APS: Jamestown, Discovery, Nottingham& McKinley
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Anonymous
DP. Why did you apply to ATS? I assume there was a reason, and if that reason still holds, take the ATS spot if you get it. If it ends up not being the right fit, you can always transfer back to your home school for the next school year, but you're never going to get into ATS later. That said, if you applied because you didn't know enough yet but didn't want to miss the deadline while you learned about it, definitely take the time to visit the school, learn about the curriculum, etc., and think about whether it seems like a good fit not just for your rising kindergartner but also for any younger children you might have (of course those kids could go to your neighborhood school even if your older child is at ATS, but having kids at multiple elementary schools can bring some hassles). I know a lot of people at ATS who love it (and I think our younger child would have done very well there) but we also got feedback that it's not necessarily a great environment for kids who have some challenges on the behavioral side but don't have a diagnosis warranting an IEP or 504, because the school's philosophy doesn't allow for the flexibility in learning styles that neighborhood schools have. We suspected our son would eventually be diagnosed with ADHD (he was a few years later), and didn't feel ATS would be a good environment for him because it seemed too rigid to accommodate his needs. We sent him to Nottingham instead and it's been a great experience. |
Anonymous
| ATS poster (one of them) here - we do know some kids with ADHD who are doing ok here. I also know a few kids whose parents transferred them out (some to private, some back to their home school) because it wasn't a good fit. I know one of those cases was due to special needs. My daughter has some executive processing issues and 3 of her 4 teachers have been very good with her. We did have one year that wasn't great in that sense - the teacher wasn't a good fit - so we just kind of grinned and bore it and this year has been much better. I feel like that could probably happen anywhere. |
Anonymous
I'm the pp you're responding to. The feedback we got at the time was that if he had a diagnosed condition warranting an IEP or 504, then ATS would provide accommodations and he'd be fine. Without a diagnosis and plan, though, we were told we would struggle to get ATS teachers to agree to certain accommodations because they're otherwise not compatible with the ATS philosophy. At Nottingham, all five of the teachers we've had so far have been more than willing to make informal accommodations (flexible seating and other classroom adjustments, homework adjustments, etc.), and even though he now has the diagnosis, there's been no need for us to seek a 504 (he wouldn't qualify for an IEP) because the teachers are willing to do everything we ask for without the paperwork. Next year we may reconsider the 504 so that it's in place going into middle school, but not because of any elementary school experiences. If others have had a different experience with ATS, that would be valuable to know. |
Anonymous
| How are gifted services handled at ATS? I remember reading when we looked into it that ATS specifically avoided grouping classes based on academic performance, which seems like it would make the push-in model for gifted services less efficient and more challenging. |
Anonymous
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six of one, half dozen of the other.
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Anonymous
This is the standard model for most APS elementary schools. They cluster groups of kids of similar ability across multiple classrooms. Any given class might have a few GT kids, a few kids with learning challenges, and so on. |
Anonymous
Our neighborhood school doesn't strictly group according to academic performance, but from third grade onward it trends that way. They create clusters for each GS subject to make sure kids have academic peers, which tends to result in one or two classes being GS-heavy (due to kids who are identified in multiple subjects). One class is assigned a SpEd assistant teacher, and the kids with IEPs who would benefit from an additional teacher in the classroom are grouped there, as are kids who are struggling a bit more academically and would benefit from extra attention (the SpEd assistant doesn't only work with the kids receiving SpEd, she works with everyone). If ATS doesn't do this kind of performance-based grouping at all (which is what I was told four years ago), how do they ensure that kids will have academic peers in their classes? My child also gets some pull-out time (despite the push-in model) with the GS teacher each day for core academic subjects, but at the time I was also told ATS philosophy is to have those subjects all taught in the classroom by the class teacher and not do pull-outs. Has that changed? |
Anonymous
Couldn't agree more. There is nothing magic about ATS. - Parent of ATS grad who was first at our neighborhood school. |
Anonymous
| Not great diversity at the schools you listed. |
Anonymous
She can do nothing about that. If you read the OP, she expects her family to be re-zoned and is wondering what to expect at different schools. McKinley is a bit more diverse since it draws from some affordable housing units, especially compared to a school like Discovery but none are swimming in socio-economic diversity. |
Anonymous
As a Mom with young children at Nottingham, I cannot say enough how grateful I am to the foresighted parents who were at Nottingham before us. Thank goodness they convinced APS staff to push Tuckahoe and Glebe planning units to McKinley rather than cascading up to Discovery and us. We have a wonderful, SAFE school community. The G&T teacher takes the time to work with my children, and the school does everything it can to help my kids learn (no kid starts lunch before 11:00 or after 1:00). We’re not at Discovery, but friends are and it’s BY FAR better than McKinley or Tuckahoe. Really, after ATS, Nottingham, Discovery and maybe Jamestown are the best elementary schools in APS—credit to those up here who went before us and navigated the pre-Vihstadt People’s Republic of Arlington. |
Anonymous
How is that relevant to anything? They are excellent schools. What a weird post. |
Anonymous
As a parent of a happy Discovery student who transferred from an equally wonderful Mckinley I can tell you that this poster is full of $h!t. In fact this poster is so awful I’m calling troll. |
Anonymous
As a Nottingham parent, I second this. |
Anonymous
It’s relevant to future success. |