Can we spreadload FRL% across APS? Arlington / Education Newbie here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how to pay for transportation costs of bussing, but first step would be to price it out and see what kind of numbers we're working with. I like the Amazon idea - perhaps a grant or donation for a trial period of time would dovetail nicely with their investment / interest in building local tech talent. But they can't pursue that without actual numbers / some research being done. And that's an issue. I understand there's a counterpoint to everything but don't let that stop truly defining the problem and scoping out options for solutions.

Likely a multi-faceted solution - like most things are when solved correctly and effectively.
Add the County coordinating ART bus routes and giving middle and high schoolers free fare. That frees up more buses and routes for elementary which will help reduce the travel times of long bus routes.
Also, bus drivers want full-time hours; so add in bus routes at the end of extended day. Those routes shouldn't take as long because there are likely fewer kids needing a bus home at that time. As pointed out before, APS already provides late buses for kids staying for extra-curricular activities. Provide a second round of late buses for extended day. Or, heaven forbid, eliminate extended day. Which would parents prefer: no extended day, or driving an extra 15 minutes on their way home to pick-up their kids?
And again, APS has and could expand offering shuttle services from select neighborhood locations to school events. Change the stupid way parent-teacher conferences are done now and make them more of an open house in the gym (Gunston used to do this) Parents just line up to see the teachers they want to talk to instead of signing up for time slots and seeing just the homeroom teacher. If parents need more time to talk with a teacher, they should be making independent appointments with them anyway regardless of PT conferences.

So the late bus is really late for middle school -- 2 hours after school gets out. Its literally a single bus most of the time and it doesn't make over 50% of the stops -- stops are within a half mile of most people's existing stops, but its not like your normal bus stop. So you'd like a bus for extended day (which would leave I'm guessing at 5/5:30), and would drop your kid a half mile (in the dark during daylight savings) from your normal stop so you can pick your kid up from there at some really rigid time? This sounds like a great idea!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The community idea is so overblown by so many. The public school “community” is laughable for our family who came from private. I am sorry but no the public schools have neighbors who know each other but sense of community nope. So if your child is bussed to a different school the school your child attends will have a “community” and you become part of it if you want.

White parents just don’t want to have to say out loud that they don’t want their kids going to school with poor non white kids.

This is not true at the "poor" school in S. Arlington where I live. There are many immigrant communities (Ethiopians, Mongolians, etc) who are very tight, many living in the same apartment complexes. They walk home together, care for each others' kids after school, go shopping and share food, etc. There are a very few who are doing option schools but most don't want to move schools - they like their kids all going together to the same school and don't want to be split up.

The reason they are "tight" is due to being in similar circumstances in a new place with a shared background all living in the same place. This would still be the case whether their children attended school together or not.

Would it? They all walk home together in a caravan after school dismisses (instead of various bus stops/timelines). Their kids hang together after school and help each other with homework since they are in the same classes. Parents are able to share information and help each other through the shared experience being at the school and knowing the same teachers for years, which is a helpful network for newer families. There is a Mongolian interpreter at the school who interprets at PTA and other events so Mongolian parents can join, since there is a critical mass. She brings back Mongolian books for the library for kids. School emails are sent in Mongolian. Does this happen at every school, or would it, if all kids were dispersed throughout the county in a lottery? Not saying these families would cease to be a community, but having the school be a large part of the community strengthens it, and strengthens the school.

Yes it would but you can't see that since you are viewing it through your white UMC SFH self who was born and raised here with parents born and raised here and family and so on. You are using this argument to continue the status quo. And people like you conduct surveys or ask these families if they want to move schools by telling them wild tales of how it will so terrible and it will be bad but never bother to mention that a changing schools gives them a better education opportunity and in the long run is better for their child's success. You would never do that. You don't want to help these families change their situation, you want to use them whenever it's convenient for your purposes.

You see community as something that happens through your child's school and that makes sense given where you are coming from. That's not the same for immigrant families who come to a new country whether legally or not and don't speak the language well. It makes sense they want to stay close and live close to those who share their background so they can learn the ropes of living here, understand the language, and so on. This starts way before their kids even enter a school building and doesn't disappear when they do. In some cases, they may also have kids back in their home country as well but that doesn't mean they aren't welcomed as members of the community.

I am the PP - I am a nonwhite immigrant myself! Not born here, not UMC, no SFH. I live in this neighborhood with these people, who are my friends. I don't "conduct surveys," and I certainly don't try to scare with wild tales! What a crazy assumption. "Using them whenever it's convenient?" I don't know what you're talking about. I do know it is much more convenient for all of us to be able to walk to our school a couple blocks away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Explain it to me like I'm 5 and know nothing about APS, districting, education theory, etc. Why can't we set a standard FRL % at every school to guarantee the same education experience across Arlington? I'm new to this but Arlington is kinda small - why can't this happen for the good of everyone? Is it because the idea of bussing kids around has a history? I'm sure there's a way to do it equitably.

I read everyone being up in arms about school redistricting in Arlington and it just seems like this is the answer. Why have schools 70 to 80%FRL and others like 15%? Sure, north Arlington blah blah blah paid higher costs, but honestly south Arlington will probably catch up in costs because it's closer to Amazon and the airport. It's already getting pretty expensive and will one day will catch up. Why not catch up the schools ahead of time?

LOL sure when everyone pays the same taxes for their houses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Explain it to me like I'm 5 and know nothing about APS, districting, education theory, etc. Why can't we set a standard FRL % at every school to guarantee the same education experience across Arlington? I'm new to this but Arlington is kinda small - why can't this happen for the good of everyone? Is it because the idea of bussing kids around has a history? I'm sure there's a way to do it equitably.

I read everyone being up in arms about school redistricting in Arlington and it just seems like this is the answer. Why have schools 70 to 80%FRL and others like 15%? Sure, north Arlington blah blah blah paid higher costs, but honestly south Arlington will probably catch up in costs because it's closer to Amazon and the airport. It's already getting pretty expensive and will one day will catch up. Why not catch up the schools ahead of time?

LOL sure when everyone pays the same taxes for their houses

Is there a special tax for entitled dicks? Cuz we’d generate tons of revenue for schools that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Explain it to me like I'm 5 and know nothing about APS, districting, education theory, etc. Why can't we set a standard FRL % at every school to guarantee the same education experience across Arlington? I'm new to this but Arlington is kinda small - why can't this happen for the good of everyone? Is it because the idea of bussing kids around has a history? I'm sure there's a way to do it equitably.

I read everyone being up in arms about school redistricting in Arlington and it just seems like this is the answer. Why have schools 70 to 80%FRL and others like 15%? Sure, north Arlington blah blah blah paid higher costs, but honestly south Arlington will probably catch up in costs because it's closer to Amazon and the airport. It's already getting pretty expensive and will one day will catch up. Why not catch up the schools ahead of time?

LOL sure when everyone pays the same taxes for their houses

Is there a special tax for entitled dicks? Cuz we’d generate tons of revenue for schools that way.

Ok, here's an idea: offer 50% (or whatever number) less property taxes for each year a north Arlington kid goes to a south Arlington school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Explain it to me like I'm 5 and know nothing about APS, districting, education theory, etc. Why can't we set a standard FRL % at every school to guarantee the same education experience across Arlington? I'm new to this but Arlington is kinda small - why can't this happen for the good of everyone? Is it because the idea of bussing kids around has a history? I'm sure there's a way to do it equitably.

I read everyone being up in arms about school redistricting in Arlington and it just seems like this is the answer. Why have schools 70 to 80%FRL and others like 15%? Sure, north Arlington blah blah blah paid higher costs, but honestly south Arlington will probably catch up in costs because it's closer to Amazon and the airport. It's already getting pretty expensive and will one day will catch up. Why not catch up the schools ahead of time?

LOL sure when everyone pays the same taxes for their houses

Is there a special tax for entitled dicks? Cuz we’d generate tons of revenue for schools that way.

Ok, here's an idea: offer 50% (or whatever number) less property taxes for each year a north Arlington kid goes to a south Arlington school.

If you have more than one kid it’s very unlikely your property taxes cover your kids education at APS each year. Even in a fancy North Arlington house. In case you missed that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
LOL sure when everyone pays the same taxes for their houses

You do realize roughly 80% of Arlington residents do not have children in the school system? This is a really stupid response.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how to pay for transportation costs of bussing, but first step would be to price it out and see what kind of numbers we're working with. I like the Amazon idea - perhaps a grant or donation for a trial period of time would dovetail nicely with their investment / interest in building local tech talent. But they can't pursue that without actual numbers / some research being done. And that's an issue. I understand there's a counterpoint to everything but don't let that stop truly defining the problem and scoping out options for solutions.

Likely a multi-faceted solution - like most things are when solved correctly and effectively.
Add the County coordinating ART bus routes and giving middle and high schoolers free fare. That frees up more buses and routes for elementary which will help reduce the travel times of long bus routes.
Also, bus drivers want full-time hours; so add in bus routes at the end of extended day. Those routes shouldn't take as long because there are likely fewer kids needing a bus home at that time. As pointed out before, APS already provides late buses for kids staying for extra-curricular activities. Provide a second round of late buses for extended day. Or, heaven forbid, eliminate extended day. Which would parents prefer: no extended day, or driving an extra 15 minutes on their way home to pick-up their kids?
And again, APS has and could expand offering shuttle services from select neighborhood locations to school events. Change the stupid way parent-teacher conferences are done now and make them more of an open house in the gym (Gunston used to do this) Parents just line up to see the teachers they want to talk to instead of signing up for time slots and seeing just the homeroom teacher. If parents need more time to talk with a teacher, they should be making independent appointments with them anyway regardless of PT conferences.

So the late bus is really late for middle school -- 2 hours after school gets out. Its literally a single bus most of the time and it doesn't make over 50% of the stops -- stops are within a half mile of most people's existing stops, but its not like your normal bus stop. So you'd like a bus for extended day (which would leave I'm guessing at 5/5:30), and would drop your kid a half mile (in the dark during daylight savings) from your normal stop so you can pick your kid up from there at some really rigid time? This sounds like a great idea!

So glad you agree! This is what people who just don't want anything to ever change do - they shoot down every single suggestion, find any reason to criticize it and deem it infeasible, then ask for solutions. Just because you don't like the solution doesn't mean it isn't a solution or wouldn't be an improvement or part of an overall solution.

I'm not even sure what your point about middle school late buses is. Parents generally pickup their kids from extended day at the same time each day. If parents still want to pick them up before a late bus would leave, they could do so. Or, instead of having to drive so far out of their way, they could just let the late bus bring their kids closer to home and meet them there at that time. The parents would be meeting elementary kids at the bus stop; so I don't see the relevance of your DST point at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
So redlining, and its effects today, isn’t racism? But talking about it is? Like “reverse racism”? Okay then.

^^^ This right here is how we got the nutters screaming about CRT in schools. They don’t want to examine the hideous underbelly of how we got where we are.

DP, the current housing situations are most definitely the result of redlining and racism in the past. The fact that many parents of all races and SES levels don't want to bus their elementary and middle school kids all over the county is not by default racism as much as you want it to be.

Yes, also DP here in S. Arlington at a "poor school." I don't know how many times it needs to be said: People do not want to move schools! Our school may have high FRL but the teachers are great and families are having a good experience. Maybe not as fancy an experience. But no one I know wants to be bused 30 min. away to go to school. They just don't!

Agree that it's better to work on future planning and projects of AH.

That's all well and good; but does absolutely nothing to break up the concentrated poverty Arlington has already entrenched in specific neighborhoods and areas of the County. It doesn't solve the problem.

Okay, but it could help keep the problem from getting worse...?

Maybe we need a reframing of the "problem." I posted above that people are quite happy with our Title 1 "poor" school and they don't want to move. The immigrant communities may be lower-income and still learning English, but the kids are smart and hardworking. Thriving, in fact. The school is helping them grow and they will continue to improve as time goes on. Test scores do not tell the full story of what is a "good" school.

OK, then there is no problem. So why do we focus on an achievement gap if there is no issue?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Explain it to me like I'm 5 and know nothing about APS, districting, education theory, etc. Why can't we set a standard FRL % at every school to guarantee the same education experience across Arlington? I'm new to this but Arlington is kinda small - why can't this happen for the good of everyone? Is it because the idea of bussing kids around has a history? I'm sure there's a way to do it equitably.

I read everyone being up in arms about school redistricting in Arlington and it just seems like this is the answer. Why have schools 70 to 80%FRL and others like 15%? Sure, north Arlington blah blah blah paid higher costs, but honestly south Arlington will probably catch up in costs because it's closer to Amazon and the airport. It's already getting pretty expensive and will one day will catch up. Why not catch up the schools ahead of time?

LOL sure when everyone pays the same taxes for their houses

People pay just as much tax for their $200K property in south arlington as people pay for their $200K property in north arlington. People pay just as much tax for their $900-1 mill property in south arlington as people pay for their $900 - 1mill property in north arlington. It's not like south arlington gets a discounted tax rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how to pay for transportation costs of bussing, but first step would be to price it out and see what kind of numbers we're working with. I like the Amazon idea - perhaps a grant or donation for a trial period of time would dovetail nicely with their investment / interest in building local tech talent. But they can't pursue that without actual numbers / some research being done. And that's an issue. I understand there's a counterpoint to everything but don't let that stop truly defining the problem and scoping out options for solutions.

Likely a multi-faceted solution - like most things are when solved correctly and effectively.
Add the County coordinating ART bus routes and giving middle and high schoolers free fare. That frees up more buses and routes for elementary which will help reduce the travel times of long bus routes.
Also, bus drivers want full-time hours; so add in bus routes at the end of extended day. Those routes shouldn't take as long because there are likely fewer kids needing a bus home at that time. As pointed out before, APS already provides late buses for kids staying for extra-curricular activities. Provide a second round of late buses for extended day. Or, heaven forbid, eliminate extended day. Which would parents prefer: no extended day, or driving an extra 15 minutes on their way home to pick-up their kids?
And again, APS has and could expand offering shuttle services from select neighborhood locations to school events. Change the stupid way parent-teacher conferences are done now and make them more of an open house in the gym (Gunston used to do this) Parents just line up to see the teachers they want to talk to instead of signing up for time slots and seeing just the homeroom teacher. If parents need more time to talk with a teacher, they should be making independent appointments with them anyway regardless of PT conferences.

So the late bus is really late for middle school -- 2 hours after school gets out. Its literally a single bus most of the time and it doesn't make over 50% of the stops -- stops are within a half mile of most people's existing stops, but its not like your normal bus stop. So you'd like a bus for extended day (which would leave I'm guessing at 5/5:30), and would drop your kid a half mile (in the dark during daylight savings) from your normal stop so you can pick your kid up from there at some really rigid time? This sounds like a great idea!

So glad you agree! This is what people who just don't want anything to ever change do - they shoot down every single suggestion, find any reason to criticize it and deem it infeasible, then ask for solutions. Just because you don't like the solution doesn't mean it isn't a solution or wouldn't be an improvement or part of an overall solution.

I'm not even sure what your point about middle school late buses is. Parents generally pickup their kids from extended day at the same time each day. If parents still want to pick them up before a late bus would leave, they could do so. Or, instead of having to drive so far out of their way, they could just let the late bus bring their kids closer to home and meet them there at that time. The parents would be meeting elementary kids at the bus stop; so I don't see the relevance of your DST point at all.

Get your kid into an option school or move. Lottery for all elementary kids is not coming to Arlington anytime soon. You can argue all you want but it’s not going to happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
So glad you agree! This is what people who just don't want anything to ever change do - they shoot down every single suggestion, find any reason to criticize it and deem it infeasible, then ask for solutions. Just because you don't like the solution doesn't mean it isn't a solution or wouldn't be an improvement or part of an overall solution.

I'm not even sure what your point about middle school late buses is. Parents generally pickup their kids from extended day at the same time each day. If parents still want to pick them up before a late bus would leave, they could do so. Or, instead of having to drive so far out of their way, they could just let the late bus bring their kids closer to home and meet them there at that time. The parents would be meeting elementary kids at the bus stop; so I don't see the relevance of your DST point at all.

I am all for change, you just need to realize that what you are proposing is logistically difficult at best, and potentially unsafe for many parents. I am simply pointing out what is wrong with your solution -- everyone says "add late buses for extended day" but in reality, this is not feasible or desirable for most people.
Take an actual look at your schools late bus for middle or high school. My MS kids' late bus only goes to about 1/3 of the bus stops -- the stops are like "hub stops" for the option schools. For some kids, the nearest late bus stop is over half a mile away. Imagine that for an elementary school kid -- you would have a late bus that drops off at 6 or later that not a short walk from your house. You will be walking with a young child for a long distance, in the dark for most of the winter, very close to when they go to bed. That in itself would be undesirable for most parents (similar to the argument that the bus is not feasible for most parents picking up from extended day). Add the fact that if there isn't an adult to meet the child, they can't let the child be unattended if they are under the age of 8. If a parent is running late, the kid will either be left there (if over the age of 8) in the dark far from home, or will have to be transported back to a central location where they wait to get picked up. The transportation back to a central location would be after most school administers leave, so something would have to be figured out there. The "a parent must meet a young child" rule is the reason why this idea is not feasible.
It would be more feasible to have extended day be considered completely independent of where your kid goes to school (allow enrollment and transportation to the nearest school for extended day). That would add costs though, so you would really have to justify it.
There are alternatives to bussing. I've talked on this board multiple times the idea of moving to a more upper and lower school idea to stop the extreme levels of FRL rates. You can create larger zones really easily, and they would probably be much less controversial in some cases.
For example:
Fleet and Randolph or Barcroft
Barrett and Long Branch
Abingdon and Drew
Carlin Springs and Ashlawn
Glebe and Barrett
ASFS and Innovation
Hoffman Boston and Oakridge
You can solve the extended day issue by having a single bus that takes kids from one extended day to the other (parents can sign up for the school closer to them). You solve the walkzone impact by having a single bus or a shuttle that picks up from one school and goes to the other (you have a single bus instead of having to create multiple bus stops). You solve the parent involvement issue by having a single pta across the upper/lower schools and having that pta do events at each school. Keep parent teacher conferences virtual. This seems more plausible than a pure lottery system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
So redlining, and its effects today, isn’t racism? But talking about it is? Like “reverse racism”? Okay then.

^^^ This right here is how we got the nutters screaming about CRT in schools. They don’t want to examine the hideous underbelly of how we got where we are.

DP, the current housing situations are most definitely the result of redlining and racism in the past. The fact that many parents of all races and SES levels don't want to bus their elementary and middle school kids all over the county is not by default racism as much as you want it to be.

Yes, also DP here in S. Arlington at a "poor school." I don't know how many times it needs to be said: People do not want to move schools! Our school may have high FRL but the teachers are great and families are having a good experience. Maybe not as fancy an experience. But no one I know wants to be bused 30 min. away to go to school. They just don't!

Agree that it's better to work on future planning and projects of AH.

That's all well and good; but does absolutely nothing to break up the concentrated poverty Arlington has already entrenched in specific neighborhoods and areas of the County. It doesn't solve the problem.

Okay, but it could help keep the problem from getting worse...?

Maybe we need a reframing of the "problem." I posted above that people are quite happy with our Title 1 "poor" school and they don't want to move. The immigrant communities may be lower-income and still learning English, but the kids are smart and hardworking. Thriving, in fact. The school is helping them grow and they will continue to improve as time goes on. Test scores do not tell the full story of what is a "good" school.

OK, then there is no problem. So why do we focus on an achievement gap if there is no issue?

There is not a problem that will be solved by lottery/busing everyone all over the county to new schools. That idea is ludicrous. The answer is helping kids who need it in their current schools and communities - more teachers, more assistants, more resources and community support that will meet them where they are and bring them up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how to pay for transportation costs of bussing, but first step would be to price it out and see what kind of numbers we're working with. I like the Amazon idea - perhaps a grant or donation for a trial period of time would dovetail nicely with their investment / interest in building local tech talent. But they can't pursue that without actual numbers / some research being done. And that's an issue. I understand there's a counterpoint to everything but don't let that stop truly defining the problem and scoping out options for solutions.

Likely a multi-faceted solution - like most things are when solved correctly and effectively.
Add the County coordinating ART bus routes and giving middle and high schoolers free fare. That frees up more buses and routes for elementary which will help reduce the travel times of long bus routes.
Also, bus drivers want full-time hours; so add in bus routes at the end of extended day. Those routes shouldn't take as long because there are likely fewer kids needing a bus home at that time. As pointed out before, APS already provides late buses for kids staying for extra-curricular activities. Provide a second round of late buses for extended day. Or, heaven forbid, eliminate extended day. Which would parents prefer: no extended day, or driving an extra 15 minutes on their way home to pick-up their kids?
And again, APS has and could expand offering shuttle services from select neighborhood locations to school events. Change the stupid way parent-teacher conferences are done now and make them more of an open house in the gym (Gunston used to do this) Parents just line up to see the teachers they want to talk to instead of signing up for time slots and seeing just the homeroom teacher. If parents need more time to talk with a teacher, they should be making independent appointments with them anyway regardless of PT conferences.

So the late bus is really late for middle school -- 2 hours after school gets out. Its literally a single bus most of the time and it doesn't make over 50% of the stops -- stops are within a half mile of most people's existing stops, but its not like your normal bus stop. So you'd like a bus for extended day (which would leave I'm guessing at 5/5:30), and would drop your kid a half mile (in the dark during daylight savings) from your normal stop so you can pick your kid up from there at some really rigid time? This sounds like a great idea!

So glad you agree! This is what people who just don't want anything to ever change do - they shoot down every single suggestion, find any reason to criticize it and deem it infeasible, then ask for solutions. Just because you don't like the solution doesn't mean it isn't a solution or wouldn't be an improvement or part of an overall solution.

I'm not even sure what your point about middle school late buses is. Parents generally pickup their kids from extended day at the same time each day. If parents still want to pick them up before a late bus would leave, they could do so. Or, instead of having to drive so far out of their way, they could just let the late bus bring their kids closer to home and meet them there at that time. The parents would be meeting elementary kids at the bus stop; so I don't see the relevance of your DST point at all.

Get your kid into an option school or move. Lottery for all elementary kids is not coming to Arlington anytime soon. You can argue all you want but it’s not going to happen.

My kids are already in high school. And they attended all of their assigned schools. And we didn't use extended day. I'm participating in a discussion, not advocating for my self-interests...unlike some others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
So redlining, and its effects today, isn’t racism? But talking about it is? Like “reverse racism”? Okay then.

^^^ This right here is how we got the nutters screaming about CRT in schools. They don’t want to examine the hideous underbelly of how we got where we are.

DP, the current housing situations are most definitely the result of redlining and racism in the past. The fact that many parents of all races and SES levels don't want to bus their elementary and middle school kids all over the county is not by default racism as much as you want it to be.

Yes, also DP here in S. Arlington at a "poor school." I don't know how many times it needs to be said: People do not want to move schools! Our school may have high FRL but the teachers are great and families are having a good experience. Maybe not as fancy an experience. But no one I know wants to be bused 30 min. away to go to school. They just don't!

Agree that it's better to work on future planning and projects of AH.

That's all well and good; but does absolutely nothing to break up the concentrated poverty Arlington has already entrenched in specific neighborhoods and areas of the County. It doesn't solve the problem.

Okay, but it could help keep the problem from getting worse...?

Maybe we need a reframing of the "problem." I posted above that people are quite happy with our Title 1 "poor" school and they don't want to move. The immigrant communities may be lower-income and still learning English, but the kids are smart and hardworking. Thriving, in fact. The school is helping them grow and they will continue to improve as time goes on. Test scores do not tell the full story of what is a "good" school.

OK, then there is no problem. So why do we focus on an achievement gap if there is no issue?

There is not a problem that will be solved by lottery/busing everyone all over the county to new schools. That idea is ludicrous. The answer is helping kids who need it in their current schools and communities - more teachers, more assistants, more resources and community support that will meet them where they are and bring them up.

You clearly have not read the decades of social science research showing that disadvantaged students in economically diverse schools perform better, achieve better, close the gaps more quickly than disadvantaged students concentrated in low-income schools with more teachers, more assistants, smaller class sizes, more resources, and more community support meeting them where they are. Everyone wants to ignore or deny the impacts of peer influences and connections - which is rather ironic, since it's the affluent people who avoid low-income schools because of the peer influences and lack of resources...