Discovery Planning Units moving to Jamestown/Taylor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, why did you choose Discovery in the first place? Did you really not consider any other school in N. Arlington?

Have you seen their playground? And the slide? The ground are amazing, I totally regret not buying a house zoned there that we liked that was a hair over our budget.

Taylor is such sad sad campus; and of course the pot smoking gym teachers doesn't help

But we know many families there and they love it. Same with Jamestown.

Every school has its downsides. Discovery has a great playground and wonderful teachers, but it's well know that its administration is pretty weak.

Not well known enough. Please tell us why they are weak. Weak where?

The principal there is very nice, well-intentioned and hard working, but some feel that she perhaps had not had enough administrative experience before being promoted to principal. There is a sentiment that she is perhaps too soft a leader who lets the teachers a bit too much freedom to do as they please, resulting in a lot of inconsistencies across grade levels and even within teaching teams. There has been a significant amount of concern in particular around APS's 1:1 device policy, which so far has been fairly lax at the central administration level with a lot of discretion left to the principals of individual schools to set policies about proper use. Without firm guidance about iPad usage from the principal, some teachers have given their students virtually unrestricted and unsupervised access to iPads when they are not actively teaching, particularly during indoor recess. There was an unfortunate incident a couple of years ago when some fourth or fifth graders (I forget which) unintentionally or otherwise used their iPads to access sexually explicit materials during the school day.

[Anonymous]

One of the problems with Discovery is the open/flexible space. It was good in theory, but it makes it hard to manage behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private school would be your best option. Jamestown and Taylor have many issues and you wouldn't want to jepordize their education.

Hi troll!

OP, Jamestown and Taylor are both great schools and at least as good as, if not better than, Discovery.

Sarcasm, dipshit.

Please stop spending so much time in the Lee-Harrison parking lot, it's making you a bitch.

[Anonymous]

Curious as to why anyone would care that much about the elementary schools when they all lead to crowded high schools rated 5 or lower. There are things to be anxious about, but this isn’t one of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious as to why anyone would care that much about the elementary schools when they all lead to crowded high schools rated 5 or lower. There are things to be anxious about, but this isn’t one of them.

[Anonymous]

Discovery has a weird policy with no grades. They give ratings like “meets expectations” - even in the upper grades. It is hard as a parent to know how your child is doing. Jamestown and Taylor (and I think every other APS elementary) give letter grades starting in third grade.

Discovery’s Principal also doesn’t allow school/class celebrations. Her consistent mantra is that school is for learning. True, but she could lighten up and let kids be kids sometimes.

Great building, but you will be fine if you are rezoned.

[Anonymous]

LOL, so we have principal giving too much freedom to teachers while not allowing joey to have a cake in class for his birthday.

mmmmm....k

[Anonymous]

Some friends of mine who were moved to Discovery when it opened and whose kids are now in sixth have told me they feel like the school’s no/very low homework policy and the general laxness within the school left their kids unprepared to manage middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LOL, so we have principal giving too much freedom to teachers while not allowing joey to have a cake in class for his birthday.

mmmmm....k

It’s not about cake, it’s about not getting to have the occasional class party with some games and crafts like other schools because the principal is unable to set effective guidelines and boundaries that aren’t all or nothing. No Halloween parties but go ahead and have some internet porn. Okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some friends of mine who were moved to Discovery when it opened and whose kids are now in sixth have told me they feel like the school’s no/very low homework policy and the general laxness within the school left their kids unprepared to manage middle school.

But the school has a slide. What else could matter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some friends of mine who were moved to Discovery when it opened and whose kids are now in sixth have told me they feel like the school’s no/very low homework policy and the general laxness within the school left their kids unprepared to manage middle school.

But the school has a slide. What else could matter?

As a Discovery parent, I continue to think that slide was the stupidest waste of money from the SB to date.

[Anonymous]

Anyone want to guess what the Discovery Boundary will look like once Nottingham becomes ATS/IB? Which PUs go to Jamestown and Taylor? I am curious how APS will fill Jamestown when Taylor will need students from the north.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone want to guess what the Discovery Boundary will look like once Nottingham becomes ATS/IB? Which PUs go to Jamestown and Taylor? I am curious how APS will fill Jamestown when Taylor will need students from the north.

Most of non-walkable Discovery will go to Jamestown, most of Nottingham north of Lee Higheay that can't walk to Tuckahoe will go to Discovery, which will allow Tuckahoe to keep a southwest boundary consistent with the Williamsburg boundary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LOL, so we have principal giving too much freedom to teachers while not allowing joey to have a cake in class for his birthday.

mmmmm....k

It’s not about cake, it’s about not getting to have the occasional class party with some games and crafts like other schools because the principal is unable to set effective guidelines and boundaries that aren’t all or nothing. No Halloween parties but go ahead and have some internet porn. Okay.

So other ES with the same ipads and IT network have candy and no access to internet porn. okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone want to guess what the Discovery Boundary will look like once Nottingham becomes ATS/IB? Which PUs go to Jamestown and Taylor? I am curious how APS will fill Jamestown when Taylor will need students from the north.

Most of non-walkable Discovery will go to Jamestown, most of Nottingham north of Lee Higheay that can't walk to Tuckahoe will go to Discovery, which will allow Tuckahoe to keep a southwest boundary consistent with the Williamsburg boundary.

Which means a lot of families will be facing their second elementary school move in seven years, some back to their original school but many to their third school.