AEM post/discussion re racism and choice schools

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Not the OP, but one of the main commenters on that post absolutely hates MSPA (no judgement from me either way). But the background is interesting: their home was rezoned away from Fleet to Drew when MPSA moved into Henry. There’s lots of animosity still about that and also with the Career Center not becoming a neighborhood school, which would have benefited that family, but rather a choice school open to all regardless of boundaries. Interestingly, their child was allowed a transfer to Fleet and never attended Drew even after the reasoning. But that poster is really angry because other parents also attend schools that aren’t their assigned one. So, anyway, some of us didn’t forget about that.

Boundaries are the problem. Our neighborhoods are segregated base on our racial past (redlining, etc.), and so neighborhood schools are also segregated.

Forcing everyone to attend their assigned schools will not solve the problem in any meaningful way, and it will also remove choices from all those who can’t make “checkbook” choices like wealthy families can, to live in certain neighborhoods or to pay for private schools.

It’s not a solvable problem, so it’s better to just worry about yourself. If you’re a white (or even non-white) family of means really not comfortable with the neighborhood school for whatever reason, you’re not going to send your kids to the school even if they take away option schools. You’re going to go private or move to a different zone.

Actually, it is. Ranked choice admissions countywide.

What if everyone’s rankings are similar? Who gets left out?

A district I used to work for does this now. It seems to work well and many people get a school they rank highly https://schoolchoice.dpsk12.org/o/schoolchoice/page/about

But like… who is going to Drew? Do you really see it becoming more diverse? (I’m not implying it’s a bad school, just that low test scores mean very few people aren’t going to have it at the bottom…)

But people would be assigned there anyway. Eventually, it will develop the student body needed to not scare so many away. Randolph isn't going to be high on many peoples' list, either, except the bArcroft Apt families who are happy to walk to the nearest school with their entire homogenous community. Not any different than Nottingham in that regard.

Yeah, well, “everyone gets a school near the top of their list” is a farce then. Forcing families into Drew/Randolph/wherever would only result in more families going private.

I never said everyone gets a school near the top of their list. NEvertheless, in the Cambridge MA model, the vast majority of people get their #1 or #2 choice. That means the rest do not. But this model isn't only based on the preferences parents list. It includes male/female ratios, geographic proximity, and economic status.

I woud love to know more about this. Is Cambridge MA as unbalanced as Arlington? Are there schools there as different as Jamestown and Carlin Springs? Nottingham and Drew? Or are the schools there more or less equally desirable>

Not sure who would opt into Drew and Randolph other than the poor kids already there.

I remember someone in the AEM thread asking if anyone had administratively transferred to CS or Randolph, and a few people replied. I can’t find that comment anymore, but when threads get too long, often comments disappear in Facebook.

I think it’s a valid point. A lot of people commented in AEM that they go to option schools because of the diversity. Nah. The diversity is an excuse to make you feel good. You did it for the outcomes for your own kids. Own it.

She must have deleted it. Someone responded they had transferred to Drew. I hope they asked when she’s going to transfer her kids there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not the OP, but one of the main commenters on that post absolutely hates MSPA (no judgement from me either way). But the background is interesting: their home was rezoned away from Fleet to Drew when MPSA moved into Henry. There’s lots of animosity still about that and also with the Career Center not becoming a neighborhood school, which would have benefited that family, but rather a choice school open to all regardless of boundaries. Interestingly, their child was allowed a transfer to Fleet and never attended Drew even after the reasoning. But that poster is really angry because other parents also attend schools that aren’t their assigned one. So, anyway, some of us didn’t forget about that.

Boundaries are the problem. Our neighborhoods are segregated base on our racial past (redlining, etc.), and so neighborhood schools are also segregated.

Forcing everyone to attend their assigned schools will not solve the problem in any meaningful way, and it will also remove choices from all those who can’t make “checkbook” choices like wealthy families can, to live in certain neighborhoods or to pay for private schools.

It’s not a solvable problem, so it’s better to just worry about yourself. If you’re a white (or even non-white) family of means really not comfortable with the neighborhood school for whatever reason, you’re not going to send your kids to the school even if they take away option schools. You’re going to go private or move to a different zone.

Actually, it is. Ranked choice admissions countywide.

What if everyone’s rankings are similar? Who gets left out?

A district I used to work for does this now. It seems to work well and many people get a school they rank highly https://schoolchoice.dpsk12.org/o/schoolchoice/page/about

But like… who is going to Drew? Do you really see it becoming more diverse? (I’m not implying it’s a bad school, just that low test scores mean very few people aren’t going to have it at the bottom…)

But people would be assigned there anyway. Eventually, it will develop the student body needed to not scare so many away. Randolph isn't going to be high on many peoples' list, either, except the bArcroft Apt families who are happy to walk to the nearest school with their entire homogenous community. Not any different than Nottingham in that regard.

Yeah, well, “everyone gets a school near the top of their list” is a farce then. Forcing families into Drew/Randolph/wherever would only result in more families going private.

I never said everyone gets a school near the top of their list. NEvertheless, in the Cambridge MA model, the vast majority of people get their #1 or #2 choice. That means the rest do not. But this model isn't only based on the preferences parents list. It includes male/female ratios, geographic proximity, and economic status.

I woud love to know more about this. Is Cambridge MA as unbalanced as Arlington? Are there schools there as different as Jamestown and Carlin Springs? Nottingham and Drew? Or are the schools there more or less equally desirable>

Not sure who would opt into Drew and Randolph other than the poor kids already there.

I remember someone in the AEM thread asking if anyone had administratively transferred to CS or Randolph, and a few people replied. I can’t find that comment anymore, but when threads get too long, often comments disappear in Facebook.

I think it’s a valid point. A lot of people commented in AEM that they go to option schools because of the diversity. Nah. The diversity is an excuse to make you feel good. You did it for the outcomes for your own kids. Own it.

My kids go to a choice school more diverse than our neighborhood school. The diversity was a bonus to us, but it wasn't the driving factor in transferring. Two things can be true at the same time.

Diversity is good. But schools that have a high poverty rate aren’t diverse. They’re just largely non-white/non upper SES. I think most people would like a mix of races and classes, but aren’t going to willingly select a school where their kid is an outlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread really swerved from JF giving a self serving speech to the sb to people having different “value systems” to send their kids to option schools? Wtf?

What values am I missing by being okay with my neighborhood school, pray tell?

Tell us which neighborhood school your kids go to and we will let you know. 😉

Drew for ES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not the OP, but one of the main commenters on that post absolutely hates MSPA (no judgement from me either way). But the background is interesting: their home was rezoned away from Fleet to Drew when MPSA moved into Henry. There’s lots of animosity still about that and also with the Career Center not becoming a neighborhood school, which would have benefited that family, but rather a choice school open to all regardless of boundaries. Interestingly, their child was allowed a transfer to Fleet and never attended Drew even after the reasoning. But that poster is really angry because other parents also attend schools that aren’t their assigned one. So, anyway, some of us didn’t forget about that.

Boundaries are the problem. Our neighborhoods are segregated base on our racial past (redlining, etc.), and so neighborhood schools are also segregated.

Forcing everyone to attend their assigned schools will not solve the problem in any meaningful way, and it will also remove choices from all those who can’t make “checkbook” choices like wealthy families can, to live in certain neighborhoods or to pay for private schools.

It’s not a solvable problem, so it’s better to just worry about yourself. If you’re a white (or even non-white) family of means really not comfortable with the neighborhood school for whatever reason, you’re not going to send your kids to the school even if they take away option schools. You’re going to go private or move to a different zone.

Actually, it is. Ranked choice admissions countywide.

What if everyone’s rankings are similar? Who gets left out?

A district I used to work for does this now. It seems to work well and many people get a school they rank highly https://schoolchoice.dpsk12.org/o/schoolchoice/page/about

But like… who is going to Drew? Do you really see it becoming more diverse? (I’m not implying it’s a bad school, just that low test scores mean very few people aren’t going to have it at the bottom…)

But people would be assigned there anyway. Eventually, it will develop the student body needed to not scare so many away. Randolph isn't going to be high on many peoples' list, either, except the bArcroft Apt families who are happy to walk to the nearest school with their entire homogenous community. Not any different than Nottingham in that regard.

Yeah, well, “everyone gets a school near the top of their list” is a farce then. Forcing families into Drew/Randolph/wherever would only result in more families going private.

I never said everyone gets a school near the top of their list. NEvertheless, in the Cambridge MA model, the vast majority of people get their #1 or #2 choice. That means the rest do not. But this model isn't only based on the preferences parents list. It includes male/female ratios, geographic proximity, and economic status.

I woud love to know more about this. Is Cambridge MA as unbalanced as Arlington? Are there schools there as different as Jamestown and Carlin Springs? Nottingham and Drew? Or are the schools there more or less equally desirable>

Not sure who would opt into Drew and Randolph other than the poor kids already there.

I remember someone in the AEM thread asking if anyone had administratively transferred to CS or Randolph, and a few people replied. I can’t find that comment anymore, but when threads get too long, often comments disappear in Facebook.

I think it’s a valid point. A lot of people commented in AEM that they go to option schools because of the diversity. Nah. The diversity is an excuse to make you feel good. You did it for the outcomes for your own kids. Own it.

She must have deleted it. Someone responded they had transferred to Drew. I hope they asked when she’s going to transfer her kids there.

I still see the comment actually. That OP pasted some stats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not the OP, but one of the main commenters on that post absolutely hates MSPA (no judgement from me either way). But the background is interesting: their home was rezoned away from Fleet to Drew when MPSA moved into Henry. There’s lots of animosity still about that and also with the Career Center not becoming a neighborhood school, which would have benefited that family, but rather a choice school open to all regardless of boundaries. Interestingly, their child was allowed a transfer to Fleet and never attended Drew even after the reasoning. But that poster is really angry because other parents also attend schools that aren’t their assigned one. So, anyway, some of us didn’t forget about that.

Boundaries are the problem. Our neighborhoods are segregated base on our racial past (redlining, etc.), and so neighborhood schools are also segregated.

Forcing everyone to attend their assigned schools will not solve the problem in any meaningful way, and it will also remove choices from all those who can’t make “checkbook” choices like wealthy families can, to live in certain neighborhoods or to pay for private schools.

It’s not a solvable problem, so it’s better to just worry about yourself. If you’re a white (or even non-white) family of means really not comfortable with the neighborhood school for whatever reason, you’re not going to send your kids to the school even if they take away option schools. You’re going to go private or move to a different zone.

Actually, it is. Ranked choice admissions countywide.

What if everyone’s rankings are similar? Who gets left out?

A district I used to work for does this now. It seems to work well and many people get a school they rank highly https://schoolchoice.dpsk12.org/o/schoolchoice/page/about

But like… who is going to Drew? Do you really see it becoming more diverse? (I’m not implying it’s a bad school, just that low test scores mean very few people aren’t going to have it at the bottom…)

But people would be assigned there anyway. Eventually, it will develop the student body needed to not scare so many away. Randolph isn't going to be high on many peoples' list, either, except the bArcroft Apt families who are happy to walk to the nearest school with their entire homogenous community. Not any different than Nottingham in that regard.

Yeah, well, “everyone gets a school near the top of their list” is a farce then. Forcing families into Drew/Randolph/wherever would only result in more families going private.

I never said everyone gets a school near the top of their list. NEvertheless, in the Cambridge MA model, the vast majority of people get their #1 or #2 choice. That means the rest do not. But this model isn't only based on the preferences parents list. It includes male/female ratios, geographic proximity, and economic status.

I woud love to know more about this. Is Cambridge MA as unbalanced as Arlington? Are there schools there as different as Jamestown and Carlin Springs? Nottingham and Drew? Or are the schools there more or less equally desirable>

Not sure who would opt into Drew and Randolph other than the poor kids already there.

I remember someone in the AEM thread asking if anyone had administratively transferred to CS or Randolph, and a few people replied. I can’t find that comment anymore, but when threads get too long, often comments disappear in Facebook.

I think it’s a valid point. A lot of people commented in AEM that they go to option schools because of the diversity. Nah. The diversity is an excuse to make you feel good. You did it for the outcomes for your own kids. Own it.

She must have deleted it. Someone responded they had transferred to Drew. I hope they asked when she’s going to transfer her kids there.

I know a few people who transferred into Drew from Abingdon due to overcrowding or bad experiences. They aren’t so far apart achievement or diversity wise

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not the OP, but one of the main commenters on that post absolutely hates MSPA (no judgement from me either way). But the background is interesting: their home was rezoned away from Fleet to Drew when MPSA moved into Henry. There’s lots of animosity still about that and also with the Career Center not becoming a neighborhood school, which would have benefited that family, but rather a choice school open to all regardless of boundaries. Interestingly, their child was allowed a transfer to Fleet and never attended Drew even after the reasoning. But that poster is really angry because other parents also attend schools that aren’t their assigned one. So, anyway, some of us didn’t forget about that.

Boundaries are the problem. Our neighborhoods are segregated base on our racial past (redlining, etc.), and so neighborhood schools are also segregated.

Forcing everyone to attend their assigned schools will not solve the problem in any meaningful way, and it will also remove choices from all those who can’t make “checkbook” choices like wealthy families can, to live in certain neighborhoods or to pay for private schools.

It’s not a solvable problem, so it’s better to just worry about yourself. If you’re a white (or even non-white) family of means really not comfortable with the neighborhood school for whatever reason, you’re not going to send your kids to the school even if they take away option schools. You’re going to go private or move to a different zone.

Actually, it is. Ranked choice admissions countywide.

What if everyone’s rankings are similar? Who gets left out?

A district I used to work for does this now. It seems to work well and many people get a school they rank highly https://schoolchoice.dpsk12.org/o/schoolchoice/page/about

But like… who is going to Drew? Do you really see it becoming more diverse? (I’m not implying it’s a bad school, just that low test scores mean very few people aren’t going to have it at the bottom…)

But people would be assigned there anyway. Eventually, it will develop the student body needed to not scare so many away. Randolph isn't going to be high on many peoples' list, either, except the bArcroft Apt families who are happy to walk to the nearest school with their entire homogenous community. Not any different than Nottingham in that regard.

Yeah, well, “everyone gets a school near the top of their list” is a farce then. Forcing families into Drew/Randolph/wherever would only result in more families going private.

I never said everyone gets a school near the top of their list. NEvertheless, in the Cambridge MA model, the vast majority of people get their #1 or #2 choice. That means the rest do not. But this model isn't only based on the preferences parents list. It includes male/female ratios, geographic proximity, and economic status.

I woud love to know more about this. Is Cambridge MA as unbalanced as Arlington? Are there schools there as different as Jamestown and Carlin Springs? Nottingham and Drew? Or are the schools there more or less equally desirable>

Not sure who would opt into Drew and Randolph other than the poor kids already there.

I remember someone in the AEM thread asking if anyone had administratively transferred to CS or Randolph, and a few people replied. I can’t find that comment anymore, but when threads get too long, often comments disappear in Facebook.

I think it’s a valid point. A lot of people commented in AEM that they go to option schools because of the diversity. Nah. The diversity is an excuse to make you feel good. You did it for the outcomes for your own kids. Own it.

She must have deleted it. Someone responded they had transferred to Drew. I hope they asked when she’s going to transfer her kids there.

I still see the comment actually. That OP pasted some stats.

I don’t see the comment either but I remember it because she made a good point. I know sometimes when comment sections get too long, you can’t see all of them in FB. If you care about option schools, go write an email to the board or do what JF did and speak at a public meeting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You sound like APE. I wasn’t interested in ATS for my kids because I knew they wouldn’t thrive there with all of those rules. They are all doing fine at their neighborhood school.

I think most people who comment are driving discussions in APS forums have kids in elementary school. Just wait until they’re in MS/HS. Whole new world.

Dear sweet lord. APE are not the only parents who care about achievement and expectations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You sound like APE. I wasn’t interested in ATS for my kids because I knew they wouldn’t thrive there with all of those rules. They are all doing fine at their neighborhood school.

I think most people who comment are driving discussions in APS forums have kids in elementary school. Just wait until they’re in MS/HS. Whole new world.

Dear sweet lord. APE are not the only parents who care about achievement and expectations.

I don’t particularly care how you (and ape) define “achievement “. I’m not convinced that ATS actually brings about “achievement” amongst minority students. I haven’t seen any data breaking out FARM, EL and Sped students there. And I can’t even see how putting ATS’ model into other elementary schools will bring up those test scores.

Half baked ideas without relevant data or context. Sounds like APE to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You sound like APE. I wasn’t interested in ATS for my kids because I knew they wouldn’t thrive there with all of those rules. They are all doing fine at their neighborhood school.

I think most people who comment are driving discussions in APS forums have kids in elementary school. Just wait until they’re in MS/HS. Whole new world.

Dear sweet lord. APE are not the only parents who care about achievement and expectations.

I don’t particularly care how you (and ape) define “achievement “. I’m not convinced that ATS actually brings about “achievement” amongst minority students. I haven’t seen any data breaking out FARM, EL and Sped students there. And I can’t even see how putting ATS’ model into other elementary schools will bring up those test scores.

Half baked ideas without relevant data or context. Sounds like APE to me.

Here’s the student progress dashboard
https://www.apsva.us/departments/superintendents-office/student-progress-dashboard/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read that post and as expected the echo chamber called all option and private parents in South Arlington racist.

It’s not racist to want to avoid a 70% ESL and FRL/ poverty school. I owe a duty to my child and need to make sure they get educated.

Yes I have choices and I am going to exercise them. As someone posted earlier every single boundary decision has made things worse! But sure keep blaming parents just trying to do right by their children.

I don't think we read the same thread.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My takeaway is that if you have enough money to buy a house in the wealthiest zip codes, you never have to worry about being called racist.

You think so? I think it's more that you isolate yourself so much that you don't hear the people who call you racist because they aren't your fellow "flee from the south arlington schools" people. If you were to be a fly in south Arlington conversations, you would hear the racist accusations toward those wealthiest zip coders.

This is so dumb to me. I live in N Arlington because both DH and I had jobs right along I-66/orange line corridor. South Arlington would not work for our commutes.

Real nice community you have in the south part of the county talking crap about people in different zip codes. FWIW I’ve never heard anyone in the North part of the county say bad things about the people living in the south part.

This is hysterical.
The commute wouldn't work for you, but it works for egads of people in south Arlington? Where do you work? It might not be as straightforward a commute; but surely it would "work" because you're capable of figuring out how to make it work just like thousands of other people.
You either don't hear northern residents bad-mouthing the southies because y'all don't bother to talk about south arlington - since it's a separate world from yours; or you just aren't interacting with the ones who do. Not all southies think all northies are racist a-holes and not all northies think all southies are ignorant homeless criminals. But if your commute from south Arlington would have worked for you, I'm sure you would have been equally happy to attend Carlin Springs or Randolph.

Jobs were in Fair Lakes and Ballston. In fact a lot of jobs in VA happen to be more concentrated along the 66 corridor so it makes sense that people want to live in Vienna/Falls Church/N Arlington.

The underlying issue is a development one. The county has concentrated lower income areas and that trickles down to where employers put job centers. Blaming individual families for choosing where to live based on factors outside their control is one way to go about it I guess. But I also have a lot of wealthy neighbors who are POC (black, Asian, + mixed families). Are they racist for wanting good commutes and schools that do not have the issues that come with higher poverty rates? Or is it only white families that are bad for this?

The underlying issue is fixing the county’s pattern of development instead of trying to force people through the use of school boundaries or judging them for choosing option schools. FWIW I support denser development along areas close to metro and would like to see more SES mixture in the north part of the county and I know plenty of other friends/neighbors who don’t exactly love raising kids in a concentration of wealth.

But we need to stop asking schools and individual families to take on the brunt of fixing societal issues. If you want to call a bunch of people you don’t know in a different zip code racist though, I hope that helps you feel better.

50 and 66 are easily accessed from parts of south Arlington. Are you really taking metro to Fair Lakes? That's not the point, anyway. The point is that you would have been able to make the commute work if you had to. You were merely fortunate enough to be able to afford the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. All those friends and neighbors of yours who don't love raising kids in a concentration of wealth have choices: they can move to a more diverse part of Arlington. Oh, sorry....then they would't be able to commute to work.

If we can't call on schools and we can't call on families (aka the people living in Arlington and choosing to buy homes where they do), just who can we call on to fix societal issues?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My takeaway is that if you have enough money to buy a house in the wealthiest zip codes, you never have to worry about being called racist.

You think so? I think it's more that you isolate yourself so much that you don't hear the people who call you racist because they aren't your fellow "flee from the south arlington schools" people. If you were to be a fly in south Arlington conversations, you would hear the racist accusations toward those wealthiest zip coders.

This is so dumb to me. I live in N Arlington because both DH and I had jobs right along I-66/orange line corridor. South Arlington would not work for our commutes.

Real nice community you have in the south part of the county talking crap about people in different zip codes. FWIW I’ve never heard anyone in the North part of the county say bad things about the people living in the south part.

This is hysterical.
The commute wouldn't work for you, but it works for egads of people in south Arlington? Where do you work? It might not be as straightforward a commute; but surely it would "work" because you're capable of figuring out how to make it work just like thousands of other people.
You either don't hear northern residents bad-mouthing the southies because y'all don't bother to talk about south arlington - since it's a separate world from yours; or you just aren't interacting with the ones who do. Not all southies think all northies are racist a-holes and not all northies think all southies are ignorant homeless criminals. But if your commute from south Arlington would have worked for you, I'm sure you would have been equally happy to attend Carlin Springs or Randolph.

Jobs were in Fair Lakes and Ballston. In fact a lot of jobs in VA happen to be more concentrated along the 66 corridor so it makes sense that people want to live in Vienna/Falls Church/N Arlington.

The underlying issue is a development one. The county has concentrated lower income areas and that trickles down to where employers put job centers. Blaming individual families for choosing where to live based on factors outside their control is one way to go about it I guess. But I also have a lot of wealthy neighbors who are POC (black, Asian, + mixed families). Are they racist for wanting good commutes and schools that do not have the issues that come with higher poverty rates? Or is it only white families that are bad for this?

The underlying issue is fixing the county’s pattern of development instead of trying to force people through the use of school boundaries or judging them for choosing option schools. FWIW I support denser development along areas close to metro and would like to see more SES mixture in the north part of the county and I know plenty of other friends/neighbors who don’t exactly love raising kids in a concentration of wealth.

But we need to stop asking schools and individual families to take on the brunt of fixing societal issues. If you want to call a bunch of people you don’t know in a different zip code racist though, I hope that helps you feel better.

50 and 66 are easily accessed from parts of south Arlington. Are you really taking metro to Fair Lakes? That's not the point, anyway. The point is that you would have been able to make the commute work if you had to. You were merely fortunate enough to be able to afford the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. All those friends and neighbors of yours who don't love raising kids in a concentration of wealth have choices: they can move to a more diverse part of Arlington. Oh, sorry....then they would't be able to commute to work.

If we can't call on schools and we can't call on families (aka the people living in Arlington and choosing to buy homes where they do), just who can we call on to fix societal issues?!

hit button unintentionally before adding that I am not the one calling anyone racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My takeaway is that if you have enough money to buy a house in the wealthiest zip codes, you never have to worry about being called racist.

You think so? I think it's more that you isolate yourself so much that you don't hear the people who call you racist because they aren't your fellow "flee from the south arlington schools" people. If you were to be a fly in south Arlington conversations, you would hear the racist accusations toward those wealthiest zip coders.

This is so dumb to me. I live in N Arlington because both DH and I had jobs right along I-66/orange line corridor. South Arlington would not work for our commutes.

Real nice community you have in the south part of the county talking crap about people in different zip codes. FWIW I’ve never heard anyone in the North part of the county say bad things about the people living in the south part.

This is hysterical.
The commute wouldn't work for you, but it works for egads of people in south Arlington? Where do you work? It might not be as straightforward a commute; but surely it would "work" because you're capable of figuring out how to make it work just like thousands of other people.
You either don't hear northern residents bad-mouthing the southies because y'all don't bother to talk about south arlington - since it's a separate world from yours; or you just aren't interacting with the ones who do. Not all southies think all northies are racist a-holes and not all northies think all southies are ignorant homeless criminals. But if your commute from south Arlington would have worked for you, I'm sure you would have been equally happy to attend Carlin Springs or Randolph.

Jobs were in Fair Lakes and Ballston. In fact a lot of jobs in VA happen to be more concentrated along the 66 corridor so it makes sense that people want to live in Vienna/Falls Church/N Arlington.

The underlying issue is a development one. The county has concentrated lower income areas and that trickles down to where employers put job centers. Blaming individual families for choosing where to live based on factors outside their control is one way to go about it I guess. But I also have a lot of wealthy neighbors who are POC (black, Asian, + mixed families). Are they racist for wanting good commutes and schools that do not have the issues that come with higher poverty rates? Or is it only white families that are bad for this?

The underlying issue is fixing the county’s pattern of development instead of trying to force people through the use of school boundaries or judging them for choosing option schools. FWIW I support denser development along areas close to metro and would like to see more SES mixture in the north part of the county and I know plenty of other friends/neighbors who don’t exactly love raising kids in a concentration of wealth.

But we need to stop asking schools and individual families to take on the brunt of fixing societal issues. If you want to call a bunch of people you don’t know in a different zip code racist though, I hope that helps you feel better.

Exactly. Stop concentrating affordable housing in one part of the county. THAT’S the problem.

Amen! And why is it not more dispersed? Because people in north Arlington pushback and don't allow it. So, again, who are we to call upon to fix societal issues if we can't call upon society?!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not the OP, but one of the main commenters on that post absolutely hates MSPA (no judgement from me either way). But the background is interesting: their home was rezoned away from Fleet to Drew when MPSA moved into Henry. There’s lots of animosity still about that and also with the Career Center not becoming a neighborhood school, which would have benefited that family, but rather a choice school open to all regardless of boundaries. Interestingly, their child was allowed a transfer to Fleet and never attended Drew even after the reasoning. But that poster is really angry because other parents also attend schools that aren’t their assigned one. So, anyway, some of us didn’t forget about that.

Boundaries are the problem. Our neighborhoods are segregated base on our racial past (redlining, etc.), and so neighborhood schools are also segregated.

Forcing everyone to attend their assigned schools will not solve the problem in any meaningful way, and it will also remove choices from all those who can’t make “checkbook” choices like wealthy families can, to live in certain neighborhoods or to pay for private schools.

It’s not a solvable problem, so it’s better to just worry about yourself. If you’re a white (or even non-white) family of means really not comfortable with the neighborhood school for whatever reason, you’re not going to send your kids to the school even if they take away option schools. You’re going to go private or move to a different zone.

Actually, it is. Ranked choice admissions countywide.

What if everyone’s rankings are similar? Who gets left out?

A district I used to work for does this now. It seems to work well and many people get a school they rank highly https://schoolchoice.dpsk12.org/o/schoolchoice/page/about

But like… who is going to Drew? Do you really see it becoming more diverse? (I’m not implying it’s a bad school, just that low test scores mean very few people aren’t going to have it at the bottom…)

But people would be assigned there anyway. Eventually, it will develop the student body needed to not scare so many away. Randolph isn't going to be high on many peoples' list, either, except the bArcroft Apt families who are happy to walk to the nearest school with their entire homogenous community. Not any different than Nottingham in that regard.

Yeah, well, “everyone gets a school near the top of their list” is a farce then. Forcing families into Drew/Randolph/wherever would only result in more families going private.

I never said everyone gets a school near the top of their list. NEvertheless, in the Cambridge MA model, the vast majority of people get their #1 or #2 choice. That means the rest do not. But this model isn't only based on the preferences parents list. It includes male/female ratios, geographic proximity, and economic status.

I woud love to know more about this. Is Cambridge MA as unbalanced as Arlington? Are there schools there as different as Jamestown and Carlin Springs? Nottingham and Drew? Or are the schools there more or less equally desirable>

Not sure who would opt into Drew and Randolph other than the poor kids already there.

I remember someone in the AEM thread asking if anyone had administratively transferred to CS or Randolph, and a few people replied. I can’t find that comment anymore, but when threads get too long, often comments disappear in Facebook.

I think it’s a valid point. A lot of people commented in AEM that they go to option schools because of the diversity. Nah. The diversity is an excuse to make you feel good. You did it for the outcomes for your own kids. Own it.

My kids go to a choice school more diverse than our neighborhood school. The diversity was a bonus to us, but it wasn't the driving factor in transferring. Two things can be true at the same time.

So true. Most people I know are happy to have more diversity in their children’s schools, as long as school performance is top-notch.

People want quality instruction and good outcomes. Period.

I think the point was if diversity was the only factor, you’d have no problems administratively transferring your kid to Carlin Springs. It’s not the only consideration though. There’s a reason why options programs exist. All children should be in an environment with the best learning outcomes. Including those at Drew and Carlin springs.

It’s not the parent’s fault though that structural racism exists. If we had stronger APS and County leadership, maybe we can start addressing the issue. JF’s post was self serving though.

Of course diversity isn’t the only factor! Honestly, I think for most people it’s just a nice little add on when it exists.

Good test scores? Great!
Good test scores AND diversity? Super!
Bad test scores and (insert whatever you want)? That’s a tough sell.

And I don’t blame people for it!

Want actual change? Stop building affordable housing south of 50 and shift it up north. That will actually move the needle.

DP. I don’t think that OP is disagreeing with you. You owned your decision to send your children to option schools. They’re just commenting that high FARM schools should be great schools too. But that’s a school board and county leadership problem. Stop blaming parents for their own institutional inaction and neglect.

All of our schools can be good — I agree. Create opt-in programs (ATS style) within each school. This is a PARENTING problem, too! Get family buy in. Just because something is harder for you than a millionaire on the other side of the county doesn’t mean you can’t do it.

Fifty books over the summer is less than a book per day after all.

Expect more from your kids and let their teachers have high expectations, too. If that’s too hard, well then, stop whining.

Not all poor people are disengaged or don't "buy in" to their kids' education. Not all people who don't "buy in" are minorities or poor. Many minority communities value education more than some white folks and are far more invested and engaged. It isn't about "buy in." When you have high concentrations of underprivileged kids starting behind and add in high proportions of those students learning English, you are not going to get the same test scores everyone at ATS is expected to achieve. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread really swerved from JF giving a self serving speech to the sb to people having different “value systems” to send their kids to option schools? Wtf?

What values am I missing by being okay with my neighborhood school, pray tell?

Depends on what your neighborhood school is.