APS Sinking Ship

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When they say “ missing middle”
I suspect they ( boomers) mean housing in north Arlington for their kids and grandkids.

Pretty much.

Maybe their kids can come and live in South Arlington. Then they'd care about the schools.

I think most NA parents care deeply about SA schools, if nothing else if they improved it would likely alleviate overcrowding in the long term.

Na parents are happy to send money, resources, build new schools, whatever it takes. Sending their kids is a nonstarter both b/c of logistics and parental expectation. That is unsurprising and not going to change.

So absent busing, what do SA schools need? Is it simply the AH lobby dumping more and more ESOL students into the system?

I wish that were true. There a voluntary PTA fund thru which APS school PTAs can donate to needier ones. Combined, over the last five years, the total contribution to that fund from NA schools is less than a fifth of what any single NA pta raises in a single year.

WTF, who has time to sort through that? PTA funds can’t be used for salaries, capital expenditures or core curriculum.

Being able to take more field trips won’t bridge achievement gap

Identify real academic needs, bring to SB, heck make a bond measure. You will find the help.

So now you’re angry that I pointed out NA is hardly as generous as claimed? And now it’s uo to the school board to do it, not these generous north Arlington parents? Lol. SA schools are already social sector centers. The issue is not funds. The issue is that they are so imbalanced demographically that they can’t do anything but function as social service centers and teach to the bottom.

I talked for a long time to someone from ccpta about this. They have more funds that people could apply for, but some of the most in need schools don’t have a pta organized enough to do this.
I agree with the pps though that field trips aren’t going to solve the type of disparity that people complain about here. My kids go one maybe four field trips a year, I don’t think that spending one or two hours at a museum a few times a year is going to make a dent. You need to identify exactly how the school is failing the average kid academically, and then take those identified needs to the sb.

NP - you're right. Field trips aren't the elixir for achievement gaps. But they are a factor in opportunity gaps.
What IS a real factor in the achievement gap is socioeconomic diversity: exposure to others with the experiences and opportunities that have given them the higher vocabulary and skill sets that start them off at a higher place, that have given them a wider perspective of the world and a broader awareness of the world beyond their own low-income and low-opportunity neighborhood and family history, that expand a child's thinking beyond what has always been for their family.

If nobody wants to go to the purposeful busing approach of the past, then don't. But we sure as heck can do better with boundaries, locations of option schools, and option school admissions policies.

Make all schools choice. Then everyone has to opt in and cap enrollment of people who live nearby to a certain percent and cap FARMs.

So the kids who move to Arlington Mill in the middle of the year go to Jamestown or wherever because it’s the only place with FARMS spots? How would you provide buses under this scenario?

Assuming it's not 100 kids moving at once, they would ride the already existing bus routes that would be established.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When they say “ missing middle”
I suspect they ( boomers) mean housing in north Arlington for their kids and grandkids.

Pretty much.

Maybe their kids can come and live in South Arlington. Then they'd care about the schools.

I think most NA parents care deeply about SA schools, if nothing else if they improved it would likely alleviate overcrowding in the long term.

Na parents are happy to send money, resources, build new schools, whatever it takes. Sending their kids is a nonstarter both b/c of logistics and parental expectation. That is unsurprising and not going to change.

So absent busing, what do SA schools need? Is it simply the AH lobby dumping more and more ESOL students into the system?

I wish that were true. There a voluntary PTA fund thru which APS school PTAs can donate to needier ones. Combined, over the last five years, the total contribution to that fund from NA schools is less than a fifth of what any single NA pta raises in a single year.

WTF, who has time to sort through that? PTA funds can’t be used for salaries, capital expenditures or core curriculum.

Being able to take more field trips won’t bridge achievement gap

Identify real academic needs, bring to SB, heck make a bond measure. You will find the help.

So now you’re angry that I pointed out NA is hardly as generous as claimed? And now it’s uo to the school board to do it, not these generous north Arlington parents? Lol. SA schools are already social sector centers. The issue is not funds. The issue is that they are so imbalanced demographically that they can’t do anything but function as social service centers and teach to the bottom.

I talked for a long time to someone from ccpta about this. They have more funds that people could apply for, but some of the most in need schools don’t have a pta organized enough to do this.
I agree with the pps though that field trips aren’t going to solve the type of disparity that people complain about here. My kids go one maybe four field trips a year, I don’t think that spending one or two hours at a museum a few times a year is going to make a dent. You need to identify exactly how the school is failing the average kid academically, and then take those identified needs to the sb.

NP - you're right. Field trips aren't the elixir for achievement gaps. But they are a factor in opportunity gaps.
What IS a real factor in the achievement gap is socioeconomic diversity: exposure to others with the experiences and opportunities that have given them the higher vocabulary and skill sets that start them off at a higher place, that have given them a wider perspective of the world and a broader awareness of the world beyond their own low-income and low-opportunity neighborhood and family history, that expand a child's thinking beyond what has always been for their family.

If nobody wants to go to the purposeful busing approach of the past, then don't. But we sure as heck can do better with boundaries, locations of option schools, and option school admissions policies.

Make all schools choice. Then everyone has to opt in and cap enrollment of people who live nearby to a certain percent and cap FARMs.

So the kids who move to Arlington Mill in the middle of the year go to Jamestown or wherever because it’s the only place with FARMS spots? How would you provide buses under this scenario?

They should stop providing buses to kids who live within a half mile or a mile of the school. That would free up some resources.
Other ideas are to have teams of schools that pool resources/etc. so everyone is guaranteed admission of one of the schools in their team. Most people in Arlington are within a half mile of three elementary schools. At least then you don’t have a school with <30% farms (Ashlawn) within a quarter mile of one that is over 50% farms (Carlin springs).

Agree. You would have to ignore crossing major roads, which I am fine with, if you can get enough crossing guards and persuade people not to drive to schools. The team concept worked up until people crowded into the most desirable schools - see ASFS. You'd still need to balance those schools. But at least it you used teams, you could assign families to schools in those teams to create a balance across the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When they say “ missing middle”
I suspect they ( boomers) mean housing in north Arlington for their kids and grandkids.

Pretty much.

Maybe their kids can come and live in South Arlington. Then they'd care about the schools.

I think most NA parents care deeply about SA schools, if nothing else if they improved it would likely alleviate overcrowding in the long term.

Na parents are happy to send money, resources, build new schools, whatever it takes. Sending their kids is a nonstarter both b/c of logistics and parental expectation. That is unsurprising and not going to change.

So absent busing, what do SA schools need? Is it simply the AH lobby dumping more and more ESOL students into the system?

I wish that were true. There a voluntary PTA fund thru which APS school PTAs can donate to needier ones. Combined, over the last five years, the total contribution to that fund from NA schools is less than a fifth of what any single NA pta raises in a single year.

WTF, who has time to sort through that? PTA funds can’t be used for salaries, capital expenditures or core curriculum.

Being able to take more field trips won’t bridge achievement gap

Identify real academic needs, bring to SB, heck make a bond measure. You will find the help.

So now you’re angry that I pointed out NA is hardly as generous as claimed? And now it’s uo to the school board to do it, not these generous north Arlington parents? Lol. SA schools are already social sector centers. The issue is not funds. The issue is that they are so imbalanced demographically that they can’t do anything but function as social service centers and teach to the bottom.

So you only answer is busing to balance demographics?

So your only answer is to throw money at the problem so that your school can stay under 15 percent FRL?

Well my school is 25%, but I know busing will turn us into ACPS as non-FARMS flee to FFX and FFC.

Basically all high FARMS schools need to be converted to sole attractive option, something compelling that will attract wealthier families. Lots of specialized equipment, great playgrounds, specialized faculty, and maybe an indoor slide.

What programs do you suggest that would give you a field of dreams moment?

A $200k+ PTA funded science lab seems to be a pretty good selling point for Science focus. Would be nice to have one of those at all the high frl schools, instead of just weedy playgrounds and winter coat drives.

Maybe Amazon can be a good neighbor had help close the gap. That would certainly be more popular that equally sharing PTA funds, capping them, or banning them outright.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When they say “ missing middle”
I suspect they ( boomers) mean housing in north Arlington for their kids and grandkids.

Pretty much.

Maybe their kids can come and live in South Arlington. Then they'd care about the schools.

I think most NA parents care deeply about SA schools, if nothing else if they improved it would likely alleviate overcrowding in the long term.

Na parents are happy to send money, resources, build new schools, whatever it takes. Sending their kids is a nonstarter both b/c of logistics and parental expectation. That is unsurprising and not going to change.

So absent busing, what do SA schools need? Is it simply the AH lobby dumping more and more ESOL students into the system?

I wish that were true. There a voluntary PTA fund thru which APS school PTAs can donate to needier ones. Combined, over the last five years, the total contribution to that fund from NA schools is less than a fifth of what any single NA pta raises in a single year.

WTF, who has time to sort through that? PTA funds can’t be used for salaries, capital expenditures or core curriculum.

Being able to take more field trips won’t bridge achievement gap

Identify real academic needs, bring to SB, heck make a bond measure. You will find the help.

So now you’re angry that I pointed out NA is hardly as generous as claimed? And now it’s uo to the school board to do it, not these generous north Arlington parents? Lol. SA schools are already social sector centers. The issue is not funds. The issue is that they are so imbalanced demographically that they can’t do anything but function as social service centers and teach to the bottom.

So you only answer is busing to balance demographics?

So your only answer is to throw money at the problem so that your school can stay under 15 percent FRL?

Well my school is 25%, but I know busing will turn us into ACPS as non-FARMS flee to FFX and FFC.

Basically all high FARMS schools need to be converted to sole attractive option, something compelling that will attract wealthier families. Lots of specialized equipment, great playgrounds, specialized faculty, and maybe an indoor slide.

What programs do you suggest that would give you a field of dreams moment?

A $200k+ PTA funded science lab seems to be a pretty good selling point for Science focus. Would be nice to have one of those at all the high frl schools, instead of just weedy playgrounds and winter coat drives.

ASFS has been a high performing school for years with a ramshackle lab for a decade before it got that fancy lab. The lab is a product of the success, not the cause.

But yeah, make high FARMS schools speciality options, plow money into faculty and equipment, that’s the only way you will attract low FARMS families.

Busing and teams will just subject some kids to long bus rides, and then you will have a white flight situation like ACPS.

[Anonymous]

Busing and teams will just subject some kids to long bus rides, and then you will have a white flight situation like ACPS.

This is a joke, right? Arlington is the smallest county in America. There is no such thing as a long bus ride in Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Busing and teams will just subject some kids to long bus rides, and then you will have a white flight situation like ACPS.

This is a joke, right? Arlington is the smallest county in America. There is no such thing as a long bus ride in Arlington.

Actually there is one route that takes from 1:06-1:20 for drew elementary this year. That’s the longest route.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Busing and teams will just subject some kids to long bus rides, and then you will have a white flight situation like ACPS.



This is a joke, right? Arlington is the smallest county in America. There is no such thing as a long bus ride in Arlington.


Actually there is one route that takes from 1:06-1:20 for drew elementary this year. That’s the longest route.

Thanks for proving my point!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When they say “ missing middle”
I suspect they ( boomers) mean housing in north Arlington for their kids and grandkids.

Pretty much.

Maybe their kids can come and live in South Arlington. Then they'd care about the schools.

I think most NA parents care deeply about SA schools, if nothing else if they improved it would likely alleviate overcrowding in the long term.

Na parents are happy to send money, resources, build new schools, whatever it takes. Sending their kids is a nonstarter both b/c of logistics and parental expectation. That is unsurprising and not going to change.

So absent busing, what do SA schools need? Is it simply the AH lobby dumping more and more ESOL students into the system?

I wish that were true. There a voluntary PTA fund thru which APS school PTAs can donate to needier ones. Combined, over the last five years, the total contribution to that fund from NA schools is less than a fifth of what any single NA pta raises in a single year.

Bs. Both “school performance” via test scores and that lab are the product of a wealthy student body that poor schools don’t have.

WTF, who has time to sort through that? PTA funds can’t be used for salaries, capital expenditures or core curriculum.

Being able to take more field trips won’t bridge achievement gap

Identify real academic needs, bring to SB, heck make a bond measure. You will find the help.

So now you’re angry that I pointed out NA is hardly as generous as claimed? And now it’s uo to the school board to do it, not these generous north Arlington parents? Lol. SA schools are already social sector centers. The issue is not funds. The issue is that they are so imbalanced demographically that they can’t do anything but function as social service centers and teach to the bottom.

So you only answer is busing to balance demographics?

So your only answer is to throw money at the problem so that your school can stay under 15 percent FRL?

Well my school is 25%, but I know busing will turn us into ACPS as non-FARMS flee to FFX and FFC.

Basically all high FARMS schools need to be converted to sole attractive option, something compelling that will attract wealthier families. Lots of specialized equipment, great playgrounds, specialized faculty, and maybe an indoor slide.

What programs do you suggest that would give you a field of dreams moment?

A $200k+ PTA funded science lab seems to be a pretty good selling point for Science focus. Would be nice to have one of those at all the high frl schools, instead of just weedy playgrounds and winter coat drives.

ASFS has been a high performing school for years with a ramshackle lab for a decade before it got that fancy lab. The lab is a product of the success, not the cause.

But yeah, make high FARMS schools speciality options, plow money into faculty and equipment, that’s the only way you will attract low FARMS families.

Busing and teams will just subject some kids to long bus rides, and then you will have a white flight situation like ACPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When they say “ missing middle”
I suspect they ( boomers) mean housing in north Arlington for their kids and grandkids.

Pretty much.

Maybe their kids can come and live in South Arlington. Then they'd care about the schools.

I think most NA parents care deeply about SA schools, if nothing else if they improved it would likely alleviate overcrowding in the long term.

Na parents are happy to send money, resources, build new schools, whatever it takes. Sending their kids is a nonstarter both b/c of logistics and parental expectation. That is unsurprising and not going to change.

So absent busing, what do SA schools need? Is it simply the AH lobby dumping more and more ESOL students into the system?

I wish that were true. There a voluntary PTA fund thru which APS school PTAs can donate to needier ones. Combined, over the last five years, the total contribution to that fund from NA schools is less than a fifth of what any single NA pta raises in a single year.

WTF, who has time to sort through that? PTA funds can’t be used for salaries, capital expenditures or core curriculum.

Being able to take more field trips won’t bridge achievement gap

Identify real academic needs, bring to SB, heck make a bond measure. You will find the help.

So now you’re angry that I pointed out NA is hardly as generous as claimed? And now it’s uo to the school board to do it, not these generous north Arlington parents? Lol. SA schools are already social sector centers. The issue is not funds. The issue is that they are so imbalanced demographically that they can’t do anything but function as social service centers and teach to the bottom.

So you only answer is busing to balance demographics?

So your only answer is to throw money at the problem so that your school can stay under 15 percent FRL?

Well my school is 25%, but I know busing will turn us into ACPS as non-FARMS flee to FFX and FFC.

Basically all high FARMS schools need to be converted to sole attractive option, something compelling that will attract wealthier families. Lots of specialized equipment, great playgrounds, specialized faculty, and maybe an indoor slide.

What programs do you suggest that would give you a field of dreams moment?

A $200k+ PTA funded science lab seems to be a pretty good selling point for Science focus. Would be nice to have one of those at all the high frl schools, instead of just weedy playgrounds and winter coat drives.

ASFS has been a high performing school for years with a ramshackle lab for a decade before it got that fancy lab. The lab is a product of the success, not the cause.

But yeah, make high FARMS schools speciality options, plow money into faculty and equipment, that’s the only way you will attract low FARMS families.

Busing and teams will just subject some kids to long bus rides, and then you will have a white flight situation like ACPS.

The lab and the schools “performance” are merely byproducts Of the fact that ALL schools everywhere with a bunch of wealthy families get good scores and can pay for nice things that attract more wealthy people. Jesus, you thought you were special didn’t you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Busing and teams will just subject some kids to long bus rides, and then you will have a white flight situation like ACPS.

This is a joke, right? Arlington is the smallest county in America. There is no such thing as a long bus ride in Arlington.

Actually there is one route that takes from 1:06-1:20 for drew elementary this year. That’s the longest route.

And people voluntarily choose to go there. Interesting.

[Anonymous]

1. Academic research concluded that throwing money at poor schools will only do so much to close the achievement gap. Socio economic Integration does a much better job.

2. Amazon will only worsen the school inequality issues because affordable housing advocates are lobbying hard to use amazon money (where ever it is) to build more affordable housing, in south Arlington of course. The board agrees with them. They all seem to think amazon people will want to live along the western pike and push up prices.

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who lives in an AHC owned building and his rent was just raised. I would think affordable housing developers who advocate to keep things affordable would not raise rents, especially with amazon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend who lives in an AHC owned building and his rent was just raised. I would think affordable housing developers who advocate to keep things affordable would not raise rents, especially with amazon.

Not raising rent amounts to rent control. However, it likely goes up a little each year, 2-5%, unless you are talking about a big jump? It could also be adjusted by income...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend who lives in an AHC owned building and his rent was just raised. I would think affordable housing developers who advocate to keep things affordable would not raise rents, especially with amazon.

Not raising rent amounts to rent control. However, it likely goes up a little each year, 2-5%, unless you are talking about a big jump? It could also be adjusted by income...

AHC isn't exactly the best-managed or best-intended affordable housing developer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Busing and teams will just subject some kids to long bus rides, and then you will have a white flight situation like ACPS.

This is a joke, right? Arlington is the smallest county in America. There is no such thing as a long bus ride in Arlington.

Actually there is one route that takes from 1:06-1:20 for drew elementary this year. That’s the longest route.

Why is there a bus route to Drew in the middle of the school day?