Arlington County Public Schools - backpacks banned for safety?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I always thought it was because hallways are so crowded and backpacks make them doubly crowded?

I wonder if HBW has this policy…

If your kid doesn't go there, why do you care what the backpack policy is?

Honestly some ppl's obsession with HB is INSANE. Get a new hobby pls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think WMS didn’t allow kids to keep backpacks on during the school day but they could wear them to and from school. Water bottles also had to be clear. This was several years ago so policy may have changed.

This. Kenmore does not ban backpacks; they go in locker at beginning of day and come out at end.

You cannot carry a backpack between classes.

Not sure of the logic but they say it is for “safety reason”.

Not like a kid can’t hide a knife, cellphone or gun on them. Maybe kids were using their backpacks as clubs or something?

Well, in fairness, it would be much harder. Also don't write a letter to the school pointing out this fact; in my high school we had to wear form-fitting clothes because it was theoretically possible to stash a gun in your waistband! This was a school that never had a problem with violence. I don't want schools here to get any ideas.

Another safety benefit is that it's easier to leave the classrooms if there are no backpacks in the aisles, which would be good in case of emergencies. And sometimes kids use backpacks when they get in fights.

I have subbed at schools that have a no-backpack policies and I don't love it because kids are constantly asking during class to go to their locker to get something they forgot, which I assume would happen less if they could carry around things in backpacks. But really it's not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Where do girls keep pads and tampons? Do middle school girls there carry purses or wristlets? Not in APS, but organizing which backpack pocket was for period supplies was part of DD’s first day of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do girls keep pads and tampons? Do middle school girls there carry purses or wristlets? Not in APS, but organizing which backpack pocket was for period supplies was part of DD’s first day of school.

Yeah, little purses or bags that look like pencil holders. Or they just ask to go to their lockers.

[Anonymous]

Totally understand from a safety aspect, but then they need to give the kids a lot longer than 4min to get between classes if they need to be switching out notebooks, gym uniforms and things like that between classes. These schools are big and you'll have a lot of kids late to class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always thought it was because hallways are so crowded and backpacks make them doubly crowded?

I wonder if HBW has this policy…

handbook alluded to not keeping valuables in backpacks outside of lockers, it would seem it is expected to keep backpacks with the student.

https://hbwoodlawn.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2019/09/2019-20-HBW-Handbook.pdf

I thought students never use lockers anymore because they are always too little time to retrieve items from them??

HS kids don't use lockers. MS kids do.

My HB MS kid has never used their locker. Carries around a backpack all day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think WMS didn’t allow kids to keep backpacks on during the school day but they could wear them to and from school. Water bottles also had to be clear. This was several years ago so policy may have changed.

This. Kenmore does not ban backpacks; they go in locker at beginning of day and come out at end.

You cannot carry a backpack between classes.

Not sure of the logic but they say it is for “safety reason”.

Not like a kid can’t hide a knife, cellphone or gun on them. Maybe kids were using their backpacks as clubs or something?

I don’t get why this would be an issue with anyone. Backpacks should stay in lockers. So you’re telling me that before, kids would carry backpacks from class to class? That sounds insane to me and probably why so many kids have back issues

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I don’t get why this would be an issue with anyone. Backpacks should stay in lockers. So you’re telling me that before, kids would carry backpacks from class to class? That sounds insane to me and probably why so many kids have back issues

I have a Swanson 8th grader. When they were in 6th grade in Fall 2021 they weren't allowed to use the lockers since the school didn't want crowding in the hallways as a Covid prevention method. DC said last year no one used their lockers since they were already used to carrying around backpacks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Swanson doesn’t allow them either

Is this a new or newly enforced policy? I asked my rising Swanson 8th grader, and they said they carried backpacks throughout the day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At WMS, there isn’t enough space in classrooms to have backpacks. Everyone would be tripping on the bags

WMS is drastically under-enrolled now.

That doesn’t necessarily mean they have fewer kids in each classroom- they just use fewer classrooms

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At WMS, there isn’t enough space in classrooms to have backpacks. Everyone would be tripping on the bags

WMS is drastically under-enrolled now.

It’s clear you don’t have a student there.
The school as a whole is under enrolled, which means they have fewer teachers allocated by the county. This also means that classes are packed full because you can’t spread kids across multiple teachers. Some teachers are having to teach multiple subjects this year because of the issue with under allocation of teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always thought it was because hallways are so crowded and backpacks make them doubly crowded?

I wonder if HBW has this policy…

handbook alluded to not keeping valuables in backpacks outside of lockers, it would seem it is expected to keep backpacks with the student.

https://hbwoodlawn.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2019/09/2019-20-HBW-Handbook.pdf

I thought students never use lockers anymore because they are always too little time to retrieve items from them??

HS kids don't use lockers. MS kids do.

What do HS kids do? Bring their backpacks into each class?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At WMS, there isn’t enough space in classrooms to have backpacks. Everyone would be tripping on the bags

WMS is drastically under-enrolled now.

That doesn’t necessarily mean they have fewer kids in each classroom- they just use fewer classrooms

Which is awful. They are terribly over crowded in classes yet severely under enrolled as a school… complete mismanagement by APS leaders…. However, it’s really the County disregarding the different schools’ needs with their density mania, and it is only getting worse.

[Anonymous]

Kenmore parent here. Backpacks aren’t banned, they just can’t be carried around. It’s a space safety issue, not a gun/knife/drug issue. Kids can carry smaller bags throughout the day. Mine uses a drawstring bag and carries the things for one or two classes at a time only if isn’t enough time to get to the locker between certain classes.

[Anonymous]

They can use them to go to/from Williamsburg but not in the halls to/from class.