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APS Closing Nottingham
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Anonymous
Well said. My opinion of Arlington as a whole has been impacted by this. We are less rationale then I thought we were. Objectively, APS made a bad call. For lots of reasons. Some of which were valid. But still, objectively it was a bad call. I honestly can't believe how many in APS still can't or won't see that. It's bizarre. (And yes, I realize I will never change any of your minds.) |
Anonymous
I have a kid and I would say characterize a bunch of the screaming about virtual school as irrational. Overblown, at a minimum. It wasn't always easy, but sometimes it was nice tbh, and it brought us closer together as a family. No regrets. I understand not everyone had that experience and that it was harder for some families to be alone with their kids all day while they still had to meet work goals - that part wasn't a cakewalk and there were some long nights. But overall I support the decisions the school board made. They worked for us and they worked for other families I know. |
Anonymous
Nope, try again. I have two kids and both were in virtual school in APS. It was not easy or good for either one of them, for different reasons, so we were not fans. Even so, I thought it was the best decision APS could have made under extremely difficult circumstances at the time. It was so very clear how completely unprepared APS would have been to open up in fall of 2020. No screaming from me. The people who were calling for opening schools back in 20-21 were just unhinged. |
Anonymous
You know the saying hindsight is 20/20? I think that applies here. APS wasn’t some weird outlier. All the area schools followed the same protocol. You just don’t live there, so I guess you didn’t notice? Of the DMV districts, APS was one of the smallest, so we weren’t the ones calling this shot when the area schools all decided to do the same thing. Move on, FFS. It’s more damaging to your psyche not to put it behind you than whatever damage the closures caused. It was a once in a lifetime event and we all did the best we could with the information we had. As always, some decisions weren’t the right ones in hindsight, but such is life. And that decision has absolutely no bearing on whether or not Nottingham should remain open now that the area is underenrolled. |
Anonymous
+1 It was nuts. |
Anonymous
People's opinions on this also depend on the age of their child at the time. I had a kid who was sent home in K and did 1st virtually. Virtual school was not developmentally appropriate for that age group. It was obvious and predictable at the time that it was a disaster. VDH guidelines for schools said kids in that age group should be prioritized and brought in for in-person instruction and whatever "alert" stage we were at during that school year (I have blessedly forgotten the lingo and terms), VDH guidance (which followed CDC guidance) was to teach those youngest kids in-person. APS and other NoVA school districts didn't do it. I believe they didn't do it because their teachers were going to revolt about it and they are in a tight labor market for teachers. My child is now a rising 4th grader and I have 2 older kids who had normal schooling during those years. You can 100 percent see with this cohort that it was damaging to them. When it comes to reading skills, it's pretty hard to catch up after 3rd grade. There is a lot of research and evidence on this and the impact on this cohort of kids. At this point, it's facts. At a minimum, not bringing in special education kids and the youngest kids during that time period was wrong. It was wrong then and we knew it and it happened anyway. I don't think it's appropriate to whitewash this or pretend like it didn't happen. |
Anonymous
Plus, the way they treated teachers (during virtual class!) and other parents was inexcusable. |
Anonymous
OMG I’m sure I know you because you are the only person in the universe who says this. You also like spending all day with your only child, explaining the world to them and this was a little gift for you right? Learning loss from “virtual” school is so well documented now both in Arlington and nationally that most intelligent people shut up. Putting aside, the social and emotional harms which are equally well documented on not only children but also parents. |
Anonymous
Exactly |
Anonymous
Some school systems got it right. |
Anonymous
This posted to the wrong reply. It was for crazy lady who waxed poetic about her time with her kid during virtual. Apologies to this poster. |
Anonymous
No, they didn't. For certain groups of kids (K-2 and special ed), they did what was best for the adults and we knew it was bad for these kids while it was happening. What is the big deal to just say it. I'm not mad about that fact anymore. My kids are fine. Some kids are really not fine. But I think the revisionist history is shady. Just say what really happened. |
Anonymous
The ones with more space, fewer kids, ability to force testing (after tests were readily available), nutter politicians who denied covid risks? Falls Church City happened to have an entire extra building they could use to spread out. Maybe having some swing space can help with future pandemics. |
Anonymous
+1 I am still mad that Arlington vaccinated teachers BEFORE old people and then they didn’t go back. |
Anonymous
I'll revise: the best information - and resources - we had at the time. They started to bring back special ed kids in late fall. They were limited by staffing - teachers with vulnerable family members or with kids from other districts at home. Vaccines were a game changer. We were all there - it's not revisionist. 
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