Arlington Traditional School

[Anonymous]

Previous ATS parent here. My kids are now HS and college aged. If I were to do it again, I would send my kid to the neighborhood school. When they get to MS, it is very difficult to make friends because very few of their ATS classmates will go with them. Plus, there is a greater benefit to knowing your neighbors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My rising Kindergartner won a spot in the lottery for ATS. Our neighborhood school is Drew. I signed her up for all the Option schools, I mean, why not, I like options. Now I have an option-- ATS. I hear the principal at Drew is great, and I love the diversity of Drew. But now that ATS is an option.... I'm going back and forth. I'd love to hear from some ATS parents! We are friends with some families here in Green Valley, and most of them do not send their kids to Drew, all the ones I know (and yes, they are all white) send their kids to private schools or are in Claremont or APS Montessori. Thoughts?

Go to Drew.
Unless you need perfect snowmen that are identical to all the other kids' snowmen and want a phone call whenever your child won't tuck-in their shirt.

Yes, ATS is an excellent school and tops academically. But take it from me, 19 years' worth of APS experience, there is so much more of value (your kids getting to know other kids in your community who don't look and sometimes don't sound like them; learning that others struggle more; learning empathy and understanding via firsthand life experiences rather than theoretical appreciation of diversity and helping through charities; and better physical and mental health from not being stressed out or pressured to perform or experiencing high anxiety because teachers and admin put the fear of God in them that they must "pass advanced" every SOL or they won't be able to take intensified Algebra in middle school etc. Drew is a nice, spacious building with spacious outdoor area. It's not crowded and your child will still get a strong education preparing them for middle school.

I don't have firsthand experience or knowledge about Drew's principal - just her reputation and what others have commented about how absolutely fantastic she is and how she turned Hoffman Boston around. But because of those comments, I strongly encourage you to talk to Hoffman Boston parents who have that direct experience and knowledge of her and how she impacted that school, as well as current Drew parents who have been there through the transition. All ATS parents are going to tell you ATS is the best and absolutely take it, especially if your alternative is Drew. Very few of those parents will have ever had direct experience with Drew and just know the historical reputation of its poor performance. I do know some of the teachers who are now at Drew who used to be elsewhere - and they are excellent; some of the best from their previous school(s).

My advice is go to Drew and expand your circle to include others in the neighborhood who attend the same school as your kid(s).

Ha.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Previous ATS parent here. My kids are now HS and college aged. If I were to do it again, I would send my kid to the neighborhood school. When they get to MS, it is very difficult to make friends because very few of their ATS classmates will go with them. Plus, there is a greater benefit to knowing your neighbors.

Yes I have heard that unless you go from ATS to HBW the transition is hard. Maybe not every key but seems like it’s a common situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous ATS parent here. My kids are now HS and college aged. If I were to do it again, I would send my kid to the neighborhood school. When they get to MS, it is very difficult to make friends because very few of their ATS classmates will go with them. Plus, there is a greater benefit to knowing your neighbors.

Yes I have heard that unless you go from ATS to HBW the transition is hard. Maybe not every key but seems like it’s a common situation.

Which, of course makes zero sense since the educational philosophies of ATS and HBW are diametrically opposed to each other. So clearly what is going on is parents are doing whatever they can to avoid the diversity of the neighborhood schools. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous ATS parent here. My kids are now HS and college aged. If I were to do it again, I would send my kid to the neighborhood school. When they get to MS, it is very difficult to make friends because very few of their ATS classmates will go with them. Plus, there is a greater benefit to knowing your neighbors.

Yes I have heard that unless you go from ATS to HBW the transition is hard. Maybe not every key but seems like it’s a common situation.

Which, of course makes zero sense since the educational philosophies of ATS and HBW are diametrically opposed to each other. So clearly what is going on is parents are doing whatever they can to avoid the diversity of the neighborhood schools. Sad.

That’s what I always thought but I said that in a thread last year and I was told I was an idiot who has no idea what the HBW philosophy was. Although now that DD has been at HBW for the school year and I have been in touch with her teachers, the counselor, and listened in on classes, I now know that I was right about what HBW would be like.

Anyway, sorry for the thread jack.

OP I think you should pick Drew.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous ATS parent here. My kids are now HS and college aged. If I were to do it again, I would send my kid to the neighborhood school. When they get to MS, it is very difficult to make friends because very few of their ATS classmates will go with them. Plus, there is a greater benefit to knowing your neighbors.

Yes I have heard that unless you go from ATS to HBW the transition is hard. Maybe not every key but seems like it’s a common situation.

Which, of course makes zero sense since the educational philosophies of ATS and HBW are diametrically opposed to each other. So clearly what is going on is parents are doing whatever they can to avoid the diversity of the neighborhood schools. Sad.

My favorite APS family ever was the one that sent their kid first to ATS, then to HBW, and then to TJHSST.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They have a heavy homework policy starting from K which I strongly disagree with and is not evidence-based.

If you care about that, look into it. You or your spouse will have a lot of homework to do in K and 1.

This is true. Our child is in ATS - daily kindergarten homework was a lot of writing like creating sentences/storywriting. It was a tough year for us as DD was learning multiple things at the same time - letter formation, spelling and grammar all rolled into one. But 2 years later, we realize that the hard work was all worth it. Now, DD has no problems with writing and is used to getting work done (even with our own supplements) - no whining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous ATS parent here. My kids are now HS and college aged. If I were to do it again, I would send my kid to the neighborhood school. When they get to MS, it is very difficult to make friends because very few of their ATS classmates will go with them. Plus, there is a greater benefit to knowing your neighbors.

Yes I have heard that unless you go from ATS to HBW the transition is hard. Maybe not every key but seems like it’s a common situation.

My daughter went from ATS to Kenmore with a number of other ATS kids. She ditched a lot of the ATS kids 6 months into the year and made some new friends. Just depends on your child and how social they are. She still has good friends from ATS, but also new ones from Kenmore. just started high school this year.

Also, it's not a big deal for girls to not tuck in their shirts -- lots of tunic tops and leggings -- those were fine. Also mine often threw a sweatshirt over her tshirt and voila, no one could see if the shirt was tucked in or not.

[Anonymous]

DS got in to a lottery school and we have decided to send him to Drew for many of the above reasons ... diversity, principal, class size and to feel more connected to the neighborhood community. We spoke with a few current Drew families and we are very encouraged hearing the advancements that have been made at Drew. Maybe they are a direct reflection of the principal or maybe the fact they have brought in new teachers and programs either way we are excited!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Previous ATS parent here. My kids are now HS and college aged. If I were to do it again, I would send my kid to the neighborhood school. When they get to MS, it is very difficult to make friends because very few of their ATS classmates will go with them. Plus, there is a greater benefit to knowing your neighbors.

If you can't find friends in a new school, then make new ones. Sure it can be uncomfortable the first few days, but isn't that what growing up means? I don't see why that'd be a major struggle for a 6th grader, unless he/she is socially inept.

[Anonymous]

ATS was named a Blue Ribbon School in 2019, the 3rd time since 2006. There must be something the school is doing right....

https://www.apsva.us/post/arlington-traditional-school-named-2019-blue-ribbon-school/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Previous ATS parent here. My kids are now HS and college aged. If I were to do it again, I would send my kid to the neighborhood school. When they get to MS, it is very difficult to make friends because very few of their ATS classmates will go with them. Plus, there is a greater benefit to knowing your neighbors.

Yes I have heard that unless you go from ATS to HBW the transition is hard. Maybe not every key but seems like it’s a common situation.

Which, of course makes zero sense since the educational philosophies of ATS and HBW are diametrically opposed to each other. So clearly what is going on is parents are doing whatever they can to avoid the diversity of the neighborhood schools. Sad.

My favorite APS family ever was the one that sent their kid first to ATS, then to HBW, and then to TJHSST.

I know somebody who did that! Or who is doing that. But their daughters second grade teacher at their neighborhood school was super racist so I’m glad she got into ATS, but yeah, talk about winning the lottery.

[Anonymous]

ATS is extremely diverse. I don’t think looking for diversity would be a reason to avoid ATS. My child has classmates from Mongolia, Egypt, Japan, China , Ethiopia and many other countries just in her one ATS class. It also seams to be very socio-economically diverse and we love that our child and family meets families who live in every part of Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ATS was named a Blue Ribbon School in 2019, the 3rd time since 2006. There must be something the school is doing right....

https://www.apsva.us/post/arlington-traditional-school-named-2019-blue-ribbon-school/

Lol.

[Anonymous]

ATS parent here - I'm not sure if this is also practiced in other schools, but DD would bring in weekly reports from the teacher, with personalized comments on how our child had been behaving and learning. It was helpful for us to know how she was faring on a weekly basis. Bullying exists (like everywhere else), and it's something you'd have to talk to your child about, instead of relying entirely on teachers to resolve. DD does not have many friends at ATS, but that is more her personality than the social aspect of the school. Yet she loves ATS and loves her teachers.