APS middle school boundary process

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't anyone want to go to Williamsburg?

It seems like families are doing everything possible not to go there. Is it the teachers, drugs, gangs? I thought it used to be a good school.

If families were doing everything possible not to go there, the Williamsburg area wouldn't have some of the highest home values in the area. Don't take anonymous internet posters as necessarily representative of the population as a whole.

The truly wealthy families leave for private after Jamestown. Only the miserable strivers are left and they work so much that their kids go unsupervised. Drugs and scarily early sexual activity.

There you have it, folks. You’re either truly wealthy or a miserable (and neglectful) striver. There is no middle ground. I think I have to move.

There is in south Arlington, but you pathetic strivers are too freaked out by Kenmore to enjoy it.

Your racism is showing. There are plenty of worse schools, but I get that the melanin scares you.
Kenmore and Wakefield aren't the middle ground. They are among the worst schools in NoVa and to be avoided if at all possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't anyone want to go to Williamsburg?

It seems like families are doing everything possible not to go there. Is it the teachers, drugs, gangs? I thought it used to be a good school.

If families were doing everything possible not to go there, the Williamsburg area wouldn't have some of the highest home values in the area. Don't take anonymous internet posters as necessarily representative of the population as a whole.

The truly wealthy families leave for private after Jamestown. Only the miserable strivers are left and they work so much that their kids go unsupervised. Drugs and scarily early sexual activity.

There you have it, folks. You’re either truly wealthy or a miserable (and neglectful) striver. There is no middle ground. I think I have to move.

There is in south Arlington, but you pathetic strivers are too freaked out by Kenmore to enjoy it.

Kenmore and Wakefield aren't the middle ground. They are among the worst schools in NoVa and to be avoided if at all possible.

Your racism is showing. There are plenty of worse schools, but I get that the melanin scares you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't anyone want to go to Williamsburg?

It seems like families are doing everything possible not to go there. Is it the teachers, drugs, gangs? I thought it used to be a good school.

If families were doing everything possible not to go there, the Williamsburg area wouldn't have some of the highest home values in the area. Don't take anonymous internet posters as necessarily representative of the population as a whole.

I suspect that it is mostly about logistics. Williamsburg is out of the way for most families where both parents work, esp if both parents are in DC. Your kid misses the bus-- WMS is a lot of backtracking. And you can easily swing by Swanson or Stratford on the way home and pick up your kid from an afterschool activity or check-in. Not so much with WMS. Also, Swanson and Stratford are accessible via public transport, while WMS is not (or at least not as easily). And with DC traffic, those extra 15-20 min can make a big difference when you are trying to make a morning meeting in DC or a 6pm pickup time.

If anything, your argument would suggest home values should be higher near those other schools. People are paying a premium to live in those neighborhoods despite it being less convenient.

On a square foot to square foot basis, the home values in 22205 have come up to 22207 levels over the past 10 years. There are more larger houses in 22207, which is why the home prices are higher in the aggregate. But if you look at comparably-sized homes, there actually is not much difference in price anymore between the two zip codes.

LOL. Yes, there are more large homes in 22207 because those with the financial means to choose where they buy a lot to build their new home are choosing 22207. If 22205 were more desirable, they'd be building them all there instead.

PP- you are missing the point though. The original question is why are so many Swanson and Stratford families fighting to stay out of Williamsburg? As I said above, I think it has more to do with proximity (again) than anything about Williamsburg's student body. Life is just easier for a dual-career couple when you live near walkable schools and public transit. That is also one of the main reasons why many Westover families fought moving to Kenmore-- getting down to Carlin Springs Rd to pick up a middle school kid from extracurricular activities by 6pm is nearly impossible when you rely on public transit to get home from work, which many families in that area do because the EFC metro is so close and the ART and Metro bus service is so easy to use in that area. It doesn't have to do with home values, or neighborhoods like EFC (which is right next to the metro) wouldn't be fighting so hard against moving to Williamsburg. Arlington families place a high value on proximity generally (and the shorter commutes that come with it) or we'd all be living in Fairfax County where we could find bigger houses on bigger lots in comparable schools for less money. I know that fact aggravates the busing advocates but it is not a part of Arlington's culture that you will be able to change. It is why the solution to more diverse schools has to come primarily from changing housing patterns and making sensible investments in public transit-- not moving kids around on school buses when APS is already facing significant fiscal constraints.

[Anonymous]

This whole issue is really just a slow campaign by moderate democrats to put a stop to the AH gravy train.
It’s the only way pointedly demonstrate that the decisions the county board has made are irresponsible.
The school can’t make housing policy.
People want to be near their schools.
The county board is why your school may or may not suck.

Would have been so much better if the boundary change had happened before the AHMP was being voted on...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any details on Reid Goldstein's proposal? He is the last chance to balance diversity across all of the middle schools with hope and change. What the APS staff has proposed is just trying to appease the loudest snowflake parents. Come Arlington let's have some hope and change - and not this proposed Hypersegregation.

Define “balance”. Without full-on cross-County bussing for all kids at all schools all you do is protect the wealthiest and whitest neighborhoods while shuffling the rest of the kids around despite what families have said they want. And almost everyone of all demographics has said they want neighborhood schools for their kids.

Tons of pissy UMC white parents that couldn’t afford the GREAT white north and had to settle for Westover. They bet the better part of a million dollars they were avoiding diversity. They will be damned if their child goes to Kenmore.
Arlington really is the worst.

You are an idiot. No ne actually in Westover was ever going to mov out the f the middle school IN Westover. Other neighborhoods on the other side of 66 were up in the air. Are you bitter bc you have to get in your car to get to anything?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't anyone want to go to Williamsburg?

It seems like families are doing everything possible not to go there. Is it the teachers, drugs, gangs? I thought it used to be a good school.

If families were doing everything possible not to go there, the Williamsburg area wouldn't have some of the highest home values in the area. Don't take anonymous internet posters as necessarily representative of the population as a whole.

I suspect that it is mostly about logistics. Williamsburg is out of the way for most families where both parents work, esp if both parents are in DC. Your kid misses the bus-- WMS is a lot of backtracking. And you can easily swing by Swanson or Stratford on the way home and pick up your kid from an afterschool activity or check-in. Not so much with WMS. Also, Swanson and Stratford are accessible via public transport, while WMS is not (or at least not as easily). And with DC traffic, those extra 15-20 min can make a big difference when you are trying to make a morning meeting in DC or a 6pm pickup time.

If anything, your argument would suggest home values should be higher near those other schools. People are paying a premium to live in those neighborhoods despite it being less convenient.

On a square foot to square foot basis, the home values in 22205 have come up to 22207 levels over the past 10 years. There are more larger houses in 22207, which is why the home prices are higher in the aggregate. But if you look at comparably-sized homes, there actually is not much difference in price anymore between the two zip codes.

LOL. Yes, there are more large homes in 22207 because those with the financial means to choose where they buy a lot to build their new home are choosing 22207. If 22205 were more desirable, they'd be building them all there instead.

PP- you are missing the point though. The original question is why are so many Swanson and Stratford families fighting to stay out of Williamsburg? As I said above, I think it has more to do with proximity (again) than anything about Williamsburg's student body. Life is just easier for a dual-career couple when you live near walkable schools and public transit. That is also one of the main reasons why many Westover families fought moving to Kenmore-- getting down to Carlin Springs Rd to pick up a middle school kid from extracurricular activities by 6pm is nearly impossible when you rely on public transit to get home from work, which many families in that area do because the EFC metro is so close and the ART and Metro bus service is so easy to use in that area. It doesn't have to do with home values, or neighborhoods like EFC (which is right next to the metro) wouldn't be fighting so hard against moving to Williamsburg. Arlington families place a high value on proximity generally (and the shorter commutes that come with it) or we'd all be living in Fairfax County where we could find bigger houses on bigger lots in comparable schools for less money. I know that fact aggravates the busing advocates but it is not a part of Arlington's culture that you will be able to change. It is why the solution to more diverse schools has to come primarily from changing housing patterns and making sensible investments in public transit-- not moving kids around on school buses when APS is already facing significant fiscal constraints.

I needed a good laugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't anyone want to go to Williamsburg?

It seems like families are doing everything possible not to go there. Is it the teachers, drugs, gangs? I thought it used to be a good school.

If families were doing everything possible not to go there, the Williamsburg area wouldn't have some of the highest home values in the area. Don't take anonymous internet posters as necessarily representative of the population as a whole.

The truly wealthy families leave for private after Jamestown. Only the miserable strivers are left and they work so much that their kids go unsupervised. Drugs and scarily early sexual activity.

There you have it, folks. You’re either truly wealthy or a miserable (and neglectful) striver. There is no middle ground. I think I have to move.

There is in south Arlington, but you pathetic strivers are too freaked out by Kenmore to enjoy it.

Kenmore and Wakefield aren't the middle ground. They are among the worst schools in NoVa and to be avoided if at all possible.

Your racism is showing. There are plenty of worse schools, but I get that the melanin scares you.

I get that you cry racism at every turn. It's easier than acknowledging under-performance.

https://www.greatschools.org/virginia/arlington/132-Wakefield-High-School/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't anyone want to go to Williamsburg?

It seems like families are doing everything possible not to go there. Is it the teachers, drugs, gangs? I thought it used to be a good school.

If families were doing everything possible not to go there, the Williamsburg area wouldn't have some of the highest home values in the area. Don't take anonymous internet posters as necessarily representative of the population as a whole.

I suspect that it is mostly about logistics. Williamsburg is out of the way for most families where both parents work, esp if both parents are in DC. Your kid misses the bus-- WMS is a lot of backtracking. And you can easily swing by Swanson or Stratford on the way home and pick up your kid from an afterschool activity or check-in. Not so much with WMS. Also, Swanson and Stratford are accessible via public transport, while WMS is not (or at least not as easily). And with DC traffic, those extra 15-20 min can make a big difference when you are trying to make a morning meeting in DC or a 6pm pickup time.

If anything, your argument would suggest home values should be higher near those other schools. People are paying a premium to live in those neighborhoods despite it being less convenient.

On a square foot to square foot basis, the home values in 22205 have come up to 22207 levels over the past 10 years. There are more larger houses in 22207, which is why the home prices are higher in the aggregate. But if you look at comparably-sized homes, there actually is not much difference in price anymore between the two zip codes.

And the SFHs in 22201 are more expensive per square footage than 22207. You can get a much bigger lot and home in 22207 for what you would pay in 22201.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't anyone want to go to Williamsburg?

It seems like families are doing everything possible not to go there. Is it the teachers, drugs, gangs? I thought it used to be a good school.

If families were doing everything possible not to go there, the Williamsburg area wouldn't have some of the highest home values in the area. Don't take anonymous internet posters as necessarily representative of the population as a whole.

I suspect that it is mostly about logistics. Williamsburg is out of the way for most families where both parents work, esp if both parents are in DC. Your kid misses the bus-- WMS is a lot of backtracking. And you can easily swing by Swanson or Stratford on the way home and pick up your kid from an afterschool activity or check-in. Not so much with WMS. Also, Swanson and Stratford are accessible via public transport, while WMS is not (or at least not as easily). And with DC traffic, those extra 15-20 min can make a big difference when you are trying to make a morning meeting in DC or a 6pm pickup time.

If anything, your argument would suggest home values should be higher near those other schools. People are paying a premium to live in those neighborhoods despite it being less convenient.

On a square foot to square foot basis, the home values in 22205 have come up to 22207 levels over the past 10 years. There are more larger houses in 22207, which is why the home prices are higher in the aggregate. But if you look at comparably-sized homes, there actually is not much difference in price anymore between the two zip codes.

LOL. Yes, there are more large homes in 22207 because those with the financial means to choose where they buy a lot to build their new home are choosing 22207. If 22205 were more desirable, they'd be building them all there instead.

PP- you are missing the point though. The original question is why are so many Swanson and Stratford families fighting to stay out of Williamsburg? As I said above, I think it has more to do with proximity (again) than anything about Williamsburg's student body. Life is just easier for a dual-career couple when you live near walkable schools and public transit. That is also one of the main reasons why many Westover families fought moving to Kenmore-- getting down to Carlin Springs Rd to pick up a middle school kid from extracurricular activities by 6pm is nearly impossible when you rely on public transit to get home from work, which many families in that area do because the EFC metro is so close and the ART and Metro bus service is so easy to use in that area. It doesn't have to do with home values, or neighborhoods like EFC (which is right next to the metro) wouldn't be fighting so hard against moving to Williamsburg. Arlington families place a high value on proximity generally (and the shorter commutes that come with it) or we'd all be living in Fairfax County where we could find bigger houses on bigger lots in comparable schools for less money. I know that fact aggravates the busing advocates but it is not a part of Arlington's culture that you will be able to change. It is why the solution to more diverse schools has to come primarily from changing housing patterns and making sensible investments in public transit-- not moving kids around on school buses when APS is already facing significant fiscal constraints.

I'm actually not missing the point. The poster at the top of this tangent was suggesting there was some flaw in Williamsburg itself that was driving people away as opposed to it being a proximity thing. Your proximity argument applies to *everyone*, not just the families at Swanson and Stratford. I completely respect your reasons for not wanting to go to a school further away, just as I hope you respect everyone else's preference to go to their closest schools and haven't been arguing that other kids should be bused further while your kids stay close to home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any details on Reid Goldstein's proposal? He is the last chance to balance diversity across all of the middle schools with hope and change. What the APS staff has proposed is just trying to appease the loudest snowflake parents. Come Arlington let's have some hope and change - and not this proposed Hypersegregation.

Define “balance”. Without full-on cross-County bussing for all kids at all schools all you do is protect the wealthiest and whitest neighborhoods while shuffling the rest of the kids around despite what families have said they want. And almost everyone of all demographics has said they want neighborhood schools for their kids.

Tons of pissy UMC white parents that couldn’t afford the GREAT white north and had to settle for Westover. They bet the better part of a million dollars they were avoiding diversity. They will be damned if their child goes to Kenmore.
Arlington really is the worst.

These Swanson families are the worst, truly insufferable. I am glad my kids won't be going to school with them. The snowflakes deserve to be in trailers along with everyone who wants to pile on.

Nasty, nasty people on this thread. Leave the children out of your vitriol.

[Anonymous]

y'all are frickin' lunatics.

y'all have illustrated the many reasons why APS can't seem to adjust their boundaries without craziness.

[Anonymous]

Lock 'em Up in trailers. If the snowflakes can't ride buses, cross a street, walk a little further, make a few new friends or have some diversity in their lives at least they will enjoy the trailers.

The school board and whining parents are giving these kids 'a big, beautiful Christmas present'. (These trailers are the new APS snowflake-safe-spaces).

[Anonymous]

Why do people continue to respond to the prior poster. This person is obviously a one-trick pony. Just understand that this is probably motivated by not having been laid in the last decade. Pity is the only appropriate response.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't anyone want to go to Williamsburg?

It seems like families are doing everything possible not to go there. Is it the teachers, drugs, gangs? I thought it used to be a good school.

If families were doing everything possible not to go there, the Williamsburg area wouldn't have some of the highest home values in the area. Don't take anonymous internet posters as necessarily representative of the population as a whole.

I suspect that it is mostly about logistics. Williamsburg is out of the way for most families where both parents work, esp if both parents are in DC. Your kid misses the bus-- WMS is a lot of backtracking. And you can easily swing by Swanson or Stratford on the way home and pick up your kid from an afterschool activity or check-in. Not so much with WMS. Also, Swanson and Stratford are accessible via public transport, while WMS is not (or at least not as easily). And with DC traffic, those extra 15-20 min can make a big difference when you are trying to make a morning meeting in DC or a 6pm pickup time.

If anything, your argument would suggest home values should be higher near those other schools. People are paying a premium to live in those neighborhoods despite it being less convenient.

On a square foot to square foot basis, the home values in 22205 have come up to 22207 levels over the past 10 years. There are more larger houses in 22207, which is why the home prices are higher in the aggregate. But if you look at comparably-sized homes, there actually is not much difference in price anymore between the two zip codes.

LOL. Yes, there are more large homes in 22207 because those with the financial means to choose where they buy a lot to build their new home are choosing 22207. If 22205 were more desirable, they'd be building them all there instead.

PP- you are missing the point though. The original question is why are so many Swanson and Stratford families fighting to stay out of Williamsburg? As I said above, I think it has more to do with proximity (again) than anything about Williamsburg's student body. Life is just easier for a dual-career couple when you live near walkable schools and public transit. That is also one of the main reasons why many Westover families fought moving to Kenmore-- getting down to Carlin Springs Rd to pick up a middle school kid from extracurricular activities by 6pm is nearly impossible when you rely on public transit to get home from work, which many families in that area do because the EFC metro is so close and the ART and Metro bus service is so easy to use in that area. It doesn't have to do with home values, or neighborhoods like EFC (which is right next to the metro) wouldn't be fighting so hard against moving to Williamsburg. Arlington families place a high value on proximity generally (and the shorter commutes that come with it) or we'd all be living in Fairfax County where we could find bigger houses on bigger lots in comparable schools for less money. I know that fact aggravates the busing advocates but it is not a part of Arlington's culture that you will be able to change. It is why the solution to more diverse schools has to come primarily from changing housing patterns and making sensible investments in public transit-- not moving kids around on school buses when APS is already facing significant fiscal constraints.

There aren't any after school activities at Kenmore other than the check-program from what I hear. So kids would ride the bus home at the end of the regular school day. Maybe if there were more parents at Kenmore to push for and /or sponsor after school activities this would be a real concern. As it stands, no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why doesn't anyone want to go to Williamsburg?

It seems like families are doing everything possible not to go there. Is it the teachers, drugs, gangs? I thought it used to be a good school.

If families were doing everything possible not to go there, the Williamsburg area wouldn't have some of the highest home values in the area. Don't take anonymous internet posters as necessarily representative of the population as a whole.

I suspect that it is mostly about logistics. Williamsburg is out of the way for most families where both parents work, esp if both parents are in DC. Your kid misses the bus-- WMS is a lot of backtracking. And you can easily swing by Swanson or Stratford on the way home and pick up your kid from an afterschool activity or check-in. Not so much with WMS. Also, Swanson and Stratford are accessible via public transport, while WMS is not (or at least not as easily). And with DC traffic, those extra 15-20 min can make a big difference when you are trying to make a morning meeting in DC or a 6pm pickup time.

If anything, your argument would suggest home values should be higher near those other schools. People are paying a premium to live in those neighborhoods despite it being less convenient.

Not true. In fact, they have a similar range of activities as Williamsburg at Act Two, sports and clubs. I went to the Kenmore middle school sessions, have friends whose kids do extracurricular s there and know teachers there. My kid is zoned for Williamsburg (although hoping to send my kid elsewhere). I hate when people spread misinformation about schools.

On a square foot to square foot basis, the home values in 22205 have come up to 22207 levels over the past 10 years. There are more larger houses in 22207, which is why the home prices are higher in the aggregate. But if you look at comparably-sized homes, there actually is not much difference in price anymore between the two zip codes.

LOL. Yes, there are more large homes in 22207 because those with the financial means to choose where they buy a lot to build their new home are choosing 22207. If 22205 were more desirable, they'd be building them all there instead.

PP- you are missing the point though. The original question is why are so many Swanson and Stratford families fighting to stay out of Williamsburg? As I said above, I think it has more to do with proximity (again) than anything about Williamsburg's student body. Life is just easier for a dual-career couple when you live near walkable schools and public transit. That is also one of the main reasons why many Westover families fought moving to Kenmore-- getting down to Carlin Springs Rd to pick up a middle school kid from extracurricular activities by 6pm is nearly impossible when you rely on public transit to get home from work, which many families in that area do because the EFC metro is so close and the ART and Metro bus service is so easy to use in that area. It doesn't have to do with home values, or neighborhoods like EFC (which is right next to the metro) wouldn't be fighting so hard against moving to Williamsburg. Arlington families place a high value on proximity generally (and the shorter commutes that come with it) or we'd all be living in Fairfax County where we could find bigger houses on bigger lots in comparable schools for less money. I know that fact aggravates the busing advocates but it is not a part of Arlington's culture that you will be able to change. It is why the solution to more diverse schools has to come primarily from changing housing patterns and making sensible investments in public transit-- not moving kids around on school buses when APS is already facing significant fiscal constraints.

There aren't any after school activities at Kenmore other than the check-program from what I hear. So kids would ride the bus home at the end of the regular school day. Maybe if there were more parents at Kenmore to push for and /or sponsor after school activities this would be a real concern. As it stands, no.