APS boundary process this fall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t immersion serve a dedicated Hispanic ESL population when it was a neighborhood school, Key ES at its original Courthouse location? It moved and became an option program because upper middle class families wanted more room for their kids in the program.

I doubt all immersion families truly value the original purpose of immersion, to help ESL students. It’s become a prized option program.

Uh no, the Key community didn't want to move. APS wanted to put a neighborhood elementary school at the Key location and forced the move. Key still follows the 50/50 model that it did before the move. That hasn't changed at all.

And did it die like you cried when they moved Key to the former ATS site? No. MS can also move without destroying the program. It’s not serving the largest populations of ESL kids now at any level from K-12, who are in the South Arlington neighborhood schools, schools which you want to further segregate and impoverish for your own selfish convenience.

No, but the move forced us to go from 6 K classes to 4 due to reduced building size. So APS shrunk the immersion program with the move. That is a big part of why we fought the move.

But they objections were that the Hispanic families (in particular ESL) wouldn’t follow the program and would just stay at the neighborhood school. If that hasn’t actually happened, then you can’t really cry foul about moving the location of the MS program. Yes, it’s less convenient for the kids who come up from Claremont and make up the current majority of the MS program, but it might mean attracting more Key students who currently don’t want the long commute to Gunston to stay in immersion. It may change who opts to stay in the program long term, but if it’s still attracting kids from both English and Spanish speaking families, I don’t think it matters whether they come from the Claremont or Key community. And if the program itself isn’t harmed by a move, and I argue that it would not be harmed just like Key was not harmed, it is the simplest and least disruptive way to address the imbalance of population at the MS level.

[Anonymous]

When will changes be announced? Are any changes expected for kids who will be entering 6th grade in fall 2025?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t immersion serve a dedicated Hispanic ESL population when it was a neighborhood school, Key ES at its original Courthouse location? It moved and became an option program because upper middle class families wanted more room for their kids in the program.

I doubt all immersion families truly value the original purpose of immersion, to help ESL students. It’s become a prized option program.

Uh no, the Key community didn't want to move. APS wanted to put a neighborhood elementary school at the Key location and forced the move. Key still follows the 50/50 model that it did before the move. That hasn't changed at all.

And did it die like you cried when they moved Key to the former ATS site? No. MS can also move without destroying the program. It’s not serving the largest populations of ESL kids now at any level from K-12, who are in the South Arlington neighborhood schools, schools which you want to further segregate and impoverish for your own selfish convenience.

No, but the move forced us to go from 6 K classes to 4 due to reduced building size. So APS shrunk the immersion program with the move. That is a big part of why we fought the move.

But they objections were that the Hispanic families (in particular ESL) wouldn’t follow the program and would just stay at the neighborhood school. If that hasn’t actually happened, then you can’t really cry foul about moving the location of the MS program. Yes, it’s less convenient for the kids who come up from Claremont and make up the current majority of the MS program, but it might mean attracting more Key students who currently don’t want the long commute to Gunston to stay in immersion. It may change who opts to stay in the program long term, but if it’s still attracting kids from both English and Spanish speaking families, I don’t think it matters whether they come from the Claremont or Key community. And if the program itself isn’t harmed by a move, and I argue that it would not be harmed just like Key was not harmed, it is the simplest and least disruptive way to address the imbalance of population at the MS level.

For those who are advocating moving the middle school immersion program, I want to make sure you known there’s also a high school immersion program. That program is located at Wakefield. Are you all also proposing to move that program, or are you saying immersion kids should just go Key or Claremont/Williamsburg/Wakefield? It isn’t simple and it is disruptive to move the middle school program 20 minutes away, especially without a coherent plan for the high school program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t immersion serve a dedicated Hispanic ESL population when it was a neighborhood school, Key ES at its original Courthouse location? It moved and became an option program because upper middle class families wanted more room for their kids in the program.

I doubt all immersion families truly value the original purpose of immersion, to help ESL students. It’s become a prized option program.

Uh no, the Key community didn't want to move. APS wanted to put a neighborhood elementary school at the Key location and forced the move. Key still follows the 50/50 model that it did before the move. That hasn't changed at all.

And did it die like you cried when they moved Key to the former ATS site? No. MS can also move without destroying the program. It’s not serving the largest populations of ESL kids now at any level from K-12, who are in the South Arlington neighborhood schools, schools which you want to further segregate and impoverish for your own selfish convenience.

No, but the move forced us to go from 6 K classes to 4 due to reduced building size. So APS shrunk the immersion program with the move. That is a big part of why we fought the move.

But they objections were that the Hispanic families (in particular ESL) wouldn’t follow the program and would just stay at the neighborhood school. If that hasn’t actually happened, then you can’t really cry foul about moving the location of the MS program. Yes, it’s less convenient for the kids who come up from Claremont and make up the current majority of the MS program, but it might mean attracting more Key students who currently don’t want the long commute to Gunston to stay in immersion. It may change who opts to stay in the program long term, but if it’s still attracting kids from both English and Spanish speaking families, I don’t think it matters whether they come from the Claremont or Key community. And if the program itself isn’t harmed by a move, and I argue that it would not be harmed just like Key was not harmed, it is the simplest and least disruptive way to address the imbalance of population at the MS level.

For those who are advocating moving the middle school immersion program, I want to make sure you known there’s also a high school immersion program. That program is located at Wakefield. Are you all also proposing to move that program, or are you saying immersion kids should just go Key or Claremont/Williamsburg/Wakefield? It isn’t simple and it is disruptive to move the middle school program 20 minutes away, especially without a coherent plan for the high school program.

Wakefield is also very overcrowded, so perhaps that should be on the table during boundary discussions! It’s almost an entirely self-contained program. Kids in Immersion only take PE in 9/10 and their one elective and have lunch with non-immersion students. I’m not sure it would matter if they are at Wakefield or Yorktown since they’re an entity unto themselves and pretty much have their own friend groups, the kids they were friends with in the ES and MS Immersion programs. There just isn’t a ton of mixing about. Do you have a kid this age yet? Just wait and see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t immersion serve a dedicated Hispanic ESL population when it was a neighborhood school, Key ES at its original Courthouse location? It moved and became an option program because upper middle class families wanted more room for their kids in the program.

I doubt all immersion families truly value the original purpose of immersion, to help ESL students. It’s become a prized option program.

Uh no, the Key community didn't want to move. APS wanted to put a neighborhood elementary school at the Key location and forced the move. Key still follows the 50/50 model that it did before the move. That hasn't changed at all.

And did it die like you cried when they moved Key to the former ATS site? No. MS can also move without destroying the program. It’s not serving the largest populations of ESL kids now at any level from K-12, who are in the South Arlington neighborhood schools, schools which you want to further segregate and impoverish for your own selfish convenience.

No, but the move forced us to go from 6 K classes to 4 due to reduced building size. So APS shrunk the immersion program with the move. That is a big part of why we fought the move.

But they objections were that the Hispanic families (in particular ESL) wouldn’t follow the program and would just stay at the neighborhood school. If that hasn’t actually happened, then you can’t really cry foul about moving the location of the MS program. Yes, it’s less convenient for the kids who come up from Claremont and make up the current majority of the MS program, but it might mean attracting more Key students who currently don’t want the long commute to Gunston to stay in immersion. It may change who opts to stay in the program long term, but if it’s still attracting kids from both English and Spanish speaking families, I don’t think it matters whether they come from the Claremont or Key community. And if the program itself isn’t harmed by a move, and I argue that it would not be harmed just like Key was not harmed, it is the simplest and least disruptive way to address the imbalance of population at the MS level.

For those who are advocating moving the middle school immersion program, I want to make sure you known there’s also a high school immersion program. That program is located at Wakefield. Are you all also proposing to move that program, or are you saying immersion kids should just go Key or Claremont/Williamsburg/Wakefield? It isn’t simple and it is disruptive to move the middle school program 20 minutes away, especially without a coherent plan for the high school program.

Wakefield is also very overcrowded, so perhaps that should be on the table during boundary discussions! It’s almost an entirely self-contained program. Kids in Immersion only take PE in 9/10 and their one elective and have lunch with non-immersion students. I’m not sure it would matter if they are at Wakefield or Yorktown since they’re an entity unto themselves and pretty much have their own friend groups, the kids they were friends with in the ES and MS Immersion programs. There just isn’t a ton of mixing about. Do you have a kid this age yet? Just wait and see.

How many immersion students continue with the program through high school? Is it the majority? Does it entail a transfer, or is it guaranteed admission to Wakefield?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When will changes be announced? Are any changes expected for kids who will be entering 6th grade in fall 2025?

APS will have a whole multi-month process where everyone in the community berates APS staff and the entire community argues. It’s called engagement. In the end the loudest and whiniest people will get their way. APS said they were doing a process fall and clearly aren’t doing anything. They would have announced it by now. Sounds like they have no planning staff currently. Can’t imagine how they’d have any trouble retaining people in those jobs (sarcasm).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t immersion serve a dedicated Hispanic ESL population when it was a neighborhood school, Key ES at its original Courthouse location? It moved and became an option program because upper middle class families wanted more room for their kids in the program.

I doubt all immersion families truly value the original purpose of immersion, to help ESL students. It’s become a prized option program.

Uh no, the Key community didn't want to move. APS wanted to put a neighborhood elementary school at the Key location and forced the move. Key still follows the 50/50 model that it did before the move. That hasn't changed at all.

And did it die like you cried when they moved Key to the former ATS site? No. MS can also move without destroying the program. It’s not serving the largest populations of ESL kids now at any level from K-12, who are in the South Arlington neighborhood schools, schools which you want to further segregate and impoverish for your own selfish convenience.

No, but the move forced us to go from 6 K classes to 4 due to reduced building size. So APS shrunk the immersion program with the move. That is a big part of why we fought the move.

But they objections were that the Hispanic families (in particular ESL) wouldn’t follow the program and would just stay at the neighborhood school. If that hasn’t actually happened, then you can’t really cry foul about moving the location of the MS program. Yes, it’s less convenient for the kids who come up from Claremont and make up the current majority of the MS program, but it might mean attracting more Key students who currently don’t want the long commute to Gunston to stay in immersion. It may change who opts to stay in the program long term, but if it’s still attracting kids from both English and Spanish speaking families, I don’t think it matters whether they come from the Claremont or Key community. And if the program itself isn’t harmed by a move, and I argue that it would not be harmed just like Key was not harmed, it is the simplest and least disruptive way to address the imbalance of population at the MS level.

For those who are advocating moving the middle school immersion program, I want to make sure you known there’s also a high school immersion program. That program is located at Wakefield. Are you all also proposing to move that program, or are you saying immersion kids should just go Key or Claremont/Williamsburg/Wakefield? It isn’t simple and it is disruptive to move the middle school program 20 minutes away, especially without a coherent plan for the high school program.

But that doesn’t matter because it would be stressful for some current Hamm kids to take a bus. That’s what we’re working on here. Keeping Hamm walkers as is. Whatever else anyone else in the community would go through is secondary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My favorite part of these discussions is how anyone who might be rezoned can't come up with a good reason why they shouldn't be rezoned. But they CAN come up with many reasons why OTHER children should be re-zoned.

No one likes it when it happens to their kid. There is maybe some unhappiness. But it is not nearly the crazy amount of upheaval that people claim it will be. The kids adjust, they make some new friends and life moves on.

And yes, my kids would be impacted by several of the moves discussed. Do I want their middle school years to involve a school change? No. But do I also realize that if that does happen, my kids will be ok. Just like the vast majority of the people complaining on this board.

This is so accurate. If you watch this scene long enough, people end up contradicting themselves years later. Now it’s a different criteria that should be prioritized! The sole goal is getting the target on someone else’s kids, whatever it takes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t immersion serve a dedicated Hispanic ESL population when it was a neighborhood school, Key ES at its original Courthouse location? It moved and became an option program because upper middle class families wanted more room for their kids in the program.

I doubt all immersion families truly value the original purpose of immersion, to help ESL students. It’s become a prized option program.

Uh no, the Key community didn't want to move. APS wanted to put a neighborhood elementary school at the Key location and forced the move. Key still follows the 50/50 model that it did before the move. That hasn't changed at all.

And did it die like you cried when they moved Key to the former ATS site? No. MS can also move without destroying the program. It’s not serving the largest populations of ESL kids now at any level from K-12, who are in the South Arlington neighborhood schools, schools which you want to further segregate and impoverish for your own selfish convenience.

No, but the move forced us to go from 6 K classes to 4 due to reduced building size. So APS shrunk the immersion program with the move. That is a big part of why we fought the move.

But they objections were that the Hispanic families (in particular ESL) wouldn’t follow the program and would just stay at the neighborhood school. If that hasn’t actually happened, then you can’t really cry foul about moving the location of the MS program. Yes, it’s less convenient for the kids who come up from Claremont and make up the current majority of the MS program, but it might mean attracting more Key students who currently don’t want the long commute to Gunston to stay in immersion. It may change who opts to stay in the program long term, but if it’s still attracting kids from both English and Spanish speaking families, I don’t think it matters whether they come from the Claremont or Key community. And if the program itself isn’t harmed by a move, and I argue that it would not be harmed just like Key was not harmed, it is the simplest and least disruptive way to address the imbalance of population at the MS level.

For those who are advocating moving the middle school immersion program, I want to make sure you known there’s also a high school immersion program. That program is located at Wakefield. Are you all also proposing to move that program, or are you saying immersion kids should just go Key or Claremont/Williamsburg/Wakefield? It isn’t simple and it is disruptive to move the middle school program 20 minutes away, especially without a coherent plan for the high school program.

Wakefield is also very overcrowded, so perhaps that should be on the table during boundary discussions! It’s almost an entirely self-contained program. Kids in Immersion only take PE in 9/10 and their one elective and have lunch with non-immersion students. I’m not sure it would matter if they are at Wakefield or Yorktown since they’re an entity unto themselves and pretty much have their own friend groups, the kids they were friends with in the ES and MS Immersion programs. There just isn’t a ton of mixing about. Do you have a kid this age yet? Just wait and see.

How many immersion students continue with the program through high school? Is it the majority? Does it entail a transfer, or is it guaranteed admission to Wakefield?

I don’t know exactly… there are a few hundred at WHS presently. It’s guaranteed admission to WHS if you’re in immersion. But the previous PP is totally wrong. Only science, Spanish, and some math classes are offered in Spanish in HS. So kids mix with non-immersion kids in lots of classes, including all AP classes that aren’t Spanish. I do have a kid in immersion at Wakefield. He has immersion & non-immersion friends.

I disagree that the move didn’t harm Key— it did. It shrunk the immersion program from the bottom up by forcing us into a smaller building. But that’s water under the bridge at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t immersion serve a dedicated Hispanic ESL population when it was a neighborhood school, Key ES at its original Courthouse location? It moved and became an option program because upper middle class families wanted more room for their kids in the program.

I doubt all immersion families truly value the original purpose of immersion, to help ESL students. It’s become a prized option program.

Uh no, the Key community didn't want to move. APS wanted to put a neighborhood elementary school at the Key location and forced the move. Key still follows the 50/50 model that it did before the move. That hasn't changed at all.

And did it die like you cried when they moved Key to the former ATS site? No. MS can also move without destroying the program. It’s not serving the largest populations of ESL kids now at any level from K-12, who are in the South Arlington neighborhood schools, schools which you want to further segregate and impoverish for your own selfish convenience.

No, but the move forced us to go from 6 K classes to 4 due to reduced building size. So APS shrunk the immersion program with the move. That is a big part of why we fought the move.

But they objections were that the Hispanic families (in particular ESL) wouldn’t follow the program and would just stay at the neighborhood school. If that hasn’t actually happened, then you can’t really cry foul about moving the location of the MS program. Yes, it’s less convenient for the kids who come up from Claremont and make up the current majority of the MS program, but it might mean attracting more Key students who currently don’t want the long commute to Gunston to stay in immersion. It may change who opts to stay in the program long term, but if it’s still attracting kids from both English and Spanish speaking families, I don’t think it matters whether they come from the Claremont or Key community. And if the program itself isn’t harmed by a move, and I argue that it would not be harmed just like Key was not harmed, it is the simplest and least disruptive way to address the imbalance of population at the MS level.

For those who are advocating moving the middle school immersion program, I want to make sure you known there’s also a high school immersion program. That program is located at Wakefield. Are you all also proposing to move that program, or are you saying immersion kids should just go Key or Claremont/Williamsburg/Wakefield? It isn’t simple and it is disruptive to move the middle school program 20 minutes away, especially without a coherent plan for the high school program.

How many kids even follow immersion to high school? Alignment for neighborhood schools is pretty jacked, so at least this cohort gets to stay together when they move to high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite part of these discussions is how anyone who might be rezoned can't come up with a good reason why they shouldn't be rezoned. But they CAN come up with many reasons why OTHER children should be re-zoned.

No one likes it when it happens to their kid. There is maybe some unhappiness. But it is not nearly the crazy amount of upheaval that people claim it will be. The kids adjust, they make some new friends and life moves on.

And yes, my kids would be impacted by several of the moves discussed. Do I want their middle school years to involve a school change? No. But do I also realize that if that does happen, my kids will be ok. Just like the vast majority of the people complaining on this board.

This is so accurate. If you watch this scene long enough, people end up contradicting themselves years later. Now it’s a different criteria that should be prioritized! The sole goal is getting the target on someone else’s kids, whatever it takes.

You are insane. We were fully supportive of a being moved for DHMS, as it placed a walkable middle school in a neighborhood teeming with children. It was a good use of a large parcel to serve a huge population of students and reduce busing significantly. And that was even with a very old run down building; with construction on going for years for the addition (which made it nicer than other middle schools, but most are old and crummy so very low bar — its not like we were getting Kenmore style new build), it was a good move for us and the community at large.

This boundary adjustment could disrupt hundreds of students, add dozens of buses to the fleet with new routes and traffic, just so we can keep immersion at at-capacity Gunston.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t immersion serve a dedicated Hispanic ESL population when it was a neighborhood school, Key ES at its original Courthouse location? It moved and became an option program because upper middle class families wanted more room for their kids in the program.

I doubt all immersion families truly value the original purpose of immersion, to help ESL students. It’s become a prized option program.

Uh no, the Key community didn't want to move. APS wanted to put a neighborhood elementary school at the Key location and forced the move. Key still follows the 50/50 model that it did before the move. That hasn't changed at all.

And did it die like you cried when they moved Key to the former ATS site? No. MS can also move without destroying the program. It’s not serving the largest populations of ESL kids now at any level from K-12, who are in the South Arlington neighborhood schools, schools which you want to further segregate and impoverish for your own selfish convenience.

No, but the move forced us to go from 6 K classes to 4 due to reduced building size. So APS shrunk the immersion program with the move. That is a big part of why we fought the move.

But they objections were that the Hispanic families (in particular ESL) wouldn’t follow the program and would just stay at the neighborhood school. If that hasn’t actually happened, then you can’t really cry foul about moving the location of the MS program. Yes, it’s less convenient for the kids who come up from Claremont and make up the current majority of the MS program, but it might mean attracting more Key students who currently don’t want the long commute to Gunston to stay in immersion. It may change who opts to stay in the program long term, but if it’s still attracting kids from both English and Spanish speaking families, I don’t think it matters whether they come from the Claremont or Key community. And if the program itself isn’t harmed by a move, and I argue that it would not be harmed just like Key was not harmed, it is the simplest and least disruptive way to address the imbalance of population at the MS level.

For those who are advocating moving the middle school immersion program, I want to make sure you known there’s also a high school immersion program. That program is located at Wakefield. Are you all also proposing to move that program, or are you saying immersion kids should just go Key or Claremont/Williamsburg/Wakefield? It isn’t simple and it is disruptive to move the middle school program 20 minutes away, especially without a coherent plan for the high school program.

Wakefield is also very overcrowded, so perhaps that should be on the table during boundary discussions! It’s almost an entirely self-contained program. Kids in Immersion only take PE in 9/10 and their one elective and have lunch with non-immersion students. I’m not sure it would matter if they are at Wakefield or Yorktown since they’re an entity unto themselves and pretty much have their own friend groups, the kids they were friends with in the ES and MS Immersion programs. There just isn’t a ton of mixing about. Do you have a kid this age yet? Just wait and see.

How many immersion students continue with the program through high school? Is it the majority? Does it entail a transfer, or is it guaranteed admission to Wakefield?

I don’t know exactly… there are a few hundred at WHS presently. It’s guaranteed admission to WHS if you’re in immersion. But the previous PP is totally wrong. Only science, Spanish, and some math classes are offered in Spanish in HS. So kids mix with non-immersion kids in lots of classes, including all AP classes that aren’t Spanish. I do have a kid in immersion at Wakefield. He has immersion & non-immersion friends.

I disagree that the move didn’t harm Key— it did. It shrunk the immersion program from the bottom up by forcing us into a smaller building. But that’s water under the bridge at this point.

Shrunk the program is a bad thing? 99% of APS parents are clamoring to get into smaller schools and programs like ATS and HB. You are grasping at straws claiming that to move to smaller more intimate school population as a “harm”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite part of these discussions is how anyone who might be rezoned can't come up with a good reason why they shouldn't be rezoned. But they CAN come up with many reasons why OTHER children should be re-zoned.

No one likes it when it happens to their kid. There is maybe some unhappiness. But it is not nearly the crazy amount of upheaval that people claim it will be. The kids adjust, they make some new friends and life moves on.

And yes, my kids would be impacted by several of the moves discussed. Do I want their middle school years to involve a school change? No. But do I also realize that if that does happen, my kids will be ok. Just like the vast majority of the people complaining on this board.

This is so accurate. If you watch this scene long enough, people end up contradicting themselves years later. Now it’s a different criteria that should be prioritized! The sole goal is getting the target on someone else’s kids, whatever it takes.

You are insane. We were fully supportive of a being moved for DHMS, as it placed a walkable middle school in a neighborhood teeming with children. It was a good use of a large parcel to serve a huge population of students and reduce busing significantly. And that was even with a very old run down building; with construction on going for years for the addition (which made it nicer than other middle schools, but most are old and crummy so very low bar — its not like we were getting Kenmore style new build), it was a good move for us and the community at large.

This boundary adjustment could disrupt hundreds of students, add dozens of buses to the fleet with new routes and traffic, just so we can keep immersion at at-capacity Gunston.

I'm not necessarily advocating keeping the immersion program at Gunston. I thought moving it to Kenmore made a lot of sense. Kenmore is a more centrally located school, and part of Kenmore feeds into Wakefield. I just don't think it makes any sense at all to move it to Williamsburg MS, at the opposite end of the county to avoid redrawing boundaries.

[Anonymous]

What if, in order to help with the severe crowding at Wakefield, the Immersion students from Key would track to Yorktown. The Claremont students could go to Wakefield.

At the middle school level the program could move to just one middle school such as Kenmore, back to Williamsburg, or remain at Gunston. If it moves to Kenmore or Williamsburg, that may help to keep the walkable kids at Hamm from being rezoned. (Both schools track to Yorktown, with Kenmore to all three high schools.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite part of these discussions is how anyone who might be rezoned can't come up with a good reason why they shouldn't be rezoned. But they CAN come up with many reasons why OTHER children should be re-zoned.

No one likes it when it happens to their kid. There is maybe some unhappiness. But it is not nearly the crazy amount of upheaval that people claim it will be. The kids adjust, they make some new friends and life moves on.

And yes, my kids would be impacted by several of the moves discussed. Do I want their middle school years to involve a school change? No. But do I also realize that if that does happen, my kids will be ok. Just like the vast majority of the people complaining on this board.

This is so accurate. If you watch this scene long enough, people end up contradicting themselves years later. Now it’s a different criteria that should be prioritized! The sole goal is getting the target on someone else’s kids, whatever it takes.

You are insane. We were fully supportive of a being moved for DHMS, as it placed a walkable middle school in a neighborhood teeming with children. It was a good use of a large parcel to serve a huge population of students and reduce busing significantly. And that was even with a very old run down building; with construction on going for years for the addition (which made it nicer than other middle schools, but most are old and crummy so very low bar — its not like we were getting Kenmore style new build), it was a good move for us and the community at large.

This boundary adjustment could disrupt hundreds of students, add dozens of buses to the fleet with new routes and traffic, just so we can keep immersion at at-capacity Gunston.

I'm not necessarily advocating keeping the immersion program at Gunston. I thought moving it to Kenmore made a lot of sense. Kenmore is a more centrally located school, and part of Kenmore feeds into Wakefield. I just don't think it makes any sense at all to move it to Williamsburg MS, at the opposite end of the county to avoid redrawing boundaries.

I think if Kenmore weren’t land-locked and located on the same parcel as another school and blocks away from a third school all with the same start time, and if it didn’t include moving walkers out of the boundary to accommodate more bus riders it might be a good solution. But those other factors make it far more complicated. I think it has as many, if not more, flaws than moving the kids who are in an optional program. It’s certainly more complicated and affects many more students and families.