APS School Board race

Anonymous
Are there only three candidates?

Miranda and Erin are interchangeable. I don't like either of them at first glance. More of the same.

The child looks better and better. I don't care if he's not an APS parent. I care if he understands the system.
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jsteele wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Jeff/Admin: Can you explain why posts in this thread keep getting deleted if they mention APE?


There is a post directly above yours that mentions APE that did not get deleted. Posts are getting deleted for that reason. They are getting deleted for making false statements.


This group, which a SB candidate led for years, was an open schools group in Arlington. They were abusive online and in school board meetings. Some of their most aggressive, vocal members were anti-maskers, anti-CRT, pro-voucher. They were aligned with open schools groups out in FCPS and LCPS. Including Ian Prior, PDE (Koch bro), etc.



This is really really really offensive. To say APE - which has an EXTREMELY public website and biweekly newsletter - is anti-CRT or pro-voucher or supported by Koch brothers or Ian Prior is complete lies. You shouldn't be allowed to defame like this on a public website. Show us ANY proof of anti-CRT or pro-voucher or supported by Koch or aligned with Ian Prior. Literally anything.

Here's an idea - some people thought kids should be in school sooner than you did, apparently. That doesn't make them bigots.

APE website: www.arlingtonparentsforeducation.org


DP. Not an APE member and don't know who the members are. I agree with PP. However, while APE's work may be "extremely public," I don't understand why they are so anonymous. Those opinion pieces on various topics supposedly written by concerned parents or teachers are NEVER SIGNED. I can understand MAYBE a teacher being hesitant to have their name associated with a criticism of APS due to job concerns. But there is no reason for a parent to not sign their name to their own opinion piece. This just casts an air of secrecy and doubt: are these really pieces written by different concerned teachers and parents, or are they written by the same one or few members? APE proclaims its transparency - then OWN it and sign your names!


+1

I never took them seriously because the opinions were anonymous. And blatantly wrong at times. On some topics it was if they just started paying attention and had no history or understanding of the issues.

There is a reason why they don’t want you to know who they are. Because they know they’d lose all credibility.


It's funny how guilt-by-association only runs one way. Mary Kadera was pretty clearly aligned with "Smart Restart". And yet no one on this board thinks she has to answer for every Smart Restart acolyte who called people they disagreed with racist granny-killers. Or the teachers who drove around with child-sized coffins on their cars to protest the idea of re-opening schools. Or the people who were quite clearly using an obsession with ventilation statistics as an alternative to therapy and anxiety meds.

And that's because it's obviously dumb.

Miranda Turner, on the other hand, must answer for every single person who criticized APS leadership from March 2020 to February 2022. And that's not dumb, according to these people, because if you disagree with them you are a racist cryptofascist Trump supporter who wants to turn public schools into a cross between a Kid Rock concert and the Handmaid's tale.

I guess what I'm saying is self-reflection can be hard for some people.



The dumbest thing Smart Restart did was publicly doxx an APE member. IIRC, Kadera had to distance themselves from that group.

Otherwise one of them would be running for school board too. Miranda was wise to stay above it all.

I do hope there are more people running though because this seems like the bottom of the barrel in terms of candidates. Three unknowns and one who already lost once. Yay for APS. 🙄



Was that the FOIA of the FOIA?


Yup! How can anyone ever forget that! So dumb. APS musta been rolling their eyes so hard.

It’s too bad tho. They did have some good advocacy going at the time. They lost credibility instead.


That was funny, but that wasn’t really “doxxing”.

Anyway, they aren’t a lobbying group pushing a school board candidate. They are irrelevant.


Someone on here is obsessed with Smart Restart and Ventilation Lady and making up fake stuff about them. Still. It's sad and disturbing. This thread has nothing to do with a group that advocated for Covid safety 2 years go.


I just wish it didn't happen. I agree that it brought them down more than a few pegs. Any of them are more qualified than who's running now, no matter how you feel about them.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Are there only three candidates?

Miranda and Erin are interchangeable. I don't like either of them at first glance. More of the same.

The child looks better and better. I don't care if he's not an APS parent. I care if he understands the system.


This is obviously a plant from his campaign.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Are there only three candidates?

Miranda and Erin are interchangeable. I don't like either of them at first glance. More of the same.

The child looks better and better. I don't care if he's not an APS parent. I care if he understands the system.


This is obviously a plant from his campaign.


All these conspiracy theories... No. I'm not a plant. I don't know him. I don't know the others either. And that's concerning given that a school board member plays a very important role in a community.

I should know their names. But I don't. I should have worked with them volunteer-wise for years and know exactly where they stand. But I don't.

I'm not voting for Miranda. Too divisive. Erin is inexperienced too. The only qualification I see is that she is actually an APS parent. But so are all of us. So it leaves Antonio. I hope he's got some chops.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Are there only three candidates?

Miranda and Erin are interchangeable. I don't like either of them at first glance. More of the same.

The child looks better and better. I don't care if he's not an APS parent. I care if he understands the system.


LOL. Okay, Angelo.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Are there only three candidates?

Miranda and Erin are interchangeable. I don't like either of them at first glance. More of the same.

The child looks better and better. I don't care if he's not an APS parent. I care if he understands the system.


This is obviously a plant from his campaign.


All these conspiracy theories... No. I'm not a plant. I don't know him. I don't know the others either. And that's concerning given that a school board member plays a very important role in a community.

I should know their names. But I don't. I should have worked with them volunteer-wise for years and know exactly where they stand. But I don't.

I'm not voting for Miranda. Too divisive. Erin is inexperienced too. The only qualification I see is that she is actually an APS parent. But so are all of us. So it leaves Antonio. I hope he's got some chops.


OK, if you are a real person I think you are being ridiculous. Arlington isn't huge, but it's big enough that it's unreasonable to expect to know everyone. And if you think he is qualified based on his tweet, I thought it was pretty pathetic. (I'm the one who looked up the actual staffing numbers.)

I don't know any of them directly, though I've met Miranda and I know people who know her, so that's the closest I have to a connection. I do know she's spent a lot of time the last few years paying close attention and asking good questions. Which, IMO, is basically what you want a school board member to do.

Establishment candiates, like this 22 year old, will not do that. They are party line all the way. This kid clearly just wants to be in politics. That does not get my vote.
Anonymous
I hope some independents run. I can't vote for any of them. ACDC is such a disappointment. They couldn't find one qualified person.
Anonymous
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Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Are there only three candidates?

Miranda and Erin are interchangeable. I don't like either of them at first glance. More of the same.

The child looks better and better. I don't care if he's not an APS parent. I care if he understands the system.


This is obviously a plant from his campaign.


All these conspiracy theories... No. I'm not a plant. I don't know him. I don't know the others either. And that's concerning given that a school board member plays a very important role in a community.

I should know their names. But I don't. I should have worked with them volunteer-wise for years and know exactly where they stand. But I don't.

I'm not voting for Miranda. Too divisive. Erin is inexperienced too. The only qualification I see is that she is actually an APS parent. But so are all of us. So it leaves Antonio. I hope he's got some chops.


OK, if you are a real person I think you are being ridiculous. Arlington isn't huge, but it's big enough that it's unreasonable to expect to know everyone. And if you think he is qualified based on his tweet, I thought it was pretty pathetic. (I'm the one who looked up the actual staffing numbers.)

I don't know any of them directly, though I've met Miranda and I know people who know her, so that's the closest I have to a connection. I do know she's spent a lot of time the last few years paying close attention and asking good questions. Which, IMO, is basically what you want a school board member to do.

Establishment candiates, like this 22 year old, will not do that. They are party line all the way. This kid clearly just wants to be in politics. That does not get my vote.



DP. Arlington is small. I agree that you should be able to know your candidates, at least by name because they have been in the system for years. I had actually heard of Mary was before she was on the ballot. Even Bethany Sutton. They have real experience not just with their school communities but with Syphax.

We should demand qualified candidates and ACDC should vet them carefully. None of these stock meet the bar. Sad.

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Anonymous wrote:I know her, although not well. I have mixed feelings on her. Her kids are nice, which in general speaks highly of a parent. She is a solid Key volunteer. She is EXTREMELY committed to the 'keep Key on Key' movement, anyone who feels differently must have nefarious motives or be stupid. She can be kind of standoffish. I don't know who the other candidates are.


That's the way Mary Kadera was about McKinley disappearing. Didn't stop her from getting on the Board.


That is true up to a point. Mary K was McKinley PTA president at the time- and she represented the McKinley viewpoint- Mckinley was more caught of guard then Key, and there were other options- moving ats to mcKinley was not the only viable option.
In contrast- Erin was part of the keep key on key movement for years. My memory on this issue goes back a long time- multiple times aps planning staff tried to engage the Key community about the need to move and get them to work collaboratively on a location. It was very clear for a long time that they needed the Key building as a neighborhood school. Erin was part of, if not the leader of, a group of parents who treated the staff with contempt and mocked them for even trying to raise the idea of a move. She absolutely refused to consider the validity of any of the data the staff presented about the need for a neighborhood school at the Key site, and she was extremely dismissive of any Key parent trying to suggest that we should be open to a new location. She was absolutely caught up in groupthink about it- talking to that group of parents was like talking to a buzz saw.


It’s fun to revisit some of that rhetoric about how a move would destroy the program. As far as I know everything move related has actually been totally fine and the effed up thing we should have been worried about (Covid) was a total surprise.


I didn't say the community a
+1

Correct. Everything Erin & team said would happen didn't come to frution. A majority of Key parents have actually moved on, it's just a small group that can't get over it. This group isn't respected within APS circles or the larger Immersion community (parents, staff, admins, etc).


I’m a Key parent who is definitely over it, and yes, it’s mostly been fine… but the move did serve to shrink the immersion program, because Key previously had 6 K classes but can only fit 4 in the new building. So that’s one concern that did come true— fewer kids get to start immersion.


Going down to 4 K classes wasn't a product of the move. That had been long talked about and advocated for by immersion admins for years. Erin and "keep Key on Key" advocates did the Key community a disservice by linking the 2 issues. There is another whole thread on this site that talks about the quality of instruction at Key and how it needs to be improved. It's very hard to know each student by name, strength and need in an elementary school with over 700 students. Especially given the high number of SPED students and all immersion students are language learners.


As a Key parent for 8+ years, no…. The class reduction was due to the move. Claremont had advocated for fewer students/classes due to overcrowding, but Key never did (at least not that I ever heard about).


Do you trust that your principal at Key would advocate for what is best for the school even if parents don't see the need when it comes to school size? Key parent leaders didn't foster an environment that allowed for its admins or APS to explain why reducing the number of K classes was needed or best.

From my understanding, there isn't a long waiting list of Spanish Ks that haven't been able to get into Key the last 2 years.

Claremont did advocate to going down to 4 K classes but also to increase the number of VPI classes from 2 to 4. This helps to improve outcomes for EL students by providing them with bilingual early childhood education and increase access to the immersion program for the students that need it the most. Key PTA could have and should have advocated for the same, but again, they decided to fight APS instead of partnering with them. They also created in environment that didn't allow for Ms. Perdomo to openly share what she thinks might have been best for Key.

As a key parent of 8 years have you ever heard your principal or anyone from APS say the reason Key needed 4 K was because of the move? Or have you only heard that from parents and teachers?



I definitely remember Marjorie Myers, the previous principal, saying she wanted to drop back down to 4 kindergartens b/c she was concerned about how overcrowded Key was becoming. She was forcefully rebuked by Key parents b/c they were concerned this would give fodder to the idea of moving Key, an idea that was starting to percolate. I do hold the 'take no prisoners' advocacy against Erin. She was not alone in this- but those Key parents were not thinking of what was best for immersion long term, and they definitely were not thinking of what was best for the school system as a whole. They were focused on what was best for them personally- and they trumped up a lot of arguments to support their position, and got a lot of people unnecessarily fired up and angry, with some outright lies. I understand the 'passionate views on both sides' perspective, but what she displayed was an unwillingness to look at data and a lot of willingness to manipulate facts to match an agenda. Those are not qualities I look for in a school board member. I would like her to at least answer the question of what she has learned from that, and looking at it now, how would she approach the situation differently both as an advocate and as a school board member.


+1 - All of this!

Erin’s platform and the Key PTA leadership feel parents know more than their principal and other highly skilled professionals in APS. It came up in their move, in reducing the number of Kindergarten classes, the Immersion task force, etc. This is a pattern and it’s problematic. From Erin’s website: “Drive central office staff to respect APS committee recommendations”. Why are we paying for staff if parents know more than teachers, principals and admins?



the whole advisory committee thing in APS is kind of problematic- and I say this as a former advisory committee member. I do get concerned when I hear pushing for the advisory committees to be 'respected' more. They already get a great deal of 'respect', air time with the school board, and aps staff focus. They don't, and absolutely should not, always get their recommendations adopted. Recognize that ANYONE can join an advisory committee. It doesn't mean that you have any level of expertise, it doesn't mean that you have a system wide view of things- it simply means that you are willing to show up for meetings. Most of the committees are tiny. There is little to no 'vetting' of the recommendations. Some of them are super thoughtful, and have been extremely helpful to APS- eg the English Language Arts committee that pushed back for years on the lucy caulkins curriculum and continued to bring the need for phonics based instruction, and research surrounding that, up.
Less useful is the also extraordinary common recommendation to add additional central office staff e.g. 'immersion specialist.' or like most recently from the science advisory committee add a 'science specialist' and science 'coaches' to the elementary schools. https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/November-2022_Science-Advisory-Committee-Recommendation-1.pdf


As someone who was also on a committee many, many years ago, I agree with all of this. The concept is overall problematic to begin with.


Yep. Advisory committees keep busybody parents busy, and contained. To the degree they are used, it’s to push syphax ideas to parents to drum up support.


I used to be on the Early Childhood Development committee and that wasn't really the way it worked when we were there. For a while we were trying to slow APS's roll on iPad use with young children, get the administration to track time usage for parents, examine the effectiveness of the reading program, etc. There was pushback from the administration against some of the things we were recommending but we still recommended them. It didn't feel like syphax puppet mechanism but ymmv. Not sure if that's still the way things work.
Anonymous
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Anonymous wrote:I rarely agree with anything I read on these threads, but I agree with the poster who said having or having had kids in the school system should be an eligibility requirement. I can’t believe the Arlington democrats elevated a candidate (CDT) so disconnected from both Arlington and the general experience of having a kid enrolled in our schools. I understand why they don’t want to relinquish the power they hold with the caucus, but I do resent it.


A month or two ago during a board meeting CDT said she was walking around a school recently and came across a classroom doing a lesson on Japanese internment. And the kids were on their iPads switching between “taking notes” and watching the World Cup. She said, and I’m not kidding, this was great and a good use of classroom technology, because “that’s how work gets done today”. I thought I was hallucinating. I showed it to my wife and her jaw dropped. But it barely merited mention on AEM the next day. I guess that’s what passes for leadership in Arlington.


so why didn't you raise this on AEM yourself? who else was supposed to comment on it?


In my experience there is a narrow range of acceptable opinion on AEM, and criticizing a school board member for being too sanguine on educational technology is exactly the sort of thing that gets you dog-piled. What’s more, if CDT had made an intelligent, nuanced point then posting about it might invite a more civil discussion, but because her comment was so boneheaded there’s no real substantive way to defend it. Lacking any substantive way to defend the comment, the AEM crowd will most likely go into tribal “defense of the indefensible” mode, meaning character attacks, condescending explanations about what she ACTUALLY meant, and sly (or even overt) insinuations of racism.

No thanks. I’ll continue reading AEM silently just to keep my finger on the pulse of the crazy.


ok but then you made a critical comment bemoaning the fact that no one raised this on AEM. You can't have it both ways.
Anonymous
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Anonymous wrote:Pretty good budget analysis from the 22 year old. Maybe he is a real candidate after all.
https://www.arlnow.com/2023/02/27/aps-highlights-spending-on-staff-security-and-student-health-in-proposed-budget-for-next-school-year/?fbclid=IwAR2xF7IaNHFYABbYgu1UmDXtAtrEVEgdtLttpc4tiVsJH8y0F3XGkaRjtc8


Um, not really. The use of the phrase "if it saves one life" is a pretty clear marker of superficial thinking. Even if I agree we need more SACs, the comparison with SSCs is specious. Note he doesn't come out and say we should hire fewer security staff, because that would put him in a position to be criticized in the future. And if that's not the tradeoff he's proposing, why make the comparison?

On Syphax headcount, "It has been a sentiment among some"...translation: I have no opinion on this and am too lazy to do my own research before putting out a statement.

His methodology for Syphax headcount is flawed as well. +3FTEs, but out of how many? +91 student-facing FTEs, but out of how many? It's a numerator with no denominator. And so what if growth in Syphax is low this year? What if it's already bloated?

This guy is the candidate of Syphax and the status quo. His statements on the budget are "this is mostly good, it responds to criticisms I don't think are valid, it could be better, but only in non-specific ways fueled by magical thinking." He sees his school board campaign as basically an extension of his involvement with Democratic Party politics, and so his goal is going to be to please the right constituencies just enough to get elected, don't rock the boat once he gets there, and then use it as a springboard to the next thing.


BINGO. We do not need another CDT. Having (or had) kids in the system should be a minimum requirement.


Normally I agree with you but having someone so fresh out of high school himself could be interesting. How many of us had to sit through active shooter drills? Or had contemporaries OD on fentanyl?

I don't know why people are criticizing his tweet about saving one life. How many more kids' lives do you think we should lose?


Vote for him if you want, but to my mind, perspective isn’t the same as wisdom, talent, or good judgment. Typically one demonstrates these things by accumulating experiences and accomplishments that speak to the requirements of the job. I’m not saying it’s impossible to do that by age 22, but it’s naturally more difficult.


what's objectionable to you about saving the life of a student? why don't you want that too?


DP - it makes you sound like Maude Flanders screaming “won’t somebody think of the children??” It’s an insipid thought-terminating cliche that most people recognize to be meaningless upon becoming adults. A zero MPH speed limit would save lives, including children’s lives, but no one thinks that’s worth it. I’m the tweets he doesn’t actually know that SACs save lives (though it seems a safe assumption), but how many? Is that the most cost-effective way of saving lives, or could more lives be saved by putting the same amount of money somewhere else? He doesn’t know, and more importantly he doesn’t care because he’s more interested in adopting an emotionally satisfying pose. It’s basically the opposite of the kind of budgetary thinking we need from SB members.


I'm an adult and I don't think saving a child's life is meaningless at all. I'm sad that you do. So you think that SACs save lives and he does not. How do you know you are right? Where is the data to show their efficacy? I guess you don't see that there are other ways to address the issues that are probably more effective.

I don't know this kid but he seems to know more about this stuff than you do.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to research Erin as I've never heard of her and everyone I ask has never heard of her except a few Key people. I consider myself pretty involved and informed in County-wide APS matters. Does she have any experience other than Key PTA and a diversity committee at DHMS?


Erin was the Board President at my child's Montessori preschool, which was set us as a parent co-operative. In March/April 2019, the assistant teachers raised concerns with the Board and school administration about one of the classroom teachers, including that the teacher routinely screamed at children and used demeaning language when speaking to them. The allegations came up as part of a 360 review of the school that was undertaken by the Board. Neither the existence of the review or its results were shared with parents, even though in a message to staff Erin referred to the results as shocking. The excuse of the Board (specifically, Erin) was that they conducted an internal investigation and were advised by HR professionals and an employment lawyer. They decided that the allegations were just the actions of one disgruntled employee and so they didn't notify families in the classroom that there were allegations of aggressive and abusive behavior by the teacher. We continued to send our child to this school for months in ignorance of this situation.

Six months later, the teaching assistants notified parents directly by sending a letter to us in the mail. In response to parents' concerns, Erin dismissed the allegations as fabrications. A week later, Virginia DSS did an investigation and spoke to current and former staff, and found the allegations were corroborated by four staff members. Specifically, the DSS investigation report states:

"Based on multiple staff interviews, the center failed to ensure that staff were not making verbal remarks, which were demeaning to the children. Evidence: Staff member #1 routinely yelled and made demeaning remarks to the children. Staff member #1 was observed and overheard speaking inappropriately to children. Screaming that "we speak English here," to a visibly upset child. Staff members #2, #4, #7 and #8 reported this behavior to Staff member #3."

At this point, the school dismissed the teacher. They continued to act as though this was a sad thing that was happening to the school and the Board (Erin) offered no apology or acknowledgment of shortcomings to parents. Erin's own children were in the other teacher's classroom and so her family was not directly affected by the aggressive teacher's actions.

Based on recent safety incidents at various APS schools, parents and the community have asked for greater transparency as incidents occur and clearer action plans to address threats. That was not what we received when Erin was the leader of our preschool. I would never support Erin for the APS School Board.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Are there only three candidates?

Miranda and Erin are interchangeable. I don't like either of them at first glance. More of the same.

The child looks better and better. I don't care if he's not an APS parent. I care if he understands the system.


hahaha, love that you call him a child in one sentence and then imply that he understands "the system."
Anonymous
To paraphrase Joe Biden, don't compare him to the almighty, compare him to his opponent(s). By that measure, Angelo looks very good!
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Are there only three candidates?

Miranda and Erin are interchangeable. I don't like either of them at first glance. More of the same.

The child looks better and better. I don't care if he's not an APS parent. I care if he understands the system.


hahaha, love that you call him a child in one sentence and then imply that he understands "the system."
'

it wasn't my post but i think my children understand the system better than many adults

and would be better school board members too!
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