The demise of McKinley ES (APS)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have it on decent authority that staff are not really going to tolerate the cannabalizng other school communities this go round. So I’d give up on finger pointing at Reed or Nottingham. SB just wants this over. Fast.

Why not? It worked last time.

[Anonymous]

Some of what they did in the last process is going to be undone/fixed. That’s the whole point here. It’s not about 1 or 2 planning units. It’s the whole system.

[Anonymous]

For sure. McKinley is a done deal. Mark my words. Those families are better off focusing on the upcoming boundary battle. Because that is where the action will be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For sure. McKinley is a done deal. Mark my words. Those families are better off focusing on the upcoming boundary battle. Because that is where the action will be.

Indeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If Mckinley families who want to fight this want any chance of winning, they need to either focus their efforts on moving the option school to Tuckahoe or eliminating an option school altogether. It is idiotic for them to potentially go after Reed because they will be cannibalizing their own supporters. The school is very clearly split and they desperately need neighborhood seats in that area anyway.

Consider Key as the option school to go after (phase out) in this case.

[Anonymous]

I'm a McKinley parent and I'm in favor of this move because there are too many kids at this elementary school now. It feels like high school for short people. This plan makes it smaller! Great! Now just get APS to back up what they're doing with actual numbers that aren't screwing this community again by sending the kids into schools that are at 110% capacity. That goes for Ashlawn, too. Fix the problem, spread out the kids, and please for the first time in seven+ years, don't overcrowd us. Otherwise, carry on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a crossing guard at the dominion hills pool along Wilson and ashlawn students are certainly walkers and crossing there.

Yes, tons of walkers to Ashlawn from across Wilson. There has always been a crossing guard there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a crossing guard at the dominion hills pool along Wilson and ashlawn students are certainly walkers and crossing there.

Yes. APS puts crossing guards where needed if it's to help those nearby get to school. I'm pretty sure kids even cross Glebe.

There's a crossing guard at Glebe near 66 at rush hour so yes, we can have real walk zones no matter what the road. That "can't cross wilson" bs is bs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a McKinley parent and I'm in favor of this move because there are too many kids at this elementary school now. It feels like high school for short people. This plan makes it smaller! Great! Now just get APS to back up what they're doing with actual numbers that aren't screwing this community again by sending the kids into schools that are at 110% capacity. That goes for Ashlawn, too. Fix the problem, spread out the kids, and please for the first time in seven+ years, don't overcrowd us. Otherwise, carry on.

Me too. What about the second play ground. Think we'll get that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a crossing guard at the dominion hills pool along Wilson and ashlawn students are certainly walkers and crossing there.

Yes, tons of walkers to Ashlawn from across Wilson. There has always been a crossing guard there.

This is due to a boundary change years ago (pre 2000's). The neighborhood used to be McK but volunteered to go to Ashlawn in one of the boundary changes as long as they gave them a crossing guard. The kids that attend Ashlawn further down Wilson by the park get a bus . One street of kids but yes, they get a bus because technically they can't cross Wilson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Top 5 School Buildings With Fewest Walkers:
ATS- 43
Carlin Springs- 67
Jamestown- 95
ASFS- 118
Tuckahoe- 135

McKinley still has 243 walkers, even with all the kids going to Reed. This decision isn't being made based on walkability.

McKinley's current walkers are in the planning units south of 66 that will probably be moved to Ashlawn. The 40% walkability in the Options are those walkable in planning units north of 66.

Some of them will also be walkers to Ashlawn, so they won't even become bus riders.

No, Wilson is classified as a street that only middle and high school students can cross.

They can change that with a crossing guard. I spoke with transportation about it at a previous meeting.

People bring up crossing guard idea all the time in every proposal but I can't remember the last time it actually was implemented.

My Ashlawn walker crosses Wilson with a crossing guard. We are the last block before the current McKinley boundary. What am I missing?
Did the poster mean kids can’t cross 66? Because they definitely can at Ohio Street or Patrick Henry.

Did they mean kids can’t cross Washington? Swanson already has a crossing guard at Washington and PH - they could work Jr high and then Elementary. Or put another crossing guard at McKinley and Washington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a McKinley parent and I'm in favor of this move because there are too many kids at this elementary school now. It feels like high school for short people. This plan makes it smaller! Great! Now just get APS to back up what they're doing with actual numbers that aren't screwing this community again by sending the kids into schools that are at 110% capacity. That goes for Ashlawn, too. Fix the problem, spread out the kids, and please for the first time in seven+ years, don't overcrowd us. Otherwise, carry on.

Ditto this 100! I don't mind the shift to Reed, but I am concerned that it looks like APS might just be shifting the overcrowding onto 2 new schools. I'm not sure about the logic of taking the 2nd largest school offline for neighborhood seats, unless they are going to treat all option school admission like they do HB (allocate # of seats per neighborhood based upon school population). I think dissolving Key and moving to 1 immersion makes more sense, but I don't have all the data. I don't want to point fingers at other schools, but it's more reasonable to eliminate an option school b/c the neighborhood schools are guaranteed to take anyone.

[Anonymous]

If you look at the capacity percentages after the move, you will see this is going to one huge CF. By disbanding McKinley entirely, they have Reed at 96%, Glebe between 92-104 and Ashlawn between 91-108%. Meanwhile, they leave Tuckahoe at 83/77%, ASFS possibly at 76% and the Jamestown/Disc/Nott tried in the 80's. They clearly are moving ATS to the wrong school. It needs to go into a smaller capacity school to not totally mess up the balance all over again. Either that or they need to move a heck of a lot more McK into Tuckahoe and Glebe into ASFS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you look at the capacity percentages after the move, you will see this is going to one huge CF. By disbanding McKinley entirely, they have Reed at 96%, Glebe between 92-104 and Ashlawn between 91-108%. Meanwhile, they leave Tuckahoe at 83/77%, ASFS possibly at 76% and the Jamestown/Disc/Nott tried in the 80's. They clearly are moving ATS to the wrong school. It needs to go into a smaller capacity school to not totally mess up the balance all over again. Either that or they need to move a heck of a lot more McK into Tuckahoe and Glebe into ASFS.

Tuckahoe is eventually going to be an option school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Top 5 School Buildings With Fewest Walkers:
ATS- 43
Carlin Springs- 67
Jamestown- 95
ASFS- 118
Tuckahoe- 135

McKinley still has 243 walkers, even with all the kids going to Reed. This decision isn't being made based on walkability.

McKinley's current walkers are in the planning units south of 66 that will probably be moved to Ashlawn. The 40% walkability in the Options are those walkable in planning units north of 66.

Some of them will also be walkers to Ashlawn, so they won't even become bus riders.

No, Wilson is classified as a street that only middle and high school students can cross.

They can change that with a crossing guard. I spoke with transportation about it at a previous meeting.

Yeah, Ashlawn has a crossing guard on Wilson so that the portion of Dominion Hills that attends Ashlawn can walk.