PTA wealth redistribution article in Arlnow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would people support the idea of choosing some specific enrichment programs for after school and trying to offer those at every ES? Like a coding class, robotics class, art club, drama club, and chess club. That way there would be similar after school programs offered at every ES. I know that our PTA helps to find and pay for these type of activities at our school. I understand that there are fewer of these activities available at the less well off schools, so joint funds to provide the same base after school activities.

There have been a lot of great ideas but shouldn't the PTAs start with working with APS on these "unequal schools" as Emily Vincent said? She said that the PTAs are making the disparities bigger so why not start with the core issue of her statement: Arlington schools are unequal.

Why not make APS address the disparities that APS has created? And then move on to balancing the PTAs money. Wouldn't there then be a clearer picture of what is really needed?

It sounds the Arlington Council of PTAs must be keeping some sort of list to make this very serious statement but I don't see it on their website.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would people support the idea of choosing some specific enrichment programs for after school and trying to offer those at every ES? Like a coding class, robotics class, art club, drama club, and chess club. That way there would be similar after school programs offered at every ES. I know that our PTA helps to find and pay for these type of activities at our school. I understand that there are fewer of these activities available at the less well off schools, so joint funds to provide the same base after school activities.

How will those "clubs" after school help the "poor" kids learn? What a waste, what those kids are structure, parental support, to learn the fundamentals of math, reading, etc. No one seems to care that a high percentage of APS students can't even read/read way below grade level, can't do basic math, but hey 20 grand of other parents' hard earned money is sure going to close those gaps. Why don't you focus on improving instruction at those so called "high need" schools?

Let me know when this stupid PTA thing will become reality, I need to start a private enrichment company so all the parents who stopped joining their PTA can send their kids to my business.

[Anonymous]

I think PTAs (and maybe pandemic money if there was any left) should pay for programs like this for any kid who is performing below grade level:
https://www.aspireafterschool.org/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Title I schools get hundreds of thousands of dollars extra sometimes close to a million to fund things for the schools.

To fund teachers

Not whatever they want

The cost per pupil at many low performing Arlington schools are way higher than the cost per pupil in other Arlington schools. No kid in Arlington ever missed any field trip because he/she can't afford it, no school has a limited supply of pencils, please stop making up fake stories.

You have data on that?
Regardless, even if it's true, the students at poor schools may not miss out on a field trip that happens at their school due to money (because others are paying for them); but they have fewer field trips because their PTAs can't afford to sponsor as many as other schools.
So, stop accusing people of falsifying facts and learn a little more about the broader picture.

They also don’t have a PTA money thrown at extra books for teacher classrooms, new playground equipment, field day, PE equipment, teacher grants for PD outside APS, extra musical instruments, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think PTAs (and maybe pandemic money if there was any left) should pay for programs like this for any kid who is performing below grade level:
https://www.aspireafterschool.org/

Aspire is a great program-- I donate to it regularly. But why should the PTAs fund it? If you want to donate to Aspire, then just donate to Aspire. No need to use the PTAs as the middle men.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would people support the idea of choosing some specific enrichment programs for after school and trying to offer those at every ES? Like a coding class, robotics class, art club, drama club, and chess club. That way there would be similar after school programs offered at every ES. I know that our PTA helps to find and pay for these type of activities at our school. I understand that there are fewer of these activities available at the less well off schools, so joint funds to provide the same base after school activities.

There have been a lot of great ideas but shouldn't the PTAs start with working with APS on these "unequal schools" as Emily Vincent said? She said that the PTAs are making the disparities bigger so why not start with the core issue of her statement: Arlington schools are unequal.

Why not make APS address the disparities that APS has created? And then move on to balancing the PTAs money. Wouldn't there then be a clearer picture of what is really needed?

It sounds the Arlington Council of PTAs must be keeping some sort of list to make this very serious statement but I don't see it on their website.

While I share the equity concerns surrounding PTA funding, we should keep APs far removed. They are completely inept and political. And Vincent is either a hack or deluded based on some of the emails she sends. Still, CCPRa should develop a policy where 10% of funds go to a redistribution pot for underserved kids. It doesn’t sound like a lot but some of these north Arlington school are swimming in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would people support the idea of choosing some specific enrichment programs for after school and trying to offer those at every ES? Like a coding class, robotics class, art club, drama club, and chess club. That way there would be similar after school programs offered at every ES. I know that our PTA helps to find and pay for these type of activities at our school. I understand that there are fewer of these activities available at the less well off schools, so joint funds to provide the same base after school activities.

There have been a lot of great ideas but shouldn't the PTAs start with working with APS on these "unequal schools" as Emily Vincent said? She said that the PTAs are making the disparities bigger so why not start with the core issue of her statement: Arlington schools are unequal.

Why not make APS address the disparities that APS has created? And then move on to balancing the PTAs money. Wouldn't there then be a clearer picture of what is really needed?

It sounds the Arlington Council of PTAs must be keeping some sort of list to make this very serious statement but I don't see it on their website.

While I share the equity concerns surrounding PTA funding, we should keep APs far removed. They are completely inept and political. And Vincent is either a hack or deluded based on some of the emails she sends. Still, CCPRa should develop a policy where 10% of funds go to a redistribution pot for underserved kids. It doesn’t sound like a lot but some of these north Arlington school are swimming in it.

Why should APS be removed? Why shouldn't they be made to address the "unequal schools" that they have apparently created? That's a far more serious issue than the 10K or 15K or whatever PTAs need to redistribute.

Solve the root problem of unequal schools in APS first - should be easy with all those federal funds they are swimming in.

How are the actual schools unequal? She asserted the schools are unequal so what does that look like for these schools? I'm not talking about what the PTAs do to supplement. At the APS baseline, how are these schools unequal?

She may be a hack but words have meaning and she should be made to explain hers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would people support the idea of choosing some specific enrichment programs for after school and trying to offer those at every ES? Like a coding class, robotics class, art club, drama club, and chess club. That way there would be similar after school programs offered at every ES. I know that our PTA helps to find and pay for these type of activities at our school. I understand that there are fewer of these activities available at the less well off schools, so joint funds to provide the same base after school activities.

How will those "clubs" after school help the "poor" kids learn? What a waste, what those kids are structure, parental support, to learn the fundamentals of math, reading, etc. No one seems to care that a high percentage of APS students can't even read/read way below grade level, can't do basic math, but hey 20 grand of other parents' hard earned money is sure going to close those gaps. Why don't you focus on improving instruction at those so called "high need" schools?

Let me know when this stupid PTA thing will become reality, I need to start a private enrichment company so all the parents who stopped joining their PTA can send their kids to my business.

APS does fund tutoring and extra school hours for many of those schools, provides a late bus, etc. What many poorer and immigrant kids do not get exposure to at home--even those kids whose parents DO value education--is things like art, music lessons, chess, trips out of town--things wealthier kids take for granted.

[Anonymous]

Back in the day, Jamestown had a "sister school" relationship with Hoffman-Boston, where JES would host H-B kids for special events, like author visits and some field trips. The JES PTA also had a line-item in the budget to help support H-B, where money would be donated from one PTA to the other to help with whatever the H-B Principal would tell the JES Principal was needed (ie: school supplies). Also, during the Jamestown Book Fairs, there was an opportunity for parents to buy books for the H-B teachers and library, and JES parents were very generous.

At some point a new Principal came to Hoffman-Boston and they told the JES Principal that they wanted the "charity" from Jamestown to end, so it did. Some JES parents found other ways to continue to contribute to H-B, but getting the kids together from schools at the opposite ends of the County was a good thing and I'm sorry it ended.

Reading through some of these comments, I can't believe the selfishness of some of you. The Jamestown PTA regularly has over $100,000 in income each year. You really are not willing to share a few thousand of that with a fellow Arlington school that has much less?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think PTAs (and maybe pandemic money if there was any left) should pay for programs like this for any kid who is performing below grade level:
https://www.aspireafterschool.org/

Aspire is a great program-- I donate to it regularly. But why should the PTAs fund it? If you want to donate to Aspire, then just donate to Aspire. No need to use the PTAs as the middle men.

If PTAs are looking to help the community without wasting money on CCPTA, Aspire is a good option

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back in the day, Jamestown had a "sister school" relationship with Hoffman-Boston, where JES would host H-B kids for special events, like author visits and some field trips. The JES PTA also had a line-item in the budget to help support H-B, where money would be donated from one PTA to the other to help with whatever the H-B Principal would tell the JES Principal was needed (ie: school supplies). Also, during the Jamestown Book Fairs, there was an opportunity for parents to buy books for the H-B teachers and library, and JES parents were very generous.

At some point a new Principal came to Hoffman-Boston and they told the JES Principal that they wanted the "charity" from Jamestown to end, so it did. Some JES parents found other ways to continue to contribute to H-B, but getting the kids together from schools at the opposite ends of the County was a good thing and I'm sorry it ended.

Reading through some of these comments, I can't believe the selfishness of some of you. The Jamestown PTA regularly has over $100,000 in income each year. You really are not willing to share a few thousand of that with a fellow Arlington school that has much less?

Nothing is stopping people from donating anywhere.

Taking money from a pot that people donated to on the understanding that it is to be used for X, and then using is for Y is unethical. Just remind people that they can also donate to Y.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think PTAs (and maybe pandemic money if there was any left) should pay for programs like this for any kid who is performing below grade level:
https://www.aspireafterschool.org/

Aspire is a great program-- I donate to it regularly. But why should the PTAs fund it? If you want to donate to Aspire, then just donate to Aspire. No need to use the PTAs as the middle men.

If PTAs are looking to help the community without wasting money on CCPTA, Aspire is a good option

With what APS spends per student - it is a shame that programs like this are needed. APS is a failure and the School Board should resign along with all of the reading specialists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think PTAs (and maybe pandemic money if there was any left) should pay for programs like this for any kid who is performing below grade level:
https://www.aspireafterschool.org/

Aspire is a great program-- I donate to it regularly. But why should the PTAs fund it? If you want to donate to Aspire, then just donate to Aspire. No need to use the PTAs as the middle men.

If PTAs are looking to help the community without wasting money on CCPTA, Aspire is a good option

With what APS spends per student - it is a shame that programs like this are needed. APS is a failure and the School Board should resign along with all of the reading specialists.

The students just need to log into Lexia Core5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back in the day, Jamestown had a "sister school" relationship with Hoffman-Boston, where JES would host H-B kids for special events, like author visits and some field trips. The JES PTA also had a line-item in the budget to help support H-B, where money would be donated from one PTA to the other to help with whatever the H-B Principal would tell the JES Principal was needed (ie: school supplies). Also, during the Jamestown Book Fairs, there was an opportunity for parents to buy books for the H-B teachers and library, and JES parents were very generous.

At some point a new Principal came to Hoffman-Boston and they told the JES Principal that they wanted the "charity" from Jamestown to end, so it did. Some JES parents found other ways to continue to contribute to H-B, but getting the kids together from schools at the opposite ends of the County was a good thing and I'm sorry it ended.

Reading through some of these comments, I can't believe the selfishness of some of you. The Jamestown PTA regularly has over $100,000 in income each year. You really are not willing to share a few thousand of that with a fellow Arlington school that has much less?

Jamestown and Randolph Elementary have now partnered for quote a few years - well before pandemic. During the pandemic, Jamestown organized support for the Randolph food assistance program for 15 months with many hundreds of bags of groceries donated, along with other much-needed items like masks, cleaning supplies, fresh fruit/vegetables, and more.

Partnerships work and can make a more meaningful impact on community building. Wealth redistribution just creates divides. I find it ironic that EV was happy to take donations that were funded by an unequal PTA that she seems to despise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back in the day, Jamestown had a "sister school" relationship with Hoffman-Boston, where JES would host H-B kids for special events, like author visits and some field trips. The JES PTA also had a line-item in the budget to help support H-B, where money would be donated from one PTA to the other to help with whatever the H-B Principal would tell the JES Principal was needed (ie: school supplies). Also, during the Jamestown Book Fairs, there was an opportunity for parents to buy books for the H-B teachers and library, and JES parents were very generous.

At some point a new Principal came to Hoffman-Boston and they told the JES Principal that they wanted the "charity" from Jamestown to end, so it did. Some JES parents found other ways to continue to contribute to H-B, but getting the kids together from schools at the opposite ends of the County was a good thing and I'm sorry it ended.

Reading through some of these comments, I can't believe the selfishness of some of you. The Jamestown PTA regularly has over $100,000 in income each year. You really are not willing to share a few thousand of that with a fellow Arlington school that has much less?

This right here is a N Arl parent mindset. The worst part is the I know this poster is all smug and braggy about this like it was some amazing program and obviously the savior of those poor kids.

The Principal was right to cut this off. It’s a terrible program. “Here poor kids we are so rich and better we will share some stuff with you BUT NO WAY could we ever change boundaries at any school ever at any time so that more of you might actually attend any school in N Arl. We have to protect our children’s learning and house values bc we work hard at the right jobs and your dumb parents haven’t figured that out yet so sucks to be you. And besides you poor kids are needed so that we can let our snowflakes have “charitable” and “ community service” opportunities. We love our poors!”