APS: I can't keep up! (ASFS)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically the big gripe is that ASFS has wealthy parents who donate generously to the PTA/school?

Those parents are going to donate to whatever school their kids attend. So you'll hate Taylor next if they raise a lot of money?

No, the big gripe is that the most privileged parents can't see beyond the ends of their own noses. This policy change isn't about them, it's about moving towards a system that is equitable. The money thing only makes it look worse for ASFS. And holy smokes, PTA money is NOT supposed to be used for facilities and I can't believe that got approved.

Ok. Equitable for immersion? The proposed changes will further limit access to ASFS.

So we have 23 schools. Right now 3 can get into ASFS and 19 cant. Soon only 1 will be able to get into ASFS, and 21 wont. What am I missing?

The end result is a smaller population in APS will have the chance to attend. And it will be less diverse after boundary changes because it end up being Taylor planning units. So the student profile is going to narrow sharply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could get a clearer picture of ASFS. On one hand, you have people saying it's just a neighborhood school (not for it's own neighborhood - ha!) that has one extra hour of science. It's really no different that any other school.

On the other hand, you have people who talk about how it's special & award winning and that the science lab makes it "better" than other schools.

Aren't a lot of Arl. elementary schools award winning? Mine is. I don't have kids going there, but I wish I could understand this situation a little better.

I don't get the history on the science lab there. I hear it was something that parents did extensive fundraising to put in. However, parent fundraising is not supposed to be for things that are integral to instruction or will create an ongoing obligation for the district. Which it sounds like this lab is both. The reason for those rules is to limit inequity due to wealth across the district. Is that a new rule? Or just completely ignored in this case?

ASFS has benefitted tremendously from private donations given to the school by well heeled individuals. If you doubt this, take a look at the EdBacker site where $177K was raised, just for the ASFS Science Lab.

https://edbacker.com/c/asfs-science-lab

Want to take a guess how many APS elementary schools have a science lab this well funded? Including ASFS, the answer is one.

People who believe ASFS is special are correct from one perspective: it has only been available to a select few neighborhoods and it has a tremendous wealth of privately-funded science resources, unlike any other APS elementary school.

For anyone that thinks we should "share this great model" that is ASFS, I agree. Going forward, let's pool all of the private science donations and spread them across all of the elementary schools. We could call it the "ASFS Endowment" and benefactors could get plaques over at the Ed Center.

Oh and one last thing, there was no interest in sharing this great resource with all of APS, until the recent proposal to dissolve the Team, which would mean no more Jamestown and Taylor benefactors would get to attend the school.

And we can't forget that there is a petition to sign, if you'd like to help save the Team (and ignore the other 19 APS elementary schools):

https://www.change.org/p/arlington-county-school-board-create-smart-school-solutions-for-arlington-public-schools-enrollment-transfer-policies

What does the team have to do with the other 19 ESs? How does its existence affect them? I'm not pushing to keep the team, but I don't understand your point.

Having a "choice" school that's only allowed to be a choice for a couple other (incidentally, quite wealthy) ES's affects the other 19 schools because it creates a situation that is inherently inequitable. Especially when the parents at that school are allowed to privately fundraiser to upgrade the facilities at that that private choice school.

Fundraising at ASFS has nothing to do with this. Yes, the fundraising for investigation station at ASFS was over the top but every other Arlington ES has the possibility of doing the same, especially considering many of the ASFS donations came from outside the school, even if in reality this would be much more difficult for some of the schools.

The team concept no longer functions as planned and with each passing year it functions less and less as more families live in the Key zone and opt for ASFS instead, leaving very few seats available for Jamestown and Taylor students. So if boundaries for ES need to redrawn for overcrowding or other reasons, such as access to immersion, and the team no longer functions, getting rid of the team should be part of the solution.

Thankfully, you refuted your statement that "every other Arlington ES has the possibility of doing the same" with the realization that "in reality this would be much more difficult for some of the schools".

Schools that have FARMS numbers of 70-80% do not have any possibility of doing the same. We all know that.

Regarding fundraising, it is relevant here, if you consider that a good number of the benefactors to ASFS come from the Jamestown and Taylor zones and these same people do not want to lose access to the school they helped fund. Thus, they are looking to block the policy that would, in part, dissolve the Team, despite the benefits that the policy changes would bring to the larger system.

You guys all have misinformation. 23 kids from Jamestown zone go to ASFS. A little over 100 from Taylor. 510 from the Key zone. Most kids at ASFS are basically in their "neighborhood ". The team concept no longer applies. I don't think in the last couple of years that any non-siblings outside of Key got in.

Stop dogging Jamestown and Taylor over ASFS. This problem has nothing to do with either of those schools.

The number of new Taylor/Jamestown families has dropped significantly, but there are still a handful in K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically the big gripe is that ASFS has wealthy parents who donate generously to the PTA/school?

Those parents are going to donate to whatever school their kids attend. So you'll hate Taylor next if they raise a lot of money?

No, the big gripe is that the most privileged parents can't see beyond the ends of their own noses. This policy change isn't about them, it's about moving towards a system that is equitable. The money thing only makes it look worse for ASFS. And holy smokes, PTA money is NOT supposed to be used for facilities and I can't believe that got approved.

Ok. Equitable for immersion? The proposed changes will further limit access to ASFS.

So we have 23 schools. Right now 3 can get into ASFS and 19 cant. Soon only 1 will be able to get into ASFS, and 21 wont. What am I missing?

The end result is a smaller population in APS will have the chance to attend. And it will be less diverse after boundary changes because it end up being Taylor planning units. So the student profile is going to narrow sharply.

A very small number of students in Taylor and Jamestown are able to attend ASFS anyway (majority are siblings of previously enrolled students) and every year its decreases. Anyone else outside the team is able to attend due to the blessing of the principal (teachers' kids) and not because of winning a lottery. And while ASFS will be less diverse, which is unfortunate, the students who create the diversity will simply do so at whatever APS elementary they end up at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically the big gripe is that ASFS has wealthy parents who donate generously to the PTA/school?

Those parents are going to donate to whatever school their kids attend. So you'll hate Taylor next if they raise a lot of money?

No, the big gripe is that the most privileged parents can't see beyond the ends of their own noses. This policy change isn't about them, it's about moving towards a system that is equitable. The money thing only makes it look worse for ASFS. And holy smokes, PTA money is NOT supposed to be used for facilities and I can't believe that got approved.

Ok. Equitable for immersion? The proposed changes will further limit access to ASFS.

So we have 23 schools. Right now 3 can get into ASFS and 19 cant. Soon only 1 will be able to get into ASFS, and 21 wont. What am I missing?

Yes that's correct. Amazing huh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Families near other actual choice schools are bent out of shape. That's part of why HB is moving. No one wants to send their kid to an overcrowded school outside their neighborhood when there is a school with more space across the street. All choice schools should have a walk zone of guaranteed admittance.

I don't really understand this demand. We're within two blocks of a neighborhood elementary school that we are not zoned for. Because of the school boundary, my daughter has to ride the bus to a different school, but we don't resent it because boundaries have to be drawn somewhere. And no matter where you put a choice school some people will be upset that it isn't their school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Families near other actual choice schools are bent out of shape. That's part of why HB is moving. No one wants to send their kid to an overcrowded school outside their neighborhood when there is a school with more space across the street. All choice schools should have a walk zone of guaranteed admittance.

I don't really understand this demand. We're within two blocks of a neighborhood elementary school that we are not zoned for. Because of the school boundary, my daughter has to ride the bus to a different school, but we don't resent it because boundaries have to be drawn somewhere. And no matter where you put a choice school some people will be upset that it isn't their school.

Well, I can imagine the families who live next to ATS might feel that way. They are (somehow) in the McKinley zone. You've, I'm sure, read plenty about the overcrowding/size issue there and that it is the direct result of decisions made with bad data and/or manipulation of certain groups to keep their schools small. ATS is a huge property and caps enrollment, but they get bused to a school with no field.

[Anonymous]

Most people I know want to be able to the elementary school that is in their neighborhood. It creates a stronger sense of community and is more convenient, to boot. Families I know that live near or beside Science Focus but cannot attend, or near ATS are not happy about that they are bused elsewhere. And clearly that was the case for the majority of those that lived near Stratford - although it is a middle school. Survey results are clear that residents want neighborhood schools at the elementary level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most people I know want to be able to the elementary school that is in their neighborhood. It creates a stronger sense of community and is more convenient, to boot. Families I know that live near or beside Science Focus but cannot attend, or near ATS are not happy about that they are bused elsewhere. And clearly that was the case for the majority of those that lived near Stratford - although it is a middle school. Survey results are clear that residents want neighborhood schools at the elementary level.

This is all fine and good as something to consider going forward for boundary changes but I have no sympathy for people who bought their houses within walking distance of a choice ES knowing their DCs might not be able to attend. I live about 4-6 blocks from ASFS and Stratford and knew when I bought my house there was a strong likelihood my DCs would be bused to Taylor and Swanson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could get a clearer picture of ASFS. On one hand, you have people saying it's just a neighborhood school (not for it's own neighborhood - ha!) that has one extra hour of science. It's really no different that any other school.

On the other hand, you have people who talk about how it's special & award winning and that the science lab makes it "better" than other schools.

Aren't a lot of Arl. elementary schools award winning? Mine is. I don't have kids going there, but I wish I could understand this situation a little better.

I don't get the history on the science lab there. I hear it was something that parents did extensive fundraising to put in. However, parent fundraising is not supposed to be for things that are integral to instruction or will create an ongoing obligation for the district. Which it sounds like this lab is both. The reason for those rules is to limit inequity due to wealth across the district. Is that a new rule? Or just completely ignored in this case?

ASFS has benefitted tremendously from private donations given to the school by well heeled individuals. If you doubt this, take a look at the EdBacker site where $177K was raised, just for the ASFS Science Lab.

https://edbacker.com/c/asfs-science-lab

Want to take a guess how many APS elementary schools have a science lab this well funded? Including ASFS, the answer is one.

Huh??? ASFS has the most diverse neighborhood zones of all of North Arlington elementary schools.

ASFS has 20% FARMS and its neighborhood population represents an incredibly diverse both socio-economically and racially.

You are mad at us because we raise a ton of $--yet have less numbers of wealthy families than say Discovery, Taylor, Jamestown, etc. I would ask why you aren't getting donations anywhere near as large when you have larger pockets.

People who believe ASFS is special are correct from one perspective: it has only been available to a select few neighborhoods and it has a tremendous wealth of privately-funded science resources, unlike any other APS elementary school.

For anyone that thinks we should "share this great model" that is ASFS, I agree. Going forward, let's pool all of the private science donations and spread them across all of the elementary schools. We could call it the "ASFS Endowment" and benefactors could get plaques over at the Ed Center.

Oh and one last thing, there was no interest in sharing this great resource with all of APS, until the recent proposal to dissolve the Team, which would mean no more Jamestown and Taylor benefactors would get to attend the school.

Huh??? ASFS has the most diverse neighborhood zones of all of North Arlington elementary schools.

ASFS has 20% FARMS and its neighborhood population represents an incredibly diverse both socio-economically and racially.

You are mad at us because we raise a ton of $--yet have less numbers of wealthy families than say Discovery, Taylor, Jamestown, etc. I would ask why you aren't getting donations anywhere near as large when you have larger pockets.

Pockets of many in-boundary ASFS folks be plenty big, right?

The largest donors have historically been out-of-boundary Jamestown parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could get a clearer picture of ASFS. On one hand, you have people saying it's just a neighborhood school (not for it's own neighborhood - ha!) that has one extra hour of science. It's really no different that any other school.

On the other hand, you have people who talk about how it's special & award winning and that the science lab makes it "better" than other schools.

Aren't a lot of Arl. elementary schools award winning? Mine is. I don't have kids going there, but I wish I could understand this situation a little better.

I don't get the history on the science lab there. I hear it was something that parents did extensive fundraising to put in. However, parent fundraising is not supposed to be for things that are integral to instruction or will create an ongoing obligation for the district. Which it sounds like this lab is both. The reason for those rules is to limit inequity due to wealth across the district. Is that a new rule? Or just completely ignored in this case?

ASFS has benefitted tremendously from private donations given to the school by well heeled individuals. If you doubt this, take a look at the EdBacker site where $177K was raised, just for the ASFS Science Lab.

https://edbacker.com/c/asfs-science-lab

Want to take a guess how many APS elementary schools have a science lab this well funded? Including ASFS, the answer is one.

Huh??? ASFS has the most diverse neighborhood zones of all of North Arlington elementary schools.

ASFS has 20% FARMS and its neighborhood population represents an incredibly diverse both socio-economically and racially.

You are mad at us because we raise a ton of $--yet have less numbers of wealthy families than say Discovery, Taylor, Jamestown, etc. I would ask why you aren't getting donations anywhere near as large when you have larger pockets.

People who believe ASFS is special are correct from one perspective: it has only been available to a select few neighborhoods and it has a tremendous wealth of privately-funded science resources, unlike any other APS elementary school.

For anyone that thinks we should "share this great model" that is ASFS, I agree. Going forward, let's pool all of the private science donations and spread them across all of the elementary schools. We could call it the "ASFS Endowment" and benefactors could get plaques over at the Ed Center.


Oh and one last thing, there was no interest in sharing this great resource with all of APS, until the recent proposal to dissolve the Team, which would mean no more Jamestown and Taylor benefactors would get to attend the school.

Huh??? ASFS has the most diverse neighborhood zones of all of North Arlington elementary schools.

ASFS has 20% FARMS and its neighborhood population represents an incredibly diverse both socio-economically and racially.

You are mad at us because we raise a ton of $--yet have less numbers of wealthy families than say Discovery, Taylor, Jamestown, etc. I would ask why you aren't getting donations anywhere near as large when you have larger pockets.

Pockets of many in-boundary ASFS folks be plenty big, right?

The largest donors have historically been out-of-boundary Jamestown parents.

First of all, Jamestown is NOT out of boundary for ASFS.

Secondly, please explain how you know this. Have you been at the school for all 22 years of its existence? I wasn't treasurer of the ASFS PTA so I cannot comment with 100% certainty but I had children at ASFS for 16 years. I attended many PTA meetings and was involved in fundraising the entire time. I can say with 100% certainty that plenty big donors came from the Key/ASFS planning units, as well as Taylor planning units.

And the first 15 or so years of ASFS's existence, when more Taylor and Jamestown families attended, absolutely did not raise the kind of money the school has raised in recent years when less of those families attended.

I think this thread has completely gone off the deep end.

[Anonymous]

^^it will be out of the neighborhood zone.

It is a team school. There is no automatic guaranteed entry to ASF if you live in the Jamestown zone. Currently, only the nieighborhoods zoned "Key/ASF" are guaranteed admission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could get a clearer picture of ASFS. On one hand, you have people saying it's just a neighborhood school (not for it's own neighborhood - ha!) that has one extra hour of science. It's really no different that any other school.

On the other hand, you have people who talk about how it's special & award winning and that the science lab makes it "better" than other schools.

Aren't a lot of Arl. elementary schools award winning? Mine is. I don't have kids going there, but I wish I could understand this situation a little better.

I don't get the history on the science lab there. I hear it was something that parents did extensive fundraising to put in. However, parent fundraising is not supposed to be for things that are integral to instruction or will create an ongoing obligation for the district. Which it sounds like this lab is both. The reason for those rules is to limit inequity due to wealth across the district. Is that a new rule? Or just completely ignored in this case?

ASFS has benefitted tremendously from private donations given to the school by well heeled individuals. If you doubt this, take a look at the EdBacker site where $177K was raised, just for the ASFS Science Lab.

https://edbacker.com/c/asfs-science-lab

Want to take a guess how many APS elementary schools have a science lab this well funded? Including ASFS, the answer is one.

Huh??? ASFS has the most diverse neighborhood zones of all of North Arlington elementary schools.

ASFS has 20% FARMS and its neighborhood population represents an incredibly diverse both socio-economically and racially.

You are mad at us because we raise a ton of $--yet have less numbers of wealthy families than say Discovery, Taylor, Jamestown, etc. I would ask why you aren't getting donations anywhere near as large when you have larger pockets.

People who believe ASFS is special are correct from one perspective: it has only been available to a select few neighborhoods and it has a tremendous wealth of privately-funded science resources, unlike any other APS elementary school.

For anyone that thinks we should "share this great model" that is ASFS, I agree. Going forward, let's pool all of the private science donations and spread them across all of the elementary schools. We could call it the "ASFS Endowment" and benefactors could get plaques over at the Ed Center.


Oh and one last thing, there was no interest in sharing this great resource with all of APS, until the recent proposal to dissolve the Team, which would mean no more Jamestown and Taylor benefactors would get to attend the school.

Huh??? ASFS has the most diverse neighborhood zones of all of North Arlington elementary schools.

ASFS has 20% FARMS and its neighborhood population represents an incredibly diverse both socio-economically and racially.

You are mad at us because we raise a ton of $--yet have less numbers of wealthy families than say Discovery, Taylor, Jamestown, etc. I would ask why you aren't getting donations anywhere near as large when you have larger pockets.

Pockets of many in-boundary ASFS folks be plenty big, right?

The largest donors have historically been out-of-boundary Jamestown parents.

First of all, Jamestown is NOT out of boundary for ASFS.

Secondly, please explain how you know this. Have you been at the school for all 22 years of its existence? I wasn't treasurer of the ASFS PTA so I cannot comment with 100% certainty but I had children at ASFS for 16 years. I attended many PTA meetings and was involved in fundraising the entire time. I can say with 100% certainty that plenty big donors came from the Key/ASFS planning units, as well as Taylor planning units.

This should be easy to figure out for our science lab. Go look at the names of the donors on the wall and then look up their addresses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This should be easy to figure out for our science lab. Go look at the names of the donors on the wall and then look up their addresses.

actually you can do it from the comfort of your living room. Just look at the edbacker site, that lists the donations.

[Anonymous]

So what did we learn from our recent discussions? (Setting aside all aspersions, please.)

1 – APS has always considered ASFS a neighborhood school.
2 – APS is going to change Key, currently a neighborhood school, to an Option school.
3 – APS is going to dissolve the Team and allow only the ASFS/Key zone to attend ASFS.
4 – The proposed policy changes will affect all 23 elementary schools, not just ASFS and the Team.
5 – APS is no longer going to guarantee neighborhood access to a nearby Option school.
6 – Enrollment at ASFS will likely increase in 2018, but only by a class or two.
7 – APS is planning to make boundary changes for elementary schools in 2019.
8 – ASFS is has the seventh lowest percentage of FARMS students, out of 23 elementary schools.
9 – ASFS has the best elementary science lab which was funded, in part, by $177K in private donations.

Anything else?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I could get a clearer picture of ASFS. On one hand, you have people saying it's just a neighborhood school (not for it's own neighborhood - ha!) that has one extra hour of science. It's really no different that any other school.

On the other hand, you have people who talk about how it's special & award winning and that the science lab makes it "better" than other schools.

Aren't a lot of Arl. elementary schools award winning? Mine is. I don't have kids going there, but I wish I could understand this situation a little better.

I don't get the history on the science lab there. I hear it was something that parents did extensive fundraising to put in. However, parent fundraising is not supposed to be for things that are integral to instruction or will create an ongoing obligation for the district. Which it sounds like this lab is both. The reason for those rules is to limit inequity due to wealth across the district. Is that a new rule? Or just completely ignored in this case?

ASFS has benefitted tremendously from private donations given to the school by well heeled individuals. If you doubt this, take a look at the EdBacker site where $177K was raised, just for the ASFS Science Lab.

https://edbacker.com/c/asfs-science-lab

Want to take a guess how many APS elementary schools have a science lab this well funded? Including ASFS, the answer is one.

Huh??? ASFS has the most diverse neighborhood zones of all of North Arlington elementary schools.

ASFS has 20% FARMS and its neighborhood population represents an incredibly diverse both socio-economically and racially.

You are mad at us because we raise a ton of $--yet have less numbers of wealthy families than say Discovery, Taylor, Jamestown, etc. I would ask why you aren't getting donations anywhere near as large when you have larger pockets.

People who believe ASFS is special are correct from one perspective: it has only been available to a select few neighborhoods and it has a tremendous wealth of privately-funded science resources, unlike any other APS elementary school.

For anyone that thinks we should "share this great model" that is ASFS, I agree. Going forward, let's pool all of the private science donations and spread them across all of the elementary schools. We could call it the "ASFS Endowment" and benefactors could get plaques over at the Ed Center.

Oh and one last thing, there was no interest in sharing this great resource with all of APS, until the recent proposal to dissolve the Team, which would mean no more Jamestown and Taylor benefactors would get to attend the school.

Huh??? ASFS has the most diverse neighborhood zones of all of North Arlington elementary schools.

ASFS has 20% FARMS and its neighborhood population represents an incredibly diverse both socio-economically and racially.

Sorry to disagree. We are racially diverse at ASF, but not so much socio-economically. Just look at the difference between us and Key.