school board work session on enrollment and transfers in options schools(and also a new high school)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:White people in S. Arlington like more choice schools. These families bought a house with the same square footage for a lower price than N. Arl families - and they can transfer out of their neighborhood school. AND they can still claim they care about diversity. Genius.

Yes all of us white people bought in S. Arlington because we think you all are fools for paying more in a higher priced N. Arlington NOT because we couldn't afford N. Arlington. Sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, 2 choice schools in the McK boundaries while the school grows to 800 is pathetic.

No one is forcing you people to live in Westover. Move if you don't like it.

Really? You think that people should just up and move rather than insisting that problems be fixed?

Well, that is what everyone tells us in S. Arlington, just move to a better school district. Why shouldn't the same apply to those in precious westover.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^so true. Who are the benefactors of the option schools?

Hopefully my south Arlington property values will benefit

[Anonymous]

^^They will. You are the smart ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What happens to ASFS? Theoretically it's not a neighborhood school but rather an options school for students who are in boundary for 3 schools and after that for the entire county?

So Key/ASFS is a zone with two option schools and NO neighborhood school. ASFS is the defacto neighborhood school because it is the most mainstream program. What are they thinking in terms of this zone?

Under this vision the whole 'team' thing in that part of the county goes away. There really is no reason that this little area of the county should have some exclusive school options. Key becomes just a immersion option program for one half of the county while Claremont is the immersion option for the other half of the county (and the "halfs" area East/West, not North/South). They suggested that all neighborhood schools would have as a default a "STEAM" instructional model since the usual description of the STEAM model is all things they would want all ES kids to get -- problem solving, creativity, innovation, emphasis on science, math and arts, along with literacy of course. So ASFS becomes a neighborhood school with nothing particularly unique about its instructional focus.

Each half of the county would have an immersion option and an IB option plus the countywide options for Montessori and ATS. However, they have completely overlooked the fact that Campbell is also a unique program.

Yea, I thought this was confusing -- it looked like ASFS was going to become the neighborhood school for the current ASFS/Key district. Only strange thing about that is that ASFS is not actually in the district where it is the neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

New "choice" middle schools? They can't balance the enrollment of 3 high schools and 1 choice program as it is--even when they devote several months to that task alone--without royally screwing it up. We want to introduce more variables?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^They will. You are the smart ones.

Not too sure about that ( tangent alert)

The county has back peddled pretty much all of the promises they've made to south Arlington. Streetcar? Nope. Improved bus service at least? Nope. Working to improve demographics with HS boundary change last fall? FUCK NO.
More affordable housing targeted at the three elementary schools that are already majority poor! YEP!
They have grand plans for 4 mile run but I'm skeptical we'll see that in the next 15 years.
We've been living down here for 15 years, and have watched our local school get worse not better.
I'm not feeling particularly smart right now.
I hope this dog and pony show produces enough smoke to allow us to sell and get out. Arlington has nice dog parks, and some great county services. It's nice knowing ya'll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think what Nancy and other members miss is that there is no metric for determining how many people try to lottery to ATS and/or HB because they want that particular philosophy, or because it's a way out of a crowded situation into a smaller, protected school. Those waiting lists to me aren't a clear indicator without additional evaluation of what drove a family to try the lottery.

So who cares if that's the reason they want those schools? I mean, if that environment is more important to them or to the success of their student, than being able to walk the larger, more crowded neighborhood school that's right next door, then that should be a choice they're able to make. The new school at Reed is going to built to at least 725 seats, whether neighborhood or option school, so at least it won't be smaller. They could, and might, expand ATS at some future point. Same with the other option schools that are in older, smaller buildings, if the demand is proven. I don't know. I just don't think that it HAS to be the program alone that is the reason, and I don't think we can ever really know all the reasons some families prefer choice. In many cases it's probably a combination of factors.

[Anonymous]

I think the point is that if a lot of families are applying to other schools because the SB has poorly not managed the seat crisis and has refused to plan for the student increases (to put it nicely), and families are simply trying to get their kids out of trailers - then adding neighborhood schools that deal directly with the seat issue makes the most sense.

[Anonymous]

Do you guys really think that adding more seats to the total won't hep the overcrowding? IF you listen to the meeting, the staff will be in charge of implementation and guiding the lotteries, which will be done centrally. I think people at the most crowded schools who want to get out, will lottery out and there will be spaces for them. People who live near Reed will lottery into Reed, thereby decreasing overcrowding at McKinley. I don't get why this is such a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Choice is the SB's answer to every problem. But it just exacerbates existing problems. Racial and economic segregation AND enrollment problems. More choice schools will just further screw up their projections. You watch.

[Anonymous]

SB must be pretty happy with the new Arlington Tech HS option to want more options for MS and ES.

What option will the soon-to-be Ed Ctr HS be?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you guys really think that adding more seats to the total won't hep the overcrowding? IF you listen to the meeting, the staff will be in charge of implementation and guiding the lotteries, which will be done centrally. I think people at the most crowded schools who want to get out, will lottery out and there will be spaces for them. People who live near Reed will lottery into Reed, thereby decreasing overcrowding at McKinley. I don't get why this is such a big deal.

And people who live everywhere else with all lottery into Reed and it won't really help the neighborhood. McK certainly isn't helped by having ATS within its boundaries.

[Anonymous]

Unlike ATS this would only be for half the county. I doubt it will be as crazy popular as ATS initially. Also it will be bigger than ATS. I bet it will relieve some crowding issues at McKinley.

[Anonymous]

I can appreciate the choice programs in Arlington, and still believe we need a 4th comprehensive high school. As the parent of a child at Claremont, I'm all for expanding the options. But immersion presents a unique problem: finding qualified Spanish-speaking teachers for the upper grades. It's already tough to do so, which is why Gunston & Wakefield don't offer even more immersion classes. Not sure the pool is big enough to expand the program to this degree. Especially when you consider other school districts like DC, Fairfax and Montgomery County are taking their share of teachers for their own immersion programs. Maybe consolidating at a more centrally-located middle & high school is the answer? So there'd be relatively equal access from all points in Arlington?