schools, we need more of them. Look, all of the option schools end up with crazy long wait lists, and it isn’t because of where the school is located. Sure some parents just want oit if a neighborhood school, but many, many, many are actually there because they think the option school is providing a great curriculum. That is why we chose our option schools even though it had/has a lower ranking than our neighborhood school. So offer more Ats models, more expeditionary leaning, more Montessori, more Spanish immersion. Clearly people are clamoring for that.

What I don't like about option programs for elementary and even middle, to some extent high school even, is that a primary purpose of them is a different instructional model to suit different types of learners; and very rarely does one really know what instructional model is best for such a young child. Instead, our regular neighborhood programs should be incorporating a lot more of the appealing aspects of the option programs. That way, everyone benefits instead of just the lottery winners. Incorporate language - with an effective curriculum, not like FLES was - and expeditionary learning and the traditional approaches to subjects that are more effective at ATS, etc. Then, by high school, kids would have a better likelihood of better knowing what really suits them and if they'd like a more specialized program.

[Anonymous]

All I’m saying is make Drew an immersion Chinese program and see how quickly that school becomes over capacity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All I’m saying is make Drew an immersion Chinese program and see how quickly that school becomes over capacity.

Even with the occasional shots fired on and around school property, you're probably right.

At least the most recent one was in the middle of the night. https://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/release/police-investigate-shots-fired-in-green-valley-neighborhood/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don’t need to eliminate option schools, we need more of them. Look, all of the option schools end up with crazy long wait lists, and it isn’t because of where the school is located. Sure some parents just want oit if a neighborhood school, but many, many, many are actually there because they think the option school is providing a great curriculum. That is why we chose our option schools even though it had/has a lower ranking than our neighborhood school. So offer more Ats models, more expeditionary leaning, more Montessori, more Spanish immersion. Clearly people are clamoring for that.

What I don't like about option programs for elementary and even middle, to some extent high school even, is that a primary purpose of them is a different instructional model to suit different types of learners; and very rarely does one really know what instructional model is best for such a young child. Instead, our regular neighborhood programs should be incorporating a lot more of the appealing aspects of the option programs. That way, everyone benefits instead of just the lottery winners. Incorporate language - with an effective curriculum, not like FLES was - and expeditionary learning and the traditional approaches to subjects that are more effective at ATS, etc. Then, by high school, kids would have a better likelihood of better knowing what really suits them and if they'd like a more specialized program.

I kind of agree with you for elementary but I think we could really use more secondary option schools. Kids and parents have a pretty good idea of learning styles by that point and different kids do well in different atmospheres.

[Anonymous]

I honestly have no idea how common that sort of thing is. It sounds scary, but on the other hand within the 10+ years I’ve lived in Arlington a man murdered his wife in a “good” neighborhood I lived in and there was a murder on a playground I take my kids to.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:So what’s the answer just let Drew fail and continue segregation and redlining?

Did you have a suggestion? We’re all ears.

DP, but how about drawing boundaries that disrupt the segregation?
Or implementing a countywide ranking system for elementary school enrollment that disrupts the segregation?
And how about the County Board changing its affordable housing approach and stopping its modern day version of "segregation and redlining"?

This is the approved AH master plan. Page number 42 has the distribution for the next 2 decades.


https://arlingtonva.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2015/12/AHMP-Published.pdf

As far as I know, APS states they don’t have money to do bussing and that’s one of the reasons for the neighborhood schools. Someone else may know more on this topic.

This merely provides the current rationale for the segregation. The previous poster was asking for solutions. CHANGE is the solution. Changing the affordable housing master plan. Changing the utter dependence on the non-profit affordable housing developers to provide the affordable housing for the County and allowing them to continue putting more where it already is. Changing the public transit system to facilitate its use in getting kids and families to and from schools and just accepting that you're gonna have to pay for transportation, just like you have to pay for teachers.

As for the reasons for neighborhood schools, one of them is anti-diversity attitudes. "walkability!" predominates every boundary discussion because nobody wants to be districted to a "lesser" or "worse" school.
And people just like neighborhood schools. Budget is one of the excuses for not having to do any of the other things to desegregate the schools. They won't eliminate the option programs and their associated transportation costs. If we're so dire on transportation budget, we should be eliminating countywide programs or eliminating transportation for them.

True integration on the elementary level requires making the logistics of life harder for a large number of people, both low income and not. Let’s start with a lottery for high school first. That could actually happen.

People adapt. If the system were something different, people moving here would have still participated in it. It's the process of change that people oppose. Nobody likes going outside their comfort zone. But everyone going out of their comfort zone is essential for actual solutions. It's just pathetic that the opposition is "it's too inconvenient for me and my lifestyle" and even more pathetic when the rich people use "it's too inconvenient for the poor people" as the opposition argument to keep things the way they like them for themselves.

Arlington parents of all backgrounds have said over and over in surveys, public comment, etc. how important neighborhood schools (ie proximity) is to them. When you have two working parents, pick up at aftercare on the other side of the county just isn't feasible. That's more important to most parents than uprooting the entire system to balance numbers. Sorry, that's the truth. Start with the high school kids for the grand lottery experiment. If it goes well, move to the middle schoolers. Only then can you attempt the full lottery elementary idea.

Then maybe we should end options programs

That is what the Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer should do.

APS option schools just make neighborhood schools more inequitable. Like a giant sucking sound - of stable families leaving their neighborhood schools for a *better* option. APS should do better.

[Anonymous]

APS should have Chinese immersion not 2 Spanish immersion schools.

Drew can’t be fixed by getting rid of option schools. Even though there were complaints in the past many in the Drew zone still chose/ opted for Montessori and HB. Drew has such high poverty and ESL, community center attached, partying/ trash/shootings in lot, huge CAF scheduled for across the street! It’s sad and it’s not right but Fairlington fought hard to stay at Abington. Majority of Douglas Park and Columbia Heights walked with their feet to private or opt out.

Even if it were a great school, it’s still not a neighborhood school for Douglas Park and Columbia Heights or South Fairlington. It’s not just busy streets that need to be crossed. The walk to Henry, Fleet, even Hoffman Boston is very different than getting to Drew.

Even this thread quickly derailed into talking about other things. MONA wringing their hands about red lining and segregation can’t save this school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:APS should have Chinese immersion not 2 Spanish immersion schools.

Drew can’t be fixed by getting rid of option schools. Even though there were complaints in the past many in the Drew zone still chose/ opted for Montessori and HB. Drew has such high poverty and ESL, community center attached, partying/ trash/shootings in lot, huge CAF scheduled for across the street! It’s sad and it’s not right but Fairlington fought hard to stay at Abington. Majority of Douglas Park and Columbia Heights walked with their feet to private or opt out.

Even if it were a great school, it’s still not a neighborhood school for Douglas Park and Columbia Heights or South Fairlington. It’s not just busy streets that need to be crossed. The walk to Henry, Fleet, even Hoffman Boston is very different than getting to Drew.

Even this thread quickly derailed into talking about other things. MONA wringing their hands about red lining and segregation can’t save this school.

South Fairlington isn’t guaranteed to stay at Abingdon this time. They are restarting the process just for those 2 schools.

[Anonymous]

Ultimately, I just can't see how APS continues to have two Spanish immersion schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don’t need to eliminate option schools, we need more of them. Look, all of the option schools end up with crazy long wait lists, and it isn’t because of where the school is located. Sure some parents just want oit if a neighborhood school, but many, many, many are actually there because they think the option school is providing a great curriculum. That is why we chose our option schools even though it had/has a lower ranking than our neighborhood school. So offer more Ats models, more expeditionary leaning, more Montessori, more Spanish immersion. Clearly people are clamoring for that.

People are "clamoring" for more Montessori? More Spanish immersion? Really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:APS should have Chinese immersion not 2 Spanish immersion schools.

Do you need to have sufficient native Chinese speakers in a good immersion program? Not sure, just a question.