APS - HB Woodlawn Lottery

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So same curriculum but smaller class size and close teacher interaction.

Private school on public dime.

Same number of dimes per kid as the other schools in Arlington, so what difference does it make?

Yes, exactly. They cost the same as everyone else but get a superlative private school experience.

So then the question remains why other schools can't do the same thing.

Because they’re too big. My son is in 8th at Swanson and overall has had a great experience there - good teachers, nice friends, classes that challenged him, a safe place. I think the same would be true at W-L if he went there, but he’ll be going to HB in the fall mostly for the smaller size and the more personal attention that you just can’t get from a school with 2500+ kids. It really isn’t fair that this program remains so small, but we are lucky that he got in and will take advantage of the opportunity. Still many kids will thrive at the bigger schools, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So same curriculum but smaller class size and close teacher interaction.

Private school on public dime.

Same number of dimes per kid as the other schools in Arlington, so what difference does it make?

Yes, exactly. They cost the same as everyone else but get a superlative private school experience.

So then the question remains why other schools can't do the same thing.

Because they’re too big. My son is in 8th at Swanson and overall has had a great experience there - good teachers, nice friends, classes that challenged him, a safe place. I think the same would be true at W-L if he went there, but he’ll be going to HB in the fall mostly for the smaller size and the more personal attention that you just can’t get from a school with 2500+ kids. It really isn’t fair that this program remains so small, but we are lucky that he got in and will take advantage of the opportunity. Still many kids will thrive at the bigger schools, too.

WL will soon be a 3000 person school; HB really should accept more high schoolers, especially if their special sauce is not a different curriculum but just class size. They can increase 20% and still be TINY.

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand why people find it so surprising that here are families with multiple kids who get into HB Woodlawn. Think about who’s likely to apply. Oldest kids whose families are interested obviously will apply, and families with one kid already there are likely to apply for younger kids because they’re having a good experience and it’s convenient to have your kids at the same school. But if your orders kids didn’t get in, you’re probably going to be less interested in. Having your younger kids apply knowing that if they get in, you’ve given yourself the logistical hassle of kids at multiple schools. I’d be surprised if the lottery pool wasn’t disproportinately younger siblings of kids already there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why people find it so surprising that here are families with multiple kids who get into HB Woodlawn. Think about who’s likely to apply. Oldest kids whose families are interested obviously will apply, and families with one kid already there are likely to apply for younger kids because they’re having a good experience and it’s convenient to have your kids at the same school. But if your orders kids didn’t get in, you’re probably going to be less interested in. Having your younger kids apply knowing that if they get in, you’ve given yourself the logistical hassle of kids at multiple schools. I’d be surprised if the lottery pool wasn’t disproportinately younger siblings of kids already there.

BS. Almost everyone in our 5th grade applied, siblings or not. All the moms were comparing waitlist #s in all the 4 classes. .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why people find it so surprising that here are families with multiple kids who get into HB Woodlawn. Think about who’s likely to apply. Oldest kids whose families are interested obviously will apply, and families with one kid already there are likely to apply for younger kids because they’re having a good experience and it’s convenient to have your kids at the same school. But if your orders kids didn’t get in, you’re probably going to be less interested in. Having your younger kids apply knowing that if they get in, you’ve given yourself the logistical hassle of kids at multiple schools. I’d be surprised if the lottery pool wasn’t disproportinately younger siblings of kids already there.

BS. Almost everyone in our 5th grade applied, siblings or not. All the moms were comparing waitlist #s in all the 4 classes. .

Unlikely. If you look at last year’s data, there are no schools that had even close to all of their fifth graders apply:

https://www.apsva.us/school-options/school-transfer-data/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So same curriculum but smaller class size and close teacher interaction.

Private school on public dime.

Same number of dimes per kid as the other schools in Arlington, so what difference does it make?

Yes, exactly. They cost the same as everyone else but get a superlative private school experience.

So then the question remains why other schools can't do the same thing.

Because they’re too big. My son is in 8th at Swanson and overall has had a great experience there - good teachers, nice friends, classes that challenged him, a safe place. I think the same would be true at W-L if he went there, but he’ll be going to HB in the fall mostly for the smaller size and the more personal attention that you just can’t get from a school with 2500+ kids. It really isn’t fair that this program remains so small, but we are lucky that he got in and will take advantage of the opportunity. Still many kids will thrive at the bigger schools, too.

W-L brings its large size on itself, just like HB keeps its small size to itself. Advocacy. Nobody will allow themselves to be redistricted away from W-L. W-L won't consider the separation of the IB program, as in putting it in a separate building like the Ed Center (AND) making it strictly an option program. The W-L community really should stop complaining that it's so crowded - and stop insisting that small option schools make enrollment increases that really aren't going to result in any meaningful crowding relief at WL. That said, I do believe HB should take on more students. It's fine to be small; but you can be crowded and still small.


WL will soon be a 3000 person school; HB really should accept more high schoolers, especially if their special sauce is not a different curriculum but just class size. They can increase 20% and still be TINY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why people find it so surprising that here are families with multiple kids who get into HB Woodlawn. Think about who’s likely to apply. Oldest kids whose families are interested obviously will apply, and families with one kid already there are likely to apply for younger kids because they’re having a good experience and it’s convenient to have your kids at the same school. But if your orders kids didn’t get in, you’re probably going to be less interested in. Having your younger kids apply knowing that if they get in, you’ve given yourself the logistical hassle of kids at multiple schools. I’d be surprised if the lottery pool wasn’t disproportinately younger siblings of kids already there.

I would be surprised if it were, given how few students go there. I have three children, all have gone through the lottery, none has been offered a spot. Now that HB is switching to an annual lottery, I will reapply every year. I know many families like mine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So same curriculum but smaller class size and close teacher interaction.

Private school on public dime.

Same number of dimes per kid as the other schools in Arlington, so what difference does it make?

Really?! That buliding? Same number of dimes per kid? Hmm. Have you seen Swanson?

Oh, please. People have been making that same tired and inaccurate complaint about HB for years, long before the county forced them to move and started building the new building.

And anyone who can afford to live in 22207 and send their kids to Swanson can afford a house in 22204 and send their kids to Kenmore, which has a gorgeous building with amazing amenities and no trailers. Yet they don't want to -- in fact, families on the western side of the Swanson boundary fought getting redistricted to Kenmore. So you can just shut up about those poor kids at Swanson. (I mean "poor," of course, in the non-financial sense. They are NOT POOR and are hardly disadvantaged because they go to SWANSON.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why people find it so surprising that here are families with multiple kids who get into HB Woodlawn. Think about who’s likely to apply. Oldest kids whose families are interested obviously will apply, and families with one kid already there are likely to apply for younger kids because they’re having a good experience and it’s convenient to have your kids at the same school. But if your orders kids didn’t get in, you’re probably going to be less interested in. Having your younger kids apply knowing that if they get in, you’ve given yourself the logistical hassle of kids at multiple schools. I’d be surprised if the lottery pool wasn’t disproportinately younger siblings of kids already there.

I would be surprised if it were, given how few students go there. I have three children, all have gone through the lottery, none has been offered a spot. Now that HB is switching to an annual lottery, I will reapply every year. I know many families like mine.

But it’s seven years of school. If you look at, for instance, Tuckahoe, they get three students per year so there are about 21 current students there from the Tuckahoe zone. If a quarter of those students have younger siblings eligible in a given year (since siblings tend to be clumped within a few years of each other, but families with 3+ kids will be more spread out), that would mean about five of last year’s 39 applicants from Tuckahoe would be younger siblings, giving about a 35% chance that at least one of the three students admitted would be a younger sibling of a current student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why people find it so surprising that here are families with multiple kids who get into HB Woodlawn. Think about who’s likely to apply. Oldest kids whose families are interested obviously will apply, and families with one kid already there are likely to apply for younger kids because they’re having a good experience and it’s convenient to have your kids at the same school. But if your orders kids didn’t get in, you’re probably going to be less interested in. Having your younger kids apply knowing that if they get in, you’ve given yourself the logistical hassle of kids at multiple schools. I’d be surprised if the lottery pool wasn’t disproportinately younger siblings of kids already there.

I would be surprised if it were, given how few students go there. I have three children, all have gone through the lottery, none has been offered a spot. Now that HB is switching to an annual lottery, I will reapply every year. I know many families like mine.

But it’s seven years of school. If you look at, for instance, Tuckahoe, they get three students per year so there are about 21 current students there from the Tuckahoe zone. If a quarter of those students have younger siblings eligible in a given year (since siblings tend to be clumped within a few years of each other, but families with 3+ kids will be more spread out), that would mean about five of last year’s 39 applicants from Tuckahoe would be younger siblings, giving about a 35% chance that at least one of the three students admitted would be a younger sibling of a current student.

Taking this one step further, if a family enters the lottery twice (and thus is paying attention to the results twice), this would create about a 58% chance that in at least one of those lotteries, the family would see at least one younger sibling of another HB student also admitted to HB. If neither of the family’s kids get in, seeing another family get two kids in can encourage speculation that the system is rigged, even though the math demonstrates it’s the likely result.

[Anonymous]

has anyone heard if the waitlist has moved? We are high on the list and our status says updated today but the waitlist number remains the same. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why people find it so surprising that here are families with multiple kids who get into HB Woodlawn. Think about who’s likely to apply. Oldest kids whose families are interested obviously will apply, and families with one kid already there are likely to apply for younger kids because they’re having a good experience and it’s convenient to have your kids at the same school. But if your orders kids didn’t get in, you’re probably going to be less interested in. Having your younger kids apply knowing that if they get in, you’ve given yourself the logistical hassle of kids at multiple schools. I’d be surprised if the lottery pool wasn’t disproportinately younger siblings of kids already there.

I would be surprised if it were, given how few students go there. I have three children, all have gone through the lottery, none has been offered a spot. Now that HB is switching to an annual lottery, I will reapply every year. I know many families like mine.

But it’s seven years of school. If you look at, for instance, Tuckahoe, they get three students per year so there are about 21 current students there from the Tuckahoe zone. If a quarter of those students have younger siblings eligible in a given year (since siblings tend to be clumped within a few years of each other, but families with 3+ kids will be more spread out), that would mean about five of last year’s 39 applicants from Tuckahoe would be younger siblings, giving about a 35% chance that at least one of the three students admitted would be a younger sibling of a current student.

Taking this one step further, if a family enters the lottery twice (and thus is paying attention to the results twice), this would create about a 58% chance that in at least one of those lotteries, the family would see at least one younger sibling of another HB student also admitted to HB. If neither of the family’s kids get in, seeing another family get two kids in can encourage speculation that the system is rigged, even though the math demonstrates it’s the likely result.

There is so much entitlement in Arlington that if a child doesn't win the HB lottery, too many parents immediately assume that something nefarious is going on. Sibling preference! Buckets of cash! Principal preference!

Maybe, just maybe, it was a random double blind lottery that someone else won. And this includes, on occasion, younger siblings. Each kid has an equal chance every time. So.... if a family already has a child there, their younger kid does not have a zero chance.

And, to answer the question about why there are more kids in the class than number of lottery slots, it's because of twins, and also because one of the County wide Autism programs is housed at HB and those slots are allotted through students' IEP teams, not through the lottery. Those slots are for kids with special needs and I have zero problem with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So same curriculum but smaller class size and close teacher interaction.

Private school on public dime.

Same number of dimes per kid as the other schools in Arlington, so what difference does it make?

Really?! That buliding? Same number of dimes per kid? Hmm. Have you seen Swanson?

Oh, please. People have been making that same tired and inaccurate complaint about HB for years, long before the county forced them to move and started building the new building.

And anyone who can afford to live in 22207 and send their kids to Swanson can afford a house in 22204 and send their kids to Kenmore, which has a gorgeous building with amazing amenities and no trailers. Yet they don't want to -- in fact, families on the western side of the Swanson boundary fought getting redistricted to Kenmore. So you can just shut up about those poor kids at Swanson. (I mean "poor," of course, in the non-financial sense. They are NOT POOR and are hardly disadvantaged because they go to SWANSON.)

Still fixated on the Swanson walkers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: has anyone heard if the waitlist has moved? We are high on the list and our status says updated today but the waitlist number remains the same. Thanks!

My child’s position moved up slightly for 9th grade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So same curriculum but smaller class size and close teacher interaction.

Private school on public dime.

Same number of dimes per kid as the other schools in Arlington, so what difference does it make?

Really?! That buliding? Same number of dimes per kid? Hmm. Have you seen Swanson?

Oh, please. People have been making that same tired and inaccurate complaint about HB for years, long before the county forced them to move and started building the new building.

And anyone who can afford to live in 22207 and send their kids to Swanson can afford a house in 22204 and send their kids to Kenmore, which has a gorgeous building with amazing amenities and no trailers. Yet they don't want to -- in fact, families on the western side of the Swanson boundary fought getting redistricted to Kenmore. So you can just shut up about those poor kids at Swanson. (I mean "poor," of course, in the non-financial sense. They are NOT POOR and are hardly disadvantaged because they go to SWANSON.)

Still fixated on the Swanson walkers?

I just think anyone who holds up Swanson as an example of a disadvantage in Arlington is completely ridiculous.