APS/SA boundary redrawing - meeting tonight

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New to this discussion. So, part of what I see is this - the county sees that once Gillian Place comes on board, Barcroft will not only be insanely overcrowded, again, but it will jump well above 80%FRL. So, Barcroft needs to shed some poor folks, so hey send the kids south of the Pike away to Drew since there is no other place with seats.

Drew is already in a poor neighborhood, so who cares! Barcroft parents have become just a tad more vocal over the years, especially after Arlington Mill was assigned to Barcroft instead of Carlin Springs.

Remember, Barcroft used to be one of the most overcrowded schools in the county, second only to Oakridge. Relief at Barcroft was one of reasons Fleet was built in the first place.

APS uses the term "shifting demographics" to describe the now annual opening of very large 100% CAF buildings with hundreds of units that swamp local schools.. To name a few: Arlington Mill, gilliam, the Berkeley and now also Columbia Hills, a 229 unit 100% CAF building opening next year in Columbia Forest (140 units are 2 and 3 bedroom) and will be zoned to abingdon. It's across the street from the Drew zoned portion of CF So that leads me to believe that APS is maybe trying to spread around these giant complexes to various elementary schools as best they can, even when the powers that be cram them into the same half mile stretch of Columbia pike.

[Anonymous]

Clearly, the next step should be building a school in Alcova Heights, and a second school in Pentagon City. That would address the rising numbers of students.

We'll all be here going through this again every couple of years.

[Anonymous]

People wouldn't be upset about being zoned for Drew if they felt that CPU th resources would follow. It isn't being with a few more poor kids that puts people over the edge, but being in a school that the county ignores. And guess what. More poor kids means less clout with the county.

When Arlington solves that, they might make some progress on zoning. How about a local title 1 kind of thing that actually did balance resources?

[Anonymous]

If drew is over 38.5 frl, it will be title 1. The money helps, but you still need a pta and enough parents to fund it. Campbell is a title 1 school and it seems to be raising enough money and utilizing its federal money wisely. Drew would have a hard time, however, because unlike campbell, people don’t chose drew. Parents with means chose campbell so they are already active in their kids’ education. People would be shocked to know how much money the campbell PTA has.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to this discussion. So, part of what I see is this - the county sees that once Gillian Place comes on board, Barcroft will not only be insanely overcrowded, again, but it will jump well above 80%FRL. So, Barcroft needs to shed some poor folks, so hey send the kids south of the Pike away to Drew since there is no other place with seats.

Drew is already in a poor neighborhood, so who cares! Barcroft parents have become just a tad more vocal over the years, especially after Arlington Mill was assigned to Barcroft instead of Carlin Springs.

Remember, Barcroft used to be one of the most overcrowded schools in the county, second only to Oakridge. Relief at Barcroft was one of reasons Fleet was built in the first place.

APS uses the term "shifting demographics" to describe the now annual opening of very large 100% CAF buildings with hundreds of units that swamp local schools.. To name a few: Arlington Mill, gilliam, the Berkeley and now also Columbia Hills, a 229 unit 100% CAF building opening next year in Columbia Forest (140 units are 2 and 3 bedroom) and will be zoned to abingdon. It's across the street from the Drew zoned portion of CF So that leads me to believe that APS is maybe trying to spread around these giant complexes to various elementary schools as best they can, even when the powers that be cram them into the same half mile stretch of Columbia pike.

If APS would actually treat the entire district like one school system, they could "spread around these giant complexes" to more elementary schools and not concentrate poverty in a handful of schools. But they refuse to do boundaries across Route 50 or in a north/south direction instead of east/west.

It is unfathomable that APS has decided to prioritize proximity above all else in this time of overcrowding and continued growth. We don't have this luxury to continue catering to people's "preferences" and alleged "needs" and clear prejudices and sense of entitlements to go to the school closest to their home - poor or rich, I don't care. This whole approach is a complete disservice to our kids, to our schools, to Arlington County. APS doesn't give a sh** that has been identified as a highly segregated school system - one of the wealthiest and THE smallest county in the COUNTRY - but OMG did we jump and fight to make sure we weren't classified as hyper-segregated! It's perfectly fine to miss that cut-off by a point or two; but god forbid we technically meet the definition. Well how about changing your boundary policies to get off that list instead of teetering on the category edge and justifying it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to this discussion. So, part of what I see is this - the county sees that once Gillian Place comes on board, Barcroft will not only be insanely overcrowded, again, but it will jump well above 80%FRL. So, Barcroft needs to shed some poor folks, so hey send the kids south of the Pike away to Drew since there is no other place with seats.

Drew is already in a poor neighborhood, so who cares! Barcroft parents have become just a tad more vocal over the years, especially after Arlington Mill was assigned to Barcroft instead of Carlin Springs.

Remember, Barcroft used to be one of the most overcrowded schools in the county, second only to Oakridge. Relief at Barcroft was one of reasons Fleet was built in the first place.

APS uses the term "shifting demographics" to describe the now annual opening of very large 100% CAF buildings with hundreds of units that swamp local schools.. To name a few: Arlington Mill, gilliam, the Berkeley and now also Columbia Hills, a 229 unit 100% CAF building opening next year in Columbia Forest (140 units are 2 and 3 bedroom) and will be zoned to abingdon. It's across the street from the Drew zoned portion of CF So that leads me to believe that APS is maybe trying to spread around these giant complexes to various elementary schools as best they can, even when the powers that be cram them into the same half mile stretch of Columbia pike.

If APS would actually treat the entire district like one school system, they could "spread around these giant complexes" to more elementary schools and not concentrate poverty in a handful of schools. But they refuse to do boundaries across Route 50 or in a north/south direction instead of east/west.

It is unfathomable that APS has decided to prioritize proximity above all else in this time of overcrowding and continued growth. We don't have this luxury to continue catering to people's "preferences" and alleged "needs" and clear prejudices and sense of entitlements to go to the school closest to their home - poor or rich, I don't care. This whole approach is a complete disservice to our kids, to our schools, to Arlington County. APS doesn't give a sh** that has been identified as a highly segregated school system - one of the wealthiest and THE smallest county in the COUNTRY - but OMG did we jump and fight to make sure we weren't classified as hyper-segregated! It's perfectly fine to miss that cut-off by a point or two; but god forbid we technically meet the definition. Well how about changing your boundary policies to get off that list insteaof teetering on the category edge and justifying it?

Get over yourself. Yes the county is small but traffic sucks. In our two working parent household, every minute counts. As it is now we are racing to pick up kids before extended day closes, get them home, fed and to bed at a decent time. So yes, proximity is my number one prioroity. If diversity is so important, then the county board has to address it through housing policy. Not bussing my kids around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to this discussion. So, part of what I see is this - the county sees that once Gillian Place comes on board, Barcroft will not only be insanely overcrowded, again, but it will jump well above 80%FRL. So, Barcroft needs to shed some poor folks, so hey send the kids south of the Pike away to Drew since there is no other place with seats.

Drew is already in a poor neighborhood, so who cares! Barcroft parents have become just a tad more vocal over the years, especially after Arlington Mill was assigned to Barcroft instead of Carlin Springs.

Remember, Barcroft used to be one of the most overcrowded schools in the county, second only to Oakridge. Relief at Barcroft was one of reasons Fleet was built in the first place.

APS uses the term "shifting demographics" to describe the now annual opening of very large 100% CAF buildings with hundreds of units that swamp local schools.. To name a few: Arlington Mill, gilliam, the Berkeley and now also Columbia Hills, a 229 unit 100% CAF building opening next year in Columbia Forest (140 units are 2 and 3 bedroom) and will be zoned to abingdon. It's across the street from the Drew zoned portion of CF So that leads me to believe that APS is maybe trying to spread around these giant complexes to various elementary schools as best they can, even when the powers that be cram them into the same half mile stretch of Columbia pike.

If APS would actually treat the entire district like one school system, they could "spread around these giant complexes" to more elementary schools and not concentrate poverty in a handful of schools. But they refuse to do boundaries across Route 50 or in a north/south direction instead of east/west.

It is unfathomable that APS has decided to prioritize proximity above all else in this time of overcrowding and continued growth. We don't have this luxury to continue catering to people's "preferences" and alleged "needs" and clear prejudices and sense of entitlements to go to the school closest to their home - poor or rich, I don't care. This whole approach is a complete disservice to our kids, to our schools, to Arlington County. APS doesn't give a sh** that has been identified as a highly segregated school system - one of the wealthiest and THE smallest county in the COUNTRY - but OMG did we jump and fight to make sure we weren't classified as hyper-segregated! It's perfectly fine to miss that cut-off by a point or two; but god forbid we technically meet the definition. Well how about changing your boundary policies to get off that list instead of teetering on the category edge and justifying it?

My fav part is how every one is her is oh so liberal and woke. Such a pose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to this discussion. So, part of what I see is this - the county sees that once Gillian Place comes on board, Barcroft will not only be insanely overcrowded, again, but it will jump well above 80%FRL. So, Barcroft needs to shed some poor folks, so hey send the kids south of the Pike away to Drew since there is no other place with seats.

Drew is already in a poor neighborhood, so who cares! Barcroft parents have become just a tad more vocal over the years, especially after Arlington Mill was assigned to Barcroft instead of Carlin Springs.

Remember, Barcroft used to be one of the most overcrowded schools in the county, second only to Oakridge. Relief at Barcroft was one of reasons Fleet was built in the first place.

APS uses the term "shifting demographics" to describe the now annual opening of very large 100% CAF buildings with hundreds of units that swamp local schools.. To name a few: Arlington Mill, gilliam, the Berkeley and now also Columbia Hills, a 229 unit 100% CAF building opening next year in Columbia Forest (140 units are 2 and 3 bedroom) and will be zoned to abingdon. It's across the street from the Drew zoned portion of CF So that leads me to believe that APS is maybe trying to spread around these giant complexes to various elementary schools as best they can, even when the powers that be cram them into the same half mile stretch of Columbia pike.

If APS would actually treat the entire district like one school system, they could "spread around these giant complexes" to more elementary schools and not concentrate poverty in a handful of schools. But they refuse to do boundaries across Route 50 or in a north/south direction instead of east/west.

It is unfathomable that APS has decided to prioritize proximity above all else in this time of overcrowding and continued growth. We don't have this luxury to continue catering to people's "preferences" and alleged "needs" and clear prejudices and sense of entitlements to go to the school closest to their home - poor or rich, I don't care. This whole approach is a complete disservice to our kids, to our schools, to Arlington County. APS doesn't give a sh** that has been identified as a highly segregated school system - one of the wealthiest and THE smallest county in the COUNTRY - but OMG did we jump and fight to make sure we weren't classified as hyper-segregated! It's perfectly fine to miss that cut-off by a point or two; but god forbid we technically meet the definition. Well how about changing your boundary policies to get off that list insteaof teetering on the category edge and justifying it?

Get over yourself. Yes the county is small but traffic sucks. In our two working parent household, every minute counts. As it is now we are racing to pick up kids before extended day closes, get them home, fed and to bed at a decent time. So yes, proximity is my number one prioroity. If diversity is so important, then the county board has to address it through housing policy. Not bussing my kids around.

Get over your self. Everyone lives in a working parent household. You know whether the school is 1 mile or 2 miles away is immaterial. You just don't want to go to a school that has more poor kids. Don't hide behind traffic woes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to this discussion. So, part of what I see is this - the county sees that once Gillian Place comes on board, Barcroft will not only be insanely overcrowded, again, but it will jump well above 80%FRL. So, Barcroft needs to shed some poor folks, so hey send the kids south of the Pike away to Drew since there is no other place with seats.

Drew is already in a poor neighborhood, so who cares! Barcroft parents have become just a tad more vocal over the years, especially after Arlington Mill was assigned to Barcroft instead of Carlin Springs.

Remember, Barcroft used to be one of the most overcrowded schools in the county, second only to Oakridge. Relief at Barcroft was one of reasons Fleet was built in the first place.

APS uses the term "shifting demographics" to describe the now annual opening of very large 100% CAF buildings with hundreds of units that swamp local schools.. To name a few: Arlington Mill, gilliam, the Berkeley and now also Columbia Hills, a 229 unit 100% CAF building opening next year in Columbia Forest (140 units are 2 and 3 bedroom) and will be zoned to abingdon. It's across the street from the Drew zoned portion of CF So that leads me to believe that APS is maybe trying to spread around these giant complexes to various elementary schools as best they can, even when the powers that be cram them into the same half mile stretch of Columbia pike.

If APS would actually treat the entire district like one school system, they could "spread around these giant complexes" to more elementary schools and not concentrate poverty in a handful of schools. But they refuse to do boundaries across Route 50 or in a north/south direction instead of east/west.

It is unfathomable that APS has decided to prioritize proximity above all else in this time of overcrowding and continued growth. We don't have this luxury to continue catering to people's "preferences" and alleged "needs" and clear prejudices and sense of entitlements to go to the school closest to their home - poor or rich, I don't care. This whole approach is a complete disservice to our kids, to our schools, to Arlington County. APS doesn't give a sh** that has been identified as a highly segregated school system - one of the wealthiest and THE smallest county in the COUNTRY - but OMG did we jump and fight to make sure we weren't classified as hyper-segregated! It's perfectly fine to miss that cut-off by a point or two; but god forbid we technically meet the definition. Well how about changing your boundary policies to get off that list insteaof teetering on the category edge and justifying it?

Get over yourself. Yes the county is small but traffic sucks. In our two working parent household, every minute counts. As it is now we are racing to pick up kids before extended day closes, get them home, fed and to bed at a decent time. So yes, proximity is my number one prioroity. If diversity is so important, then the county board has to address it through housing policy. Not bussing my kids around.

Bussing will save you on aftercare costs, just saying.

Or your kids will be in aftercare at their new school. I think Arlington needs to make diversity a priority. It can't just be stopping affordable housing. It needs to be balancing SES across the county. If we stopped letting the loudest, brightest shirts dictate to the county, we'd have a much more comprehensive plan moving forward. Instead, it will be more affluent schools dictating what they want, and then the next school on the list demanding something else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to this discussion. So, part of what I see is this - the county sees that once Gillian Place comes on board, Barcroft will not only be insanely overcrowded, again, but it will jump well above 80%FRL. So, Barcroft needs to shed some poor folks, so hey send the kids south of the Pike away to Drew since there is no other place with seats.

Drew is already in a poor neighborhood, so who cares! Barcroft parents have become just a tad more vocal over the years, especially after Arlington Mill was assigned to Barcroft instead of Carlin Springs.

Remember, Barcroft used to be one of the most overcrowded schools in the county, second only to Oakridge. Relief at Barcroft was one of reasons Fleet was built in the first place.

APS uses the term "shifting demographics" to describe the now annual opening of very large 100% CAF buildings with hundreds of units that swamp local schools.. To name a few: Arlington Mill, gilliam, the Berkeley and now also Columbia Hills, a 229 unit 100% CAF building opening next year in Columbia Forest (140 units are 2 and 3 bedroom) and will be zoned to abingdon. It's across the street from the Drew zoned portion of CF So that leads me to believe that APS is maybe trying to spread around these giant complexes to various elementary schools as best they can, even when the powers that be cram them into the same half mile stretch of Columbia pike.

Why wouldn't they also put the rest of Alcova Heights to Fleet then? Isn't that where Gilliam Place is opening?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to this discussion. So, part of what I see is this - the county sees that once Gillian Place comes on board, Barcroft will not only be insanely overcrowded, again, but it will jump well above 80%FRL. So, Barcroft needs to shed some poor folks, so hey send the kids south of the Pike away to Drew since there is no other place with seats.

Drew is already in a poor neighborhood, so who cares! Barcroft parents have become just a tad more vocal over the years, especially after Arlington Mill was assigned to Barcroft instead of Carlin Springs.

Remember, Barcroft used to be one of the most overcrowded schools in the county, second only to Oakridge. Relief at Barcroft was one of reasons Fleet was built in the first place.

APS uses the term "shifting demographics" to describe the now annual opening of very large 100% CAF buildings with hundreds of units that swamp local schools.. To name a few: Arlington Mill, gilliam, the Berkeley and now also Columbia Hills, a 229 unit 100% CAF building opening next year in Columbia Forest (140 units are 2 and 3 bedroom) and will be zoned to abingdon. It's across the street from the Drew zoned portion of CF So that leads me to believe that APS is maybe trying to spread around these giant complexes to various elementary schools as best they can, even when the powers that be cram them into the same half mile stretch of Columbia pike.

Why wouldn't they also put the rest of Alcova Heights to Fleet then? Isn't that where Gilliam Place is opening?

Because they purposely ignore the impact of high density AH. The Arlington County Dem Committee has basically turned affordable housing and developer concessions for density into the organizing principle of govt; the case for AH sounds like a moral one but really it's just a big business here that employs a lot of people and is fully institutionalized. If the SB - which is mostly composed of future CB wannabes - don't keep the downsides of AH under wraps and hidden from view, there will be hell to pay from the ACDC. That's why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to this discussion. So, part of what I see is this - the county sees that once Gillian Place comes on board, Barcroft will not only be insanely overcrowded, again, but it will jump well above 80%FRL. So, Barcroft needs to shed some poor folks, so hey send the kids south of the Pike away to Drew since there is no other place with seats.

Drew is already in a poor neighborhood, so who cares! Barcroft parents have become just a tad more vocal over the years, especially after Arlington Mill was assigned to Barcroft instead of Carlin Springs.

Remember, Barcroft used to be one of the most overcrowded schools in the county, second only to Oakridge. Relief at Barcroft was one of reasons Fleet was built in the first place.

APS uses the term "shifting demographics" to describe the now annual opening of very large 100% CAF buildings with hundreds of units that swamp local schools.. To name a few: Arlington Mill, gilliam, the Berkeley and now also Columbia Hills, a 229 unit 100% CAF building opening next year in Columbia Forest (140 units are 2 and 3 bedroom) and will be zoned to abingdon. It's across the street from the Drew zoned portion of CF So that leads me to believe that APS is maybe trying to spread around these giant complexes to various elementary schools as best they can, even when the powers that be cram them into the same half mile stretch of Columbia pike.

Why wouldn't they also put the rest of Alcova Heights to Fleet then? Isn't that where Gilliam Place is opening?

Because they purposely ignore the impact of high density AH. The Arlington County Dem Committee has basically turned affordable housing and developer concessions for density into the organizing principle of govt; the case for AH sounds like a moral one but really it's just a big business here that employs a lot of people and is fully institutionalized. If the SB - which is mostly composed of future CB wannabes - don't keep the downsides of AH under wraps and hidden from view, there will be hell to pay from the ACDC. That's why.

Okay, right. I do know that that is the answer. I thought there might be a more boots-on-the-ground reason from those more familiar with the neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New to this discussion. So, part of what I see is this - the county sees that once Gillian Place comes on board, Barcroft will not only be insanely overcrowded, again, but it will jump well above 80%FRL. So, Barcroft needs to shed some poor folks, so hey send the kids south of the Pike away to Drew since there is no other place with seats.

Drew is already in a poor neighborhood, so who cares! Barcroft parents have become just a tad more vocal over the years, especially after Arlington Mill was assigned to Barcroft instead of Carlin Springs.

Remember, Barcroft used to be one of the most overcrowded schools in the county, second only to Oakridge. Relief at Barcroft was one of reasons Fleet was built in the first place.

APS uses the term "shifting demographics" to describe the now annual opening of very large 100% CAF buildings with hundreds of units that swamp local schools.. To name a few: Arlington Mill, gilliam, the Berkeley and now also Columbia Hills, a 229 unit 100% CAF building opening next year in Columbia Forest (140 units are 2 and 3 bedroom) and will be zoned to abingdon. It's across the street from the Drew zoned portion of CF So that leads me to believe that APS is maybe trying to spread around these giant complexes to various elementary schools as best they can, even when the powers that be cram them into the same half mile stretch of Columbia pike.

If APS would actually treat the entire district like one school system, they could "spread around these giant complexes" to more elementary schools and not concentrate poverty in a handful of schools. But they refuse to do boundaries across Route 50 or in a north/south direction instead of east/west.

It is unfathomable that APS has decided to prioritize proximity above all else in this time of overcrowding and continued growth. We don't have this luxury to continue catering to people's "preferences" and alleged "needs" and clear prejudices and sense of entitlements to go to the school closest to their home - poor or rich, I don't care. This whole approach is a complete disservice to our kids, to our schools, to Arlington County. APS doesn't give a sh** that has been identified as a highly segregated school system - one of the wealthiest and THE smallest county in the COUNTRY - but OMG did we jump and fight to make sure we weren't classified as hyper-segregated! It's perfectly fine to miss that cut-off by a point or two; but god forbid we technically meet the definition. Well how about changing your boundary policies to get off that list insteaof teetering on the category edge and justifying it?

Get over yourself. Yes the county is small but traffic sucks. In our two working parent household, every minute counts. As it is now we are racing to pick up kids before extended day closes, get them home, fed and to bed at a decent time. So yes, proximity is my number one prioroity. If diversity is so important, then the county board has to address it through housing policy. Not bussing my kids around.

Get over your self. Everyone lives in a working parent household. You know whether the school is 1 mile or 2 miles away is immaterial. You just don't want to go to a school that has more poor kids. Don't hide behind traffic woes.

To truly balance demographics, we aren't talking about busing kids to a school that is 2 miles away instead of 1. Instead you need to be moving kids between, say, Randolph and Discovery. That's a 15-20 minute trip right now, and it's not rush hour. It's not an insignificant additional trip for parents trying to make evening pickup/dinner/bedtime work. Seriously, this all goes back to housing policy.

[Anonymous]

APS can tie class size to FARMS rates- If standard elementary school class is 24 students, every 10% of FARMS removes one student. So Carlin Springs, at 80% FARMS, would have a max of 16 students per class, which would help provide the additional supports some of these low income kids need to succeed.

Of course, that means more buildings and more money for teachers, so get ready for your tax bill to go up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^I wasn't in the SAWG but I did go to the meetings about what was going to happen at Drew. The parent and PTA communities from Abingdon, Henry, Hoffman-Boston, Oakridge, and I think Randolph too were all participating from the start, because those schools could potentially send students to Drew. I frankly do not understand how there could have been any sort of commitment to draw from only Hoffman-Boston and Oakridge, because doing so doesn't make geographical or numeric sense.

Of course it makes sense to draw from SOME of Abingdon's boundary. But Columbia Forest? It's clear in the other direction, 2 miles away from Drew. They had to draw all kinds of crazy gerrymandered lines across multiple big streets to pull that neighborhood into Drew. Those kids will be getting bused past TWO schools that are closer to them, and have no connection whatsoever to Drew's neighborhood. That's no accident, it's APS purposefully sacrificing some students so that more well-off neighborhood kids can go to the highly-rated school of their choice.