Spanish Immersion Community Table Session
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Anonymous
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From APS School Talk:
Due to recent developments in the 2023 Middle School Boundary Process and Relocation of the Spanish Immersion Program, we are postponing the Community Table Session for this evening. Staff will share these recent updates with the community during the School Board Work Session scheduled for September 26, 2023. We deeply apologize for any inconvenience this change may cause. Your engagement and input are invaluable to us, and we want to ensure that we provide you with the most up-to-date information and ample opportunity for discussion. We are committed to rescheduling the Community Table Session with the Spanish Immersion Community in October to provide the community an opportunity to engage directly with staff. Once the new date is confirmed, we will promptly communicate it to you so you can mark your calendars. In the meantime, we encourage you to continue submitting your questions and feedback via email at engage@apsva.us. Additionally, the Planning & Evaluation team is available to assist you with any inquiries or concerns. You can contact us by calling or texting 571-200-2770. We understand the importance of this engagement and value your participation in shaping the future of the Spanish Immersion Program. Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to connecting with you in October. |
Anonymous
Not most of the ones I've talked to, and they run the gamut of kids currently in middle and ones who will be impacted by this move. Some aren't super happy about current 6th graders moving schools for 8th grade, but at the same time they realize it's not a reason to stall it. I suspect the Hamm/Williamsburg parents throwing tantrums about their boundaries being moved have maybe been louder than "eh fine" from the Immersion community. That would be unfortunate. |
Anonymous
I’m not entirely sure, but there were questions about transportation logistics & cost, whether two MS immersion sites are still being considered, and projected student numbers at the different middle schools/how moving the immersion program could impact that. |
Anonymous
Most of the immersion parents I've spoken to are fine with this move as well, though admittedly I've only spoken to one parent who has a child in 6th grade this year. The rest are elementary. |
Anonymous
The report in the pre-CIP doesn’t really make sense. It’s like they were told the answer has to be Kenmore but the information in the report doesn’t support the conclusion. |
Anonymous
Are all middle school boundaries going to be redrawn? I haven't seen specific maps or information from APS. |
Anonymous
Why? If immersion parents don’t really care where their OPTION program is located, then the county should listen to “neighborhood schools” and let them actually attend the schools in their neighborhoods. |
Anonymous
They were told the answer was Kenmore because of some small group vision. The capacity numbers and limiting cost and domino effect boundary changes says WMS. |
Anonymous
Like half of Hamm is being moved to WMS, half of Kenmore to Swanson, etc. |
Anonymous
Because Williamsburg's boundaries should be re-drawn as it's under capacity. This will effect Hamm. It's just part of life in Arlington, it's a constant juggle to utilize resources. The ONLY reason those parents are fighting the Immersion move is because it's being coupled with their boundaries being re-drawn. It's the classic Arlington fight. No one wants their schools to change ever. And yet, it needs to happen. But the current parents will fight tooth and nail to stop something until their kid isn't going to be effected, and then they don't care one bit. That's not how we should decide things. |
Anonymous
APS has explicitly tied moving immersion with the middle school boundary process. It's in the Pre-CIP. Look at page A-111 (pg 153 of the PDF). There is a table trying to justify why moving immersion to Kenmore will cause less disturbance overall than leaving it at Gunston. They conveniently did not include a column showing the impact of moving it to Williamsburg because that's the scenario that actually impacts the fewest students. |
Anonymous
There is a specific immersion group via the PTA. Are you at Gunston, Key or Claremont? If so, you can get the link to join the group. |
Anonymous
Except for the students currently in the immersion program -- moving a Spanish immersion program to a corner of the county with very few native Speakers would almost certainly have a detrimental effect. Williamsburg is not on the table because it is not an option that would work with the school's focus. |
Anonymous
Exactly what would be the detrimental effect? Moving the middle school program would mean moving families who are already entrenched in the program having invested in sending their kids to immersion programming since kindergarten presumably. Further, the breakdown of Hispanic to non-Hispanic in the immersion program is targeted at 50%/50%. It is not as though the entire immersion program is Hispanic. Have you engaged the Hispanic community on the matter? Or are you just assuming. Further, per Great Schools, Williamsburg' demographics is currently at 12% Hispanic population. Last, there are plenty of ethnic pockets all over NOVA. That's how it goes in dense urban areas. Frankly, I think it would go a long way to shake up and break down the disparities between N and S Arlington to relocate the program to a school like Williamsburg. |
Anonymous
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I see several posts claiming all or most immersion parents are ok with the move. I am not ok with the move and APS hasn't made a strong case for it. A small group of parents got the recommendation into the visioning document, but that was a tiny footnote. There has certainly NOT been community engagement on the issue.
Its possible I'll come around on this issue, but again APS hasn't provided any data to back up why this move is a positive, or even why it is necessary. Connecting a potential move to an APS-wide MS boundary process makes sense. Its silly to pretend the two can be done separately since they both involve MS programs. |