ATS Option Middle School

[Anonymous]

So don’t want to ruffle any feathers but given how great ATS is according to those posting in the other thread, is there a possibility that APS would open an option middle school that is similar to ATS?

[Anonymous]

They should but they won’t. We have it for montessori and immersion now. And middle school in APS is less than impressive.

Not sure where they would put it though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So don’t want to ruffle any feathers but given how great ATS is according to those posting in the other thread, is there a possibility that APS would open an option middle school that is similar to ATS?

No. But Arlington Tech will have a middle school component with the new campus. That is the plan, I believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So don’t want to ruffle any feathers but given how great ATS is according to those posting in the other thread, is there a possibility that APS would open an option middle school that is similar to ATS?

No. But Arlington Tech will have a middle school component with the new campus. That is the plan, I believe.

Is that definite? I thought they decided to give those seats back to HS because they need them there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So don’t want to ruffle any feathers but given how great ATS is according to those posting in the other thread, is there a possibility that APS would open an option middle school that is similar to ATS?

No. But Arlington Tech will have a middle school component with the new campus. That is the plan, I believe.

Would you mind sharing more about Arlington tech? I don’t know much about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So don’t want to ruffle any feathers but given how great ATS is according to those posting in the other thread, is there a possibility that APS would open an option middle school that is similar to ATS?

No. But Arlington Tech will have a middle school component with the new campus. That is the plan, I believe.

Would you mind sharing more about Arlington tech? I don’t know much about it.

It’s a popular STEM high school option program for kids who want to focus on making, designing, and creating with convenient access to the Career Center’s state-of-the-art facilities. The school’s philosophy is rooted in project based learning and collaboration.

Arlington Tech students participate in sports at their home high schools just like HB students. And they are graduates of both Arlington Tech and their home high school, again like HB students.

The new Career Center / Arlington Tech campus should be open in about four years. It looks stunning in all the published renderings.

(Of course, all APS and FCCPS high school students will still have access to the Career Center programs with bus transportation provided.)

[Anonymous]

^The original plan was to make it like HB, so grades 6 through 12. Maybe that’s still the case. But a PP mentioned the middle school may or may not be part of the project, with all the high school overcrowding in South Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Arlington Tech students can also take classes at NOVA thereby earning their two year associates degree a few weeks before their high school diploma.

[Anonymous]

Arlington shouldn’t even consider an ATS middle school until they (1) add a second ATS elementary sufficient to accommodate all the interested families or (2) guarantee that the students who did NOT attend ATS ES get a priority in the lottery for the MS.

But it could be a good idea if they make sure the opportunity to benefit from the ATS model is spread around! Seems like MS isn’t the best, except I do hear people love Hamm.

[Anonymous]

What would this even look like?

Why would you have one elementary going to one MS? Makes no sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arlington shouldn’t even consider an ATS middle school until they (1) add a second ATS elementary sufficient to accommodate all the interested families or (2) guarantee that the students who did NOT attend ATS ES get a priority in the lottery for the MS.

But it could be a good idea if they make sure the opportunity to benefit from the ATS model is spread around! Seems like MS isn’t the best, except I do hear people love Hamm.

So many things wrong with this post:
— honestly elementary school is probably the portion of your child’s education where it makes the least sense to have more choices. The “choice” is made completely by the parent and not at all by the student, who honestly by sixth grade may not even agree with the parents decision. It’s better to offer choices to middle and high school kids who are active participants in their education.
— there is no space for another option elementary school, other than converting a current neighborhood school to a choice one
— middle school and high school are much more crowded right now than elementary schools
— the best idea would be to make an existing title 1 neighborhood school into a second ats, and offer neighborhood preference. My thought personally is expand Randolph and make their IB program open as a countywide lottery for people who live outside the boundary. If they bill it as a second ats and don’t differentiate in the actual lottery, you could really pull Randolph up from being a title 1 school.
Honestly if you really wanted to stick with the ats philosophy, Jefferson’s ib program is probably the closest thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington shouldn’t even consider an ATS middle school until they (1) add a second ATS elementary sufficient to accommodate all the interested families or (2) guarantee that the students who did NOT attend ATS ES get a priority in the lottery for the MS.

But it could be a good idea if they make sure the opportunity to benefit from the ATS model is spread around! Seems like MS isn’t the best, except I do hear people love Hamm.

So many things wrong with this post:
— honestly elementary school is probably the portion of your child’s education where it makes the least sense to have more choices. The “choice” is made completely by the parent and not at all by the student, who honestly by sixth grade may not even agree with the parents decision. It’s better to offer choices to middle and high school kids who are active participants in their education.
— there is no space for another option elementary school, other than converting a current neighborhood school to a choice one
— middle school and high school are much more crowded right now than elementary schools
— the best idea would be to make an existing title 1 neighborhood school into a second ats, and offer neighborhood preference. My thought personally is expand Randolph and make their IB program open as a countywide lottery for people who live outside the boundary. If they bill it as a second ats and don’t differentiate in the actual lottery, you could really pull Randolph up from being a title 1 school.
Honestly if you really wanted to stick with the ats philosophy, Jefferson’s ib program is probably the closest thing.

Isn’t the problem with Randolph that you can’t get buses in there so it has just a neighborhood zone?

But agree. Make one of our title 1 schools another ATS with neighborhood preference. I’d love to see the demographics for the ATS wait list because it’s probably the same as the very diverse population. Also see what neighborhoods have the most kids on the wait list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington shouldn’t even consider an ATS middle school until they (1) add a second ATS elementary sufficient to accommodate all the interested families or (2) guarantee that the students who did NOT attend ATS ES get a priority in the lottery for the MS.

But it could be a good idea if they make sure the opportunity to benefit from the ATS model is spread around! Seems like MS isn’t the best, except I do hear people love Hamm.

So many things wrong with this post:
— honestly elementary school is probably the portion of your child’s education where it makes the least sense to have more choices. The “choice” is made completely by the parent and not at all by the student, who honestly by sixth grade may not even agree with the parents decision. It’s better to offer choices to middle and high school kids who are active participants in their education.
— there is no space for another option elementary school, other than converting a current neighborhood school to a choice one
— middle school and high school are much more crowded right now than elementary schools
— the best idea would be to make an existing title 1 neighborhood school into a second ats, and offer neighborhood preference. My thought personally is expand Randolph and make their IB program open as a countywide lottery for people who live outside the boundary. If they bill it as a second ats and don’t differentiate in the actual lottery, you could really pull Randolph up from being a title 1 school.
Honestly if you really wanted to stick with the ats philosophy, Jefferson’s ib program is probably the closest thing.

So it looks like you spent a few paragraphs to basically agree with me about making a second ATS. And yes, using a Title 1 school with neighborhood preference is a fabulous idea. I love that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What would this even look like?

Why would you have one elementary going to one MS? Makes no sense.

That’s not what I meant. I am talking about a middle school that adhere’s to the traditional philosophy: emphasis on the basics, high academic expectations, high behavioral expectations and focus on character building, direct instruction, a dress code, lots of writing, regular letter grades etc. Clearly that’s not what everyone is looking for which is fine. But there are many parents who do not like the direction APS is going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What would this even look like?

Why would you have one elementary going to one MS? Makes no sense.

That’s not what I meant. I am talking about a middle school that adhere’s to the traditional philosophy: emphasis on the basics, high academic expectations, high behavioral expectations and focus on character building, direct instruction, a dress code, lots of writing, regular letter grades etc. Clearly that’s not what everyone is looking for which is fine. But there are many parents who do not like the direction APS is going.

Also the school wouldn’t be for ATS graduates. They would have to apply like anyone else and get in through the lottery like anyone else.