If ATS is so popular, why not create two of them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t want to drain neighborhood schools and leave them only with kids whose parents couldn’t/didn’t navigate the lottery.

why not

Why not what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t want to drain neighborhood schools and leave them only with kids whose parents couldn’t/didn’t navigate the lottery.

why not

Why should neighborhood school teachers & kids be left with all the problem kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Build 2 and then y’all will start screaming about duplication of resources.

I would get rid of the one we have because it doesn’t actually have a unique pedagogy. It’s good because all of the parents, including the low income ones, lottery in. That’s it. That’s the special sauce. The children perform well because every parent GAF.

This is a huge part of it to me. It's a highly self selecting group that apply, and then accept to go there.

It's across the county from me and didn't feel worth the commute to me. But I am not a striver, which is definitely felt like many parents at the info sessions felt like.

[Anonymous]

To me the real question is-- "why not replicate ATS best practices?". As I understand it from friends who have kids there--they get weekly reports from the Kinder teacher on each student--not so at my DC's APS elementary. There is homework from kindergarten on at ATS--homework did not start until 3rd grade at my DC's school.

It makes no sense at all that APS does not identify best practices from the most popular APS school and replicate them in part or full at all other APS elementary schools. Seems like a no brainer!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To me the real question is-- "why not replicate ATS best practices?". As I understand it from friends who have kids there--they get weekly reports from the Kinder teacher on each student--not so at my DC's APS elementary. There is homework from kindergarten on at ATS--homework did not start until 3rd grade at my DC's school.

It makes no sense at all that APS does not identify best practices from the most popular APS school and replicate them in part or full at all other APS elementary schools. Seems like a no brainer!

Except this is APS we are talking about. It has been disheartening to hear over and over again from neighbors as we prepare to go into K how we must volunteer and be involved and get face time with the teacher. So many people have told us to sign up to go in and stuff folders (?). We are involved parents. But the idea that I have to low key lobby the teacher to know what my kid is doing in school makes me so sad. Friends of older kids essentially say the same thing - we have no idea what they are doing. I don't need a daily report on what they ate and when they went to the bathroom. But a weekly student report would be so valuable. The fancy privates seem to do this, so it does appear to be way above and beyond?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To me the real question is-- "why not replicate ATS best practices?". As I understand it from friends who have kids there--they get weekly reports from the Kinder teacher on each student--not so at my DC's APS elementary. There is homework from kindergarten on at ATS--homework did not start until 3rd grade at my DC's school.

It makes no sense at all that APS does not identify best practices from the most popular APS school and replicate them in part or full at all other APS elementary schools. Seems like a no brainer!

+1 All the schools should be doing what ATS is doing. They won't have the same parent engagement but at least it's a step in the right direction.

The "rooms with doors" comment is from a generation+ ago. They must be totally out of touch to say that's what makes them different. When ATS started there were "open classroom" schools and a lot of getting away from the basics that some families were not happy with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To me the real question is-- "why not replicate ATS best practices?". As I understand it from friends who have kids there--they get weekly reports from the Kinder teacher on each student--not so at my DC's APS elementary. There is homework from kindergarten on at ATS--homework did not start until 3rd grade at my DC's school.

It makes no sense at all that APS does not identify best practices from the most popular APS school and replicate them in part or full at all other APS elementary schools. Seems like a no brainer!

The “best practice” is engaged parents who will ensure homework is done, and since they lotteriesnnnrnnrn in you automatically have engaged parents.

Same with HB. it’s magic is mostly it’s a small close knit school that stay together for 7 years and have engaged and Davy parents.

If you duplicate the programs, neighborhood schools will be abandoned by all engaged parents at that point

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To me the real question is-- "why not replicate ATS best practices?". As I understand it from friends who have kids there--they get weekly reports from the Kinder teacher on each student--not so at my DC's APS elementary. There is homework from kindergarten on at ATS--homework did not start until 3rd grade at my DC's school.

It makes no sense at all that APS does not identify best practices from the most popular APS school and replicate them in part or full at all other APS elementary schools. Seems like a no brainer!

Homework for kindergartners is not a best practice. Honestly, as a parent of older kids, I can assure you that ATS kids do not have better outcomes in the long run than kids who attended their neighborhood schools.

But if you want to assign your own kid worksheets, require them to play an instrument, and tuck in their shirts, you can do all of that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t want to drain neighborhood schools and leave them only with kids whose parents couldn’t/didn’t navigate the lottery.

why not

Why should neighborhood school teachers & kids be left with all the problem kids?

So its OK to buy your way out of a neighborhood public school but not OK to lottery out? Only people with enough money to pay private school tuition get to avoid the problem kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t want to drain neighborhood schools and leave them only with kids whose parents couldn’t/didn’t navigate the lottery.

The correct question is: if ATS is so popular, why don't we operate all of our elementary schools the same way as ATS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t want to drain neighborhood schools and leave them only with kids whose parents couldn’t/didn’t navigate the lottery.

The correct question is: if ATS is so popular, why don't we operate all of our elementary schools the same way as ATS?

It’s so popular precisely because it keeps out kids from families that cannot/do not/will not navigate the lottery. Why don’t we operate all our elementary schools in such an exclusionary way?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Build 2 and then y’all will start screaming about duplication of resources.

I would get rid of the one we have because it doesn’t actually have a unique pedagogy. It’s good because all of the parents, including the low income ones, lottery in. That’s it. That’s the special sauce. The children perform well because every parent GAF.

I think the special sauce is actually the expectations and standards the admin and teachers set for the students. They don't reduce expectations and hold their students accountable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Disagree w having more option schools. The answer is to follow the ATS model in neighborhood schools. We seem to be moving in opposite direction though w equity grading.

I guess I could never get a good feel for what "traditional" meant. I realize there's a heavy emphasis on reading and homework every day. And tucking in shirts (maybe that went away).

But I asked the principal at an info session (this was in 2018) and she gave me this line about the school having walls with doors. I was SO confused. My kid's neighborhood school has walls and doors?

I know the school culture is most likely a bit part of what makes kids successful. But if the ideas there are so well done, why aren't we doing it APS wide? What is the main difference between the way ATS does teaching and the rest of the county? I don't' want to hear it's kindergarten kids reading for 30 minutes a night. That's not a curriculum.

ATS came about during a period when the fad was open classrooms - didn't have those doors and walls. Hence, "traditional." That's been so long now, and all of our schools generally have classrooms again, that people don't understand the "traditional" term or what is supposedly so unique about it. As it is today, there's nothing particularly unique other than the fact that ATS didn't fully cave to the curriculum fads (balanced literacy) that don't work and ATS expects more from its students. That's it. Traditional = back to the standards and expectations of the past that were more effective overall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Build 2 and then y’all will start screaming about duplication of resources.

I would get rid of the one we have because it doesn’t actually have a unique pedagogy. It’s good because all of the parents, including the low income ones, lottery in. That’s it. That’s the special sauce. The children perform well because every parent GAF.

I think the special sauce is actually the expectations and standards the admin and teachers set for the students. They don't reduce expectations and hold their students accountable.

*Their parents* hold them accountable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To me the real question is-- "why not replicate ATS best practices?". As I understand it from friends who have kids there--they get weekly reports from the Kinder teacher on each student--not so at my DC's APS elementary. There is homework from kindergarten on at ATS--homework did not start until 3rd grade at my DC's school.

It makes no sense at all that APS does not identify best practices from the most popular APS school and replicate them in part or full at all other APS elementary schools. Seems like a no brainer!

Homework for kindergartners is not a best practice. Honestly, as a parent of older kids, I can assure you that ATS kids do not have better outcomes in the long run than kids who attended their neighborhood schools.

But if you want to assign your own kid worksheets, require them to play an instrument, and tuck in their shirts, you can do all of that

This is not because ATS doesn't do things better. This is because the standards and practices at all APS middle schools don't measure up.The rigor and discipline sharply declines from elementary to middle school.