Please explain how Henry parent position on CC makes sense

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When will APS just rent an office building in Crystal City or Ballston and turn it into Arlington Science High School? That is all we really can afford.

Did you see this article in the post?

Politics
Lowest US birth rate in 3 decades could pose risk to economy

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/lowest-us-birth-rate-in-3-decades-could-pose-risk-to-economy/2018/05/17/9183b4ce-5a0f-11e8-9889-07bcc1327f4b_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2ef3f1a253e2

Really, tell me how it would work for APS to "just rent an office building." APS can't afford to pay market rent as set by the developers for those buildings so they'd need to find a developer willing to forego the tax breaks they get for the unleased space and give APS a sub-market lease. But even without considering the tax breaks, developers will be very reluctant to do this because such a lease would have to be for at least 20 years (because the renovations required to turn office space into a code-compliant school will probably require bond funding, and bond funding can only be used for projects expected to have at least a 20-year life), and because most developers own more than just that one commercial space, and will be worried about what such a big sub-market lease would do to the market for their other commercial spaces.

Didn't a private middle/high school open up in a Ballston office building a few years ago? Stop wasting APS money on a 4th comprehensive high school.

https://thesycamoreschoolva.org

The Sycamore School is located at
The Arlington Center
Suite 300
4600 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203

5th - 12th grade.

The Sycamore School embraces an urban campus model, where students learn to utilize community resources to augment and enhance their learning experience. Located in the heart of Ballston, we are accessible to metro/public transportation and walking distance to five parks.

APS schools were a ghost town in the 70/80s. History will repeat itself.

The Sycamore School charges tuition of $23,000 per year, plus another $1k in other fees (and probably expects fundraising contributions as well). If APS got $24k+ per student per year from the county, they would have a lot more options too.

And don't forget they can choose their own students, and say on their website their program isn't a good fit for students with "significant behavioral, cognitive or language struggles." So if you're a child with more significant special needs or an ESOL student, you're out of luck there. Must easier to manage a budget when you can exclude the more expensive students.

Plus their program is capped at 60 students total for next year, with five classes of around 12 kids each, so don't need to rent much space. And they don't provide transportation. They employee eight people total (plus a dog). And this is only their second year up and running, so who knows if this will even prove feasible in the long run.

So there's our model of what kind of school has found it feasible to rent commercial office space. It doesn't resemble any of the APS schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When will APS just rent an office building in Crystal City or Ballston and turn it into Arlington Science High School? That is all we really can afford.

Did you see this article in the post?

Politics
Lowest US birth rate in 3 decades could pose risk to economy

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/lowest-us-birth-rate-in-3-decades-could-pose-risk-to-economy/2018/05/17/9183b4ce-5a0f-11e8-9889-07bcc1327f4b_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2ef3f1a253e2

Really, tell me how it would work for APS to "just rent an office building." APS can't afford to pay market rent as set by the developers for those buildings so they'd need to find a developer willing to forego the tax breaks they get for the unleased space and give APS a sub-market lease. But even without considering the tax breaks, developers will be very reluctant to do this because such a lease would have to be for at least 20 years (because the renovations required to turn office space into a code-compliant school will probably require bond funding, and bond funding can only be used for projects expected to have at least a 20-year life), and because most developers own more than just that one commercial space, and will be worried about what such a big sub-market lease would do to the market for their other commercial spaces.

Didn't a private middle/high school open up in a Ballston office building a few years ago? Stop wasting APS money on a 4th comprehensive high school.

https://thesycamoreschoolva.org

The Sycamore School is located at
The Arlington Center
Suite 300
4600 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203

5th - 12th grade.

The Sycamore School embraces an urban campus model, where students learn to utilize community resources to augment and enhance their learning experience. Located in the heart of Ballston, we are accessible to metro/public transportation and walking distance to five parks.

APS schools were a ghost town in the 70/80s. History will repeat itself.

The Sycamore School charges tuition of $23,000 per year, plus another $1k in other fees (and probably expects fundraising contributions as well). If APS got $24k+ per student per year from the county, they would have a lot more options too.

And don't forget they can choose their own students, and say on their website their program isn't a good fit for students with "significant behavioral, cognitive or language struggles." So if you're a child with more significant special needs or an ESOL student, you're out of luck there. Must easier to manage a budget when you can exclude the more expensive students.

Plus their program is capped at 60 students total for next year, with five classes of around 12 kids each, so don't need to rent much space. And they don't provide transportation. They employee eight people total (plus a dog). And this is only their second year up and running, so who knows if this will even prove feasible in the long run.

So there's our model of what kind of school has found it feasible to rent commercial office space. It doesn't resemble any of the APS schools.

I'm sorry, I made a mistake in there. It's actually 60 kids across grades 5 through 10, so more like ten students per grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When will APS just rent an office building in Crystal City or Ballston and turn it into Arlington Science High School? That is all we really can afford.

Did you see this article in the post?

Politics
Lowest US birth rate in 3 decades could pose risk to economy

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/lowest-us-birth-rate-in-3-decades-could-pose-risk-to-economy/2018/05/17/9183b4ce-5a0f-11e8-9889-07bcc1327f4b_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2ef3f1a253e2

Really, tell me how it would work for APS to "just rent an office building." APS can't afford to pay market rent as set by the developers for those buildings so they'd need to find a developer willing to forego the tax breaks they get for the unleased space and give APS a sub-market lease. But even without considering the tax breaks, developers will be very reluctant to do this because such a lease would have to be for at least 20 years (because the renovations required to turn office space into a code-compliant school will probably require bond funding, and bond funding can only be used for projects expected to have at least a 20-year life), and because most developers own more than just that one commercial space, and will be worried about what such a big sub-market lease would do to the market for their other commercial spaces.

Didn't a private middle/high school open up in a Ballston office building a few years ago? Stop wasting APS money on a 4th comprehensive high school.

https://thesycamoreschoolva.org

The Sycamore School is located at
The Arlington Center
Suite 300
4600 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203

5th - 12th grade.

The Sycamore School embraces an urban campus model, where students learn to utilize community resources to augment and enhance their learning experience. Located in the heart of Ballston, we are accessible to metro/public transportation and walking distance to five parks.

APS schools were a ghost town in the 70/80s. History will repeat itself.

The Sycamore School charges tuition of $23,000 per year, plus another $1k in other fees (and probably expects fundraising contributions as well). If APS got $24k+ per student per year from the county, they would have a lot more options too.

And don't forget they can choose their own students, and say on their website their program isn't a good fit for students with "significant behavioral, cognitive or language struggles." So if you're a child with more significant special needs or an ESOL student, you're out of luck there. Must easier to manage a budget when you can exclude the more expensive students.

Plus their program is capped at 60 students total for next year, with five classes of around 12 kids each, so don't need to rent much space. And they don't provide transportation. They employee eight people total (plus a dog). And this is only their second year up and running, so who knows if this will even prove feasible in the long run.

So there's our model of what kind of school has found it feasible to rent commercial office space. It doesn't resemble any of the APS schools.

I'm sorry, I made a mistake in there. It's actually 60 kids across grades 5 through 10, so more like ten students per grade.

APS gets plenty of outside funding and can scale better to lower cost per student. This would make a great option program with low risk. Arlington Science High. Right in or near the old NSF building.

This building would make a great satellite program for W&L. Move IB or create another great program. APS should not waste money on things like a 4th football team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When will APS just rent an office building in Crystal City or Ballston and turn it into Arlington Science High School? That is all we really can afford.

Did you see this article in the post?

Politics
Lowest US birth rate in 3 decades could pose risk to economy

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/lowest-us-birth-rate-in-3-decades-could-pose-risk-to-economy/2018/05/17/9183b4ce-5a0f-11e8-9889-07bcc1327f4b_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2ef3f1a253e2

Really, tell me how it would work for APS to "just rent an office building." APS can't afford to pay market rent as set by the developers for those buildings so they'd need to find a developer willing to forego the tax breaks they get for the unleased space and give APS a sub-market lease. But even without considering the tax breaks, developers will be very reluctant to do this because such a lease would have to be for at least 20 years (because the renovations required to turn office space into a code-compliant school will probably require bond funding, and bond funding can only be used for projects expected to have at least a 20-year life), and because most developers own more than just that one commercial space, and will be worried about what such a big sub-market lease would do to the market for their other commercial spaces.

Didn't a private middle/high school open up in a Ballston office building a few years ago? Stop wasting APS money on a 4th comprehensive high school.

https://thesycamoreschoolva.org

The Sycamore School is located at
The Arlington Center
Suite 300
4600 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203

5th - 12th grade.

The Sycamore School embraces an urban campus model, where students learn to utilize community resources to augment and enhance their learning experience. Located in the heart of Ballston, we are accessible to metro/public transportation and walking distance to five parks.

APS schools were a ghost town in the 70/80s. History will repeat itself.

The Sycamore School charges tuition of $23,000 per year, plus another $1k in other fees (and probably expects fundraising contributions as well). If APS got $24k+ per student per year from the county, they would have a lot more options too.

And don't forget they can choose their own students, and say on their website their program isn't a good fit for students with "significant behavioral, cognitive or language struggles." So if you're a child with more significant special needs or an ESOL student, you're out of luck there. Must easier to manage a budget when you can exclude the more expensive students.

Plus their program is capped at 60 students total for next year, with five classes of around 12 kids each, so don't need to rent much space. And they don't provide transportation. They employee eight people total (plus a dog). And this is only their second year up and running, so who knows if this will even prove feasible in the long run.

So there's our model of what kind of school has found it feasible to rent commercial office space. It doesn't resemble any of the APS schools.

I'm sorry, I made a mistake in there. It's actually 60 kids across grades 5 through 10, so more like ten students per grade.

APS gets plenty of outside funding and can scale better to lower cost per student. This would make a great option program with low risk. Arlington Science High. Right in or near the old NSF building.

This building would make a great satellite program for W&L. Move IB or create another great program. APS should not waste money on things like a 4th football team.

You think APS can just break up its secondary schools into 60-student units and stick them in commercial sites all over the county? Um, sure, okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When will APS just rent an office building in Crystal City or Ballston and turn it into Arlington Science High School? That is all we really can afford.

Did you see this article in the post?

Politics
Lowest US birth rate in 3 decades could pose risk to economy

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/lowest-us-birth-rate-in-3-decades-could-pose-risk-to-economy/2018/05/17/9183b4ce-5a0f-11e8-9889-07bcc1327f4b_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2ef3f1a253e2

Really, tell me how it would work for APS to "just rent an office building." APS can't afford to pay market rent as set by the developers for those buildings so they'd need to find a developer willing to forego the tax breaks they get for the unleased space and give APS a sub-market lease. But even without considering the tax breaks, developers will be very reluctant to do this because such a lease would have to be for at least 20 years (because the renovations required to turn office space into a code-compliant school will probably require bond funding, and bond funding can only be used for projects expected to have at least a 20-year life), and because most developers own more than just that one commercial space, and will be worried about what such a big sub-market lease would do to the market for their other commercial spaces.

Didn't a private middle/high school open up in a Ballston office building a few years ago? Stop wasting APS money on a 4th comprehensive high school.

https://thesycamoreschoolva.org

The Sycamore School is located at
The Arlington Center
Suite 300
4600 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203

5th - 12th grade.

The Sycamore School embraces an urban campus model, where students learn to utilize community resources to augment and enhance their learning experience. Located in the heart of Ballston, we are accessible to metro/public transportation and walking distance to five parks.

APS schools were a ghost town in the 70/80s. History will repeat itself.

The Sycamore School charges tuition of $23,000 per year, plus another $1k in other fees (and probably expects fundraising contributions as well). If APS got $24k+ per student per year from the county, they would have a lot more options too.

And don't forget they can choose their own students, and say on their website their program isn't a good fit for students with "significant behavioral, cognitive or language struggles." So if you're a child with more significant special needs or an ESOL student, you're out of luck there. Must easier to manage a budget when you can exclude the more expensive students.

Plus their program is capped at 60 students total for next year, with five classes of around 12 kids each, so don't need to rent much space. And they don't provide transportation. They employee eight people total (plus a dog). And this is only their second year up and running, so who knows if this will even prove feasible in the long run.

So there's our model of what kind of school has found it feasible to rent commercial office space. It doesn't resemble any of the APS schools.

I'm sorry, I made a mistake in there. It's actually 60 kids across grades 5 through 10, so more like ten students per grade.

APS gets plenty of outside funding and can scale better to lower cost per student. This would make a great option program with low risk. Arlington Science High. Right in or near the old NSF building.

This building would make a great satellite program for W&L. Move IB or create another great program. APS should not waste money on things like a 4th football team.

You think APS can just break up its secondary schools into 60-student units and stick them in commercial sites all over the county? Um, sure, okay.

Are you a moron? There are entire empty buildings in Ballston.

[Anonymous]

APS gets plenty of outside funding and can scale better to lower cost per student. This would make a great option program with low risk. Arlington Science High. Right in or near the old NSF building.

This building would make a great satellite program for W&L. Move IB or create another great program. APS should not waste money on things like a 4th football team.
The Feds didn’t want to pay the rent on NSF
but sure... great idea for APS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So i was looking at the input on engage and saw a great suggestion to convert gunston to a highschool and put a middle school at career center. Has that been suggested or looked at seriously at all?

is there room for a pool at Gunston site? the bubble?

Anonymous wrote:
Ha! And we thought the Barcroft and Columbia Forest people were have hissy fits now!
Wait and see what the demographics at Wakefield look like if that comes to pass!
Honestly, they’ve been such bitter jack asses, it makes me support this decision. Not even sure my house would be zoned there. I’m planning to Move anyway. I suggest the rest of you consider your options.

who's they?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the yearly budget for all Arlington county?
Is it like 500 million?

I thought it was at least 1B total.

Arlington County's approved 2019 budget is $1.276 billion. APS's approved 2019 budget is $637 million.

When APS is taking the lion’s share, you can see why the boomers, singles, and dinks don’t GAF about our problems.
If we want any of them to meet us halfway, we need to:
Get rid of the iPads
Increase class sizes
Pay to play sports

I am totally fine with all of this (obviously, if there is financial need, the school should provide loaners or waivers for fees); however, it's not clear how much of a dent this would make.

I am more upset with how recklessly the SB throws money around. Please tell me why the hell an elementary school needs a slide inside the school? I recall that year McKinley was told there wasn't enough funds for a much need media room. I also recall reading some article about "award winning European architect" for the new HB building. Why?!!! What's wrong with a good enough, safe building from American architects?

How about changing HB to high school only. Kick the middle schoolers out and back to their zoned schools. Isn't there more land at Stratford and Kenmore for additional trailers? (full disclosure we'd be zoned for Stratford).

And what about the idea of turning Gunston into a new HS and moving a MS to the CC?

These are the bigger type of ideas that are needed. It's really crazy to think of sending kids to school until 8 pm or starting at 6 am (all that research out there about how teenager's brains don't function well that early, etc and the move by APS to start HS later over MS, etc.). And it sounds like renting commercial space is unrealistic--given the PP's explanation about lowering market rate rents, etc.

The APS SB is delusional if they think they can just build seats and then somehow get the parents on board with a choice TBD later program.

Finally, get rid of this stupid swim requirement. Yes, I've heard swimming is important, but if you haven't learned to swim by 9th grade, it shouldn't be the public school's responsibility to teach you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So i was looking at the input on engage and saw a great suggestion to convert gunston to a highschool and put a middle school at career center. Has that been suggested or looked at seriously at all?

is there room for a pool at Gunston site? the bubble?

Anonymous wrote:
Ha! And we thought the Barcroft and Columbia Forest people were have hissy fits now!
Wait and see what the demographics at Wakefield look like if that comes to pass!
Honestly, they’ve been such bitter jack asses, it makes me support this decision. Not even sure my house would be zoned there. I’m planning to Move anyway. I suggest the rest of you consider your options.

who's they?

South Arlington home owners who would NOT be sent to CC if made neighborhood seats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

APS gets plenty of outside funding and can scale better to lower cost per student. This would make a great option program with low risk. Arlington Science High. Right in or near the old NSF building.

This building would make a great satellite program for W&L. Move IB or create another great program. APS should not waste money on things like a 4th football team.

The Feds didn’t want to pay the rent on NSF
but sure... great idea for APS!

Why does APS rent the Syphax center? Why does that make sense?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the yearly budget for all Arlington county?
Is it like 500 million?

I thought it was at least 1B total.

Arlington County's approved 2019 budget is $1.276 billion. APS's approved 2019 budget is $637 million.

When APS is taking the lion’s share, you can see why the boomers, singles, and dinks don’t GAF about our problems.
If we want any of them to meet us halfway, we need to:
Get rid of the iPads
Increase class sizes
Pay to play sports

I am totally fine with all of this (obviously, if there is financial need, the school should provide loaners or waivers for fees); however, it's not clear how much of a dent this would make.

I am more upset with how recklessly the SB throws money around. Please tell me why the hell an elementary school needs a slide inside the school? I recall that year McKinley was told there wasn't enough funds for a much need media room. I also recall reading some article about "award winning European architect" for the new HB building. Why?!!! What's wrong with a good enough, safe building from American architects?

How about changing HB to high school only. Kick the middle schoolers out and back to their zoned schools. Isn't there more land at Stratford and Kenmore for additional trailers? (full disclosure we'd be zoned for Stratford).

And what about the idea of turning Gunston into a new HS and moving a MS to the CC?

These are the bigger type of ideas that are needed. It's really crazy to think of sending kids to school until 8 pm or starting at 6 am (all that research out there about how teenager's brains don't function well that early, etc and the move by APS to start HS later over MS, etc.). And it sounds like renting commercial space is unrealistic--given the PP's explanation about lowering market rate rents, etc.

The APS SB is delusional if they think they can just build seats and then somehow get the parents on board with a choice TBD later program.

Finally, get rid of this stupid swim requirement. Yes, I've heard swimming is important, but if you haven't learned to swim by 9th grade, it shouldn't be the public school's responsibility to teach you.

It’s unclear how much it would save, but it would engender some good will. We have a serious PR problem.
Re: HB. I totally agree about that waste, however not totally APS’s fault. It’s that Lynch pin of Rosslyn revitalization. Lots of pressure from all over created that problem. ACDC, developers, CB , chamber of commerce ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

APS gets plenty of outside funding and can scale better to lower cost per student. This would make a great option program with low risk. Arlington Science High. Right in or near the old NSF building.

This building would make a great satellite program for W&L. Move IB or create another great program. APS should not waste money on things like a 4th football team.

The Feds didn’t want to pay the rent on NSF
but sure... great idea for APS!

Why does APS rent the Syphax center? Why does that make sense?

I wasn’t aware that it was walking distance to metro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the yearly budget for all Arlington county?
Is it like 500 million?

I thought it was at least 1B total.

Arlington County's approved 2019 budget is $1.276 billion. APS's approved 2019 budget is $637 million.

When APS is taking the lion’s share, you can see why the boomers, singles, and dinks don’t GAF about our problems.
If we want any of them to meet us halfway, we need to:
Get rid of the iPads
Increase class sizes
Pay to play sports

I am totally fine with all of this (obviously, if there is financial need, the school should provide loaners or waivers for fees); however, it's not clear how much of a dent this would make.

I am more upset with how recklessly the SB throws money around. Please tell me why the hell an elementary school needs a slide inside the school? I recall that year McKinley was told there wasn't enough funds for a much need media room. I also recall reading some article about "award winning European architect" for the new HB building. Why?!!! What's wrong with a good enough, safe building from American architects?

How about changing HB to high school only. Kick the middle schoolers out and back to their zoned schools. Isn't there more land at Stratford and Kenmore for additional trailers? (full disclosure we'd be zoned for Stratford).

And what about the idea of turning Gunston into a new HS and moving a MS to the CC?

These are the bigger type of ideas that are needed. It's really crazy to think of sending kids to school until 8 pm or starting at 6 am (all that research out there about how teenager's brains don't function well that early, etc and the move by APS to start HS later over MS, etc.). And it sounds like renting commercial space is unrealistic--given the PP's explanation about lowering market rate rents, etc.

The APS SB is delusional if they think they can just build seats and then somehow get the parents on board with a choice TBD later program.

Finally, get rid of this stupid swim requirement. Yes, I've heard swimming is important, but if you haven't learned to swim by 9th grade, it shouldn't be the public school's responsibility to teach you.

It’s unclear how much it would save, but it would engender some good will. We have a serious PR problem.
Re: HB. I totally agree about that waste, however not totally APS’s fault. It’s that Lynch pin of Rosslyn revitalization. Lots of pressure from all over created that problem. ACDC, developers, CB , chamber of commerce ...

Well, then all the Rosslyn developers, Chamber business, BID people, etc. should give APS some affordable office space in Rosslyn to allow the HB program to expand. Maybe we're too far past a redesign of the Wilson site to fit more than 800 kids, but you could rent very close office space (e.g., across the street) for generic classrooms that don't need special equipment. Then add another 100 more HS kids to HB at the very least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the yearly budget for all Arlington county?
Is it like 500 million?

I thought it was at least 1B total.

Arlington County's approved 2019 budget is $1.276 billion. APS's approved 2019 budget is $637 million.

When APS is taking the lion’s share, you can see why the boomers, singles, and dinks don’t GAF about our problems.
If we want any of them to meet us halfway, we need to:
Get rid of the iPads
Increase class sizes
Pay to play sports

I am totally fine with all of this (obviously, if there is financial need, the school should provide loaners or waivers for fees); however, it's not clear how much of a dent this would make.

I am more upset with how recklessly the SB throws money around. Please tell me why the hell an elementary school needs a slide inside the school? I recall that year McKinley was told there wasn't enough funds for a much need media room. I also recall reading some article about "award winning European architect" for the new HB building. Why?!!! What's wrong with a good enough, safe building from American architects?

How about changing HB to high school only. Kick the middle schoolers out and back to their zoned schools. Isn't there more land at Stratford and Kenmore for additional trailers? (full disclosure we'd be zoned for Stratford).

And what about the idea of turning Gunston into a new HS and moving a MS to the CC?

These are the bigger type of ideas that are needed. It's really crazy to think of sending kids to school until 8 pm or starting at 6 am (all that research out there about how teenager's brains don't function well that early, etc and the move by APS to start HS later over MS, etc.). And it sounds like renting commercial space is unrealistic--given the PP's explanation about lowering market rate rents, etc.

The APS SB is delusional if they think they can just build seats and then somehow get the parents on board with a choice TBD later program.

Finally, get rid of this stupid swim requirement. Yes, I've heard swimming is important, but if you haven't learned to swim by 9th grade, it shouldn't be the public school's responsibility to teach you.

It’s unclear how much it would save, but it would engender some good will. We have a serious PR problem.
Re: HB. I totally agree about that waste, however not totally APS’s fault. It’s that Lynch pin of Rosslyn revitalization. Lots of pressure from all over created that problem. ACDC, developers, CB , chamber of commerce ...

Well, then all the Rosslyn developers, Chamber business, BID people, etc. should give APS some affordable office space in Rosslyn to allow the HB program to expand. Maybe we're too far past a redesign of the Wilson site to fit more than 800 kids, but you could rent very close office space (e.g., across the street) for generic classrooms that don't need special equipment. Then add another 100 more HS kids to HB at the very least.

You’re adorable.
Don’t ever change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When will APS just rent an office building in Crystal City or Ballston and turn it into Arlington Science High School? That is all we really can afford.

Did you see this article in the post?

Politics
Lowest US birth rate in 3 decades could pose risk to economy

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/lowest-us-birth-rate-in-3-decades-could-pose-risk-to-economy/2018/05/17/9183b4ce-5a0f-11e8-9889-07bcc1327f4b_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2ef3f1a253e2

Really, tell me how it would work for APS to "just rent an office building." APS can't afford to pay market rent as set by the developers for those buildings so they'd need to find a developer willing to forego the tax breaks they get for the unleased space and give APS a sub-market lease. But even without considering the tax breaks, developers will be very reluctant to do this because such a lease would have to be for at least 20 years (because the renovations required to turn office space into a code-compliant school will probably require bond funding, and bond funding can only be used for projects expected to have at least a 20-year life), and because most developers own more than just that one commercial space, and will be worried about what such a big sub-market lease would do to the market for their other commercial spaces.

Didn't a private middle/high school open up in a Ballston office building a few years ago? Stop wasting APS money on a 4th comprehensive high school.

https://thesycamoreschoolva.org

The Sycamore School is located at
The Arlington Center
Suite 300
4600 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203

5th - 12th grade.

The Sycamore School embraces an urban campus model, where students learn to utilize community resources to augment and enhance their learning experience. Located in the heart of Ballston, we are accessible to metro/public transportation and walking distance to five parks.

APS schools were a ghost town in the 70/80s. History will repeat itself.

The Sycamore School charges tuition of $23,000 per year, plus another $1k in other fees (and probably expects fundraising contributions as well). If APS got $24k+ per student per year from the county, they would have a lot more options too.

And don't forget they can choose their own students, and say on their website their program isn't a good fit for students with "significant behavioral, cognitive or language struggles." So if you're a child with more significant special needs or an ESOL student, you're out of luck there. Must easier to manage a budget when you can exclude the more expensive students.

Plus their program is capped at 60 students total for next year, with five classes of around 12 kids each, so don't need to rent much space. And they don't provide transportation. They employee eight people total (plus a dog). And this is only their second year up and running, so who knows if this will even prove feasible in the long run.

So there's our model of what kind of school has found it feasible to rent commercial office space. It doesn't resemble any of the APS schools.

I'm sorry, I made a mistake in there. It's actually 60 kids across grades 5 through 10, so more like ten students per grade.

APS gets plenty of outside funding and can scale better to lower cost per student. This would make a great option program with low risk. Arlington Science High. Right in or near the old NSF building.

This building would make a great satellite program for W&L. Move IB or create another great program. APS should not waste money on things like a 4th football team.

You think APS can just break up its secondary schools into 60-student units and stick them in commercial sites all over the county? Um, sure, okay.

Are you a moron? There are entire empty buildings in Ballston.

Tell me, how much do you think it would cost for APS to lease an entire office building?