APS Free and Reduced Meals - New Report

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most embarrassing is HB Woodlawn at 12%. There’s no reason for that to be lower than the county average.

Here we go again with the HB bashing. We get it. Your kid didn’t get in and you’re jealous. I’ll bet your kid doesn’t qualify for reduced price meals either.

So why not tip the scales to get to 30% farms? As you implied, tons of kids don’t get in anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most embarrassing is HB Woodlawn at 12%. There’s no reason for that to be lower than the county average.

Here we go again with the HB bashing. We get it. Your kid didn’t get in and you’re jealous. I’ll bet your kid doesn’t qualify for reduced price meals either.

DP. I agree with the PPP. Option programs should be balanced. They can be controlled with admissions policies requiring it. But they won't do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’ll find the same disparity in every one of the larger public school systems in the DMV, including DC itself. It’s because schools are largely neighborhood based. Nothing unique about Arlington.

The elementary schools are neighborhood based. They need to do away with the option schools and figure out a better way to do the middle and high school boundaries.

What do option schools have to do with middle and high school boundaries? I'm only aware of them being relevant to Spanish immersion, where N. Arlington kids from Escuela Key can stay in immersion at Gunston and Wakefield. If anything that would help improve the balance.

There are elementary option schools. There shouldn’t be option schools in a public school system. The resources should be used to make sure the neighborhood schools offer a more equal experience.

Just my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington should be ashamed of itself.

I may have misunderstood, but I’m pretty sure I heard advocates for low income parents saying it was better to concentrate kids needing services at certain schools because it’s easier to provide them at central locations. I don’t agree that the schools should be so wildly disparate, but I’m certain I have heard that opinion expressed.

You're (mostly) mistaken. Advocates for affordable housing make that argument. The County Board makes that argument. Parents at wealthy schools make that argument. APS has just never had the guts to oppose the loud wealthy communities opposing boundary changes or other efforts to "share the wealth" - or "share the poverty," depending on your perspective. A few actually from the low-income communities sometimes pushback as well, primarily when APS suggests their community will be all broken-up and bused across the county under boundary changes.

Gotcha. I didn’t mean to mis-speak. I was shocked to hear anyone make that argument, frankly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm really surprised Williamsburg is so low. I know it draws from a very wealthy area, but 2.43% is so low - especially compared to Hamm and Swanson. Did Hamm take all the "poor" people from Williamsburg when it opened?

Also, my kids went to Glebe - they are in HS now. Their numbers are much lower than they used to be, too.

Yes, Williamsburg used to have a a FARMs rate in the low teens because of the Rosslyn island, but those kids go to Hamm now. I don't know what happened at Glebe, not sure if that was a boundary change or just gentrification.

Yeah, here's the data from 2018 - the year before Hamm opened. Williamsburg was at 12.28%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm really surprised Williamsburg is so low. I know it draws from a very wealthy area, but 2.43% is so low - especially compared to Hamm and Swanson. Did Hamm take all the "poor" people from Williamsburg when it opened?

Also, my kids went to Glebe - they are in HS now. Their numbers are much lower than they used to be, too.

Yes, Williamsburg used to have a a FARMs rate in the low teens because of the Rosslyn island, but those kids go to Hamm now. I don't know what happened at Glebe, not sure if that was a boundary change or just gentrification.

Yeah, here's the data from 2018 - the year before Hamm opened. Williamsburg was at 12.28%.

Forgot the link!

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/FREE-REDUCED-OCTOBER-31-2018.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’ll find the same disparity in every one of the larger public school systems in the DMV, including DC itself. It’s because schools are largely neighborhood based. Nothing unique about Arlington.

Except for its small geographical size, coupled with its significant wealth.

Not unique. Try looking across the Potomac. DC is no different. Many cities are no different. Arlington is an urban community that’s as much a city as it is a suburb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The most embarrassing is HB Woodlawn at 12%. There’s no reason for that to be lower than the county average.

You got that right. And that school is located in the heart of Rosslyn. It’s walkable for a lot of lower-income families. That number is shameful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most embarrassing is HB Woodlawn at 12%. There’s no reason for that to be lower than the county average.

Here we go again with the HB bashing. We get it. Your kid didn’t get in and you’re jealous. I’ll bet your kid doesn’t qualify for reduced price meals either.

DP. I agree with the PPP. Option programs should be balanced. They can be controlled with admissions policies requiring it. But they won't do it.

HB’s program was not designed to serve an economically diverse population per se. Its program is designed for students with a certain learning style, and it’s self selecting. The selection process already attempts to arrive at socioeconomic diversity by allocating slots among the various elementary schools fairly and equitably, but it can’t force poor kids to apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most embarrassing is HB Woodlawn at 12%. There’s no reason for that to be lower than the county average.

Here we go again with the HB bashing. We get it. Your kid didn’t get in and you’re jealous. I’ll bet your kid doesn’t qualify for reduced price meals either.

DP. Look around you at where that school is located and the resources it takes to run it. If the best you can come up with is “you’re jealous,” you need to take a moment and really reflect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most embarrassing is HB Woodlawn at 12%. There’s no reason for that to be lower than the county average.

Here we go again with the HB bashing. We get it. Your kid didn’t get in and you’re jealous. I’ll bet your kid doesn’t qualify for reduced price meals either.

DP. I agree with the PPP. Option programs should be balanced. They can be controlled with admissions policies requiring it. But they won't do it.

HB’s program was not designed to serve an economically diverse population per se. Its program is designed for students with a certain learning style, and it’s self selecting. The selection process already attempts to arrive at socioeconomic diversity by allocating slots among the various elementary schools fairly and equitably, but it can’t force poor kids to apply.

I don't know how you can look at this application data and say people are self-selecting for learning style: https://www.apsva.us/school-options/school-transfer-data/secondary-options-transfers-application-data-school-year-2022-23/

There are 443 applicants for 73 offered seats in the 6th grade entry year. If it was about learning style we would be more concerned that 83% of the people who think they need that environment can't get it. We would have a process where there is some kind of recommendation and application materials showing suitability. Everyone know that HB Woodlawn is no longer about self selecting for leaning style.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most embarrassing is HB Woodlawn at 12%. There’s no reason for that to be lower than the county average.

Here we go again with the HB bashing. We get it. Your kid didn’t get in and you’re jealous. I’ll bet your kid doesn’t qualify for reduced price meals either.

DP. I agree with the PPP. Option programs should be balanced. They can be controlled with admissions policies requiring it. But they won't do it.

HB’s program was not designed to serve an economically diverse population per se. Its program is designed for students with a certain learning style, and it’s self selecting. The selection process already attempts to arrive at socioeconomic diversity by allocating slots among the various elementary schools fairly and equitably, but it can’t force poor kids to apply.

I don't know how you can look at this application data and say people are self-selecting for learning style: https://www.apsva.us/school-options/school-transfer-data/secondary-options-transfers-application-data-school-year-2022-23/

There are 443 applicants for 73 offered seats in the 6th grade entry year. If it was about learning style we would be more concerned that 83% of the people who think they need that environment can't get it. We would have a process where there is some kind of recommendation and application materials showing suitability. Everyone know that HB Woodlawn is no longer about self selecting for leaning style.

Who said anything about “needing” HB’s learning style? There’s a difference between need and want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most embarrassing is HB Woodlawn at 12%. There’s no reason for that to be lower than the county average.

Here we go again with the HB bashing. We get it. Your kid didn’t get in and you’re jealous. I’ll bet your kid doesn’t qualify for reduced price meals either.

DP. I agree with the PPP. Option programs should be balanced. They can be controlled with admissions policies requiring it. But they won't do it.

HB’s program was not designed to serve an economically diverse population per se. Its program is designed for students with a certain learning style, and it’s self selecting. The selection process already attempts to arrive at socioeconomic diversity by allocating slots among the various elementary schools fairly and equitably, but it can’t force poor kids to apply.

I don't know how you can look at this application data and say people are self-selecting for learning style: https://www.apsva.us/school-options/school-transfer-data/secondary-options-transfers-application-data-school-year-2022-23/

There are 443 applicants for 73 offered seats in the 6th grade entry year. If it was about learning style we would be more concerned that 83% of the people who think they need that environment can't get it. We would have a process where there is some kind of recommendation and application materials showing suitability. Everyone know that HB Woodlawn is no longer about self selecting for leaning style.

Who said anything about “needing” HB’s learning style? There’s a difference between need and want.

A PP upthread was saying HB can’t match the county average FARMs rate because it’s self selecting for learning style.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’ll find the same disparity in every one of the larger public school systems in the DMV, including DC itself. It’s because schools are largely neighborhood based. Nothing unique about Arlington.

The elementary schools are neighborhood based. They need to do away with the option schools and figure out a better way to do the middle and high school boundaries.

It's kind of impressive that Claremont is at 27.64% when literally every school in its draw area has a higher rate and 4/5 closest schools geographically are over 70%. It's pretty obvious what's going on there, but I don't really blame the parents for not wanting to send their kids to the schools with absurdly high rates of poverty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You’ll find the same disparity in every one of the larger public school systems in the DMV, including DC itself. It’s because schools are largely neighborhood based. Nothing unique about Arlington.

The elementary schools are neighborhood based. They need to do away with the option schools and figure out a better way to do the middle and high school boundaries.

What do option schools have to do with middle and high school boundaries? I'm only aware of them being relevant to Spanish immersion, where N. Arlington kids from Escuela Key can stay in immersion at Gunston and Wakefield. If anything that would help improve the balance.

There are elementary option schools. There shouldn’t be option schools in a public school system. The resources should be used to make sure the neighborhood schools offer a more equal experience.

Just my opinion.

Do Key or Claremont get more resources per student than other schools? I don't think so. Option schools just reflect that not all students need exactly the same thing. I have one kid in immersion and another at the neighborhood school because immersion wouldn't have been a good fit for them.