the Key/ASFS building switch...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only skimmed it, but my initial reaction is that if you support the swap, I don't think there's much in there that's a surprise. If you are against the swap, I don't think there's anything in there that will convince you otherwise.

There should be for those who are listening to the Key folks who are trying to use their (small) Latino/ED families who currently walk to Key as justification for not moving. The convenience they seek is for THEM, the wealthy non-Latino families who want to be close to their current school and/or Metro. Moving Immersion to ASFS will not make it any less inaccessible for the majority of Latino/ED families who live in Arlington, because those families don't live along the Orange Line anyway. And yes, not swapping would result in yet another very wealthy, very white neighborhood school at ASFS. By swapping, they can get two somewhat diverse schools: one that is ethnically/linguistically/economically diverse by design, and one that is diverse because it pulls from a neighborhood that is itself more diverse than most of North Arlington (with the exception of Buckingham).

Blah, blah, blah. This benefits the rich Lyon Vilage people who want a walkable non immersion school. Live right, vote left.

Which solution provides the greatest diversity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only skimmed it, but my initial reaction is that if you support the swap, I don't think there's much in there that's a surprise. If you are against the swap, I don't think there's anything in there that will convince you otherwise.

There should be for those who are listening to the Key folks who are trying to use their (small) Latino/ED families who currently walk to Key as justification for not moving. The convenience they seek is for THEM, the wealthy non-Latino families who want to be close to their current school and/or Metro. Moving Immersion to ASFS will not make it any less inaccessible for the majority of Latino/ED families who live in Arlington, because those families don't live along the Orange Line anyway. And yes, not swapping would result in yet another very wealthy, very white neighborhood school at ASFS. By swapping, they can get two somewhat diverse schools: one that is ethnically/linguistically/economically diverse by design, and one that is diverse because it pulls from a neighborhood that is itself more diverse than most of North Arlington (with the exception of Buckingham).

Blah, blah, blah. This benefits the rich Lyon Vilage people who want a walkable non immersion school. Live right, vote left.

I don’t understand. Lyon Village has been going to ASFS For years, maybe decades. I never heard anyone express any interest in the Key location until they turned ASFS into a neighborhood school, and the walk zone boundaries were going to kick out a lot of the current student body.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only skimmed it, but my initial reaction is that if you support the swap, I don't think there's much in there that's a surprise. If you are against the swap, I don't think there's anything in there that will convince you otherwise.

There should be for those who are listening to the Key folks who are trying to use their (small) Latino/ED families who currently walk to Key as justification for not moving. The convenience they seek is for THEM, the wealthy non-Latino families who want to be close to their current school and/or Metro. Moving Immersion to ASFS will not make it any less inaccessible for the majority of Latino/ED families who live in Arlington, because those families don't live along the Orange Line anyway. And yes, not swapping would result in yet another very wealthy, very white neighborhood school at ASFS. By swapping, they can get two somewhat diverse schools: one that is ethnically/linguistically/economically diverse by design, and one that is diverse because it pulls from a neighborhood that is itself more diverse than most of North Arlington (with the exception of Buckingham).

Blah, blah, blah. This benefits the rich Lyon Vilage people who want a walkable non immersion school. Live right, vote left.

Which solution provides the greatest diversity?

I don't think there is a good way to answer this. Your question assumes there was an alternative- and there really wasn't.
If you were to draw a boundary around ASFS that includes its walk zone, and maintains contiguity, it would be mostly planning units currently zoned to Ashlawn and Taylor, and would have virtually no FARMS. Not any worse than Jamestown/Tuckahoe, etc- but not diverse at all.
But is was never clear if you did this where the higher FARMS units in eastern Rosslyn were going. If you sent them all to Taylor- you would have needed to draw a long snaky boundary for Taylor to come up and grab them- which would add some diversity to Taylor but take it away from ASFS. You are also putting them in a fairly inaccessible transportation situation a good ways from home. It's nearly 4 miles by car from River Place apartments to Taylor for example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only skimmed it, but my initial reaction is that if you support the swap, I don't think there's much in there that's a surprise. If you are against the swap, I don't think there's anything in there that will convince you otherwise.

There should be for those who are listening to the Key folks who are trying to use their (small) Latino/ED families who currently walk to Key as justification for not moving. The convenience they seek is for THEM, the wealthy non-Latino families who want to be close to their current school and/or Metro. Moving Immersion to ASFS will not make it any less inaccessible for the majority of Latino/ED families who live in Arlington, because those families don't live along the Orange Line anyway. And yes, not swapping would result in yet another very wealthy, very white neighborhood school at ASFS. By swapping, they can get two somewhat diverse schools: one that is ethnically/linguistically/economically diverse by design, and one that is diverse because it pulls from a neighborhood that is itself more diverse than most of North Arlington (with the exception of Buckingham).

Blah, blah, blah. This benefits the rich Lyon Vilage people who want a walkable non immersion school. Live right, vote left.

Which solution provides the greatest diversity?

I don't think there is a good way to answer this. Your question assumes there was an alternative- and there really wasn't.
If you were to draw a boundary around ASFS that includes its walk zone, and maintains contiguity, it would be mostly planning units currently zoned to Ashlawn and Taylor, and would have virtually no FARMS. Not any worse than Jamestown/Tuckahoe, etc- but not diverse at all.
But is was never clear if you did this where the higher FARMS units in eastern Rosslyn were going. If you sent them all to Taylor- you would have needed to draw a long snaky boundary for Taylor to come up and grab them- which would add some diversity to Taylor but take it away from ASFS. You are also putting them in a fairly inaccessible transportation situation a good ways from home. It's nearly 4 miles by car from River Place apartments to Taylor for example.

So what's the best solution in general?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only skimmed it, but my initial reaction is that if you support the swap, I don't think there's much in there that's a surprise. If you are against the swap, I don't think there's anything in there that will convince you otherwise.

There should be for those who are listening to the Key folks who are trying to use their (small) Latino/ED families who currently walk to Key as justification for not moving. The convenience they seek is for THEM, the wealthy non-Latino families who want to be close to their current school and/or Metro. Moving Immersion to ASFS will not make it any less inaccessible for the majority of Latino/ED families who live in Arlington, because those families don't live along the Orange Line anyway. And yes, not swapping would result in yet another very wealthy, very white neighborhood school at ASFS. By swapping, they can get two somewhat diverse schools: one that is ethnically/linguistically/economically diverse by design, and one that is diverse because it pulls from a neighborhood that is itself more diverse than most of North Arlington (with the exception of Buckingham).

Blah, blah, blah. This benefits the rich Lyon Vilage people who want a walkable non immersion school. Live right, vote left.

Which solution provides the greatest diversity?

I don't think there is a good way to answer this. Your question assumes there was an alternative- and there really wasn't.
If you were to draw a boundary around ASFS that includes its walk zone, and maintains contiguity, it would be mostly planning units currently zoned to Ashlawn and Taylor, and would have virtually no FARMS. Not any worse than Jamestown/Tuckahoe, etc- but not diverse at all.
But is was never clear if you did this where the higher FARMS units in eastern Rosslyn were going. If you sent them all to Taylor- you would have needed to draw a long snaky boundary for Taylor to come up and grab them- which would add some diversity to Taylor but take it away from ASFS. You are also putting them in a fairly inaccessible transportation situation a good ways from home. It's nearly 4 miles by car from River Place apartments to Taylor for example.

So what's the best solution in general?

NP - but I think it’s Immersion to Carlin Springs to break up the poverty and open up neighborhood seats at both ASFS and Key. If someone was really concerned about high poverty native Spanish speakers I don’t see why they wouldn’t support this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only skimmed it, but my initial reaction is that if you support the swap, I don't think there's much in there that's a surprise. If you are against the swap, I don't think there's anything in there that will convince you otherwise.

There should be for those who are listening to the Key folks who are trying to use their (small) Latino/ED families who currently walk to Key as justification for not moving. The convenience they seek is for THEM, the wealthy non-Latino families who want to be close to their current school and/or Metro. Moving Immersion to ASFS will not make it any less inaccessible for the majority of Latino/ED families who live in Arlington, because those families don't live along the Orange Line anyway. And yes, not swapping would result in yet another very wealthy, very white neighborhood school at ASFS. By swapping, they can get two somewhat diverse schools: one that is ethnically/linguistically/economically diverse by design, and one that is diverse because it pulls from a neighborhood that is itself more diverse than most of North Arlington (with the exception of Buckingham).

Blah, blah, blah. This benefits the rich Lyon Vilage people who want a walkable non immersion school. Live right, vote left.

Which solution provides the greatest diversity?

I don't think there is a good way to answer this. Your question assumes there was an alternative- and there really wasn't.
If you were to draw a boundary around ASFS that includes its walk zone, and maintains contiguity, it would be mostly planning units currently zoned to Ashlawn and Taylor, and would have virtually no FARMS. Not any worse than Jamestown/Tuckahoe, etc- but not diverse at all.
But is was never clear if you did this where the higher FARMS units in eastern Rosslyn were going. If you sent them all to Taylor- you would have needed to draw a long snaky boundary for Taylor to come up and grab them- which would add some diversity to Taylor but take it away from ASFS. You are also putting them in a fairly inaccessible transportation situation a good ways from home. It's nearly 4 miles by car from River Place apartments to Taylor for example.

So what's the best solution in general?

NP - but I think it’s Immersion to Carlin Springs to break up the poverty and open up neighborhood seats at both ASFS and Key. If someone was really concerned about high poverty native Spanish speakers I don’t see why they wouldn’t support this.

This. Honestly, the only pocket of “walkable” Spanish speakers to asfs is in Woodbury park. They are currently bussed to both asfs and key. There are much larger groups of native Spanish speakers in other parts of the county. Most of the farms kids in the key/asfs zone are Asian.
That’s off the table unless key really pushes for it. We basically all told the staff to F off last spring when they tried to present rational arguments for moving the immersion programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only skimmed it, but my initial reaction is that if you support the swap, I don't think there's much in there that's a surprise. If you are against the swap, I don't think there's anything in there that will convince you otherwise.

There should be for those who are listening to the Key folks who are trying to use their (small) Latino/ED families who currently walk to Key as justification for not moving. The convenience they seek is for THEM, the wealthy non-Latino families who want to be close to their current school and/or Metro. Moving Immersion to ASFS will not make it any less inaccessible for the majority of Latino/ED families who live in Arlington, because those families don't live along the Orange Line anyway. And yes, not swapping would result in yet another very wealthy, very white neighborhood school at ASFS. By swapping, they can get two somewhat diverse schools: one that is ethnically/linguistically/economically diverse by design, and one that is diverse because it pulls from a neighborhood that is itself more diverse than most of North Arlington (with the exception of Buckingham).

Blah, blah, blah. This benefits the rich Lyon Vilage people who want a walkable non immersion school. Live right, vote left.

I don’t understand. Lyon Village has been going to ASFS For years, maybe decades. I never heard anyone express any interest in the Key location until they turned ASFS into a neighborhood school, and the walk zone boundaries were going to kick out a lot of the current student body.

Some of Lyon Village was zoned Key/ASFS. They could choose. Very few chose Key. I find that strange.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only skimmed it, but my initial reaction is that if you support the swap, I don't think there's much in there that's a surprise. If you are against the swap, I don't think there's anything in there that will convince you otherwise.

There should be for those who are listening to the Key folks who are trying to use their (small) Latino/ED families who currently walk to Key as justification for not moving. The convenience they seek is for THEM, the wealthy non-Latino families who want to be close to their current school and/or Metro. Moving Immersion to ASFS will not make it any less inaccessible for the majority of Latino/ED families who live in Arlington, because those families don't live along the Orange Line anyway. And yes, not swapping would result in yet another very wealthy, very white neighborhood school at ASFS. By swapping, they can get two somewhat diverse schools: one that is ethnically/linguistically/economically diverse by design, and one that is diverse because it pulls from a neighborhood that is itself more diverse than most of North Arlington (with the exception of Buckingham).

Blah, blah, blah. This benefits the rich Lyon Vilage people who want a walkable non immersion school. Live right, vote left.

Which solution provides the greatest diversity?

I don't think there is a good way to answer this. Your question assumes there was an alternative- and there really wasn't.
If you were to draw a boundary around ASFS that includes its walk zone, and maintains contiguity, it would be mostly planning units currently zoned to Ashlawn and Taylor, and would have virtually no FARMS. Not any worse than Jamestown/Tuckahoe, etc- but not diverse at all.
But is was never clear if you did this where the higher FARMS units in eastern Rosslyn were going. If you sent them all to Taylor- you would have needed to draw a long snaky boundary for Taylor to come up and grab them- which would add some diversity to Taylor but take it away from ASFS. You are also putting them in a fairly inaccessible transportation situation a good ways from home. It's nearly 4 miles by car from River Place apartments to Taylor for example.

So what's the best solution in general?

NP - but I think it’s Immersion to Carlin Springs to break up the poverty and open up neighborhood seats at both ASFS and Key. If someone was really concerned about high poverty native Spanish speakers I don’t see why they wouldn’t support this.

So rich white folk can get their hands on ASFS as a neighborhood school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So what's the best solution in general?


NP - but I think it’s Immersion to Carlin Springs to break up the poverty and open up neighborhood seats at both ASFS and Key. If someone was really concerned about high poverty native Spanish speakers I don’t see why they wouldn’t support this.
This. Honestly, the only pocket of “walkable” Spanish speakers to asfs is in Woodbury park. They are currently bussed to both asfs and key. There are much larger groups of native Spanish speakers in other parts of the county. Most of the farms kids in the key/asfs zone are Asian.
That’s off the table unless key really pushes for it. We basically all told the staff to F off last spring when they tried to present rational arguments for moving the immersion programs.

I agree with this.
Why won't the current Key community support it?
A few different reasons-
1.Last Spring they absolutely had their heads in the sands about the reality of the situation and were confident that they were be able to unite and advocate and keep Key from moving at all. So they weren't really open to considering other options- or quite frankly thinking about whether a location move could be good for immersion as a whole. Whenever anyone suggested this they quickly hit back with- so open a 3rd immersion school at Carlin Springs, there's clearly the demand for it.
2. Moving Key immersion to Carlin Springs will probably not work for most of the families currently at Key. The reality is that people chose Key b/c of the location. They may have also liked the immersion aspect, really wanted it for their children- but ultimately it was at a location that worked for them. A lot of them work in the Rosslyn/Courthouse corridor. Or they commute downtown via metro and can drop their kids at Key and get on the metro at Courthouse, etc. Getting to and from Carlin Springs for extended day pickup is a totally different animal. Its not far from Ballston (and thus should work for the spanish dominant families in Buckingham) but for a lot of Arlington it would mean reverse commuting to get to school, then going back to work. Most two parent working families don't feel like they have that much margin in their schedule. Now of course I am talking about the upper middle class families currently at Key.

Should either of those reasons carry the day? Well I would say no- especially given that we are talking about a long term switch a few years down the road- but I wouldn't be surprised if people opt for 'keeping the community together' by moving en masse to ASFS rather than moving as far as Carlin Springs. While I'm sure a few people will switch to ASFS if the schools swap, I would be surprised if it was that many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I only skimmed it, but my initial reaction is that if you support the swap, I don't think there's much in there that's a surprise. If you are against the swap, I don't think there's anything in there that will convince you otherwise.

There should be for those who are listening to the Key folks who are trying to use their (small) Latino/ED families who currently walk to Key as justification for not moving. The convenience they seek is for THEM, the wealthy non-Latino families who want to be close to their current school and/or Metro. Moving Immersion to ASFS will not make it any less inaccessible for the majority of Latino/ED families who live in Arlington, because those families don't live along the Orange Line anyway. And yes, not swapping would result in yet another very wealthy, very white neighborhood school at ASFS. By swapping, they can get two somewhat diverse schools: one that is ethnically/linguistically/economically diverse by design, and one that is diverse because it pulls from a neighborhood that is itself more diverse than most of North Arlington (with the exception of Buckingham).

Blah, blah, blah. This benefits the rich Lyon Vilage people who want a walkable non immersion school. Live right, vote left.

Which solution provides the greatest diversity?

I don't think there is a good way to answer this. Your question assumes there was an alternative- and there really wasn't.
If you were to draw a boundary around ASFS that includes its walk zone, and maintains contiguity, it would be mostly planning units currently zoned to Ashlawn and Taylor, and would have virtually no FARMS. Not any worse than Jamestown/Tuckahoe, etc- but not diverse at all.
But is was never clear if you did this where the higher FARMS units in eastern Rosslyn were going. If you sent them all to Taylor- you would have needed to draw a long snaky boundary for Taylor to come up and grab them- which would add some diversity to Taylor but take it away from ASFS. You are also putting them in a fairly inaccessible transportation situation a good ways from home. It's nearly 4 miles by car from River Place apartments to Taylor for example.

So what's the best solution in general?

NP - but I think it’s Immersion to Carlin Springs to break up the poverty and open up neighborhood seats at both ASFS and Key. If someone was really concerned about high poverty native Spanish speakers I don’t see why they wouldn’t support this.

So rich white folk can get their hands on ASFS as a neighborhood school?

So that they can finally get 50/50 enrollment. Also so we have one less neighborhood school with an insanely high FARMS rate. Why should immersion stay?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious if anyone read the memo from Lisa Stengle to the School Board dated Aug 13th seeking the board approval for this switch and laying out the rationale, as well as answers to school board questions.
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/08-13-18-FLA-SB-Input-on-ESB-Proposal.pdf
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/08-13-18-FLA-SB-Input-on-ESB-Proposal.pdf
If found it fascinating. A few takeaways;
1. Even though there was no formal school board vote on this- it appears this is being done with their approval.
2. The number of spanish speaking walkers currently attending Key is incredibly small- there are 40 walkers to Key, of which 13 are hispanic (not necessarily spanish dominant- but hispanic.)
3. The staff is partially motivated by diversity considerations- if they draw a walkzone around ASFS, it will be almost all non-FARMS, and will have to kick out the far eastern planning units which are FARMS dominant- either busing them past Key and ASFS to Taylor or Long Branch.

You seem to have confused drawing a boundary with drawing a walk zone - a boundary includes much more than a walk zone and you absolutely have diversity to draw upon for that boundary in the Ballston and VA Sq area even though people don’t want to hear that. This was not factored in and comparative analysis was never done between the swap and actually drawing a boundary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious if anyone read the memo from Lisa Stengle to the School Board dated Aug 13th seeking the board approval for this switch and laying out the rationale, as well as answers to school board questions.
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/08-13-18-FLA-SB-Input-on-ESB-Proposal.pdf
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/08-13-18-FLA-SB-Input-on-ESB-Proposal.pdf
If found it fascinating. A few takeaways;
1. Even though there was no formal school board vote on this- it appears this is being done with their approval.
2. The number of spanish speaking walkers currently attending Key is incredibly small- there are 40 walkers to Key, of which 13 are hispanic (not necessarily spanish dominant- but hispanic.)
3. The staff is partially motivated by diversity considerations- if they draw a walkzone around ASFS, it will be almost all non-FARMS, and will have to kick out the far eastern planning units which are FARMS dominant- either busing them past Key and ASFS to Taylor or Long Branch.

You seem to have confused drawing a boundary with drawing a walk zone - a boundary includes much more than a walk zone and you absolutely have diversity to draw upon for that boundary in the Ballston and VA Sq area even though people don’t want to hear that. This was not factored in and comparative analysis was never done between the swap and actually drawing a boundary

You can’t include those in a boundary for ASFS unless Key is also a neighborhood school because theres nowhere to send all the kids from Rosslyn and Courthouse otherwise. Just not enough seats and only so many can go to Taylor or Long Branch. Otherwise yeah, it would make sense to zone in Ballston and VA Square.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, technicalities and formalities need to be followed. They either did or did not comply with the procedural requirements. It’s not enough to comply in spirit.

They did follow technicalities and formalities. The policy is that the superintendent has the ability to make program moves. They could change the policy if people are upset enough, thats what precipitated the whole revision to enrollment and transfers.
Agree or disagree, we saw last spring what happens if you let the community have too much input. Analysis paralysis and lynch mob mentalities.

No they are not following proper formality. super has authority to move a program (Key is a program). He doesn’t have same authority to move a neighborhood school (Asf is a neighborhood school - it is not a program). Bad optics APS. Make up the rules as you go and follow only the ones you care for. Our school system is quickly going down the drain. Public trust all time low. How can anyone believe anything they say when every time they open their mouth the story changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious if anyone read the memo from Lisa Stengle to the School Board dated Aug 13th seeking the board approval for this switch and laying out the rationale, as well as answers to school board questions.
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/08-13-18-FLA-SB-Input-on-ESB-Proposal.pdf
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/08-13-18-FLA-SB-Input-on-ESB-Proposal.pdf
If found it fascinating. A few takeaways;
1. Even though there was no formal school board vote on this- it appears this is being done with their approval.
2. The number of spanish speaking walkers currently attending Key is incredibly small- there are 40 walkers to Key, of which 13 are hispanic (not necessarily spanish dominant- but hispanic.)
3. The staff is partially motivated by diversity considerations- if they draw a walkzone around ASFS, it will be almost all non-FARMS, and will have to kick out the far eastern planning units which are FARMS dominant- either busing them past Key and ASFS to Taylor or Long Branch.

You seem to have confused drawing a boundary with drawing a walk zone - a boundary includes much more than a walk zone and you absolutely have diversity to draw upon for that boundary in the Ballston and VA Sq area even though people don’t want to hear that. This was not factored in and comparative analysis was never done between the swap and actually drawing a boundary

You can’t include those in a boundary for ASFS unless Key is also a neighborhood school because theres nowhere to send all the kids from Rosslyn and Courthouse otherwise. Just not enough seats and only so many can go to Taylor or Long Branch. Otherwise yeah, it would make sense to zone in Ballston and VA Square.

Hmm? This conversation sounds familiar. Do we really need to rehash this again with that dreaded bus ride! Please spare us that song and dance.
Of course they both need to be neighborhood schools anyone with half a brain knows that - apparently that’s just asking too much of our fearless APS leaders

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, technicalities and formalities need to be followed. They either did or did not comply with the procedural requirements. It’s not enough to comply in spirit.

They did follow technicalities and formalities. The policy is that the superintendent has the ability to make program moves. They could change the policy if people are upset enough, thats what precipitated the whole revision to enrollment and transfers.
Agree or disagree, we saw last spring what happens if you let the community have too much input. Analysis paralysis and lynch mob mentalities.

No they are not following proper formality. super has authority to move a program (Key is a program). He doesn’t have same authority to move a neighborhood school (Asf is a neighborhood school - it is not a program). Bad optics APS. Make up the rules as you go and follow only the ones you care for. Our school system is quickly going down the drain. Public trust all time low. How can anyone believe anything they say when every time they open their mouth the story changes.

Care to cite a regulation to support that?