8/27 APS Work Session—Elementary Boundaries

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the the dearth of Spanish-speaker kindergarten apps to Key the last couple of years really undermined the argument that its current location is optimal. Even putting aside the neighborhood need for its current building, something needs to be done to increase interest from that community if APS insists on sticking to its current model.

+1 Given the wait list from English-speaking families will they at some point reassess the dual immersion approach? There are plenty of other immersion programs that don't require a balance of English speakers and speakers of the target language (e.g. French immersion and Chinese immersion elementary schools)

They should move it first rather than experiment with program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the the dearth of Spanish-speaker kindergarten apps to Key the last couple of years really undermined the argument that its current location is optimal. Even putting aside the neighborhood need for its current building, something needs to be done to increase interest from that community if APS insists on sticking to its current model.

Kind of embarrassing for the parents who were out in front saying it was racist/a civil rights violation to suggest moving the program. I believe they have pivoted to blaming APS for not doing outreach, despite having placed an article in the Washington Post that said the immersion program is a bedrock that Spanish speaking families hear about through word of mouth and specifically seek out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the the dearth of Spanish-speaker kindergarten apps to Key the last couple of years really undermined the argument that its current location is optimal. Even putting aside the neighborhood need for its current building, something needs to be done to increase interest from that community if APS insists on sticking to its current model.

+1 Given the wait list from English-speaking families will they at some point reassess the dual immersion approach? There are plenty of other immersion programs that don't require a balance of English speakers and speakers of the target language (e.g. French immersion and Chinese immersion elementary schools)

APS's principle reason for having immersion is to close the achievement gap for native Spanish speakers. They are not going to change the model b/c that would not further the closing the achievement gap goal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish APS would release a dataset so that interested parents could tinker with drawing boundaries. There are a lot of smart people in Arlington. It would be interesting to see actual data-based solutions from community members that create boundaries and show the demographics at schools. This is all interesting speculation, but without the data, none of us can really figure out what might work. I am confident better solutions exist, and I also think APS is undermanned right now to find them. Let the community work on this.

FYI, they released data (a lot incorrect) in the South Arlington boundary process. A lot of smart people analyzed the data (and corrected the incorrect data) and presented the best options based on their stated criteria/data. They basically said “well, we look at the data and criteria but ultimately, we do what we want.”

They also did something like what you are describing with a high school boundary process last year. It was a disaster. People picked really inefficient or unpalatable boundaries based off of their personal interests. People got even angrier than they did last fall and seemed even more racist. It wasn't pretty, the lesson learned was not to give the public that much say going forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish APS would release a dataset so that interested parents could tinker with drawing boundaries. There are a lot of smart people in Arlington. It would be interesting to see actual data-based solutions from community members that create boundaries and show the demographics at schools. This is all interesting speculation, but without the data, none of us can really figure out what might work. I am confident better solutions exist, and I also think APS is undermanned right now to find them. Let the community work on this.

FYI, they released data (a lot incorrect) in the South Arlington boundary process. A lot of smart people analyzed the data (and corrected the incorrect data) and presented the best options based on their stated criteria/data. They basically said “well, we look at the data and criteria but ultimately, we do what we want.”

They also did something like what you are describing with a high school boundary process last year. It was a disaster. People picked really inefficient or unpalatable boundaries based off of their personal interests. People got even angrier than they did last fall and seemed even more racist. It wasn't pretty, the lesson learned was not to give the public that much say going forward.

Not to mention that APS’s community engagement adds a huge amount to construction costs. The Arlington Way is expensive.
https://www.apsva.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/APS-Cost-Comparison-R6-Final.pdf

[Anonymous]

Yeah re: construction costs being multiplied by “community engagement.” You should seen the drama right now in Westover over the Reed “landscaping.” Talk about people who don’t know how to quit when they’re ahead. You got your super special all-neighborhood walker school. And now you want your landscaping specs met too. Entitlement at its finest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah re: construction costs being multiplied by “community engagement.” You should seen the drama right now in Westover over the Reed “landscaping.” Talk about people who don’t know how to quit when they’re ahead. You got your super special all-neighborhood walker school. And now you want your landscaping specs met too. Entitlement at its finest.

I used to live in Westover. We had neighbors who wanted a say every time someone on our street was having tree work done. There’s a heady stew of leftist busybodies and bored retirees there. Doubtful that it’s mostly current APS parents who are in a tizzy over landscaping.

[Anonymous]

I'm in Westover and am floored by the half dozen senior citizens who are obsessed with literally four trees. They are calling to put the project on hold, after having started to pay attention to a years-long process literally a week ago. They don't speak for me and are definitely the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah re: construction costs being multiplied by “community engagement.” You should seen the drama right now in Westover over the Reed “landscaping.” Talk about people who don’t know how to quit when they’re ahead. You got your super special all-neighborhood walker school. And now you want your landscaping specs met too. Entitlement at its finest.

FYI: The person leading that charge was not a member of the BLPC or the PFRC. There were plenty of times to make your opinions heard up un til this point and she didn't do it then. She is working on behalf of one specific neighbor and does NOT IN ANYWAY represent the people of Westover.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in Westover and am floored by the half dozen senior citizens who are obsessed with literally four trees. They are calling to put the project on hold, after having started to pay attention to a years-long process literally a week ago. They don't speak for me and are definitely the problem.

Yes. They do not represent the neighborhood or the community. They are all older busybodies and seem to forget we are building a school, not a park. I was at the meeting for awhile and, although I came in late, I still got the just of what was going on. APS is actually planting more trees than are required by the county, but that isn't good enough. And, of course, other old people who paid no attention until now are all too happy to get riled up. I can't wait until the board the approves the design so they can focus their late-to-the-party-have-no-idea-how-the-process-worked activism on something else.

[Anonymous]

Yeah. Wait til they find out about the bus traffic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in Westover and am floored by the half dozen senior citizens who are obsessed with literally four trees. They are calling to put the project on hold, after having started to pay attention to a years-long process literally a week ago. They don't speak for me and are definitely the problem.

Yes. They do not represent the neighborhood or the community. They are all older busybodies and seem to forget we are building a school, not a park. I was at the meeting for awhile and, although I came in late, I still got the just of what was going on. APS is actually planting more trees than are required by the county, but that isn't good enough. And, of course, other old people who paid no attention until now are all too happy to get riled up. I can't wait until the board the approves the design so they can focus their late-to-the-party-have-no-idea-how-the-process-worked activism on something else.

haha - I live near the Safeway in Bluemont (the one off Wilson and George Mason) and it's the same there. NIMBYs killed a new Safeway because they wouldn't allow ANYthing to go on that site. No negotiations. So... we live with a subpar grocery store where the refrigeration goes out once a month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in Westover and am floored by the half dozen senior citizens who are obsessed with literally four trees. They are calling to put the project on hold, after having started to pay attention to a years-long process literally a week ago. They don't speak for me and are definitely the problem.

Yes. They do not represent the neighborhood or the community. They are all older busybodies and seem to forget we are building a school, not a park. I was at the meeting for awhile and, although I came in late, I still got the just of what was going on. APS is actually planting more trees than are required by the county, but that isn't good enough. And, of course, other old people who paid no attention until now are all too happy to get riled up. I can't wait until the board the approves the design so they can focus their late-to-the-party-have-no-idea-how-the-process-worked activism on something else.

haha - I live near the Safeway in Bluemont (the one off Wilson and George Mason) and it's the same there. NIMBYs killed a new Safeway because they wouldn't allow ANYthing to go on that site. No negotiations. So... we live with a subpar grocery store where the refrigeration goes out once a month.

Really?? It’s like a time warp back to the grocery stores of my youth in the 80’s. I was wondering why they hadn’t updated it. Mystery solved.

[Anonymous]

I won't engage with the "outraged" folks on ND about the dang trees. I love trees. I'd be pissed if APS was clearcutting everything, but they aren't. They are making sure the trees won't fall on houses or kids and adding back more than necessary. No one is going to stop the project. Oh, and as for the Westover flooding, APS is adding extra storm water retention to keep more onsite, therefore probably making more of a difference than the few trees that we regrettably lose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in Westover and am floored by the half dozen senior citizens who are obsessed with literally four trees. They are calling to put the project on hold, after having started to pay attention to a years-long process literally a week ago. They don't speak for me and are definitely the problem.

Yes. They do not represent the neighborhood or the community. They are all older busybodies and seem to forget we are building a school, not a park. I was at the meeting for awhile and, although I came in late, I still got the just of what was going on. APS is actually planting more trees than are required by the county, but that isn't good enough. And, of course, other old people who paid no attention until now are all too happy to get riled up. I can't wait until the board the approves the design so they can focus their late-to-the-party-have-no-idea-how-the-process-worked activism on something else.

haha - I live near the Safeway in Bluemont (the one off Wilson and George Mason) and it's the same there. NIMBYs killed a new Safeway because they wouldn't allow ANYthing to go on that site. No negotiations. So... we live with a subpar grocery store where the refrigeration goes out once a month.

Really?? It’s like a time warp back to the grocery stores of my youth in the 80’s. I was wondering why they hadn’t updated it. Mystery solved.

They didn't want affordable housing there. That was proposed years ago, and that's what they fought against.