Discussion Boundary Map out for APS- elementary schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Walkers unite!

Keep Key at Key so I can keep walking there!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arlington hypes up a car free diet, some peoplereport that yes, they are living that way, and other people try to tear them down or snark about it. Arlington in a nutshell.

I think the reason people are getting up in arms is that you have some people saying that because they don’t own a car, their kids must be zoned to a certain place rather than another. And that’s just not correct and isn’t the main factor that APS should even consider, especially if it means that one schools would have 1,000 kids zoned to it and the adjacent school might have 500. It would be nice for life to remain as convenient for my family as it currently is, however, that’s not more important than needing to balance enrollment across the schools we have and the seats that are already built. Overcrowding really affects all kids negatively. My convenience or preference for a walkable/bike able route to school does not come before ensuring that all kids in APS have equitable resources and space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have two cars ourselves but know many families at our school who don’t have a car or just have one car. These families walk, bike, and bus around town.

Not sure why that’s so hard for the nasty posters to believe. There are tons of families who live in the high-density areas along the R-B corridor. And more buildings going up every year. Get your head out of your ass and you will notice these things.

Please, give me a break! Here we go again. Sorry, this is not NYC. You are right that there are many families with children that live along R-B corridor but wrong that they don't have cars - however, this is irrelevant to APS planning. THey have no requirement to make some special accomodations for people who do not own cars. They have a plan in place for these people - they are called school busses! I get that your Larlo is too precious to ride one but that's the plan for your child, you just don't like it. Not APS's problem. You're preference for walking doesn't require APS to bend over backwards to develop some special plan to accommodate you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walkers unite!

Keep Key at Key so I can keep walking there!

Sorry Charlie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arlington hypes up a car free diet, some peoplereport that yes, they are living that way, and other people try to tear them down or snark about it. Arlington in a nutshell.

In all the car free diet material I have never seen a kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have two cars ourselves but know many families at our school who don’t have a car or just have one car. These families walk, bike, and bus around town.

Not sure why that’s so hard for the nasty posters to believe. There are tons of families who live in the high-density areas along the R-B corridor. And more buildings going up every year. Get your head out of your ass and you will notice these things.

Please, give me a break! Here we go again. Sorry, this is not NYC. You are right that there are many families with children that live along R-B corridor but wrong that they don't have cars - however, this is irrelevant to APS planning. THey have no requirement to make some special accomodations for people who do not own cars. They have a plan in place for these people - they are called school busses! I get that your Larlo is too precious to ride one but that's the plan for your child, you just don't like it. Not APS's problem. You're preference for walking doesn't require APS to bend over backwards to develop some special plan to accommodate you.

How about spending less energy arguing over the benefits of each lifestyle and putting it into advocating for a new ES in the RB corridor rather than taking an established one away and displacing students at whatever school they move it to? These are existing schools, full of APS kids that still have to be educated somewhere and moved at taxpayers expense. I’m not sure how moving schools around fixes any of this apart from some people get to “walk” (which in truth means drive their cars) and some people don’t; it’s just changing the group that benefits based on who moved there most recently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington hypes up a car free diet, some peoplereport that yes, they are living that way, and other people try to tear them down or snark about it. Arlington in a nutshell.

I think the reason people are getting up in arms is that you have some people saying that because they don’t own a car, their kids must be zoned to a certain place rather than another. And that’s just not correct and isn’t the main factor that APS should even consider, especially if it means that one schools would have 1,000 kids zoned to it and the adjacent school might have 500. It would be nice for life to remain as convenient for my family as it currently is, however, that’s not more important than needing to balance enrollment across the schools we have and the seats that are already built. Overcrowding really affects all kids negatively. My convenience or preference for a walkable/bike able route to school does not come before ensuring that all kids in APS have equitable resources and space.

Of course, it's a factor APS should consider. And they do with their first guiding principle: "Adhere to walk zones as much as possible".

1. Put the schools near the kids.
2. Minimize the # of buses / transportation costs.

And FWIW the outcome of this process won't affect our family at all (5th grader), but it's good planning and good use of resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have two cars ourselves but know many families at our school who don’t have a car or just have one car. These families walk, bike, and bus around town.

Not sure why that’s so hard for the nasty posters to believe. There are tons of families who live in the high-density areas along the R-B corridor. And more buildings going up every year. Get your head out of your ass and you will notice these things.

Please, give me a break! Here we go again. Sorry, this is not NYC. You are right that there are many families with children that live along R-B corridor but wrong that they don't have cars - however, this is irrelevant to APS planning. THey have no requirement to make some special accomodations for people who do not own cars. They have a plan in place for these people - they are called school busses! I get that your Larlo is too precious to ride one but that's the plan for your child, you just don't like it. Not APS's problem. You're preference for walking doesn't require APS to bend over backwards to develop some special plan to accommodate you.

Nobody is asking for special accomodation. I think the post that started this tangent asked for :
-- reliable buses (is anyone actually against this?)
-- the ability to sign up for extended day at a closer school

I can see the argument against extended day, but is anyone really arguing against reliable buses? Or are we just arguing for the sake of arguing?
Lots of people don't have cars, lots of people do. Just because you cannot imagine living without a car doesn't mean other people don't live that way. There's a lot of beating up on a few posters who say they have kids and don't own a car. I'm not really sure what's motivating that, its not really productive, and isn't really relevant to this thread.
I don't think we want to intentionally zone people who currently walk to a school where they have to drive, especially in areas that have reduced parking and the county is encouraging people to use public transportation. That seems reasonable. You can argue that we don't have the infrastructure to support people being carless, or that its not something we should consider, but it doesn't help Arlington as a whole to argue that everyone with kids owns a car and must drive their kid to and from school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have two cars ourselves but know many families at our school who don’t have a car or just have one car. These families walk, bike, and bus around town.

Not sure why that’s so hard for the nasty posters to believe. There are tons of families who live in the high-density areas along the R-B corridor. And more buildings going up every year. Get your head out of your ass and you will notice these things.

Please, give me a break! Here we go again. Sorry, this is not NYC. You are right that there are many families with children that live along R-B corridor but wrong that they don't have cars - however, this is irrelevant to APS planning. THey have no requirement to make some special accomodations for people who do not own cars. They have a plan in place for these people - they are called school busses! I get that your Larlo is too precious to ride one but that's the plan for your child, you just don't like it. Not APS's problem. You're preference for walking doesn't require APS to bend over backwards to develop some special plan to accommodate you.

My Larlo is in 5th grade so we are not impacted by the outcome of this process. But we should absolutely maximize the number of kids who can walk to school.

Locate the neighborhood schools where the kids are.
Minimize transportation costs.

AKA make Key a neighborhood school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have two cars ourselves but know many families at our school who don’t have a car or just have one car. These families walk, bike, and bus around town.

Not sure why that’s so hard for the nasty posters to believe. There are tons of families who live in the high-density areas along the R-B corridor. And more buildings going up every year. Get your head out of your ass and you will notice these things.

Please, give me a break! Here we go again. Sorry, this is not NYC. You are right that there are many families with children that live along R-B corridor but wrong that they don't have cars - however, this is irrelevant to APS planning. THey have no requirement to make some special accomodations for people who do not own cars. They have a plan in place for these people - they are called school busses! I get that your Larlo is too precious to ride one but that's the plan for your child, you just don't like it. Not APS's problem. You're preference for walking doesn't require APS to bend over backwards to develop some special plan to accommodate you.

How about spending less energy arguing over the benefits of each lifestyle and putting it into advocating for a new ES in the RB corridor rather than taking an established one away and displacing students at whatever school they move it to? These are existing schools, full of APS kids that still have to be educated somewhere and moved at taxpayers expense. I’m not sure how moving schools around fixes any of this apart from some people get to “walk” (which in truth means drive their cars) and some people don’t; it’s just changing the group that benefits based on who moved there most recently.

If you think another new ES can be built before choice programs have to move, I don’t know what to say. “You’re delusional”, perhaps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have two cars ourselves but know many families at our school who don’t have a car or just have one car. These families walk, bike, and bus around town.

Not sure why that’s so hard for the nasty posters to believe. There are tons of families who live in the high-density areas along the R-B corridor. And more buildings going up every year. Get your head out of your ass and you will notice these things.

Please, give me a break! Here we go again. Sorry, this is not NYC. You are right that there are many families with children that live along R-B corridor but wrong that they don't have cars - however, this is irrelevant to APS planning. THey have no requirement to make some special accomodations for people who do not own cars. They have a plan in place for these people - they are called school busses! I get that your Larlo is too precious to ride one but that's the plan for your child, you just don't like it. Not APS's problem. You're preference for walking doesn't require APS to bend over backwards to develop some special plan to accommodate you.

How about spending less energy arguing over the benefits of each lifestyle and putting it into advocating for a new ES in the RB corridor rather than taking an established one away and displacing students at whatever school they move it to? These are existing schools, full of APS kids that still have to be educated somewhere and moved at taxpayers expense. I’m not sure how moving schools around fixes any of this apart from some people get to “walk” (which in truth means drive their cars) and some people don’t; it’s just changing the group that benefits based on who moved there most recently.

If you think another new ES can be built before choice programs have to move, I don’t know what to say. “You’re delusional”, perhaps.

Where in the world could they put an Elem? Wilson/HB site would have been good but that ship sailed. Dawson Terrace? Hillside Park (that’s a pretty useless park)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have two cars ourselves but know many families at our school who don’t have a car or just have one car. These families walk, bike, and bus around town.

Not sure why that’s so hard for the nasty posters to believe. There are tons of families who live in the high-density areas along the R-B corridor. And more buildings going up every year. Get your head out of your ass and you will notice these things.

Please, give me a break! Here we go again. Sorry, this is not NYC. You are right that there are many families with children that live along R-B corridor but wrong that they don't have cars - however, this is irrelevant to APS planning. THey have no requirement to make some special accomodations for people who do not own cars. They have a plan in place for these people - they are called school busses! I get that your Larlo is too precious to ride one but that's the plan for your child, you just don't like it. Not APS's problem. You're preference for walking doesn't require APS to bend over backwards to develop some special plan to accommodate you.

How about spending less energy arguing over the benefits of each lifestyle and putting it into advocating for a new ES in the RB corridor rather than taking an established one away and displacing students at whatever school they move it to? These are existing schools, full of APS kids that still have to be educated somewhere and moved at taxpayers expense. I’m not sure how moving schools around fixes any of this apart from some people get to “walk” (which in truth means drive their cars) and some people don’t; it’s just changing the group that benefits based on who moved there most recently.

If you think another new ES can be built before choice programs have to move, I don’t know what to say. “You’re delusional”, perhaps.

Where in the world could they put an Elem? Wilson/HB site would have been good but that ship sailed. Dawson Terrace? Hillside Park (that’s a pretty useless park)

The county board needs to return some rec centers to APS, convenient locations or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have two cars ourselves but know many families at our school who don’t have a car or just have one car. These families walk, bike, and bus around town.

Not sure why that’s so hard for the nasty posters to believe. There are tons of families who live in the high-density areas along the R-B corridor. And more buildings going up every year. Get your head out of your ass and you will notice these things.

Please, give me a break! Here we go again. Sorry, this is not NYC. You are right that there are many families with children that live along R-B corridor but wrong that they don't have cars - however, this is irrelevant to APS planning. THey have no requirement to make some special accomodations for people who do not own cars. They have a plan in place for these people - they are called school busses! I get that your Larlo is too precious to ride one but that's the plan for your child, you just don't like it. Not APS's problem. You're preference for walking doesn't require APS to bend over backwards to develop some special plan to accommodate you.

How about spending less energy arguing over the benefits of each lifestyle and putting it into advocating for a new ES in the RB corridor rather than taking an established one away and displacing students at whatever school they move it to? These are existing schools, full of APS kids that still have to be educated somewhere and moved at taxpayers expense. I’m not sure how moving schools around fixes any of this apart from some people get to “walk” (which in truth means drive their cars) and some people don’t; it’s just changing the group that benefits based on who moved there most recently.

If you think another new ES can be built before choice programs have to move, I don’t know what to say. “You’re delusional”, perhaps.

That’s so helpful, I wasn’t sure how to label myself. Take a look around Rosslyn. Gateway Park? Office space? Have any Rosslyn residents talked to the SB or CB about this? It sounds like the communities who’ve gotten a “neighborhood school” (although we all have one that might not be as close as we like) did exactly that, and first, rather than orchestrate a failed school swap to benefit themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have two cars ourselves but know many families at our school who don’t have a car or just have one car. These families walk, bike, and bus around town.

Not sure why that’s so hard for the nasty posters to believe. There are tons of families who live in the high-density areas along the R-B corridor. And more buildings going up every year. Get your head out of your ass and you will notice these things.

Please, give me a break! Here we go again. Sorry, this is not NYC. You are right that there are many families with children that live along R-B corridor but wrong that they don't have cars - however, this is irrelevant to APS planning. THey have no requirement to make some special accomodations for people who do not own cars. They have a plan in place for these people - they are called school busses! I get that your Larlo is too precious to ride one but that's the plan for your child, you just don't like it. Not APS's problem. You're preference for walking doesn't require APS to bend over backwards to develop some special plan to accommodate you.

How about spending less energy arguing over the benefits of each lifestyle and putting it into advocating for a new ES in the RB corridor rather than taking an established one away and displacing students at whatever school they move it to? These are existing schools, full of APS kids that still have to be educated somewhere and moved at taxpayers expense. I’m not sure how moving schools around fixes any of this apart from some people get to “walk” (which in truth means drive their cars) and some people don’t; it’s just changing the group that benefits based on who moved there most recently.

If you think another new ES can be built before choice programs have to move, I don’t know what to say. “You’re delusional”, perhaps.

Where in the world could they put an Elem? Wilson/HB site would have been good but that ship sailed. Dawson Terrace? Hillside Park (that’s a pretty useless park)

The county board needs to return some rec centers to APS, convenient locations or not.

Dawson Terrace could maybe work, Hillside Park is very small and, as the name implies, on a steep hill. The thing is, there's no logical reason to jump through hoops to keep immersion in that portion of the county other than the fact it's already there. Every single other factor other than inertia says it should move. If Key and ASFS are both neighborhood schools, is that enough seats to absorb all the kids who would no longer be choosing immersion for location?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have two cars ourselves but know many families at our school who don’t have a car or just have one car. These families walk, bike, and bus around town.

Not sure why that’s so hard for the nasty posters to believe. There are tons of families who live in the high-density areas along the R-B corridor. And more buildings going up every year. Get your head out of your ass and you will notice these things.

Please, give me a break! Here we go again. Sorry, this is not NYC. You are right that there are many families with children that live along R-B corridor but wrong that they don't have cars - however, this is irrelevant to APS planning. THey have no requirement to make some special accomodations for people who do not own cars. They have a plan in place for these people - they are called school busses! I get that your Larlo is too precious to ride one but that's the plan for your child, you just don't like it. Not APS's problem. You're preference for walking doesn't require APS to bend over backwards to develop some special plan to accommodate you.

How about spending less energy arguing over the benefits of each lifestyle and putting it into advocating for a new ES in the RB corridor rather than taking an established one away and displacing students at whatever school they move it to? These are existing schools, full of APS kids that still have to be educated somewhere and moved at taxpayers expense. I’m not sure how moving schools around fixes any of this apart from some people get to “walk” (which in truth means drive their cars) and some people don’t; it’s just changing the group that benefits based on who moved there most recently.

If you think another new ES can be built before choice programs have to move, I don’t know what to say. “You’re delusional”, perhaps.

That’s so helpful, I wasn’t sure how to label myself. Take a look around Rosslyn. Gateway Park? Office space? Have any Rosslyn residents talked to the SB or CB about this? It sounds like the communities who’ve gotten a “neighborhood school” (although we all have one that might not be as close as we like) did exactly that, and first, rather than orchestrate a failed school swap to benefit themselves.

Gateway Park is built over a highway tunnel and buying an office building is not going to happen. You may as well suggest we just annex Iwo Jima and the Netherlands Carillon to build a school.