South Arlington elementary school boundary adjustments 2019

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you look at the MS boundaries and paid attention to how they want to move away from split feeders and small numbers of kids having to make all new friends in MS, it's obvious that they are going to send all PU's S of the Pike out of Fleet, since they moved them to Gunston, and move Alcova into Fleet, since they would be the only Barcroft PU's not zoned Kenmore. Alcova is moving-they are walk zone to the new ES. Some of us tried to warn you about where they were building the new school and what it could mean. What they do with Barcroft is anyone's guess. It's already under capacity now and would be well under with just the PU's that are geographically closest (walk zone). Not sure who'd they plan to bus in. Maybe it becomes an option school?

Prevailing wisdom is that ALcova will not get moved, though I'd be happy if it was, since we live there.

I'd love to see Barcroft improve, or maybe become a different program that can better accommodate English learners and the engage the kids who need less help. Some of our neighbors go choice, but the ones that are at Barcroft aren't complaining too much, so it must be getting better. Still, given how close Henry is to us, we will try to go to the Montessori program, as long as the plan to limit the admissions of kids who didn't do the VPI Montessori doesn't happen.

[Anonymous]

Arlington Village and that little triangle east of Walter Reed is zoned Jefferson not Gunston

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arlington Village and that little triangle east of Walter Reed is zoned Jefferson not Gunston

Yeah, I didn’t think that had changed?

[Anonymous]

You have a self-selecting group that remains at Barcroft. The ones left aren't complaining because they are the ones that are OK with it. This is why talking to parents at a school can be a tricky way of learning about it. You have to talk to those who have stayed and those who have left and then discern where you fit it. It's not easy to figure that out without actually experiencing it--for better or for worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington Village and that little triangle east of Walter Reed is zoned Jefferson not Gunston

Yeah, I didn’t think that had changed?

My mistake. What ES are the PU's that are S of the Pike who were moved from Jefferson to Gunston? Are those Hoffman Boston? I still think there's a good chance Alcova gets moved to Fleet. Not because I live there, but because of the walk zone issue. I just can't see how the arguments the SB/APS staff made for the MS boundary decisions aren't applied to the ES boundary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I hope that some of the people swearing to go private or move actually visit the schools they are maligning, meet the principals and talk to current parents.

To potentially be rezoned from Henry to Drew, which by all accounts is even a 4 on GS only because of the Montessori program bundled into its scores, is a pretty legitimate concern IMO. I would have never originally bought a house zoned for Drew. If that’s flame-worthy, so be it I guess. I’ll give the entirety of the situation full consideration when the time comes.

I don't think there's any way of telling what the new Drew will be like. All depends on where it ends up with the new school population. The current general/non-Montessori pop at Drew is so small.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I hope that some of the people swearing to go private or move actually visit the schools they are maligning, meet the principals and talk to current parents.

To potentially be rezoned from Henry to Drew, which by all accounts is even a 4 on GS only because of the Montessori program bundled into its scores, is a pretty legitimate concern IMO. I would have never originally bought a house zoned for Drew. If that’s flame-worthy, so be it I guess. I’ll give the entirety of the situation full consideration when the time comes.

I don't think there's any way of telling what the new Drew will be like. All depends on where it ends up with the new school population. The current general/non-Montessori pop at Drew is so small.

That's the thing: if different neighborhoods are zoned to Drew, what's to say the scores don't go up? Same thing with the MS and HS boundaries and all the parents freaking out about being zoned to a "lesser" school. If more UMC neighborhoods, where the children are native speakers of English and have had extensive enrichment from very young ages and experience very few impediments to learning (such as hunger, poverty, transience, etc.), were zoned to the school, wouldn't you expect test scores to go up? Even if you think it's the school itself, the administration and many staff will be new to the school. No reason to think this school can't be a good school, too.

[Anonymous]

Right but are you willing to send your child to the unknown as a kindergartner in 2019? That’s the dilemma these families are facing. What with all the AH and the new board chairs focus on AH it is risky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I hope that some of the people swearing to go private or move actually visit the schools they are maligning, meet the principals and talk to current parents.

To potentially be rezoned from Henry to Drew, which by all accounts is even a 4 on GS only because of the Montessori program bundled into its scores, is a pretty legitimate concern IMO. I would have never originally bought a house zoned for Drew. If that’s flame-worthy, so be it I guess. I’ll give the entirety of the situation full consideration when the time comes.

I don't think there's any way of telling what the new Drew will be like. All depends on where it ends up with the new school population. The current general/non-Montessori pop at Drew is so small.

That's the thing: if different neighborhoods are zoned to Drew, what's to say the scores don't go up? Same thing with the MS and HS boundaries and all the parents freaking out about being zoned to a "lesser" school. If more UMC neighborhoods, where the children are native speakers of English and have had extensive enrichment from very young ages and experience very few impediments to learning (such as hunger, poverty, transience, etc.), were zoned to the school, wouldn't you expect test scores to go up? Even if you think it's the school itself, the administration and many staff will be new to the school. No reason to think this school can't be a good school, too.

The administration will be new to Drew? I’ve heard just as many concerns about the administration as over the student population. You are right, the new PUs could change things, but it’s a small area and I don’t think that piece of the old Henry alone is going to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Right but are you willing to send your child to the unknown as a kindergartner in 2019? That’s the dilemma these families are facing. What with all the AH and the new board chairs focus on AH it is risky.

There's not much AH in the current Drew boundary. And the border areas that might get pulled in don't have high concentrations of AH either. I mean, I get being uncertain and worrying about a "new" school, but I suspect whatever it is will be better than what is was. Fleet is going to have some of the same growing pains. The staff may not be new, but everything else will be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I hope that some of the people swearing to go private or move actually visit the schools they are maligning, meet the principals and talk to current parents.

To potentially be rezoned from Henry to Drew, which by all accounts is even a 4 on GS only because of the Montessori program bundled into its scores, is a pretty legitimate concern IMO. I would have never originally bought a house zoned for Drew. If that’s flame-worthy, so be it I guess. I’ll give the entirety of the situation full consideration when the time comes.

I don't think there's any way of telling what the new Drew will be like. All depends on where it ends up with the new school population. The current general/non-Montessori pop at Drew is so small.

That's the thing: if different neighborhoods are zoned to Drew, what's to say the scores don't go up? Same thing with the MS and HS boundaries and all the parents freaking out about being zoned to a "lesser" school. If more UMC neighborhoods, where the children are native speakers of English and have had extensive enrichment from very young ages and experience very few impediments to learning (such as hunger, poverty, transience, etc.), were zoned to the school, wouldn't you expect test scores to go up? Even if you think it's the school itself, the administration and many staff will be new to the school. No reason to think this school can't be a good school, too.

The administration will be new to Drew? I’ve heard just as many concerns about the administration as over the student population. You are right, the new PUs could change things, but it’s a small area and I don’t think that piece of the old Henry alone is going to do it.

They're also going to pull from Oakridge for sure, probably Abingdon, too. It could be a very different school. Anyone know how many seats it will have and how many current non-Montessori students there are?

[Anonymous]

I live in the Drew neighborhood and am cautiously optimistic about the new Drew, as are my neighbors. As a PP said, there is not a lot of concentrated AH in the current Drew zone or, I suspect, in the areas that may be pulled into Drew. Yes, Nauck is generally a lower income area, but I believe there are MC/UMC families incorporated generally throughout.

The new Drew zone will pull from the current zones for Abingdon, Hoffman-Boston, Randolph, Oakridge, and Henry. This is not speculation; PTA and teachers from those schools are involved in the planning process. Just taking a guess based on geography, some of the closest Henry planning units (south of the Pike) and Oakridge planning units (west of Gunston) could be coming to Drew. I don't think those PUs have many economically disadvantaged kids, though I could be wrong. They are also eliminating the option for the Drew zone to choose Hoffman-Boston. I assume this means kids currently choiced out of Drew to go to Hoffman-Boston will be coming back (I don't know for sure). I don't expect all of those kids are low-income either.

Regarding the administration, Drew is getting a new principal and keeping the current assistant principal. It will also need many more teachers, since most of the current teachers go with the Montessori program. And, they're pushing the STEAM thing, which sounds positive if kind of buzz-wordy. Maybe they'll get the kind of positive response the Hoffman-Boston STEM program got. Pretty sure when I moved here, that school was a 5 or 6 on Great Schools. Now it's an 8, which is awesome, but I haven't lived here that long. Things can change relatively quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I hope that some of the people swearing to go private or move actually visit the schools they are maligning, meet the principals and talk to current parents.

To potentially be rezoned from Henry to Drew, which by all accounts is even a 4 on GS only because of the Montessori program bundled into its scores, is a pretty legitimate concern IMO. I would have never originally bought a house zoned for Drew. If that’s flame-worthy, so be it I guess. I’ll give the entirety of the situation full consideration when the time comes.

I don't think there's any way of telling what the new Drew will be like. All depends on where it ends up with the new school population. The current general/non-Montessori pop at Drew is so small.

That's the thing: if different neighborhoods are zoned to Drew, what's to say the scores don't go up? Same thing with the MS and HS boundaries and all the parents freaking out about being zoned to a "lesser" school. If more UMC neighborhoods, where the children are native speakers of English and have had extensive enrichment from very young ages and experience very few impediments to learning (such as hunger, poverty, transience, etc.), were zoned to the school, wouldn't you expect test scores to go up? Even if you think it's the school itself, the administration and many staff will be new to the school. No reason to think this school can't be a good school, too.

The administration will be new to Drew? I’ve heard just as many concerns about the administration as over the student population. You are right, the new PUs could change things, but it’s a small area and I don’t think that piece of the old Henry alone is going to do it.

They're also going to pull from Oakridge for sure, probably Abingdon, too. It could be a very different school. Anyone know how many seats it will have and how many current non-Montessori students there are?

I believe Drew's capacity is around 550-600 and the Montessori program is about 400-450.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I hope that some of the people swearing to go private or move actually visit the schools they are maligning, meet the principals and talk to current parents.

To potentially be rezoned from Henry to Drew, which by all accounts is even a 4 on GS only because of the Montessori program bundled into its scores, is a pretty legitimate concern IMO. I would have never originally bought a house zoned for Drew. If that’s flame-worthy, so be it I guess. I’ll give the entirety of the situation full consideration when the time comes.

I don't think there's any way of telling what the new Drew will be like. All depends on where it ends up with the new school population. The current general/non-Montessori pop at Drew is so small.

That's the thing: if different neighborhoods are zoned to Drew, what's to say the scores don't go up? Same thing with the MS and HS boundaries and all the parents freaking out about being zoned to a "lesser" school. If more UMC neighborhoods, where the children are native speakers of English and have had extensive enrichment from very young ages and experience very few impediments to learning (such as hunger, poverty, transience, etc.), were zoned to the school, wouldn't you expect test scores to go up? Even if you think it's the school itself, the administration and many staff will be new to the school. No reason to think this school can't be a good school, too.

The administration will be new to Drew? I’ve heard just as many concerns about the administration as over the student population. You are right, the new PUs could change things, but it’s a small area and I don’t think that piece of the old Henry alone is going to do it.

They're also going to pull from Oakridge for sure, probably Abingdon, too. It could be a very different school. Anyone know how many seats it will have and how many current non-Montessori students there are?

I believe Drew's capacity is around 550-600 and the Montessori program is about 400-450.

So basically, this will be an almost entirely new population of students, probably with more income diversity (at the high end) than currently exists in the non-Montessori program. I see no reason to panic about being rezoned here.

Very curious to see how the other boundaries play out and/or what they decide to do about option programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I hope that some of the people swearing to go private or move actually visit the schools they are maligning, meet the principals and talk to current parents.

To potentially be rezoned from Henry to Drew, which by all accounts is even a 4 on GS only because of the Montessori program bundled into its scores, is a pretty legitimate concern IMO. I would have never originally bought a house zoned for Drew. If that’s flame-worthy, so be it I guess. I’ll give the entirety of the situation full consideration when the time comes.

I don't think there's any way of telling what the new Drew will be like. All depends on where it ends up with the new school population. The current general/non-Montessori pop at Drew is so small.

That's the thing: if different neighborhoods are zoned to Drew, what's to say the scores don't go up? Same thing with the MS and HS boundaries and all the parents freaking out about being zoned to a "lesser" school. If more UMC neighborhoods, where the children are native speakers of English and have had extensive enrichment from very young ages and experience very few impediments to learning (such as hunger, poverty, transience, etc.), were zoned to the school, wouldn't you expect test scores to go up? Even if you think it's the school itself, the administration and many staff will be new to the school. No reason to think this school can't be a good school, too.

The administration will be new to Drew? I’ve heard just as many concerns about the administration as over the student population. You are right, the new PUs could change things, but it’s a small area and I don’t think that piece of the old Henry alone is going to do it.

They're also going to pull from Oakridge for sure, probably Abingdon, too. It could be a very different school. Anyone know how many seats it will have and how many current non-Montessori students there are?

I believe Drew's capacity is around 550-600 and the Montessori program is about 400-450.

So basically, this will be an almost entirely new population of students, probably with more income diversity (at the high end) than currently exists in the non-Montessori program. I see no reason to panic about being rezoned here.

Very curious to see how the other boundaries play out and/or what they decide to do about option programs.

Yes, PP here and I agree. I'm also 13:00. I still think the process is going to be ugly though, with parents fighting to stay out of Drew. Hope I'm wrong about that.