inevitable overcrowding Arlington schools - any silver lining?

[Anonymous]

went to some information meeting and was really depressed by the numbers projected for the next 5 years. i think one middle school is projected to be at 140% capacity. can anyone from other jurisdiction who've experienced this before share any positive aspect of overcrowding schools? or put it another way, did it turn out not as bad as you thought? i'm talking about from parents/students perspective. tks.

[Anonymous]

It has made me appreciate how creative, flexible and resourceful the teachers and administrators in our school are.

[Anonymous]

I heard there will most likely be another middle school by the time our preschoolers are of middle-school age.

The one thing is sure---Arlington is very serious about its schools. The recent complete HS renovations (and current ones) are a fine example. I swear Washington&Lee is nicer than a lot of colleges!

[Anonymous]

Because of the economy, students are leaving private schools and going to school districts in which public education is strong. Also because of economy, public school systems are facing budget cuts, which makes it difficult to keep quality at the same level. This is not a temporary phenomenon only (different discussion). Arlington county is one of the few places that should be able to manage this double whammy without a serious setback in quality. But it will not be easy. 10 years from now, the map of quality public education in the US will be very different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because of the economy, students are leaving private schools and going to school districts in which public education is strong. Also because of economy, public school systems are facing budget cuts, which makes it difficult to keep quality at the same level. This is not a temporary phenomenon only (different discussion). Arlington county is one of the few places that should be able to manage this double whammy without a serious setback in quality. But it will not be easy. 10 years from now, the map of quality public education in the US will be very different.

please elaborate

[Anonymous]

Arlington is no longer the place to be for schools. They keep talking about plans and don't seem to ever have one. Seems to me and a lot of people I know that the county needs some different management.

[Anonymous]

The classic example of the county not looking into the future. Arlington has for years ignored all aspects of South Arlington and now there is a big rush to build a high school that most people don't want their kids going to. Patrick Henry is an original school with zero changes since the late 50's. North Arlington gets things like WL and water parks.

[Anonymous]

I heard they were going to rebuild Wakefield, but didn't know they were going to build HS #4 in the county.

[Anonymous]

Um, South Arlington has a water park too, and I think it's newer than Lyon Village or Hayes spraygrounds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Um, South Arlington has a water park too, and I think it's newer than Lyon Village or Hayes spraygrounds.

There won't be another HS in South Arlington. But, having recently rebuilt W&L and Yorktown, Arlington has to do a major renovation of Wakefield HS soon, and they have to send more students there so that the enrollment is closer to the enrollment at the other two schools. It's inevitable; anything else would be impossible to defend on so many levels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Um, South Arlington has a water park too, and I think it's newer than Lyon Village or Hayes spraygrounds.

There won't be another HS in South Arlington. But, having recently rebuilt W&L and Yorktown, Arlington has to do a major renovation of Wakefield HS soon, and they have to send more students there so that the enrollment is closer to the enrollment at the other two schools. It's inevitable; anything else would be impossible to defend on so many levels.

Arlington is rebuilding Wakefield, just like they did for Washington-Lee. It's not a 4th high school, and groundbreaking on the new Wakefield occurred this fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Um, South Arlington has a water park too, and I think it's newer than Lyon Village or Hayes spraygrounds.

Yeah, I took my kids to this park a few weeks ago. Beautiful park, practically empty. Saw a domestic dispute and what looked like a drug deal while we were there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Um, South Arlington has a water park too, and I think it's newer than Lyon Village or Hayes spraygrounds.

There won't be another HS in South Arlington. But, having recently rebuilt W&L and Yorktown, Arlington has to do a major renovation of Wakefield HS soon, and they have to send more students there so that the enrollment is closer to the enrollment at the other two schools. It's inevitable; anything else would be impossible to defend on so many levels.

There are a number of things they could do to boost enrollment at Wakefield: 1) add a full high school Spanish immersion program - currently, the program goes thru middle school only, and there are a hodge-podge of options at various schools (including Spanish language arts at Wakefield); 2) extend the Montessori program thru high school; 3) add additional magnet options.

Gunston MS now houses the middle school immersion program and a middle school montessori program. We're zoned for Williamsburg but hope DC goes to the immersion program at Gunston in a few years. Similarly would send DC to a full immersion program at Wakefield

Wakefield is a good school and we know a lot of educated white parents who send their kids there and have had a great experience. The DCUM fear of S Arlington is so overblown...

[Anonymous]

why not add another teacher and go for bigger class size? they have 24 now and if you increase by 10% it's still only 27 kids. one teacher, two assistants should be plentiful enough for K. for upper grades one teacher one assistant.

problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Um, South Arlington has a water park too, and I think it's newer than Lyon Village or Hayes spraygrounds.

Yeah, I took my kids to this park a few weeks ago. Beautiful park, practically empty. Saw a domestic dispute and what looked like a drug deal while we were there.

Hey, the drug dealers were among the better neighbors when my wife and I lived in South Arlington.

I'll make sure there's a spot in Ashburn available for you, as long as you ask forgiveness for all the anti-Loudoun stuff you said as a young childless woman.