Who said there isn't a North-South divide?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Solution: More apartments in North Arlington. More single family housing in South Arlington.

Cool, go find me a site in the Discovery zone where you could put an apartment building.

Exactly. People who advocate for this aren't realistic to think it's going to change the Discovery/Nottingham/Jamestown situation. All those folks say, put them along Lee Highway b/c they know they will all be sent o Glebe.

[Anonymous]

This is so rich... N Arlington blaming the middle class in S Arlington for the Board not helping SA (blaming CIP disaster on 22204) or stating the middle class and upper middle class in SA are selfish. That’s right it’s only honorable to move to N A and then opportunity hoard. You cannot live in SA unless you are super poor and Brown. Expert level gas lighting by NA to change the discussion. Similar to the AEM post on this when 4 or 5 posts in NA was already defending walkabity and denying it’s an issue. Gah there can’t even be a discussion of why 14 NA schools received awards and none are from SA without NA blaming SA. So glad I don’t live among you NA folks. Proud to live in SA among diversity and regular people. And so what if I’m UMC? Oh right only odd numbered zip codes can be that and good people....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Solution: More apartments in North Arlington. More single family housing in South Arlington.

Cool, go find me a site in the Discovery zone where you could put an apartment building.

Exactly. People who advocate for this aren't realistic to think it's going to change the Discovery/Nottingham/Jamestown situation. All those folks say, put them along Lee Highway b/c they know they will all be sent o Glebe.

The biggest obstacle to the issues that divide north and south is the status quo. When I learned that an senior APS administrator recently chose to live in the discovery zone, that told me how powerful the status quo is.

I'd simply like to see more economically integrated schools. The only ones we have now are option schools. So I'm in favor of more of them. Yes, that's an isentifiably SA white MC priority but that doesn't mean it's not a desirable one, or without benefits for the entire county. Making high scoring schools with almost zero free lunch students a priority benefits no one who cannot afford it and creates very powerful communities of interest that look out for hyperlocal interests. Likewise, the argument that we need to the "keep the community together" is basically a justification for concentrating poverty. It's nice to have choices, whoever you are. Option schools do that. The supposed downside is that option schools tend to draw UMC out of struggling neighborhood schools but the truth is they weren't ever going to that school in the first place. They'd have moved or gone private first.

[Anonymous]

Okay, when we’re back to having a budget surplus, the debt ratio is below 9.2% and we’ve caught up on seat capacity, let’s invest in more option schools. Right now we just don’t have the money. Rhetoric is nice, but it doesn’t do much to sway the people who have to work within the numbers.

[Anonymous]

It makes me sad to see so much hatred spewed at my NA school. Our PTA does raise a good amount each year and we also have tried to establish partnerships to help others and build community.

The Partner School concept can really work. Some highlights of what we have done:
- Establishing meaningful teaming at each grade level with our partner school.
- Principal-to-Principal coordination.
- Teachers plan joint projects and activities.
- We alternate doing activities between each school (so bus kids both north and south)
- Our school pays for things like visiting authors, etc. All kids/teachers benefit.
- At each activity, we pair up “buddies” (one kid from each school). My kids enjoy meeting new people and talk about how they saw their buddy from the other school and what they did.
- At the holidays, our Partner school set up a Sign-Up-Genius for individual children in need (anonymous - eg Girl, age 9). The social worker at our Partner school asked each family in need what their kids could use. Some families needed winter coats, tennis shoes, a new backpack, etc. We sent out the Sign-Up Genius to our families for people to sign up for a shopping list for an individual child. We filled it in less than 24 hours. Kids in need got new items and what they actually need (instead of hand-me-down, cast-offs that might not be quite right.)
- This Spring, we used a similar Sign-Up-Genius concept for people to sign up to pay the fees for Summer School or Enrichment through APS. Also great success.
- This partnership continues to expand. I like it because it is creating more meaningful bonds than only sending money or planning a fair event (as mentioned by a PP) that might require a lot of parent involvement. This involvement is really at the student and teacher level.

We were also really excited for the Glebe Odyssey of the Mibd team who went to the International competition and our PTA supported them, too.

I see people say horrible things about my school all the time and lots of assumptions about what our families are like - lots of very negative stereotypes. Just sharing a few ways our school has tried to partner and share with our community - despite what others may think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It makes me sad to see so much hatred spewed at my NA school. Our PTA does raise a good amount each year and we also have tried to establish partnerships to help others and build community.

The Partner School concept can really work. Some highlights of what we have done:
- Establishing meaningful teaming at each grade level with our partner school.
- Principal-to-Principal coordination.
- Teachers plan joint projects and activities.
- We alternate doing activities between each school (so bus kids both north and south)
- Our school pays for things like visiting authors, etc. All kids/teachers benefit.
- At each activity, we pair up “buddies” (one kid from each school). My kids enjoy meeting new people and talk about how they saw their buddy from the other school and what they did.
- At the holidays, our Partner school set up a Sign-Up-Genius for individual children in need (anonymous - eg Girl, age 9). The social worker at our Partner school asked each family in need what their kids could use. Some families needed winter coats, tennis shoes, a new backpack, etc. We sent out the Sign-Up Genius to our families for people to sign up for a shopping list for an individual child. We filled it in less than 24 hours. Kids in need got new items and what they actually need (instead of hand-me-down, cast-offs that might not be quite right.)
- This Spring, we used a similar Sign-Up-Genius concept for people to sign up to pay the fees for Summer School or Enrichment through APS. Also great success.
- This partnership continues to expand. I like it because it is creating more meaningful bonds than only sending money or planning a fair event (as mentioned by a PP) that might require a lot of parent involvement. This involvement is really at the student and teacher level.

We were also really excited for the Glebe Odyssey of the Mibd team who went to the International competition and our PTA supported them, too.

I see people say horrible things about my school all the time and lots of assumptions about what our families are like - lots of very negative stereotypes. Just sharing a few ways our school has tried to partner and share with our community - despite what others may think.

Which school are you at and which school do you partner with?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.apsva.us/post/virginia-recognizes-14-arlington-schools-for-excellence-in-education/

With the exception of Glebe, all north Arlington schools at all three levels made the list. Not a one in south Arlington. Yep, all schools are equally good.

Seems like there is an East-West divide as well. Yorktown and W-L are ranked lower than Chantilly, Lake Braddock, Langley, Madison, Marshall, McLean, Oakton, Robinson, TJ, West Springfield and Woodson in Fairfax.

We get it. You like subdivisions.

[Anonymous]

Science Focus should be turned into a countywide option school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

LOL! This is the best. Some Northies really don't understand how good they've got it. It's like mitt Romney making that 100k bet.

Do you really expect people to take you seriously when you use the word “northies?”

It’s also hard to take them seriously when you know they’re people who could afford to buy into better schools further out but would prefer to stay in South Arlington and have everyone else cortort around them to give their children “ideal” educations. The parents in South Arlington who really don’t have better options, with the kids who enter school barely speaking English and parents who can’t engage with the school because they’re working two jobs to afford their “affordable” housing, aren’t coming here to post in perfect English about how their high school might not have a pool. And when they express their views on what they want for their kids, it’s often not the same as what the UMC whites would prefer, so when the latter come on here claiming to advocate for the former, be very skeptical because they’re really just using the former as props for their own ends.

Of course if they all did that the schools in Arlington would be even more segregated, and the neighborhoods too. Plenty of reason to think that is not a great thing. I mean unless you have house further out you are trying to sell, I guess.

Totally, f those people for wanting the same thing as north Arlington people but not being so rich or having such wealthy parents.

The sense of entitlement is pretty breathtaking. The NA atttitide is "we got ours", immigrants are great, the rest of you, gtfo and move to Springfield, short commutes are for us and the cleaning lady. It's a wonder they vote for democrats. I don't envy their cognitive dissonance on that, there a little tea part in each one.

Nice deflection. No one said you had to move, it's just gross when UMC white people in South Arlington use their poor brown neighbors as props to advocate for what they want, calling racist anyone who disagrees with them because "Oh, the poor brown children," conveniently ignoring the fact that, when actually asked instead of presuming, those parents don't want the things the UMC white families are asking for in their name.

Ya know... I would have agreed with that... until
I went online and actually looked at Discovery elementary school.
Oh my! I promise you. If you took your cleaning lady on a tour of Discovery elementary school and asked her if she could have the choice between Discovery and Randolph, I promise you, she would love love love to have the opportunity to send her children there. Of course thats not what they are asked. North Arlington liberals like to ask the good familes of Barcroft Apartments questions like this:
Are you happy with your school?
Do you want to be ripped away from your community?
Do you want to be a minority in a school full of people who aren’t like you?
Are you scared that you might be deported if you leave your enclave?
Are you concerned wealthy students will treat your kids poorly?

Yeah. They aren’t putting up much of a fuss. They are APS’ favorite demographic. They don’t know what they don’t know.

Really, you think a parent who, for instance, doesn't have a car and has to rely on public transportation would rather send their kid to a school an hour by public transportation rather than the one within walking distance or less than 20 minutes by public bus? I'm sure they'd be falling all over themselves to do that every day for their kids who go to extended day, even more so if those kids currrently are watched after before/after school by a grandparent or other relative who is comfortable with a 15-minute walk but would be too anxious about an hour bus ride requiring two transfers.

NP. People make all sorts of logistical sacrifices to send their kids to TJ. So yes, of course, many s Arlington parents would happily do that for Discovery. Others wouldn’t. But the option should be there. Otherwise, there is, in effect a wall between the n and s. And the north, or at least some of it, is just fine with that.

[Anonymous]

The thing is, based on patterns over US history, if the south ever came north, the north would move to wealthy white Fairfax County. Which probably half of all mommies in the north are urging their husbands to do anyway. I just don’t see a bright future for Arlington schools. Maybe amazon’s imminent arrival will change that, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

LOL! This is the best. Some Northies really don't understand how good they've got it. It's like mitt Romney making that 100k bet.

Do you really expect people to take you seriously when you use the word “northies?”

It’s also hard to take them seriously when you know they’re people who could afford to buy into better schools further out but would prefer to stay in South Arlington and have everyone else cortort around them to give their children “ideal” educations. The parents in South Arlington who really don’t have better options, with the kids who enter school barely speaking English and parents who can’t engage with the school because they’re working two jobs to afford their “affordable” housing, aren’t coming here to post in perfect English about how their high school might not have a pool. And when they express their views on what they want for their kids, it’s often not the same as what the UMC whites would prefer, so when the latter come on here claiming to advocate for the former, be very skeptical because they’re really just using the former as props for their own ends.

Of course if they all did that the schools in Arlington would be even more segregated, and the neighborhoods too. Plenty of reason to think that is not a great thing. I mean unless you have house further out you are trying to sell, I guess.

Totally, f those people for wanting the same thing as north Arlington people but not being so rich or having such wealthy parents.

The sense of entitlement is pretty breathtaking. The NA atttitide is "we got ours", immigrants are great, the rest of you, gtfo and move to Springfield, short commutes are for us and the cleaning lady. It's a wonder they vote for democrats. I don't envy their cognitive dissonance on that, there a little tea part in each one.

Nice deflection. No one said you had to move, it's just gross when UMC white people in South Arlington use their poor brown neighbors as props to advocate for what they want, calling racist anyone who disagrees with them because "Oh, the poor brown children," conveniently ignoring the fact that, when actually asked instead of presuming, those parents don't want the things the UMC white families are asking for in their name.

Ya know... I would have agreed with that... until
I went online and actually looked at Discovery elementary school.
Oh my! I promise you. If you took your cleaning lady on a tour of Discovery elementary school and asked her if she could have the choice between Discovery and Randolph, I promise you, she would love love love to have the opportunity to send her children there. Of course thats not what they are asked. North Arlington liberals like to ask the good familes of Barcroft Apartments questions like this:
Are you happy with your school?
Do you want to be ripped away from your community?
Do you want to be a minority in a school full of people who aren’t like you?
Are you scared that you might be deported if you leave your enclave?
Are you concerned wealthy students will treat your kids poorly?

Yeah. They aren’t putting up much of a fuss. They are APS’ favorite demographic. They don’t know what they don’t know.

Really, you think a parent who, for instance, doesn't have a car and has to rely on public transportation would rather send their kid to a school an hour by public transportation rather than the one within walking distance or less than 20 minutes by public bus? I'm sure they'd be falling all over themselves to do that every day for their kids who go to extended day, even more so if those kids currrently are watched after before/after school by a grandparent or other relative who is comfortable with a 15-minute walk but would be too anxious about an hour bus ride requiring two transfers.

NP. People make all sorts of logistical sacrifices to send their kids to TJ. So yes, of course, many s Arlington parents would happily do that for Discovery. Others wouldn’t. But the option should be there. Otherwise, there is, in effect a wall between the n and s. And the north, or at least some of it, is just fine with that.

“I want my kids to go to school in a neighborhood I don’t want to pay for so my kids can be with nice rich white kids instead of those poor brown ones.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay, when we’re back to having a budget surplus, the debt ratio is below 9.2% and we’ve caught up on seat capacity, let’s invest in more option schools. Right now we just don’t have the money. Rhetoric is nice, but it doesn’t do much to sway the people who have to work within the numbers.

Yup, there's that status quo again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

LOL! This is the best. Some Northies really don't understand how good they've got it. It's like mitt Romney making that 100k bet.

Do you really expect people to take you seriously when you use the word “northies?”

It’s also hard to take them seriously when you know they’re people who could afford to buy into better schools further out but would prefer to stay in South Arlington and have everyone else cortort around them to give their children “ideal” educations. The parents in South Arlington who really don’t have better options, with the kids who enter school barely speaking English and parents who can’t engage with the school because they’re working two jobs to afford their “affordable” housing, aren’t coming here to post in perfect English about how their high school might not have a pool. And when they express their views on what they want for their kids, it’s often not the same as what the UMC whites would prefer, so when the latter come on here claiming to advocate for the former, be very skeptical because they’re really just using the former as props for their own ends.

Of course if they all did that the schools in Arlington would be even more segregated, and the neighborhoods too. Plenty of reason to think that is not a great thing. I mean unless you have house further out you are trying to sell, I guess.

K
Totally, f those people for wanting the same thing as north Arlington people but not being so rich or having such wealthy parents.

The sense of entitlement is pretty breathtaking. The NA atttitide is "we got ours", immigrants are great, the rest of you, gtfo and move to Springfield, short commutes are for us and the cleaning lady. It's a wonder they vote for democrats. I don't envy their cognitive dissonance on that, there a little tea part in each one.

Nice deflection. No one said you had to move, it's just gross when UMC white people in South Arlington use their poor brown neighbors as props to advocate for what they want, calling racist anyone who disagrees with them because "Oh, the poor brown children," conveniently ignoring the fact that, when actually asked instead of presuming, those parents don't want the things the UMC white families are asking for in their name.

Ya know... I would have agreed with that... until
I went online and actually looked at Discovery elementary school.
Oh my! I promise you. If you took your cleaning lady on a tour of Discovery elementary school and asked her if she could have the choice between Discovery and Randolph, I promise you, she would love love love to have the opportunity to send her children there. Of course thats not what they are asked. North Arlington liberals like to ask the good familes of Barcroft Apartments questions like this:
Are you happy with your school?
Do you want to be ripped away from your community?
Do you want to be a minority in a school full of people who aren’t like you?
Are you scared that you might be deported if you leave your enclave?
Are you concerned wealthy students will treat your kids poorly?

Yeah. They aren’t putting up much of a fuss. They are APS’ favorite demographic. They don’t know what they don’t know.

Really, you think a parent who, for instance, doesn't have a car and has to rely on public transportation would rather send their kid to a school an hour by public transportation rather than the one within walking distance or less than 20 minutes by public bus? I'm sure they'd be falling all over themselves to do that every day for their kids who go to extended day, even more so if those kids currrently are watched after before/after school by a grandparent or other relative who is comfortable with a 15-minute walk but would be too anxious about an hour bus ride requiring two transfers.

NP. People make all sorts of logistical sacrifices to send their kids to TJ. So yes, of course, many s Arlington parents would happily do that for Discovery. Others wouldn’t. But the option should be there. Otherwise, there is, in effect a wall between the n and s. And the north, or at least some of it, is just fine with that.

“I want my kids to go to school in a neighborhood I don’t want to pay for so my kids can be with nice rich white kids instead of those poor brown ones.”

No, I don't want my kid to go to a school packed with rich white kids. I want them to go to an integrated school where they will encounter and learn from a variety of people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It makes me sad to see so much hatred spewed at my NA school. Our PTA does raise a good amount each year and we also have tried to establish partnerships to help others and build community.

The Partner School concept can really work. Some highlights of what we have done:
- Establishing meaningful teaming at each grade level with our partner school.
- Principal-to-Principal coordination.
- Teachers plan joint projects and activities.
- We alternate doing activities between each school (so bus kids both north and south)
- Our school pays for things like visiting authors, etc. All kids/teachers benefit.
- At each activity, we pair up “buddies” (one kid from each school). My kids enjoy meeting new people and talk about how they saw their buddy from the other school and what they did.
- At the holidays, our Partner school set up a Sign-Up-Genius for individual children in need (anonymous - eg Girl, age 9). The social worker at our Partner school asked each family in need what their kids could use. Some families needed winter coats, tennis shoes, a new backpack, etc. We sent out the Sign-Up Genius to our families for people to sign up for a shopping list for an individual child. We filled it in less than 24 hours. Kids in need got new items and what they actually need (instead of hand-me-down, cast-offs that might not be quite right.)
- This Spring, we used a similar Sign-Up-Genius concept for people to sign up to pay the fees for Summer School or Enrichment through APS. Also great success.
- This partnership continues to expand. I like it because it is creating more meaningful bonds than only sending money or planning a fair event (as mentioned by a PP) that might require a lot of parent involvement. This involvement is really at the student and teacher level.

We were also really excited for the Glebe Odyssey of the Mibd team who went to the International competition and our PTA supported them, too.

I see people say horrible things about my school all the time and lots of assumptions about what our families are like - lots of very negative stereotypes. Just sharing a few ways our school has tried to partner and share with our community - despite what others may think.

Which school are you at and which school do you partner with?

We partner with a school that is ~75% FARMs. Our school is the one people disparage the most here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

LOL! This is the best. Some Northies really don't understand how good they've got it. It's like mitt Romney making that 100k bet.

Do you really expect people to take you seriously when you use the word “northies?”

It’s also hard to take them seriously when you know they’re people who could afford to buy into better schools further out but would prefer to stay in South Arlington and have everyone else cortort around them to give their children “ideal” educations. The parents in South Arlington who really don’t have better options, with the kids who enter school barely speaking English and parents who can’t engage with the school because they’re working two jobs to afford their “affordable” housing, aren’t coming here to post in perfect English about how their high school might not have a pool. And when they express their views on what they want for their kids, it’s often not the same as what the UMC whites would prefer, so when the latter come on here claiming to advocate for the former, be very skeptical because they’re really just using the former as props for their own ends.

Of course if they all did that the schools in Arlington would be even more segregated, and the neighborhoods too. Plenty of reason to think that is not a great thing. I mean unless you have house further out you are trying to sell, I guess.

Totally, f those people for wanting the same thing as north Arlington people but not being so rich or having such wealthy parents.

The sense of entitlement is pretty breathtaking. The NA atttitide is "we got ours", immigrants are great, the rest of you, gtfo and move to Springfield, short commutes are for us and the cleaning lady. It's a wonder they vote for democrats. I don't envy their cognitive dissonance on that, there a little tea part in each one.

Nice deflection. No one said you had to move, it's just gross when UMC white people in South Arlington use their poor brown neighbors as props to advocate for what they want, calling racist anyone who disagrees with them because "Oh, the poor brown children," conveniently ignoring the fact that, when actually asked instead of presuming, those parents don't want the things the UMC white families are asking for in their name.

Ya know... I would have agreed with that... until
I went online and actually looked at Discovery elementary school.
Oh my! I promise you. If you took your cleaning lady on a tour of Discovery elementary school and asked her if she could have the choice between Discovery and Randolph, I promise you, she would love love love to have the opportunity to send her children there. Of course thats not what they are asked. North Arlington liberals like to ask the good familes of Barcroft Apartments questions like this:
Are you happy with your school?
Do you want to be ripped away from your community?
Do you want to be a minority in a school full of people who aren’t like you?
Are you scared that you might be deported if you leave your enclave?
Are you concerned wealthy students will treat your kids poorly?

Yeah. They aren’t putting up much of a fuss. They are APS’ favorite demographic. They don’t know what they don’t know.

Really, you think a parent who, for instance, doesn't have a car and has to rely on public transportation would rather send their kid to a school an hour by public transportation rather than the one within walking distance or less than 20 minutes by public bus? I'm sure they'd be falling all over themselves to do that every day for their kids who go to extended day, even more so if those kids currrently are watched after before/after school by a grandparent or other relative who is comfortable with a 15-minute walk but would be too anxious about an hour bus ride requiring two transfers.

NP. People make all sorts of logistical sacrifices to send their kids to TJ. So yes, of course, many s Arlington parents would happily do that for Discovery. Others wouldn’t. But the option should be there. Otherwise, there is, in effect a wall between the n and s. And the north, or at least some of it, is just fine with that.

“I want my kids to go to school in a neighborhood I don’t want to pay for so my kids can be with nice rich white kids instead of those poor brown ones.”

It’s a public school, not a neighborhood. And yes, if there are meaningful performance gaps, motivated parents will want what’s best for their children. It’s not about rich white kids. It’s about better performing schools.