APS - Elementary school -who is opting for virtual in 2021/22

[Anonymous]

The kids in the one walkable planning unit to Reed can also opt to stay at Tuckahoe. They don’t have to go to Reed. So bussing would still need to be provided in that PU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Three planning units are not 2 buses unless they're huge units.

The data APS presented in the fall boundary process said that the total number of kids in those 3 PUs was about 120.

I should add- APS defined the walk zone differently at different points in time. When the school move debate was happening, they designated 2 Tuckahoe PUs as walkable to Reed. The estimate was 90 kids in those 2 units. They later said that 3 units were walkable, which would have added another 30 kids or so, so 120.

The final boundary sends 1 Tuckahoe PU to Reed, which is estimated as 50 kids. So the estimate, I guess, is 70 walkable kids possibly continuing to bus to Tuckahoe. There are people in one of those PUs who felt that Reed was too far to walk, and they're in the expanded walk zone to Tuckahoe (have to cross Lee Hwy & Sycamore though, no idea if they'll keep that). But those are the basic numbers.

So:

120 Tuckahoe kids total, =
50 kids who actually ARE walking to Reed so incur NO bus costs to Tuckahoe;
30 kids who never wanted to go to Reed in the first place because it was too far to walk to but who ARE walking to Tuckahoe (!) via the expanded walk zone (so NO bus costs figured in to whatever the current estimate is);
40 kids now taking a bus who, but for Kadera, might have walked to Reed.

Wait. Is the difference because they also argued that some kids that would be moved to Ashlawn, or maybe Glebe, should really go to Reed instead, to keep McKinley together? So the costs of those buses goes to Reed also, where otherwise it would have gone to Ashlawn or Glebe? Otherwise I don't think those 40 kids and even a frictional cost bus (not all the frictional costs of a new neighborhood school would be borne by Reed -- they would be spread out across Arlington) should add up to $400K but I could be wrong.

Even if so, remember the Board said McKinley was the right school to make into a choice school because it said 60% of the kids at the Reed school would be walkable and only 28% of McKinley was walkable. So if those numbers were real, and if we are comparing NET BUS COSTS of McKinley vs. the new Reed, even with those few changes shouldn't Reed's net bus costs be SMALLER than McKinley's because such a huger percentage of its population is within walking distance and FEWER BUSES OVERALL should be being used by kids going there?

[Anonymous]

Let's say McKinley had 800 kids and Reed will have 700 kids. If 60% of Reed's population is walkable, that's 420 kids meaning you have to bus 280 kids, plus the 40 Tuckahoe kids but for purposes of argument let's add all 120 kids in there even though that's not real life, but say 400 kids that Reed needs to bus.

So out of McKinley's 800 kids, school board says only 28% of them were walkable so that's 224 kids who walked leaving 586 kids who used to get bused to McKinley.

So why aren't Reed's net bus costs down compared to McKinley's, if the reasoning the school board gave to change McKinley to a choice school in the first place was true, since if should be busing fewer kids than McKinley did?

[Anonymous]

I mean, my understanding is that not only are Reed's net bus costs not down compared to McKinley's, but they are $400K more than McKinley's. But maybe I've misunderstood.

[Anonymous]

There tuckahoe units were part of the bus cost. It’s not just Madison manor, Btw. The DH kids should have been going to Ashlawn.

New ATS at McK won’t need a lot more fuel. The buildings are very close. They will need another bus, though, bc they will be accepting more students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if you watch SB meetings, last Fall, Lisa Stengle hinted strongly that an option program may be moved "North of Lee Highway." So my prediction is that Tuckahoe or Nottingham aren't long for the world either. North North Arlington schools will become overcrowded like the rest of the county.

There was no hinting. The proposal specifically identified Discovery, Jamestown, Nottingham, Taylor and Tuckahoe as schools to be considered as potential option sites in the future to provide capacity on the western end of Columbia Pile, and also specifically identified Campbell and Claremont as option schools to evaluate moving north.

And it totally makes sense that discovery Nottingham or Tuckahoe would be used as an option school, since they have overlapping walk boundaries and are all under populated. One of the big push backs is that more kids would have to be bussed up there.

My prediction is that poor Campbell will move to N. Arlington. Discovery may make the most sense for an expeditionary school to move to because it has woods and focuses on green space already, but it will probably be Tuckahoe. Claremont will probably move to Carlin Springs to ease up space for Abington, and the poor Carlin Springs kids will move to Campbell, the one school that isn't walkable for most of its population.

When the original school moves proposal was put out, it included Campbell and Carlin Springs in addition to Key, ATS and McKinley. Kadera saw all of this, and that's where her arguments came from. She wasn't trying to throw other schools under the bus.

All of the outdoor space around Discovery is covered in artificial material or playground mulch. There’s about a 20’ strip of trees behind the soccer fields before you’re in neighbors’ backyards, but that’s it.

My point is that while no N Arlington school has a Long Branch Nature Center next door, Discovery at least has the solar panels, a rain garden and some trees. It's better suited to an expeditionary program than Tuckahoe or Nottingham. But I think due to its proximity to the Metro, Tuckahoe may be the more likely choice for an option program. It's unfortunate that the Pandora's box has been opened with the first school moves, but parents should start strategizing now how to fight back when your turn eventually comes. I hope you have someone like Mary fighting for you.

Signed, an ATS parent

Well they are proposing to close East Falls Church Metro station early next year. So if the argument to use Tuckahoe is the metro accessibility wouldn't count on it.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone found where Kadera got this $390k figure for buses to Reed? I can’t find it anywhere in the budget document.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone found where Kadera got this $390k figure for buses to Reed? I can’t find it anywhere in the budget document.

I ask that because in what I believe was to final proposal, page 36 appears to indicate that the budget includes a transportation increase for McKinley at the Rees site of only about $86k, not $390k. Trying to figure out where Kadera’s numbers are coming from.

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/FY-2022-Superintendents-Proposed-Budget_final.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone found where Kadera got this $390k figure for buses to Reed? I can’t find it anywhere in the budget document.

I ask that because in what I believe was to final proposal, page 36 appears to indicate that the budget includes a transportation increase for McKinley at the Rees site of only about $86k, not $390k. Trying to figure out where Kadera’s numbers are coming from.

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/FY-2022-Superintendents-Proposed-Budget_final.pdf

Never mind, I think I see what’s happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone found where Kadera got this $390k figure for buses to Reed? I can’t find it anywhere in the budget document.

I ask that because in what I believe was to final proposal, page 36 appears to indicate that the budget includes a transportation increase for McKinley at the Rees site of only about $86k, not $390k. Trying to figure out where Kadera’s numbers are coming from.

https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/FY-2022-Superintendents-Proposed-Budget_final.pdf

I think she’s doing some rough math, it looks to be more like $377k in transportation and driver/attendant expenses. The thing that i believe she may be misinterpreting is that she is assuming all of that is for Reed itself, when the budget says these are costs associated with bringing the new school online, which I interpret to mean increased transportation costs associated not just with Reed itself, but also any other schools that will need an extra bus due to boundary redrawing. My guess is that if they had kept McKinley and Reed both as neighborhood schools and put ATS north of Lee Highway, the increased busing costs would have been substantially higher than in this budget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if you watch SB meetings, last Fall, Lisa Stengle hinted strongly that an option program may be moved "North of Lee Highway." So my prediction is that Tuckahoe or Nottingham aren't long for the world either. North North Arlington schools will become overcrowded like the rest of the county.

There was no hinting. The proposal specifically identified Discovery, Jamestown, Nottingham, Taylor and Tuckahoe as schools to be considered as potential option sites in the future to provide capacity on the western end of Columbia Pile, and also specifically identified Campbell and Claremont as option schools to evaluate moving north.

And it totally makes sense that discovery Nottingham or Tuckahoe would be used as an option school, since they have overlapping walk boundaries and are all under populated. One of the big push backs is that more kids would have to be bussed up there.

My prediction is that poor Campbell will move to N. Arlington. Discovery may make the most sense for an expeditionary school to move to because it has woods and focuses on green space already, but it will probably be Tuckahoe. Claremont will probably move to Carlin Springs to ease up space for Abington, and the poor Carlin Springs kids will move to Campbell, the one school that isn't walkable for most of its population.

When the original school moves proposal was put out, it included Campbell and Carlin Springs in addition to Key, ATS and McKinley. Kadera saw all of this, and that's where her arguments came from. She wasn't trying to throw other schools under the bus.

All of the outdoor space around Discovery is covered in artificial material or playground mulch. There’s about a 20’ strip of trees behind the soccer fields before you’re in neighbors’ backyards, but that’s it.

My point is that while no N Arlington school has a Long Branch Nature Center next door, Discovery at least has the solar panels, a rain garden and some trees. It's better suited to an expeditionary program than Tuckahoe or Nottingham. But I think due to its proximity to the Metro, Tuckahoe may be the more likely choice for an option program. It's unfortunate that the Pandora's box has been opened with the first school moves, but parents should start strategizing now how to fight back when your turn eventually comes. I hope you have someone like Mary fighting for you.

Signed, an ATS parent

Well they are proposing to close East Falls Church Metro station early next year. So if the argument to use Tuckahoe is the metro accessibility wouldn't count on it.

What elementary kids are going to metro to school??? I have never understood the idea of yet another option school which will just siphon off high functioning kids from families who are engaged in the system. Why? There is a need for this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if you watch SB meetings, last Fall, Lisa Stengle hinted strongly that an option program may be moved "North of Lee Highway." So my prediction is that Tuckahoe or Nottingham aren't long for the world either. North North Arlington schools will become overcrowded like the rest of the county.

There was no hinting. The proposal specifically identified Discovery, Jamestown, Nottingham, Taylor and Tuckahoe as schools to be considered as potential option sites in the future to provide capacity on the western end of Columbia Pile, and also specifically identified Campbell and Claremont as option schools to evaluate moving north.

And it totally makes sense that discovery Nottingham or Tuckahoe would be used as an option school, since they have overlapping walk boundaries and are all under populated. One of the big push backs is that more kids would have to be bussed up there.

My prediction is that poor Campbell will move to N. Arlington. Discovery may make the most sense for an expeditionary school to move to because it has woods and focuses on green space already, but it will probably be Tuckahoe. Claremont will probably move to Carlin Springs to ease up space for Abington, and the poor Carlin Springs kids will move to Campbell, the one school that isn't walkable for most of its population.

When the original school moves proposal was put out, it included Campbell and Carlin Springs in addition to Key, ATS and McKinley. Kadera saw all of this, and that's where her arguments came from. She wasn't trying to throw other schools under the bus.

All of the outdoor space around Discovery is covered in artificial material or playground mulch. There’s about a 20’ strip of trees behind the soccer fields before you’re in neighbors’ backyards, but that’s it.

My point is that while no N Arlington school has a Long Branch Nature Center next door, Discovery at least has the solar panels, a rain garden and some trees. It's better suited to an expeditionary program than Tuckahoe or Nottingham. But I think due to its proximity to the Metro, Tuckahoe may be the more likely choice for an option program. It's unfortunate that the Pandora's box has been opened with the first school moves, but parents should start strategizing now how to fight back when your turn eventually comes. I hope you have someone like Mary fighting for you.

Signed, an ATS parent

Well they are proposing to close East Falls Church Metro station early next year. So if the argument to use Tuckahoe is the metro accessibility wouldn't count on it.

What elementary kids are going to metro to school??? I have never understood the idea of yet another option school which will just siphon off high functioning kids from families who are engaged in the system. Why? There is a need for this?

The metro is also a mile away and it’s not a pedestrian friendly walk. No one is doing that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if you watch SB meetings, last Fall, Lisa Stengle hinted strongly that an option program may be moved "North of Lee Highway." So my prediction is that Tuckahoe or Nottingham aren't long for the world either. North North Arlington schools will become overcrowded like the rest of the county.

There was no hinting. The proposal specifically identified Discovery, Jamestown, Nottingham, Taylor and Tuckahoe as schools to be considered as potential option sites in the future to provide capacity on the western end of Columbia Pile, and also specifically identified Campbell and Claremont as option schools to evaluate moving north.

And it totally makes sense that discovery Nottingham or Tuckahoe would be used as an option school, since they have overlapping walk boundaries and are all under populated. One of the big push backs is that more kids would have to be bussed up there.

My prediction is that poor Campbell will move to N. Arlington. Discovery may make the most sense for an expeditionary school to move to because it has woods and focuses on green space already, but it will probably be Tuckahoe. Claremont will probably move to Carlin Springs to ease up space for Abington, and the poor Carlin Springs kids will move to Campbell, the one school that isn't walkable for most of its population.

When the original school moves proposal was put out, it included Campbell and Carlin Springs in addition to Key, ATS and McKinley. Kadera saw all of this, and that's where her arguments came from. She wasn't trying to throw other schools under the bus.

All of the outdoor space around Discovery is covered in artificial material or playground mulch. There’s about a 20’ strip of trees behind the soccer fields before you’re in neighbors’ backyards, but that’s it.

My point is that while no N Arlington school has a Long Branch Nature Center next door, Discovery at least has the solar panels, a rain garden and some trees. It's better suited to an expeditionary program than Tuckahoe or Nottingham. But I think due to its proximity to the Metro, Tuckahoe may be the more likely choice for an option program. It's unfortunate that the Pandora's box has been opened with the first school moves, but parents should start strategizing now how to fight back when your turn eventually comes. I hope you have someone like Mary fighting for you.

Signed, an ATS parent

Well they are proposing to close East Falls Church Metro station early next year. So if the argument to use Tuckahoe is the metro accessibility wouldn't count on it.

What elementary kids are going to metro to school??? I have never understood the idea of yet another option school which will just siphon off high functioning kids from families who are engaged in the system. Why? There is a need for this?

We’re not talking about a new option school, we’re talking about the location of existing schools. But that aside, transportation matters for parents as well as students. If you don’t have a car and would need to enroll your child in extended day to accommodate your work schedule, or if you want to be able to go to a parent-teacher conference or a school event, it matters whether the school is accessible by public transportation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if you watch SB meetings, last Fall, Lisa Stengle hinted strongly that an option program may be moved "North of Lee Highway." So my prediction is that Tuckahoe or Nottingham aren't long for the world either. North North Arlington schools will become overcrowded like the rest of the county.

There was no hinting. The proposal specifically identified Discovery, Jamestown, Nottingham, Taylor and Tuckahoe as schools to be considered as potential option sites in the future to provide capacity on the western end of Columbia Pile, and also specifically identified Campbell and Claremont as option schools to evaluate moving north.

And it totally makes sense that discovery Nottingham or Tuckahoe would be used as an option school, since they have overlapping walk boundaries and are all under populated. One of the big push backs is that more kids would have to be bussed up there.

My prediction is that poor Campbell will move to N. Arlington. Discovery may make the most sense for an expeditionary school to move to because it has woods and focuses on green space already, but it will probably be Tuckahoe. Claremont will probably move to Carlin Springs to ease up space for Abington, and the poor Carlin Springs kids will move to Campbell, the one school that isn't walkable for most of its population.

When the original school moves proposal was put out, it included Campbell and Carlin Springs in addition to Key, ATS and McKinley. Kadera saw all of this, and that's where her arguments came from. She wasn't trying to throw other schools under the bus.

All of the outdoor space around Discovery is covered in artificial material or playground mulch. There’s about a 20’ strip of trees behind the soccer fields before you’re in neighbors’ backyards, but that’s it.

My point is that while no N Arlington school has a Long Branch Nature Center next door, Discovery at least has the solar panels, a rain garden and some trees. It's better suited to an expeditionary program than Tuckahoe or Nottingham. But I think due to its proximity to the Metro, Tuckahoe may be the more likely choice for an option program. It's unfortunate that the Pandora's box has been opened with the first school moves, but parents should start strategizing now how to fight back when your turn eventually comes. I hope you have someone like Mary fighting for you.

Signed, an ATS parent

Well they are proposing to close East Falls Church Metro station early next year. So if the argument to use Tuckahoe is the metro accessibility wouldn't count on it.

What elementary kids are going to metro to school??? I have never understood the idea of yet another option school which will just siphon off high functioning kids from families who are engaged in the system. Why? There is a need for this?

The metro is also a mile away and it’s not a pedestrian friendly walk. No one is doing that.

Lots of people walk that route from the Tuckahoe neighborhood every day to commute to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And if you watch SB meetings, last Fall, Lisa Stengle hinted strongly that an option program may be moved "North of Lee Highway." So my prediction is that Tuckahoe or Nottingham aren't long for the world either. North North Arlington schools will become overcrowded like the rest of the county.

There was no hinting. The proposal specifically identified Discovery, Jamestown, Nottingham, Taylor and Tuckahoe as schools to be considered as potential option sites in the future to provide capacity on the western end of Columbia Pile, and also specifically identified Campbell and Claremont as option schools to evaluate moving north.

And it totally makes sense that discovery Nottingham or Tuckahoe would be used as an option school, since they have overlapping walk boundaries and are all under populated. One of the big push backs is that more kids would have to be bussed up there.

My prediction is that poor Campbell will move to N. Arlington. Discovery may make the most sense for an expeditionary school to move to because it has woods and focuses on green space already, but it will probably be Tuckahoe. Claremont will probably move to Carlin Springs to ease up space for Abington, and the poor Carlin Springs kids will move to Campbell, the one school that isn't walkable for most of its population.

When the original school moves proposal was put out, it included Campbell and Carlin Springs in addition to Key, ATS and McKinley. Kadera saw all of this, and that's where her arguments came from. She wasn't trying to throw other schools under the bus.

All of the outdoor space around Discovery is covered in artificial material or playground mulch. There’s about a 20’ strip of trees behind the soccer fields before you’re in neighbors’ backyards, but that’s it.

My point is that while no N Arlington school has a Long Branch Nature Center next door, Discovery at least has the solar panels, a rain garden and some trees. It's better suited to an expeditionary program than Tuckahoe or Nottingham. But I think due to its proximity to the Metro, Tuckahoe may be the more likely choice for an option program. It's unfortunate that the Pandora's box has been opened with the first school moves, but parents should start strategizing now how to fight back when your turn eventually comes. I hope you have someone like Mary fighting for you.

Signed, an ATS parent

Well they are proposing to close East Falls Church Metro station early next year. So if the argument to use Tuckahoe is the metro accessibility wouldn't count on it.

What elementary kids are going to metro to school??? I have never understood the idea of yet another option school which will just siphon off high functioning kids from families who are engaged in the system. Why? There is a need for this?

The metro is also a mile away and it’s not a pedestrian friendly walk. No one is doing that.

Lots of people walk that route from the Tuckahoe neighborhood every day to commute to work.

That's great. We're talking about 5-11 year olds doing the walk. Not adults commuting to work.