APS Lottery

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi, I have a son entering Kindergarten in August. I applied for the lottery because Arlington Traditional was my first choice. I had to apply to both ATS and Campbell because I do not want my son to go to Carlin Springs where we live. I did not realize that the lottery was this hard. We are spot #114 for ATS and #13 for Campbell. Any chance that he may get into Campbell?

I really wish I could have found somewhere in the Arlington Science Focus boundary but I had to move quickly due to a divorce so now I'm really worried. Worse come to worse are there any diverse private schools that parents recommend?

Thank you!

We could better help if we know what you need - or at least know what you don’t want. What makes Carlin Springs unattractive to you?

[Anonymous]

NP with a related question. If someone moves into the district mid year, would they ever have any chance of there being openings at Campbell? Or is there always a waiting list, and therefore zero possibilities for mid year arrivals?

[Anonymous]

My child is low 100s in the ATS lottery and has moved up 4 spots since it was announced two days ago. Is it a true lottery, or were some districts, demographics, etc. given preference? How many K spots does ATS actually have? Regardless, I'm assuming there's no chance and will proceed accordingly.

Also, for the PP wondering about private schools for K, just research schools and call them up. Some will be taking late applications. No harm in asking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is low 100s in the ATS lottery and has moved up 4 spots since it was announced two days ago. Is it a true lottery, or were some districts, demographics, etc. given preference? How many K spots does ATS actually have? Regardless, I'm assuming there's no chance and will proceed accordingly.

Also, for the PP wondering about private schools for K, just research schools and call them up. Some will be taking late applications. No harm in asking.

It’s a true double blind lottery.

[Anonymous]

Why does ATS perform so much better than the other option schools and many neighborhood schools? Perhaps APS should look to expand whatever they’re doing there elsewhere?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP with a related question. If someone moves into the district mid year, would they ever have any chance of there being openings at Campbell? Or is there always a waiting list, and therefore zero possibilities for mid year arrivals?

If there are more applicants than there are spots for in September schools keep a wait list. If anyone leaves, they call people on the wait list. I've known multiple families move schools mid year. I'd say your chance of doing what you describe is extremely slim to none. You can always ask but move here mid-year and enter the lottery next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why does ATS perform so much better than the other option schools and many neighborhood schools? Perhaps APS should look to expand whatever they’re doing there elsewhere?

Compared with neighborhood schools, option schools tend to have more parents who are highly motivated/with the capacity to be involved with their students' education. Involved parents = better performing students. A larger number of involved parents = a larger number of high performing students.

Beyond that, I can't confidently say why ATS scores better than other option schools. The program they describe sounds pretty generic IMO. Not bad, I just never got clarity on what they did that was so different from neighborhood schools. We're at an option school with a surprisingly high (to some parents I've talked to) free and reduced lunch rate. Lower income families absolutely care about their kids, but don't always have as much capacity to be involved. I know this from personal experience as one of the lower income kids at the schools I grew up in. Maybe ATS has a lower free and reduced lunch rate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi, I have a son entering Kindergarten in August. I applied for the lottery because Arlington Traditional was my first choice. I had to apply to both ATS and Campbell because I do not want my son to go to Carlin Springs where we live. I did not realize that the lottery was this hard. We are spot #114 for ATS and #13 for Campbell. Any chance that he may get into Campbell?

I really wish I could have found somewhere in the Arlington Science Focus boundary but I had to move quickly due to a divorce so now I'm really worried. Worse come to worse are there any diverse private schools that parents recommend?

Thank you!

We could better help if we know what you need - or at least know what you don’t want. What makes Carlin Springs unattractive to you?

Hi my issue is its poor ranking on GreatSchools, Better schools and Niche.com. It looks like the students there underperform. Is that not the case and in the information online is incorrect? If you know that it's a good school please let me know as I am new to the area.

[Anonymous]

Are you looking at just the school’s overall score? I usually find trends (and limitations of the data) when I dig deeper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does ATS perform so much better than the other option schools and many neighborhood schools? Perhaps APS should look to expand whatever they’re doing there elsewhere?

Compared with neighborhood schools, option schools tend to have more parents who are highly motivated/with the capacity to be involved with their students' education. Involved parents = better performing students. A larger number of involved parents = a larger number of high performing students.

Beyond that, I can't confidently say why ATS scores better than other option schools. The program they describe sounds pretty generic IMO. Not bad, I just never got clarity on what they did that was so different from neighborhood schools. We're at an option school with a surprisingly high (to some parents I've talked to) free and reduced lunch rate. Lower income families absolutely care about their kids, but don't always have as much capacity to be involved. I know this from personal experience as one of the lower income kids at the schools I grew up in. Maybe ATS has a lower free and reduced lunch rate?

http://schoolquality.virginia.gov/schools/arlington-traditional

Arlington Traditional School has an economically disadvantaged rate of 37% and Title I Status begins at 40%

[Anonymous]

If we enroll our kid at a private school will we lose our spot in the waitlists?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you looking at just the school’s overall score? I usually find trends (and limitations of the data) when I dig deeper.

Interesting, where did/do your kids go to school? Did they attend Carlin Springs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does ATS perform so much better than the other option schools and many neighborhood schools? Perhaps APS should look to expand whatever they’re doing there elsewhere?

Compared with neighborhood schools, option schools tend to have more parents who are highly motivated/with the capacity to be involved with their students' education. Involved parents = better performing students. A larger number of involved parents = a larger number of high performing students.

Beyond that, I can't confidently say why ATS scores better than other option schools. The program they describe sounds pretty generic IMO. Not bad, I just never got clarity on what they did that was so different from neighborhood schools. We're at an option school with a surprisingly high (to some parents I've talked to) free and reduced lunch rate. Lower income families absolutely care about their kids, but don't always have as much capacity to be involved. I know this from personal experience as one of the lower income kids at the schools I grew up in. Maybe ATS has a lower free and reduced lunch rate?

http://schoolquality.virginia.gov/schools/arlington-traditional

Arlington Traditional School has an economically disadvantaged rate of 37% and Title I Status begins at 40%

Maybe PP can clarify what they mean by "perform so much better." Looking at English Academic Achievement on the school quality website linked above I found Alice Fleet (96%), Jamestown (94%), Discovery (96%), Abingdon (90%), ATS (98%), Campbell (96%), Claremont (96%), Key (97%). Those are all pretty high scores in that one metric. Barcroft (96%), Barrett (95%), Carling Springs (87%), Randolph (96%), and Drew (87%) all have free and reduced lunch rates over 70%. Perhaps the better question is what are Barcroft, Barrett, and Randolph doing that works so well which other schools should replicate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child is low 100s in the ATS lottery and has moved up 4 spots since it was announced two days ago. Is it a true lottery, or were some districts, demographics, etc. given preference? How many K spots does ATS actually have? Regardless, I'm assuming there's no chance and will proceed accordingly.

Also, for the PP wondering about private schools for K, just research schools and call them up. Some will be taking late applications. No harm in asking.

There’s four K classes at ATS. The odds are not in your favor of getting in. We were in the 20s last year and moved up but did not get a spot. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi, I have a son entering Kindergarten in August. I applied for the lottery because Arlington Traditional was my first choice. I had to apply to both ATS and Campbell because I do not want my son to go to Carlin Springs where we live. I did not realize that the lottery was this hard. We are spot #114 for ATS and #13 for Campbell. Any chance that he may get into Campbell?

I really wish I could have found somewhere in the Arlington Science Focus boundary but I had to move quickly due to a divorce so now I'm really worried. Worse come to worse are there any diverse private schools that parents recommend?

Thank you!

You probably know this, but ATS and Campbell are polar opposites in their approach. I know you want to get away from Carlin Springs, but you do have to think which model would be the better fit for your son. That said, you have lots of options. We know many families who moved, any many families who switched schools in different grades. And even if you didn’t, Carlin Springs is very small with a very strong support system, and you can still work towards a switch. I think your chances with #13 at Campbell are very good.