APS Sinking Ship

[Anonymous]

NP. My kid is at a SA Title 1 school frequently posted as a “failing school” on these boards. I can say from first-hand experience the school is anything but failing. Nay, it is thriving under a relatively new powerhouse principal, amazing teachers, and a small but dedicated PTA. My child is learning and interacting daily with people different from our normal social group (UMC) and that is making them a better person. I couldn’t be happier with our choice to send them to the neighborhood school. I add this anecdote here because I fear these boards are often one-sided and I know parents are looking here to help guide tough decisions. Also look to the parents at your neighborhood school. Talk to the PTA. Get a sense for things on your own. I see APS appears to have a lot of serious problems at high-level leadership right now, which I believe is the original point of this thread, but that has not affected the day-to-day life at my child’s school.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:No One is ignoring that acps is mostly serving underprivileged/under performing students. It’s widely known and accepted. It has been that way for decades and isn’t worthy of note.

And soon it will be true of south Arlington as well.

What has changed in south Arlington?

Bifurcation. Housing prices have gone way up. Way up. And at the same time, more and more CAFs. Thus what you get are very wealthy who can afford a SFH, and the very poor who can only afford to live here through large subsidies.

The wealthy also can afford to send their kids to private instead of a public school in which 6 or 7 kids out of 10 don’t speak English and live in poverty. It’s not that these parents are “racist” it’s that they know in a classroom situation like that is triage and the teachers are going to put most of their time and effort to the kids that need the most help. And that’s not the kid living in a 850k reno, and TBH shouldn’t be. And when the rich kids bail, the imbalance gets worse, and the worse the imbalance is, the more it repels UMC and MC families who would consider a 40 or 50 percent FRL school but not a 70 or 80 percent one.

Ah yes. That.
- former south Arlington homeowner

It's not racism, it's opportunity hoarding. (And it's not just families in south Arlington, it's the whole system, including people that insist on "neighborhood" boundaries that don't cross route 50---or Lee Highway.) There's no sense that everyone has some civic responsibility to improve the public school system for all kids. No one wants to walk the walk.

Bailing on an underperforming high poverty school is not “opportunity hoarding.” It’s leaving to find opportunity.

How do you bring opportunity to those schools? I think most of us are worried about sacrificing our kids' education for kids who have to start from so far behind? I'm all for integration, but what do you do when 2/3s of your kids' class is learning in English for the first time, can't read, and didn't attend school until recently? It's great that they've made it, but how do you catch them up so that all the kids are at the same level? How can you be sure your kid is still learning? It's the same argument over and over. No one has come up with a solution that works across the board. Which just makes everyone paranoid.

There is a solution that works across the board: busing. Integration and inclusion. Separate isn't equal so anything that separates students will end up unequal. What's lacking isn't evidence, but the political will, esp since everyone who bought before Amazon is now sitting in a gold mine (or so they think).

A few thoughts about your question though. First, what is your description based on? Are you looking at tables and doing mental math about what these classrooms must be like, or are you going from what you know they are like? Second, just how bad for your particular kid is the scenario you describe, being in a setting with people of varying experience, and if that is harmful for your kid, why? People fight to get kids into Montessori because kids of differing abilities teach each other there, so why is it undesirable in this context? Why do you see education as a zero-sum game of the teacher's attention, esp since (going out on a limb here) your kid gets the attention of two educated parents at home to compensate, and is almost never absent?

I have a kid at Carlin Springs w a disability, so I know the administration there is extremely inclusion-minded and open to meeting all students where they are, for whatever reason that they are there. As Title 1 schools, the SA neighborhood schools aren't without resources. The option system is strong in SA IMO to assuage the concerns of parents like you (and me, TBH, my other kid is at an option school) by giving us a path to an environment that's NA-like without us having to move.

Busing would be great, but the school board has been so resistant to it. We could easily have socioeconomic schools that way.

My descriptions are based on statistics from schools in Arlington and what I have seen and been told by other parents. If you have a school with 60% ESL kids, some of whom we know are new arrivals and new to school in general, that poses an educational issue that doesn't seem like its been adequately addressed. Otherwise, APS wouldn't be dealing with claims that it is under serving the population. I'm well aware that there are people of varying experience (I count myself as one of them). I did question what my kid could be learning while most of the class is focused on catching up. It's one thing when it's a couple of kids - it's another when it's most of the class - that's a huge disparity to overcome.

Education isn't a zero sum game when it comes to attention, but I don't think its unreasonable to expect that your kid will learn at school, not written off as being okay. I don't want to compensate, I want to enrich. I want to be part of a diverse school, which is why we live in SA. Majority-minority is not diverse (I went to a school like that). And the choice system clearly is a lottery - not everyone gets a spot. Differentiation is supposed to answer some of this by teaching to different skill levels, but it's not perfect; with all of those resources, those schools still have half the student body that can't pass the tests. Maybe the scores should be broken down further into how long those kids have been in school, but I question how does school system plan to remedy that gap?

You can't compare a 16 yr old kid who crossed the border reading at a 4th grade level against an UMC kid who was raised by highly educated parents. I don't understand why the school systems in this area can't face this reality. How about we work on educating each child to the best of their ability instead of expecting everyone to be the same.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of the classrooms in title 1 schools are segregated themselves. In my kid's class, the gifted kids are always getting pulled out to join the larger gifted cluster in another class for math etc. Guess who is in the gifted program, all the UMC kids. What is left in the class are the EL and not so smart kids. I know of another school with same issue - hence parents make sure their kids are in the gifted program even if they really are not gifted.

My kid isn't so smart, and I didn't know the game. He is left with a class of kids who need a lot of help and oh man the behavioral issues are insane. No support at home for kids with serious behavioral issues. School can't do anything about it. Teaching is to the bottom.

UMC parent with kid at low performing SA school.

The school CAN and should do something about the behavioral problems. It's actually their responsibility. But APS does not do a good job with this.

What CAN the school do? I'm really curious. Our school has children who are sent out of the classroom every day because of behavior issues. Obviously, their parents either can't figure out how to control their 8 year old or don't care to because we've had issues for years with certain students. We aren't private, where we can kick them out. We aren't a choice school, where we can send them back to their home school. What can we do that WILL do something about their behaviors?

My child is in S. Arlington and had a kid with behavioral issues. The school got him a para that shadows him during class and on field trips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The school CAN and should do something about the behavioral problems. It's actually their responsibility. But APS does not do a good job with this.

What CAN the school do? I'm really curious. Our school has children who are sent out of the classroom every day because of behavior issues. Obviously, their parents either can't figure out how to control their 8 year old or don't care to because we've had issues for years with certain students. We aren't private, where we can kick them out. We aren't a choice school, where we can send them back to their home school. What can we do that WILL do something about their behaviors?

My child is in S. Arlington and had a kid with behavioral issues. The school got him a para that shadows him during class and on field trips.

That’s great. Please know, however, that your situation is the exception, not the norm. There aren’t nearly enough aides (or the funding for them) for all the kids with serious behavioral issues. The child in your school may have qualified for this through sped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It all comes down to housing policy. Historically, bussing has been a major flop. Instinct drives us to work through school assignments and the school
board to fix a problem manifesting itself in our schools, but the truly effective solution to Arlington’s school segregation will have to come through housing policy reform that more evenly distributes people of different socioeconomic backgrounds.

I propose siting affordable housing in areas zoned for Jamestown and Nottingham.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. My kid is at a SA Title 1 school frequently posted as a “failing school” on these boards. I can say from first-hand experience the school is anything but failing. Nay, it is thriving under a relatively new powerhouse principal, amazing teachers, and a small but dedicated PTA. My child is learning and interacting daily with people different from our normal social group (UMC) and that is making them a better person. I couldn’t be happier with our choice to send them to the neighborhood school. I add this anecdote here because I fear these boards are often one-sided and I know parents are looking here to help guide tough decisions. Also look to the parents at your neighborhood school. Talk to the PTA. Get a sense for things on your own. I see APS appears to have a lot of serious problems at high-level leadership right now, which I believe is the original point of this thread, but that has not affected the day-to-day life at my child’s school.

My Guess? your child is in K-2.
-someone who has lives this.

[Anonymous]

I think all of the usual suspects have shown up now.

We seriously need a South Arlington Schools Anonymous. We can meet at Arlington Mill Rec, drink bad coffee from eco-friednly cups, and vent our UMC anxieties and hang ups, maybe do something about it that doesn't make us all sound classist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. My kid is at a SA Title 1 school frequently posted as a “failing school” on these boards. I can say from first-hand experience the school is anything but failing. Nay, it is thriving under a relatively new powerhouse principal, amazing teachers, and a small but dedicated PTA. My child is learning and interacting daily with people different from our normal social group (UMC) and that is making them a better person. I couldn’t be happier with our choice to send them to the neighborhood school. I add this anecdote here because I fear these boards are often one-sided and I know parents are looking here to help guide tough decisions. Also look to the parents at your neighborhood school. Talk to the PTA. Get a sense for things on your own. I see APS appears to have a lot of serious problems at high-level leadership right now, which I believe is the original point of this thread, but that has not affected the day-to-day life at my child’s school.

More people like you should speak up. I suspect they don't lurk on these boards like the rest of us though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. My kid is at a SA Title 1 school frequently posted as a “failing school” on these boards. I can say from first-hand experience the school is anything but failing. Nay, it is thriving under a relatively new powerhouse principal, amazing teachers, and a small but dedicated PTA. My child is learning and interacting daily with people different from our normal social group (UMC) and that is making them a better person. I couldn’t be happier with our choice to send them to the neighborhood school. I add this anecdote here because I fear these boards are often one-sided and I know parents are looking here to help guide tough decisions. Also look to the parents at your neighborhood school. Talk to the PTA. Get a sense for things on your own. I see APS appears to have a lot of serious problems at high-level leadership right now, which I believe is the original point of this thread, but that has not affected the day-to-day life at my child’s school.

More people like you should speak up. I suspect they don't lurk on these boards like the rest of us though.

Oh some of us are here. We are just sick of being told that we’re wrong, don’t know what we’re talking about, will change our minds later or don’t value education basically every time we post.

—dp in a similar situation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The school CAN and should do something about the behavioral problems. It's actually their responsibility. But APS does not do a good job with this.

What CAN the school do? I'm really curious. Our school has children who are sent out of the classroom every day because of behavior issues. Obviously, their parents either can't figure out how to control their 8 year old or don't care to because we've had issues for years with certain students. We aren't private, where we can kick them out. We aren't a choice school, where we can send them back to their home school. What can we do that WILL do something about their behaviors?

My child is in S. Arlington and had a kid with behavioral issues. The school got him a para that shadows him during class and on field trips.

That’s great. Please know, however, that your situation is the exception, not the norm. There aren’t nearly enough aides (or the funding for them) for all the kids with serious behavioral issues. The child in your school may have qualified for this through sped.

I know this isn't PC, but I'm going to dare to say it anyway - some children, no matter how much their parents love them and wish for them to be like every other kid, just shouldn't be in an integrated classroom. Every kid should, perhaps, have the right to try; but you shouldn't force it and don't have the right to "harm" or hold-back other kids in the process of making it work when it just isn't appropriate for your child. And oftentimes, such child will actually thrive in a more appropriate setting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. My kid is at a SA Title 1 school frequently posted as a “failing school” on these boards. I can say from first-hand experience the school is anything but failing. Nay, it is thriving under a relatively new powerhouse principal, amazing teachers, and a small but dedicated PTA. My child is learning and interacting daily with people different from our normal social group (UMC) and that is making them a better person. I couldn’t be happier with our choice to send them to the neighborhood school. I add this anecdote here because I fear these boards are often one-sided and I know parents are looking here to help guide tough decisions. Also look to the parents at your neighborhood school. Talk to the PTA. Get a sense for things on your own. I see APS appears to have a lot of serious problems at high-level leadership right now, which I believe is the original point of this thread, but that has not affected the day-to-day life at my child’s school.

More people like you should speak up. I suspect they don't lurk on these boards like the rest of us though.

DP - many of us HAVE spoken up; but we're quickly dismissed, cut-down, criticized, or "that's great BUT it isn't like that for me or the other people I know" etc etc etc. But I do hope this parent is able to speak up within her own neighborhood and school zone and convince more of her like-peers to also attend the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. My kid is at a SA Title 1 school frequently posted as a “failing school” on these boards. I can say from first-hand experience the school is anything but failing. Nay, it is thriving under a relatively new powerhouse principal, amazing teachers, and a small but dedicated PTA. My child is learning and interacting daily with people different from our normal social group (UMC) and that is making them a better person. I couldn’t be happier with our choice to send them to the neighborhood school. I add this anecdote here because I fear these boards are often one-sided and I know parents are looking here to help guide tough decisions. Also look to the parents at your neighborhood school. Talk to the PTA. Get a sense for things on your own. I see APS appears to have a lot of serious problems at high-level leadership right now, which I believe is the original point of this thread, but that has not affected the day-to-day life at my child’s school.

More people like you should speak up. I suspect they don't lurk on these boards like the rest of us though.

DP - many of us HAVE spoken up; but we're quickly dismissed, cut-down, criticized, or "that's great BUT it isn't like that for me or the other people I know" etc etc etc. But I do hope this parent is able to speak up within her own neighborhood and school zone and convince more of her like-peers to also attend the school.

Or this, a prime example: My Guess? your child is in K-2.
-someone who has lives this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The school CAN and should do something about the behavioral problems. It's actually their responsibility. But APS does not do a good job with this.

What CAN the school do? I'm really curious. Our school has children who are sent out of the classroom every day because of behavior issues. Obviously, their parents either can't figure out how to control their 8 year old or don't care to because we've had issues for years with certain students. We aren't private, where we can kick them out. We aren't a choice school, where we can send them back to their home school. What can we do that WILL do something about their behaviors?

My child is in S. Arlington and had a kid with behavioral issues. The school got him a para that shadows him during class and on field trips.

That’s great. Please know, however, that your situation is the exception, not the norm. There aren’t nearly enough aides (or the funding for them) for all the kids with serious behavioral issues. The child in your school may have qualified for this through sped.

+1

Additionally, if there is a shortage of staff one day, the para may be pulled to cover another class. The extreme cases should be transferred to Interlude where the kids can get the help they need to become productive members of society. Unfortunately, parents often refuse to see what's happening. More common are the behavior problems that stem from parents who don't enforce rules, ignore consequences
or are just as poorly behaved as their offspring. If your kid goes to the pincincipal's office every day, you need to look at what you can do to change that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. My kid is at a SA Title 1 school frequently posted as a “failing school” on these boards. I can say from first-hand experience the school is anything but failing. Nay, it is thriving under a relatively new powerhouse principal, amazing teachers, and a small but dedicated PTA. My child is learning and interacting daily with people different from our normal social group (UMC) and that is making them a better person. I couldn’t be happier with our choice to send them to the neighborhood school. I add this anecdote here because I fear these boards are often one-sided and I know parents are looking here to help guide tough decisions. Also look to the parents at your neighborhood school. Talk to the PTA. Get a sense for things on your own. I see APS appears to have a lot of serious problems at high-level leadership right now, which I believe is the original point of this thread, but that has not affected the day-to-day life at my child’s school.

More people like you should speak up. I suspect they don't lurk on these boards like the rest of us though.

DP - many of us HAVE spoken up; but we're quickly dismissed, cut-down, criticized, or "that's great BUT it isn't like that for me or the other people I know" etc etc etc. But I do hope this parent is able to speak up within her own neighborhood and school zone and convince more of her like-peers to also attend the school.

Or this, a prime example: My Guess? your child is in K-2.
-someone who has lives this.

Or the people who have fled to North Arlington telling us that's the only way?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. My kid is at a SA Title 1 school frequently posted as a “failing school” on these boards. I can say from first-hand experience the school is anything but failing. Nay, it is thriving under a relatively new powerhouse principal, amazing teachers, and a small but dedicated PTA. My child is learning and interacting daily with people different from our normal social group (UMC) and that is making them a better person. I couldn’t be happier with our choice to send them to the neighborhood school. I add this anecdote here because I fear these boards are often one-sided and I know parents are looking here to help guide tough decisions. Also look to the parents at your neighborhood school. Talk to the PTA. Get a sense for things on your own. I see APS appears to have a lot of serious problems at high-level leadership right now, which I believe is the original point of this thread, but that has not affected the day-to-day life at my child’s school.

More people like you should speak up. I suspect they don't lurk on these boards like the rest of us though.

DP - many of us HAVE spoken up; but we're quickly dismissed, cut-down, criticized, or "that's great BUT it isn't like that for me or the other people I know" etc etc etc. But I do hope this parent is able to speak up within her own neighborhood and school zone and convince more of her like-peers to also attend the school.

Or this, a prime example: My Guess? your child is in K-2.
-someone who has lives this.

Or the people who have fled to North Arlington telling us that's the only way?

Well it appears there are at least 3 of us on this thread. That’s a welcome improvement.