Specifically on-topic contributors to the Drew boundary issue only please -

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t forget that the numbers will be off by the number of people South of the Pike that end up moving or going private. Since last night I’ve already heard from 2 families in Arlington Village that plan to move if rezoned from Henry/ Fleet to Drew.

Can anyone summarize what is going on with these PUs? Are they now going to Drew?

possibly. the Staff wants to leave Columbia Heights at Abingdon so that they have the flexibility to move them if needed at part of the 2020 boundary process. They also were directed by 4 out of 5 sb members to reduce the FARMS rate at Drew. So that means either moving those south of the Pike units to Drew or moving the Southern part of Fairlington to Drew.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t forget that the numbers will be off by the number of people South of the Pike that end up moving or going private. Since last night I’ve already heard from 2 families in Arlington Village that plan to move if rezoned from Henry/ Fleet to Drew.

Can anyone summarize what is going on with these PUs? Are they now going to Drew?

possibly. the Staff wants to leave Columbia Heights at Abingdon so that they have the flexibility to move them if needed at part of the 2020 boundary process. They also were directed by 4 out of 5 sb members to reduce the FARMS rate at Drew. So that means either moving those south of the Pike units to Drew or moving the Southern part of Fairlington to Drew.

You mean Columbia Forest. The PP was asking about Columbia Heights. PP, I don’t think anything has changed but signaling may be that those units should move to drew.

I think it’s a pretty unattractive thing to say that you’ll move if you get rezoned to a perceived inferior school (even though all of the units rezoned could contribute to a successful school community. But whatever. Those houses aren’t going to sit empty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t forget that the numbers will be off by the number of people South of the Pike that end up moving or going private. Since last night I’ve already heard from 2 families in Arlington Village that plan to move if rezoned from Henry/ Fleet to Drew.

Can anyone summarize what is going on with these PUs? Are they now going to Drew?

possibly. the Staff wants to leave Columbia Heights at Abingdon so that they have the flexibility to move them if needed at part of the 2020 boundary process. They also were directed by 4 out of 5 sb members to reduce the FARMS rate at Drew. So that means either moving those south of the Pike units to Drew or moving the Southern part of Fairlington to Drew.

You mean Columbia Forest. The PP was asking about Columbia Heights. PP, I don’t think anything has changed but signaling may be that those units should move to drew.

I think it’s a pretty unattractive thing to say that you’ll move if you get rezoned to a perceived inferior school (even though all of the units rezoned could contribute to a successful school community. But whatever. Those houses aren’t going to sit empty.

To be fair, it’s a complete unknown. It’s not attractive to say it, sure, but a lot of people are probably thinking it even if they don’t express it. Look at how many people in the Drew zone don’t want to go to their own neighborhood school or choose Montessori. It’s no different and they don’t seem to be chastised.

[Anonymous]

Re: the above, Drew as it currently exists is a small and neglected program in a building dominated by Montessori. I’m not saying you’re wrong about how parents in the Drew zone evaluate their options, but current Drew is a tough sell for reasons in addition to the low-income and test scores issues. I can attest that this was something that factored into my thought process.

[Anonymous]

Look at Douglas Park. They don’t send their kids to Randolph. They move in before kids, stay until K and have traditionally choiced out without much problem. When they can’t choice out they sell the house or go private.
Families rezoned from Henry will do the same, if they aren’t given a strong guarantee Drew will be 47% FARMs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:O'Grady would like a reduced FARMS rate at Randolph that doesn't disrupt the walkability of Randolph.

That was a revision of her initial comments after listening to Talento opine about the close, comfortable community at Randolph and breaking it up if you try to reduce the FRL by 10% points. Barbara also clarified that she had only said Drew - but her initial comments did not, IMO, clearly state she was only interested in Drew.

I don't know how they expect to fix it for Drew without addressing the other school's boundaries. They should have at least stipulated their clarification to focus on Drew with "while not exacerbating it Randolph or by more than a %age point or two at Barcroft, Abingdon, and H-B"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:4 want a reduction of FARMS at Drew (Van Doren is silent).

My listening has been periodically interrupted, I’d actually started to wonder if she was there because I hadn’t heard her talk until just now. Any sense of what her reluctance is?

She didn't make a single comment or ask a single question the whole time - you didn't miss anything from her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re: the above, Drew as it currently exists is a small and neglected program in a building dominated by Montessori. I’m not saying you’re wrong about how parents in the Drew zone evaluate their options, but current Drew is a tough sell for reasons in addition to the low-income and test scores issues. I can attest that this was something that factored into my thought process.

Plus, the Montessori option has been right there in their neighborhood school. So why not avail yourself of a guaranteed seat in the school across the street or a few blocks away when you'd be going to that school anyway?

[Anonymous]

Talento is making this personal, because she feels microagressed by Reid Goldstein. Randolph elementary school is in Douglas Park. RG literally ran for school board for this moment. This is his chance to help fix the demographics of Randolph (he lives in DOUGLAS PARK). Talento is taking this opportunity to stick it to Goldstein.
It very disappointing and disheartening to witness.

[Anonymous]

Arlington Village has always been considered starter homes until you have kids the move to N Arlington or Fairfax. As Henry became a better school people decided to stay for Henry. If you zone them out people will move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:4 want a reduction of FARMS at Drew (Van Doren is silent).

My listening has been periodically interrupted, I’d actually started to wonder if she was there because I hadn’t heard her talk until just now. Any sense of what her reluctance is?

She didn't make a single comment or ask a single question the whole time - you didn't miss anything from her.

Loud a clear
White families should have that option to buy in segregated school
Zones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re: the above, Drew as it currently exists is a small and neglected program in a building dominated by Montessori. I’m not saying you’re wrong about how parents in the Drew zone evaluate their options, but current Drew is a tough sell for reasons in addition to the low-income and test scores issues. I can attest that this was something that factored into my thought process.

And simply zoning a few PUs currently zoned to a higher-performing school isn’t going to make it any less of a tough sell. For anyone. If APS wants buy in they’ll have to do a lot better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arlington Village has always been considered starter homes until you have kids the move to N Arlington or Fairfax. As Henry became a better school people decided to stay for Henry. If you zone them out people will move.

Yes, absolutely. I can attest to this.

[Anonymous]

The games being played by staff with the new FRL numbers are shocking. I always thought they were honest brokers. If they keep predicting equal numbers of transfers across these schools, they are going to have major capacity issues AND sky high FRL numbers. Take Barcroft. Half of the residents of that school transfer out. Not so at Henry. The capacity predictions will not be accurate if these assumptions are made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arlington Village has always been considered starter homes until you have kids the move to N Arlington or Fairfax. As Henry became a better school people decided to stay for Henry. If you zone them out people will move.

This has always been the case. Same with Fairlington, same with Douglas park etc etc...
I do think families don’t want to leave Arlington now, and the message being sent from the CB and SB was ... basically F off. Stay if you want, but we have no obligation to you. We picked the winners and losers 20 years ago. The wealthy packing themselves into north Arlington and the extremely impoverished in South Arlington.
If you guys ( middle class) puss out on this fight, it will be decades for a course correction.
47% was stated by an SB member. That’s unbelievable ( and likely gonna get RG primaried out) You could have a Goldstein, O’Grady, and Babs coalition to actually make that happen.
Would the PU’s zoned Drew feel better if they knew the school was starting out with better demographics and a fantastic principal?
Could the young families of some of these neighbors be persuaded to send their kids if they knew the demographics were under 50?
Save the choice programs for Arlington middle class kids with special needs needs and more farms kids ( also making the neighborhood south Arlington schools stronger)
This is your chance. Nut up.