APS: Think the "no move" campaign is going to work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wut? We are telling families to move their household now to follow their school? Or deal with a school move by setting up some carpools? Are you for real?

*not Mary*

DP. I would put it differently. Key families are just some of the thousands of families whose kids will attend school at a different site next year, many of whom will have a harder time getting transportation to their new sites. That alone can't be a basis to stop site moves or student reassignments; otherwise, APS would have to grandfather all students every time it redraws boundaries, which would make managing capacity a nightmare and lead to unacceptable enrollment imbalances. It's even less appropriate to let transportation challenges be an overriding factor to prevent immersion sites from moving because they're option programs that guarantee bus-eligibility for all students, who can choose to attend their neighborhood school for convenience (or any other reason).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope. It was full of lies.

None of the community-generated scenarios worked - they certainly didn’t take 6 factors into consideration.
The community-generated scenarios did not result in fewer buses.
Key won’t need to function at 152%.
Key families can move if they are supported (and want to stick with immersion). Key families are willing to set up carpools to all school events, meetings, enrichment, etc.

She has fallen short on just about every claim she made.

Wut? We are telling families to move their household now to follow their school? Or deal with a school move by setting up some carpools? Are you for real?

*not Mary*

Mary said they can’t move to the new location.

They CAN move (if they want to) if they have transportation support (issue identified by Key parents).

Someone earlier on the thread said that Key families are willing to provide carpools for enrichment, events, meetings, etc.

Problem solved.

I'm still not clear on why people who can easily get to Key would have a hard time getting to ATS. Isn't ATS a half-mile walk from the Ballston metro station, which is three stops away from Key and one of the biggest bus hubs in the county?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope. It was full of lies.

None of the community-generated scenarios worked - they certainly didn’t take 6 factors into consideration.
The community-generated scenarios did not result in fewer buses.
Key won’t need to function at 152%.
Key families can move if they are supported (and want to stick with immersion). Key families are willing to set up carpools to all school events, meetings, enrichment, etc.

She has fallen short on just about every claim she made.

Wut? We are telling families to move their household now to follow their school? Or deal with a school move by setting up some carpools? Are you for real?

*not Mary*

Mary said they can’t move to the new location.

They CAN move (if they want to) if they have transportation support (issue identified by Key parents).

Someone earlier on the thread said that Key families are willing to provide carpools for enrichment, events, meetings, etc.

Problem solved.

I'm still not clear on why people who can easily get to Key would have a hard time getting to ATS. Isn't ATS a half-mile walk from the Ballston metro station, which is three stops away from Key and one of the biggest bus hubs in the county?

The problem, you see, is that when you are coming from your $1.5 million house in the current Taylor zone, Courthouse is a much more convenient stop on the drive to DC or a better place to park your car in a garage and hop on the metro. It's also better for continuing on a bike commute as well if you're into that sort of thing.

[Anonymous]

But if they all move, the building will be at 152% capacity. I feel like I'm playing Who's on First.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope. It was full of lies.

None of the community-generated scenarios worked - they certainly didn’t take 6 factors into consideration.
The community-generated scenarios did not result in fewer buses.
Key won’t need to function at 152%.
Key families can move if they are supported (and want to stick with immersion). Key families are willing to set up carpools to all school events, meetings, enrichment, etc.

She has fallen short on just about every claim she made.

Wut? We are telling families to move their household now to follow their school? Or deal with a school move by setting up some carpools? Are you for real?

*not Mary*

Mary said they can’t move to the new location.

They CAN move (if they want to) if they have transportation support (issue identified by Key parents).

Someone earlier on the thread said that Key families are willing to provide carpools for enrichment, events, meetings, etc.

Problem solved.

I'm still not clear on why people who can easily get to Key would have a hard time getting to ATS. Isn't ATS a half-mile walk from the Ballston metro station, which is three stops away from Key and one of the biggest bus hubs in the county?

The problem, you see, is that when you are coming from your $1.5 million house in the current Taylor zone, Courthouse is a much more convenient stop on the drive to DC or a better place to park your car in a garage and hop on the metro. It's also better for continuing on a bike commute as well if you're into that sort of thing.

I don't think the people who are yucking it up about getting from Ballston to ATS have ever actually tried walking this themselves. This is definitely metro ride and then a bus ride, and I would never consider signing up to do this for any extended period of time with my own elementary school kid in tow. I have walked from the Ballston metro to my house which is about the same distance as ATS and that is no picnic and certainly not something I would drag a first grader around for every day, never mind in snow or rain. I mean, don't get me wrong, my grandparents would have done this, uphill both ways, but that was a different generation more used to privation. What is wrong with you guys?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But if they all move, the building will be at 152% capacity. I feel like I'm playing Who's on First.

They're not all going to move because at least some value the convenience of the Key building much more than the immersion program. Even in the extremely unlikely event that all or almost all do move, isn't there an addition in the works that would make the ATS building permanently bigger in another couple of years? Suffering through a year of trailers wouldn't be fun, but it also wouldn't be the end of the world.

[Anonymous]

Isn't bus service going to be provided to kids who choose to go to Key? So isn't all this talk about metroing and public busses not relevant -- won't the kids just take a bus? Or is the problem that parents picking those kids up after school will need a way to get there and home ... oh yeah maybe that would be a problem if you're picking your kid up from extended day at 6 and need to metro and bus that over and then bus and metro back with your kid(s), that would not be a good scene, okay what is wrong with you guys?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the people who are yucking it up about getting from Ballston to ATS have ever actually tried walking this themselves. This is definitely metro ride and then a bus ride, and I would never consider signing up to do this for any extended period of time with my own elementary school kid in tow. I have walked from the Ballston metro to my house which is about the same distance as ATS and that is no picnic and certainly not something I would drag a first grader around for every day, never mind in snow or rain. I mean, don't get me wrong, my grandparents would have done this, uphill both ways, but that was a different generation more used to privation. What is wrong with you guys?

Not saying it's easy, but the trip from Ballston to ATS shouldn't be one that families would have to make all that often. Their kids are still going to ride the bus on school days, right? Parents might need to make the trip for conferences and events, but it's not like those are daily events.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nope. It was full of lies.

None of the community-generated scenarios worked - they certainly didn’t take 6 factors into consideration.
The community-generated scenarios did not result in fewer buses.
Key won’t need to function at 152%.
Key families can move if they are supported (and want to stick with immersion). Key families are willing to set up carpools to all school events, meetings, enrichment, etc.

She has fallen short on just about every claim she made.

Wut? We are telling families to move their household now to follow their school? Or deal with a school move by setting up some carpools? Are you for real?

*not Mary*

Mary said they can’t move to the new location.

They CAN move (if they want to) if they have transportation support (issue identified by Key parents).

Someone earlier on the thread said that Key families are willing to provide carpools for enrichment, events, meetings, etc.

Problem solved.

I'm still not clear on why people who can easily get to Key would have a hard time getting to ATS. Isn't ATS a half-mile walk from the Ballston metro station, which is three stops away from Key and one of the biggest bus hubs in the county?

The problem, you see, is that when you are coming from your $1.5 million house in the current Taylor zone, Courthouse is a much more convenient stop on the drive to DC or a better place to park your car in a garage and hop on the metro. It's also better for continuing on a bike commute as well if you're into that sort of thing.

I don't think the people who are yucking it up about getting from Ballston to ATS have ever actually tried walking this themselves. This is definitely metro ride and then a bus ride, and I would never consider signing up to do this for any extended period of time with my own elementary school kid in tow. I have walked from the Ballston metro to my house which is about the same distance as ATS and that is no picnic and certainly not something I would drag a first grader around for every day, never mind in snow or rain. I mean, don't get me wrong, my grandparents would have done this, uphill both ways, but that was a different generation more used to privation. What is wrong with you guys?

It is 0.7 miles from the Ballston metro to the ATS site by foot, according to Google maps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't bus service going to be provided to kids who choose to go to Key? So isn't all this talk about metroing and public busses not relevant -- won't the kids just take a bus? Or is the problem that parents picking those kids up after school will need a way to get there and home ... oh yeah maybe that would be a problem if you're picking your kid up from extended day at 6 and need to metro and bus that over and then bus and metro back with your kid(s), that would not be a good scene, okay what is wrong with you guys?

Psst - the people from Woodbury Park that they keep talking about don't use extended day. They have on-site after school programs in their building. The kids ride the APS bus.

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty sure you can find even more ways in which their problems don't really matter if you keep concentrating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm pretty sure you can find even more ways in which their problems don't really matter if you keep concentrating.

They don’t really. Not enough to reverse course on the moves. If you can’t make the option school commute work you can go to your neighborhood school. If you can’t make the neighborhood commute work you are SOL. That’s the reason this is happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm pretty sure you can find even more ways in which their problems don't really matter if you keep concentrating.

They don’t really. Not enough to reverse course on the moves. If you can’t make the option school commute work you can go to your neighborhood school. If you can’t make the neighborhood commute work you are SOL. That’s the reason this is happening.

Exactly. The redeveloped Queens Court, 249 units, is going to open and all those kids need a guaranteed neighborhood school closer to home than ASFS, Taylor, or Long Branch. They’re in the Key walk zone, less than a mile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm pretty sure you can find even more ways in which their problems don't really matter if you keep concentrating.

They don’t really. Not enough to reverse course on the moves. If you can’t make the option school commute work you can go to your neighborhood school. If you can’t make the neighborhood commute work you are SOL. That’s the reason this is happening.

Exactly. The redeveloped Queens Court, 249 units, is going to open and all those kids need a guaranteed neighborhood school closer to home than ASFS, Taylor, or Long Branch. They’re in the Key walk zone, less than a mile.

And I don’t mean that to be insensitive to the Woodbury residents. But they will have to decide whether or not Immersion will work for their families in the new location. I hope and expect APS to support those who do wish to follow the program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm pretty sure you can find even more ways in which their problems don't really matter if you keep concentrating.

They don’t really. Not enough to reverse course on the moves. If you can’t make the option school commute work you can go to your neighborhood school. If you can’t make the neighborhood commute work you are SOL. That’s the reason this is happening.

Exactly. The redeveloped Queens Court, 249 units, is going to open and all those kids need a guaranteed neighborhood school closer to home than ASFS, Taylor, or Long Branch. They’re in the Key walk zone, less than a mile.

Much to the deligh of Lyon Village, one would think, because all are welcome.