Powerful Letter to the Arlington County School Board about Diversity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Some would accuse you of moving the goal posts. Several people have insisted it mirror county demographics.

I suspect that the latter group haven't thought about variations in demographic groups. Unless you're going to send 20-somethings and retirees back to school, you can't make school demographics mirror county demographics. But you can create better-balanced school demographics if that's actually something you value.

And yes, there may be some busing, but it's not overwhelming, and considering the quantity of whining that happens when a bus is taken away and the number of parents who drop their kids off, I am not persuaded that the better balance would really have a significant impact on the percentage of students on buses.

Then they are just making this up as they go along. I mean, talk about your uninformed opinions.

I'm also opposed to opposed to force busing. This is probably while they'll choose choice programs.

I travel back and forth between Yorktown and Wakefield a lot and it's not something I'd wish on a teen on a daily basis.

Who is the "they"? People chiming in on this or other message boards? It's not the people who are making informed policy arguments about balanced demographics. They are also not asking for forced busing, but you know this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why should students at the only high school that reflects the demographics of the county move to another high school? Especially when that high school is very diverse and high performing? Isn't the point that that model is working? What purpose would this serve?

Yet another post that shows that the true motives of the student and his supporters are to try and elevate W-L's status (just right) over Yorktown (too white) and Wakefield (too brown).

I have to say it's been well played, but I also have no doubt that the motives are not really so laudable. The W-L crowd occupies a uniquely sanctimonious spot in the county, alternating between talking up their "diversity" and talking up their real estate values.

A high school junior claims to care about balancing school populations across the county, but he's really concerned about real estate values?

I can't get over how hostile you are to a teenager. Why are you so quick to insult him? What did he ever do to you?

Don't respond the this poster. This is a crazy troll who is either a YHS parent or a real estate speculator with homes in the YHS zone who can't stand the idea that W-L is now the most sought-after school. I am not nor will I be a W-L parent. But everyone in my social circle, both those inbounds for Wakefield and those inbounds for Yorktown, would prefer W-L, and it's not for the IB per se. It's for the academic rigor AND diversity that W-L offers.

There you go again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The irony is that Yorktown HS most closely mirrors the demographics of Arlington County.

Interesting- I got on here to debunk this- but when I looked it up apparently the poster is correct...
The county is approximately- 64% white; 15% Latino; 8% African-American; 10% Asian.
https://arlingtonva.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2016/04/2016ProfilePagesFINAL.pdf

Yorktown is - 64% white; 15% Latino; 6% African-American; 8% Asian.
http://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Civil-Rights-Table-1-2016-11-30-web.pdf

However- if you just go with students enrolled in APS- it would be 47% white; 28% Latino; 10%African-American; 9% Asian.


I guess the households without Children really do not mirror the demographics of households with children.

I think it makes sense for the schools to reflect the demographics of the school system, not the overall population.

Some would accuse you of moving the goal posts. Several people have insisted it mirror county demographics.

No, people have been saying all along that the schools should try and match the demographics of APS -- someone noticed that Yorktown's racial profile is similar to the county overall and has been pushing that, but it doesn't make any sense since a) the real issue is economic diversity, and b) mathematically, the demographics of APS students are so different from the county overall that you cannot have all three schools look like the county. W-L does in fact have close to the same economic and racial diversity as APS a whole.

[Anonymous]

Much ado about nothing. Apart from Glebe, all major arteries in the county run east-west, so it's logical school assignments reflect that. Makes no sense at all to start chopping the school boundaries into vertical tranches just to appease some SJWs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The irony is that Yorktown HS most closely mirrors the demographics of Arlington County.

Interesting- I got on here to debunk this- but when I looked it up apparently the poster is correct...
The county is approximately- 64% white; 15% Latino; 8% African-American; 10% Asian.
https://arlingtonva.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2016/04/2016ProfilePagesFINAL.pdf

Yorktown is - 64% white; 15% Latino; 6% African-American; 8% Asian.
http://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Civil-Rights-Table-1-2016-11-30-web.pdf

However- if you just go with students enrolled in APS- it would be 47% white; 28% Latino; 10%African-American; 9% Asian.


I guess the households without Children really do not mirror the demographics of households with children.

Thanks for posting this. I think it's important to know.
I hadn't looked this up, but it makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Apart from Glebe, all major arteries in the county run east-west, so it's logical school assignments reflect that.

Spare yourself some mockery and never make that argument again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apart from Glebe, all major arteries in the county run east-west, so it's logical school assignments reflect that.

Spare yourself some mockery and never make that argument again.

Columbia Pike
Arlington
Wilson
Lee
Glebe

4 out of 5 run east west, so shove it, snookums.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apart from Glebe, all major arteries in the county run east-west, so it's logical school assignments reflect that.

Spare yourself some mockery and never make that argument again.

Columbia Pike
Arlington
Wilson
Lee
Glebe

4 out of 5 run east west, so shove it, snookums.

And it makes more sense to have our students avoiding the most heavily travelled roads during rush hour. We should not be adding to east-west traffic. Run some additional bus routes north-south onCarlin Springs, Mason, Glebe. Not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apart from Glebe, all major arteries in the county run east-west, so it's logical school assignments reflect that.

Spare yourself some mockery and never make that argument again.

Columbia Pike
Arlington
Wilson
Lee
Glebe

4 out of 5 run east west, so shove it, snookums.

And it makes more sense to have our students avoiding the most heavily travelled roads during rush hour. We should not be adding to east-west traffic. Run some additional bus routes north-south onCarlin Springs, Mason, Glebe. Not a big deal.

+1 exactly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The irony is that Yorktown HS most closely mirrors the demographics of Arlington County.

Interesting- I got on here to debunk this- but when I looked it up apparently the poster is correct...
The county is approximately- 64% white; 15% Latino; 8% African-American; 10% Asian.
https://arlingtonva.s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2016/04/2016ProfilePagesFINAL.pdf

Yorktown is - 64% white; 15% Latino; 6% African-American; 8% Asian.
http://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Civil-Rights-Table-1-2016-11-30-web.pdf

However- if you just go with students enrolled in APS- it would be 47% white; 28% Latino; 10%African-American; 9% Asian.


I guess the households without Children really do not mirror the demographics of households with children.

I think it makes sense for the schools to reflect the demographics of the school system, not the overall population.

Some would accuse you of moving the goal posts. Several people have insisted it mirror county demographics.

Um, but the goal posts ARE moving. The demographics of the county change over time, no?

[Anonymous]

When people say that demographics should reflect arlington, you should understand that to mean the school system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When people say that demographics should reflect arlington, you should understand that to mean the school system.

One thing is clear - the demographics will head south if every school is supposed to be the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people say that demographics should reflect arlington, you should understand that to mean the school system.

One thing is clear - the demographics will head south if every school is supposed to be the same.

How is that clear?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people say that demographics should reflect arlington, you should understand that to mean the school system.

One thing is clear - the demographics will head south if every school is supposed to be the same.

What does this mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people say that demographics should reflect arlington, you should understand that to mean the school system.

One thing is clear - the demographics will head south if every school is supposed to be the same.

What does this mean?

Not the PP, but I would interpret this to mean that wealthy white people will flee the public schools if they become more diverse. I don't think it would come to this. I think it's a lot of bluster, but I doubt any significant number of families would decamp for private or another jurisdiction. Most people would not have this option even if their instincts were to flee. Then over time they would realize that their children weren't negatively affected, and perhaps even positively affected, by increased diversity. And for those that would flee, I say, let them leave. Buh-bye. We need the seats anyway.